Chennai Super Kings, the IPL champions, and Mumbai Indians will be part of the same group in the Champions League Twenty20 starting September this year

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jun-2011Chennai Super Kings, the IPL champions, and Mumbai Indians will be part of the same group in the Champions League Twenty20 starting September this year. The tournament, which runs from September 23 to October 9, will be preceded by a qualifier phase from which three teams will progress to the main round to compete with seven others. The qualifiers will be held in Hyderabad between September 19 and 21, while the main tournament will be spread across three cities – Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata.The ten teams in the tournament proper will be divided into two groups of five, with Chennai, Mumbai, New South Wales Blues, Cape Cobras and one team from the qualifier phase comprising Group A. Group B includes Royal Challengers Bangalore, Warriors, South Australia Redbacks and two teams (ranked 1 and 3) from the qualifier round. Bangalore take on Warriors in the tournament opener at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals (in Bangalore and Chennai), and the winners play the final in Chennai.The teams in the qualifiers are divided into two groups of three. Kolkata Knight Riders, a team from England and Auckland, champions of the HRV Cup, form Group A. The Caribbean T20 champions Trinidad and Tobago, another team from England and one team from Sri Lanka make up Group B. The top teams in each pool followed by the next highest ranked team will progress to the Champions League.The new Future Tours Programme (FTP) includes an official window for the Champions League, enabling international stars to participate in the competition, jointly organised by the boards of India, South Africa and Australia.

Brad Haddin has joined a growing list of New South Wales and Australia players to sign with the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jul-2011Brad Haddin and Steve O’Keefe have joined a growing list of New South Wales and Australia players to sign with the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League. The SCG-based side has now locked in 13 players, seven of whom have played for Australia, and all but one of whom are current New South Wales players.”Brad is a quality player and someone who will play a big part in our squad as a senior player,” Stuart Clark, the general manager of the Sixers, said. “He brings a competitive edge and a winner’s outlook to our group of players, as well as dangerous hitting ability at the top of the order. I think he is a great fit for the Sixers.”Haddin’s signing came a day after the Sixers also secured the services of Shane Watson, but both men are likely to be busy with international commitments for much of the BBL campaign. However, Haddin said he was keen to be part of a successful Sixers outfit whenever Australia’s schedule allowed.”I have known Stuart a long time and I think that he has assembled a very talented squad,” Haddin said. “I look forward to being part of that group of players and helping to develop a winning culture. With the freshness of the competition and the high level of interest I think it will generate, I can’t wait to be part of what I think will be a strong team.”O’Keefe played for Kochi Tuskers Kerala during the Indian Premier League, and spent time learning from the Sri Lankan spin maestro Muttiah Muralitharan.”I think the BBL is a great concept and becoming part of the Sydney Sixers is a real honour,” O’Keefe said. “You only have to look at the list of names that have been recruited, to understand that the squad has a stack of quality, and great depth.”Playing cricket for the Sixers at the Sydney Cricket Ground, was a real drawcard, and I can’t wait to join a highly talented group of players. I think the squad has a great combination of youth and experience, and I look forward to getting together with the guys”.The Sixers are the only side not to have yet signed an overseas player, instead focusing on local talent. Watson said the lack of international stars available during December and January had made it difficult to find an overseas player, but the Sixers could still succeed with a heavily Sydney-based roster.”The hardest thing for getting imports is finding the right person who’s not playing international cricket around that period,” Watson said on on Tuesday. “It’s been a little bit of a headache for Stuart Clark and the team to get the right overseas players but in the end we’re lucky in Australia and at the Sydney Sixers to have the strength and quality of the Australian players we do have. We don’t necessarily need a big star overseas signing.”Of the 13 Sixers players so far confirmed, Watson, Haddin, O’Keefe, Steven Smith, Brett Lee, Mitchell Starc, Moises Henriques and Josh Hazlewood have all played for Australia. The only non-New South Wales man in their group is the opener Ed Cowan, who played for the Blues before moving to Tasmania two years ago.

