Lions looking to settle scores - Petersen

Lions captain Alviro Petersen doesn't have any preferences for their opponents in the Champions League final on Sunday, but has a score to settle with both Sydney Sixers and Titans. Lions lost to the Titans in the final of the MiWay T20 Challenge earlier this year while the Sixers are the only side to beat Petersen's side in this competition.

"I don't really mind any of them [Titans or Sixers]," Petersen said after they beat Delhi Daredevils by 22 runs in the first semi-final on Thursday. "We lost to the Titans in last year's (sic. 2012) final. It would be nice to beat them there. The only game we lost in this tournament has been to the Sixers so we would like to put one over them as well."

Petersen believed that hunger and focus are the constants which the team will take to the final. "What I can assure you is the team will be up for it once more, the boys are hungry. We are playing good cricket. We know that the road that we are on doesn't end here. We are focused on preparing for what lies ahead, and that will be our real focus.

"I think the hallmark of this team is that the guys are so committed to each other. We know that everyone can't perform every day. When it's someone's turn, they make the play for us," he said.

The Lions were also not put off by the forecast of inclement weather. Petersen said their performance had improved as they progressed through the tournament.

"We wanted to get out there and play. There was talk of rain but the guys were really professional and mature, the way we have gone about our preparations and performance.

"Running at 75% we have still beaten teams, and today I thought we really upped it to about 85-90% and we showed what sort of team we are. We will take that confidence to the final as well," said Petersen.

Neil McKenzie brought the experience of his 105 Twenty20 games after he walked into bat in the 11th over with his side on 63 for 3. He forged a 59-run fourth-wicket stand with half-centurion Gulam Bodi, McKenzie himself making a 28-ball 46 with four boundaries and a six. However, McKenzie still believed the Lions were ten runs short of a competitive total, but the confidence in the dressing-room made the difference.

"We got off to a nice start with Gulam [Bodi] and Alviro [Petersen] but then we had a little hiccup in the middle there," McKenzie said. "When I got in, there wasn't much time to settle in. It was a case of getting in as quick as I can. Gulam played some nice shots and he got a fifty. But I thought we were ten [runs] light.

"Back in the dressing-room, the guys were saying 140 is enough and the bowlers backed up with a huge effort. The Man-of-the-match could have gone to a lot of the bowlers - [Aaron] Phangiso, [Chris] Morris, Sohail [Tanvir], all the guys did the job. Alviro rotated the bowlers beautifully. It was a great team effort."

McKenzie, who was part of the Hampshire side that won the English domestic Twenty20 competition as well, said experienced batsmen like him also have a place in the format.

"There's definitely a room to bat my way and for the other ways. As long as the strike-rate is high at the end of the day, you can't have seven hitters in the side or seven deflectors. We have a nice balance at the moment, we have a plan to go till a certain stage and then go big from there. It is all about communication, role clarification," he said.

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Vaas to assist NZ bowlers during SL Tests

New Zealand has taken on Chaminda Vaas as their assistant bowling coach for the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka. He will assist Shane Bond, who was appointed bowling coach last week, for the last part of their five-week tour, which begins with the one-off Twenty20 international on October 30.

"We wanted someone with experience in the subcontinent to work with our young bowlers. [Chaminda] Vaas will work alongside bowling coach Shane Bond during the Tests," New Zealand coach Mike Hesson told reporters in Colombo on Friday. "Vaas' extensive playing experience in local conditions will provide valuable input, as we plan and prepare for the Test series. An important part of his brief will be to provide tactical advice to the bowling unit, especially our contingent of left-arm seamers.

"In terms of professional development, it's a great opportunity for Shane Bond to work alongside a different style of coach and I'm sure he'll benefit from the experience."

Vaas, Sri Lanka's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs, said he was eager to work with the likes of Doug Bracewell, Chris Martin and Tim Southee, and the left-arm trio - Trent Boult, James Franklin and Neil Wagner.

"I am pleased to have the chance to work with an international team, particularly a side like New Zealand [which has] such a large number of talented young fast bowlers," he said. "I feel my recent experience as a player and understanding of conditions in the subcontinent will benefit the team."

Ahead of their last full tour of Sri Lanka in 2009, New Zealand hired former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq as a consultant, to help their spin bowlers as well as advise the batsmen on how to play spin in the subcontinent, a trend that Hesson, the new man in charge, has followed.

"When we tour a number of countries, we try to access specialists," Hesson said. "When we play in the subcontinent the conditions are very foreign, so we need to learn. We try to take every opportunity that we can. We are very open to get people on short term basis and hopefully it will work."

Following the one-off T20 and the five-match ODI series, the Test series begins in Galle on November 17.

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New Zealand have enough talent to win - Oram

New Zealand have not enjoyed much success in 2012 so far, with defeats to South Africa, West Indies and India, and a Super Eights exit from the World Twenty20. They are determined to make amends on their five-week tour of Sri Lanka, and, according to allrounder Jacob Oram, are confident of doing so.

"We are not here to lose and we are not here to just make up the [numbers], we want to win," Oram told reporters in Colombo on Friday. "If we play well we are confident that we can win. We do appreciate that Sri Lanka is a very good side in their home conditions and more than a match for us at times, but we have enough talent.

"We come with young guys who have played only a handful of matches, and experienced ones with the likes of me, Kyle Mills, Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum. We are hoping to balance our team with a bit of both. We've got to make sure the talent comes out at the right time."

Another senior man in the squad, James Franklin, said that most of his team-mates are familiar with conditions in Sri Lanka and this could come in handy. "Our last trip here was a few weeks ago [for the World T20], and the temperature and humidity hasn't changed much. We are reasonably familiar with the grounds here.

"We play the first couple of games in Pallekele, where we were based during the World T20. It might take the new guys a few days to get used to conditions, but for the majority is a bit of a groundhog day being back in Sri Lanka."

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will enter a new era with Angelo Mathews the new man at the helm in the shortest format. Mathews will face a bit of a challenge to begin with, as Sri Lanka are without two of the team's lynchpins - Mahela Jayawardene and Lasith Malinga - for the one-off Twenty20.

"The selectors wanted to give these two cricketers a rest. Their absence from the team is a big loss but with the squad I have been given, I am confident we can win," Mathews said. "Working under Mahela [Jayawardene] is a big learning curve because he is the best captain Sri Lanka has ever had. It is a privilege to be his vice-captain.

"The selectors thought that I was ready for it [the captaincy] so they gave me the job. I am excited."

The one-off Twenty20 on October 30 will be followed by five ODIs and two Test matches.

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Sydney Sixers in final after nailbiter

Sydney Sixers 164 for 8 (O'Keefe 32, Lumb 33, van der Merwe 1-23) beat Titans 163 for 5 (Wiese 61*, Davids 59*) by two wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Fortunes ebbed and flowed in true Twenty20 style in Centurion, as Sydney Sixers scripted a final-ball jailbreak to set up a title clash with Lions on Sunday. It was a heartbreak for the home fans, who showed up to cheer for Titans, and for the rest of the country, who would have hoped for an all-South Africa final.

In a tournament that hasn't seen too many of the high scores normally associated with this format, a target of 164 was always going to be a challenge. Sixers were the form team, coming into the semis unbeaten, and seemed best equipped in all departments to overhaul any challenge thrown at them.

It was still anybody's game in the final over, with Sixers needing eight with three wickets in hand. Titans captain Martin van Jaarsveld gambled by tossing the ball to CJ de Villiers, who had had an ordinary night leaking 26 off his first two overs. Ben Rohrer was adventurous enough to paddle-scoop the first ball but could fetch only a couple. He scooped the second ball straight to mid-off but crucially in those few seconds, Pat Cummins - who blitzed a six the previous over - crossed and shielded the new batsman from facing. The following ball cost Titans as de Villiers sprayed it too wide of the off stump and was penalised. Cummins heaved the next to deep midwicket, survived a run-out appeal and picked up two more. He stole a leg bye, exposed Mitchell Starc who couldn't put away a short ball but also managed to sneak a leg bye. There were memories of Johannesburg 2011, when Cummins snatched a Test win for Australia with the bat. He did it again this time when he swung and missed, but it didn't hurt Sixers as the wicketkeeper Heino Kuhn was way off the mark with his throw and, despite a collision with the bowler amid the frenzy, Cummins managed to crawl to the other end to secure a thriller.

