An inspired recovery from Chennai’s faltering bowlers and a controlled approach to the chase from Suresh Raina and Michael Hussey lay at the heart of a comfortable win

The Bulletin by Siddhartha Talya04-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMr. Cricket took charge in typically assured style•AFP

Chennai Super Kings continued their dominance at home and eased to a fourth-successive win in conditions where power play took a backseat to opportunistic strokemaking, and stamina and steady consolidation were more crucial than short outbursts of runs. The sweltering Chennai heat and a slow pitch made it a tiring ordeal for batsmen, and it seemed at one stage that Rajasthan Royals, riding on the back of Rahul Dravid’s fluent half-century, would have the better of the contest. But an inspired recovery from Chennai’s faltering bowlers and a controlled approach to the chase from Suresh Raina and Michael Hussey set up a comfortable win – their fifth in five games at home this season.The Rajasthan openers, Dravid and Shane Watson, had displayed excellent determination to occupy the crease and set a strong foundation to their team’s innings. The pair ran well between wickets, rotated the strike, picked the gaps to scramble back for the twos, before Dravid took charge against the spinners. He pulled R Ashwin twice in an over to the midwicket fence, reverse-swept and punched Suraj Randiv for three fours in an over to different parts of the ground. The highlight of the first ten overs was his inside-out drive over extra cover off Shadab Jakati, as Rajasthan coasted to 86 in the first ten overs.The trigger for the fightback was a brilliant return catch from Jakati off Watson, as he put his hands up and intercepted a ferocious thwack back towards him in the 11th over. Despite an encouraging run-rate, and with plenty of ammunition left in the batting for a surge at the death, the desire for clearing the ropes overrode any thought of building the innings for a few more overs. Ashok Menaria holed out needlessly against Ashwin, and Johan Botha, who had picked a cheeky boundary, succumbed when he tried to use force against Jakati. Dravid was swimming in sweat in the Chennai heat and fell to a tiring shot, and not long after, the seamers returned to contain the flow further. A couple of fours from Ross Taylor was offset by a double-strike from Albie Morkel in the penultimate over, and Rajasthan only managed 61 in the last ten, losing six wickets.The wicket of M Vijay was an early boost for Rajasthan but some sloppy fielding, a difficult opportunity that was grassed, and the maturity of the Raina-Hussey combine put paid to Rajasthan’s hopes. Stuart Binny conceded eight runs in the field, through a misfield and an overthrow, and was listless with the ball. Raina was let off by Watson diving full stretch in the deep, but otherwise there weren’t any opportunities.Like the Chennai bowlers had done in the first ten overs, Rajasthan’s attack erred in line and length, giving the batsmen timely opportunities to pierce the field. Siddharth Trivedi bowled too often down the leg side, and the more accurate Watson and Botha were worked around. With both batsmen settling in well, left-arm spinner Nayan Doshi was carted for two sixes in the 11th over – the same passage in the Rajasthan innings had marked a decisive turn of events. As the shoulders drooped, Binny doled freebies outside off which Hussey cut for successive fours before delivering the same treatment to Menaria on the leg side. Raina’s dismissal was against the run of play, but his knock, along with Hussey’s, had made a relatively one-sided contest out of a potential cracker.

The three Pakistan players accused of spot-fixing in the Lord’s Test got off lightly, according to the majority of players polled in a recent survey

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2011The three Pakistan players accused of spot-fixing in the Lord’s Test got off lightly, according to the majority of players polled in a recent survey. The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) has revealed the results of its player survey, and 77% of respondents believed the penalties handed to the Pakistan trio were too lenient.An ICC tribunal found Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif guilty of orchestrating deliberate pre-planned no-balls during the Test against England last August, and they received bans ranging from five to ten years. All three men could be free to play officially-sanctioned cricket again in five years, due to part of the penalties for Asif and Butt involving suspended sentences. None of the 45 players surveyed believed the penalties were too harsh, while 23% considered the bans “fair”.The process by which the three Pakistanis were punished was more complex than a simple ICC edict. Under the anti-corruption code, the decision must be deliberated over by an independent tribunal, with the verdict and penalties handed down from those arbiters. Provisions for far harsher punishments are included in the code.Although the ICC has achieved its goal of making players aware of the Anti-Corruption Code – 100% of players said they were given education on the code before the World Cup – it’s not all good news for the game’s governing body. While 100% of players said they would report any suspicious approach they received, 20% did not have confidence in the ICC’s anti-corruption unit treating that information confidentially.Two-thirds of the players said they would be more comfortable reporting any approach to their team manager than to the anti-corruption unit, despite their obligation to do so. Tim May, the chief executive of FICA, said the responses from the players surveyed was an indication that they wanted a tougher stance on corruption.”This sends a strong signal to stakeholders that the vast number of players want significant penalties to be invoked against those who are found guilty of serious corruption offences,” May said.FICA co-ordinates the activities of players’ associations in seven countries: Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh. Notably, Pakistan and India are the two major Test-playing nations – along with Zimbabwe – who are not affiliated with FICA.In addition to being found guilty of spot-fixing by the ICC, Butt, Asif and Amir are now facing criminal charges in the UK. Under Britain’s Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, penalties of up to seven years in prison can be meted out for accepting corrupt payments. The trio also face charges under the Gambling Act 2005.The players were questioned by Scotland Yard detectives after the tabloid newspaper made accusations that they had orchestrated deliberate no-balls in the Lord’s Test.