Durham secured a Clydesdale Bank 40 semi-final trip to face Somerset at Taunton after ending Surrey’s unbeaten run in the competition with a 36-run victory at The Oval

29-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Paul Collingwood’s bellicose 96 helped Durham reach a massive 325 for 9 at The Oval•PA Photos

Durham secured a Clydesdale Bank 40 semi-final trip to face Somerset at Taunton after ending Surrey’s unbeaten run in the competition with a 36-run victory at The Oval. The Dynamos racked up 325 for 9, with Paul Collingwood playing the starring role. The former England batsman made 96 off 83 balls before attempting to bring up his hundred with a six and being caught by Rory Hamilton-Brown.Faced with the prospect of needing to pull off their biggest ever successful chase in 40-over cricket, Surrey refused to go down without a fight. The tide almost turned in the Lions’ favour when Matthew Spriegel, who struck a one-day career-best 86 in just 57 deliveries, forged spirited alliances with Tom Maynard (56) and Chris Schofield (46), but they fell short.Earlier, after winning the toss and electing to bat, Durham made a blistering start thanks to Phil Mustard, who raced to a half-century in just 23 deliveries. Mustard’s 66 came from just 31 balls and included 13 fours and a six over backward square leg off Chris Jordan.Even after Callum Thorp had departed in the eighth over, stumped off a wide from Spriegel, and Mustard was caught at mid-off two overs later, Collingwood and Mark Stoneman (27) moved the score along at nearly eight an over until Stoneman went leg before to Gareth Batty. Collingwood lifted Pragyan Ojha over wide long-on for a maximum in the 19th over and at the halfway stage the visitors were 171 for 3.Surrey, who were already assured of a home semi-final, used eight bowlers. But it was only when the Lions turned, eventually, to Schofield, who finished with 3 for 67, that the boundaries dried up briefly. Michael Di Venuto lost out to Maynard’s arrow in from backward point in the 21st over, when Collingwood attempted to chance a quick single.But Collingwood and Dale Benkenstein kept the pressure on the home side by combining for 81 in 11 overs. The Dynamos took the batting powerplay at the start of the 31st over. Benkenstein, who was dropped on 19, brought up the 250 by lifting Ojha back over his head for four. But having made 48 off 35 balls, the Durham skipper holed out to deep midwicket.In the 37th over, Ian Blackwell (25) lifted the total above the 300 mark with a huge six over long-on off Schofield. But despite picking up three late wickets, the damage had already been done as far as Surrey were concerned.The Lions’ response got off to a poor start when Steven Davies departed to a top-edged pull in the first over. Three overs later, Jason Roy was trudging back to the dressing room, having picked out Stoneman at deep midwicket off the bowling of Mitchell Claydon to make it 22 for 2.Hamilton-Brown (30) was run out trying to steal a second run to third man, and Zander de Bruyn was yorked by Thorp, who also accounted for Maynard. Spriegel, who was dropped on 30 at deep extra cover, brought up his half-century in just 37 deliveries.Had Schofield not cut Claydon to backward point in the 30th over, to bring the curtain down on a stand of 98 runs in 12 overs for the sixth wicket, it might have been a different story for Surrey, who are rewarded for their top-billing with a home semi-final tie against Sussex.

Half-centuries from Jim Allenby and Will Bragg guided Glamorgan to 300 for
eight on the opening day of the County Championship Division Two match with
Gloucestershire at Bristol

