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ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL qualifier match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils in Chennai

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran24-May-2012

Match facts

Friday, May 25, 2012

Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Mahela Jayawardene will be looking to raise his game for the big occasion•AFP

Big Picture

Virender Sehwag and Delhi Daredevils are in a familiar position. Like this year, they had utterly dominated the 2009 season, before their mighty batting line-up faltered in the semi-final, much like their flop against Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday. This time though, with the changed format, they get a second opportunity.One of Daredevils’ puzzling decisions in the game against Knight Riders was to send in Ross Taylor as low as No. 7, below even teenager Pawan Negi, who is in the side primarily as a left-arm spinner and isn’t known for his batting exploits. TA Sekar, Daredevils’ team mentor, said the team had reassessed its batting order the game; so Taylor can expect to bat at a more customary position on Friday.Chennai Super Kings are also in a familiar position. Once again, they seem to be at their best in the final stages of the tournament. After several days of nervously watching other teams’ results go their way, Super Kings looked unstoppable when they took apart Mumbai Indians on Wednesday.They have always looked like the team with the greatest depth in their batting, and that was amply demonstrated against Mumbai Indians. Even after losing M Vijay and the IPL’s highest run-scorer Suresh Raina as early as the second over, their crisis men Michael Hussey and S Badrinath stabilised the innings, before the flamboyance of MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo switched the innings mode from build to blast. Even without using the heavy-hitting of Albie Morkel, even against the bowling of Lasith Malinga, Super Kings ran up 187 and coasted to victory.The trouble for Super Kings is that they need to bring their A game three times in five days, to beat each of other three playoff teams, if they are to make it a hat-trick of titles. They have done it once. Can they do it a second time on Friday?

Form guide

(most recent first)
Chennai Super Kings: WLWWW
Delhi Daredevils: LWLWL

Players to watch

In five years of the IPL, Mahela Jayawardene is yet to win a playoff match. He’s only had two chances: once in 2008, when Kings XI Punjab were thrashed by Super Kings, and then the defeat to Knight Riders earlier this week. In addition, his form this season hasn’t matched the high standard expected of him. In successive World Cups, Jayawardene has shown his ability to lift his game for the big occasion, something Daredevils would love him to do over the next three days.Ben Hilfenhaus has taken over from Doug Bollinger as Super Kings’ Australian fast bowler of choice. He’s played seven matches since his arrival from the West Indies, and hasn’t gone wicketless even once. After Dwayne Smith clubbed a succession of boundaries off Hilfenhaus to steal a last-ball victory, Hilfenhaus showed his temperament by bouncing back with consecutive Man-of-the-Match performances. Besides the outswinger which serves him well even in the longer formats, he has a quick bouncer, an accurate yorker and he likes to bowl full and wide to stifle batsmen. He accounted for both Sehwag and David Warner in the last game against Daredevils. Can he do it again?

Team combination

Super Kings don’t like to tinker with their team composition, re-securing their core players even during the re-shuffle before the 2011 season. They have used only 17 players this year, the least by a franchise, showing how much they like a settled side. After Shadab Jakati’s tight spell in the previous game with the new ball, expect him to retain his place. The only question for them is whether to retain M Vijay, or to pick S Anirudha if he is fit.Daredevils will have to ponder whether to play an extra spinner in Chennai, or stick to their preferred pace-heavy attack. Irfan Pathan had injured his hand while attempting a return catch in the game against Knight Riders, but team mentor Sekar said Irfan was fit to play on Friday.

Meetings this season

Both encounters this season have been one-sided: Daredevils won by eight wickets at the Kotla after four run-outs undermined Super Kings, and less than two weeks ago Hilfenhaus ran through the Daredevils top order to set up a straightforward nine-wicket* victory at Chepauk.

Stats and trivia

• Suresh Raina has scored only 341 runs this season, his lowest tally in any IPL
• Morne Morkel is three wickets away from equalling Malinga’s record of 28 wickets in an IPL season
• For stats on Super Kings’ spinners’ struggles at home, click here

Quotes

“We have a team that is better suited to the conditions in Chennai. We have seamers who are adequate but not startling.”