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings in Bangalore

The Preview by Nikita Bastian21-May-2011

Match facts

Sunday, May 22, Bangalore
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Will Bangalore risk playing Daniel Vettori with his dodgy knee ahead of the play-offs?•AFP

Big Picture

The IPL has had its share of low-key games, and the top four teams are already decided, but the final day of the round-robin stage will decide who takes on whom in the play-offs. Chennai Super Kings square off against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first of two metropolitan battles, and the equation is simple: win the game and go to the top of the table. Defeat, on the other hand, will impact the teams differently.If Bangalore lose, they will most likely finish third in the league, and lose the luxury of a second chance at making the final, which the loser of the play-off between No. 1 and 2 will enjoy. Chennai, though, could finish in the top two even if they lose to Bangalore, on the basis of their strong net run-rate.Chennai and Bangalore are the IPL’s form teams at present with four wins in their last five matches. Both teams, however, still have something to prove in this high-stakes game. Bangalore were humbled by an Adam Gilchrist blitz in their previous match and have almost been a one-man show, ten men playing support roles to lead actor Chris Gayle. Chennai have not been the best travellers this season, losing four of six away games.There is one other factor to consider in this race to the No. 1 spot – the weather. Rain has washed out one game in Bangalore and shortened another, and there are light showers forecast for Sunday. A washed-out match will keep Chennai on top, but leave Bangalore’s final standing dependent on the outcome of the Kolkata-Mumbai tie.

Form guide (most recent first)

Chennai Super Kings: WWWLW (first in points table)
Royal Challengers Bangalore: LWWWW (second in points table)

Team talk

Chennai have had an unchanged XI in their previous three games, with Dwayne Bravo pushing out offspinner Suraj Randiv since his arrival from the Caribbean. If they decide to play only one spinner on the batsman-friendly Bangalore pitch, Shadab Jakati could sit out, making way for Joginder Sharma.Bangalore’s captain Daniel Vettori is back in India after going to New Zealand to have his injured knee examined. Vettori had some light practice in the nets on Friday and is likely to play against Chennai, unless the management decides not to risk him before the play-offs. If Vettori plays, Johan van der Wath will sit out. Bangalore tried Luke Pomersbach and Saurabh Tiwary in the opener’s slot left vacant by Tillakaratne Dilshan, but neither have come off. Expect a bit of shuffling at the top. Zaheer Khan, who was rested against Kings XI Punjab, should return.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team Selector.

In the spotlight

Dwayne Bravo could be a vital cog for Chennai, especially with Albie Morkel not quite living up to his billing in this season. Apart from his batting down the order, Bravo’s slower bouncers could come in handy, provided he gets his lines right, unlike in his spell against Kochi Tuskers Kerala on Wednesday.With Bangalore’s top three, Gayle, Dilshan and Virat Kohli, firing most of the time, AB de Villiers has not had much to do. He has a couple of half-centuries – his season’s top score being 65 in a losing cause against Chennai the previous time these teams met – but he’s yet to produce a game-changing knock. Will this be the match? Also, fitness permitting, he might be asked to resume wicketkeeping duties, after makeshift keeper Arun Karthik struggled in the game against Punjab.

Prime numbers

• Bangalore’s bowlers feature three times in the list of this season’s most expensive spells. Zaheer is second on the list, for conceding 53 runs in four overs against Kolkata at Eden Gardens. van der Wath appears two times. There is no Chennai bowler on the list.
• Gayle, whose 38 off 12 balls against Kolkata came at a strike rate of 316.66, tops IPL 2011’s best strike-rates in an innings. He appears two more times in the list, while MS Dhoni, at No. 11 for his 41 off 19 balls at 215.78 against Rajasthan Royals, is the highest-ranked Chennai player.
  

