England Name Unchanged Squad For Trent Bridge

England have named an unchanged squad for the second Test against the West Indies, which begins at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Friday (25th May).
The selectors have kept faith with the 11 players who pulled off a five-wicket win at Lord's with fast bowlers Graham Onions and Steven Finn also in the squad.
"There were some very impressive performances across all five days of the first Test both from individuals and the team as a whole and we were made to work hard for the first victory of the summer," National Selector Geoff Miller said.

"We know the West Indies will again prove challenging opposition and our squad will be looking forward to preparing for another tough match later this week."
England Test squad: Andrew Strauss (captain), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Steven Finn, Graham Onions, Kevin Pietersen, Matthew Prior, Jonathan Trott, Graeme Swann

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Newell confirms interest in Bangladesh coaching job

Mick Newell, the Nottinghamshire director of cricket, has confirmed that he has held discussions regarding taking up the Bangladesh coaching role. While Richard Pybus remains the first choice of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to replace Stuart Law, ESPNcricinfo understands that talks between the parties have hit a stumbling block over financial issues and the BCB has been in touch with two other candidates - including Pybus - or their agents.

Newell has gone on record for the first time to confirm the story published by ESPNcricinfo on May 4linking him with the job. "It would be a huge decision," he told ESPNcricinfo. "I would like to coach at the international level and, having not been an international player, these opportunities do not arise that often. I have had a couple of conversations with an agent about the position, but I would need a great deal more information before making such a massive decision and I have had no direct contact with the BCB.

"I also feel we are on the threshold of something quite good at Nottinghamshire. It would be very difficult to leave here."

Newell was also considered for the Bangladesh coaching role before Law was appointed in July 2011. Since then he has coached England Lions in the West Indies, while it is understood that Tamim Iqbal, an overseas player at Nottinghamshire in 2011, has provided positive reports about Newell's ability to the BCB.

BCB media committee chairman Jalal Yunus has said that it is "difficult" to name a coach, particularly at the moment. "It is still uncertain; till today, it will be difficult to name someone. The progress at this stage means that it won't be completed in a week, probably you can say at the end of the month.

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Pietersen fined for Twitter outburst

Kevin Pietersen has been fined an undisclosed sum for comments he made on Twitter about Nick Knight following a disciplinary hearing involving Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, and team director Andy Flower.

Pietersen has made no secret about his disagreements with Knight, the former England batsman who is now a Sky Sports commentator, and recently posted this remark. "Can somebody please tell me how Nick Knight has worked his way into the commentary box for the Tests?? Ridiculous."

An ECB statement said: "The hearing considered recent comments made by Pietersen on Twitter to be prejudicial to the interests of the ECB and a breach of the England player conditions of employment in relation to clauses regarding public statements.

"Pietersen has been fined an undisclosed sum, part of which has been suspended for 12 months, in accordance with the terms and conditions of his England central contract."

Pietersen's animosity is thought to originate from Knight's suggestion when his form was at its lowest that he was no longer worth a place in England's one-day side.

In January, Sky agreed a new four-year deal to show live international and county cricket believed to be worth about £280 million ($440 million) betrween 2013-17 with an option for a further two years. The deal provides the bulk of the ECB's income.

The ECB punishment of a player for rubbishing a member of the media is at the very least out of character, and perhaps unique. The justification is said to be that that Pietersen sinned for making a sweeping generalisation about Knight's ability as a commentator rather than attacking a specific comment.

Earlier this week Pietersen was asked whether he considered leaving Twitter. "No, not at all, no. I won't stop, no," he said.

It is the second time Pietersen has found himself in trouble over Twitter after he reacted to being dropped from the one-day squad in 2010 with an outburst which he said was meant to be sent as a private message to a friend. "Done for rest of summer!! Man of the World Cup T20, and dropped from the T20 side too. It's a f**k-up ..." He was fined an undisclosed sum on that occasion, too.

In 2009 Tim Bresnan also caused controversy when he swore at a follower. He later apologised to Flower who said at the time: "If you are an England player you have obviously got to behave in a certain way It is pretty simple if you are on a public site like that - you have to behave yourself.

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Yusuf is a magical player' - Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir, the Kolkata Knight Riders captain, has said that the side's decision to keep the faith in their "core group" of players, including Yusuf Pathan, has been a factor in their strong performance this season. Yusuf, who had a series of low scores throughout this IPL, came good in the first qualifier against Delhi Daredevils on Tuesday, his unbeaten 40 off 21 deliveries crucial in taking Knight Riders to the final.

"After we lost to Chennai Super Kings, at Eden Gardens, I was asked why I stick to the core group of players… the answer is, because I want them to believe that I have complete faith in them," Gambhir said after the qualifier. "Only that can boost them to give their best. That only will make them stand up to these tough challenges. I was also asked why I persist with Yusuf Pathan. I have always said that he is a magical player and that he will come good when it would matter the most. I was proved right today."

Mahela Jayawardene, the Daredevils batsman, said that the partnership between Yusuf and Laxmi Shukla - 56 runs in four overs - took the game away from his side. "In a Twenty20 game, it is tough to say anyone is out of form," Jayawardene said. "I think there was a great platform for him [Yusuf] to come and play his natural game, which is hitting the ball clean. Our guys bowled a few good yorkers. When they did not hit those zones marginally, he hit a few good [shots]. Laxmi batted really well too. I think his cameo gave Yusuf the confidence to go after our guys."