“Ross got a 21-ball fifty against Royal Challengers in Bangalore. He showed his class there and I think he is in a good space and I think he should fire tomorrow.”

*05.15 GMT May 25 The margin of victory has been corrected

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria17-May-2012

Match facts

Friday, May 18, Hyderabad
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)It took a while for Shaun Tait to play his first game this season, but he’s been in good form since•AFP

Big Picture

Rajasthan Royals are favourites to win against Deccan Chargers. Should they win, they will need to beat Mumbai Indians in Jaipur to get to 18 points and remain in contention of a playoff spot. However, one bad day and Royals’ campaign will be over. Royals’ team composition is not very different from Chargers, but they have worked well within their limitations to keep their chances alive. On the other hand, Chargers’ weak bowling and poor fielding has kept them languishing at the bottom of the table.Royals have been the perennial underdogs. They started the season by surprising other teams with strong batting performances. Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Dravid, Owais Shah, Brad Hodge – all contributed in Royals’ early wins. The team bears a different complexion now because of two impact players – Shane Watson and Shaun Tait. Watson scored an unbeaten 90 in a total of 126 after Tait dented Pune Warriors with his three wickets. Royals need another big performance from the two and watch out for the in-form trio of Shikhar Dhawan, Cameron White and Dale Steyn.

Form guide

(most recent first, completed games)
Deccan Chargers : LLLLL
Rajasthan Royals: WLWWL

Players to watch

Shaun Tait spent ten games sitting on the bench. When he finally got a chance, he had batsmen hopping around with his pace and accuracy. He has picked up six wickets in four games at an economy of 5.01 to quell doubts about his waywardness.After making a circumspect start, Cameron White found his range to score 477 runs at a strike-rate of 153.37. He has hit five half-centuries and his 20 sixes are only behind Chris Gayle’s 44. Unfortunately, apart from him and Dhawan, there haven’t been any major contributions from the rest.

Stats and trivia

• Deccan Chargers have taken 34 catches in the field, which is the lowest for any team this season. Rajasthan Royals’ 45 catches are only second to Mumbai Indians’ 48.
• Deccan Chargers have picked up 62 wickets in 14 games – the lowest this year. Royals are second on the list with 83 wickets.
  

  Quotes

  “We’re all artists and we all have our critics. Luck, chance and destiny is all in your hands. No one else’s,”

Worcestershire’s hopes in the Friends Life t20 have taken a blow with the news that Sohail Tanvir has been delayed in arriving in the UK

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2012Worcestershire’s hopes in the Friends Life t20 have taken a blow with the news that Sohail Tanvir, the Pakistan bowler, has been delayed in arriving in the UK due to complications in obtaining a visa.Tanvir had hoped to arrive early next week to join the Worcestershire squad as their second overseas player alongside Australian batsman Phillip Hughes, in time for their match against Glamorgan on June 20 but his unexpected call up to the Pakistan ODI squad meant he is unable to complete the visa application in Sri Lanka.He was called up to the Pakistan T20 squad but then was then asked to stay on for the ODI series. He has taken five wickets in two T20s and three ODIs, one abandoned, with two more matches to come.”It was hoped that the final part of Sohail’s visa application could be completed while in Sri Lanka,” David Leatherdale, Worcestershire’s chief executive, said. “Unfortunately, this has not been the case. Sohail will now be travelling back to Pakistan on conclusion of the ODI series on Tuesday to complete the process.”It is expected that Sohail will then be able to join us early in the week commencing June 25 for our last five important group matches. We hope that he will make the same impact as he did in the two match series against Sri Lanka, which saw him win the man of the series.”Worcestershire begin their campaign away to Warwickshire on June 15 and hope Tanvir’s T20 record – 87 wickets at 23.14, including 17 wickets in 21 international T20s for Pakistan – can help improve their poor recent record in the Flt20; they have not qualified for a quarter-final since 2007 and have never been to finals day.

