ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils in Jaipur

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran30-Apr-2012

Match facts

May 1, 2012, Jaipur
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Royals are back at their fortress, where they have a 100% record against Daredevils•AFP

Big Picture

Rajasthan Royals will still be wondering how they botched the chase against Delhi Daredevils two days back. With 15 needed off 12 balls, with nine wickets in hand, you would back yourself for a comfortable chase. Yet, what ensued reiterated the theory that all it takes is good over to tilt the scales in Twenty20s. Leave too much to the end, and the joke’s on you. Royals have a chance to set things right against the same opponent, in their Jaipur fortress. They will be boosted by the arrival from the West Indies of the Australian Shane Watson, who will have to conquer jet-lag first, and Morne Morkel next. If Watson does play straightaway, the question is who will make way – either Brad Hodge or Owais Shah. Three consecutive defeats will be at the back of their minds when they take on the in-form Daredevils.With 14 points, Daredevils are still on top. Should they lose, they will remain in that position. Luck’s going their way and their season has been a marked improvement from last year. This will be Kevin Pietersen’s last game before he flies back home and his presence as an impact player will be missed. A big plus for Daredevils is the contribution of two low-profile Indian players – Shahbaz Nadeem and Yogesh Nagar. Nagar was the unsung hero of the previous game, making the most of the final over to give the score some respectability.

Form guide

(most recent first)
Delhi Daredevils: WWWLW
Rajasthan Royals: LLLWW

Players to watch

Though Morkel’s tight penultimate over in the chase hogged the attention, Umesh Yadav‘s effort in the final over cannot be ignored. Though he had 12 to defend, he was parsimonious in his first three deliveries, giving away only two runs. A freak six by Ajinkya Rahane nearly overshadowed his efforts, but Yadav held his nerve for the final ball, beating the well-set Rahane for pace.Royals’ Amit Singh picked up two wickets, but was the most expensive bowler at the Kotla, giving 41 runs. Twenty of those came off his final over, the last of the innings, which made the difference in the final analysis. If Siddharth Trivedi returns, Amit Singh’s place could be in trouble.

Stats and trivia

• Royals and Daredevils have played each other twice at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Royals won both games.
• Daredevils run-rate in the last six overs stands at 9.15, while their bowlers concede 8.11 per over in the last six.
  

  Quotes

  “We probably bowled the best of any teams against Delhi, who have such a formidable batting line-up.”

  “Great spirit shown by the team. Brilliant stuff from Morne. Must have been heartbreaking for Ajinkya though.”

Legal proceedings have been initiated by FICA against the BCB and the franchise involved in the BPL for failure to pay the players

