Kings XI batsmen need to step up

Big Picture

April 16, 2013
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)

Big Picture

On paper, Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab appear mismatched on one count- the batting. Kings XI were not tested in their opening game, chasing a paltry 100, but in their next two managed under-par scores of 138 and 124, losing both. A look at their batting line-up explains their apathy. Their captain Adam Gilchrist is struggling for runs, and in trying to break free played a poor shot on Sunday against Rajasthan Royals. Their middle order comprises uncapped Indian players in Manan Vohra, Mandeep Singh and Gurkeerat Singh and expectations from them will always be low, though all have potential. It leaves a heavy burden on David Hussey, who, not surprisingly, was their top scorer in their last two games. Azhar Mahmood is their most experienced player after Gilchrist, but Kings XI cannot afford to leave everything to their middle order and below to bail them out. The top order needs to step up, and give their bowlers a decent total to defend.

Knight Riders in contrast have a stronger top order and it makes a difference when the captain fires. While Gilchrist has been under par, his counterpart Gautam Gambhir hasn't, already piling on 175 runs from four matches. Jacques Kallis' experience is unmatched, and with Brendon McCullum fit, Knight Riders will find it hard to leave out either Kallis or Eoin Morgan to accommodate him. Having piled on 180 in their last match, against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and winning by 48 runs, it is unlikely they will want to tinker with their line-up, unless they have to.

Players to watch

Sachithra Senanayake played his first IPL match on Sunday, and Knight Riders didn't regret picking him. The Sri Lanka offspinner opened the bowling and finished with miserly figures of 4-0-18-1. His spell didn't allow Sunrisers to get away to a strong start chasing a big target. Knight Riders will want to retain him for at least another game.

It's good news for Kings XI that Adam Gilchrist's wicketkeeping reflexes haven't waned, having pulled off two difficult takes against Royals. It will be better news for them if he can score more runs, and improve on his scores of 15, 9 and 0. As a captain and an overseas player, he picks himself. Explosive starts from Gilchrist will be crucial for Kings XI going forward.

Stats and trivia

• Jacques Kallis needs two wickets to become the second-highest wicket-taker for KKR in the IPL. Sunil Narine is first (31) and Rajat Bhatia is second (26).
• Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh hold the record for the highest partnership in the IPL. They added 206 runs for Kings XI against Royal Challengers Bangalore in May 2011.
• Gautam Gambhir is the third highest run-getter in the IPL against Kings XI Punjab with 312 runs from 9 matches at an average of 52.

Quotes

"Last year, trying to get into a winning side was very difficult. I hope I get to play as many games as possible for KKR this year."
Eoin Morgan

"We did not play our full quota of 20 overs so that did make a difference. Maybe we could have added 12-15 runs in those balls."
Kings XI medium-pacer Praveen Kumar on what went wrong against Royals

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Warner new president of Cricket Writers' Club

David Warner, who has reported on the fortunes of Yorkshire since 1975, has been installed as president of the Cricket Writers' Club at their annual general meeting at Lord's.

Warner follows directly in the footsteps of the distinguished cricket writer and broadcaster, Christopher Martin-Jenkins, whose memorial service will be held on Tuesday at St. Paul's Cathedral today.

"It is the greatest honour imaginable in cricket journalism and for it to go to someone whose career has been mainly involved in covering county cricket is a strong indication of the high regard of the CWC for the game at this level," Warner said. "My predecessors in this post have all been men well established on the Test scene and with an international reputation."

Warner reported on Yorkshire matches home and away for 33 years for Yorkshire regional papers. He still covers all home games for the Press Association and is the Yorkshire correspondent for the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in addition to editing the Yorkshire CCC Yearbook.

The Cricket Writers' Club was formed in 1948 and its first chairman was E.W. Swanton. Alan Gibson became the CWC's first president in 1982 and he was succeeded by the former England captain, Tony Lewis, Michael Melford, John Woodcock, Derek Hodgson, Robin Marlar and Christopher Martin-Jenkins.