Gambhir said that after their narrow loss to Kings XI Punjab, Knight Riders could have dropped players, which he was not in favour of. "We could have easily chopped and changed when we lost to Kings XI. We could have easily made harsh decisions but it is important [to] stick to the core group of players and make them believe that everyone backs them. Maybe that's one of the reasons we have done well.

"The players who are there in the KKR dressing room are there because I have complete faith in them. Whoever sits in the dressing room, I completely back them. That is why they are part of KKR.

"Everyone has been talking about Yusuf and Manoj Tiwary, but the way Manoj batted in Mumbai, those 40 [41] runs he made were as important as any runs in the tournament. I have always mentioned that those small contributions make you win games. For me Shukla's contribution [24 not out off 11] made the difference [in the qualifier]. It is not about someone getting 60 or 70 at the top of the order. It is about someone who comes lower down the order or someone like Rajat Bhatia who can bowl two-three overs at a good economy-rate."

When asked about Brett Lee missing out on the playing XI, Gambhir said that no one was bigger than the team. "It is about the best XI that is going to go out and win the game for us. It is not about Brett Lee. It is not about individuals. From me to Jacques Kallis to no one. If I feel that I am not hitting the ball well and there is someone else who can do the job for KKR, I will be the first one sitting out. It will always be about KKR when I am [in charge]."

Brendon McCullum, the Knight Riders wicketkeeper and former captain, called Gambhir an "outstanding" leader, saying that he had led from the front. "He is very soft-spoken in the changing room and around the group, and on the field he leads through performance and through actions," McCullum told IPLT20.com. "Technically, he has been very good and has used Sunil Narine incredibly well and he has got a lot out of the other guys as well. He has been excellent as a captain so far."

Gambhir, McCullum's opening partner, has been Knight Riders' best batsman by some distance this season, making six half-centuries compared to the three fifties the rest of his batsmen have scored in all. "He has been hitting the ball as well as anyone in the tournament," McCullum said. "I, from the other end, try to give him strike - that is probably the reverse of the roles that we thought of at the start of the tournament. I can't take credit [for] the partnerships where he has played beautifully and made my work easy, and I just try to hang in around and get him on strike."

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Cook backs use of floodlights in Test cricket

Alastair Cook, the batsman at the centre of England's successful run chase against West Indies at Lord's, has expressed support for the authorities' growing willingness to use floodlights in Test cricket.

The ECB has traditionally been ultra-cautious in advocating the use of floodlights outside the one-day game but that suspicion has been markedly reduced this summer with England and West Indies both committed to using artificial light throughout the three-Test series whenever the occasion demands. The ruling came from the ICC's match referee, Roshan Mahanama, during a pre-series briefing and neither board took up their right to appeal against floodlights being used at any of the three grounds hosting a Test in the series - Lord's, Trent Bridge or Edgbaston.

There has been no change in the ICC regulations governing use of floodlights, but there has been a shift in interpretation. Mahanama stressed that players would only leave the field if conditions were regarded as unsafe and expressed a stronger commitment to the regulation which states: "If in the opinion of the umpires, natural light is deteriorating to an unfit level, they shall authorize the ground authorities to use the available artificial lighting so that the match can continue in acceptable conditions."

Cook, whose opinion as England's Test vice-captain and captain in 50-over cricket is significant, has no complaints and he indicated that the rest of the side were comfortable about a shift in policy that puts the entertainment of the public first. He experienced first-hand the difficulties of batting under lights when England collapsed to 10 for 2 in four hostile overs at the end of the fourth day but he survived to make 79 in England's five-wicket win.

"I think that fourth day was a prime example of why lights should be used in Test cricket," he said. "There are occasions when it works to your disadvantage like when it's pretty dark, such as the last 15 to 20 minutes on that day when we had to go and face it.

"But we were talking about it in the dressing-room and if those lights weren't on we probably wouldn't have played much that day and I think for the crowd and the entertainment we've got to try and get as much play as we can. It will work in your favour one day and others you'll have to go and face four overs in not ideal conditions but hopefully we'll benefit from that situation at some stage as well."

The MCC has been as a champion of floodlit Tests at night and, in common with the ICC, it has conducted research into pink and orange balls that might be more suited to night Tests. But when it comes to poor light in the day time, the common-or-garden red ball does not seem to have outlived its usefulness.

"It feels quite strange," Cook said. "It's just different because we are exploring new ground but I think it worked really well. Because Test cricket is over five days, if one side are bowling under lights and then the other has to bat in those conditions all the time you might be able to change the game too much but at Lord's because of the nature of the wicket, it was fine. There's a good case for using them now.

"We were saying we don't think we'd have got much play, certainly not the 80 or 90-odd overs we got, and it probably would've been hard to get a result. We wouldn't have got more than 30 or 40 overs. We wouldn't have won that game without those lights.

"We need a bit more experience of playing with them but at lord's when the wicket was good it didn't seem to affect what the ball did."

Without the willingness of England and West Indies to resort to floodlights, the scourge of bad light would have severely disrupted the Lord's Test, frustrating spectators and potentially costing the ECB revenue when many counties are under severe financial pressure. Test cricket has benefited significantly from the investment in faster-draining outfields and it is logical to hope that floodlights, better quality on most English Test grounds these days, can bring similar dividends.