George Dobell08-Jun-2012Legal proceedings have been initiated by the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) against the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the franchises involved in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) following a widespread failure to pay players.The first edition of the BPL ended in February but, despite repeated assurances and deadlines, FICA has been informed that many players have yet to receive full payment. As a result, the players’ organisation has instructed lawyers in Dhaka to file a claim against the relevant franchises and the BCB.”This is a black and white matter,” Tim May, the chief executive of FICA, told ESPNcricinfo. “It was stipulated by contract how much the players would be paid and the date by which they would receive payment. It was also stipulated that, if the franchises couldn’t pay,
then the BCB would act as guarantors and would make the payments.”We have been waiting for four months. Deadlines have come and gone and all we have had is a litany of excuses. It has come to the stage where all avenues of dialogue have dried up and the BCB have stopped responding to FICA.”If it was not such a serious matter, some of the excuses they are coming up with would be amusing. They have said there are foreign currency issues, for example, but even some of the Bangladesh players have not been paid. They keep saying the payments will be made tomorrow, or next week, or the week after, but it has never happened.”May derided the behaviour of the Bangladesh board as “amateurish” and even questioned the integrity of some of those involved in the organisation of the tournament which attracted such diverse overseas players as Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi, Stuart MacGill and Peter Trego. Afridi, who topped the auction at $700,000, was reported last month as saying that he had been paid.”We don’t know if they have the funds available to make payments,” he said. “If we had a relationship based on trust we could understand their issues and agree a timeline for payments, as we did with the Sri Lanka board when they had some cash flow difficulties. But they have behaved in an amateurish manner and we have no confidence in them or their integrity.”Mustafa Kamal, the BCB president, has ambitions to become a president of the ICC, but May suggested that the continued impasse could harm his candidature.”The integrity of people involved in the leadership of Bangladesh cricket is spiralling downwards uncontrollably,” he said. “We have had continued assurances from Mustafa Kamal – a man touted as the next ICC president – but the continued non-payment does not reflect him in a particularly good light.”The episode presents a serious threat to the second edition of the BPL, which is due to begin in January 2013. FICA will take a more uncompromising line when it comes to advice they give players about payment.”Our advice to players is not to get involved in future unless they are either paid, or they receive bank guarantees, before they board the plane,” May continued. “The BPL will probably say that is unreasonable, but they have brought this on themselves. We have been trying to resolve this for months and legal action – which will take money that we could better spend on developing the game – is a last resort.”Our recommendation this year was for players not to travel until they had received 25% of their payment, but some went anyway. If you have a situation where players don’t receive that upfront payment, it is a sure sign that things are likely to go pear-shaped. We have major worries about the administration of the BPL.”

Gautam Gambhir has said India need to improve their bowling in the last ten overs of an ODI if they want to win consistently

Abhishek Purohit at the Premadasa29-Jul-2012Gautam Gambhir has said India need to improve their bowling in the last ten overs of an ODI if they want to win consistently. India conceded 90 and 97 to Sri Lanka’s lower-middle order from overs 41 to 50 in the first and third games of this series, and needed the batsmen to provide buffer on both occasions. The one time the batsmen failed, India lost meekly in the second ODI.”We just didn’t bowl well in the last 10 overs,” Gambhir said after the five-wicket win in Colombo. “You can’t afford to give 95-odd runs in the last ten overs, when they have literally two new batsmen at the crease, Angelo [Mathews] and Jeevan Mendis. Sometimes when you give 60-70 that is still tolerable, but 95-[odd is] too many runs when the [batting] Powerplay is over.”At one stage we were thinking we can contain Sri Lanka to 250 and then chase it down, but there is a difference when you think to contain someone to 250 and then the opposition gets to 287 [286], that is a huge margin. If we want to be a quality side in the future and if we want to win consistently we just need to work on the last ten overs, the way our bowling is. We have given a lot of runs in the last 10 overs in the past as well. We will learn from our mistakes very soon.”While India had the cushion of 314 runs in the first ODI, today’s profligacy left their batsmen needing to achieve the highest successful chase ever against Sri Lanka at home, which they managed to in the last over. Gambhir led the way with a breezy century that kept India going despite the early departure of Virender Sehwag and slow thirties from Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. Gambhir said it was important that one of the top three batsmen batted long.”When you are chasing 280-odd it’s important that someone from the top three bats for 40 overs and tries and anchors the innings from one end, and then people can play around them. Luckily, and fortunately, it was me today [who did that]. [In the] first game Virat and Viru [Sehwag] did it and today it was my turn.”Mahela Jayawardene said Gambhir’s ability to build an innings was why Sri Lanka needed to dismiss him quickly. “The other day [second ODI] he held the innings together,” Jayawardene said. “He is one of those guys who we have to try and get early because he builds innings and bats long and bats big, so then it is easier for the other guys to bat around him, and he bats at a good pace as well.”Gambhir’s 102 set up the eighth win in 11 games for the chasing side at the Premadasa Stadium, which used to favour the team batting first before the pitch was relaid for the 2011 World Cup. Gambhir said that pitch got better when India batted. “It was a good wicket for 100 overs and there was no breeze, though it was very humid. There was a bit of dew [and] the ball started coming on better in the second innings.”The other major blemish in India’s performance was Rohit Sharma’s first-ball duck. On the eve of the match, Gambhir had stood by the out-of-form batsman and his stance remained the same after Rohit fell to a Lasith Malinga yorker. Rohit averages 15.60 this year from 10 innings, and has made 5, 0 and 0 so far in this series, while Manoj Tiwary continues to be benched despite scoring a match-winning century in his last ODI in December 2011.”If someone gets out first ball … if someone gets set and then gets out, then he needs to think about it,” Gambhir said. “Anyone can get out. I still believe, and whenever I say it I mean every word, that Rohit Sharma, according to me, is the best talent India has ever had. Let’s not talk about individuals, let’s not put the blame that Rohit is not doing well. When the team is doing well we need to support people who are not doing well.Gambhir pointed out Rohit’s Man-of-the-Series performances against West Indies at home and away last year. “There was a time against West Indies when neither Viru [Virender Sehwag] nor I were getting runs. It was Rohit who was single-handedly winning the games for us. Let’s not single out. Everyone should back him because I see him scoring a lot of runs in the future and he could be one of the great players of Indian cricket.”