  The chatter

  “The confidence of a bowler in the wicketkeeper is important. If a bowler is worried about the ‘keeper’s skills, that will restrict the former’s options, particularly the variations.”
  .”The swift manner in which he [Dhoni] reads the game is to be appreciated. Besides his abilities in captaincy, it helps in his batting as well.”
  .

04-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Surrey held their nerve in a high-scoring contest before a 5,500 sell-out crowd at Whitgift School to beat Sussex by 18 runs in the Friends Life t20 South Group.Steve Davies top-scored with a brilliant 99 not out from just 56 balls in Surrey’s 203 for two, adding 105 with captain Rory Hamilton-Brown, who hit a 36-ball 51. Davies hit two sixes and 15 fours in his man-of-the-match performance.The Sussex reply was launched thrillingly by Luke Wright, who smashed five sixes and eight fours in a cavalier 72 from a mere 31 balls. However, when he was caught at long-on off the bowling of Chris Schofield in the 10th over the Sussex chase lost its spark.Ben Brown made a valiant 68 from 52 balls, with four sixes of his own, after adding a Sussex record 109 for the first wicket with Wright. However, Matt Prior was out for just 4, top-edging a sweep to deep square leg, and Lou Vincent laboured 19 balls for his 14 as Sussex fell short despite reaching the 15th over all but level with where Surrey were at that stage.Chris Nash hit both the fifth and sixth balls of the 19th over for six, but even that late burst off Chris Tremlett still left Sussex needing 23 from the last over and it proved too much. Spinners Schofield and Zafar Ansari were both impressive for Surrey, who also fielded tigerishly in defence of their total on a compact ground which made almost any target achievable.Surrey’s innings began in spectacular fashion with Jason Roy clubbing the first ball, bowled by off-spinner Ollie Rayner, over long-on for six. Roy also hit the fifth ball for six, with an even bigger hit, but on 18 he was foxed by a slower delivery from Chris Liddle and lobbed up a catch to Rayner at mid-on.Davies was also away quickly, leg-glancing the first ball he faced, from Wayne Parnell, to the long leg boundary, and a beautiful extra cover four off Liddle showed Davies was in excellent form despite a relatively quiet record so far in the competition.After five overs Surrey were 44 for one and Hamilton-Brown, after taking a while to get going, swung a slower ball from Luke Wright over wide midwicket and onto the tiled roof of the striking brick pavilion. Davies’ half-century arrived from 29 balls and a six off Liddle was later followed by another maximum, this time over extra cover off Umar Gul.Hamilton-Brown had helped Davies to put on 105 in 11 overs for the second wicket when he drove over a ball from Nash and was bowled after advancing down the pitch. Davies, on 94 when the last over started with Maynard on strike, heaved Parnell’s third ball wide of long-on for four but, having taken a single off the next ball, failed to get the strike back as Tom Maynard flicked the penultimate delivery over square leg for six.Maynard, who finished unbeaten on 29 from 18 balls, led a charmed life as he was dropped three times – on three, 13 and 14 – as another 66 runs were added for the third wicket in just over six overs.Gul and Parnell, Sussex’s two overseas fast bowlers, conceded 85 runs between them from their four-over stints as Surrey sealed an important victory as the battle for a quarter-final place hots up.

Collins Obuya, the 29-year-old batsman, has been named Kenya’s new captain in the latest of a series of moves aimed at revitalising Kenyan cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jul-2011Collins Obuya, the 29-year-old batsman, has been named Kenya’s new captain in the latest of a series of moves aimed at revitalising Kenyan cricket. Jimmy Kamande was removed from the captaincy after Kenya’s woeful performance in the 2011 World Cup, after which a performance review was conducted by Cricket Kenya.They then excluded four of their senior players – Kamande, Peter Ongondo, Thomas Odoyo and former captain Maurice Ouma – from the list of contracted players for the next year. Obuya was one of the few seniors to survive the shake-up and was named captain a day after Kenya announced New Zealander Mike Hesson as their new coach.Obuya was one of the few bright sparks for Kenya during the World Cup, during which they lost all their six group-stage matches. He scored a half-century against Sri Lanka and a 98 not out against Australia, and was Kenya’s leading run-getter in the tournament. Obuya originally hit the headlines for his legspin bowling with which he picked up 13 wickets during Kenya’s run to the semi-final of the 2003 World Cup. After struggling with his bowling thereafter, he has turned himself into a top-order batsman who bowls a bit.Hesson and Obuya’s first assignment as the new leaders of the Kenya team will be two limited-overs games and a four-day Intercontinental Cup game against United Arab Emirates. The first 50-over match is on July 25.Kenya Cricket chief-executive Tom Sears said Obuya’s performances at the World Cup were one of the reasons for his being named captain. “Collins is now an extremely experienced and accomplished player who can set the standards on and off the field,” Sears said. “He has demonstrated at the World Cup what can be achieved by Kenyan players on the international stage, and as captain he has a big role to play in taking the national team forward.”Kenya’s new list of contracted players includes several young players and Obuya said he was looking forward to leading them. “We have some very good players and some very talented ones coming through our system,” he said. “It is an exciting time to captain a developing team, and work with our new coach Mike Hesson and chairman of selectors Alpesh Vadher.”

