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No IPL-style timeout for World Twenty20

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The World Twenty20 tournament will not adopt an IPL-style “tactical timeout”, the event’s director, Steve Elworthy, has said. The ICC playing conditions for the tournament – which takes place in June – have been fixed, he says, and he wouldn’t want the game to be “broken up all over” anyway.Elworthy also believes the IPL will have no impact on the ICC event – which starts on June 5, 12 days after the IPL ends – either in terms of player fatigue, motivation or even TV viewership.The nation vs nation concept is the key behind the World Twenty20’s success, Elworthy told Cricinfo, and the sheer thought of “pulling on the jersey and representing your country” will lift all those players who move to England for the ICC event.The IPL has adopted a seven-and-a-half minute timeout after every 10 overs, officially to enable teams to talk tactics but with one eye on the commercial possibilities. Elworthy ruled it out for the ICC event. “Not in this World Twenty20; the playing conditions have been set. I am not sure of the reasons behind it (the IPL timeout); whether it is commercial or cricket-playing reasons. From our perspective, the idea is that the game needs to have that momentum. It needs to keep the pace and the momentum going. The playing conditions don’t stipulate for a break in this World T20 and I would like to see the game continue, rather than being broken up all over.”Elworthy, the former South Africa seamer who is now based in London, was tournament director of the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007, a hugely successful event that laid the foundation for the IPL. But he will not be part of next year’s World Twenty20 in West Indies – he will instead stay back in England to help set up the ECB’s Twenty20 league, which is tentatively scheduled to start next year.Elworthy is currently busy preparing for the June event and is confident that national pride will work in the ICC’s favour after the BCCI’s 59-match IPL, which features most of the world’s best cricketers who have been recruited on contracts worth millions of dollars. “Every cricketer, from when he’s a child, wants to play cricket for his country,” he said. “It’s not about the money; it’s about pulling on the jersey and representing your country. That’s the difference. Clearly, the two don’t compete because the IPL is basically a domestic product and the World Twenty20 has national teams playing.”Besides, the Twenty20 format itself will ensure that the players stay fresh across the two tournaments, he said, and not all the World Twenty players will be part of IPL. “It is only a three-hour game,” he said. “There are a number of players and they will be rotated. There are some high-profile players playing in the IPL, but a bulk of the national teams are not playing in the IPL. They will be preparing separately. There might be one or two individuals who are affected but I don’t see how there should be any effect on all the players.”The India vs England or India vs Australia feel will again work in favour of the World Twenty20 in terms of spectators and TV viewers, a chunk of whom will be from India, he said. “It’s the same difference between watching a province or a city team and watching your country play,” Elworthy said. “In the World Twenty20, it’s India playing Australia, England, or South Africa and the rivalry is not quite like the Mumbai Indians playing Rajasthan Royals. It’s a different mindset from the viewers’ point of view when you are supporting your country as opposed to supporting your domestic team.”Elworthy admitted, though, that the IPL has helped raised the profile of the game “across the board” and carved a position for itself from a brand perspective. “It is very much a music-based tournament; it appeals to a younger generation,” he said. “Having said that, a lot of older people love this format of the game as well because it does have that excitement. And we are competing in an entertainment industry now; it’s not necessarily competing with other sport, you are competing with all forms of entertainment. To pack it all into a three-hour time slot is the key to it all; that to me is the success of it.”That apart, the explosion of interest in the Twenty20 format after the inaugural world event in 2007 has been an eye-opener, Elworthy said. “In 2007, we had certainly realised that Twenty20 had some serious potential,” he said. “Even earlier, I was involved in the setting up of Twenty20 cricket in South Africa in 2003, and saw the potential because we were selling out tickets for domestic matches. But where it has gone from September 2007 in South Africa to where it is now, it really has taken the cricketing world by storm. So I wouldn’t say it’s surprising, but it really is a great eye-opener.”

