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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