Whatmore expects tough Sri Lanka tour

 

Dav Whatmore, Pakistan's head coach, has said that his team will be sternly tested during their tour of Sri Lanka which begins on June 1.

The Pakistan players began a two-week conditioning camp in Lahore on Wednesday to prepare for the upcoming tour. They started with a fitness session in the morning at the National Academy and a net session at noon in Gaddafi Stadium.

With temperatures in Lahore touching 40C, Whatmore said he hoped his players would find it easy to acclimatise themselves to similar conditions in Sri Lanka. "It's pretty warm out here as well but it will be easy for us to acclimatise (to Sri Lankan conditions)," Whatmore said. "We're lucky to do a bit of work in the heat in the morning and a little bit in the afternoon.

"Some of the bowlers and batsmen have been working out in the heat to ensure we are prepared. I think we have to prepare properly for a series against a strong opposition."

Pakistan announced separate teams for each format for the upcoming tour and Whatmore said he was satisfied with the selection process.

"I am happy to see that players are being selected based on their suitability to a format. As far as leadership is concerned, it's not up to me and I will support what the PCB decides."

He also backed the inexperienced players selected for the tour. "There are one or two changes in the squad and that's a good thing as by keeping exactly the same squad we would be marching on the same spot, but we must move forward all the time."

Whatmore, who has had two stints as Sri Lanka's coach in the past, said he was expecting batting-friendly pitches in Sri Lanka. "We are not expecting anything different. The limited-overs pitches [in Sri Lanka] are good for batting."

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Narine mystery too much for Mumbai

It had all built up to that one moment. Gautam Gambhir, playing three spinners against the home side's decision to stick to three fast bowlers at the Wankhede Stadium, had hoped at the toss that the pitch would turn later. Kolkata Knight Riders had just about recovered from a horror start to post a decent 140. Mumbai Indians had found run-scoring as difficult as Knight Riders had, but had lost only two wickets at the halfway stage.

The last ball of the 11th over, Sunil Narine bowled a good length delivery to Sachin Tendulkar, who went for the cut. The ball spun in a mile and cannoned into off stump off bat and pad. Had both not come in the way, it would have taken out leg stump. With one of the game's greats not being able to pick Narine, the rest of the Mumbai Indians line-up had little chance. He finished with 4 for 15; had Lasith Malinga not got six off a dropped catch on the straight boundary, Narine could have had 5 for 9.

The 32-run margin was substantial in the end, and it was down to how swiftly Knight Riders barged in to the opening created by Tendulkar's dismissal. The pressure was already on Mumbai Indians after Herschelle Gibbs had crawled to 13 off 24 deliveries, four of those runs being overthrows. When Tendulkar fell, the asking-rate had touched nine. Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard had hunted down a much stiffer target against Royal Challengers Bangalore a couple of day ago. It wasn't to be today. Not on this pitch.

The Wankhede crowd waited for their all-star line-up to fire. They waited for the big hits to come. In vain. With 58 needed off 28, Shakib Al Hasan lured Rayudu out with a wider one to give Brendon McCullum an easy stumping. Jacques Kallis, who had got a ripper from RP Singh first ball, had Pollard edging a slow bouncer to McCullum. Next ball, he trapped Dwayne Smith in front with a skiddy delivery which nipped in. Rohit Sharma was Mumbai Indians' only hope now; Narine had him caught by a diving McCullum off a leading edge. The rest caved in.

Smith's fall had made it 96 for 6, exactly the same perilous position Knight Riders had found themselves in after being stunned early by an atrocious umpiring decision and a terrific ball from RP Singh. Their lower order and Yusuf Pathan rode on some fortune, though, to take 44 off the final 26 balls.

Stroke-making was hard as the usual Wankhede bounce combined with the ball not coming on. The pitch did not have any role to play in the first dismissal, though; umpire Subroto Das had. He adjudged McCullum lbw though the batsman was at least two metres out of his crease to a ball that pitched outside leg and would have missed off. Knight Riders were to get another rough one later, when Tendulkar was caught plumb in front first ball by Shakib, only to be denied by umpire Billy Doctrove.

RP Singh followed up the McCullum wicket by uprooting Kallis' off stump with a ripper, getting a short of a length ball to swing in and zip through the gate. A stunned Knight Riders tamely allowed the home bowlers to build up the pressure.