It remains to be seen whether England and South Africa will remain so committed to floodlights later this summer in a series that could decide the No. 1 Test ranking. Nothing in ICC regulations is ever entirely clear: the use of floodlights is subject to the interpretation of clause 16 on playing which allows for additional playing time at the end of regulation hours to recover time lost to the weather.

Cook, though, spoke for many who tire of interminable late finishes because of weather-interrupted days, a common feature of Test cricket in England, when he stated: "Of course common sense always has to be used at certain stages. But in an ideal world eleven 'til six is best."

Denesh Ramdin, West Indies' vice-captain, did not sound quite as enthusiastic. He not only had to bat under floodlights, but keep wicket as well and he took several painful blows on the hands during the Test. "It was a bit difficult with the pavilion in the background," he said. "It was difficult and it was challenging."

Shivnarine Chanderpaul had also expressed surprise at use of floodlights at the end of two prolonged innings in which he batted nearly ten-and-a-half hours in the match. "He didn't seem to have any problems, he batted long enough I think," Cook joked. "Like always in cricket, and any sport, sometimes when you go into the unknown it's different."

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Dhoni assault knocks out Mumbai

Chennai Super Kings seem to thrive in times of difficulty. At one point in this season, they were hanging by a thread to stay alive and now they're just two wins away from a third straight title. They didn't flinch after losing two wickets in two balls in the second over, they didn't allow a few quick wickets in the latter half of their innings to affect the tempo built by an impressive counterattack. Instead, they took the fightback to a higher level, led by their captain MS Dhoni, whose blistering assault left Mumbai Indians scarred on their way out of the competition. Super Kings' determination and tenacity proved too much for Mumbai Indians, a promising campaign ending in disappointment.

Asked to bat on one of the most productive tracks this season, Michael Hussey and S Badrinath rode on some fortune to help their team recover from trouble and Dhoni then assumed that attacking avatar that had made him a sensation when he hit the international scene. The efforts of those three, together with Dwayne Bravo's late surge boosted Super Kings just as Mumbai Indians dropped their guard with the ball. Only Dwayne Smith's early attack in the chase gave them some hope, but that didn't last long.

Some late swing played a hand in Dhawal Kulkarni's two early strikes and Harbhajan Singh was miserly with the new ball, but Hussey and Badrinath took the challenge head on. Both were initially fortunate to find boundaries off edges with the seamers still finding some movement. But they also middled a few, and found the gaps consistently despite the field being pushed back after the Powerplay. Both drove well, Badrinath cracking Kulkarni past mid-off and Hussey creaming Lasith Malinga through extra cover. When Harbhajan brought his medium-pacers on - his ploy to shuffle the bowling backfired - Super Kings ensured the flow remained unaffected. Kieron Pollard was pulled for two fours in an over, the 10th of the innings, after the first timeout - the cue, presumably, for Super Kings to step up further.

Harbhajan was himself smashed for two sixes before Hussey took RP Singh for two boundaries. The first four overs after the timeout yielded 47. Hussey, Badrinath and Ravindra Jadeja, however, fell in a space of 11 deliveries, but the last eight overs of the innings were to produce 105 runs.

The man largely responsible for that was Dhoni, who flicked his first ball for four over midwicket. Though he has come to exercise far more restraint in his batting, the approach today betrayed no signs of that recent tendency to accumulate steadily before opening up. To his advantage, Mumbai Indians doled out a spate of length balls that he wasn't willing to spare. James Franklin was dispatched over long-on for the biggest six of this tournament, Kulkarni was thrashed down the ground and past cover, and he even had time to make room and cart RP over extra cover.

The stand-out shot was his favourite whiplash, imparting tremendous force against a length ball from Malinga that found itself in the deep-midwicket stand. Bravo, in that penultimate over, launched Malinga - who bowled his most expensive spell of this season - over midwicket and extra cover before finishing off with two sixes off Kulkarni. One of them was battered flat over wide long-off, the power and disdain behind the shot summing up the domination of bat over ball in those late overs.

Some of that contempt for the bowling was also on display in Smith's early ambush of Ben Hilfenhaus - the same bowler who was taken for 14 off the last three balls by Smith in Mumbai Indians' thrilling win in an earlier meeting. He used his wrists well, pulled, flicked, swept and found the boundary with ease in a quick opening stand of 47.

But Shadab Jakati, brought in for this game in place of seamer Yo Mahesh, bowled with discipline at the other end. He bowled a tight line, and his fielders backed him up well. Some superb fielding by Jadeja at point caused a mix-up between Smith and Tendulkar, who was run out, and Smith soon followed, spooning a catch in the same region. Albie Morkel, who got some away movement, had Dinesh Karthik and Rohit Sharma nicking to the keeper, and Ambati Rayudu fell slog-sweeping against R Ashwin. When Franklin was dismissed in the 14th over with 84 still to get, the task was even beyond Pollard. Mumbai Indians' depth in batting promised a close fight, but the pressure of a big chase in a must-win game proved too big to overcome.