31-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Half-centuries from Jim Allenby and Will Bragg guided Glamorgan to 300 for
eight on the opening day of the County Championship Division Two match with
Gloucestershire at Bristol.After being put into by bat by home captain Alex Gidman, the Glamorgan innings
revolved around two partnerships of 103. The first came from Bragg (63) and Nick James (40) for the second wicket. Then Allenby (78) and Mark Wallace (42) put on the same amount for the fifth wicket.Gloucestershire’s attack stuck to their task well on a slow pitch and David
Payne finished as the most successful of the six bowlers used with 3 for
46. Gloucestershire handed a championship debut to former New Zealand Under-19 fast
bowler James Fuller, and Glamorgan did likewise with young paceman John Glover.Fuller was one of five frontline seamers selected by Gloucestershire, but the
only wicket of the morning session came in the fifth over when Gareth Rees
gloved a delivery from Jon Lewis to Chris Dent at second slip. Bragg and James survived several strong shouts for lbw early in the innings, but then played with increasing confidence.The partnership was broken shortly after lunch when Bragg, who had hit nine
boundaries in his 110-ball innings, was trapped on the crease and fell leg
before to Payne. The left-arm seamer struck again in his next over when Stuart Walters pushed
forward and was also dismissed lbw.It became 130 for four when James’ gritty 127-ball innings ended with a loose
drive at Ian Saxelby, which gave Dent a second catch in the slips. Wallace, captaining Glamorgan in the absence of the injured Alvaro Petersen, took three successive fours off Saxelby, two cut behind square and one turned off his legs, in a brisk start to his innings.Allenby also scored freely and he reached an 81-ball half-century with a
leg-glanced boundary off Payne in the last over before tea, which Glamorgan took
on 209 for 4. Allenby and Wallace had extended their stand to three figures when the
Glamorgan skipper miscued a pull at Fuller and gave the paceman a gentle return
catch.James Harris (21) and Allenby added 44 for the sixth wicket before both
departed within five deliveries, soon after the second new ball had been taken. Harris played on to Will Gidman and Allenby, who hit 13 fours, was caught behind down the legside off Lewis.Payne claimed his third wicket when Robert Croft edged a low catch to
wicketkeeper Richard Coughtrie.

England’s second tier of players will experience a busy winter after the Performance Programme squads and schedule up until Christmas was confirmed

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2011England’s second tier of players will experience a busy winter after the Performance Programme schedule and squads up until Christmas were confirmed. The main 17-man squad, which includes call-ups for Surrey pair Jason Roy and Tom Maynard plus Lancashire’s left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan, will train in Loughborough during November before being split onto two trips depending on their roles.The batsmen, spinners and wicketkeepers will head to India while the fast bowlers will be based at Potchefstroom in South Africa. Meanwhile, another 13-man squad of players below the main EPP level will also train at the National Academy in Loughborough before heading to either Sri Lanka or India for more intensive development. There will then be a full Lions tour to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2012 with that party due to be named in December.The two squads emphasise the current depth in English cricket with seven of the main EPP squad having already played international cricket including Jonny Bairstow, Scott Borthwick and Chris Woakes who will head to India for the one-day series next week plus Alex Hales and Jos Buttler who have will join for the Twenty20.Of those who have yet to represent England, Maynard and Roy have been rewarded for their part in Surrey’s resurgence. Maynard scored 1022 runs in the Championship and was the club’s leading run-maker in the Friends Life t20, while Roy was Surrey’s most successful batsman in the CB40 with 585 runs. Meanwhile Kerrigan, who had a brief spell with the Lions earlier in the summer, played a key role in Lancashire’s Championship success including figures of 9 for 51 against Hampshire.There is also a strong crop of fast bowlers which includes Ajmal Shahzad despite his difficult season for Yorkshire where he took 25 wickets at 41 in the Championship. Boyd Rankin, the Ireland pace bowler rated as the finest on the county circuit by Marcus Trescothick, is also part of the squad as is Nathan Buck from Leicestershire.”The England Performance Programme provides an excellent opportunity for those players identified as having considerable talent to train together in an England environment throughout the winter and further develop as cricketers,” David Parsons, the performance director, said. “This is an exciting group of young cricketers with all but three players selected for the England Performance Programme this winter having represented England Lions or England this year.”We recognise the need to develop a pool of players who are all capable of playing key roles in international cricket when the need arises and this programme allows us to continue working with those identified as having the ability to perform at the highest level.The other 13-man squad – a third rung in English cricket – includes Tymal Mills, the Essex pace bowler, who is considered to have the potential of bowling very rapidly and Middlesex’s Toby Roland-Jones who has been on the selectors’ radar this season but has struggled with injury.”This programme allows us to work with a group of players who have shown considerable promise both in age group cricket and in county cricket,” Parsons said. “Batsmen and spin bowlers will have training blocks in both Loughborough and Sri Lanka as well as a seven week match play opportunity in Sri Lanka giving players a useful opportunity to develop their skills in sub-continent conditions.”The fast bowlers in the group will undertake a conditioning block in Loughborough before a training camp in India,” he added. “This has been a key stage in the development of a number of young fast bowlers who have gone to represent England Lions and England with Steven Finn, Stuart Meaker, Jade Dernbach and Chris Woakes all benefiting from this programme in recent years.”England Performance Programme Jonny Bairstow, Scott Borthwick, Danny Briggs, Nathan Buck, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, James Harris, Simon Kerrigan, Tom Maynard, Stuart Meaker, Boyd Rankin, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ajmal Shahzad, James Taylor, James Vince, Chris WoakesDevelopment squad Moeen Ali, Moin Ashraf, Karl Brown, Varun Chopra, Matthew Coles, Matthew Dunn, Tymal Mills, Jigar Naik, Stephen Parry, Toby Roland-Jones, Alex Wakely, Luke Wells, Adam Wheater