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Jurgensen hopes to build on gains in SL

For the first time in their cricket history, Bangladesh enter a series as favourites. Usually, they are underdogs, occasionally they spring surprises, and when they play Zimbabwe it is considered an even match. Not this time, though.

Zimbabwe have had months of no competitive cricket, they were recently blanked in the West Indies, and various financial problems resulted in a threatened player boycott in the lead up to this series. Bangladesh had a satisfying tour of Sri Lanka, where they celebrated a maiden double-century and their highest Test total. It's obvious which team is in better shape.

It's also clear that the expectation Bangladesh constantly operate under is now realistic. That prospect is as exciting as it is scary and Bangladesh coach Shane Jurgensen's biggest task over the next two weeks is managing it.

"We're going to try keeping things really simple," Jurgensen said. "In each series we want to improve, whoever we are playing against. With that attitude in mind, we try to take away the expectations but yes, we've also come here to win."

Bravado was a quality Bangladesh usually struggled with and even their attempts at it were mostly seen as manufactured rather than authentic. Now, they have reason to consider their belief genuine because of the strides they have made.

"In 2012, we had a good year in one-day cricket. That confidence is starting to move into other formats," Jurgensen said. "What has been encouraging is the consistency in approach. We've got a group of guys hitting their mid-20s, and some slightly older guys. [They have] hit the prime of their career, when experience and physical strength all come into one. Since I've been with the team, they have really improved their whole team attitude as well. Everything we do is for the team."

An example of someone who has done that is Mohammad Ashraful. Known as a talent who thorws his wicket away, he showed real grit in Sri Lanka. "He is looking to become the new Ash, to be more patient," Jurgensen said, "The mental toughness that he had there is a sign that he has improved a lot. There was a hardly a false shot in that innings. His change of approach and attitude is really a reflection of the whole team."

With maturity growing in the batting group, Jurgensen expects that to be their strength, even under stern examination in foreign conditions. Although Zimbabwe will hope for a lively surface for their seamers, it is unlikely given the time of year.

All they will get is a strip with good carry and is probably quite flat. Bangladesh already had practice on pitches like those in Sri Lanka, according to Jurgensen. "The wickets in Sri Lanka were very good cricket wickets. They had good pace and a bit of bounce - basically what we are going to see here. So that series in SL was the best preparation we could have had."

Jurgensen expects his batsmen to hold their own so the anxiety is more over his bowlers. "It is an area that we do want to improve. Our main strength has been around the spinners and although we have some very good holding fast bowlers, what we lack at times is experience in tough situations," he said. "For the guys to have a little bit more ownership, there's a bit of honesty, that's going to take a little bit of time. I am asking the bowlers to step up."

But more than that, Jurgensen is asking the team to continue employing the philosophy that brought to Harare in a more advantageous position than ever before, because that is what he believes will see them live up to the expectation that has been created. "One of my mottoes is: let's work hard and have fun at the same time. The team has run with it and with that, we've had success.

"Everyone wants success. What a lot of people forget sometimes is that we want success as well. When we have a bad day, we don't mean to. Some people forget the boys are human beings and they are all very young and they have been learning about their games and their individual craft. We've done a lot of different things that will help them step up."

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'Strict' Mangongo wants Zimbabwe turnaround

On first meeting, Zimbabwe interim coach Stephen Mangongo appears mild-mannered, friendly and even warm. On interrogation, his stern side comes out.

It is not abrupt, nasty or cold. It is just to the point. Harsh but true. Something Zimbabwe Cricket needs as it enters its first home series since late 2011.

The team, made up of many of the same players that staged a successful comeback to Test cricket, has taken some severe knocks. They have been defeated, but worse than that, they have been humiliated and Mangongo takes the latter personally. The heavy losses in New Zealand and the first-round exit from the World T20 were difficult to digest, but the West Indies tour caused an acid reflux that the caretaker coach found nauseating.

