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Brendon McCullum was “pretty happy” with New Zealand’s comprehensive win over Zimbabwe in the first ODI but said he was left frustrated by some soft dismissals during his team’s innings

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2012Brendon McCullum was “pretty happy” with New Zealand’s comprehensive win over Zimbabwe in the first ODI but said he was left frustrated by some soft dismissals during his team’s innings. Martin Guptill top-scored with 70 and several batsmen got starts in the middle order but did not push on. McCullum, batting at No. 3, was lbw for 3.”If you look at the result, you’d say clinical. If you look at some of the nuances of the game, you’d say there are some rough edges we need to smooth out but it’s about getting the right result at the end of the day,” McCullum, who captained New Zealand in the absence of the injured Ross Taylor, said. “To score 250 on that wicket and restrict them to 160, we’re pretty happy.”The Dunedin pitch was expected to be bowler-friendly and McCullum admitted it was a tough track to bat on. “The feedback from the guys was that it was pretty difficult to bat on. It would hold on every now and then, just pop a little with a bit of movement off the seam as well.”A couple of guys managed to get in and get some runs but if you look at the way the innings unfolded, there were regular wickets falling, barring one or two partnerships.””Every time we were getting a partnership together and starting to accelerate we would lose a wicket. We were trying to attack the fifth bowler, keep wickets in hand and utilise that Powerplay in the death overs. It was pretty frustrating, there were a few soft dismissals but overall we managed to get a winning score.”McCullum was happy with the performance of the debutants in the team, and said the other new faces picked in the squad, Michael Bates and Tarun Nethula, would also get a look-in in the games to come. “Andrew Ellis was outstanding with the ball and smart with the bat. Tom Latham looked incredibly composed for a young fellow and showed that he’s certainly not out of place at this level.”Everyone will be definitely getting a run. There’s no point getting guys into the squad if they’re not going to be getting a run. So, at some stage, there’ll be an opportunity.”Guptill was Man of the Match for his 70, but said he could have done better. “I scored a few runs in the HRV Cup and got a little bit of confidence from there. At the moment I just feel in control, over my emotions and my physical state. I was pretty grumpy when I got out, today was an opportunity to go out there and get a big score.”

Peter Forrest’s chances of making his ODI debut on Sunday in Adelaide have been boosted after the Australian selectors confirmed Michael Hussey would be rested

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-2012Peter Forrest’s chances of making his ODI debut on Sunday in Adelaide have been boosted after the Australian selectors confirmed Michael Hussey would be rested. Australia will take only 12 men to Adelaide for the match against India, with Hussey to remain in Perth and Ben Hilfenhaus heading home to Hobart.The allrounder Mitchell Marsh will join the squad after missing the first two games so he could play in Western Australia’s Sheffield Shield match against Queensland at the Gabba. It remains to be seen whether the selectors will play Marsh and Daniel Christian in the same side given their similar styles, and Christian has done his chances no harm with two solid performances over the past week.The most likely change is a straight swap between Hussey and Forrest, who had been expected to make his debut against Sri Lanka on Friday but was ultimately left out of the side. Prior to the series, the Australian selectors named a squad for the first three ODIs, so a new group will be confirmed for the next portion of the series in the coming few days.Australia David Warner, Matthew Wade (wk), Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (capt), David Hussey, Peter Forrest, Daniel Christian, Mitchell Marsh, Ryan Harris, Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc, Xavier Doherty.

Andy Flower, England team director, has kept up the pressure on Samit Patel to reach acceptable fitness levels if he is to achieve his ambition of a Test debut for England against Sri Lanka in Galle later this month.

