Fearless Kusal impresses captain

Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka captain, has lauded the aggression and confidence of new batsman Kusal Perera, who helped the team achieve two rapid starts in the first two ODIs, after being pushed up the order.

Perera came into the side as a wicketkeeper batsman who bats in the middle order, but has since been elevated to opener in both ODIs and Twenty20s. He and Tillakaratne Dilshan blitzed 83 runs in the first eight overs of the first match, before launching another early assault in the second ODI, until the rains came.



"Kusal reminds me of the legendary Sanath Jayasuriya, because of the shots that he plays," Mathews said. "He's very fearless and he hasn't changed anything about the way he plays since he was in the under-19 teams. He wants to take on any bowler that comes his way, and he takes a lot of pressure off Dilshan as well. That combination works for us."

Perera first impressed during the limited-overs leg of Sri Lanka's tour of Australia, where he played several brief but belligerent innings - the most notable of which was an unbeaten 22 to see the side home in a low-scorer at the Gabba. He has not crossed fifty in internationals, but is coming off first-class scores of 203, 97 and 336, the last of which is a Sri Lankan domestic record.

"Every single player has his own way. We don't want to change that in any player. We want him to go out there and enjoy it. The selectors are very transparent with the players, so I'm sure as the chief selector, Sanath Jayasuriya has had a chat with Kusal about his longer-term plans for the team."

Sri Lanka had made 33 for no loss after five overs, before the rains came in the second ODI, and the washout means Sri Lanka must win their final match to win the series. Mathews suggested, Sri Lanka are likely to name an unchanged XI in the final match, meaning Angelo Perera, Sachith Pathirana and Kithuruwan Vithanage may not debut in ODIs in this series.

Vithanage and Angelo Perera have been picked in the Twenty20 squad, and are well in the running to play in that match, given the absence of senior players in that squad.

"If we had won the second ODI we would have tried out some new players. We still haven't decided on our XI but I'm pretty sure that the team might have been changed if we had won the second ODI. The first few overs we got off to a really good start, but it was disappointing that the rain came down quite heavily and we couldn't play a single over after that. As far as the team is concerned, you have to be relaxed about something like that, but we need to get our focus back and get things in line for the next game.

"I feel that it is a good challenge for us. We haven't won the series yet, so we have to play some really good cricket to win it. From a thinking point of view we have to be as positive as we can, and try and play to our potential."

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Franchises fear Chennai no longer level playing field

The IPL governing council's decision to exclude Sri Lankan players from matches in Chennai has been met with some disappointment and concern by the other franchises. They are disappointed at being excluded from the decision-making process, and that the decision taken did not follow precedent. In addition, they are concerned over the possible consequence - that Chennai Super Kings may have an added advantage in their home games.

While Super Kings' Sri Lankan players are not crucial to their plans, several of their compatriots are vital members of their respective teams. Those teams will not be fielding their first XI when playing in Chennai - both in the league stage and in the knockout stage, in which two matches are scheduled to be staged in Chennai.

Officials of the eight other franchises were not willing to go on record and said they were unlikely to raise this formally within the IPL. However, they wonder why the precedent set in 2010 - when the matches were shifted out of Bangalore after the twin bomb blasts, and not a single game was held in Hyderabad because of the Telengana agitation - was not followed this time.

"Why did the IPL not call for a meeting with the franchises? They could have had a consensus by asking all the franchises, which they did during the Telengana crisis," one franchise official said. "It is a similar situation now, just as when Deccan Chargers games were moved out of Hyderabad due to the Telengana debate."

The Hyderabad situation was precipitated by a movement, that turned violent, in Andhra Pradesh for a separate Telengana state, the IPL initially decided to move all seven home games of Deccan Chargers, the then local franchise, out of the state. Eventually, the Chargers played two matches in Cuttack, a catchment area, two in Mumbai, and three in Nagpur.

Two months later, there were two low-intensity bomb blasts outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, minutes before a league match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. The match went ahead after officials guaranteed safety, but the IPL moved the semi-finals out of Bangalore to Mumbai.

Citing those two incidents, the franchises are now asking why the IPL could not move the home games of Chennai Super Kings elsewhere. "To me the rule is, if you can't manage a team inside your state then move the game (outside)," a team official said.

However, IPL franchises don't always have a say in decision-making and a BCCI official contacted by ESPNcricinfo echoed that line. "It is not mandatory for the IPL authorities to consult the franchises," he said on condition of anonymity. "The franchises are taken into confidence more or less on every issue [but] we cannot speak in public about a particular issue."