A nailbiter seemed unlikely after the electric start provided by the openers Michael Lumb and Steve O'Keefe, who was in his makeshift role due to Shane Watson's departure to Australia. The pair added 54 in just under five overs with clean hits, each boundary met by a hush from the crowd. The first eight overs contained at least one boundary. The ninth was the start of Titans' comeback, via their spinners. Eden Links clean bowled O'Keefe for 32 and the following over by Roelof van der Merwe produced two wickets, including a run-out. It was the first of two communication breakdowns in Sixers' innings - Steve Smith and Nic Maddinson found themselves stranded on two separate occasions and Sixers had slipped from 85 for 1 after eight overs to 115 for 5 after 13.

Van der Merwe came back well after being caned in his opening over but a couple of meaty blows by Moises Henriques narrowed the equation. The match see-sawed again when Henriques and Nathan McCullum fell off consecutive balls, and it came down to Cummins to secure the highest-successful chase in this edition of the tournament.

That the match even had a competitive ring to it though was thanks to contrasting half-centuries by two Titans batsmen with similar sounding names. Henry Davids batted through the innings with 59 off 44 balls while David Wiese made the most of his relatively short stint with an unbeaten 61 off 28 balls.

Titans were at an underwhelming 91 for 5 after 16 overs, desperate for a push. Wiese began his onslaught by lofting Cummins high over midwicket and in the same over fetched back-to-back fours to take 15 off the over. It was a sign of things to come as Wiese bludgeoned consecutive sixes over the on side off Henriques in an over that leaked 23. They ransacked 72 off the last four overs and Wiese brought up the tournament's fastest fifty - off 25 balls - to give Sixers something to think about. In the end it was fitting that Sixers, the most dominant side in the competition, made the final.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 NB/Wides Titans 48 13 7 39/3 75/0 0/4 Sydney Sixers 45 16 5 60/1 43/3 0/5

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Australian and South African powerhouses clash

Match facts

October 26, 2012
Start time 1730 local (1530 GMT)

Big Picture

As expected of a young tournament with potentially different qualifiers every year, we have a semi-final between two sides that have never met each other. However, these two sides - not literally, but the regions they are derived from - are traditional powerhouses in their respective countries.

It is generally said that a healthy New South Wales equals a healthy Australia. The same can be said of Pretoria and surrounds, the region the Titans represent, and South Africa. This is one of the appeals of the Champions League. We can quibble about the formats, but here are two teams, traditionally best or thereabouts in their own domestic tournaments, facing each other for a right to play the final of a lucrative tournament.

Sydney Sixers don't have Shane Watson or David Warner (both New South Welshmen now) available, but Titans have lost out on more stars for various reasons. Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers all come from the region, yet they are either injured or representing other franchises, South African or Indian. Sixers, on the other hand, have retained services of a homegrown pace attack that has even Test fans excited. If only Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were going up against Steyn, Morkel and Marchant de Lange, we could even have looked at this as a bit-sized precursor to the blockbuster Test series next month.

Watch out for…

Starc and Cummins have been known outside Australia for some time now, but this was an important tournament for Josh Hazlewood. The rest of the world now knows of another potential baggy green holder. He might not have taken many wickets, but he has bowled his quota in all the four matches he has played, and has gone at just 4.5 per over. Starc, who is leading the charts with 11 wickets, will no doubt acknowledge Hazlewood's contribution to his wickets.

Forget homegrown players, Titans have the services of one who has taken a rather circuitous route. Alfonso Thomas was born in Cape Town, moved to the North-West team in Potchefstroom, then joined Titans, before leaving for Dolphins and then came back to Titans. Despite his one Twenty20 international representing South Africa, he is mostly known to those outside South Africa as a Somerset professional. He will be key if Titans are to exploit what remotely resembles a weakness: Sixers' batting.

Weather and conditions

The forecast point to a "mostly sunny" day and a "mostly clear" evening in Centurion. If it does rain enough to wash the game out, we still have a reserve day on Saturday. That reduces the teams' challenge to dealing with the slightly tacky bounce at SuperSport Park. That this is Titans' home ground should give them a slight advantage.

Quotes

"There won't be any change in game plan. Everybody knows their role and we will continue to play our roles whether Shane's here or not. So, I don't think that is going to be an issue."
Sydney Sixers' Peter Nevill on the absence of Shane Watson

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England have point to prove - Finn

Steven Finn has said that England will head to India in search of a fresh start and eager to restate their credentials as one of the best Test sides in the world, after a difficult year in which they lost the No. 1 ranking, their captain and very nearly their star batsman.

A 2-0 defeat at home to South Africa led to England being deposed as the top-ranked team in Tests and precipitated Andrew Strauss' retirement from cricket, leaving Alastair Cook to assume the Test captaincy ahead of one of the most difficult touring propositions in the game.

England have not won a Test series in India since 1984-85 and struggled against subcontinental opposition last winter, being whitewashed 3-0 by Pakistan in the UAE and drawing 1-1 in Sri Lanka. England's victory in Colombo was only their fifth Test win in Asia, against countries other than Bangladesh, in 27 years but Finn said Cook's squad have a point to prove and invoked their landmark Ashes victory of 2010-11 by way of inspiration.

"It is almost a fresh start for us," Finn said, "the Test team hasn't played together since August so we've had a bit of time and we've got a new captain who will have his own ideas how he wants the team to move forward. There are a few fresh faces in the squad and I think we like proving people wrong. We like rearing our backs up in the face of adversity.

"It is something we're excited about, I don't think an England team have won out there for 27 years so we're looking to do a similar thing to what we did in Australia, by breaking those sort of records."

The tour is likely to provide Cook with plenty of challenges, not least brokering a successful return to the England environment for Kevin Pietersen, after a turbulent summer in which he retired from limited-overs internationals and was then dropped from the Test side after admitting sending messages about Strauss to members of the South Africa squad. The circle will be completed when Pietersen joins up with England in Dubai over the weekend, after his IPL team, Delhi Daredevils, were knocked out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage.

England have set much store by team unity in recent years but Finn said that he was looking forward to playing with Pietersen again. "He is a world class player and has produced some splendid innings that have won us games so I think it's great to have him back and good for English cricket," he said.

England's last win on the subcontinent, against Sri Lanka in April, was inspired by Pietersen's magnificent innings of 151 and knitting him back into the fabric of the team would appear to be essential to the tourists' chances in the four-Test series. While India will be seeking to avenge the 4-0 whitewashing they suffered in 2011, England also have plenty at stake.

"We have a massive point to prove," Finn said. "We have to prove to the general public, to the people who comment on the game and to people within the game. If we want to be the number one side in the world again and get that mantle back we have to be able to perform in subcontinental conditions.

"We have done a lot of work since we played Pakistan earlier this year, as a unit and as a team, developing skills that we will need in the subcontinent - playing against spin, using old balls on wickets that aren't doing much. We have done a lot of work to refine our game to become better in the subcontinent and hopefully that will bear fruit on this tour."

Investec, the specialist bank and asset manager, is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. Visit the Investec Cricket Zone at investec.co.uk/cricket for player analysis, stats, Test match info and games

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Mitchell Marsh loses Australia A spot

The allrounder Mitchell Marsh has missed out on being selected for Australia A because of his behaviour in South Africa over the past week. Marsh was one of several Perth Scorchers players who had a big night out in the lead-up to a must-win Champions League Twenty20 match and he and his brother Shaun were subsequently dropped from the Scorchers' final match of the tournament.

It has also cost Marsh the chance to play against South Africa in a three-day match in Sydney starting next Friday. The Australia A team will be captained by the Victoria allrounder Andrew McDonald, one of four players with Test experience in the side along with Phillip Hughes, Tim Paine and Steven Smith, and while there are plenty of allrounders in the 11-man team, Marsh is not one of them.

"Four or five days ago we had a squad of 15 that we were looking to mould and Mitch was in that," the national selector John Inverarity said. "What's happened in South Africa recently didn't help his cause there. It's up to the WACA to deal with that and they will deal with that appropriately. As soon as that has been dealt with and whatever sanctions they have in mind…when that's finished he'll be very much back on the radar.

"Mitch is a good lad but apparently there was alleged to be an indiscretion there. I'm sure we've all had indiscretions in our time. But he'll come back onto the radar. He's a very good cricketer, a very promising cricketer and a cricketer that Australia needs to develop."

When asked if Marsh's name was taken off the list of 15 specifically because of the events in South Africa, Inverarity said: "Yes, his name was taken off the list because of what's happened recently. Mitch is a lively 21-year-old and a very good cricketer. I feel really confident he will kick on as a young man and as a player. I'm sure he will."

Inverarity, a former Western Australia player, said the incident in South Africa, in which players were believed to be out on the town celebrating Marsh's 21st birthday, was a concern for the culture of cricket in the state.