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Mumbai face dangerous Chennai in knockout clash

Match facts

Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big Picture

Such is the knockout format of the IPL that a side that won eight and lost seven games during the league stage now has a chance to win the tournament. When as many as four out of nine teams - eight during the first three seasons - make the playoffs, such things are bound to happen. Chennai Super Kings, the defending champions, happen to be that side this season.

It is not Super Kings' problem that the format is such. While they have had to depend on three other teams messing up their qualification chances this season, the fact is that those three sides did mess up. And Super Kings would still not have qualified had they not won a few games from seemingly hopeless positions. Against Rajasthan Royals, they needed 43 from 22 deliveries. Against Royal Challengers Bangalore, they needed 43 from 12.

Mumbai Indians, the Champions League Twenty20 2011 winners, may have won ten games, but as always, haven't quite dominated as much as a side with so much quality should have. They have had their share of come-from-behind wins as well, including chasing 172 after being 51 for 5 against Royal Challengers.

Mumbai Indians have scored their runs at 7.43 an over; Super Kings at 7.85. Mumbai Indians have gone for 7.54 an over; Super Kings for 7.58. There is not much to choose between the two on these parameters. On a Bangalore pitch, which has been the best this season for batting, with a scoring-rate rate of 8.31 an over, Mumbai Indians' powerful line-up gives them a slight edge, as does their tendency to contain by taking wickets rather than choking the opposition batsmen.

These sides played the 2010 IPL final, which Super Kings won by 22 runs after Mumbai Indians adopted some strange tactics, sending Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh ahead of Ambati Rayudu, JP Duminy and Kieron Pollard. Whatever their form going into the playoffs, no side plays the crunch games better than Super Kings.

Form guide

Chennai Super Kings: LWWWL (most recent first)
Mumbai Indians: WLWWL

Players to watch

Suresh Raina, the highest run-getter in the IPL, has made 341 runs this season, but they have come at a strike-rate of 126.76, as against a Twenty20 career strike-rate close to 140. The sight of him heaving sixes over midwicket in the yellow Super Kings uniform has been a fixture throughout the five seasons of the IPL. Will he help them avoid elimination tomorrow?

Kieron Pollard has had a productive season, making 204 runs at 145.71 and picking up 15 wickets at 7.93. Add to that his sharp fielding and safe catching. He had come in at No. 8 in that 2010 final with the game almost lost by then. What will he do in the 2012 eliminator?

During his Man-of-the-Match performance against Delhi Daredevils in Chennai, Ben Hilfenhaus uprooted Virender Sehwag's off stump with a late outswinger in the first over, and three balls later, dismissed David Warner. Michael Hussey has said that the new ball will be crucial in Bangalore. That adds more importance to Hilfenhaus' role.

Team combination

Dwayne Smith's explosiveness with the bat - demonstrated earlier this season when he had three balls from Ben Hilfenhaus to score the 14 needed for victory, and did - should get him into the XI. Lasith Malinga and Pollard are guaranteed starters. Who will get the fourth overseas player's spot - James Franklin or Herschelle Gibbs? With so many hitters in the line-up, it makes sense to go for the all-round skills of Franklin. Their latest opening combination, Sachin Tendulkar and Smith, worked for Mumbai Indians against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday. Will Smith partner Tendulkar again on Wednesday?

With MS Dhoni playing both the overseas allrounders, Dwayne Bravo and Albie Morkel, whenever they've been available, two spots remain. Hilfenhaus, who has been outstanding apart from those three deliveries to Smith, should take one place. Will Super Kings choose their highest run-getter of the season, Faf du Plessis, over the seasoned Michal Hussey? Ideally not.

Meetings this season

In the opening game of this season, Super Kings collapsed to 112 in Chennai, and Richard Levi shut them out with a fifty on IPL debut. It was Mumbai Indians' turn to collapse, from 134 for 1 to 159 for 8, at the Wankhede Stadium, before Smith's last-over assault got them home.

Stats and trivia

• Super Kings have the best win-loss ratio in the IPL - 1.45. Mumbai Indians are next with 1.34.
• Mumbai Indians have taken the most wickets in the IPL - 480.
• Michael Hussey has the highest batting average for Super Kings - 39.76.
  Quotes
  "We've stumbled through a number of times to get into the semi-finals. I remember when Dhoni hit two sixes against [Kings XI] Punjab a couple of years ago, that was the difference in finishing fourth and in finishing sixth or seventh. You can look at it as a lucky way, because other teams were defeated in the last few games. But we were able to get enough points in all of our matches leading up to the finals."
  Chennai Super Kings' batsman Michael Hussey

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PCB sees India as potential hosts for Australia series

Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has hinted at asking India to host a limited-overs series between Pakistan and Australia later this year. Pakistan are seeking a venue for the series after Sri Lanka's refusal to stage it.

Ashraf, who has been invited by the BCCI to watch the IPL final in Chennai on Sunday, said he will discuss the idea with the Indian board officials, but maintained the main agenda would be to revive bilateral cricketing ties between India and Pakistan.

The other possible venues for the series are Malaysia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The series was scheduled to comprise five one-dayers and three T20Is to help the sides prepare for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.

"It isn't a bad idea (considering India) but a good choice to maintain the healthy relationship with them (India), but let us see the mood there," Ashraf told ESPNcricinfo. "But our primary purpose is to revive ties with them. However, in the meantime we have three options under consideration to host our series."