South Zone beat Zimbabweans

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South Zone handed this season’s overseas imports, the Zimbabwe President’s XI, defeat in their first match of the tournament. A good performance in the field limited the tourists to 193 and then half-centuries from Arjun Yadav and R Ashwin helped South to a three-wicket win at the Ravenshaw College Ground.Prosper Utseya’s decision to bat first didn’t work out as planned. Despite a 41-run partnership for the first wicket, the openers were dismissed in consecutive openers and Utseya, coming in at No. 3, made a duck as the Zimbabweans slipped to 44 for 3. Stuart Matsikenyeri (36) and Forster Mutizwa (40) helped resuscitate the innings through their 79-run alliance, only for the pair to be sent back in the space of 12 deliveries. The Zimbabweans never really recovered from that double-strike, losing five wickets for 22 runs, and even a 48-run stand for the ninth wicket wasn’t enough to post a challenging total.The Zimbabweans launched a confident start with the ball. The dangerous Robin Uthappa was sent packing for 1 and the South captain, S Badrinath, was dismissed for 12. At 80 for 5 it was anyone’s game but the partnership of Yadav and Ashwin tilted it South’s way with a 103-run stand. Yadav hit 71 from 90 balls, with four sixes, and Ashwin steered South across the finish line with an unbeaten 62-ball 50. There were still ten overs remaining in their innings.Ishank Jaggi’s century and four wickets from Dhiraj Goswami formed the crux of East Zone’s 65-run win over North Zone at the Barabati Stadium. Put in to bat, North were given a 98-run opening stand from Wriddhiman Saha and Natraj Behera (41), after which Jaggi joined forces with Saha to further torment North. Saha stroked 11 fours in making 84 from 98 balls, and though two wickets fell for one run, Jaggi found an able ally in Saurabh Tiwary. The youngsters put on 111 for the fourth wicket. Tiwary’s contribution was 52 from 45 balls and Jaggi played out the entire innings to remain unbeaten on 110 from 98 balls. He hit nine fours and a couple sixes and East finished with 305 for 6.Aakash Chopra had to look on in strife as North slipped to 40 for 3. Goswami accounted for Rahul Dewan and Virat Kohli to pile on the early pressure, and though Chopra added 57 with Uday Kaul, his dismissal for 58 in the 25th over left the team without a steady hand. Kaul followed soon after his captain, becoming Manoj Tiwary’s second wicket. Mithun Manhas, North’s captain, hit an academic 58 from 55 balls and Goswami finished with a career-best 4 for 35 as victory was achieved in the final over.”It was a great victory, especially because we won the bonus point, too,” Manoj Tiwary told the Kolkata-based . “All our plans and strategies worked brilliantly today.”

Series to India, worries to Sri Lanka

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– That was Muttiah Muralitharan on the series. Cricinfo looks at the issues that made the difference.

A tale of two captains: Mahendra Singh Dhoni pretty much made all the right calls and scored over 250 runs, while Mahela Jayawardene struggled, often looking hunted © AFP
 