"There are concerns there, the concerns are fairly widespread, yes," Inverarity said. "We want cricket to have a very healthy culture in all parts of Australia, and I think in WA there need to be some changes and they need to pull up their socks."

Two Western Australia players made the Australia A side, the fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile and the opener Liam Davis. Victoria's prolific opener Rob Quiney was also included, along with the Tasmania batsman Alex Doolan, who made 149 for the Tigers earlier this month against South Australia, followed by a fighting 95 in the ongoing match against Victoria at the MCG.

There was no place for Callum Ferguson, who impressed with a career-best 164 in this week's Sheffield Shield match for South Australia in Adelaide, nor for the Queensland batsman Usman Khawaja. Ferguson's century this week was his first major score in some time, after he averaged 32.40 in the Sheffield Shield last summer.

"We were delighted he made 160-odd the other day, which was terrific, the issue with Callum is consistency," Inverarity said. "We want him to do it again, and again and again. I think Phil Hughes really benefited by having an uninterrupted time at Worcester. He was there, he was settled, he made runs there, and we're looking for Callum staying with SA, batting at No. 4, batting under pressure and getting runs consistently."

There were plenty of allrounders picked in the 11-man group, including Smith, Moises Henriques and Glenn Maxwell. The new ball will be shared by Coulter-Nile and John Hastings, while other fast men including Jackson Bird and Luke Butterworth were overlooked.

The team will play the South Africans in Sydney ahead of the first Test, although the Australia A players cannot force their way into the Test side with performances in this match, for the Test squad will be announced on Monday.

"The national selection panel does not intend, at the moment, to include any of the players in this Australia A team in the squad for the first Test," Inverarity said. "Phillip Hughes, Rob Quiney, Liam Davis and Alex Doolan are four top-order batsmen who have played well recently and will have an opportunity to impress against the formidable South African pace attack.

"Rob Quiney has been very close to receiving recognition for some time and his sound technique and equable temperament should serve him well as an opener. Phillip Hughes has been in pleasing form and showing the benefits of his four month uninterrupted spell with Worcestershire and settling in well with his new team, South Australia.

"Andrew McDonald, Steve Smith, Moises Henriques and Alex Doolan have been in sparkling form recently. Following the unfortunate shoulder injury to Jon Holland, Glenn Maxwell has been given the responsibility of being the team's sole spinner. The NSP is very keen for him to develop as a genuine allrounder.

"John Hastings has made a splendid return from injury, as has Tim Paine, and John will share the new ball with Nathan Coulter-Nile, who impressed with Australia A in England a few months ago, as did Davis. They will be supported by the medium pace of McDonald and Henriques."

Australia A squad Phillip Hughes, Rob Quiney, Liam Davis, Alex Doolan, Andrew McDonald (capt), Tim Paine (wk), Steven Smith, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, John Hastings, Nathan Coulter-Nile.

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BCCI holds firm on broadcaster fees

The BCCI remains firm in its demand of what it calls "realistic costs" of providing space and access for independent TV and radio commentary teams from Sky TV and BBC's Test Match Special to cover England's tour of India which is due to begin in early November.

Officials have refused to make a statement on the matter but ESPNcricinfo understands that the BCCI has not signed any rights deals or contract with either Sky or TMS. The dispute of the amounts mentioned - £500,000 (US$806,000) for Sky and £50,000 (US$80,000) for BBC - has arisen because, for the first time, the BCCI holds production rights for the coverage of Indian cricket.

Sky and BBC have signed sub-licencee agreements with Star TV which is the owner of "global media rights" of Indian cricket which will give them access to the world feed. As Star is not in charge of production, the arrangements to set up independent commentary teams and provide access to commentary boxes and independent studios must be made between sub-licencees and the production house, in this case the BCCI.

A BCCI official, preferring anonymity, said: "It is not as if they have only asked for a commentary box. They have demanded a full control room, just like the one our host broadcaster has at every venue. If you have to create an additional space of 2000 sq ft, fully air-conditioned, it will bear a lot of cost. And neither the BCCI nor any of our affiliated units who would be hosting the match would bear the additional cost."

In the past, the TV channel that owned the rights, usually also controlled production. During overseas tours, the cost of providing access and facilities to overseas commentary teams were worked out between the production house and the visiting media channels. The "access fees" were worked out through mutual relationships between broadcast and production companies. Costs have often been waived and even if the extent of the support required was substantial, the fees were arrived at following mutually-agreeable discussions.

With the BCCI owning production rights to all cricket out of India, the visiting broadcast companies must independently negotiate costs over and above what it has paid the rights owners for sub-licences. Just after Star won its global media rights, a joint ESPNStar production team had made a pitch for production rights of cricket in India but had not won the contract.

BCCI is not the only cricket board that owns production rights: Cricket South Africa's global rights are sold to SuperSport but it keeps production under its own control. Under CSA's terms, the Board has the final say on its commentary team for its home audience while IMG takes care of some of camera crew and graphics and also sorts out the agreements between independent visiting commentary teams.

The fees being asked for by the BCCI from Sky and BBC for production costs have led the visiting broadcasters to suggest they may decide to provide independent commentary from their UK headquarters off a television set rather than live action at the venue.

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PCB to buy bulletproof buses

The PCB governing board has sanctioned the purchase of bulletproof buses to ensure best security protocol for visiting teams, and thus address some of the security concerns that have prevented international teams from touring Pakistan over the last three and a half years.

Pakistan has been a no-go zone for major international teams after the attack on Sri Lankan team - their bus was shot at by gunmen near Gaddafi Stadium in March 2009, and the attack injured five cricketers and killed six security men and two civilians. Since then, Pakistan have been playing their 'home' series abroad, and the PCB has been trying to bring international cricket back to the country. Now, the PCB hopes it can be revived as early as next year, following the successful staging of two exhibition Twenty20s involving an International World XI in Karachi last week.

The PCB relies heavily on the government with regards to providing the visiting teams' security. The bullet proof buses will be an additional safety measure for visiting teams, ensuring box security while travelling. The buses were sanctioned at the PCB governing board meeting on Thursday in Abbottabad, the garrison town north of Islamabad.

"To ensure best security protocols for international teams, the Board of Governors unanimously approved the purchase of bullet proof buses," the PCB said in a statement. "The members noted that the step would enable the PCB to achieve higher security measures for the teams visiting Pakistan in future."

Apart from working on security protocol, the PCB has been working on identifying potential new venues for international cricket across the country and upgrading them to international standards. The board had visited the Abbottabad cricket stadium and, at the meeting, approved a Rs 12.5 million budget for its upgrading and development.

Earlier this year the PCB had identified a 35-acre piece of land in Islamabad, where a stadium that is meant to be the biggest in the country, with a capacity of capacity of 50,000, will be developed. "The board unanimously decided to name the stadium after Mohtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto," the PCB statement said.

The stadium will be in the Shakarparian area of Islamabad, with multiple facilities that include a cricket ground, a cricket academy and lodging facility. According to the Memorandum of Understanding between the PCB and Capital Development Authority (CDA), the PCB will receive 70% of the revenue generated by the stadium, while the CDA will take 30%.

Also at the meeting, the governing board reviewed the progress made in bringing together Pakistan's proposed Twenty20 league. "The board was updated on the progress thus far and a roadmap was shared with them," the statement said. "The board appreciated it as a positive initiative for the revival of international cricket in Pakistan." The league is planned for March 2013, immediately after Pakistan's South Africa tour, which ends on March 24.

The board also sanctioned the use of Kookaburra balls in domestic cricket, terming it a 'positive step' for the improvement of the domestic game. The PCB is yet to introduce the balls in the ongoing President's Trophy; the fifth round of the tournament, starting from November 2, will be played with the imported balls.

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At least three bids expected for new IPL franchise

For the second time in as many months, the BCCI's mandarins will assemble on Thursday in an attempt to find a new franchise owner for the IPL. Their last attempt was foiled when the owners of Deccan Chargers rejected the sole bid by PVP Ventures to take over the then beleaguered (and now terminated) Hyderabad franchise on September 13, and the BCCI would be hoping Thursday does not see a repeat.

It's unlikely the new invitation to tender - floated by the board on October 14 after India's Supreme Court upheld Chargers' termination - won't attract bidders. When the BCCI top brass meet in Mumbai on Thursday, they would be hoping to have "at least three" bidders for the new IPL team that would feature in at least five editions of the tournament from the 2013 season. "Around half a dozen tender documents have been bought by prospective owners, so it cannot be said that the response has been negative," a BCCI insider told ESPNcricinfo.

The lower base price is expected to draw more interest from bidders. When the Sahara group bought the Pune franchise in 2010, the base price was $225 million for 10 years. It was learnt that this time, the BCCI has set the base price at Rs 60 crore ($11.2 million) per year for a period of five years.