Yorkshire concluded their most successful Friends Life t20 campaign by beating Derbyshire by 21 runs to earn a home tie in the quarter-finals

08-Jul-2012
ScorecardAdam Lyth made his highest T20 score as Yorkshire secured a home quarter-final•Getty Images

Yorkshire concluded their most successful Friends Life t20 campaign by beating Derbyshire by 21 runs to top the North Group and earn a home tie against Worcestershire in the quarter-finals. It was Yorkshire’s seventh win of the campaign, the sequence being interrupted by two no-result fixtures, and their only defeat was inflicted by Durham who beat them by two runs in the opening match.Put in to bat by Derbyshire, Yorkshire were given the ideal start with an opening stand of 131 by Adam Lyth and Phil Jaques, a county record for the first wicket, and they never looked back, although the visitors worked hard to restrict them to 180 for 5, their joint highest score of the season.Lyth was the faster scorer of the two openers but both made good progress. The pair put on 57 in the initial six-over powerplay and with Lyth reeling off a series of quality drives through extra cover he reached his 50 off 34 balls. Tom Knight was pulled for six by Lyth and the stand raced into three figures in 11.5 overs before Jaques reached his half-century from 34.The stand went past Yorkshire’s previous best for the first wicket of 116, set earlier this season by Andrew Gale and Jaques, and it was just six short of Yorkshire’s highest for any wicket – 137 by Gale and Herschelle Gibbs against Durham at Leeds in 2010 – when Lyth was caught on the midwicket boundary off Chesney Hughes.Jaques followed in the next over when Knight had him caught at deep midwicket off Alex Hughes to leave Yorkshire on 150 for 2 in the 17th over. Although David Miller and Joe Root both weighed in with sixes, Naved-ul-Hasan prevented a late flow of runs by picking up a couple of wickets.Derbyshire did little early on in their innings to suggest that they could mount a realistic challenge, Usman Khawaja being caught behind by Gerard Brophy from Richard Pyrah’s second ball in the third over and Durston having his leg stump flattened by Mitchell Starc.Chesney Hughes and Wayne Madsen brought about something of a revival with a 55-run stand in seven overs during which Madsen drove Azeem Rafiq over long-on for four and hit his next ball for four. Madsen was then caught and bowled by Rafiq for 21 and it became 77 for 4 as Hughes was run out when he could not beat Pyrah’s return to the wicketkeeper.Jon Clare and Alex Hughes fell in quick succession and it looked all over at 99 for 6 but Naved had other ideas with 68 wanted from the last five overs. He blasted Pyrah for three consecutive sixes off the first three balls of the 16th over, claiming 24 in total off the over.He and Garry Park put on 55 in four overs for the seventh wicket before Park was caught in the deep off Moin Ashraf who bowled Tim Groenewald in the same over. Chris Durham fell to Starc and Naved was denied sufficient of the strike to continue his onslaught, ending unbeaten on 40 from 22 balls with four sixes.