Even Gautam Gambhir, who has had a golden run this season, found it difficult to score, and could not capitalise on two let-offs. He was dropped by the wicketkeeper and by Tendulkar at third man, but was bowled on 27 as he missed a Pollard cutter.

Knight Riders continued to struggle to time their shots, with Tiwary pottering to 17 off 27 deliveries at one stage. An inside edge off Pollard brought him four, and he hammered the next ball past mid-off for another. Harbhajan Singh and Malinga were hit down the ground for sixes.

From 6 for 2 to 89 for 3 seemed a creditable recovery, given the pitch, but three wickets for seven runs nearly undid Tiwary's efforts. Yusuf, caught off a RP Singh no-ball, could not do much to break his poor run, but along with the lower order, managed to get Knight Riders to 140.

It hadn't looked to be a challenging total at the break, it turned out to be a match-winning one, and all but took Knight Riders to the playoffs.

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Shah Rukh Khan in trouble over stadium skirmish

 

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has lodged a formal police complaint against Shah Rukh Khan, co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders and Bollywood superstar, over an alleged skirmish with security guards following Knight Riders' victory over the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. The MCA will meet to discuss what action is to be taken against Shah Rukh, who has denied being drunk and disorderly.

Late last night, MCA officials went to the Marine Drive Police Station to lodge a police complaint against him. Shah Rukh is being accused of trying to walk on to the field of play after the game. MCA treasurer Ravi Savant told PTI that Shah Rukh had "misbehaved and abused security personnel as well as MCA officials, including our president Vilasrao Deshmukh, after the IPL match. We have decided to ban him for life from entering the stadium in future."

Savant's statements about a life ban for Shah Rukh could not be corroborated with the IPL governing council chairman Rajeev Shukla telling reporters, "I will take the version of the MCA, Shah Rukh Khan and the police before talking about the issue. The decision on the ban is taken by the Working Committee so I will speak to MCA president Vilasrao Deshmukh on this. I have to take the version of all the parties involved and then speak."

Shah Rukh, who spoke to the media on Thursday afternoon, denied he had misbehaved or was drunk but said he was reacting to the "obnoxious" and "unpardonable" behaviour of officials at the stadium. He said he had not been present at the match but had gone there after it was over to pick up a large group of his children and their friends.

He said he saw security guards manhandling the children and when he objected a group of officials came over and the altercation started. "I said a few things in anger. I was one and they were 20-25 officials and they were extremely rude. When I tried to answer them, they hid behind others," the actor said. "There was nothing illegal, I was not on the pitch. I know the rules."

Asked about the possibility of a ban by the MCA, Shah Rukh said, "If this is the kind of behaviour meted out to people then I would not go there. There were people rushing at me aggressively. I think it's unpardonable that you manhandle kids in the name of security."

Savant told the news channel Headlines Today that Shah Rukh had tried to enter the stadium "after everything was over" and when asked to leave by the security guard Shah Rukh had "manhandled" him. It was alleged that Shah Rukh was "continuously using foul, filthy language towards officials who tried to pacify him and make him understand." An MCA member who also happened to be an assistant commissioner of police, was also seen trying to silence Shah Rukh.

Savant said all that was left at the moment was to put the proposed ban on paper and get its formalities completed, with a majority support with the MCA. He said that Shah Rukh had come to the ground well after the presentation ceremony and without any accreditation. "He had flouted all the rules", Savant said.

"Some unprovoked incident that took place, and foul language was used," Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI's chief administrative officer, said. "MCA officials are angry. We will try to find out what has happened. Definitely, the BCCI will look at what the MCA has to say."

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Injured Jamshed out of Sri Lanka tour

 

Nasir Jamshed, the Pakistan opener, has been ruled out of next month's Sri Lanka tour after fracturing his left index finger, sidelining him for four to six weeks. He had been part of the ODI and Twenty20 squads for the Sri Lanka tour. The PCB hasn't named a replacement for Jamshed yet.

He sustained the injury from a club cricket match that earlier presumed a minor injury but was later revealed to be a fracture.

Jamshed, 22, had made a comeback to the Pakistan side during the Asia Cup, after an absence of nearly three years. He had a successful tournament, scoring a hundred in the crunch match against India.

"He is out of action due to his finger injury," Nadeem Sarwar, PCB GM media, told reporters on the first day of Pakistan's training camp at the Gaddafi Stadium. "He picked up the fracture during a club match last week and wasn't able to join the camp. His doctor has advised a four to six weeks rest and hence ruled out of the entire Sri Lanka series. There is no immediate replacement called to cover up him."

