Sri Lanka, perhaps for the first time, will find themselves in alien territory despite the fact that they are the home side when they meet West Indies in the second Test starting at the R Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday

Sa'adi Thawfeeq22-Nov-2010Sri Lanka, perhaps for the first time, will find themselves in alien territory despite the fact that they are the home side when they meet West Indies in the second Test starting at the R Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday.There’s a new laid pitch and construction work going all round the area to get the stadium ready for the 2011 World Cup and playing a Test match amidst such a set up is not the ideal scenario. But the Sri Lankans are keen to test the pitch ahead of their World Cup so there was little choice but to play this Test match here.”As long as play doesn’t get disrupted and the match referees and teams are happy with the situation when we start the game that should be okay,” said captain Kumar Sangakkara. “We have to keep our focus mainly on what’s happening out there in the middle and the best of what we have here. This venue was picked most probably because it is a World Cup venue to try and see whether the pitches and everything was upto scratch. We’ll have to come tomorrow and see how the wicket behaves and then take it from there.”You’ve got trust the curator to give us the best wicket possible,” he added. “It was a bit damp today and hopefully the sun will dry it out and have it Test match ready by the time play is due to start tomorrow.”Being in Sri Lanka usually the wickets are nice and dry and they turn. This might be different from that, we don’t know yet. The final proof of what the pitch is doing is to actually play on it. It would have been a nice reference to have if a domestic game was played here before the Test. But that’s the beauty of playing international cricket. Sometimes you have to take things on the chin and just get on with the job.”Sangakkara felt that where his team fell behind West Indies in the drawn first Test at Galle was their failure to focus on the game plans and executing them. “We expect to play a lot better from ball one of the game, to make sure we are focused on our game plans and executing them,” he said. “That’s where we fell behind West Indies in the last game. They outplayed us on those little details. Those are the things we have to tighten.”Sri Lanka are likely to go with their usual combination of two seamers and two spinners despite the attack failing to trouble West Indies for a long periods last week. “It is sometimes tempting to go with fast bowlers but we should not get carried away by what we see,” said Sangakkara. “We need to plan out a team that can handle situations for all five days and not just one innings but four quality innings of batting and bowling.
“Our best combination is two seamers and two spinnners. Angelo Mathews might just be able to bowl a bit more in this Test match. We really need to know what the pitch is like when we leave and if there is rain tonight and how it turns up tomorrow.”West Indies are also planning on using two spinners for this Test and Sangakkara believes it is good for the game that the slow men are having such a key role to play. “It’s great, for all the talk of Twenty20, that we are finally seeing a new era for spinners. They are really dominating cricket in every format of the game.”In the shorter versions they have been more dominating than ever. It’s encouraging for sides and for countries where there are youngsters who are good spinners who haven’t had much of a go. It’s good for Sri Lanka, West Indies and other countries we see some great spinners now playing Test cricket.”West Indies’ preparations have been overshadowed by Shane Shillingford, the offspinner, being reported for a suspect bowling action but Sangakkara preferred to focus on the bowler’s skills rather than controversy. “He is an interesting bowler the lines he bowls and the little bit of variation that he has in pace. He is a bowler who can probably change direction at the very last minute the way he bowls. We had a good chat about him. We got a few plans in a few different areas to try and defend and then attack him as well.”With left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn expected to return to the team after serving a one-Test suspension, Sangakkara added: “Benn is also quite a good bowler when the conditions suit him. He is coming back after a long break so whatever combination they play it will be a tough challenge. We have also to think about their fast bowlers who bowled exceptionally well and how to combat that. They’ve got a very good bowling attack and we got stay a step ahead as far as we can.”