"We want to forget it as soon as we can. It was an absolute disaster, honestly," he spewed. "We thought we could compete but we didn't. We learnt some harsh lessons there. Our technique against spin was exposed and it's an area of great concern." Shane Shillingford sliced through Zimbabwe with the ease of a butcher and Mangongo's first concern is to ensure Bangladesh's slew of spinners do not do the same thing.

"If you want to play Test cricket you need to bat over a period of time. Spin is part of Test cricket and you can't hide away from it. Coming from West Indies [after] having that terrible tour, obviously all of us needed to work on our game, and the guys have been working hard. They want to make sure they are correct and rectify[ing] things."

Instead of spin, problems have weaved their way into Zimbabwe's preparation. They lost two days of training because of a dispute between the non-centrally contracted players and the board. Out of 14 days, Mangongo described that as "massive."

But they gained hurt. Not only the pain of the recent performances, but the recurring trend of the board and the players tussling over middle ground and administrative issues mirrored in the morale of the team. Mangongo said that could only serve as motivation. "There is self-drive. They are professional cricketers. You don't want to get out there and keep getting hammered every game, so there is that drive to come and show people that we can play, that we belong at Test level."

Some of the squad have been fingered as not having a place among the game's elite and Mangongo acknowledges that. He told local media he would ring in changes for the Bangladesh series to address that. A few will be injury enforced - Chris Mpofu (back), Tino Mawoyo (groin) and Regis Chakabva (thumb) have been ruled out of the Tests. Others will be tactical - two spinners instead of three seamers for example.

Mangongo does not have much more than the training squad to choose from, because a lot of the country's franchise cricketers, such as Charles Coventry, have gone overseas to make a living. He has warned the old guard that their places are not guaranteed. "I was embarrassed by the performance in the West Indies, and as far as I'm concerned if people play like that and they don't believe, then they mustn't be on the international stage.

"There's no one reason why we shouldn't try the next bloke. International sport is hard, it's tough, but you must go out there and do your bit and at least be competitive. Otherwise you shouldn't be there. We've got 75 professional cricketers in Zimbabwe, so I don't believe we should just be looking at one group of special people. It's actually the time to expose more guys because you never know who could be the next talent. Some guys have had their chances and they haven't done well. Nobody has a right to play."

And nobody has a right to win either. That's why Zimbabwe are so determined to show they are better than what the last year and a bit have illustrated, and that the small glimpses of hope that shone through in August 2011 were not just mirages.

"It's key for us to make sure that we compete, and in our home conditions, play good cricket, and hopefully get a positive result. It's absolutely important for us to remain in the international arena and for people to respect us, and to be dignified we need to be beating guys like Bangladesh. Otherwise people will take us for a joke," Mangongo said.

Some already do and all Zimbabwe can try is to change their minds with actions, not words. Mangongo has given himself the responsibility of overseeing that. "I'm very strict. I call a spade a spade. I want the job to be done and done properly, otherwise we shouldn't be here. That's me. That's how I operate." Now the team have to do the same.

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Scholtz five-for seals Namibia victory

Namibia 276 (Van Schoor 110, Van der Gugten 7-68) and 336 (Baard 85, Williams 65) beat Netherlands 293 (Cooper 83, Rippon 65, Viljoen 4-76) and 237 (Cooper 109, Scholtz 5-58) by 82 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A century from Tom Cooper was unable to win Netherlands their Intercontinental Cup game against Namibia in Windhoek, as the hosts won by 82 runs on the fourth day. Netherlands were set 320 for victory and began well with a 52-run opening stand in 46 balls. Stephan Myburgh struck 41 off just 29, but the team was in trouble soon after, slipping to 54 for 3. Seamer Louis Klazinga picked up two of those wickets.

Cooper then took charge of the chase with a century that included 12 fours and a six, but there simply wasn't much support from the other end. He added 59 with Daan van Bunge, but lost his partner and captain Peter Borren in quick time. He put together 56 with Tim Gruijters and 53 more with Mudassar Bukhari before he fell himself, the seventh wicket with the score on 232. The star for Namibia was 23-year-old left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz, who took 5 for 58, his fifth haul of five wickets or more in first-class cricket. Cooper was among his victims, and Netherlands were bowled out for 237.