Ashraf was optimistic about a healthy dialogue with the BCCI, following India's decision to invite Pakistan's domestic Twenty20 champions, Sialkot Stallions, to participate in the Champions League Twenty20 later this year, in India.

"We are ready to play them and I can see that they [India] are also positive and gradually the ice is melting," Ashraf said.

The PCB has been planning on starting its own Twenty20 league, but Ashraf didn't sound optimistic about launching it this year. Various companies have made presentations to the board, but each company requires a minimum of six months to plan the league.

"We were hoping to have it this October but I think due time constraints we might have to push it back," Ashraf said. "However, the plan is in the pipeline and if we aren't able to get it organised this year then we have to find another window next year."

Eight companies, including Ten Sports, Nimbus and Geo TV, have already made their pitches to the PCB

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Tino Best replaces injured Gabriel

Tino Best, the Barbados fast bowler, has been recalled to the West Indies squad in England after Shannon Gabriel, who made his Test debut at Lord's, was ruled out of the remainder of the tour with a stress reaction in his back. Best is due to arrive in England on Wednesday.

Gabriel only bowled five overs in England's chase, during which he removed Kevin Pietersen, and subsequent investigation showed he would not be available for the second Test at Trent Bridge which starts on May 25. The management have decided to send him back to the Caribbean to recover. Kemar Roach (ankle) also struggled towards the end of the first Test while Ravi Rampaul missed the match with a neck problem.

"Shannon made the complaint late in the first Test against England and scans conducted following the match showed a stress reaction in the lower spine," CJ Clark, the West Indies physiotherapist, said.

"He was subsequently ruled out of the second Test and, after further consultation, we feel that to prevent this injury developing any further, it is in Shannon's best interest for him to return to Trinidad & Tobago for rest and rehabilitation to ensure he is fully fit when selected for West Indies in the future."

Best, 30, played the last of his 14 Tests in 2009 against Bangladesh in Grenada when West Indies were hit with a mass player walkout. However, he was recently named in the one-day squad for the series against Australia although, he did not make the XI for any of the five matches.

He has taken 28 Test wickets at 48.67 with a best of 4 for 46, although his record against England is better with 13 wickets at 32.37 from five matches. One of those games came in 2004 at Lord's which is where the well-known sledge "Mind the windows, Tino" came from Andrew Flintoff when Best was trying to slog Ashley Giles in the stands towards the end of the match.

Best has forced his way back into contention with consistent performances in the regional four-day competition in the Caribbean where he picked up 17 wickets at 20.64 during the 2011-12 season.

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Pietersen wants Gayle return

Kevin Pietersen has said it would be "brilliant for the game" if West Indies recalled Chris Gayle for the remainder of the Test series against England.

Gayle has not played Test cricket since December 2010 following a much documented fall out with the WICB. But, with both sides having moved to patch up some of their differences and Gayle's involvement with the 2012 IPL season now over - his team, Royal Challengers Bangalore, have been eliminated despite Gayle being the leading run-scorer in the round-robin stages - it has raised the possibility that he could be recalled to the Test squad although Darren Sammywas cagey on the matter.

West Indies, suffering from some brittle top-order batting and a lack of depth in their bowling, lost the first Test at Lord's by five wickets. Gayle, with more than 6,000 Test runs and over 70 Test wickets, could strengthen both departments.

"It will be brilliant for the game if he comes back to play this Test match," Pietersen said. "He is an entertainer. People want to watch entertainers. They don't want to watch people blocking the ball. They want to watch entertainers. He is one of those people that people will pay their money to watch him play and if he comes back that could be brilliant for the series. He is a superstar and he is one of my real good mates in cricket. I love the way he plays."

From an England viewpoint, Pietersen expressed his delight in Andrew Strauss' return to form. Strauss made his first Test century since November 2010 at Lord's though Pietersen insisted he never doubted the England captain.

"The wheel was going to turn at some point and it turned at Lord's," Pietersen said at a Chance to Shine event. "It's brilliant for English cricket. I have been through a period where I didn't score a hundred for a while. It just turns and since then I have scored I don't know how many hundreds. Strauss is a fantastic guy and I was more happy for him scoring that hundred than I have been for any other team-mate when they have scored a hundred. I loved the fact that he did that.

"Somebody's going to get it from the media at one stage in the month or the year. That's just what happens in our job. So long as you just accept that and understand that and concentrate on the ball as a batter, or the areas you bowl as a bowler, then everything's fine. You just have to park that to one side and just do your job. But the wheel turns for everyone. Everyone should notice that by now."

Pietersen also suggested that the "cricketing world" will be eagerly anticipating England's forthcoming Test series against South Africa later in the season. It will be contest to decide the No. 1 Test team in the world if England go on and complete victory over West Indies.

"We are going to have to play very good cricket because the South African team is a very strong cricketing unit with some fantastic players," Pietersen said. "We will have to play really positive cricket too at every opportunity. I think the cricketing world will be looking forward to that South Africa series

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Kolkata in IPL final for first time

After four seasons of at times embarrassing underachievement, Kolkata Knight Riders will play for the IPL trophy on Sunday. For almost two-thirds of the qualifier against Delhi Daredevils, they nearly blew it, though the odds were stacked in their favour right from the start. On a pitch where the first ball of spin turned sharply, Knight Riders had three spinners waiting; Delhi Daredevils stuck to playing three specialist fast bowlers.