Round-up of the second day of the sixth round of Division Two of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2010Raheel Majeed’s career-best 162 resisted the impact of Mohammad Irfan’s five-wicket haul as Pakistan Television progressed to 325 before reducing Khan Research Laboratories to 160 for 5 at the Khan Research Laboratory Ground in Rawalpindi. Majeed and Yasim Murtaza (60) extended their partnership to 147 before PTV lost their last three wickets for the addition of no runs. KRL’s reply was steered by a run-a-ball 82 from captain Mohammad Wasim, but Saad Altaf and Mohammad Ali, who bowled unchanged for 36 overs until stumps, made regular breakthroughs at the other end to leave the game in the balance.Peshawar‘s batsmen stamped their authority on the second day at the Arbab Niaz Khan Stadium as Quetta lost ground following the bowler-dominated opening day. The visitors could only add 38 to their overnight 87 for 6, conceding a 87-run first innings lead. The wickets were shared around by the home seamers, with Imran Khan finishing with 4 for 50. Peshawar’s reply was driven by steady half-centuries from Ashfaq Ahmed, Sajjad Ahmed (1) and Tariq Khan. Quetta’s incisiveness was badly hampered by the absence of first-innings hero Arun Lal, who could bowl only three balls on the second day. Kashif Sattar picked up three wickets, but could not check Peshawar’s surge to an imposing 290 for 5 by stumps.It was slow progress all-round at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium where Abbottabad and State Bank of Pakistan were locked in an attritional battle for the upper hand. Resuming at 221 for 5, the hosts could not make much headway on the second day. Mohammad Naved, Ansar Javed and Nazar Hussain shared nine wickets to bowl Abbottabad out for the addition of 57 runs. SBP lost their captain Kashif Siddiq early in their reply and batted cautiously thereafter in search of the first-innings lead. Rameez Alam guided their reply to 150 for 3, and was unbeaten on an even 50 at stumps. Seamer Ahmed Jamal was responsible for all three breakthroughs.Karachi White‘s bowlers dismissed Lahore Shalimar for 139, gaining a 122-run first-innings lead at the Southend Club Cricket Stadium in Karachi. Asif Khan was the only batsman to come to terms with the all-round host attack. Azam Hussain and Atif Maqbool finished with three wickets apiece while the remaining four were shared by Sohail Khan and Ali Mudassar. Inspired by the bowlers, the home batsmen responded with a strong start to their second innings, with unbeaten half-centuries from Asif Zakir and Rameez Aziz guiding them to 180 for 3 by stumps.Lahore Ravi were firmly in control of their match against Hyderabad, with centuries from Junaid Jan and Fahad-ul-Haq lifting them to 254 for 2 at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Opener Mohammad Saad departed for 14, but thereafter it was a long fruitless day for the visitors. Fahad was the more aggressive of the pair, hitting 13 fours in his 103 off 160 balls. He perished after adding 164 for the second wicket, but Junaid stayed put till stumps, finishing unbeaten on 107 off 231 balls.

Karnataka have filed an official complaint with match referee Manu Nayar against the Reliance Stadium pitch for their Ranji semi-final against Baroda

Abhishek Purohit06-Jan-2011Karnataka have filed an official complaint with match referee Manu Nayar against the Reliance Stadium pitch in Vadodara on which their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Baroda ended inside two days in a seven-wicket win for the hosts. Nayar confirmed the development to ESPNcricinfo. “As is normal procedure, I have forwarded the complaint to the BCCI along with my match report. The matter is with the board now.”The dry pitch took vicious turn throughout the game, which saw 33 wickets falling before tea on the second day, 23 of them to the spinners. Karnataka caved in for 107 and 88 to lose while Baroda managed 153 in their first innings, largely due to captain Pinal Shah (83) who was the lone half-centurion in the game.Javagal Srinath, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) secretary, said that they were contemplating whether to lodge a separate protest with the BCCI on the issue. “As of now, the players have filed an official complaint letter to the match referee. We at the KSCA can only take a call once we speak to the players and coach,” Srinath told . “We will speak to them and then only decide our course of action.”The Karnataka players were unhappy with the nature of the wicket, and Robin Uthappa even said that it was unfit to play a semi-final on. A source from the Baroda camp, however, told ESPNcricinfo that there was not much reason for Karnataka to complain. “They won the toss, they opted to bat, and if they caved in for 107, I cannot see how it is anyone else’s problem but theirs. The wicket was the same for both the sides. And if it was such a spinners’ paradise, how was a fast bowler (Baroda’s Murtuja Vahora) able to take five wickets in the first innings?”