Derbyshire took another big stride towards promotion from Division Two with a thrilling two-wicket victory over Kent at Derby

05-Aug-2012
ScorecardDan Redfern shepherded the tail to secure Derbyshire victory•Getty Images

Derbyshire took another big stride towards promotion from Division Two when eighth-wicket pair Dan Redfern and Tim Groenewald steered them to a thrilling two-wicket victory over Kent at Derby.Redfern struck the winning boundary off Mark Davies in the fourth over after lunch to complete his fifty and take them past their target of 295 following a dramatic morning in which Charlie Shreck threatened to win the match for Kent.Derbyshire went into the fourth day as favourites needing another 127 with eight wickets standing but Shreck took four wickets to reduce them to 236 for 7. But Redfern, who survived a difficult chance to skipper Rob Key when he had scored only one, was well supported by first Tony Palladino and then Groenewald who made 20 out of a stand of 41 to settle a pulsating contest.There was no hint of the drama to come when Usman Khawaja and Wes Durston calmly batted through the first 10 overs of the morning to take their third wicket partnership to 102. But Shreck was rewarded for a tireless spell from the City End of the County Ground when he had Khawaja caught behind for 56 from 137 balls off the last delivery of the 70th over and then removed Durston with his first ball of the 72nd.Durston had scored 55 from 123 balls but Shreck moved one back into him to trap him lbw and then Richard Johnson went for a drive and edged to second slip in Shreck’s next over. Shreck had now taken three wickets in nine balls and the momentum was shifting towards Kent when Matt Coles got one to lift sharply at David Wainwright, who was caught low down at third slip for 2.Jon Clare pulled Coles through midwicket for four but then got a leading edge off Shreck and was caught at mid-off for 12. Derbyshire were now rocking but Palladino, who had bowled so well in the game, helped steady their nerves by adding 21 with Redfern who was striking the right balance between aggression and caution.He cover drove Shreck for successive fours from an over that cost 13 and Groenewald edged the fast bowler to the vacant third man boundary in his next over.Lunch was delayed by four overs to try and finish the game but Derbyshire finally sealed a 19 points victory that takes them 26 points clear at the top of Division Two when Redfern drove Davies for his fifth boundary.