Though the BCCI bigwigs were tightlipped over the expected winning bid amount, a market expert, requesting anonymity, said he "won't be surprised if the winning bid is around Rs 600 crore ($112 million) for five years".

Recently, Kamla Landmarc group had offered to buy Chargers hours before they were terminated for Rs 1250 crore ($231.5 million) payable over ten years, according to Ajay Vazirani, senior partner of Hariani & Co, legal advisors to the group.

"If the base price is lowered, then it will certainly become an investor-friendly entity," Prahlad Kakkar, the leading ad filmmaker, said. "What has been happening till now is the cost of the team is so high that the only option to make money is to sell the team. A lowered base price suddenly makes it more viable for a lot of investors."

The tender had invited bids with respect to 12 cities: Ahmedabad, Cuttack, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Indore, Kanpur, Kochi, Nagpur, Noida, Rajkot, Ranchi and Vizag. Among those who will most likely submit their bids are PVP Ventures, whose efforts to buy Chargers last month went in vain. And don't be surprised if the Ahmedabad-based Adani group and Noida-based Jaypee group end up bidding for their home cities. However, with the BCCI having imposed stringent measures when it comes to the termination clause by adding a performance deposit, investors will think long and hard before bidding for the team.

Meanwhile, the IPL governing council, which meets on the sidelines of the bidding process, will discuss a host of matters regarding IPL 2013. The main issue will be to decide the fate of the Chargers players. The governing council could decide to send all those players back into the auction pool.

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Habib Bank remain unbeaten

Habib Bank secured their fourth win in as many matches in Pakistan's President's Trophy when they defeated State Bank by 129 runs in Faisalabad. State Bank's win was grounded on a first innings total of 327, which featured a Younis Khan ton and 91 from Rameez Aziz. Fast bowler Ehsan Adil took 8 wickets for 79 in the match, ensuring State Bank never breached the 200-run mark, while part-timers Ahmed Shehzad and Aftab Alam also took 4 wickets apiece.

Younis made 101 after Habib Bank won the toss and chose to bat first, and shared a 101-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Aziz. Saad Altaf and Mohammad Ali ground out five top-order wickets between them for State Bank, before legspinner Kashi Siddiq took care of the tail with 4 of his own.

In response, State Bank could only manage 198, as Adil accounted for four of the top five. Only Usman Saeed made a fifty for State Bank, before Shehzad decimated the lower order with 4 for 7 in 2.5 overs. With a first innings lead of 129, Habib Bank declared their second innings at 148 for 5. Adil and Alam then completed the victory, taking eight wickets between them as they dismissed State Bank for 148 on the final day.

Habib Bank sits atop the President's Trophy ladder, with 33 points.

National Bank drew with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in a high-scoring match in Lahore, where both teams posted first innings totals in excess of 300, before National Bank made 428 in their second innings. There was only time for two overs in the fourth innings before stumps were drawn on the fourth day.

Qaiser Abbas' 106 provided the backbone for National Bank's 323, after being asked to bat first, and though PIA had them at 151 for 5 on the first day, a 136-run partnership for the sixth wicket propelled National Bank towards 300 before the tail took them beyond it. Aizaz Cheema took 4 for 81 among the PIA bowlers.

PIA also produced a lone centurion in response, though they had seemed headed for a large first innings deficit before he sparked a revival. Wahab Riaz and Abbas had reduced PIA to 144 for seven before Shoaib Khan snr batted alongside the tail for his unbeaten 121, taking part in a 125-run partnership for the eighth wicket, before putting on 53 for the ninth. When PIA were eventually dismissed, they had a 13-run lead.

National Bank then made 428 in the second innings, effectively making a result impossible, despite the urgency with which Amim-ur-Rehman compiled his 137 from 168 deliveries. Bilal Munir and Umair Khan made half-centuries, while Anwar Ali took 5 for 115.

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines ground out a 32-run victory against Port Qasim Authority (PQA) in Sialkot, after PQA were dismissed for 215, having been set 247 to win. On the final day, PQA had progressed to 161 for 5, needing 87 to win, but lost their last five wickets for 54 as Samiullah Khan and Mohammad Hafeez took four second-innings wickets apiece. Samiullah finished with 7 wickets for 112, but PQA's left arm spinner Azam Hussain's 10 for 91 could not prevent defeat for his side.

Mohammad Rizwan's 91 and Ali Waqas' 56 took Sui Gas to 266 in the first innings. Rizwan struck 13 fours in his innings, striking at 77.14. Azam dismissed Rizwan and Waqas, as well as Misbah-ul-Haq as he took 4 for 41 in the first innings. In response, PQA made 244, with Saniyal Ahsan the only batsman to make a half century, with 61.

A six-wicket haul by Saeed Ajmal was one of the highlights of a drawn game between Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited and Water and Power Development Authority. It was Ajmal's 27th five-for in a first-class game but it was not enough to turn the momentum completely in favor of ZTBL, who were behind by eleven runs in the first innings.

Batting first, WAPDA rode on Sohaib Maqsood's 110 to get to 294 all out after Abdul Razzaq helped remove middle-order cheaply. The allrounder took his twelfth five-wicket haul but ZTBL began poorly in their reply. Only Haris Sohail withstood the challenge, hammering 115 in his first first-class appearance of the season. He had been away in South Africa playing in the Champions League T20s for Sialkot Stallions, and missed the first three games for ZTBL.

Ajmal then took six wickets in WAPDA's second innings which was kept alive by Kaleem Ahmed's staunch 70 which he made in more than five hours at the crease.

Mohammad Irfan and Yasir Ali fashioned Khan Research Laboratories' (KRL) fightback as they beat United Bank Limited (UBL) by four wickets at their home ground in Rawalpindi. The pace duo picked up three wickets each in the UBL second innings to reduce them to 143 all out, which added little to the 29-run deficit KRL had sustained in the first innings.

After being put into bat, Abid Ali's first century of the season helped UBL post 319 all out, despite a four-wicket haul from left-armer Irfan. Half-centuries from Zain Abbas, Saeed Anwar jnr and Naved Yasin got KRL close but they were bowled out for 290 runs. Fast bowler Mohammad Irshad took five wickets and four were taken by left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti in the KRL first innings.

Irfan and Ali broke through early in the second innings, to restrict UBL to 143. It left enough time for KRL to chase down the 173-run target, which they did in 39.4 overs, picking up their second win. UBL are winless after four games.

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Cook ready for India challenge

In early days of England's 1992-93 tour of India, the pair of Mike Atherton and Phil Tufnell wandered around the streets of Kolkata, admiring and swallowing at once the beauty, chaos and stench of the City of Joy. The pair were bunking as room-mates on their first trip to India and Atherton recounts an interesting story in his autobiography Opening Up.

As they ambled along the streets, the duo ended up sitting "cross-legged" in front of a fortune teller, who had lured the Englishmen in with the offer that for a small fee he would have his caged parrot pick the Tarot cards which would reveal their immediate future. Superstitious, both men acquiesced. The pair's fate, the fortune teller warned, was "bleak" for the next couple of months, but would pick up from February 24 - the day before the England tour ended. Needless to say, England lost the series 3-0.

Security concerns will not allow England's newly installed Test captain, Alastair Cook, to find himself squatting in the promenade by the Gateway of India, a happy hunting ground for fortune tellers. Then again, Cook does not need a stranger to tell him what lays in store when he lands in India.

The reintegration process of Kevin Pietersen back into the England dressing room; how to conquer spin, England's Achilles for the many debacles over many decades; installing a suitable and long-term opener to replace Cook's predecessor, Andrew Strauss, with whom he had a prolific partnership; and, importantly, rediscovering the team's winning ways are the main hurdles for Cook and England's team director, Andy Flower, on the India trip.

The rights and wrongs of the Pietersen issue have all the makings of a bestseller but if England want to stand up on Indian soil confidently, they need their best player of spin and they need to embrace him despite his faults. Some have argued that England won the 2009 Ashes largely without Pietersen but then playing India in India on turning tracks is a different proposition to Australia at home. Among current England batsmen, Pietersen has the best scoring rate against Indian spinners in India of 3.57. Of the touring squad, only Cook and Pietersen have made centuries in India, with the pair both passing 1000 runs on the subcontinent since Cook's 2006 debut.

On Thursday, before England departed to India via the UAE - where the squad train over the weekend - Cook said several times that Pietersen was "desperate and keen to pull his England shirt on", because with the three lions on his chest Pietersen has shown the ability to bring down the opposition single-handedly.