Namibia have now won three out of five games, while Netherlands are yet to open their account in the competition.

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PCB bans 'one-sided' - Ghauri

Nadeem Ghauri, the Pakistan umpire banned for four years by the PCB, has criticised the board's decision as "one-sided". Ghauri was punished after the PCB's integrity committee found him guilty of being willing to accept money for favourable umpiring decisions.

The allegations against him, Ghauri said, were baseless. They surfaced during a television sting operation, broadcast by India TV, last year, which claimed to have "exposed" several first-class umpires from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan who were allegedly willing to give decisions favouring players for a fee. Ghauri and his umpiring colleague Anis Siddiqui were banned for four and three years respectively by the PCB's integrity committee.

"It's a one-sided decision and I am not happy with it," Ghauri said during a press conference at his residence. "I didn't compromise my integrity and didn't even enter any deal with them but still they have slapped me with this ban. They [PCB] didn't give me a chance to [explain] my version properly. I will request the chairman and will appeal that I should get justice."

"I don't think it's true," Ghauri said of the claims made by the sting operation. "I was actually referred by Nadir Shah (a Bangladesh umpire) with regard to a cricket league in Sri Lanka. They were offering me a lucrative package for umpiring and I brought everything to PCB's notice.

"I was not under any contract with the PCB and we were trying to make some money through these leagues for livelihood without knowing that I am actually being trapped."

Both umpires, as a result of the bans, cannot officiate in any form of cricket and will not be considered for any role in Pakistan's regional associations. The bans took effect on October 11, 2012, the day the PCB began its investigation.

Ghauri, 50, played one Test, against Australia in Sydney in 1990. He also played six ODIs and 147 first-class games. He was part of the ICC's Elite Panel of Umpires and the PCB's international panel in an umpiring career that spanned 13 years. "I have 10 clean years between 2000 and 2010, before being demoted from the ICC panel," said Ghauri, who was also among the injured during the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore in 2009. "I have served my life for Pakistan and the PCB should have taken my past into account before making the judgement.

"I am waiting for the documents. I will send an appeal to the chairman and will ask him to show me the videos, there should not be a one-sided decision," Ghauri said, adding that, during the sting operation, he was only sharing his experience as an umpire over Skype.

"And in two minutes you can't compromise your integrity. They trapped us by offering a contract in the Sri Lankan league. This league did happen but their own umpires supervised it in Sri Lanka."

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Dhawan awaiting NCA clearance to play in IPL

Shikhar Dhawan, the Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman, is back in India after having spent time with family in Melbourne, and expects to take the field in the IPL "very soon", once he gets clearance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. Tom Moody, the Sunrisers coach, tweeted, "we are hopeful it's within the next 10 days."

Dhawan has missed the first two weeks of the IPL as he's recovering from a fracture he suffered on his hand during the Mohali Test against Australia last month. The game was his debut Test and he shot to fame with a dominating 187, the fastest by a debutant in Test history. Dhawan was ruled out for six weeks after sustaining the injury.

"Hopefully I will be able to take the field soon. After this trip [to Australia], I just have to get the clearance from NCA," Dhawan told ESPNcricinfo. How soon will that be? "Soon, very soon," he added, with a smile.

Dhawan had been tipped for success early in his career but had to wait many years to get an opportunity at the highest level. His ODI debut three years ago was forgettable. However, even with Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir having already cemented their place at the top of India's batting order at the time, especially in Tests, Dhawan never gave up hope of breaking into the side.

"I never thought that way," he said. "I love playing cricket so I was enjoying playing the game whether I played for Delhi or North Zone or even in the IPL, for that matter. All I told myself was I should keep on performing and my chance will come.

"By the grace of God, I got my chance and I could make it count. Even when it comes to [playing for] India, I got a chance [in ODIs] three years ago, so there was no way for me to let my hope fade. And I would think Gautam bhai and Viru bhai have been legends of Indian cricket. They have played for so long. [I thought] if I get an opportunity, I will also make it big."