Injuries and illness have disrupted Jamshed's career previously as well. He debuted in 2008 and was beginning to establish himself in the side when he was laid low by a fever ahead of the ODI series against West Indies in Abu Dhabi. He was later selected for the one-dayers against Australia in 2009 but after the first ODI - his first match for Pakistan in more than nine months - he suffered a hamstring injury ruling him out of the rest of the series.

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IPL council suspends five players

 

The IPL governing council has suspended five players named by a sting operation alleging corruption until an inquiry into the accusations is conducted. TP Sudhindra (Deccan Chargers), Mohnish Mishra (Pune Warriors), Shalabh Srivastava (Kings XI Punjab), Amit Yadav (Kings XI Punjab) and Abhinav Bali were suspended, according to IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla.

"The above players would not be entitled to participate in any cricket match played under the aegis of the BCCI while under suspension," N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, said in a statement.

Shukla said Ravi Sawani, the former head of the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU), will conduct the inquiry. "The conversation [in the sting] is about other matches also, which are not IPL, or in previous IPLs," Shukla said after the meeting on Tuesday. "After due consideration, the BCCI president has decided to have an inquiry for which a commissioner has been appointed, Mr Ravi Sawani. He will be conducting the preliminary inquiry. His report will be sent to the disciplinary committee."

Indian politicians brought up the matter during a parliamentary session. Sports minister Ajay Maken said it was the BCCI's duty to investigate the matter appropriately. "I wish that the BCCI acts fast, [explores] the root cause of this problem and solves the problem in the interest of the millions of fans in cricket in our country," Maken was quoted as saying in an Indian newspaper, the Telegraph. "The challenge and the opportunity here lies with the BCCI, as to how far they are able to get to the bottom of the problem and sort it out."

Former India cricketer Kirti Azad, who is now a member of the country's main opposition party, the BJP, reportedly said that corruption in sports was on the rise with politicians heading sports associations. "I have no objections with politicians heading sports bodies," Azad was quoted as saying. "But ever since politicians have taken over, corruption has seeped in and grown from top to bottom."

However, Srinivasan said corruption was not as widespread in Indian cricket as it was being made out. "I don't think this operation can reflect what is going across the board. I can't deny what has happened because the evidence is there as what was shown yesterday. But at the same time it is a case of few individuals so I don't want to generalise on this," he told an Indian TV channel.

"I believe it will be a case of few individual players maybe out of greed or whatever taking wrong steps. I am not prepared to take a brush and paint the whole thing or say that this is rampant or anything like that."

He also defended the franchise owners from any allegation of corruption. "All the franchisees are people of stature behind it. It will be wrong to presume they are doing something wrong and then make enquiries. If something comes to light it is different."

Meanwhile Srivastava, one of the players accused by the sting, said he was not guilty. "I fail to understand whatever is being said about spot-fixing. Also if they [a TV channel) are showing all the video clips, why aren't they showing the clip where I allegedly am demanding Rs. 10 lakh?" he told NDTV. "The voice in that telephonic conversation is not mine. It is very easy to frame anyone with a doctored audio clip."

India TV, a television channel, showed footage of a player bowling a big no-ball in a limited-overs match and played a recording of a phone conversation that it said was of a current IPL player negotiating a fee for bowling a no-ball. It also had at least three players on camera allegedly seeking more lucrative deals - including extra money that would have violated their IPL contracts - with other league franchises through an undercover reporter posing as a sports agent.

Srivastava has not played a match for Kings XI this IPL season, though he was a fairly regular starter in 2011 and has played 14 matches in all. Mohnish Mishra played the solitary match for Warriors in 2012, when he replaced Sourav Ganguly against Royal Challengers Bangalore and was dismissed for 4. Sudhindra played three games for Chargers, conceding 136 runs and taking only one wicket, while Yadav has not got a game for Kings XI. Bali, an allrounder from Delhi, is not part of the IPL but has played first-class and limited-overs cricket for Himachal Pradesh.

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Rayudu, Harshal Patel fined for spat

 

Ambati Rayudu, the Mumbai Indians batsman, has been fined 100% of his match fee while Harshal Patel, the Royal Challengers Bangalore fast bowler, was docked 25% of his match earnings following a spat between the two after Mumbai Indians' tense win at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.