Steve Rixon, Australia’s fielding mentor, will take over as head coach for the one-day internationals against Afghanistan and Pakistan in the UAE to allow Mickey Arthur to focus on preparations for the World ICC Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2012Steve Rixon, Australia’s fielding mentor, will take over as head coach for the one-day internationals against Afghanistan and Pakistan in the UAE to allow Mickey Arthur to focus on preparations for the World ICC Twenty20. Arthur will return to head coaching duties for the T20 leg of the UAE trip, which is followed closely by the world tournament in Sri Lanka.It won’t be the first time in recent years that Australia have left their head coach at home – Tim Nielsen took a break during the ODIs in England that followed the 2009 Ashes loss and his assistant Troy Cooley was placed in charge. However, this year’s move has more to do with the wider role of the head coach following the Argus review than allowing Arthur time off.”Part of the broader scope of the new Australian team head coach role since the Australian team performance review was conducted was to have a wider view over the team’s plans and how we prepare and we have a very important T20 tournament coming up,” Arthur said. “I’ll spend the time away from the team to really hone our T20 plans and study the opposition ahead of the ICC World Twenty20.”We have great experience and harmony within our support staff group now and I know that Steve will do a terrific job in partnership with Justin Langer and Ali de Winter while I’m away.”Rixon is no stranger to handling an international side, having been head coach of New Zealand from 1996 to 1999. He will be in charge for four matches and will act as a selector during the ODIs, as Arthur does when he is in command.”Of course you look forward to opportunities like this; it’s not every day you get to coach the Australian cricket team and I’m looking forward to that extra responsibility and working with Michael Clarke,” Rixon said. “In saying that, my job will be to simply carry on with all the good work and planning that has been done in recent times and hopefully hand back over to Mickey after four good wins.”The Australians fly out for the UAE on Tuesday and their tour begins with a one-off ODI against Afghanistan on Saturday. That is followed by three one-dayers and three T20s against Pakistan.

Yuvraj Singh, who is expected to mark his return to international cricket during the first Twenty20 in Visakhapatnam, has said he is treating his comeback as a new beginning

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2012Yuvraj Singh, who is expected to mark his return to international cricket during the first Twenty20 in Visakhapatnam, has said he is treating his comeback as a new beginning. The match is expected to be attended by several of his friends and family members.Yuvraj overcame a rare germ cell cancer, diagnosed late last year, after undergoing chemotherapy in the USA and was named in the Twenty20 squad after being declared fit by doctors at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.”It is hard to believe that I will be playing for India again,” Yuvraj said. “A few months back I had trouble climbing four steps, now I can’t wait to take the field. It is like starting a new life.”Yuvraj has received a lot of media attention over recent months, with fans praying for his speedy recovery. It continued when he resumed training and not surprisingly, much of the attention in the lead-up to the first Twenty20 against New Zealand has centered on him. However, the captain MS Dhoni cautioned that the increased attention could be distracting to the player and the team, especially with the World Twenty20 coming up in Sri Lanka.”The whole world is talking about his comeback in a manner as if they are helping him out. In a way, it puts the burden on the individual,” Dhoni said. “It’s important to keep it as normal as possible, not to let him think what has really happened in his life.”He has fought through it as he is a strong character. As I said, he needs to turn up and just enjoy his cricket. That’s what he has done from age-group cricket till now. So he should not think about anything else.”Yuvraj’s return was welcomed by his fellow team-mates, some of whom last shared a dressing room with him back in November 2011, during the home Tests against West Indies.”Now this is what we call a comeback,” said Harbhajan Singh, who is also making a return after being dropped. “There can’t be a bigger inspiration in cricket than Yuvi. It is a privilege to be back in the dressing room with him.”Batsman Suresh Raina said his story was an inspiration. “Yuvi is such a great fighter. He has put in so much effort, and worked really hard at the NCA,” Raina said. “You will get to see this when he comes out on the field. He is a team man. We are pretty confident that he will do well.”

Matthew Hayden scored 380 on the second day at Perth, surpassing Brian Lara’s Test record of 375, as Australia finally declared on 735 for 6