Alex Winter10-Mar-2012Andy Flower, England team director, has kept up the pressure on Samit Patel to reach acceptable fitness levels if he is to achieve his ambition of a Test debut for England against Sri Lanka in Galle later this month.Flower regards Patel as a genuine contender to bat at No. 6 and strengthen England’s slow-bowling ranks as they seek to improve on their disastrous 3-0 whitewash against Pakistan in the UAE. But as the bulk of England’s squad prepared to leave Heathrow, he issued a subtle reminder of the fitness standards required to survive the sapping conditions of Sri Lanka at one of the most humid times of the year.”I think he’s still got significant work to do on the fitness front but he’s inching in the right direction,” Flower said. “The heat and humidity will be a significant factor for the bowling side certainly and then on concentration levels because fatigue affects everyone. Fitness levels and how we react will be very important.”The makeup of England’s bowling attack will influence whether Patel will make his Test debut in Sri Lanka. Flower and England captain Andrew Strauss will have to decide whether to continue with two specialist spinners, a policy that served them well against Pakistan in the UAE, revert back to three quick bowlers, or play five bowlers – something England have been reluctant to do but an option Flower has not ruled out.”Everyone in this squad is a serious challenger for a Test place,” Flower said as England prepared to fly out to Sri Lanka ahead of the first of two three-day warm-up matches on March 15. “Patel provides the option of flexibility for us. If we played three quicks and Graeme Swann, then he could bat at six and give you that angle to bowl into the rough if we needed to. That is a possibility.”If the conditions determine that two spinners should play, they can take up a lot of the slack on the workload front. It doesn’t necessary mean you have to play five bowlers. We saw two and two work effectively in the UAE and I still think with two specialist spinners taking up a lot of the overs you can still take 20 wickets with four bowlers.”England, who could begin the Sri Lanka series below South Africa in the Test rankings, also have James Tredwell, the 30-year-old Kent offspinner, in their squad. A surprise selection, he is only likely to feature through injury to Swann. “James is an experienced cricketer who we know we can rely on,” Flower said. “Both types of spin are important and we’ve covered both.”He sounded unconcerned that Tredwell has not played since the end of last season. “When you’ve played as long as Tredwell has, it won’t take long to get him up to speed.”Tredwell is one of seven England players that have flown out early to Sri Lanka to acclimatise. Ian Bell, reserve wicketkeeper Steven Davies, Monty Panesar, Patel, Matt Prior and Andrew Strauss have also travelled early for two skill sessions a day and fitness training.Strauss is looking to find form after a lean period in Test cricket: his last century came in Brisbane in November 2010. But Flower sees the improvements Strauss made towards the end of the Pakistan series as signs of returning form. “To survive and thrive you have to be adaptable and he showed some of that adaptability in that last Test,” Flower said. “He’s working at those skills and methods right now and he’s got two three-day games to get some time in the middle. With his experience I expect him to do well.”Flower said that Strauss was not helped by an extended break between the end of the season and start of the Pakistan series but that a similar scenario was unlikely happen again and Strauss was keen to lead from the front once more. “He’s a very experienced cricketer and you know that he’s very level-headed in his response to both the highs and lows associated with playing for England. I know he will be working hard and smart to get his game in order.”Strauss will return to the England top order alongside Alastair Cook, who, along with Kevin Pietersen, found form in the 4-0 ODI series win against Pakistan. Their performances and the experience gained against Pakistan’s barrage of spinners is cause for optimism for Flower. “The good thing about playing people like Seed Ajmal is that as you’re exposed to them you should get better, that’s how we grow, by putting ourselves in tougher situations that we’d normally come across.”Playing in subcontinental conditions against good spinners will without doubt add to our batsman’s growth. So I should expect our batsman to be better able to deal with Sri Lanka’s spinners.”

Shane Watson has pledged to rid himself of a run-out affliction that he admits is affecting the progress of the Australian team

Daniel Brettig in Port of Spain13-Apr-2012Shane Watson has pledged to rid himself of a run-out affliction that he admits is affecting the progress of the Australian team.A horrid misjudgement to account for Ricky Ponting in the first innings of the Bridgetown Test was perhaps the worst of the eight such dismissals Watson has been implicated in over his 33 Tests.The incident visibly affected Watson, leaving him hunched over his bat and cursing for several seconds as Ponting marched off, and contributed to a clouded state of mind that had him driving impertinently at the second ball after lunch and edging behind.”That [Ponting run-out] hurt me,” Watson said at Queen’s Park Oval. “Unfortunately I’ve been involved in too many run-outs, which is not good enough, but this one especially really did affect me, so I made sure that I’ve given Ricky a few presents and provided him a number of things I could to try to cheer him up a little bit, because it did affect me a lot. I’ll be doing everything I possibly can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.Having made a bold 54 on the final afternoon that helped set-up Australia’s dramatic chase to defeat the West Indies in the first Test, Watson will play his second match at No. 3 with confidence about the position, but is acutely aware that it will not be his strokeplay or technique that team-mates will be most wary of.”I’m going to have to do a couple of things differently, definitely,” Watson said. “There’s no doubt the way you’re brought up running between the wickets, everyone’s slightly different, like your technique and how that develops.”I’ve got to have a look at my technique of running between the wickets and my calling, because in the end it hasn’t been compatible with the guys I’ve batted with as well. I seriously need to find a way to make sure it works, because at the moment it hasn’t been working consistently anyway, and it’s not good enough.”Any form of the game but especially in a Test match on a flat wicket when runs are so valuable, it’s certainly not good enough. I’ve been having a chat to a few guys and I know there are a couple of specific things that I know I can do differently to be able to communicate better to ensure there’s less chance of that occurring again.”Having had six Test matches out of the national side due to injury, a run-out in Watson’s first match back did not escape the attention of the Australian team room, and he said he was under as much pressure from the rest of the squad as he was from himself to correct a damaging fault in his game.”Peer group pressure I think [has influenced Watson to change],” he said. “And also I am very honest with myself in all of my life, let alone my cricket side, and I know when there’s something not right that I need to address. This certainly is one of those because it is not good enough and it’s affecting the team. I know from my perspective I’m very honest with myself to know that’s something I do need to rectify. But also peer group pressure means I certainly need to.”I’ll be doing everything I possibly can to make the adjustments I need to make to be able to get it as right as possible. Run-outs do occur, but trying to limit the amount from my perspective. It’s a fine line. You want to make sure you are putting the pressure back on the West Indian bowlers and fielding team to be able to score the runs and rotate the strike.”But also the fine line of not taking a big risk which means you could lose a wicket as well, whereas being cautious means there can also be some mix-ups as well. It is a fine line and that’s the reason why in games there are run-outs. But from my perspective it is something that hasn’t been good enough and I definitely need to rectify it, because we can’t afford those things to happen.”