South Africa’s Test opening batsman Alviro Petersen will be out of action for three weeks after breaking his left hand in a Sunfoil Series matchon Friday

Firdose Moonda22-Sep-2012South Africa’s Test opening batsman Alviro Petersen will be out of action for three weeks after breaking his left hand in a Sunfoil Series match on Friday. Petersen should recover in time for Lions’ first match of the Champions League T20, which will take place on October 14 against Mumbai Indians in Johannesburg.The injury occurred on the second day of the match while Petersen, who captains the franchise, was fielding as the only slip. Andrew Puttick offered a chance off Pumelela Matshikwe’s bowling and Petersen dived as he attempted to take the catch. All he had to show for it was a fracture and a spilt chance.He had x-rays done immediately and did not bat in Lions’ first innings. Petersen will not play any further part in the match and Neil McKenzie took over the captaincy. His injury only adds to Lions’ woes in their season opener. After conceding a massive 543, of which Puttick scored 194, they were forced to follow on.Petersen has not played competitive cricket since the third Test against England in August and spoke about wanting to spend time in the middle ahead of the November tour to Australia. He may not get that but should be fully healed by the time the South African selectors pick the squad for that tour.

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, has been ruled out of the second ODI against Australia in Abu Dhabi, but is expected to recover in time for the third ODI to be played on September 3

Umar Farooq31-Aug-2012Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, has been ruled out of the second ODI against Australia in Abu Dhabi, but is expected to recover in time for the third ODI to be played on September 3. Left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan is likely to replace Afridi in the XI – the only change expected in the Pakistan line-up. Afridi sustained a back strain during the practice session on Thursday.”He picked up a back strain yesterday night [Thursday] during the practice session,” Pakistan team manager Naveed Akram Cheema told ESPNcricinfo. “So far, he isn’t available for today’s game as he has been advised indefinite rest by the doctor. I can’t say much about the next game but if he recovers in time, he will definitely be in the side. We have ample options to replace him but I can’t reveal the team’s plan. It will be revealed at the toss.”During the first ODI in Sharjah, Afridi bowled his 10 overs for 37 runs and picked up the wicket of Australia opener Matthew Wade. However while batting, he was out off his first ball, sparking a lower-order collapse that left them defending a moderate total of 198. Australia won that match by four wickets in the 49th over.

The ECB have lost a second major sponsor in three months after Brit Insurance decided not to renew its deal as the England team sponsor.

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2012The ECB have lost a second major sponsor in three months after Brit Insurance decided not to renew its deal as the England team sponsor. In August, Friends Life, sponsors of domestic cricket for six years, also decided against continuing their backing of the t20 competition.Brit Insurance will bring to an end their nine-year association with cricket after “fundamental, structural and strategic change in its business interests.” Earlier this year, the company axed its marketing and communications team and their new direction steers them away from the four-year deal with the ECB which began in 2009 and saw them succeed Vodafone. Brit had previously been the principal sponsor of Surrey, with The Oval rebranded under their name from 2004 to 2010.Brit’s sponsorship of England, reportedly worth up to £18 million, has coincided with one of the most successful periods in the team’s history. The men’s team won the 2010 World T20, regained the Ashes in Australia with a first away series win for 24 years in 2011 and reached No. 1 in the world Test rankings in the same year. The women’s team retained their status as the No. 1 ODI side and reached the final of the 2012 Women’s World T20.”We are very proud to have partnered with the ECB and supported them in what has been a fantastic period in English cricket,” Mark Cloutier, the Brit Group CEO, said. “But as Brit’s business has re-shaped and developed into something very different to the business it was a few years ago, it’s right that we step back and allow another sponsor to come forward and build on this brilliant partnership opportunity.”Brit’s deal extends until April 2014, to include the next Ashes series in Australia but the ECB are looking to agree a new deal for a minimum of three years and have an arrangement that could see a new sponsor take over before Brit’s contract expires.”The ECB thanks Brit for what has been an important and successful partnership for both parties,” the ECB commercial director, John Perera said. “Brit has benefited from significant exposure as both the men’s and women’s teams have achieved extraordinary levels of success since the partnership began. Our search for a new sponsor will begin immediately and we anticipate significant interest from potential partners who wish to be associated with the England cricket teams.”Perera will ensure a new sponsor is apposite for English cricket, “The brand has to have stature commensurate with the England team,” he told “Some of the football deals wouldn’t be appropriate.”Brands that sit comfortably alongside English cricket include investment bank Investec, who added to their sponsorship of the Derby, Tottenham Hotspur and England Women’s hockey with a 10-year deal for the title rights to Test matches, worth a reported £50 million, signed in November 2011 and earlier that year, Buxton Water renewed their sponsorship until the end of 2013.