Cook acknowledged the bitterness of the past two months, as Pietersen was dropped immediately after his heroics at Headingley in the second Test against South Africa. Earlier this week Strauss himself said that it would not be an easy healing process. Cook recognised the difficulty but indicated strongly that he wanted to move forward.

"It has been a difficult two months for us as an England side but for me as a captain the best possible outcome has happened," Cook said. "We have got a world-class player back in our team. It has been a tough couple of months for Kevin but he seems very contrite. He is desperate to be back playing, doing what he does best - scoring runs for England. As a captain that is what all I want. I want him to come back into the side as he was to score match-winning runs like he did in Colombo, like he did at Headingley. I am sure he will be desperately keen to do that. As a captain I wanted our best players in the team because that is how we know we can get the best results."

Asked if it would be easy for the team management and his team-mates to give Pietersen respect and expect the same in return, Cook agreed that it would take time for the reconciliation but said the first positive steps had been taken. According to Cook the key was to develop the same team ethos that had seen England climb to top of the Test rankings last year with consistent performances.

"Clearly we know how important team spirit and team harmony is because that is where all our strength has been in the last couple of years and it shows in the results," Cook said. "We know how hard we have to work at that to make sure we continue on that front. We will be working as hard as we can in the coming months to put the team in that spirit that we know makes us perform well."

Keeping his house in order is bound to keep Cook occupied, but he is more keen to focus on England's biggest challenge: countering the menace of spin. Last year, England were blanked 5-0 in the ODI series in India. The 3-0 whitewash by Pakistan in the UAE is not even twelve months old and the subsequent struggle in Sri Lanka only re-emphasised their continuing agony against the slow bowlers.

"We know how important playing spin is," Cook said. "We did struggle in UAE, but the amount of work we did towards the latter part of the tour and then in Sri Lanka, we need to get as close to that point as soon as we can and build from there. Because we know how important playing spin is and how important first-innings runs are."

Cook was also not that concerned that the absence of any specialist spinner in the first warm-up game against India A was a smart trick by the Indians to protect their trump card. "What happened in UAE against Pakistan highlighted exactly where were at: we did struggle there. But I thought the improvements were made in Colombo and Galle. To draw a Test series out there was a really good achievement. It is important how we train against spin and how we start."

England last won a series in India in 1985. The last time they won a Test match was when then-captain, Andrew Flintoff, played the role of DJ-cum-captain in Mumbai. Cook did not play that match. He will be desperate to play a leading role this time around; importantly he will need all hands on the deck.

"We have a real, tough challenge ahead of us as a side," Cook said. "It has been almost 30 years since we won in India so that shows the challenge ahead but I am very confident in this squad that we can go out there and do something special."

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Dead rubber washed out, Delhi Daredevils finish top

Delhi Daredevils v Titans Match abandoned without a ball being bowled
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Heavy rain after the toss in Centurion meant the final league match of Champions League T20 was abandoned without a ball being bowled. With that, Delhi Daredevils finished at the top of the group, and drew Lions in their semi-final in Durban on Thursday. Titans will take on Sydney Sixers at home venue, Centurion, on Friday.

The teams, both of whom had already qualified for the semi-final, were two points apart, and the result of the match could have had an impact on the final standings.

Keeping the relatively low stakes in mind, Daredevils had rested captain Mahela Jayawardene to give David Warner a hit. Ross Taylor lost the toss for them.

Titans had also made two changes to give Paul Harris and wicketkeeper Mangaliso Mosehle a game, but it was not to be.

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India is England's biggest challenge - Prior

Matt Prior, the England wicketkeeper, believes that winning a Test series against India in India equates to a bigger task than beating Australia away, which England did for the first time in 24 years in 2010-11.

Later this week England depart for a training camp in Dubai before the four-Test tour of India, where they will be seeking a first series win since 1984. In the latest edition of Alison's Tea Break, Prior describes winning on the subcontinent as "the final frontier" for a team who are determined to climb the Test rankings again after losing their No. 1 status to South Africa at home earlier this year.

Prior's contention is perhaps one of the reasons why he was central in attempting to smooth Kevin Pietersen's return to the England set-up ahead of the India series. Prior was one of the senior England players to meet with Pietersen ahead of his return to the Test squad. He was also quick to pick up the phone to Pietersen in the aftermath of the batsman's extraordinary press conference at Headingley when he stated "it's tough being me" in the England dressing room.

"I've seen Kev, we had a good chat or meeting, whatever you want to call it," Prior says. "Obviously I don't want to go into too much detail about what went on in the meeting but the important thing about it is KP playing for England will make England a better team. He is a phenomenal player, we all know that.

"The really important thing is that we are all pulling and moving in the same direction, and whether it be KP, or myself - if one person steps out of line in the other direction, it's tough. Our team ethic and team ethos has been the most important thing in our success over the last couple of years and we want to make sure we look after that and make sure we can get it back to where it was."

Prior explains why he felt compelled to speak to Pietersen after the second Test against South Africa, what he felt it achieved and the extent to which he believes England can recapture the dressing room ethos that he feels has been central to the team's success over the last couple of years.

"To be honest, all the time it was KP having an issue with the ECB, IPL, etc, but the minute he said he had an issue with the dressing room, it suddenly became the players' problem," he says. "I felt the only thing to do was to say 'Right, what are your issues?' Kev will probably admit he did a few things wrong but if one of our senior players is saying he's struggling in the dressing room then it would be wrong of us not to look at it and say, 'Okay what are we doing that's making him feel that way?' So it works a bit both ways."

In the interview, Prior also discusses what makes for a successful and happy dressing room and the importance of trust and respect in a team game, as well as reiterating his desire to get back in the one-day and Twenty20 squads once again for England.

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Off-field issues compromised Perth's preparation - North

Marcus North, Perth Scorchers' captain, confirmed that breaches of team discipline harmed the squad's Champions League campaign but would not name which players were involved.

"All I will say is that there are players that played today and players that didn't play today that let the team down in preparation last week," North said at Scorchers' final appearance in the tournament. "Last week, against Delhi, there are players in our side that didn't reach the standards of preparations that we require from them. It was not the night before the game against Delhi, but our preparations for the Delhi game in Cape Town."

The Scorchers' lost that match by three wickets, after posting a below par 121 for 5 and were knocked out of the tournament because of that. They also lost the opening game against Titans in Centurion and had one washout but came back to earn a consolation win in their final game.

Knowing that the result would have no bearing on their chances, the Scorchers made three changes to their starting XI. Their leaving out of both Marsh brothers, Shaun and Mitchell, and Nathan Rimmington led to speculation that those were the players who had breached team protocol, especially since the Marsh brothers have been in trouble for misbehaviour previously.

North did not verify that but stuck to his line about giving everyone a run in the event. "We brought 15 players over for this tournament, it was a dead rubber for us and we wanted to give those guys an opportunity to play in a big tournament like this," he said.

Scorchers' coach Lachlan Steven had earlier said there would be "further discussions about things" once the team returned home, hinting that some corrective measures would be taken. But North could not say whether there would be any action: "I have no idea. I can't speak on behalf of Cricket Australia."

Instead, he chose to focus on the reasons for the teams' poor performance in South Africa, especially after they were expected to do better. "It's been a frustrating campaign for us. We had the Titans first, who were very hungry on their home patch. And then in Durban against Kolkata, [we were] very much on our way to posting a winning total … " North said. Rain came down with the Scorchers on 91 for 2 and they did not get back on the field.

"Against Delhi we came back against a side who have four players who have been international captains [Mahela Jayawardene, Ross Taylor, Kevin Pietersen and Virender Sehwag] and are so good that David Warner can't even get a place. It was good to get a win today. Titans' Martin van Jaarsveld, who I played with at Glamorgan, came to me and said we should do them a favour and we did." Scorchers' victory meant both the Titans and Delhi Daredevils qualified for the semis.

What awaits the Scorchers once they're home is uncertain, especially after national chairman of selectors John Inverarity told SEN radio station that there needed to be "some changes," at Western Australia to "recapture their culture". North dismissed the seriousness of that comment when he said, "He is not part of Western Australia management."

The team has suffered a few barren years, having last won silverware in 2004, and are believed to have a number of behind the scenes problems. North did not delve into any of them but said he is "excited" for the season ahead. In the meanwhile, he thinks his countrymen at Sydney Sixers could go on to win the Champions League and called them the "best performing unit" of the tournament.

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Hopkins 'bitterly disappointed' at not making semis

Auckland captain Gareth Hopkins' final Champions League Twenty20 press conference was over. There were no further questions from the small media contingent and all that was left was for him to get up and leave the room. "I'd like to just one say more thing," Hopkins said. "Everyone that we have met here in South Africa has been really hospitable and made us feel very welcome. We've had a great time, thank you."