Jeetan Patel’s four wickets helped Warwickshire make it three wins from three Clydesdale Bank 40 Group C games

27-May-2012
ScorecardJeetan Patel’s four wickets helped Warwickshire make it three wins from three Clydesdale Bank 40 Group C games with an easy eight-wicket victory over the Northamptonshire.The New Zealand spinner took a superb 4 for 27 and Keith Barker 3 for 27 as Northamptonshire were bundled out for only 148, with only Alex Wakely providing any resistance in making 62 off 78 balls.Warwickshire were comfortably able to chase down their small target with 44 deliveries to spare as Varun Chopra made an unbeaten 87 from 117 balls.Northants won the toss and chose to bat in the hot conditions but they lost David Willey for 24 in the eighth over when he was trapped leg before by Chris Wright. Scotland international Kyle Coetzer then departed for 15 when he launched Patel to Ireland captain William Porterfield at square leg.Captain Andrew Hall made just 5 before he hammered Patel to Porterfield, who took a good catch at deep midwicket. Niall O’Brien could only reach 11 on his return to the side before he was caught and bowled by Patel to become his third victim.Opener Wakely hung around to reach 50 off 62 balls but Rob White (nine) was the next back to the pavilion when he was trapped lbw by Patel. Wakely then walked when he dragged Chris Woakes on to his stumps before James Middlebrook fell to a fantastic one-handed catch by Warwickshire captain Jim Troughton off Barker.Darren Maddy was brought on in the 34th over and removed Northants wicketkeeper David Murphy (11) with his first ball when he was chipped to Rikki Clarke at midwicket. Oliver Stone went for a six-ball duck when he was taken by Clarke at midwicket off Barker before the same bowler pinned Lee Daggett lbw to end the hosts’ sorry innings.Chasing just 149, the Bears were given a let-off when Porterfield was dropped on 18 by Stone at long-on after launching Con de Lange into the air. Porterfield plundered another 12 before Stone made amends in the 15th over when he snared him at mid-off off the bowling of de Lange.This broke an opening stand of 70 with Chopra, who later completed a patient half-century off 80 deliveries. Troughton came to the crease and was on 27 when he played Wakely onto his stumps just before Chopra struck the winning two runs off Stone in the 33rd over.

The ICC has confirmed that next month’s matches between Kenya and Namibia to be played in Nairobi have been postponed

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-2012The ICC has confirmed that next month’s matches between Kenya and Namibia in Nairobi have been postponed until September 2012 due to security concerns.Nairobi Gymkhana was to host the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup match between the two sides from June 6, followed by two 50-over ICC World Cricket League Championship matches on June 11 and 13.The ICC considered holding the match at an alternate venue but decided against it due to logistical difficulties. The final dates and venue are yet to be announced.There have been no international matches in Kenya since Ireland’s tour in February.