The West Indies captain is hoping to take control of the match on the third day on a pitch that has offered little help to the bowlers

Mohammad Isam in Khulna22-Nov-2012Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo took full advantage of a batting paradise and got the most out of their starts, which was exactly what the West Indies openers and Bangladesh’s top seven batsmen failed to do. Darren Sammy is now hoping to extend their unbeaten 198-run third-wicket stand deep into the third day to take control on a pitch that is unlikely to aid the bowlers.”We need to get [a lead of] 250-plus,” Sammy said. “The way we bat tomorrow will determine how the Test match goes. If we bat to our full potential, we will score over 500 or 600 runs. We want to give them a 200-plus lead and take ten wickets in their second innings.”I think the wicket is getting a little slower and turning a little slower. It looks a little drier after the day’s play. Three days are left in the Test match, so there’s no hurry. It’s Test cricket, you have got to exercise your patience,” he said.Patience was exactly what Samuels and Bravo applied when they came together to bat in the first session of play. They rode out the threat posed by Rubel Hossain and when Shakib Al Hasan and Sohag Gazi bowled, they only looked for runs off deliveries that were either really short or full. Samuels never went for the extraordinary in his 282-minutes stay. He batted out 107 balls to reach the half-century and took roughly the same – 110 – to score the next fifty runs. He took out his lucky yellow scarf, but probably there were only two occasions when he needed luck – on 15 and 19 – when he survived two big leg-before shouts by Shakib.Samuels has now completed three Test hundreds this year – five overall. The impact of his measured approach, Sammy believes, is crucial to the team’s position in the Test match.”Marlon [Samuels] has been [an integral part of the team] for the last year and a half,” Sammy said. “I think he has scored over 700 runs for this year, and in all formats he has been batting really well. We have asked guys to take responsibility, and I’m happy to see him do that.”He didn’t have a score in the last game. Before he came here, he was looking to score three international hundreds. The way he went about it, that’s what we are used to from him. Bravo had a good knock in the second innings in Dhaka. He looks really good.”Bravo, too, was impressive and undertook a cautious approach from the beginning. By the time he ended the day unbeaten on 85 off 197 balls, it was his eighth fifty-plus score in the subcontinent out of his twelve such innings in his career.The two stroke-players also saw off periods where the boundaries had dried up as Mushfiqur Rahim employed the in-and-out field. It worked for Bangladesh and it was just the staying power of the two batsmen that stopped them from creating more chances. They batted at a run rate of 2.95 in the first session, 2.80 in the second and just a tad over three in the final session of play.”We as a team normally score quickly. The wicket looks easy to bat out there, the two guys have played really well. They would know the pace of the wicket, and the tempo in which they could score.”The key is to bat once in this Test match. If the pair can give us a solid start, it would be good with the likes of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and the rest of the batsmen coming in next”.

Twenty20 cricket is where teams like New Zealand hope to compete when they come up against a side with the reputation and form of South Africa, and assistant coach Bob Carter said they go into the T20s with optimism