The ICC has rejected Salman Butt’s reply on the spot-fixing charges against him, and asked Butt to file a fresh response

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2010The ICC has rejected Salman Butt’s reply to the spot-fixing charges against him, and asked Butt to file a fresh response. “He must file a fresh reply by later today [December 17] or he could lose his right of defence against the allegations levelled against him,” Aftab Gul, Butt’s former lawyer, told , according to a report in the . It was not clear whether Butt had filed his revised reply within the deadline.Gul also said he was no longer representing Butt. “As far as I know now Aitzaz Ahsan is handling his case,” he told .An ICC code of conduct tribunal will hear the case against Butt and seamers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif from Januarty 6-11 in Doha. The trio were suspended by the ICC pending an investigation into allegations by the tabloid that they arranged for deliberate and planned no-balls to be bowled in Pakistan’s fourth Test at Lord’s against England. Since then, Butt and Amir have had their appeals against suspensions dismissed by the ICC in a hearing in Dubai, while Asif chose not to appeal.The evidence gathered by NOTW was meanwhile passed on to Scotland Yard and the ICC’s anti-corruption unit, who subsequently launched their own investigations and gathered more evidence. The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service is considering whether the evidence passed on to them by police is enough to warrant criminal prosecution against the players.

The Indian batting emphasised why they are such a feared unit and the spinners continued to look impressive as they beat New Zealand by 117 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran at the MA Chidambaram Stadium16-Feb-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Suresh Raina’s whirlwind half-century marked a return to form after a lean patch•AFP

The Indian batting emphasised why they are such a feared unit by piling up 360 against New Zealand, despite the failures of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, two batsmen who tormented New Zealand in the one-day series three months ago, crafted a century partnership to set the base, before MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina, two batsmen who are crowd favourites in Chennai for their IPL exploits, delighted the fans with brutal hitting that was frenetic even by Twenty20 standards. The final 16 overs brought a jaw-dropping 193 runs to further demoralise a struggling New Zealand outfit, who were eventually crushed by 117 runs.The Chennai crowd wouldn’t have expected such a treat when the superstar opening pair of Tendulkar and Sehwag fell within the first ten overs. It was Kohli who led the recovery initially after the loss of the two wickets, continuing to be in the fluent form that has has more or less earned him a starting place in India’s opening World Cup game at the expense of Raina. A combination of hard-hit lofted drives and delicate dinks behind square brought him a stabilising half-century.It had been run-of-the-mill stuff till the 34th over, with the bowling mostly mediocre and the batsmen mainly concerned with consolidation. The mandatory ball change in the 35th over prompted the batting Powerplay, and began an hour-long period of carnage. Gambhir started it with lap sweeps and carves over extra cover, followed by three successive boundaries off Tim Southee in the 37th to pick up 31 off 12 deliveries before nicking to the keeper.If New Zealand felt that would provide some respite, there were emphatically proved wrong by Dhoni and Raina, both of whose one-day fortunes have hit a trough in the recent past. Dhoni showed that the bludgeoner of old wasn’t gone for good, by thrashing a 61-ball century that had plenty of heaves over midwicket and power-packed drives down the ground. There were some deft placements as well from Dhoni to collect boundaries past short third man and short fine leg. Raina joined in the fun, with his patented swipes towards midwicket fetching him loads of runs in a 25-ball half-century.Jacob Oram’s bowling performance perfectly illustrated how New Zealand wilted after a solid beginning. Oram, fighting for a place in the starting XI, started the day with the massive wicket of Virender Shehwag off his first delivery. It got even better for him when he returned for his second spell; he had Kolhi poking at an extremely wide delivery that ended up as a nick to the keeper, and his figures read 7-1-30-2. The smile was off his face in his final burst, though, as Dhoni picked five successive fours off him before Raina swung him for three sixes over midwicket in four balls. Oram kicked the ground in disgust as he ended with 9-1-70-2.New Zealand began their chase spiritedly with Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill scoring quickly against the quick bowlers. As on Sunday against Australia, it was the spinners that applied the brakes for India. New Zealand had sprinted to 94 for 0 in 15 overs, when offspinner R Ashwin removed Guptill with a delivery that spun sharply and bounced, flying off the bat handle to Dhoni. McCullum was then dismissed attempting a misjudged run, before Harbhajan Singh removed the two other big names in the New Zealand batting, Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor. At 147 for 5, the game was up, though New Zealand’s lower order lingered around for another 18 overs.The batting can’t be blamed for coming up short in the face of a mammoth target, but the bowling, which was taken apart on Wednesday, had shipped loads of runs in the first warm-up against Ireland as well. New bowling coach Allan Donald will have his hands full during the tournament. Taylor, who was captain in the absence of Daniel Vettori, admitted his bowlers had been too expensive. “MS Dhoni batted very well, but I think we leaked 40 or 50 too many runs on that wicket.”Dhoni will be satisfied overall with the two wins in the warm-up matches, but he won’t be getting carried away by these results, especially after India’s disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign which had begun with two massive victories in the practice matches.Taylor, though, is convinced India are clear front-runners to win the tournament this time around. “I think they have got to be the favourites by far; it’s on their home conditions, and as you saw out there, they are a very well balanced side,” Taylor said. “Spinners are going to be the key, and they have some very good spinners in Harbhajan [Singh] and R Ashwin and their part-timers also.”