Tony Greig has appealed to the BCCI to abandon self interest and “embrace the spirit of cricket and govern in the best interests of world cricket

George Dobell26-Jun-2012Tony Greig has appealed to the BCCI to abandon self interest and “embrace the spirit of cricket and govern in the best interests of world cricket, not just for India and its business partners.”Greig, the South Africa-born former England captain, utilised his invitation to deliver the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture from Lord’s, to call upon India to “accept its responsibility as leader of the cricket world” and ensure that the long-term future of Test cricket and the less powerful Test nations were prioritised above short-term commercialism.At present, Greig said, India’s power was being used to undermine the credibility and worth of the ICC and self-interest was preventing beneficial advancements such as the universal adoption of the Decision Review System (DRS) and a coherent international playing schedule. Greig also criticised “India’s apparent indifference towards Test cricket and… its indifference to the urgency to introduce anti-doping rules and the rumoured corruption hanging over the IPL.”Unfortunately,” Greig said, “India is pre-occupied with money and T20 cricket and sees its IPL and Champions League as more important than a proper international calendar. To compound the problems, India has not only sold part of the game to private interests but some of her administrators are seen to have a conflict of interest, which makes it more difficult for it to act in the spirit of the game.”We can huff and puff as much as we like and have all sorts of external reports,” Greig continued, “but this situation can only be resolved by India accepting that the spirit of cricket is more important than generating billions of dollars; it’s more important than turning out multi-millionaire players; and it’s more important than getting square with Australia and England for their bully-boy tactics towards India over the years. It’s ironic that the world, including India, rightly worships at the Nelson Mandela altar because of his conciliatory attitude but then India eschews his approach by indulging in a little pay back.”The Spirit of Cricket lecture began in 2001 and was named after the late Colin Cowdrey, the former England captain and a past MCC president, who, together with another former president Ted Dexter, were instrumental in including the spirit of cricket as the preamble to the Laws of the game. Last year Kumar Sangakkara gave a widely acclaimed Cowdrey lecture where he talked about controversial issues within Sri Lanka cricket and also about the importance of the sport in his country.Rarely if ever, however, has the Cowdrey Lecture been used to deliver such an obvious rebuke to a specific national board. But Greig, who relinquished the England captaincy in 1977 to play and recruit in Kerry Packer’s rebel World Series Cricket, has never been one to shy away from a battle and pulled no punches in suggesting that India were now too powerful for the good of world cricket.”Much of the game is controlled by the BCCI because it controls enough votes to block any proposal put forward at the ICC board meetings,” Greig said. “The reason for this is some countries would not survive without the financial opportunities India provides. What is just as disturbing is through the Champions League, South Africa and Australia have a partnership with India and are unlikely to risk offending India. The current Champions League 10-year contract generates just under a billion dollars and is 50% owned by India with Australia and South African sharing the rest.The BCCI have continually refused to accept the DRS despite more countries being in favour•Getty Images”As a result of the dependence on India the process adopted by the ICC is simply not working. The ICC cricket committee for example is made up of a group of top class current and former players and umpires. They go to great lengths to make recommendations that they consider in the best interests of the game. These recommendations are then submitted to the CEO’s committee for approval, which normally happens as a formality. The recommendations are then raised at the ICC board meeting and if India doesn’t like them, they are, at best, modified or thrown out. It’s a sorry state of affairs and very frustrating for those who give so much time to getting things right.”Greig did find some praise for the BCCI, crediting them for their successful commercialism and the decision to utilise profits from the IPL to ensure that past players were cared for. “We must acknowledge and praise India for embracing the spirit of cricket through the financial opportunities it provides, which has enabled a number of Test playing countries to survive, and some to thrive,” Greig said. “World cricket would be in a sorry state if it weren’t for the money shared with other countries from India’s television deals.”If there is proof of the leadership India can provide, it is the recent announcement of a one-time benefit payment of $13 million to former national and domestic players for their services to Indian cricket.”But he insisted that such strength carried with it a responsibility and called for India to wield its power more judiciously. And, on the day when the ICC’s executive board, chaired by BCCI chairman, declined to act on the recommendation of the ICC’s cricket committee or chief executives committee and apply the DRS universally, Grieg’s words on the subject were particularly timely.”It can’t be good for the game when the media devotes so many words and so much ink to bad decisions, which ultimately undermines the integrity of some results,” Greig said. “The DRS is not perfect, but it does err in favour of the umpires’ decisions and according to the ICC, fewer mistakes are made with its use. And furthermore, there is less conflict on the ground.”India has two reasons for opposing it: One, because its superstars had such an embarrassing experience with it in the early days. Two, the BCCI argues that the DRS is too inexact. Ironically, the spirit of cricket is batting on both sides in this one. The cavalier approach says DRS is not in the spirit of cricket, but on the other hand, the Indian superstars should act in the spirit of cricket and accept the majority viewpoint.”Elsewhere in the speech, Greig called for the introduction of lie detector tests to help in the fight against corruption, reasoning that it was no greater an imposition into the private life of athletes than routine drugs tests, and called for the IPL to be expanded into “an Asian League” to include teams from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Each of those boards, he said, should be given a financial stake in the competition, which would enable them to finance their other cricketing obligations. He also called for Australia to welcome New Zealand teams into the Big Bash and for England to “set up its equivalent of the IPL and include teams from the West Indies and one team from Ireland.”Despite his concerns, Greig, now aged 65, insisted he was optimistic for the future of the game. “Fortunately, I think most of the problems can generally be addressed if India invokes and adheres to the spirit of cricket,” he said. “Mahatma Gandhi said: “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people. As cricket certainly resides in the hearts and souls of Indian people I am optimistic India will lead cricket by acting in the best interests of all countries rather than just for India.”