The participation of Pakistan players in next year’s IPL will come up for discussion during the next IPL governing council meeting on October 14, Rajiv Shukla, the league’s chairman, has said

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2011The participation of Pakistan players in next year’s IPL will come up for discussion during the next IPL governing council meeting on October 14, Rajiv Shukla, the league’s chairman, has said. Pakistan players have not taken part in the IPL following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008, and even though 11 of them featured in the auction list for the third edition of the tournament in 2010, none were picked up by the franchises. Some of the franchises put it down to the uncertainty over their availability following a breakdown in diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan.”This decision has to be taken by the Governing Council. It is not that Pakistan as a country has been banned in IPL,” Shukla told . “Their (Pakistani) referees’ services have been utilised. Some franchises have taken Pakistani former players as coaches also and supporting staff as well. So it is not that Pakistan as a whole has been banned or something. There is no question of banning anyone.”The final call, however, rested with the franchises, Shukla said. “About Pakistani players, it is purely up to the franchises to decide whether they want to take Pakistani players or not. And we have to keep certain considerations in mind before deciding about it.”With regards to the resumption of cricketing ties with Pakistan, Shukla said matters of security and scheduling needed to be resolved before going ahead. He was also not too keen on the idea of playing at a neutral venue. “We have worked together. The question is about the circumstances and certain issues … in terms of security. Those issues are to be sorted out. Then only, we can think of it.”At the same time, there is no slot available. If there is slot available, then all these things can be discussed. Everybody wants cricket ties to be revived, to be resumed but slot has to be there to resume the ties.”Secondly the atmosphere should be congenial because I am of the view that we should play on each others’ soil instead of playing at a third venue. There is no point on playing at a third venue.”The termination of the Kochi franchise and the number of teams for the next IPL will also be discussed at the meeting.