Match Timeline

Graeme Swann admitted that England were left shell-shocked by the manner and magnitude of their incredible three-wicket defeat at the hands of Kevin O’Brien on Wednesday night

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Mar-2011Graeme Swann admitted that England were left shell-shocked by the manner and magnitude of their incredible three-wicket defeat at the hands of Kevin O’Brien on Wednesday night, but insisted that the team’s best response would be to put the result right out of their minds as they turn their attention to Sunday’s crucial showdown against the Group B pacesetters, South Africa, in Chennai.As Ireland’s celebrations continued long and loud in the wake of the biggest result of their lives, England flew out of Bangalore knowing that their World Cup campaign is in danger of sliding out of control, after three consecutive fixtures – including a thrilling tie with India – in which their frailties have been exposed with both bat and ball. However, with contests against South Africa, Bangladesh and West Indies still to come, qualification for the quarter-finals remains in their own hands, so long as they revert to winning ways at the earliest opportunity.”If we are going to win this World Cup – which we truly believe we can – we’ve got to go out and prove it, and we do that first and foremost in the field,” said Swann. “Four or five days ago, the whole world was saying ‘Oh my God, England can win’ this – because we didn’t get destroyed by that invincible Indian team. We know the fickle nature of the world, and we’re going to ignore that and just carry on and play the best cricket we can.”At 111 for 5, chasing a massive 328 for victory, Ireland’s chances of victory were seemingly non-existent, until Kevin O’Brien climbed onto the offensive with the innings of his – or anyone else’s – life. His incredible 50-ball century slammed England’s bowlers onto the defensive, and in partnership with first Alex Cusack and then John Mooney, Ireland clawed their way back into the contest.”It’s disappointing to lose any game of cricket,” said Swann. “But it was one where we got ourselves into a position of such dominance, to then have it taken away from us is quite shell-shocking. Every now and again someone wakes up and has the best day of their life – and yesterday Kevin O’Brien did that. We should have bowled better; we certainly could have bowled better, but that’s tarnishing the knock he had – personally I think he won the game rather than we lost it.”Despite that assertion, the cracks in England’s performance were visible long before O’Brien got going, with Matt Prior dropping a steepling chance behind the stumps to reprieve Ed Joyce, and Swann himself was visibly peeved with his fielders before claiming three quick wickets to put his team firmly in charge of the contest. “A lot of guys were peed off, and rightly so,” he said. “We got ourselves into a position where the opposition were 110 for five, with 20 overs to go. That’s a game an international team of the calibre that we feel we are should win 10 out of 10.””It’s annoying in the extreme, but I’m not taking anything away from Kevin O’Brien and the performance of his life,” Swann added. “It’s the best knock I’ve seen in a long time. If a guy gets 100 off 60 balls [sic], a guy gets 100 off 60 balls. There’s not a lot you can do, except say we should have bowled differently – and in the next game we will do. If we start panicking and thinking we’re the disgrace that half the people on Twitter thought we were last night, there’s no point in us playing.”You can always bowl better,” he added. “When a guy hits that many sixes you are obviously putting the ball in the wrong place. We could have bowled more yorkers and more slower balls wide of the wicket – that’s easy in retrospect to say. When you’re in the middle and the pressure is on with a guy going great guns, it can be difficult to think clearly. But we back ourselves to be professional and think clearly, so in future that’s certainly something we have to look at.”