Lynn McConnell07-Sep-2012Close, 2nd day

Scorecard

Matthew Hayden once said the stimulation he received from hitting a cricket ball – and hitting it well – would never wane. Zimbabwe found that out the hard way today as Hayden put every other Test match batting record in the shade en route to an unforgettable 380. The day revolved around his remarkable achievement to such an extent that it was almost forgotten that Australia amassed 735 for 6, the highest total in 126 years of cricket on Australian soil, before taking pity on Zimbabwe’s bowlers.To their credit, Zimbabwe made a brave fist of it in the final session, reaching 61 before Jason Gillespie blasted a ball through Dion Ebrahim’s defence to bowl him for 29. By stumps, there were 79 for one wicket, still a small ocean short of the 536 needed to avoid the follow-on.But whatever be your perspective, this was Hayden’s day, as he once again revealed the hunger of the late starter. Not only did he surpass the 375 scored by Brian Lara against England at Antigua in 1993-94, but he became only the second Australian to score a triple century on home soil – something beyond even a certain Donald George Bradman. His energy levels never ebbed, and 400 was a distinct possibility – especially after Steve Waugh decided to let the batsmen come back out after tea – when he pulled a ball from Trevor Gripper to backward square leg, where Stuart Carlisle took a low tumbling catch.The record was just reward for a batsman who has been the outstanding performer of the 21st century, and with four Tests still to play in the calendar year, Hayden finds himself well within reach of 1000 runs – he has 837 after this epic – in a year for the third successive time.

The straight drive proved a reliable, and punishing, weapon throughout his innings. There were also flashing cuts and disdainful pulls aplenty. With the attack enfeebled to such an extent that they appeared to be on some mediocre auto-pilot, Hayden was also more inclined to loft the ball straight. He ended his innings having struck 11 sixes, one short of equalling Wasim Akram’s world record.Hayden’s inexorable progress past successive milestones meant that Adam Gilchrist’s truly remarkable cameo – if you can call a century that – was relegated to the shade. He finished with 113 not out – his ninth Test century – perhaps the only time in the history of the game that an 84-ball hundred has had to play second fiddle. Gilchrist did manage some crumbs of comfort from the record-breaking table, as both batsmen made over a hundred runs between lunch and tea.Hayden, who had also scored a century between tea and stumps yesterday, joined Walter Hammond – who achieved the feat against New Zealand at Auckland in 1932-33 – as the only man to do that twice in the same innings.Sean Ervine may have achieved his career-best figures with four wickets, but they came at a cost of 146 runs. Gripper, who dropped Hayden at midwicket, when he offered his only chance at 335, finished with 2 for 142, as five bowlers went for over 100 runs.The only thing that Zimbabwe managed to do right was to deny Steve Waugh the unique honour of having scored a hundred at each of Australia’s contemporary Test grounds. Waugh had been untroubled on his way to 78, but Sean Ervine got one to catch the inside edge and rebound high into the air off the pad, following up well enough to snaffle a difficult chance.The rest of the day was all about one man’s tryst with history. Hayden has often professed to a fondness for fly-fishing, and today, the bait he used snared the biggest fish of them all. Goodbye Brian Lara, hello Matthew Hayden – king of the batting mountain.

The long-delayed Cricket Kenya elections are now on course to be held by the end of the year after the removal of the last obstacle posed by the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2012The long-delayed Cricket Kenya elections are now on course to be held by the end of the year after the removal of the last obstacle posed by the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association, which had delayed them taking place over the summer.The NPCA submitted its list of candidates for the CK board last week, ending months of wrangling over the validity of internal elections. Disgraced former CK CEO Tom Tikolo had won a court order earlier in the year preventing NCPA delegates from representing the association in elections which had originally been due to take place in February.Tikolo’s action prevented most of the country’s largest body, NCPA, from participating in the elections. He was then elected the NPCA Chairman last August even though he had been forced to stand down as CK chief executive at the end of 2009 after failing to account for board funds received by him.An unexpected outcome of the NPCA meeting was that Jackie Janmohamed was picked to stand for the post of CK chairman which is vacant after Samir Inamdar decided not to seek re-election. Janmohamed was a legal advisor for the old Kenyan Cricket Association which was removed from office in 2005.”We as Nairobi have decided that we want Janmohamed to take over the chairmanship at CK,” Tikolo said. “We don’t know who Coast and Rift Valley will put up so we expect a big battle. What we are working on is for CK and NPCA work together: I can assure you that we have sorted out all the problems we had since the year started.”