Rayudu was punished for using obscene and abusive language towards Harshal immediately after Mumbai Indians hit the winning runs in the final over. Harshal reacted and both players had to be restrained. Harshal was fined for a Level 1 offence, for bringing the game into disrepute.

Mumbai Indians captain Harbhajan Singh was also fined for maintaining a slow over-rate. They were found to be one over behind the required rate after allowances were taken into consideration. Harbhajan was fined $20,000 for his offence.

Mumbai Indians in particular have been guilty of a few transgressions this IPL, aside from the latest events. In their match against Deccan Chargers in Visakhapatnam, Munaf Patel and Harbhajan were guilty of showing dissent towards the umpire, after the umpire had initially chosen not to refer an appeal to the third umpire. Munaf was fined 25% of his match fee while Harbhajan was warned.

Munaf was guilty again in the game against Kings XI Punjab in Mumbai. He lost 50% of his match fee after making inappropriate gestures towards the batsman Nitin Saini, who had hit him for two fours.

Rohit Sharma was reprimanded for kicking the stumps after his team's nine-wicket loss to Royal Challengers last week at the Wankhede Stadium.

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Mahela guides Delhi into playoffs

 

Mahela Jayawardene's half-century may have been the slowest for Delhi Daredevils this season but it was compiled under trying circumstances and helped his team become the first side to qualify for the playoffs. Jayawardene's composure under pressure ensured that an incisive fast-bowling performance from Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav, which restricted Kings XI Punjab to a middling total, was not in vain. With a place in the top four secure, Daredevils need to win only one of their last two games to secure No. 1 position.

Kings XI, on the other hand, needed victory tonight and in their remaining two games to be assured of a playoff spot. They cannot afford another defeat and will have to depend on net run-rate and on a permutation of results in other matches to qualify. Kings XI had persevered to make a below-par total competitive in their first clash against Daredevils - this season's 64th game - but did not have enough runs in the end.

Daredevils unleashed their quick bowlers, supported by a crack fielding unit, and a steady fall of wickets ensued after Kings XI chose to bat. They had made a brisk start but Aaron ended that with his first ball: Shaun Marsh caught glancing down the leg side. In his second over, Aaron had the free-swinging Mandeep Singh pulling to midwicket, where Virender Sehwag dived forward to take a low catch.

Kings XI were progressing well, though, and reached 50 for 2 in 6.2 overs. Yadav was the fifth bowler introduced, in the eighth over, and struck with his second ball. Nitin Saini drove loosely at a fast outswinger and Sehwag was stooping at first slip to catch the edge. After David Miller was run out by a direct hit from Pawan Negi at mid-on, Azhar Mahmood, the last of Kings XI's proper batsmen, was in as early as the 10th over. He stayed only until the 12th, when he hoisted Yadav towards long-off, where Irfan Pathan back-pedalled and caught the ball over his right shoulder on the edge of the boundary.

Kings XI were eventually in danger of being dismissed and David Hussey, who had been crying out for a reliable partner in vain, had to play within himself. He even turned down singles in the final two overs and dragged his team 136 for 8.

Hussey, however, had one really quick bowler in his attack too and Parvinder Awana rattled the Daredevils top order. He cut one delivery into Virender Sehwag and bowled him off the pad; he straightened two balls just outside off and induced edges from Venugopal Rao and Ross Taylor in the sixth over. In wretched form already, Taylor was recalled for this game in Roelof van der Merwe's spot but was out for a duck. Daredevils were 37 for 4. Awana's fellow seamers, Praveen Kumar and Azhar Mahmood, were economical too and Daredevils were only 42 after eight overs.

At this stage of Kings XI's innings, Sehwag had already used five bowlers. Hussey had used only three and had to bring in his fourth sooner rather than later. He gave Piyush Chawla the ninth over and watched Jayawardene cut the second ball for Daredevils' first boundary since the fourth over. Two balls later, Ojha stepped out and lofted the legspinner towards the straight boundary. The tide had begun to turn.

Daredevils needed 82 off 60 balls and Ojha continued to target Chawla, charging the bowler to loft consecutive straight sixes in the 11th over. Chawla also dropped a straightforward chance off Ojha at long-on, off Mahmood in the 13th over. Hussey, however, continued to persist with him and chose not to bowl himself.

