Rain ends successive evening games

 

Persistent rain has now washed out successive evening games in the Champions League Twenty20. Both involved Indian sides. The first, in Durban on Wednesday, sent IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders out of the tournament. The second, in Cape Town today, did not end Mumbai Indians' chances of making the semi-finals but it did force a no-result with the IPL side having worked itself into a strong position despite all their batsmen, barring the unbeaten Kieron Pollard, gifting their wickets away.

Despite injuries to two of their quick bowlers, Ryan Sidebottom and Moin Ashraf, and despite their spinners, particularly Adil Rashid, dishing out hit-me stuff, Yorkshire were able to limit the might of the Mumbai Indians line-up to 109 for 5 in the 15th over. Pollard and Harbhajan Singh combined to finally give the Yorkshire spinners the treatment they deserved, in a sequence of 6, 6, 4, 6, 4. To complete the chaos, Pollard was also dropped off the third ball of that sequenc.

With two overs to go, Mumbai Indians would have eyed a total in excess of 180, and would feel hard done by the downpour, though the drizzle would have affected the Yorkshire bowlers adversely as well.

When Dwayne Smith walloped the second and third deliveries of Joe Root's opening over of innocuous offspin over the leg side boundary for sixes, Yorkshire looked headed for some serious punishment. But Mumbai Indians would soon begin to even the stakes by self-destructing. Sachin Tendulkar took the lead by running himself out in the third over.

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Sixers all but through to semis after convincing win

 

Lions scored 56 runs off their last 57 deliveries, losing seven wickets, to completely undo a quick start provided by Gulam Bodi, who scored 61 off 44. Although Jean Symes provided quick 23 in the end, Lions ended with an underwhelming 137, which Sydney Sixers chased with ease despite a middle-overs stumble of three wickets for 14 runs. With their third win out of three and superior net run rate, Sixers are now all but through to the semi-finals*.

Bodi and Symes continued in the same form that had helped Lions win their previous match, against Chennai Super Kings, but Sixers wove a comeback around the two. They scored 84 in 10 overs between them, the rest managed just 53. Not only were the others guilty of going slow, they also got out after eating up those deliveries.

It was not the two leading Sixers pace bowlers that slowed down Lions, but the medium-pace of Shane Watson and Josh Hazlewood that took the wickets to keep pegging Lions back. Bodi, on the other hand, kept hitting the ball over midwicket and extra cover. Pat Cummins' first over went for 14, and Mitchell Starc went for a huge six in his first.

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Pietersen in squad for India Tests

 

Kevin Pietersen has been added to England's squad for the forthcoming Test series in India, so bringing to an end one of the most extraordinary stand-offs in the history of the game between a star player and those appointed to rule.

It has taken 73 days for England and Pietersen to patch up their differences since he followed up what should have been one of the most triumphant moments of his career - a stirring century in the Headingley Test against South Africa - by talking of deep and perhaps irreparable divisions with the ECB and some members of the England dressing room.

Once the parties began to talk, the "reintegration process" of Pietersen into the England side took only a couple of days. It just took them an extremely long time to talk.

Pietersen flew back to England from the Champions League in South Africa this week for a series of meetings in Oxford and London with Andy Flower, England's director of cricket, the captain Alastair Cook and key England players with whom his relationship had become increasingly fractious. Even a delayed flight could not prevent the speedy patching up of their differences.

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International XI arrives Pakistan for Twenty20

 

A team led by former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya and managed by former West Indian batsman Alvin Kallicharan has arrived in Karachi on Thursday afternoon. The international XI team will play two exhibition Twenty20 matches against a Pakistan Stars XI at National Stadium in Karachi this weekend, ending a near four-year drought of international cricket in the country.

Several other players including batsman Ricardo Powell, fast bowlers Jermaine Lawson and Adam Sanford from West Indies, and Andre Nel and Nantie Hayward from South Africa landed earlier in the morning. South Africa allrounder Justin Kemp has withdrawn due to his domestic cricket commitments while two Afghanistan players - Shapoor Zadran and Mohammad Shahzad - will reach Karachi tomorrow from Kabul.

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PCB to appoint batting coach

 

The Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to appoint a full-time batting coach and has advertised for the post on its website. The role of batting coach is currently being handled by the head coach, Dav Whatmore, with the coaching staff also including Julien Fountain (fielding) and Mohammad Akram (bowling).

The advertisement calls for candidates with at least Level III coaching accreditation, and at least five years' experience working with top cricketers. The deadline for applying is November 4.

Pakistan cricket teams have generally had plenty of quality bowling options to depend on, and the batting has been seen as the weaker department. The idea of having a batting coach has been circulating for last three years, but it didn't get the PCB's approval till now.

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KKR crash out of Champions League after washout

 

Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL champions, became the first side to be knocked out of the Champions League Twenty20 when their third game, against Perth Scorchers, was washed out in Durban with only 14 overs having been bowled in the first innings. Knight Riders, who had lost their first two games in the tournament, needed a win to remain in contention for a place in the knockouts.

The skies had gone overcast before the toss happened, and Gautam Gambhir, with one eye on the expected rain, chose to bowl on what his counterpart Marcus North called a "bat-first wicket". Knight Riders' bowlers stuck to their goal of restricting Perth Scorchers to a reasonable total till the rains came down.