The IPL's latest decision leaves Chennai Super Kings without two players - Nuwan Kulasekara and Akhila Dhananjaya - who, it can reasonably be said, would not have been regular starters. Kulasekara was bought by Super Kings in 2011 and has featured in six matches - including one match last season. Dhananjaya, 19, was bought at the player auction in February and was always likely to be on the bench given the team's strong overseas contingent - including Albie Morkel and Francois du Plessis (both South Africa), Dwayne Bravo (West Indies) and fast bowlers Ben Hilfenhaus and Dirk Nannes (both Australia).

In contrast, Sri Lankan players feature prominently on several of the other teams. Mahela Jayawardene captains Delhi Daredevils and is their key batsman; Kumar Sangakkara will captain Sunrisers Hyderabad and also keep wicket; Lasith Malinga is the strike bowler for Mumbai Indians; Angelo Matthews is the go-to allrounder for Pune Warriors; Tillakaratne Dilshan plays a triple role, as batsman, bowler, and a top fielder for Royal Challengers, and Muttiah Muralitharan is their lead spinner. All these teams will have to play Super Kings in Chennai without their first XI, while the home franchise could notionally field their strongest side.

Sri Lankan players are a significant part of franchises' planning because of their familiarity with conditions and their availability through the tournament. This year, too, various franchises recruited a few Lankan players to suit specific game-plans. Kolkata Knight Riders' sole buy at the auction was Sachithra Senanayake, a $625,000 alternative to the West Indiaes spinner Sunil Narine. Pune Warriors India bid aggressively to bag Mathews and Ajantha Mendis, who, in the absence of Michael Clarke, are likely to play an important role in the team's strategies.

Daredevils got Dinesh Chandimal, the wicketkeeper-batsman, as a replacement for the injured Kevin Pietersen, to raise their Sri Lankan count to three, along with Jayawardene and legspinner Jeevan Mendis. Thisara Perera, who once played for Super Kings, was bought by the Sunrisers, while Rajasthan Royals purchased wicket-keeper batsman Kusal Perera.

Now those teams will have to playSuper Kings, twice winners of the IPL and of the Champions League Twenty20, at Chepauk with a tweaked game-plan and without their best side.

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Chand ton floors Gujarat, Umesh takes five on return

Group A

Unmukt Chand's second consecutive hundred helped Delhi trounce Gujarat by 112 runs and register their first points in the table. It was a solo show by Chand as he hit ten sixes and ten fours in his 125 that came off only 63 balls. The second highest scorer in the line up was opener Dhruv Shorey with 25 runs. All Gujarat bowlers, except Akshar Patel, were taken for plenty as Chand piled on and was out in the last over as Delhi amassed 198 runs. Then Sumit Narwal picked three quick wickets to derail the chase - Gujarat stumbled 18 for 5 in the sixth over and never recovered. The innings was wrapped up in the 18th over.

Vidarbha sealed a comprehensive win over Odisha in Indore. Vidarbha chose to bat and their decision was justified by a quickfire 63 from Ravi Jangid, who struck eight fours and two sixes in his 33-ball knock. He was helped by useful contributions from the middle and lower orders, including Apoorv Wankhede, who made 26 in 10 balls. In response to Vidarbha's 180, Odisha managed only 107. Opener Ankit Yadav batted through the innings to remain unbeaten on 54, but saw wickets tumble at the other end. Only one other player reached double-figures in the chase, wrecked by fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who picked up his first five-for in Twenty20 cricket, taking 5 for 18. Umesh last played for India in the Ahmedabad Test in November 2012 after which he was sidelined due to a back problem. This was his first game of competitive cricket after that break.

Group B

A rapid half-century by Wriddhiman Saha set up Bengal's 14-run win against Uttar Pradesh in Indore. Put into bat, Bengal openers Shreevats Goswami and Subhomoy Das partnered in a 62-run stand, but both were out in quick succession. Saha arrived in the 11th over and along with Laxmi Ratan Shukla, added a further 98 runs in 9.1 overs. He hit two sixes and seven fours in his 35-ball 64. UP stayed abreast with the require rate during the first half of their chase, but lost four wickets during the period. They were 91 for 7 and only a spirited 31-ball 49 by Praveen Kumar took them close to the target. With the win, Bengal went to the top of Group B table with eight point from two games.

Punjab eased to a nine-wicket win over Baroda in Indore, after their bowlers restricted the opposition to 126. Baroda chose to bat, and their opening pair added 44 in 4.4 overs. But captain Aditya Waghmode, who had largely been responsible for the quick start, was the first to fall, and the innings soon slipped to 50 for 3. Krunal Pandya chipped in with 23 in the middle order and was helped by the lower order in pushing the score to 126. Medium-pacer Amitoze Singh picked up three wickets and in a collective bowling effort, was aided by three others who took two each. In the chase, Ravi Inder Singh struck 69 and fellow opener, and captain, Mandeep Singh chipped in with an unbeaten 46. The pair added 118 and that helped Punjab seal the game with more than five overs to spare.