Adam Voges and Chris Read benefited from drops in the field by Middlesex to help Nottinghamshire to a commanding 231-run lead

David Lloyd at Uxbridge12-Jul-2012
ScorecardAdam Voges was dropped on 11 and punished Middlesex by adding a further 94•Getty ImagesMiddlesex have pleasantly surprised most of their followers by making an encouragingly good start to life back in the first division. Indeed, but for bad weather during the match against Somerset at Lord’s a month ago they might well have ended the first half of this season as Championship leaders.Reality has now kicked in. Having been rolled over for just 98 on Thursday, through a combination of tricky pitch, fine bowling and some over-ambitious batting, they needed to keep Nottinghamshire on a tight rein. Instead, catches were missed and two former internationals – Adam Voges, of Australia, and England’s Chris Read – made them pay a heavy price.Voges, now in his fifth season with the county but a late starter this year because of IPL duties, scored a grafting century while Read, who continues to make important runs when they are most needed, contributed 71. Both were dropped before reaching 20 but by the time they parted company 143 runs had been added for the sixth wicket and Notts, top of the table by a single point from Warwickshire starting this round of matches, were well on their way to what should be a decisive first innings lead of 231.Rain arrived at tea to prevent the visitors from getting stuck in to Middlesex for a second time – and the forecast for Saturday is far from good. But with another day after that to come there is still every chance of an away win.”The game is set up nicely for us,” Voges said. “We’ve got a pretty handy lead and hopefully we can bowl as well as we did during their first innings. I know Andre Adams [who took 6 for 32 on day one] is licking his lips with so many left-handers in their line-up to bowl at.”Thanks mainly to Adams, Notts had more than their noses in front when play resumed. But at 114 for 4, they were only 16 ahead and, in theory at least, Middlesex had kept themselves in the contest despite dropping a couple of catches on the first evening.Three more chances were to go to ground, however, and challenging spells of bowling from Toby Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh failed to receive the support that was needed.Voges survived on 11 when he edged Roland-Jones into the slip cordon where Ollie Rayner – diving left in front of Andrew Strauss – reached but failed to grasp a knee-high opportunity. Only seven runs had been added to the overnight score at the time but that was by no means the end of Middlesex’s fielding woes.The chance offered by Read, on 15, was more difficult but, at 177 for 5 and with the cat almost out of the bag, it badly needed taking. Instead, a fierce drive against Corey Collymore was parried by Gareth Berg, leaping at point, but fell to ground.”They came at us pretty hard during that morning session and we had a bit of luck, but I think you need it on a wicket like that,” said Voges, who ought to be a candidate to add to his 15 one-day international appearances for Australia but may be considered yesterday’s man at nearly 33.”This was certainly not my best hundred: it was a real graft but I’m very pleased with it,” said Voges. “I really enjoy batting with Chris Read. We run well together between the wickets and he just keeps churning out the scores for Notts. He is a terrific player.”Even when Read departed, Middlesex experienced a bit more misery before the second new ball accounted for Nottinghamshire’s tail. Adams, clearly keen to get bowling again, threw the bat at all four balls he faced – hitting Roland-Jones for six and four, then being dropped at slip by Gareth Berg before playing on.According to the statisticians, Middlesex have already dropped more catches this season than they did in the whole of last year’s Division Two-winning campaign. Now they may need to bat like kings to get out of this contest with a draw.