Brett Lee had Herschelle Gibbs caught at cover-point off the fifth ball of the game. Yusuf Pathan, bowling for the first time in the tournament, used the turn and bounce available on a brown Kingsmead surface to get through three tight overs of offspin.

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Titans Beat Aucland Aces

 

The underdogs Auckland Aces' three wins out of three in the Champions League T20 was one of the developing feel-good stories of a tournament which is widely seen as being overrun by the cash-rich teams from the IPL. Auckland's run of victories ended in a dismal manner as their batting collapsed to 113 against an efficient Titans side in Durban.

Auckland's top order had prospered with such regularity in the tournament that their middle order hadn't been tested in any of their three matches so far. Against the Titans, though, the star names at the top finally floundered exposing the Auckland batting's lesser lights, who failed the test after a series of unwise slogs.

It was Titans' top order which flourished this time, as their openers Jacques Rudolph and Henry Davids put on their second substantial partnership in a row. They lashed 74 at nearly nine an over, with a boundary coming in all but two of the first ten overs as Davids again showed off his power-hitting, while Rudolph once more showed he can thrive in T20s, mixing a series of off-drives with some reverse-sweeps.

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Lions beat Chennai super kings

 

The asking rate for Lions hit 10 an aver at the end of the seventh over, they had no momentum and they looked rather like cubs in the headlights, but over the next 13 overs they kept up with the rate without a hint of panic.

Gulam Bodi, who seemed to possess just one shot - the pick-up over midwicket - now began to drive through extra cover to end with 64 off 46. Neil McKenzie stayed cool as he had done in chasing a similar total against Mumbai Indians, but needed Jean Symes' equally cool 39 off 23 finish the chase with three balls to spare.

While Lions were tigerish in the field to keep sending back well-set Chennai Super Kings batsmen before they could cause irreparable damage, their opponents bowled two crucial no-balls and were guilty of bowling length balls during the tense chase. The first no-ball arrived just after Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus had bowled the first six overs for just 24 for 2. Bodi had been struggling for 15 off 23 just before the over with the no-ball began.

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Sydney Sixers baet Yorkshire

 

Newlands witnessed its second consecutive one-sided game as Sydney Sixers needed just 8.5 overs to breeze past Yorkshire's 96 and give the county side the rudest of welcomes to the main draw. The Sixers showed why they are among the better bowling units in this competition, keeping Yorkshire to a score below 100 under sunny skies. The seamers shared all nine wickets to fall, striking with such regularity that the innings failed to gather any momentum.

It was as if the teams were batting on different pitches. It was a collective struggle for Yorkshire as several across-the-line swipes failed to find the middle of the bat; punches and lofts hit the toe end of the blade and didn't have enough to clear the fielders. That only two batsmen went past the 20s - the highest score was Joe Root's 25 - was indicative of how tough it was. When Brad Haddin and Michael Lumb swung and swished, the ball hit the sweet spot more often than not and found the boundary 16 times during their association. Yorkshire managed only 11 boundaries in all.

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World XI to play two Twenty20s in Pakistan

 

In a bid to revive international cricket in Pakistan, a World XI will play two exhibition Twenty20 matches against a Pakistan Star XI, the Sindh sports minister Dr Mohammad Ali Shah has announced.

The 'World XI' team is comprised of former and active professional players from Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa and Afghanistan. The two matches will be played on October 20 and 21 at the National Stadium Karachi with former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya slated to lead the World XI against a Shahid Afridi-led Pakistan XI.

"World XI team will be arriving in Karachi on October 18 to play a series of two twenty20 matches," Shah said. "There are some notable player touring and this is a big breakthrough.

"I have been working from last one year to make this event possible. We have finalised all the arrangements to hold these matches in a befitting manner under tight security. Both matches will be played under floodlights. The event will give a soft image of Pakistan around the world and would encourage the teams to visit Pakistan."

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All-round Mahmood crushes KKR

 

A high impact all-round performance from Azhar Mahmood, his second of this Champions League Twenty20, gave qualifiers Auckland Aces their third comprehensive victory in South Africa, and severely damaged Kolkata Knight Riders' prospects of progress in the tournament. Mahmood's timely wickets and composed innings during the chase, which was supported by several top-order cameos, led Auckland to the target with 14 balls to spare, a considerable boost to their net run rate.

While this was Auckland's first match of the Champions League proper, it was Kolkata's second, and a second defeat left the IPL champions needing to win both their remaining games, while keeping an eye on run rate, in order to make the semi-finals from Group A.

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McKenzie, de Kock fire Lions home

A calm and collected Neil McKenzie, and a young and fearless Quinton de Kock added 123 for the third wicket to take Lions to a comprehensive win, their second over the superstar-filled Mumbai Indians.

It was a scrappy ungainly match until McKenzie and de Kock came together. Sachin Tendulkar (16 off 24) and Rohit Sharma struggled for momentum, Champions League debutant Mitchell Johnson was promoted to No. 4 for a 29-ball 30 that frustrated the others into playing low-percentage shots, extras and edges helped Mumbai Indians to a fighting total, and then the Lions openers matched the Mumbai batsmen in the go-slow.

Lions had seen three teams before them win the toss and choose to chase because South African grounds are difficult to defend. All three had failed. Alviro Petersen, though, showed no signs of second thoughts before asking Mumbai to bat. Perhaps he knew something about Mumbai batsmen. Six of them reached double figures, but only three of them went at more than 103.44 per 100 balls

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