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has advertised for the job of national coach, starting next April

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2012Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has advertised for the job of national coach, starting next April. By implication, current coach Alan Butcher’s contract will not be renewed.”ZC wishes to advise that the position of national team coach will become vacant on April 1, 2013 … ZC is therefore inviting applications for the position,” the Zimbabwe board said in a release.Former England batsman Butcher, 58, was appointed coach in February 2010, replacing Walter Chawaguta. While not yet officially confirmed, the advertisement would suggest that the away series against West Indies in March 2013 will be Butcher’s last in the role.The board set November 30 as the deadline for those interested in filing their applications. It said that all candidates must have played first-class cricket, must have at least a recognised Level 3 coaching certificate, and must have at least five years of coaching experience at the senior level.Zimbabwe are also looking for a new coach for their Under-19 team, to replace former New Zealand allrounder Chris Harris, who stepped down from the position in October following the U-19 World Cup. The team didn’t have much success at the tournament, finishing in 15th place, above only Namibia.

Kumar Sangakkara hoped better communication between administrators and players would in future help avoid the dearth of Test cricket that Sri Lanka face in 2013

Andrew Fernando in Melbourne23-Dec-2012Kumar Sangakkara hoped better communication between administrators and players would in future help avoid the dearth of Test cricket that Sri Lanka face in 2013. When the Sydney Test ends early in the new year Sri Lanka will have played their last Test against top-flight opposition until December. Two-thousand-and-thirteen had shaped to be a busy year for Sri Lanka in the longest format, but the removal of five Tests now means a glut of ODI cricket will now overwhelm their schedule.A two-Test series in the West Indies was the first to be scrapped, as both boards scrambled to make their players available for the duration of the IPL – a significant boon for that tournament, given Sri Lanka and West Indies were finalists in this year’s World Twenty20. In place of the cancelled Tests, the teams will play a budget-friendly ODI tri-series involving India, which can only take place after the Champions’ Trophy, which was the time Sri Lanka had originally been slated to host South Africa at home.That three-Test series was then postponed until 2015, with the Sri Lanka Premier League, which is scheduled for early August, ensuring that South Africa’s visit could not be moved to that month. The culling of Tests from Sri Lanka’s schedule had already become a theme of the present administration, who also did away with one home Test against then world No.1 England in March this year, as well as replacing two Tests against India in July and August with a five-match ODI series.The news of the Test removals were met with personal disappointment among the seniors in the Sri Lanka team, but in November captain Mahela Jayawardene defended the board’s decisions, suggesting the preference of limited-overs cricket over Tests would allow the board to continue to function despite its financial distress. If both of the two Tests scheduled in Zimbabwe materialise, Sri Lanka will play no more than six Tests in the year, with four of those having been against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.”I think each country should play a minimum of 10 to 12 Test matches a year,” Sangakkara said. “Hopefully 12 Test matches a year. We need to make sure that we find time to do that. I think players and administrators and everyone should really be together and talk on these things and understand that Test cricket is important. That’s the only way cricketers are going to improve.”Sri Lanka last played South Africa at home in 2006, when they defeated the visitors 2-0 in a two Test series. At 35, Sangakkara may not be playing Test cricket in 2015, while 35-year-old Mahela Jayawardene and 36-year-olds Tillakaratne Dilshan and Thilan Samaraweera are also likely to consider retirement before that series.”South Africa coming to Sri Lanka would have been a fantastic opportunity for us to try and beat the number one side in our own conditions. We have done that before. So it’s disappointing. Hopefully, there will be more Test matches played and more thought put into scheduling and having a discussion as to how we fit in ten to 12 Test Matches a year.”Sangakkara also said the detriments of the paucity of Tests would spread beyond the Test specialists in the team, like Samaraweera, Prasanna Jayawardene, Chanaka Welegedara and Suraj Randiv.”It’s not just disappointing for them, even for us. Whatever the form you play, you want to play more Test cricket. So hopefully after next year we can be more proactive in our scheduling and we can talk on which countries are willing to come and play and how are we going to schedule Test cricket so that it is kept as the ultimate form of the game.”