Firdose Moonda17-Dec-2012Adapting to foreign conditions is the test all touring teams want to pass on the road. South Africa have become masters of that art, having not lost a series away from home since 2006. New Zealand, with wins in Hobart and Colombo in the last year, are still learning.The shortest format may be the ideal place to do that. With conditions only playing a small role and margins between teams much smaller, Twenty20 cricket is where teams like New Zealand hope to compete when they come up against a side with the reputation and form of South Africa.”We can go into the T20 series with a great deal of optimism” Bob Carter, the New Zealand assistant coach, said. “We’re very much up for it. The boys have gone into their training really well, with lots of energy, and we’re really looking forward to the challenge of playing in South Africa. Who wouldn’t? It’s a good place to tour and there are exciting times here with cricket.”The sport has captured the attention of the public after the South African Test team rose to No.1 on the Test rankings in August with victory in England and stayed there when they beat Australia in their own backyard. Since scaling those heights, South Africa have not played in front of their home fans, who are eager to watch their team in action again.But they will have to cheer on a new-look side. South Africa’s T20 squad contains four uncapped players and a new captain as they attempt to revolutionise things ahead of the next ICC tournament.It’s with that in mind that New Zealand go into the series. Allrounder James Franklin does not think there is “too much to fear” even though his team is the clear underdog. “We have to pick our ranking up and the only way we can do that is by winning,” he said.New Zealand too have five uncapped players in their squad, some of whom will get a run in the practice match on Tuesday against South Africa A. For them, having these fresh faces around is “exciting”, as Franklin and Carter put it. “Theirs is youthful exuberance, they’ve got no baggage and they just want to get stuck in and see where they fit in terms of the team and international cricket,” Franklin said. “You’ve got to run a little bit faster and try and keep up with them. But hopefully it will rub of both ways. They rub off on me in terms of me trying to keep up and from me, if they want, a little bit of guidance.”These young players bring a fresh energy to the squad, which had been weighed down by internal strife, including the withdrawal of Ross Taylor, before the tour. “Their enthusiasm, their joy at being picked for New Zealand and the way they have gone about their business has been really good,” Carter said. “They have really flung themselves at training and it’s good to have them on board.”Carter also had a word of warning for the team about their opposition. “[Even with the newcomers] South Africa have still got a very fine side with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel and others,” he said. “That will be a really good test for us and a really good challenge. Every South African side is a good one.”

Azim Bassarath, the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Association, has asked the country’s government to help ensure that T&T players represent their country and not the IPL franchises in the 2013 Champions League T20

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2013Azim Bassarath, the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Association, has asked the country’s government to help ensure that T&T players represent their country and not the IPL franchises in the 2013 Champions League T20. T&T qualified for the CLT20 for the third time in a row – and fourth time overall out of five editions – after beating Guyana in the Caribbean T20 on Sunday.T&T made it to the inaugural CLT20, in 2009, and then the 2011 and 2012 editions. In the inaugural tournament, several of their players caught the eye with their performances, and they finished runners-up behind New South Wales. Those performances – and the ones that followed in later editions – got some of their players, including Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Kevon Cooper, IPL contracts. Thereafter, based on which IPL teams qualified for the CLT20, these players and Dwayne Bravo – who had an IPL contract from the outset – represented the franchises ahead of T&T in the tournament.”For the past two years that we went to the Champions League, T&T didn’t have their best players available. This year, I want to ask for the assistance of the government,” Bassarath was quoted as saying in the . “What I think we should do is that, as early as possible, put something in place where we can negotiate with the personnel of the Indian Premier League, asking and begging and requesting that we have available to us all our international stars.”Bassarath pointed out that this could possibly be the last time that T&T, the country, is represented at the CLT20; from next season, the Caribbean Premier League, a franchise-based tournament, will replace the region-based Caribbean T20 as the West Indies’ domestic T20 competition. He said: “We should leave no stone unturned to make sure that we have our best team available for the 2013 Champions League. If we [the officials] have to travel [to India] before the tournament, as I said before, we should travel and we will be begging the Government in that regard.”Last year too, there was uncertainty over who the players would represent after the T&T sports minister, Anil Roberts, said that Pollard, Bravo and Narine would play for the country in the CLT20 instead of their respective IPL teams. An ‘agreement’ had been reached with the three players to represent their national team, he said. However, the three still turned out for Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in the tournament.