Dhawan's sensational Test debut has also earned him a new nickname, Gabbar, based on a famous character in Sholay, one of Hindi cinema's biggest blockbusters. "We keep playing pranks on the field and, once, I asked a team-mate, "kitne wicket bache hain, Thakur (How many wickets left, Thakur)", so the nickname has stuck since then."

Dhawan preferred to focus on the present but has an eye on the Champions Trophy later this year in England, an opportunity for him to improve his ODI record. He played down India's biggest challenge of the year, the tour of South Africa, where India have never won a Test series. The presence of Dale Steyn in the Sunrisers camp could be an opportunity for Dhawan to learn a thing or two about Steyn's bowling.

The IPL, however, is not a homework exercise for Dhawan in preparation for the South Africa tour. "When I am playing the IPL, I would like to give my best for the franchise and not think much about anything else. Obviously the South Africa tour is a big tour. Once we get closer to it, we will start preparing accordingly. At the moment, I just want to focus on the IPL."

Dhawan spoke to ESPNcricinfo at the launch of a new range of watches by Tag Heuer

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Pune Warriors in need of tonic

Match facts

Monday, April 15, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big Picture

Pune Warriors' campaign is in need of a tonic - they lost three of their first four matches - but they are now in Chennai, which means the tonic is placed on the highest shelf. Chennai Super Kings, the big boys of the IPL, are perhaps the hardest team to beat in their home conditions and they reconfirmed it last night by snaffling a last-ball win against a strong Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The inclusion of Aaron Finch briefly kindled hope as Warriors recorded their first win of the season, against Rajasthan Royals, but a pedestrian outing in Mumbai pulled them back to the familiar zone of mediocrity. Finch was bowled first ball by a Mitchell Johnson bolt and the rest of the batting crumbled without much resistance. Angelo Mathews, the Warriors' new captain who won't play this match, had also appeared listless with his use of bowlers against Mumbai Indians. He removed Bhuvneshwar Kumar from the attack after an impressive first over, allowing Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting to get away, then let Ashok Dinda, who bowled the most expensive spell in the IPL, finish his full quota though there were options still available. The camera often panned to a lost Mathews, and sometimes to Steven Smith, who had been the spark of Warriors' 2012 campaign, in the dugout.

On the other hand, Super Kings, after giving Mumbai Indians a scare in the first match, continue to live up to their reputation. They demolished Kings XI Punjab and left Royal Challengers in a confused state. In Chennai, where the crowd gets behind them, there isn't anything they are incapable of doing.

Form guide

Chennai Super Kings: WWL
Pune Warriors: LWLL

Watch out for

Suresh Raina, the IPL's leading run-scorer, has played two innings and is yet to hit a six. That is at odds with the ease at which he has racked up almost a century of sixes in the tournament, making him the second-most prolific six-hitting machine behind Chris Gayle. Warriors have an attack made up of medium pacers and spinners who bring the ball into the left-hander - an ideal recipe for Raina's favourite hoick over midwicket.

Raina's partner in many ODI innings for India, Yuvraj Singh, has not fulfilled his potential on a stage set for players like him. He continues to blow hot and cold with the bat, but as a bowler, he has started this season on a good note, picking up at least a wicket in every match. Along with Rahul Sharma, Yuvraj will have the task of reining in a big-hitting batting line-up.

Stats and trivia

• Warriors' head-to-head record against Super Kings reads similar to their current campaign - one win and three losses. They are yet to win in Chennai.
• Since Warriors' inception, Robin Uthappa has been their leading batsman with 751 runs. But in the same period, 16 other batsmen have scored more runs than him.
• Raina has the most number of catches as a fielder - 43, the same as Rohit Sharma

Quotes

"I do not think there is any reason for us to panic, we have got a very good side with us and we just need to get a few wins under our belt and then take on the momentum from there"
Pune Warriors' allrounder Mitchell Marsh

"I had a cricketing chat with him and he told me that the most important thing while batting is your mental strength and the ability to read the bowler' mind. He said it's all about how you feel on that particular day the moment you put your jersey on."
Suresh Raina reveals the advice he received from Brian Lara recently

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Klinger pleased with young Gloucestershire

Essex 353 for 6 (Westley 163, Bopara 64, Foster 51) drew with Gloucestershire 409 for 5 dec (Housego 150, Marshall 149)
Scorecard

Both Essex and Gloucestershire will hope that their share of the Australian invasion of county cricket has a profound effect on their seasons.