A round-up of the action from the first day of the eighth round of matches in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division One 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2011Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited drew first blood in their top-of-the-table clash, bowling out Water and Power Development Authority for 192 at the National Ground in Islamabad. WAPDA were put in and made a steady start, reaching 75 for 1 thanks to opener Asif Khan’s 59. A collapse of seven wickets for 63 runs followed and they were 138 for 8. No. 10 Sarfraz Ahmed counterattacked, scoring 40 off 35 balls to take WAPDA near the 200-run mark. ZTBL’s bowlers shared the wickets around, with seamers Junaid Nadir and Rehan Riaz picking up three each. ZTBL lost a wicket early in their innings and finished on 22 for 1.Six wickets from fast bowler Sajid Shah helped Habib Bank Limited bowl State Bank of Pakistan out for 204 on the first day at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. Sajid rocked State Bank’s top order, leaving them 34 for 4 before Adnan Raees and Rameez Aziz began a recovery. Raees scored 34 and Aziz 44 but Sajid came back to remove Aziz and a couple of strikes from legspinner Danish Kaneria left State Bank 135 for 7. Rizwan Haider scored 62 at No. 8 to take State Bank’s total beyond 200. He was Sajid’s sixth victim, while Kaneria bagged another wicket too, to finish with three. HBL lost a wicket early in their response and finished the day 13 for 1.Seamer Kamran Sajid’s four wickets helped Pakistan International Airlines reduce National Bank of Pakistan to 216 for 9 at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. Lots of National Bank’s batsmen got starts but none could carry on and make a big score. Fawad Alam’s 49 was the top score while the biggest partnership was 59, for the second wicket. The wickets fell at regular intervals, with seamers picking up all nine to fall on the day. Kamran Sajid bowled 16 overs through the day and took 4 for 47.A combined effort from Abbottabad‘s seamers and spinners restricted Islamabad but a 101-run seventh-wicket partnership helped Islamabad reach 254 for 7 on the first day at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Islamabad lost wickets regularly early on, and despite Zeeshan Mushtaq’s 37 slipped to 145 for 6. Abbottabad, who had chosen to field, may have been hoping to bowl their opponents out within the day, but Zohaib Ahmed, the Islamabad captain, and Faizan Riaz shared an important stand. Riaz was dismissed for 46 before the close of play but Zohaib remained not out on 52 and will try to extend his team’s total on the second day.Karachi Blues squandered a solid start and ended on 265 for 7 against Faisalabad at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Karachi’s openers Shahzaib Hasan and Asad Baig vindicated their captain’s decision to bat by each getting half-centuries and sharing a 97-run partnership. Seamers Abdur Rauf and Naseer Akram managed to cause a mini-collapse in which five wickets fell for 51 runs, leaving Karachi 145 for 8. The lower-middle order did not crumble, though, and contributions from Nos 7, 8 and 9 ensured Karachi crossed the 250-run mark. Naseer finished the day with figures of 3 for 58.A strong performance from Rawalpindi‘s middle order helped them get to 326 for 5 against Sialkot at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Rawalpindi were put in and were reduced to 89 for 3 before No. 4 Awais Zia became the first of three half-centurions on the day. Zia was dismissed for 51 before Usman Saeed and Babar Naeem got half-centuries and put together 85 runs for the fifth wicket. Naeem then stitched together an unbeaten 90-run stand with Zahid Mansoor to take Rawalpindi to a dominant position. Naeem ended the day on 80 not out while Mansoor was unbeaten on 44. Rawalpindi scored their runs at 4.55 runs an over, allowing them to go past 300 even though only 71.3 overs were bowled in the day.

Ryan ten Doeschate, the Netherlands allrounder, smashed 121 not out off 58 balls to lead Mashonaland Eagles to the final of the Stanbic Twenty20 Series

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2011
ScorecardRyan ten Doeschate, the Netherlands allrounder, smashed 121 not out off 58 balls to lead Mashonaland Eagles to the final of the Stanbic Twenty20 Series. ten Doeschate’s hundred helped Eagles beat Matabeleland Tuskers by 23 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method in the qualifying final, and set up a clash with Mountaineers. Tuskers’ international star Chris Gayle gave them hope in the chase with a 31-ball 51 but even though Steven Trenchard smashed 56 off 31 balls Tuskers could not reach the revised target of 186 from 18 overs.Faced with a big chase, Tom Smith scored at a strike-rate of just 72.22, and though Gayle was blazing away at the other end, the required-rate kept rising. When Smith was dismissed, Tuskers needed to score at 12.52 an over, and though Trenchard and Paul Horton score quickly, it was not enough.The match was won in the first innings, in which ten Doeschate single-handedly batted Tuskers out of the game. He struck eight sixes and six fours in his innings, and was unperturbed by wickets falling at the other end. Eagles’ total of 207 was the highest of the tournament, and it proved to be a winning one.The final, between Eagles and Mountaineers, will be played on December 4 at the Harare Sports Club.