Daredevils' strategy did not seem to have backfired when Knight Riders lumbered to 106 for 4 in 16 overs. In the chase, despite losing Virender Sehwag and David Warner in the first 13 balls, Daredevils were right in the hunt at 83 for 2 after 10 overs. But like they had suddenly bolted away in the last four overs of their innings, Knight Riders choked Daredevils in the latter half of the chase. Daredevils did not help their cause, sending Pawan Negi ahead of Ross Taylor, who finally came in at No. 7 when the asking-rate was more than 14 an over.

The late boost that carried Knight Riders to a challenging total on the difficult pitch came from the unlikeliest quarters. Yusuf Pathan, who had done almost nothing the entire season, and Laxmi Shukla, playing in place of an unfit Manoj Tiwary, carted the quicks for 56 off the final four overs, and 36 off the final two, as Knight Riders surged to 162.

Gautam Gambhir had once again given Knight Riders a strong start, taking the fast bowlers for several boundaries. He had sped to 32 off 16 deliveries before he failed to make his ground to a direct hit from mid-off after having backed up too far. Not for the first time after Gambhir's departure, Knight Riders lost their way. Only 58 runs came off the next ten overs as Negi, the left-arm spinner, and Irfan Pathan strangled the batsmen.

Just when it seemed Knight Riders had wasted Gambhir's efforts upfront, Yusuf and Shukla launched into the quicks, who did not let up on the pace. Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav kept bowling in the late 140s with Morne Morkel not far behind. But the faster they bowled, the ball only came on better on the slow pitch.

Yusuf began the assault in the 17th over, carting a Morkel length ball for a straight six. Shukla took the lead in the 19th, making room to loft Morkel over extra cover for four and pulling him over deep square leg for six. It was to get worse for Daredevils in the last over. David Warner dropped Yusuf as he ran across from long-on and ended up parrying it for six. Yusuf cover-drove and flicked the last two deliveries for fours.

The core of the attack that had taken Daredevils to No. 1 position after the league stage had been taken apart. Yadav and Morkel went for 37 each, Aaron for 48, including 21 in that final over.

The last thing Daredevils needed at that stage was a rough decision, and pat it came in the second over of the chase. Warner, who had just smashed Shakib Al Hasan for six over long-on, missed the next ball as he pushed forward, but was given out caught by umpire Billy Doctrove as the ball popped up to the wicketkeeper off the pad. Sehwag departed next ball, edging an attempted cut off the impressive L Balaji to the keeper.

Just when it seemed Daredevils had done themselves in even before Sunil Narine came on, Naman Ojha and Mahela Jayawardene responded with the highest stand of the match. The duo took Shakib, who had a forgettable game, for 15 runs in the fourth over. Bowling too quick to get any bite from the surface, Shakib was lofted inside-out and down the ground for two fours and a six.

Though the general lack of pace in the Knight Riders attack started to make its presence felt, Ojha and Jayawardene kept the runs coming. The duo was in control when Ojha cut a long hop from Bhatia straight to Gambhir at backward point. A few tight overs and Venugopal Rao's struggle further increased the pressure on Jayawardene. The threat of Narine, who gave just seven runs in his first two overs, forced him to attack the other bowlers, eventually leading to him being stumped off Abdulla in the 15th over.

With 55 needed off 32, Sehwag sent in Negi ahead of Taylor, who hit his third ball from Narine for six over wide long-on. But it was too late by then. Daredevils have another chance to get it right in the second qualifier on Friday.

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Pace v spin as teams target first final

Match facts

Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big Picture

Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders have easily been the best sides this IPL. It is not only the points table which tells you that. The other two sides in the playoffs have not been as dominant. Mumbai Indians have won as many games as Knight Riders have, but have not been remotely as clinical; Chennai Super Kings have had to rely on other sides' messing up to sneak in.

Neither Daredevils nor Knight Riders have made it to an IPL final before. One of them will do that tomorrow. Daredevils have traversed the entire length of the points table this season, ending on top following their last-place finish in 2011. Realising that their batting was too dependent on Virender Sehwag last season, they brought in heavyweights like Kevin Pietersen, Mahela Jayawardene and Ross Taylor. While Taylor has almost sleepwalked through the season, Pietersen's impact while he was available was huge. The arrival of David Warner has filled the void left behind by Pietersen and Jayawardene has been steady.

Knight Riders' transformation from the side once led by Sourav Ganguly is now complete. They were the target of numerous jokes for the first three IPL seasons but no one's laughing now. A run of eight consecutive defeats in 2009 has given way to six consecutive wins this season. Had Knight Riders not blown a middling chase against Kings XI Punjab at home, they would have won nine in a row.

A heavy-duty Daredevils line-up is up against the only attack to go for less than seven runs an over this season. The venue tilts the contest slightly in favour of Knight Riders. The pitch at the Sahara Stadium in Pune has been a tricky one for batsmen, as Pune Warriors' Robin Uthappa pointed out. "It's the toughest wicket we have played in the country and it's very difficult to score runs here," Uthappa said. Only Wankhede Stadium, among the regular venues, has had a lower run-rate this season, 7.11, than Pune, 7.34.