Debutant Liam Norwell produced a superb all-round performance to put Gloucestershire in a commanding position against Derbyshire at Bristol

09-Apr-2011
Scorecard
Debutant Liam Norwell produced a superb all-round performance to put Gloucestershire in a commanding position against Derbyshire at Bristol. Norwell contributed 19 to a last-wicket stand of 76 with David Payne, who made an unbeaten 46, as Gloucestershire were bowled out for 343.The 19-year-old pace bowler then took 6 for 46, including the last four wickets for two runs in 11 balls, as Derbyshire were dismissed for 157. Gloucestershire captain Alex Gidman enforced the follow-on and the visitors reached 30 for no wicket from nine overs by stumps.Gloucestershire had started the day on 224 for 6 and Ian Saxelby departed in the second over when he hooked Jon Clare to long leg, where Tim Groenewald took a fine catch low down. Jon Batty, unbeaten on 61 overnight, advanced to 70 before he gloved a leg-side catch to wicketkeeper Luke Sutton off Groenewald. It was Batty’s best score in 31 innings for Gloucestershire since he joined from Surrey last year.Lewis, who had batted with characteristic freedom in making 29 from 26 deliveries, was dismissed in the next over when Clare ripped out his off stump. But then came the last-wicket heroics from Norwell and Payne, which prolonged the Gloucestershire innings for a further 32 overs.There were few alarms for either batsman, although Derbyshire felt aggrieved not to get any of three confident appeals for catches at the wicket given by umpire Martin Saggers. The first came against Norwell, when he was on 6, and the other two were against Payne, when on 17 and 44.Payne was within sight of a well-deserved half-century when he rightly declined a second run to midwicket and Norwell was beaten by Groenewald’s throw to Sutton behind the stumps. Payne’s 100-ball innings contained eight boundaries, six of which came through the offside and the other two were turned off his legs through midwicket.When Derbyshire batted, Garry Park was first to go when Norwell, with his third ball, had him caught by Will Gidman at gully. Three more wickets fell in quick succession as Wes Durston fell leg before to Lewis, Wayne Madsen was caught behind off Norwell and Chesney Hughes drove
Saxelby to Payne at mid-off.Only another 19 runs had been added when Greg Smith mistimed a drive off Norwell to Lewis at mid-off. Then, three balls after the tea interval, Lewis had Dan Redfern caught at the wicket off a thin edge, which made it 92 for 6. Sutton and Clare hinted at a recovery with partnership of 56, but Norwell returned to have Sutton caught behind for 35 and the teenager soon wrapped up
the rest of the innings.He had Groenewald leg before to his second ball. Then, in his next over, Clare was taken at second slip by Chris Dent and Antonio Palladino gave Batty his fourth victim behind the stumps.
In Derbyshire’s second innings, Park was dropped on eight when Saxelby spilled a chance at third slip off Lewis. He was on 11 at stumps with Madsen on 17.

Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, hailed the team spirit and character his side showed in winning the first Test against Pakistan by 40 runs on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-2011Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, hailed the team spirit and character his side showed in winning the opening Test against Pakistan by 40 runs to secure their first success in more than two years.It ended a 17-match wait for a Test victory having last won when they overcame England at Sabina Park in 2009, a side who Gibson was bowling coach of at the time, and gave some much-needed respite to the West Indies management after being roundly criticised in the lead-up to match.In a low-scoring encounter at Providence, Gibson felt it was the fight shown by the batsmen that helped them over the line. “The way we batted out the first day and the way we understood how difficult it was going to be showed me that everyone understood what was happening,” he said.”In the past, given the nature of the pitch we would probably have capitulated, but to hang in there and battle all day on the first day was what probably set us up for the fight we showed in the next three days.”A key period in the match was the 48-run stand for the final wicket in West Indies’ second innings where debutant legspinner Devendra Bishoo hung on with Shivnarine Chanderpaul to set Pakistan a target beyond 200.”The contribution from the lower order was exceptional,” Gibson said. “One of the things we have changed in our nets is that ‘everybody is a batsman’. Everyone must be seen to be trying to improve in the batting department. That was a huge difference in the match.”The performance of captain Darren Sammy, who was named Man of the Match after finishing with seven wickets in the game, was another huge positive for Gibson. Sammy’s position at the helm had been questioned by those who doubted he was good enough to hold his place in the side but he answered his critics emphatically.”For Sammy, who was under so much pressure, to perform the way he did was a credit to himself and the way he goes about his work. He’s an honest worker and a hard trier,” Gibson said. “You could not ask for more. Also for Ravi [Rampaul], who has been in and out, to come back into the team was great to see. He is a pleasure to work with and has a thirst for knowledge.”Bishoo came in and did a great job with the ball. He’s a keen, hungry, young cricketer who just wants to get better and do great things for the West Indies,” he added. “He’s an asset to have around. When he didn’t get any wickets for us in the second innings others stepped up and delivered. That is what team is all about.”The contribution of the whole team, was great. Everybody worked hard and we all stuck together. We won the first match so that means we can’t lose the series, but we don’t want to stop there. Winning the series is the goal. It has always been the goal.”Gibson’s next target is to try and back up the victory with another strong performance in the second Test in St Kitts which starts on Friday. He admitted that will be difficult, especially for a side that has struggled desperately for consistency, but hopes they can take confidence from the showing in Guyana.”Long before the Pakistanis arrived we spoke about the belief in the team that we could win the series. We want to win in St Kitts and take the series. Before Sunday’s result it was more than two years since we won a Test match and a series. You will have to go back a long time since the West Indies last won back-to-back Test matches.”The team will feed off this win and we will enjoy it. In international sport you have to enjoy your success, especially in our case where our last victory was more than two years ago.”

Duncan Fletcher, the new Indian coach, has said that his coaching philosophy will not be dictatorial in approach but will be about offering advice to the players

Sriram Veera13-May-2011Duncan Fletcher, the new Indian coach, has said that his coaching philosophy will not be dictatorial in approach but will be about offering advice to the players. Fletcher also pointed out that he had mentored Gary Kirsten and that was one of the main reasons that influenced Kirsten to recommend him for the post and for the BCCI to appoint him.”It’s not about dictating to the Indian players how I want them to play – sure to some degree you have to try influencing them – but it’s about offering advice to the players and it’s up to them to take it on board,” Fletcher said in his first news conference as India’s coach in Chennai. “Gary Kirsten followed my philosophy. He came and spoke to me before he took up the Indian job. I offered him advice on how to handle situations and he took that on board. And now, by Gary sort of pushing me for this job by taking my credentials to BCCI, he realised that my philosophy of coaching is right for India. Hopefully it’s right.”Fletcher said that he has been observing the Indian players over the last few months during his role as batting consultant to South Africa and New Zealand and reiterated that he was not going to make any wholesale changes. According to him, the most important thing would be to gain the respect of the players and he said that works both ways. “You have to gain their respect and they have to gain my respect. And that’s what this is about. Once you have that then it makes your job easier. It’s something you just have to work on as time progresses. I have worked with some big players elsewhere as well and you just got to develop this man-management process.”During the stint with South Africa and New Zealand I watched the Indian players. Sometimes I find more interest in quietly watching these players off the field and just observe because it interests me. “A coach’s relationship with the captain is the most crucial aspect of the job and Fletcher said he wouldn’t have taken up the role if he didn’t respect [MS] Dhoni as a captain. “It’s quite important that even before I was offered this job I had high regard for Dhoni. In fact I wrote a few articles which showed how I rated him as a very very good captain – not only on the field but how he handles the players off it.”India’s bowling is considered the team’s weak link and Fletcher said he has had an extensive chat with Eric Simons, the bowling coach, on May 12 about the bowlers and also met with Dhoni. “Having chatted with Eric Simons – he is a very good bowling coach and one I have lot of faith in – you must understand that I don’t want to come in and make lots of changes. I have the players during India’s last tour of South Africa and the series against New Zealand; so I have some idea about the bowlers but I would want to observe a little bit and then make some decisions.”Fletcher said he was very excited taking up the coaching role and said he arrived at the decision after giving it a lot of thought and speaking to the likes of Kirsten. “I asked for four-five- days time from the board. It was just to make sure you settle down as there are some areas you have to be careful about because it’s a high-profile role. I made a few calls, in particular to Gary Kirsten and I then accepted it.”India are the No.1 ranked Test team and ODI world champions and Fletcher admitted that it would be a challenge to maintain that momentum. “Yes, it will be difficult and that’s one of the things you consider before taking up the job. Hopefully I can add value somewhere down the line. First West Indies, then we are going to England where there will be lots of swing and seam. Then Australia where there will be bounce. Hopefully, the knowledge I pass on will be effective.”Fletcher also had a brief taste of the Indian media and the Indian’s board’s iron-hand approach. Suddenly, out of the blue, he was asked about his views on DRS, a system that the Indian board has steadfastly opposed. “I think it’s a system that will come in place. Obviously there are imperfections but once those imperfections are sorted out, it will play a role.”N Srinivasan, the board secretary, then leaned across and muttered something to Fletcher. Srinivasan, then, addressed the journalist who asked that question and said, “That was a loaded question. Mr Fletcher doesn’t know BCCI’s stance on DRS. You should have prefaced your question properly.”There was another instance of Srinivasan’s interjection. When Fletcher was asked about his views on rotation policy, Srinivasan chose to answer: “It’s a selection matter, no? He can give advice but ultimately it will come down to selectors. But I am sure when the coach sits in those meetings; his take will be taken on board by the selectors.”There was also a delightful faux pas from Fletcher. “Hopefully, my observations on these players will prove useful when I coach the England team. I mean the Indian team.”