It is rare that an engagement with reporters ends like that. But for the duration of Auckland's stay in South Africa - which reached one month yesterday - that is how they have conducted themselves. They have been affable, courteous and genuinely excited about being part of the event, even though when they arrived, they weren't guaranteed a place in the main draw.

As soon as the qualifiers began, it was obvious that Auckland would be strong contenders, if not the best side of the six. Theirs were the only batsmen who looked at home in the pacy and bouncy conditions, testament to the time they spent training in the country from September 22. When they beat Kolkata Knight Riders in their first match of the main draw, the fairytale did not seem to have an end. But it did, and it was not a happy one.

Auckland lost heavily to Titans, had a washout against Delhi Daredevils and came off second-best to a wounded Perth Scorchers side. Both their defeats could be blamed on the bat. Every time Auckland found themselves under pressure, they struggled to come up for air.

"I'm not going to make excuses for our batting," Hopkins said. "Our No.5 batsman and further down only batted twice in five games but there are no excuses. We are good enough. One thing I will say about today is that we should have learnt from how Perth played. Their batters took a bit of time to get in. With us losing wickets continually, it was very hard to score at seven or eight runs an over."

Still, their regret was not falling over the final hurdle but leaving it for the last to jump over it. Hopkins pinned their bowing out before the knockouts on the match against Titans in Durban. Auckland were bowled out for 113 in pursuit of 173. "That game did hurt us. We thought the score was about par but we can look back and say we could have done better there," he said. "It's about isolating every game. You have to treat every game as a final."

That was the way Auckland approached the preliminary round but seemed to lose a bit of that intensity against tougher opposition. "If we look back in a few years we'd probably say that making the main draw was good," Hopkins said. "But given our position and the belief in the team at the moment, we believed we could make the semis and then the final. We're bitterly disappointed."

Despite their obvious sadness, Hopkins was able to smile through it to point out some of the positives. "Winning was definitely a highlight," he said. "I enjoyed seeing my mates' successes on the park - things like Azhar Mahmood's innings against Hampshire and the team performance against Kolkata. That was one particularly sweet because they beat us off the last ball in the qualifiers last year so we got our own back this time. We were really happy with that."

Auckland were by some distance one of the teams, and the only qualifier, to hold their own at times - delightful as Yorkshire were, they were also outplayed much more. And for that, the Champions League can claim success over their much criticised format and structure.

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Dhaka Division begin season with victory

Dhaka Division got off to a winning start in the National Cricket League by beating Rajshahi Division by 127 runs at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur. It was their first victory in the first-class competition after the divisional side was split and the Dhaka Metropolis team was formed last season.

Dhaka were aided by their opponents' poor luck, after Rajshahi had their captain Mushfiqur Rahim and leading bowler Saqlain Sajib collide on the first day. Sajib was disoriented due to the impact and didn't take part in the rest of the game, while Mushfiqur was only available for Rajshahi's second innings. The defending champions were in shambles as they chased 261 to win, and were bowled out for 133. Mahmudullah picked up four wickets, while Shahadat Hossain took two.

Dhaka's fightback began in the second innings, in which they trailed by 62 runs after they were bowled out for 116 in the first innings. Dhaka were rescued by a 100-run fifth wicket partnership between Nadif Chowdhury and Mosharraf Hossain and by a 97-run seventh-wicket stand between Abdul Majid and Nurul Hasan. Mosharraf, Majid and Nurul scored fifties to push the total past the 300-mark, which was enough against a team that had only nine batsmen.

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Ijaz Ahmed charged in forgery case

Ijaz Ahmed, the former Pakistan batsman, has been charged by a local court in Lahore in a forgery case. The case has dogged Ijaz since 2009, when he was arrested after a police complaint by a property dealer, for forging a cheque, and spent six weeks in jail before being released on bail.

The court hasn't issued an arrest warrant and adjourned the hearing until November 10, ordering the prosecution witnesses to appear in court. Judicial Magistrate Imtiaz Ahmed said that Ijaz was on bail and was facing a trial with respect to issuing false cheques worth Rs 10 million (about $104,000).

In 2009, police officials at the Gulberg police station in Lahore said two property dealers had filed a complaint against Ijaz for issuing them cheques that had bounced. At time he was the arrested, he was Pakistan's national fielding coach.

Ijaz, 44, played 60 Tests and 250 ODIs and was a member of the Pakistan team that won the 1992 World Cup. He was earlier on the selection committee and is currently the fielding coach at the National Cricket Academy.

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Sydney Sixers win four out of four

Sydney Sixers 136 for 7 (Smith 41, Munaf 2-17) beat Mumbai Indians 124 for 8 (Cummins 2-16) by 12 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Sydney Sixers, with Shane Watson, were the most impressive side of the Champions League Twenty20, winning three out of three matches. Today they were without Watson for the first time, and though they weren't as powerful with the bat, their bowling and fielding skills were sharp enough to win their fourth consecutive game comprehensively, and send the defending champions Mumbai Indians home without a victory.

Sydney's batsmen weren't able to impose themselves on a pitch with bounce that was steep and spongy. Only three of the top seven batsmen made it out of single digits for Sydney: Michael Lumb's 28 was full of mis-timed pulls but gave the innings a satisfactory start, Nic Maddinson's 27 was at breakneck speed and attempted to blaze his team out of trouble, and Steve Smith's run-a-ball 41 was a repair job that did not grow into more.

A target of 137 might have been easier to achieve against most other teams but Sydney's pace attack and their exceptional fielding never let Mumbai stage a breakaway. The margin of victory was only 12 in the end, but the game was lost long before that. Mumbai scored 20 futile runs off the final over.

Mumbai opened with Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar and they struggled to get going against Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. The ball seamed and bounced under lights and Mumbai cobbled together 30 for 0 after six overs. Just when they had begun to gain momentum, with Smith and Tendulkar clearing the boundary, Moises Henriques removed both within four balls in the ninth over, leaving Mumbai 53 for 2.

Rohit Sharma began to repair the chase but he was run out by a direct hit from Cummins. Rohit vented anger at being sent back by Dinesh Karthik, who had dropped the ball at his feet and taken a few steps down the pitch. Karthik was also run out later, as he was forced to run around a back-pedaling Henriques and was caught short by McCullum's direct hit. Thereafter, Mumbai simply went through the motions.

Sydney's innings had a start that was worse than Mumbai's after Brad Haddin chose to bat. They had been 33 for 0 but slumped to 40 for 3.

Maddinson began an audacious counterattack by upper cutting his first ball, off Lasith Malinga no less, over the keeper for six. He swept the left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha twice to the leg-side boundary and then smashed the ball into the second tier beyond long-on. While Smith was steadying the innings, Maddinson went about giving it momentum, until he was caught short by a direct hit from Malinga at point. Henriques was done in by a Harbhajan Singh arm-ball, and Sydney had lost two wickets for one run.

Their hopes for a Smith-propelled finish ended in the 18th over, when Malinga beat a cheeky paddle and hit the stumps. McCullum, playing for Watson, was the fourth person to make a double-digit score and he led them to 136. It was below-par for this surface, but enough for Sydney's crack bowling attack.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s PP Overs 16-20 NB/Wides Sydney 42 10 2 40-3 38-1 0/3 Mumbai 70 13 4 30-0 35-4 0/4

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Australian cricketer warned over drugs

An Australian cricketer was reportedly given an unofficial warning over an incident involving cocaine last year.

The player did not test positive for the drug and was not subject to Cricket Australia's formal drugs policy. However a report in The Australian states that upon being called to account by CA he did admit to the incident occurring, and was subsequently counselled.

There have been no behavioural or form issues with the player since that time. No current contracted Australian cricketer has tested positive for drugs.

"Cricket Australia confirmed today that no current Australian, State or BBL player has tested positive or breached CA's anti-doping or illicit drugs policies," CA said in a statement.

"Noting a newspaper report claiming a cricketer has been counselled on an alleged illicit drugs issue, CA said that in common with other employers, it deals from time to time with employee welfare issues.

"CA's policy dealing with player welfare issues is to do so in a confidential, medically-based manner."

While a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Agency code, CA's drugs policy also outlines a two-strike policy for players found to be using illicit drugs away from the game.

A player who tests positive in these circumstances is counselled, banned from playing for 20 days and given a suspended fine or sentence. The CA anti-doping officer and team doctor are the only officials who need to be informed in the case of centrally contracted players.

A second strike has the player named and sanctions delivered.