There was irony as well. Chawla, who went for 33 in three overs, finished his spell with a maiden, while Awana, who had figures of 3-0-8-3, went for 14 in his last, the over that ended the game as a contest. Irfan Pathan played the shots, while Jayawardene watched in satisfaction, having been the glue that held Daredevils together.

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Slowly but surely for Sammy West Indies captain

West Indies captain says his side have competed against India and Australia and now need to start winning

They may be missing several of their leading players, have been beaten in the warm-up game, written-off in the media and up against the No. 1 rated Test team, but West Indies captain Darren Sammy has warned England not to underestimate his side's chance ahead of the Test series beginning at Lord's on Thursday.

West Indies' Test record in recent years is grim. They have won only one of their previous 10 series - and that was against Bangladesh - and only two of their last 24 series stretching back to 2004. Indeed, since December 2003, West Indies have played 80 Tests, won just eight - including two against Bangladesh - and lost 45. It is not a record that inspires confidence.

But Sammy believes his side is progressing. While he accepts the results do not show it, he insists there have been encouraging signs in recent Test series. Notably, West Indies pushed India hard in Delhi before collapsing against Ravi Ashwin in their second innings and succumbing to a five-wicket loss. Similarly, they came to close to upsetting Australia in Bridgetown, only for another second innings batting collapse to eventually sentence them to a three-wicket defeat.

"The only thing that has not been happening is the victories," Sammy told ESPNcricinfo. "We've been playing good, competitive cricket against strong sides like India and Australia and all our Tests have been going five days and down to the wire. Not many teams go to India and give India a run for their money, but we did that.

"Coming from where we are right now, we are not going to start winning straight away. We are taking baby steps to the ultimate goal. We are playing well and dominating teams throughout matches.

"The problem is that we keep losing key moments in matches. One bad session keeps costing us. Champion teams seize the moment but we keep having a bad session where we might lose five wickets in an hour. We just need to cut that out. Once we eliminate those bad sessions then we'll make progress."

Sammy also reminded England that the sides did not have to look back very far to the last team his side caused an upset. A young West Indies squad travelled to England to play two T20 internationals last September and, having lost the first game by 10 wickets, they hit back with a 25-run win to square the series. West Indies also won the last Test series between the sides in the Caribbean.

"We were a very inexperienced team in September," Sammy said. "People said we were just on our way to Bangladesh, but we beat England.

"Every team that comes here, the media try and bring them down for England. So we know what to expect. We have to handle the distractions - be they the weather or the press - and concentrate on doing our best on the pitch. People don't expect much from us, but we know that once we play to our potential we can compete very hard against England. If we can put runs on the board, we back our bowlers to take 20 wickets against England."

If West Indies are to do that, it is crucial that they have their best attack available to them. As things stand there are slight injury doubts hanging against all three of their leading seamers - Kemar Roach (foot), Ravi Rampaul (neck) and Fidel Edwards (back) - though it looks as if all three should be fine. As Roach, who is eagerly anticipating his first Tests at Lord's put it: "Everyone wants to be here; there's nothing going to stop me playing."

Sammy also said his entire side had been inspired by the documentary Fire in Babylon, which tells the story of West Indies' domination of Test cricket in the 1970s and 80s. He drew parallels in the challenges facing his team and West Indies team of the early 70s.

"Fire in Babylon is my inspiration," Sammy said. "I have watched it many times. I knew our history - but to see it again, to hear the passion in the voices of the players - it's got to make you think about how important what we do is to the people of the Caribbean.

"All of the guys have seen it and been inspired. The guys are aware of how important West Indies cricket is to the fans. They appreciate the history and they carry the legacy. Some never knew about it - they knew the team had been great - but they didn't understand what previous teams had gone through and what they had to endure. They didn't understand about the challenges they had to rise above.

"We have different challenges now. We dominated the world for 17 years and conquered all teams. People got used to success. A lot is expected of all West Indies teams since then. It could be a burden - every fast bowler is compared to Ambrose or Walsh and every batsman is compared to Greenidge or Lara - but I prefer to see it as an inspiration. That's the path we have to follow.

"Everyone in the Caribbean wants West Indies to do well. When we are playing well our brand of cricket is very entertaining. The turnout from the public in our last series - in Tests and ODIs and T20s - we've not seen that sort of support for our team in a long while. The reason is that they see the team competing. We're not winning, but we're playing with passion and if we do that, the victories should be just around the corner. We're fighting, we're showing passion: we understand what we have to do

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