Shaun Marsh is likely to play against the Indians in one of their two warm-up matches in Canberra as he aims for a Test return on Boxing Day at the MCG

Brydon Coverdale07-Dec-2011Shaun Marsh is likely to play against the Indians in one of their two warm-up matches in Canberra as he aims for a Test return on Boxing Day at the MCG. Marsh hurt his back during Australia’s Test loss in Cape Town nearly a month ago and was ruled out of the Johannesburg Test that followed as well as the entire New Zealand series.With less than three weeks to go until the biggest day of Australia’s Test year, Marsh had not yet started batting as he continued his recovery. And while the Big Bash League begins on December 16, leaving no room for Sheffield Shield cricket in the last week before the Melbourne Test, there are two matches between a Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI and the Indians.The first of the Canberra games is a two-day match beginning on December 15, before a three-dayer that starts on December 19. Australia’s physiotherapist, Alex Kountouris, said the plan was for Marsh to turn out in at least one of those encounters to help give him the best chance of playing against India on Boxing Day.”Marsh had a run and is due to bat later this week as part of his programme to try to get up for Boxing Day and probably play one of the Chairman’s XI games,” Kountouris said in Hobart on Wednesday.In the absence of Marsh, Usman Khawaja returned to No.3, giving Australia an inexperienced top order, with the debutant David Warner opening at the Gabba alongside Phillip Hughes. Shane Watson’s hamstring tear, which he sustained while bowling in the victory over South Africa at the Wanderers, also added to the top-order problems.However, Watson is expected to return for the Melbourne Test. Kountouris said Watson was continuing his rehab work but “is on track to play Boxing Day”. That could mean a shuffling of the top order, with Warner and Hughes both hoping to impress in the second Test against New Zealand at Bellerive Oval, starting on December 9.Australia also have problems with their bowling attack, with Pat Cummins unlikely to play another Test this summer due to a foot injury, Mitchell Johnson out until the end of the season after having surgery on his foot, Ben Cutting sidelined for at least a month with a side strain, and Ryan Harris battling a hip ailment.Harris is hopeful of being available for the Melbourne Test but Kountouris said it was too early to determine his likely return date.”Harris started bowling yesterday and he went okay,” Kountouris said. “It was only his first bowl so he has a long way to go still. Another week or so and we’ll be more confident with how he’s going.”

Niall O’Brien, the Ireland wicketkeeper, is on a collision course with Cricket Ireland over his selection for a lucrative Twenty20 league in Bangladesh.

Gerard Siggins21-Jan-2012Niall O’Brien, the Ireland wicketkeeper, is on a collision course with Cricket Ireland over his selection for a lucrative
Twenty20 league in Bangladesh.O’Brien fetched US$80,000 from Khulna Royal Bengal in the Bangladesh Premier League auction. The tournament takes place from February 9-20 and clashes with Ireland’s intercontinental cup games against Kenya. Ireland coach Phil Simmons wants O’Brien in Africa.Ireland play Kenya from February 12-15 and again in two World Cup qualifiers on February 18 and 20. But Ireland’s tour to Kenya could be in doubt because of security concerns. It is understood O’Brien wants to miss the four day game but is keen to play in the ODIs. He said yesterday that he had been advised not to comment but hoped the situation would be resolved.”Nialler’s passionate about Ireland,” said one fellow international. “Anyone who has played with him can see that he plays with his heart on his sleeve. Money has nothing to do with it for him. He’s just mad keen to develop as a player and thinks this could be a great opportunity to open some doors in Asia.”More than US$6m was spent in the auction and O’Brien’s new team also includes West Indians Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Andre Russell, Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya and promising English player Jos Buttler. Each team can buy up to eight overseas players but at least one must be from an associate nation.O’Brien was the only Irishman in the auction and the only associate with an original price tag of US$50,000. There are two players from Afghanistan and one each from Hong Kong, Netherlands, Denmark, Kenya, Canada and Namibia, all valued at US$30,000.The six BPL teams will play ten games each in the tournament, the rights to which were bought by an Indian company last month for US$44m.