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PCB hopeful of international cricket's return

The Pakistan board is in negotiations with its Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe counterparts to try and bring international cricket back to the country soon, according Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman. Ashraf said the staging of two unofficial Twenty20 matches, between an International XI led by Sanath Jayasuriya and a Pakistan All Stars team, in Karachi was a boost and he expected to have "good news" early next year.

"I think these matches, despite being private, are a good step," Ashraf said. "The PCB supported and encouraged these matches and they generated a lot of enthusiasm from the fans, which is a good sign."

The unofficial games at the National Stadium were well attended by fans, who have not been able to watch international cricketers in action in Pakistan since the terror attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009. The PCB disassociated itself from the games, however, providing only no-objection certificates to its contracted players to participate, while giving no assistance in terms of security and logistics. All arrangements were made by the Sindh sports minister Dr Mohammad Ali Shah and the Karachi government.

Ashraf was Karachi on Sunday, as the Pakistan All Stars won the second match, and he hoped the games would be a start of more visits by foreign teams. "When you talk of international cricket, we are in negotiations with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe cricket boards and we will give you a good news as early as next year," he said. "We are talking to two other boards as well but I am not going to reveal names. We have given them security plans and I am sure the day is not far when we have big time cricket in Karachi, Lahore and other cities."

Pakistan's next international series is a tour to India in December and to facilitate those limited-overs matches they have postponed a scheduled tour of Zimbabwe. Pakistan were due to play two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20 matches in Zimbabwe this December but will visit sometime in 2013 instead. It will be Pakistan's first bilateral series against India since the attacks on Mumbai in November 2008.

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Pakistan XI sweep series

Pakistan All Star XI 145 for 4 (Nazir 53, Taylor 3-22) beat International World XI 142 for 9 (Hayward 42*, Faraz 3-20) by six wickets
Scorecard

Even a stunning 16-ball 42 from last man Nantie Hayward wasn't enough to prevent International World XI from sliding to a six-wicket defeat against Pakistan All Star XI in the second Twenty20 match in Karachi.

For the second day in a row, the International XI's batting failed to run up a substantial score. They had slid to an embarrassing 85 for 9 in the 16th over, and were only taken to the respectability of 142 due to Hayward swinging four sixes and three fours in the final stretch of the innings. They were also helped by the fact that the home side decided to give part-timers Asad Shafiq and Imran Nazir the ball for the final overs; the two were caned for 56 runs in four overs.

Before the tenth-wicket stand, they had been little of note from the International XI's batting. Sanath Jayasuriya bagged a duck as seven of the top nine were dismissed in single figures. The difference between the two teams was evident just from the first over of each innings: International XI were 3 for 1, while Pakistan XI were 18 for 0, including sixes from Nazir off the first two deliveries.

Nazir and Shahzaib Hasan pummelled the new-ball bowlers to put the home side on course for a comfortable victory. In the first seven overs, the pair smashed seven sixes and eight fours, motoring along to 87 for 0. Though International XI struck three times in the next three overs, it didn't affect the chase too much, with Shafiq calmly taking the home side to victory, with more than three overs still to go.

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'We got what we deserved' - Katich

It's usually the captain's duty to perform the post mortem after even the most grisly of defeats, but Perth Scorchers' skipper Marcus North couldn't bring himself to face the (admittedly tiny) press corps after his team's three-wicket defeat to Delhi Daredevils sent them crashing out of the Champions League, Simon Katich appearing in his place.

Katich, a senior player even in a squad that includes the likes of Brad Hogg, Herschelle Gibbs and Paul Collingwood, didn't mince his words. "We got what we deserved," Katich said. "We didn't prepare as well as we should have, and we paid the price."

The match had been a close one, but both Katich and North had every reason to be a touch grumpy. Leading an undercooked side who hadn't played a competitive match together since their defeat to Sydney Sixers in the final of the Big Bash in January, North also had to do without the services of Michael Hussey and Mitchell Johnson, who both played for their IPL franchises. The result was a pair defeats to the Titans and the Delhi Daredevils, and a washout against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Katich refused to be drawn into an explanation as to what the preparation problems were, saying only: "I'm not going to go into details about that, but we got what we deserved, simple as that. We haven't shown what we're capable of in this tournament. We had a very good Big Bash last year, but in this tournament we've let ourselves down."

The Scorchers were, indeed, a dominant force in the Big Bash, their successful run ended only by the Sydney Sixers in the tournament final at the WACA. They had three of the top six run-scorers of the tournament in their side in Mitchell Marsh, Gibbs and North. Marsh managed a half-century against the Titans, but neither Gibbs nor North have contributed as much as was needed.

The story was the same at Newlands on Sunday. No batsman made a telling contribution, and as Katich summed it up: "The platform was there, the execution wasn't."

Such are the fine lines by which this tournament is drawn, the Scorchers might still have been in with a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals had they managed to beat the Daredevils. As it stands, they'll have to make do with a dead-rubber against the Auckland Aces on Tuesday before they fly home. There is little more than pride to play for, and Katich admitted as much.

"I'd like to think they'll have a lot of pride in their own performance and the team's performance," he said. "We certainly haven't played anywhere near what we did last summer, and hopefully that's going to bug quite a few of the guys to put in a good performance to finish well."

The taking of positives is a cricketing staple after every match, and Katich suggested that the silver lining in the Scorchers' campaign was the exposure it gave to some of the squad's less experienced members.

"There's a lot of guys in our squad that haven't played a lot of international cricket, and they're trying to press for higher honours," he said. "It's a great experience for them to come up, and for Beery [Michael Beer] to bowl at the likes of Pietersen, Sehwag and Ross Taylor and face Morne Morkel, because these guys are all very good international players. So from their development point of view it's been a positive, but from a team point of view we've let ourselves down."

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Holland's season in doubt due to shoulder injury

A week ago, Jon Holland was hoping to get a chance to prove himself over the next fortnight after being named one of Australia's best two spinners by the national selector John Inverarity. Now, Holland is simply hoping he won't be told he needs another shoulder reconstruction after hurting himself in Melbourne's grade cricket at the weekend.

Holland injured his left shoulder while throwing a ball in from the outfield and preliminary scans on Sunday indicated he might have suffered a recurrence of a problem that forced him to have a reconstruction in early 2010. He consulted Victoria's team doctor on Monday and was due to see a specialist on Tuesday to find out how long he would be sidelined.

While the best case scenario would be only a few games - Peter Handscomb has been brought into Victoria's squad to replace Holland for this week's Sheffield Shield game against Tasmania - the worst case would be another reconstruction. Holland, 25, also missed most of the 2007-08 season with a shoulder problem and the timing of his latest injury could hardly have been worse, as he hovered on the fringes of the Australia side.

"He's had a preliminary scan, which showed there might be a bit of a problem," Shaun Graf, Cricket Victoria's general manager of cricket operations, told the Age. "He certainly looks as though he may have re-injured the same spot that he had repaired [in 2010]. He threw off balance and he's obviously created a problem. We won't know the full extent [until after further scans] but I'd say at this stage he's in a bit of strife."

Holland impressed the national selectors during the Australia A tour of England this year, when he outbowled the Test incumbent Nathan Lyon. A left-arm orthodox bowler whose subtle changes of pace and flight troubled the batsmen in England, Holland had played both of Victoria's first two Shield matches of the season but had bowled only 10 overs as the fast men skittled their opponents.

While Lyon was expected to hold his position for the Test series against South Africa next month, Inverarity's praise indicated Holland could put pressure on Lyon with strong Shield performances. Western Australia's left-arm spinner Michael Beer, who played a Test during Australia's tour of the West Indies in April, is likely to be the second in line behind Lyon if Holland's injury proves to be serious.

It's not the first time luck has deserted Holland at the wrong time. He was part of Australia's ODI squad for their tour of India in 2009 and was set to make his international debut in the final game, but the match was washed out.

Victoria Sheffield Shield squad Chris Rogers, Rob Quiney, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Peter Handscomb, Andrew McDonald, Matthew Wade (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Peter Siddle, John Hastings, James Pattinson, Clint McKay.

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Tamim signs up for Wellington

Tamim Iqbal will play for Wellington Firebirds in this season's HRV Cup. Tamim will join the New Zealand domestic side after Bangladesh's series against West Indies, and is expected to play seven games in the Twenty20 competition.

Jamie Siddons, the Wellington coach who was in charge of the Bangladesh team between 2007 and 2011, was the key element in the deal as he broached the idea to Tamim a few months ago.