Neither Rob Quiney nor Michael Klinger can be considered star signings but both are experienced professionals with solid records and both have been given responsibility at the top of the order.

In Klinger's case he's also been given the Gloucestershire captaincy, after Alex Gidman stepped down at the end of last season. His task is an unenviable one. He flew in a week before the start of the new season to take charge of a young, inexperienced side that finished bottom of the County Championship last year.

Realistically, they are part of an unofficial Division Three with Glamorgan, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. Bettering those three sides this season would be a start but Klinger will have seen enough talent on show in the opening game to suggest Gloucestershire can secure a mid-table finish.

"For a first match, I was impressed," Klinger told ESPNcricinfo. "I'm still getting to know the guys but to score over 400 having been sent in was a great effort. Obviously the weather played a big part but there's a lot of positives.

"Talent-wise there's no reason why we can't go up the ladder. From what I've seen so far, the young guys can perform, it's just a matter of performing day in day out. I like to lead from the front and hopefully I can build my runs throughout the season and back the younger guys."

Nine points from the opening match was a solid return on a ground where Gloucestershire got off to the worst possible start last season with an innings defeat. They cashed in on a wicket that was straightforward enough to score on and put Essex under pressure with the new ball, although failed to follow it up and struggled to sit in with a plan for long periods.

That they managed a second bowling point owed much to Essex's charge for a fourth batting point. Tom Westley - who was dropped by Alex Gidman at first slip in the second over of the day - was caught at the wicket having pressed on past 150 and James Foster, enterprising in striking six fours in a half century, was brilliantly held at deep backward square leg by James Fuller to give Gloucestershire their sixth wicket.

The weather may have taken a result completely out of the equation but the dead, slightly slow pitch was unlikely to yield 20 wickets for either side in four full days. It is the surfaces at Chelmsford that could hinder Essex's chances of challenging for promotion, with head coach Paul Grayson confident that they have a squad to be competitive.

"There's a nice group of bowlers and competition for places," Grayson told ESPNcricinfo. "We had to make two big calls, Saj Mahmood and Reece Topley didn't play this game but they'll get plenty of cricket this year. It's a long season.

"There's nice balance to the batting too. Jaik Mickelburgh is our spare batsman; he's got a good hundred this week for the seconds. Ryan ten Doeschate and Owais Shah are to come back as well. Cooky will play a couple of games too. So the squad's looking good.

"If you achieve things it's not down to 11, 12 players, it's down to 15, 16. We might have to use a rotation system at some time, if guys are a bit tired we might be able to rest one or two at certain periods, especially with one-day cricket. But I'm pleased with the way the squad is shaping up."

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Namibia set Netherlands 320-run target

Namibia 276 and 336 (Baard 85, Williams 65) lead Netherlands 293 (Cooper 83, Rippon 65, Viljoen 4-68) by 319 runs
Scorecard

Second innings half-centuries by Stephan Baard and Craig Williams helped Namibia post a strong 336 after conceding a narrow lead of 17 runs against Netherlands in Windhoek, setting up a target of 320 runs on the last day. Namibia picked up the last Netherlands batsman in the fourth over of the morning and made slow progress to 2 for 56 in the 21st over. But Baard and Williams added 128 for the third wicket in less than 28 overs to help build the lead. Both were out in quick succession and Netherlands seemed to be taking control when they added another wicket with the lead still less than 200. But handy lower-order contributions from Namibian batsmen not only added frustrating runs, but they did so at a good rate, setting up a challenging total by the time they were bowled out towards the end of the day.

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