Dawid Malan struck a brilliant century as Middlesex took control on the third day of their top-of-the-table clash against Northamptonshire

25-Aug-2011
ScorecardDawid Malan struck a brilliant century as Middlesex took control on the third day of their top-of-the-table clash against Northamptonshire in Division Two of the County Championship at Wantage Road. Malan made a fantastic 113 off 170 balls including 17 fours and Ollie Rayner
blasted 57 off 48 deliveries as Middlesex declared on 479 for 8 – their highest total this season.James Middlebrook took 5 for 123 for Northants, who then survived nine overs in the evening to close on 22 without loss with a deficit of 181 runs to make up.Middlesex began the day on 149 for 2, 127 runs behind their opponents, with their captain Chris Rogers and nightwatchman Toby Roland-Jones both resuming on 3. Rogers was to go past 50 off 82 balls with a four through mid-wicket off Lee Daggett and Roland-Jones was to make his highest score for Middlesex.He went past his previous best total of 26, but he was to perish on 28 when he dragged Middlebrook’s first delivery, in the 64th over, onto his stumps. Middlebrook was to strike again when Rogers, who had moved on to 55, was well caught by Northants captain Andrew Hall at slip.There was a flashpoint before lunch when David Lucas gestured towards a group of spectators who sarcastically applauded him for stopping a Malan drive at mid-off after he had previously misfielded in the same position.The visitors were on 244 for 4 at the interval, but they lost Jamie Dalrymple for 40 when he was caught by Daggett, running from long leg, off Chaminda Vaas. However, by this point they had already passed Northants’ total to take the lead before Malan reached 50 off 110 balls.Resuming after tea on 371 for 5, Middlesex wicketkeeper John Simpson went cheaply for 24 in the fifth over of the evening when he launched Vaas to Alex Wakely at deep square leg. Malan then kicked on to complete the seventh first-class century of his career and his second of this season off 165 balls with a four through third man off Daggett.But he finally had to walk when he feathered Middlebrook him to Northants wicketkeeper David Murphy. Rayner then smashed an explosive half-century off just 43 balls but Middlebrook
had his 10th first-class five-wicket haul when he was caught behind by Murphy just before the visitors declared.A rain delay meant the loss of three overs but Rob Newton and Stephen Peters survived until the close and will resume tomorrow on 14 and six respectively.

Rest of India secured the Irani Cup by virtue of a whopping first-innings lead and then, instead of enforcing the follow-on, chose to bat again and batter Rajasthan further