Knight Riders defended 136 quite comfortably against Warriors a couple of days ago in Pune. Daredevils had chased down 147 in 16 overs against Warriors in Pune. Should be some contest tomorrow. The loser will get another match on Friday to make the final.

Form guide

Delhi Daredevils: WLWLW (most recent first)
Kolkata Knight Riders: WWLLW

Players to watch

Despite the presence of other big guns, Daredevils have still relied, though to a lesser extent than previous season, on Virender Sehwag. Their captain has responded with 484 runs at a strike-rate of 164.62, including five consecutive half-centuries. The slowness of the Pune pitch had made no difference to Sehwag when he took the Warriors bowlers for an unbeaten 87 off 48 balls. Will he smash Sunil Narine tomorrow, like he said he would have done had he not got out early when these two sides last met?

Twenty-two wickets at 5.14 runs an over. Sunil Narine has been nearly unplayable, with even Sachin Tendulkar failing to pick him. It is very difficult to decipher from his release whether it is an offspinner or the flicked carrom ball, unlike in the cases of Ajantha Mendis and even R Ashwin. How will Daredevils tackle him?

That Gautam Gambhir has made six fifties this season and the rest of his team-mates put together have managed three says it all. Knight Riders, though, have managed to win their previous two games without a big contribution from their captain. Gambhir has made lots of runs this season on pitches where scoring them has not been easy. Will he manage to click again?

Team combination

Warner, Jayawardene and Morne Morkel should take three overseas player spots. Will Daredevils risk playing Taylor as the fourth? Will they stick with the allrounder Andre Russell, who went for 51 runs in their previous game? Or will they play Roelof van der Merwe for an additional spin option? They went in with two Indian left-arm spinners Pawan Negi and Shahbaz Nadeem when they played Warriors in Pune.

Knight Riders could stick to the same side that won in Pune and Mumbai, with plenty of spin options in Narine, Shakib Al Hasan, Iqbal Abdulla and Yusuf Pathan.

Meetings this season

Daredevils won a rain-affected game by eight wickets in Kolkata. Knight Riders restricted Daredevils to 153 in Delhi in the return match and won by six wickets with Brendon McCullum making a fifty. Jayawardene and Gambhir had a heated altercation in that game after the former was given not out when he edged Jacques Kallis to the wicketkeeper.

Stats and trivia

• Knight Riders have scored the least runs this season as a team, 2150 in 15 games compared to Daredevils' 2365 in 16.
• Knight Riders have conceded just 6.99 runs an over, by far the lowest this season. The next best are Mumbai Indians, who have gone for 7.54. Daredevils have given away 7.73.
• Warner and Sehwag have the highest strike-rates this season, 172.02 and 164.62 (min 100 runs)
  Quotes
  "I told everyone 'give this line-up a year or so and we will dominate,' and that's exactly what we have done."
  Morne Morkel isn't surprised by Daredevils' improvement this season

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More holes than Gayle could plug

Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Muttiah Muralitharan could only do so much. Royal Challengers Bangalore's campaign suffered because their Indian players struggled

Where they finished

	Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers played some special innings. Most of their team-mates did not © AFP  Enlarge
Related Links Series/Tournaments: Indian Premier League Teams: India | Royal Challengers Bangalore

An agonising fifth: Royal Challengers Bangalore ended level with Chennai Super Kings, who finished fourth in the league, on 17 points but missed the playoffs because of a marginally inferior net run-rate after losing their last match to eighth-placed Deccan Chargers. Royal Challengers won eight and lost seven out of 16 games, and had one washout.

Key player

By the end of the league stage, Chris Gayle was IPL 2012's top scorer, with 733 runs; Shikhar Dhawan was second with 569. Among batsmen with at least 400 runs, Gayle's strike-rate - 160.74 - was also second best; Virender Sehwag had 484 at 164.62. Gayle also had the most 50-plus scores, eight (one century, seven half-centuries) in 14 innings; Gautam Gambhir had six in 15.

Gayle hit 59 sixes; Kevin Pietersen, Cameron White and Sehwag together hit only 59. Thirteen of Gayle's sixes came during a 128 off 62 balls against Delhi Daredevils, equalling the record for most sixes in an IPL innings. He hit a six every eight balls on average during the season. He hit a boundary (sixes and fours) every four balls.

There was method to the madness as well. Gayle would often start slowly and play himself in before feeling settled enough to begin relentless hitting. For someone who scored breathtakingly quickly and primarily through the air, Gayle's performances were relatively risk-free. He contributed 31% of Royal Challengers' runs.

Bargain buy

Gayle's performance this season isn't especially surprising, though, because he was as dazzling for Royal Challengers in IPL 2011, after he was signed by them as a replacement for Dirk Nannes. What is surprising, however, is how Royal Challengers managed to retain Gayle for peanuts, relatively speaking, instead of him going into the auction pool, where he would certainly have been bought for more than the $550,000 Royal Challengers paid him. Maybe Gayle was just being loyal since Royal Challengers picked him after everyone shunned him at the 2011 auction?