Sri Lanka’s batting woes
The captain Mahela Jayawardene has been struggling to find runs and the lower middle order has not allowed him any breathing space. For much of the series, their top order chased big targets in the knowledge that if they failed, the team would collapse – leading to the inevitable. Thilina Kandamby had one good day, Chamara Kapugedera had none. By his own admission Kandamby is yet to feel that he belongs in international arena – “I will when I score more runs” – and Kapugedera hasn’t proved to the world that he belongs.However, Sri Lanka have persisted with him – the management and even a host of former players, whom you would expect to be hard-nosed critics, believe he will come good one day. Sri Lanka’s short-term future is a question of if and buts; by investing faith, they are trying to secure a long-term future.Till then, though, Sri Lanka continue to be dependent on the old pros. One significant change has already taken place, of course – Jayawardene has resigned as the captain and Sri Lanka will hope the transition yields Jayawardene the batsmen. Fitness issues
Their recent gruelling schedule hasn’t helped Sri Lanka, who looked jaded through the series. Jayawardene and Muralitharan have publicly acknowledged they were a tired unit and their fielding standards have suffered. Ajantha Mendis might have perhaps been rushed back too early from his ankle injury. The Indians played him well, treating him as a medium-pacer and taking care not to play across the line, but Mendis lacked the zip and menace of thelast series.India’s batting strength
Sri Lanka took on India on the back of good performances from their seamers in Pakistan. But the Indian batsmen completely overwhelmed them in this series. Three batsmen – Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir – crossed 250 runs for the ODI series. Theydidn’t take any undue risks against Murali and Mendis but cashed in on the seamers.Clarity and versatility
Clarity of thought is the Dhoni mantra. It reflected in the use of slow bowlers during the middle overs between the Powerplays. At times, India were looking like the champion Sri Lanka team of old. “If you can rotate your arm, you should be ready to bowl,” Dhoni said. “We saw how even Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma can be effective in short bursts.”Dhoni has options everywhere – nine men can bowl in this team. Among the seamers, ZaheerKhan is the only one who is certain to bowl with the new ball. Ishant Sharma might share depending on who is the third seamer. If it’s Praveen Kumar, Ishant will come in first-change so Praveen can exploit his swing with the new ball and if it’s Munaf Patel, Ishant might start.Enough has been written about bowling in the Powerplays.The same thought percolates in the batting as well. Dhoni promoted himself to No. 3 in the fourth game and pushed Raina at that spot in the last match. “If a person is batting at the No. 3 all the time, he doesn’t know what a No. 5 to 7 player goes through,” said Dhoni. “He has to know how tough it is come in and immediately start scoring. When he bats at that position himself, he will know how vital it is to carry on batting and finish the game once you are set.” And vice versa. Awareness of what the other individual goes through increases your own responsibility.India showed that they are a team that is increasingly aware of its own strength but Sri Lanka were let down by men who are not sure of themselves. Jayawardene wore a hunted look at the press conferences, with the local press – even a national selector – training their guns on him. Kumar Sangakkara’s succession to the job, if it happens, will be a smooth transition and possibly the beginning of good times.India, meanwhile, are at that critical point where successful teams goon to build a collective aura. Time will tell whether they march on or fall away due to faulty thinking and overconfidence. The no 1 spot beckons and it appears Dhoni’s boys are listening.

Bulls demolish Victoria to earn finals spot

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Scorecard

Nathan Rimmington was one of the destroyers for Queensland © Getty Images
 

A devastating eight overs from Ben Laughlin and Nathan Rimmington sent Victoria crashing to a huge defeat and confirmed Queensland’s place in the FR Cup decider. The Bushrangers lost 6 for 12 in the middle of their chase and threw away the opportunity to book a definite home final.At one stage Victoria were in serious danger of failing to reach their all-time lowest one-day score of 65 but Clint McKay and Bryce McGain rescued them from that humiliation by taking the score from 8 for 56 to 9 for 86. McGain’s 9 from 58 balls gave him some practice for the Test tour of South Africa and he was the last man out, one of two victims for Chris Simpson.Laughlin’s three wickets came in his first two overs as his accurate and aggressive bowling removed Brad Hodge for 25 and Andrew McDonald for 17. Rimmington then followed Laughlin’s lead and got rid of Adam Crosthwaite, John Hastings and Shane Harwood.It was a brilliant effort from the Bulls after they failed to make full use of the chance to bat first and posted 9 for 230. But after McKay had grabbed 3 for 22 to reduce the Bulls to 4 for 56 their recovery was reasonable. No Queensland batsman passed 40 but Andrew Symonds and Simpson chipped in with 39 each.All the attention was on Symonds, who struck three fours and a six before he sliced an attempted slog off McGain that went to backward point. Queensland and Victoria are likely to play off in the final although Tasmania technically have a chance to take Victoria’s spot if they can earn a double bonus point against Western Australia.