Sam Billings hit the highest ever one-day total by a Kent player at Canterbury and Darren Stevens snared five wickets

12-Aug-2012
ScorecardSam Billings hit the highest ever one-day total by a Kent player at Canterbury and Darren Stevens snared five wickets in 19 balls to ease the Spitfires to an emphatic 111-run win over Derbyshire.In front of their second best crowd of the summer, Kent wrapped up their 161st Canterbury Week with their fourth win of the Group C campaign secured with 56 balls to spare. Billings’ innings of 143 helped the hosts on their way to a score of 248 for 6, before Stevens took centre stage with the ball to help bowl out Derbyshire for 137.Batting first after losing the toss, Kent suffered two early blows on possibly the hottest day of the season at the St Lawrence ground. Home skipper Rob Key fell for a five-ball duck when he pushed tentatively at a Tim Groenewald leg-cutter to snick one low to Wes Durston at slip.Then, having faced only three balls, Sam Northeast also went without scoring when he departed leg before after playing across a full-length ball from Mark Turner that made it 16 for two.The situation might have worsened had keeper Tom Poynton held on to a diving, one-glove chance to his left from Steven’s first-ball glance, but Poynton could only parry the chance for four to allow the Kent right-hander to get off the mark.Stevens helped steady the Kentish ship with Billings in a third-wicket stand of 85 in 15.3 overs that ended when Stevens dragged one on to leg stump against Chesney Hughes to go for 40 and spark a secondary mini-collapse.Azhar Mahmood hit 8 before he holed out against Peter Burgoyne then Alex Blake, with three to his name, nicked a drive to the keeper off the same bowler to leave Kent in trouble at 123 for 5.That was the cue for 21-year-old Billings to move into top gear. He eased to his 50 from 46 balls then cut loose with an array of shots, the majority of which were orthodox, yet some were impish and improvised in the fashion of another wiry Kent gloveman, the legendary Alan Knott.Sweeping wristily, driving on the up and chipping the ball to all parts, Billings reached his first century for Kent, off a misfield to backward point, from 97 balls and with 11 fours.He really cut loose when in tandem with Geraint Jones as the two wicketkeepers added 117 in 14.1 overs. Billings was so dominant that his senior partner Jones contributed only 38 to their hundred stand.With 143 to his name come the final over of the innings, Billings went all guns blazing for his 150 but missed out with an attempted Dilscoop over fine leg to be bowled. He left to a standing ovation after 113 balls and with 17 fours and a six.Needing 6.22 an over for an unlikely win, Derbyshire were already up against it after a tight opening spell from Mark Davies of 3 for 25.Any lingering hopes were completely blown away when Darren Stevens replaced Davies at the Nackington Road End to bag 5 for 36 – including a 19-ball purple patch of 5 for 7 that eased Kent to victory.

Deccan Chargers, the Hyderabad-based IPL franchise, has been officially put up for sale by its owners Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2012Deccan Chargers, the Hyderabad-based IPL franchise, has been officially put up for sale by its owners Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited. The sale, announced in a newspaper advertisement on Thursday, will be through a bidding process that will be completed on September 13, with the winning bid announced on the same day.The franchise, whose owners have been facing financial problems, had approached the Indian board for help and the advertisement says the bid process will take place “under the aegis of the BCCI”. The tender notice makes it clear that the franchise will continue to be based in Hyderabad and that the winning bidder will acquire the franchise on an “as is, where is” basis – implying retention of the franchise name – but leaves the possibility of a fresh franchise agreement between the new owner and the BCCI open.Chargers, which has been reportedly mortgaged to banks, has been under pressure from its lenders to service its debt obligations. The bulk of the winning bid could go towards paying back the debt, with the notice directing the winning party to pay the consideration into a bank account as decided by the lenders. Five percent of the winning amount will have to be paid directly to the BCCI.Deccan Chronicle had been trying to sell the whole or part of the franchise for some time now, with T Venkattram Reddy, the Deccan Chronicle chairman, telling the recently that they were in advanced talks with potential buyers. But the deal reportedly ran into complications with some investors in the franchise asking the board to get involved.The franchise was bought by Deccan Chronicle for $107 million in the first IPL team auction in 2008. At the time, it was the third-most expensive franchise, after Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.Chargers endured a difficult 2012 IPL season, finishing at No.8, above the wooden-spoon holders Pune Warriors. They were led by Kumar Sangakkara and coached by the former Australia batsman Darren Lehmann. The other notable overseas players include Dale Steyn, Cameron White and JP Duminy. They took the IPL title in 2009, when they were led by Adam Gilchrist, but with a different group of players.