Flop buy

Royal Challengers bid $1m for Vinay Kumar, making him the third most expensive purchase at the 2012 auction after Ravindra Jadeja ($2 million + undisclosed secret tiebreaker bid) and Mahela Jayawardene ($1.4 million). Vinay took 19 wickets in the league matches, fourth highest overall and the highest among Indian bowlers. Most of his wickets were of proper batsmen as well. His economy rate, however, was 8.59 over 55.5 overs, the third worst, after Amit Singh and Veer Pratap Singh, among bowlers who bowled a minimum of 30 overs this season. Royal Challengers lacked a quality fifth bowling option and Vinay's profligacy exacerbated an insurmountable problem.

When Vinay bowled in the first 15 overs of the innings his economy was 7.14 per over, and in the first six it was 6.80. When he bowled in the last five overs, though, he conceded 10.85 runs on average. Also, 11 of his 19 wickets were in the last five overs, when batsmen usually swing with abandon. Royal Challengers continued to persist with Vinay at the death, though, because he was a front-line medium-pacer and they didn't really have alternatives.

Highlight

AB de Villiers v Dale Steyn, round one, Chinnaswamy Stadium. Chasing 182, Royal Challengers needed 76 off 37 deliveries against Deccan Chargers when de Villiers began his innings. By the time Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mayank Agarwal were dismissed, they needed 39 off 18. Steyn, who had two overs remaining, had conceded only seven in his first two. What followed dropped several jaws. De Villiers nimbly used the width and depth of his crease to adapt to the world's fastest, and possibly best, bowler's line and lengths. He moved back to short balls and forward to slower ones, pulling between deep midwicket and long-on. He then moved back and towards leg to alter the length of a yorker and smite it over extra cover, before shuffling outside off to scoop over short fine leg. De Villiers took 23 runs off Steyn's third over and after that Anand Rajan stood no chance. Royal Challengers won with seven balls to spare.

Lowlight

That Royal Challengers stayed in the competition as long as they did was largely due to their overseas batsmen. The Indians, Virat Kohli and Saurabh Tiwary in particular, were below-par. Kohli, who was the only player Royal Challengers retained in 2011, scored 364 runs at a strike rate of 111.65. Combined with an average of 28, those figures are not terrible, but Royal Challengers needed much more from him, especially since Kohli was in terrific limited-overs form coming into the IPL.

Saurabh Tiwary was bought for $1.6m in the 2011 auction. He didn't do much to justify his price tag that year, and he's done lesser this year. Tiwary scored 191 runs in 11 innings, at an average of 24 and strike-rate of 112, unimpressive figures considering Royal Challengers' home venue probably had the best batting pitches of the tournament. His fielding was often clumsy for a 22-year old.

Verdict

Royal Challengers rarely found the right combination. Had their Indians been in form, they would have had excellent team balance, but because Kohli and Tiwary were struggling, their batting line-up was overly reliant on Gayle and de Villiers. And because Zaheer Khan and Vinay didn't pull their weight, and due to the lack of a quality Twenty20 allrounder, their bowling struggled to contain and took far fewer wickets compared to the competition. The upshot was that, at the business end of the league, Royal Challengers' tail started at No. 7 but the five-man specialist bowling attack wasn't very good apart from Muttiah Muralitharan.

They had tried Daniel Vettori and Murali in tandem before deciding they needed a third overseas player who could bat; so Murali was dropped. They tried using Andrew McDonald as an allrounder, and although he was economical with the ball, McDonald did not strengthen the batting enough. So Dilshan became a permanent fixture at the top of the order, and that worked to an extent. The bowling, however, was at its weakest and eventually Vettori, the captain, began to sit out to allow Murali into the XI. The Royal Challengers think-tank did not think it necessary to strengthen a misfiring pace attack by playing either Dirk Nannes, the highest T20 wicket-taker, or Charl Langeveldt, who was renowned for his death bowling during his South Africa career. The batting was too shallow to sacrifice an overseas batsman. In the end, there were more holes than plugs.

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James Pattinson close to full fitness

James Pattinson, the Australia fast bowler, has said he is recovering well from a back injury that ruled him out midway through the tour of the West Indies last month. Pattinson will train at Australia's Centre of Excellence in Brisbane from Tuesday, and he expects to bowl at 100% intensity by the end of next week.

Pattinson hurt his back while fielding during the third day of the second Test in Trinidad. He was making a comeback after suffering a foot stress injury during the second Test against India at the SCG in January. He bowled 11 overs and took a wicket in the first innings, but didn't bowl in the second. Though he isn't back to full fitness, he was named in the squad for the ODIs against England and Ireland in June-July.

"I'm bowling about three times a week now at about 80% intensity and building that up and hopefully (I'll have) three weeks of going 100% in the nets before getting over to England," Pattinson told AAP.

"I'm looking for a bit of match intensity, so hopefully I can get out there in the middle. It'll mostly be white-ball practice with the one-dayers coming up."

The emergence of Pattinson and Pat Cummins has increased the pool of Australia's fast bowlers and the competition for places in the squad. Australia's coach, Mickey Arthur, hoped the Pattinson-Cummins combination would make their attack a force during the Ashes in 2013.

With an Australia A tour of England later this year, Pattinson wants to get used to the conditions before the Ashes, if picked.

"It's an exciting time for Australian cricket at the moment with a lot of young guys coming through," Pattinson said. "I don't think we've played in these conditions before so it'll be a great learning curve before the Ashes next year.

"Hopefully it gives us a bit of an edge over the Poms and we can go over to the Ashes with one up over them."

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