Katich and Clarke admit to dressing-room disagreement

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Michael Clarke and Simon Katich have confirmed that they were involved in a dressing-room altercation after the Sydney Test against South Africa, but said they had moved on from the incident. The reported that the players argued over the singing of the team song, , and had to be pulled apart by team-mates.Clarke reportedly wanted it to be completed early so he could leave for a family function. “Yes, we had a disagreement after the Sydney Test,” Clarke told the paper. “This kind of thing occasionally happens in cricket teams.”We didn’t see eye to eye on that night, but we have been team-mates at New South Wales and Australia a long time. We’ve spoken since, including catching up the other night at the Allan Border Medal. There’s no issue between us.”Katich agreed with Clarke. “I’ve spoken to Michael as recently as today and we’re both big enough and old enough to have moved on from this,” Katich said. “Michael and I are focused on some tough Test cricket that’s coming up for Australia against South Africa in a couple of weeks.”The Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young said the organisation had no concerns about the incident. “Yeah there was a blue,” he told AAP. “It happened after the last day of the Sydney Test and those guys have since made up and moved on.”From our point of view as far as we are concerned it is an issue between two individuals and they have resolved it and moved on. These things happen in even the best of families from time to time, but everyone gets over it and moves on.”

Duck, duck, goose?

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‘That first over will be mine…’: Dale Steyn takes aim but had to wait until the second over of the innings for his first bowl © Getty Images
 

Steyn removal
After all the hype about Dale Steyn leading in to the match it was a slight anti-climax when he failed to take the new ball for the first over of Australia’s innings. The veteran Makhaya Ntini was the first man Australia faced and it was the only time in Steyn’s past 14 Tests that he had not sent down the initial delivery of the first innings. Perhaps Graeme Smith was wary of the intense pressure Steyn would be under in his maiden Test against the world’s No. 1 team. The fans didn’t have to wait long for a glimpse of Steyn, who bowled the second over, but his opening delivery brought back memories of Steve Harmison at the Gabba two summers ago. The ball sprayed wide outside Simon Katich’s off stump and was taken by a diving Mark Boucher in front of first slip.Why’d you call wide?
Later in the day, after he had found his rhythm, Steyn was visibly unimpressed when Aleem Dar called wide for a bouncer that flew just over Katich’s head. It was a tough assessment that could have gone either way and even Dar appeared confused by his decision when he called over after five legal balls. The players started to reposition for the next over from Paul Harris when Dar remembered the wide, realised his mistake and asked everyone to head back to their original spots so Steyn could bowl his sixth delivery.Duck, duck, goose?
“I’d be surprised if Ntini gets anywhere near the 140 mark to tell you the truth,” Ricky Ponting said on the eve of the Test. He was asked how Australia felt about facing up to three fast men who might clock over 150kph. Certainly Makhaya Ntini isn’t as quick as he was in his younger days but Ponting didn’t hang around long enough to really find out as he edged his first delivery from Ntini to slip. It was Ponting’s second golden duck in a 13-year Test career – the first came when he was stumped off Harbhajan Singh in Chennai in 2000-01. The zeroes continued for Australia when Michael Hussey was taken at slip off Steyn; it was Hussey’s third duck in Test cricket and all three have come in 2008.Thumb Prince forces change
Ntini was not only causing problems for Australia’s batsmen, he also created a drama within his own camp when he sent down a delivery in the nets on Tuesday that struck Ashwell Prince on the left thumb. The pain worsened for Prince as the day went on – it was the same spot he had been struck on during the recent Test against Bangladesh – and an x-ray revealed a crack in the bone. When he failed a fitness test on the morning of the match it opened the door for JP Duminy to make his Test debut, and he could get a couple of opportunities with Prince no certainty to be fit for the Boxing Day clash in Melbourne.Happy selectors all round
Both sides came into the match debating whether to include a spinner or go for four fast men on a WACA pitch expected to be quick and bouncy. In the end each team felt that a slow bowler would add the right balance and before lunch on the first day they had their justification. Paul Harris, the left-armer, was in his second over when he sent down a pearler that drifted in to Michael Clarke and turned viciously past the outside edge. It was a terrific ball that not only made South Africa glad they had included Harris but must also have pleased Australia’s offspinner Jason Krejza, who won his spot ahead of Shane Watson.Pistol whips into new role
Paul Reiffel made his Test debut in Perth in 1991-92 and 17 seasons later he has marked another first at the venue. Reiffel was recently promoted to Australia’s international panel of umpires and he took up a seat at the WACA for his initial appointment as the TV official in a Test. It’s common for first-class players to make their way into umpiring in many parts of the world but in Australia the list of officials is dominated by men who have not played at high levels. When Reiffel retired from Victoria after 2001-02 he was fast-tracked into umpiring and he has regularly stood in games featuring his former state team-mates. As a Test fast bowler, Reiffel played alongside Ricky Ponting and against Jacques Kallis, two of the on-field protagonists in this Test. His first day on the job began as an easy one with only a couple of simple decisions asked of him.