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Ryder in coma after dual assaults

Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, is in an induced coma in hospital after being assaulted twice late on Wednesday evening in Christchurch. Ryder, 28, is in intensive care after suffering a fractured skull. Christchurch Police believes the skull was fractured in the second of the two attacks.

The first took place about 12.30am outside the Aikman's Bar in a Christchurch suburb Merivale, where Ryder had been out with team-mates and friends following Wellington's loss to Canterbury. The second occurred minutes later at the entrance to the car park of a McDonald's across the road, where other Wellington players had been ordering food.

"An altercation has taken place on the footpath outside Aikman's involving Jesse and a group of at least two other males. The altercation was brief," Detective Senior Sergeant Brian Archer told reporters in Christchurch. "Following that incident, Ryder and two other persons walked across the road towards McDonald's, where his Wellington teammates had been purchasing some food. A second altercation has taken place at the entrance to the McDonald's car park, involving one of the males from the earlier group.

"In that incident it appears Jesse has been the victim of a serious assault and has suffered head injuries as a result. Ambulance and police were called about at 12.44am. Jesse was taken to hospital where he remains in intensive care.

"The hospital advise that Jesse is in a critical condition, he is in an induced coma as a result of suffering multiple injuries. He is still being assessed for a number of injuries and we are not prepared to discuss that any further."

Archer said that while police had "positive lines of inquiry", they had not yet identified Ryder's attackers. CCTV footage from Aikman's and McDonald's is being reviewed, he said. "We believe at least 10 or more people have witnessed some of the events, and we've been speaking to witnesses throughout the day," he said. "There are CCTV cameras in the area and we're going through the process of downloading at reviewing that footage.

"At the moment we have not identified the people involved in the incident, but we do have positive lines of inquiry, and we will be focusing on identifying and finding those people, and speaking to them.

"Although the Wellington players had been at a licensed premises during the evening, at this stage there is no evidence that alcohol was a contributing factor to the assault. We are asking any witnesses to contact police and calling for people involved to come forward and speak to us about it."

Ryder, who has played 18 Tests for New Zealand before going into a self-imposed exile from international cricket for the last year, had been due to join up with the Delhi Daredevils later this week, ahead of the start of the IPL season in early April. In January, he ruled out a return for New Zealand, despite his impressive domestic form.

"We are all shocked by what has occurred and extremely concerned for Jesse. New Zealand Cricket's thoughts are with him and his family," NZC chief executive, David White, said in a statement.

A post on New Zealand Cricket's official Twitter read: "Thoughts are with [Jesse] Ryder this morning."

New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor added: "Thinking of you mate [Jesse] Ryder." Ryder's manager, Aaron Klee, wrote on his Twitter page: "Thanks for the calls and msgs of support for Jesse. Just heading to [Christchurch] to see him."

White, Peter Clinton from Cricket Wellington, Heath Mills from the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association and Klee have arrived in Christchurch to assist.

Before embarking on his sabbatical from international cricket last year, Ryder was dropped from New Zealand's ODI side after breaking team protocols concerning alcohol. In 2008, again in Christchurch, he injured his hand when putting it through a glass window after a drinking session.

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Kerala pull off massive chase

Group A

Kerala chased down Delhi's formidable total of 195 for 4 with six wickets in hand and two overs to spare in Indore. Rohan Prem, batting at No. 3 for Kerala, set the pace and stayed the course, finishing unbeaten on 92 off 51 balls. The propulsion at the finish was provided by Sachin Baby, who blitzed 48 off 19 balls. Every Delhi bowler conceded nine or more runs per over; four of the six used went at more than ten. Kerala's efforts overshadowed that of Unmukt Chand, who had scored his maiden domestic T20 century to lead Delhi's innings. Opening the batting, he made 105 off 67 balls and was dismissed off the penultimate delivery of the innings.

A collective performance from their batsman helped Gujarat inch past Odisha by three wickets and two balls to spare. Chasing 152, Gujarat kept losing wickets regularly but they ensued the chase did not lose momentum completely. Niraj Patel top-scored with 40, and Rohit Dahiya was unbeaten on 14 when the winning runs were scored. Basant Mohanty took 3 for 27 for Odisha. Gujarat had dismissed the Odisha openers off successive deliveries to hinder their progress after they won the toss. The Odisha middle order made useful contributions, the highest of which was Govind Podder's 40. Subhrajit Sahoo made 37 off 17 balls to prop up Odisha to 151 for 6.