Debutant Abdul Razzaq stunned Lancashire with a brutal innings as Leicestershire claimed their second Friends Life t20 win of the summer

08-Jun-2011
ScorecardAbdul Razzaq turned the match at Old Trafford on its head•PA Photos

Debutant Abdul Razzaq stunned Lancashire with a brutal innings as Leicestershire claimed their second Friends Life t20 win of the summer at Old Trafford. Chasing a Duckworth-Lewis boosted target of 165 from 19 overs, the Foxes had slumped to 99 for 6 in the 15th over and later needed 62 off the last 24 balls.Pakistan’s Razzaq then clubbed five sixes and three fours in a 30-ball 62 with a little help from tailender Wayne White. The pair shared an unbroken 66 inside five overs for the seventh wicket as White hit two maximums in 17 off 10 deliveries.Razzaq only landed in England the day before but helped to take 25 off the 16th over bowled by home skipper Steven Croft. Having been dropped by Stephen Moore on 26, the allrounder cleared the long-on fence with successive balls.White then hit maximums in a similar area off Gary Keedy and Kyle Hogg in the last two overs as the points were secured with four wickets and one ball to spare. Fellow overseas allrounder Andrew McDonald had laid a solid platform with an excellent 57 off 40 balls but Leicestershire slipped from 60 for 2 in the seventh.The hosts’ trio of spinners, Keedy, Simon Kerrigan and Stephen Parry all struck, with Keedy and Kerrigan getting two wickets each to put the skids under the visiting reply.Lancashire openers Moore and Tom Smith were the reasons why their side posted a competitive total, adding 88 inside 10 overs after a slow start. Moore top-scored with 48 off 39 balls and Smith 45 off 27, increasing their scoring rate after taking only 29 runs off the first five overs.Despite Smith holing out to McDonald at long-off as part-time spinner Josh Cobb struck in the 10th, the hosts scored 60 runs off the next five. Smith pulled Matthew Hoggard for six and whacked Cobb over long-off – the ball before departing – and Moore square-cut Hoggard for another maximum.Claude Henderson played a part in dragging things back by getting Moore stumped by Paul Nixon and Croft caught and bowled in the 13th over on the way to figures of 2 for 26 from four. Lancashire also lost Paul Horton and Gareth Cross but a four and six off the last two balls of the innings from Jordan Clark boosted the total.Smith then got Cobb caught at mid-on by a juggling Clark with the first ball of the Leicester innings before McDonald found his feet quickly. He shared 33 for the third wicket with James Taylor but the innings slipped as soon as the latter was trapped lbw by Kerrigan.Nixon was stumped by Cross off a Keedy wide, McDonald punted the same bowler to Horton at long-off and Jacques Du Toit found Clark at midwicket off Kerrigan before Razzaq’s fireworks turned the contest and inflicted a first defeat of this season’s campaign on Lancashire.