Chilaw Marians deny Army SC

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At the Moors Sports Club Ground, Ragama CC thrashed Badureliya Sports Club by an innings-and-37-runs. Badureliya SC, who began the new season by comprehensively beating favourites Nondescripts CC, were shot out for 54 and 194 by Ragama CC, who made 285 in their only innings. The wreckers-in-chief were the fast bowlers, Saliya Saman and Dharshana Gamage, who also starred in the first innings, and Sri Lanka allrounder Kaushalya Weeraratne took six in the second.Sri Lanka Army Sports Club, the newcomers to Tier A this year, muffed their chance of making a winning start. In a thrilling contest, Army SC, without the services of Ajantha Mendis, dismissed Chilaw Marians for 217 to take 12-run lead on the first innings. Their batting, though, fell apart in the second innings. The pace and spin combination of Gayan Wijekoon (6 for 23) and Dinuka Hettiarachchi (match-haul of 10 for 72) bundled out Army SC for 57, leaving their team with 70 to win. The batsmen nearly made a mess of their chase – they were reduced to 50 for 9 – but the last-wicket pair steered them to victory. Seekkuge Prasanna, who formed a lethal spin pairing with Mendis in Army’s Tier B success last season, almost single-handedly took them to victory with nine wickets in the match.Defending champions Sinhalese Sports Club once again had to be content with a draw. Sinhalese SC had Colts Cricket Club following on, but interruptions caused by rain and bad light thwarted their push for a win. Left-arm fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa starred with an all-round performance, top-scoring with 67 in Sinhalese SC’s 378 before taking 5 for 22 as Colts CC were bowled out for 164. The visitors finished the game at 197 for 4.Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was dropped for Sri Lanka’s Zimbabwe tour, scored 112 as Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club raced to the highest total of the season against Tamil Union Cricket. In a weather-curtailed game at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium, Bloomfield made 573 in reply to Tamil Union’s 299. Tamil Union were put in on bowler-friendly conditions, and lost 6 for 102 before lunch on the first day. But Gihan Rupasinghe rescued them with an unbeaten 174-ball 154. Bloomfield then exploited relatively easier batting conditions to secure the first-innings lead.At the Colombo Cricket Club Ground, Nondescripts Cricket Club‘s ninth-wicket pair of Tharaka Kottehewa (62 not out) and Kosala Kulasekera (83) ensured they took the honours in the drawn game against Colombo Cricket Club. The duo helped Nondescripts CC recover from 104 for 8 to 254.In Tier B, Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club and Seeduwa Raddoluwa Cricket Club beat the weather to score wins over Burgher Recreation Club and Moratuwa Sports Club. Air Force SC allrounder Suwanji Madanayake’s double of 86 runs and 12 for 70 proved too much for Burgher RC, who succumbed to an innings-and-72-run defeat at Riffle Green. Madanayake’s legbreaks proved unplayable – his 7 for 15 saw Burgher RC dismissed for 45 and he added five more in the second.Seeduwa Raddoluwa CC got their second win in as many games. In a low-scoring match played at De Soysa Stadium, they beat Moratuwa SC by 47 runs. In another game, Saracens Sports Club‘s 20-year-old left-hander Geeth Alwis scored his maiden first-class hundred (144) against Sebastianites Cricket and Athletic Club in a drawn contest.Player of the Week – Gihan RupasingheOne of the finest all-round cricketers to emerge from the schools in recent times, Gihan Rupasinghe displayed his potential as a batsman when he scored a career-best 154 not out off 174 balls to lift Tamil Union from a desperate 115 for 7 to a respectable 299 against Bloomfield last weekend. Batting at No. 7, Rupasinghe had only the tail to partner him but he farmed the strike effectively as the last three wickets added 184 runs. Rupasinghe’s heroics exhibited his fighting qualities.”He is an attacking batsman who likes to go for his shots, but hates to get bogged down,” was Tamil Union coach Brendon Kuruppu’s assessment. Rupasinghe, also a legspinner, had a splendid stint at Nalanda College – he was team captain and was chosen Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year in 2006. He impressed in the Sri Lanka Cricket Under-23 tournament last season. He won the Player of the Tournament, taking 43 wickets at 13.20 and 297 runs at 42.42 for Tamil Union.