Group B

Sayan Mondal took 3 for 19 to set up Bengal's four-run win against Baroda in Indore. Defending 149, Mondal dismissed three of the top five batsmen, and Baroda then slipped from 81 for 2 to 84 for 5. Sanjib Sanyal struck off successive deliveries to reduce Baroda to 124 for 7, and they eventually finished on 145 for 9. Bengal's score had been set up by contributions of 48 and 50 from Shreevats Goswami and Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who hit five sixes in his 23-ball innings.

Karnataka's middle and lower-order batsmen chased 130 in the last over with two wickets to spare against Punjab. After their top three batsmen scored only 16 runs together, Manish Pandey (31) put on 25 with Stuart Binny (17) and 31 with CM Gautam (31). 75 for 5 when Pandey was dismissed, Gautam and Karun Nair (16) took them till 117 when they lost two wickets in two balls. Ultimately, Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun took them home.

When Punjab had batted, Ravi Inder Singh fired at the top with 60 off 44 but he did not get any support. Only three other batsmen reached double figures as they lost their last seven wickets for 24 runs to be dismissed in 18.1 overs and Binny finished with 3 for 26.

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Pujara could succeed in ODIs too - Dravid

A live interaction between Rahul Dravid and nine of his fans

Former India captain Rahul Dravid has said Cheteshwar Pujara, who succeeded him at No. 3 in India's Test side, could have what it takes to perform in ODIs as well. He was speaking at 'A Day with Dravid', an ESPNcricinfo event in which nine cricket fans got the chance to interact with him from across the world.

Pujara has an average of 65 after 13 Tests, having scored four hundreds and three half-centuries, and has drawn comparisons with Dravid. He hasn't made his ODI debut yet, but in 61 domestic one-day matches Pujara averages 56.97, with eight hundreds and 17 fifties.

"He's had a great start to his international career, in fact a much better start than I did," Dravid said. "I think he has been brought up in the old school of batsmanship. He is developing more shots and he approaches Test cricket in the same way as I did.

"He's got some good basics in place," Dravid said. "You can see that he is constantly improving and he is someone who will find answers to questions. He is going to have his ups and downs and face a lot of challenges adapting to different forms of the game and conditions. With his attitude and the way he is going about playing his cricket, I think he will find answers to a lot of these questions and one of them will be one-day cricket."

Dravid also said, during the event, that Test cricket needed needed better scheduling, and more matches for all teams, in order to survive. "One thing I'd like to see definitely is scheduling to be a lot better, and the ability for most countries to play a lot more Test cricket," he said. "I'd love to see all the teams get the opportunity to play a lot more cricket against each other. I think it will really see Test cricket come up and improve, and the only way for it to survive is to play it as often as possible."

He spoke in length about his desire to perform well abroad when he had started playing international cricket. He played first-class cricket in India for four years before making his Test debut in England, where he scored 95 at Lord's in 1996.

"I wanted to do well abroad in conditions that I wasn't used to," he said. "When I was growing up, one of my coaches stressed that you have to do well outside India to be judged a very good player. One of the things I found difficult adjusting to was bounce early on in my international career.

"When I went to Australia, South Africa or England for the first time, I would see some of the foreign top-order batsmen leave balls on length. As soon as the ball pitched on a particular area, they would leave it. Indian batsmen's instinct was to play at those balls because if you left those balls in India, they would probably hit the top of off or middle stump. That ability to adjust to that bounce and know which ball to leave instinctively on length, especially early on in your innings, was one of the most difficult adjustments to play."

Answering fans' questions on the contemporary game and the changes it has seen over the years, Dravid expressed his admiration for the players who can play the switch hit, but also said he wanted the rule to be fair for the bowlers.

"I can't imagine the way some guys pull that off," he said. "When I see someone like a [Kevin] Pietersen or [David] Warner pull it off, you can see the value of the shot like that. If you were to play the switch hit, then the wide rule should change as well. You should allow the bowler to bowl outside the off stump. I think it's an incredibly skilful and difficult shot to play and I'm all for it as long as you give the bowler protection as well."

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Denly leads MCC fightback

MCC 130 (Wright 5-35, Hannon-Dalby 3-30) and 308 for 4 (Denly 119*, Northeast 89, Trego 57*) trail Warwickshire 561 for 6 dec by 123 runs
Scorecard

Joe Denly struck an unbeaten century to bring an element of competition to the Champion County match against Warwickshire in Abu Dhabi. After being made to follow on, Sam Northeast and Peter Trego also added half-centuries as MCC closed 123 runs behind with six second-innings wickets standing.