"We are excited to have signed Tamim to play in our T20 competition," Siddons told ESPNcricinfo. "He will be a great addition for the Firebirds. I chose him over the many other overseas candidates because I think he possesses the explosiveness that we need at the top of our batting order. Tamim is yet to take off as a T20 player but I have seen him enough to know that it is going to be very good when he gets it all together in this format. I want my team to benefit from this in our competition this year."

Siddons, however, would have liked to keep the batsman a little while longer, but the start of the Bangladesh Premier League would shorten Tamim's stay by a few matches. "He will only be available for a possible seven games and the final but the BPL will possibly reduce that to six and no final as the dates suggest he would have to leave early which is disappointing."

Siddons said he would have liked if Shakib Al Hasan also joined Tamim at the Wellington side. "We were interested in Shakib but he declined due to injury at the time," Siddons said.

Tamim said that the BCB has given him the No Objection Certificate, though he is likely to miss some form of domestic cricket in Bangladesh after the West Indies series. He could play first-class cricket in New Zealand though Wellington will be playing only two Plunket Shield matches.

"Jamie asked me a few months ago whether I would like to join them," Tamim said. "At the time I was playing the Sri Lanka Premier League and the World Twenty20 was coming up so I didn't proceed with the formalities. The board too has given me the NOC so I will be joining Wellington after the West Indies series."

Tamim's average in Twenty20s is 24.76 and he has played in domestic competitions in Sri Lanka (for Wayamba) and England (Nottinghamshire) with mixed results. Among the other Bangladesh players who have played in domestic first-class tournaments abroad are Shakib (for Worcestershire) and Enamul Haque jnr for Maharashtra.

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Tuskers, Mountaineers score comfortable wins

Craig Ervine and Glen Querl played leading roles with bat and ball in Tuskers 132-run bonus-point win over table-toppers Rhinos in Bulawayo. Ervine scored an unbeaten 106 to power Tuskers to 294 before Querl picked up his first List A five-for which was instrumental in wrapping the Rhinos' innings in 38 overs.

Tuskers, after being put into bat, started slowly with 34 runs coming off the first 11 overs, but set up a good platform after a solid 71-run opening stand between Terry Duffin (26) and Brian Chari (64) in 16 overs. Ervine joined Chari after Cremer struck to remove Duffin and shared a 63-run partnership in 12 overs. Although Tuskers only lost two more wickets by the 40th over, Rhinos had their run rate well under five. Tuskers went past 200 in the 44th over, after which Ervine and captain Keegan Meth (58 off 37 balls) launched an unprecedented attack in the last six overs to score 89 runs.

The late assault numbed the Rhinos, who lost early wicket in their chase. Querl struck in his second over to remove Brendan Taylor, and then picked up two more wickets in his fourth off successive balls. He returned later to mop up the tail and finish with figures of 8-2-26-5.

Tino Mawoyo steered the chase with an unbeaten century that helped Mountaineers beat Rocks by seven wickets at Mutare sports club. Chasing 267, Mountaineers' openers - Mawoyo and Kevin Kasuza (85 off 102 balls) - racked up a 182-run opening partnership in 31.4 overs and Mawoyo stayed till the end to see his team through. His 120 came off 128 balls and included 18 boundaries and a six and was his first List A century.

Rocks, in search for their first win, chose to bat first and were boosted by an 82-run second-wicket stand between Alester Maregwede, who scored 62, and Ben Slater, who scored 32. But regular wickets thereafter meant that they were not able to accelerate and were at 170 for 5 with 10 overs to go. The tempo was changed by Prince Masvaure's cameo, an unbeaten 56 off 39 balls, that saw the Rocks score 96 runs off the last ten helping Rhinos to their highest total in this year's tournament, which wasn't enough this time.

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Chennai take last-ball win in dead rubber

Chennai Super Kings 173 for 8 (du Plessis 52, Malinga 5-32) beat Mumbai Indians 167 for 7 (Karthik 74, Hilfenhaus 2-14) by six runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Around 5pm on an overcast evening, an enthusiastic crowd at the Wanderers were faced with the prospect of a washout. This, after what was supposed to be the marquee Saturday night match involving teams featuring some of the world's biggest Twenty20 stars turned into a dead rubber as Lions qualified for the semi-finals earlier in the day, knocking out both Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. They were glad they stayed behind, though, as the widely predicted thunderstorm stayed away paving the way for a last-ball finish in one of the highest scoring matches of the tournament with Super Kings walking away victors.

It was hard to believe that the match was so closely contested given the stark difference in the starts the two teams had to their innings: Super Kings motored to 86 for 0 in eight overs, while Mumbai had stumbled to 38 for 2 after eight.

The contrast was mainly due to the different stages in which the teams used their best fast bowlers. Lasith Malinga took two key wickets in the 11th over - of the fluent Faf du Plessis and the dangerous Suresh Raina - and two more crucial ones in the 17th - of MS Dhoni, who was showing glimpses of the big-hitting that first made him a star, and of the renowned finisher Albie Morkel. After being caned for 16 in his first over, Malinga took 5 for 16 in his remaining three to rob the second half of Mumbai's innings of momentum.

Super Kings, instead, gave their most potent quicks the new ball. Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger justified the strategy of using two of their overseas slots on specialist fast bowlers, as the pair smothered the Mumbai openers. Despite Dinesh Karthik slog-sweeping Ravindra Jadeja for 19 in the 11th over, the Super Kings' bowlers seemed to have done enough early on to secure a comfortable victory.

It certainly seemed that way when Ambati Rayudu swiped a long hop from du Plessis straight to deep square leg in the 14th, but the contest was back on after Karthik and Kieron Pollard lashed 24 in the 18th over, leaving 27 to get in the final two overs. Dhoni stuck to the policy of giving the side's best bowler the 19th over, and Hilfenhaus delivered by removing the rampaging Karthik.

With 19 required for Mumbai in the final over, Super Kings shone again in the one department in which they were clearly ahead of the rest in the IPL - the fielding. While there had been several notable efforts earlier in the innings, the best were saved for the final over. Pollard had pummelled the first ball from Jadeja for six, before he fell to a face-forward diving catch by Raina at long-on. Two balls later, Harbhajan Singh hammered a four through extra cover with as much power as any Pollard shot, before he was dismissed by a well-judged clasp by Wriddhiman Saha, arching his body backwards at deep square leg to hold an overhead chance.

It left Mitchell Johnson needing to hit a six off the final delivery to tie the game, which could only be thumped towards long-on to confirm Super Kings' first victory of the tournament.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 NB/Wides Chennai Super Kings 47 16 7 66/0 42/4 0/6 Mumbai Indians 55 10 12 25/2 67/3 0/3

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Pakistan XI thrash International XI at packed National Stadium

In the end, it didn't matter that this match had no official sanction. Try telling that to the tens of thousands of people who thronged the National Stadium in Karachi. In the end, what counted was that an international XI, no matter how ragtag and rusty it was, had set foot on Pakistan soil, and had safely played a game of cricket. A game, such as this, had not been played for close to four years in a nation where following for that game frequently crosses the line between passionate and fanatical. For the record, Pakistan All Star XI demolished International World XI who were led by the 43-year old Sanath Jayasuriya.

Young batsmen Umar Akmal and Shahzaib Hasan made half-centuries at frenetic pace and were backed by handy contributions from the rest. Pakistan XI were set on their way by the pair of Shahzaib and Imran Nazir, who put on 83 by the time the field restrictions were lifted, at nearly 14 an over. The International XI fielders showed they were short on match practice by dropping numerous catches and fielding poorly on a ground where the ropes had been pulled in. Shahzaib was the first to fall for 54 off just 21 deliveries, which included six fours and four sixes.

Akmal, coming in at No. 5, soon took over and blitzed ten boundaries on his way to an unbeaten 67 off 37 as Pakistan XI zoomed to 222 for 7. Thandi Tshabalala, the South Africa offspinner, picked up 3 for 20 while Shapoor Zadran, the Afghanistan fast bowler, took 2 for 38.

Jayasuriya hit a six and a four in the first over of the chase but fell of its last delivery, caught by his counterpart Shahid Afridi. Facing such a tall target, International XI kept losing wickets regularly, and fast bowler Tabish Khan soon dealt the decisive blows. He bowled Ricardo Powell, Jermaine Lawson and Tshabalala off successive deliveries to take a hat-trick and reduce International XI to 52 for 6 in the seventh over.

Zadran stuck around to make 42 along with Loots Bosman, who batted low at No. 9 due to an injury and remained unbeaten on 27. Pakistan used everyone but wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed as bowlers. Afridi, who had lasted seven balls with the bat to club three boundaries, had Zadran stumped off the final delivery of the match as International XI managed 138 for 8.

The second and final game in the series will be played tomorrow at the same venue.

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