Points table

Tier A

Team Mat Won Lost Tied Draw Aban Pts
Ragama 2 1 0 0 1 0 28.155
Bloomfield 2 1 0 0 1 0 27.12
Sinhalese 2 0 0 0 2 0 23.65
Chilaw 2 1 0 0 1 0 19.245
Colts 2 1 0 0 1 0 18.805
Badureliya 2 1 1 0 0 0 17.835
Nondescripts 2 0 1 0 1 0 13.355
Tamil Union 2 0 0 0 2 0 7.28
Col CC 2 0 1 0 1 0 6.38
SL Army 1 0 1 0 0 0 3.33
Moors 1 0 1 0 0 0 2.87

Tier B

Team Mat Won Lost Tied Draw Aban Pts
Seeduwa RCC 2 2 0 0 0 0 32.085
Panadura 2 2 0 0 0 0 31.62
Moratuwa 2 1 1 0 0 0 19.57
Burgher 2 1 1 0 0 0 17.95
SL Air SC 2 1 1 0 0 0 17.695
Police SC 2 0 1 0 1 0 15.835
Saracens 2 0 1 0 1 0 14.735
Lankan CC 2 0 0 0 2 0 14.54
Sebast CAC 2 0 0 0 2 0 7.005
Singha SC 2 0 2 0 0 0 6.55

Qadir appointed Pakistan's chief selector

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Abdul Qadir: “I want to devise a system where no first-class player can complain that he was not selected despite doing well” © AFP
 

Abdul Qadir, the former legspinner, has been appointed Pakistan’s new chief selector in place of Saleem Jaffar, who headed the interim committee. This is the latest in a series of appointments of former Test players to decision-making roles in the Pakistan board. The other members of the selection committee are yet to be announced.Qadir said his first task would be to pick a squad for the series against India, who are scheduled to visit Pakistan in January for three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20. “We will do an honest selection so that we can put up the best fight against India, who are improving by leaps and bounds,” Qadir told . “I will select players on merit and devise a system where no first-class player can complain that he was not selected despite doing well.”The new PCB regime has brought in several administrative changes from the last month, when Ijaz Butt took over as chairman of the board. Intikhab Alam returned for his third stint as national coach, Javed Miandad took over as the PCB’s director-general, Aamer Sohail was appointed director of the National Cricket Academy and Wasim Bari was made the director of human resources and administration.

Hopes bowls Bulls to season-opening win

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Scorecard

James Hopes collected 4 for 24 as Queensland opened the season with a win © Getty Images
 

Queensland were bundled out for 62, their fourth-lowest Sheffield Shield total, but still secured a 48-run win over Tasmania on a minefield at the Gabba. The Bulls utterly failed in their second innings but thanks to a tail-end fightback in their first attempt they set the Tigers 193 for victory, a target that was too tall with James Hopes and Ashley Noffke exploiting the conditions.At 1 for 55 it looked like Tasmania might be a chance as Rhett Lockyear and Travis Birt battled hard. But the loss of Birt, who was caught behind off Hopes for 24, triggered a mini-collapse. The Tigers lost 3 for 13, including Lockyear for 34, and Noffke then proceeded to tackle the lower order.The last two pairs needed to find 85 between them and although Xavier Doherty did not give up and remained unbeaten on 29, his tail-end colleagues could not hang around. Hopes picked up the final two wickets to finish with 4 for 24, giving the Bulls a win in their first game of 2008-09 after they finished on the bottom of the table last summer.It also erased any negative feelings they had about their second innings. They began the day at a scarcely believable 6 for 20 and only fighting 16s from Noffke and Chris Swan saved them from recording an all-time low total. Ben Hilfenhaus finished with 5 for 14 but it was destined to be in a losing side as the match ended within three days.