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShikhar Dhawan got his second century of the match•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Rest of India secured the Irani Cup by virtue of a whopping first-innings lead and then, instead of enforcing the follow-on, chose to bat again and batter Rajasthan further. And batter them they did. Shikhar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund scored at breakneck pace, made substantial centuries, and helped Rest of India amass 354 for 2 in 54 overs. The late declaration, however, reduced Rest of India’s chances of an outright win as Rajasthan had all ten wickets intact at stumps, chasing an impossible 618 for victory.Rajasthan began the fourth day in Jaipur needing 157 to avoid the follow-on with four wickets in hand. They managed only 93. Ashok Menaria, who had resumed on 59, made 20 more before falling to left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. Menaria had charged and lofted straight to long-on. In his next over Ojha had the other overnight batsman, Deepak Chahar, lbw with an arm-ball.Tailenders Madhur Khatri and Sumit Mathur were both dropped by Manish Pandey at slip as they swung freely for a few quick runs. They added 50 for the ninth wicket before Vinay Kumar trapped Khatri lbw for 31 off 28 balls. Minutes later, Ojha completed his five-wicket haul by inducing an edge to slip from Mathur. Rajasthan were dismissed for 400, trailing by 263.Parthiv Patel decided to bat again, instead of giving his bowlers more time in the field, and Rest of India pursued quick runs. The openers attacked from the start with Dhawan continuing to punish Chahar for pitching too short. He brought up his half-century off 53 deliveries, by driving a full ball from Chahar to the cover boundary. Abhinav made up for his first-innings failure and reached his fifty off 73 balls. They continued plundering a clueless Rajasthan attack and by tea the opening stand was 200 in 33 overs, with both Dhawan and Abhinav in the 90s.In the first over after the break, Dhawan cut Chahar and ran a double to bring up a century off 90 balls. He became the first batsman to score a hundred in each innings of the Irani Cup. Abhinav reached his century a few overs later, off 121 balls. It was his third successive hundred in the Irani Cup. Dhawan then laid into Robin Bist, hitting him for two fours and a six in one over and four fours and a six in another.The partnership had swelled to 310 in the 46th over when Dhawan miscued a loft to long-on and was caught for 155 off 126 balls. His innings contained 22 fours and three sixes. Mukund fell a few balls after bringing up his 150, holing out to long-on off Menaria. Rest of India were 328 for 2 and the declaration came not long after.With the Irani Cup already lost on the first-innings lead, Rajasthan could only battle to avoid an outright defeat and their openers survived seven overs before stumps. They made 28 and will need to negotiate a testing period on the final morning to help secure a draw.

There was plenty for Australia to celebrate on the third day in Pallekele – Shaun Marsh’s hundred on debut, and Michael Hussey’s 14th Test century – but Sri Lanka ended the day with some hope of salvaging a draw after rain washed out almost the entire aft

The Report by Brydon Coverdale10-Sep-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMichael Hussey and Shaun Marsh put on 258 for the fourth wicket•Associated Press

There was plenty for Australia to celebrate on the third day in Pallekele – Shaun Marsh’s hundred on debut, and Michael Hussey’s 14th Test century – but Sri Lanka ended the day with some hope of salvaging a draw after rain washed out almost the entire afternoon’s play. Only 40.3 overs were bowled, mostly before lunch, and Australia extended their lead to 237, but with further showers expected over the next two days, Michael Clarke’s men were wondering if they would have time to knock Sri Lanka over again and take a 2-0 series lead.An overnight declaration loomed as a possibility as the Australians would not wish to waste their big advantage, set up during a terrific 258-run stand between Marsh and Hussey, the second highest for Australia in Tests against Sri Lanka, and the highest for any country for the fourth wicket against Sri Lanka. And while Hussey’s composure was expected, the way Marsh played in his first innings made him look like a Test natural.He became the 19th Australian to score a century on his Test debut, and the only one of his countrymen to achieve the feat batting at No.3 was the great Bill Ponsford. Marsh started the day on 87 and quickly moved off the unlucky number with a glide past gully for four.Negotiating the nineties proved slightly tougher; Hussey was on 76 when Marsh moved out of the eighties, yet he reached triple-figures before his younger partner. Both men got there in the same over, Hussey pushing a two past midwicket off Suraj Randiv, before Marsh swept two from the final ball of the over.It was a wonderful moment for the Marsh family; his father Geoff jumped to his feet in the stands, riding the two runs home like he was cheering on a race-horse, and Shaun raised his bat and high-fived Hussey when he caught his breath. Both batsmen soon lifted their tempo and Marsh brought out some of his limited-overs strokes, including a brutal drive back over the bowler’s head for four off Chanaka Welegedara.Hussey eventually fell for 142 when he lofted Thilan Samaraweera – who hadn’t taken a Test wicket since 2004 – to deep cover. It was the third hundred in seven Tests for Hussey, who since the start of the Ashes he has averaged 68.50, and it continued a remarkable Test for him after he took a stunning catch hurling himself to his left at gully on the first day, and bowled a wicket maiden to get rid of Kumar Sangakkara.Hussey was the only wicket to fall before lunch, but in the eight overs delivered after the break Australia suffered a mini-collapse. On 141, Marsh pulled Suranga Lakmal to deep midwicket, and in the next over the out-of-form Brad Haddin lofted a catch tamely to mid-on off the bowling of Randiv for 1.Randiv was on a hat-trick after he bowled Mitchell Johnson next ball; Johnson expected the ball to turn away from him and shouldered arms, only to see the topspinner go straight on and rattle his stumps. Ryan Harris negotiated the hat-trick ball – barely – and was 9 not out when the rain came, while Usman Khawaja was on 13.But such a collapse meant little, next to Marsh’s milestone and Australia’s weather worries. There will be some nervous Australians looking out the window at daybreak on Sunday.