Having resumed in a parlous state on 73 for 7, MCC were dismissed for 130. Denly returned after retiring with illness earlier in the innings and top-scored with 47, putting on 52 with James Middlesbrook, before Oliver Hannon-Dalby took the last two wickets to fall in consecutive deliveries. Denly was quickly back out in the middle, as Jimmy Adams departed for 4, but a 156-run partnership for the second wicket with Northeast helped ease MCC away from total embarrassment.

"It's been a good day," Denly said. "I was disappointed to get out in the first innings the way I did, but I was very happy to spend some time out there second time around and get some runs. I didn't really notice any change in the conditions during the day. Under the lights it skidded on a bit quicker, but this actually helped it to come on the bat quite nicely. In terms of the ball moving sideways or swinging, it was pretty consistent all day."

Chris Wright, who claimed 5 for 35 in the first innings, removed Northeast on the brink of tea and Dale Benkenstein fell to the first ball after the resumption but Denly batted gamely on and was involved in an unbroken stand of 79 with Trego during the evening session. The MCC batsmen were not unduly troubled second time around, although they still have some work to do to avoid defeat after conceding a first-innings deficit of 431.

"If we can get another couple of big partnerships tomorrow to keep them out in the field for a bit longer, hopefully we can come away with a positive result," Denly said.

Warwickshire were forced to bring on Peter McKay as a substitute wicketkeeper after Tim Ambrose sustained a strain early in MCC's second innings, while left-arm spinner Paul Best also left the field with a back injury after bowling just eight overs and taking the wicket of Adams.

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Maqsood leads Multan with all-round performance

Multan Tigers 143 for 5 (Ashraf 58*, Maqsood 45, Shah 3-29) beat Abbottabad Falcons 141 for 8 (Raees 34, Babar 3-20, Maqsood 3-23) by 5 wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball-details

An all-round performance from Sohaib Maqsood in the form of 45 off 28 balls and three crucial wickets led Multan Tigers to a five-wicket win against Abbottabad Falcons in Lahore.

Falcons were given a steady start with a 51-run opening stand between Haroon (29) and Sajjad Ali (25). But with the dismissal of both of them, wickets started to totter and Falcons were reeling at 117 for 8, losing eight wickets for 66 runs. Adnan Raees (34 off 21) in the middle order and captain Junaid Khan (17 off 7) at No. 11 showed some resistance to take the Falcons to a fighting total of 141 after they scored 22 runs in their last over.

In reply, Tigers responded strongly with a 77-run opening stand between Zeeshan Ashraf and Maqsood. Three quick wickets and a run-out by Yasir Shah slowed the proceedings for a while as the Tigers were now 120 for 5. While Gulraiz Sadaf was out for a golden duck, Kashif Naved was snapped by Rameez Ahmed diving to his left at gully.

It was Ashraf who held his nerves to take his side home with Rizwan Haider who hit the winning runs in style with a boundary over midwicket to finish the chase with 14 balls to spare.

Lahore Lions 162 for 6 (Jamshed 71, Kamran 33, Bhatti 2-32) beat Sialkot Stallions 118 for 8 (Bhatti 24, Rasool 3-17) by 44 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Lahore Lions beat the Sialkot Stallions by restricting them to 118 for 8, and winning the match by 44 runs in Lahore. Opting to bat first, Lions were led by opener Nasir Jamshed who carried his bat with 71 off 56, which included seven fours and a six. He did not get much support from the top order as three wickets fell in the first ten overs. But Karman Akmal and Jamshed put on 69 runs for the fourth wicket to take their run-rate to over seven, and their score beyond 100. Once Akmal departed, Ali Azmat's cameo of 21 off 11 added impetus to their innings, with Jamshed's fifty helping them to a respectable score.

Sialkot captain Shoaib Malik picked up two wickets, but gave away 35 runs, lacking practice because he he had not bowled during the one-dayers in South Africa. Raza Hasan, playing a match after over three months, gave only 18 runs in his four overs.

Stallions were never in the race, losing wickets at regular intervals, as only one player passed 20. The opening partnership was broken in the third over by Aizaz Cheema, with Zia-ul-Haq striking in the next over. No. 4 Shahid Yousuf counter-attacked with a 11-ball 17 before he was caught behind off Wahab Riaz. The opener Shakeel Ansar was run out on the very next ball. Malik couldn't survive for more than five balls, and offspinner Adnan Rasool took over from there, picking up three wickets in his four overs for 17 runs, which almost sealed the win for Lions. No. 9 batsman Bilawal Bhatti scored an unbeaten 24 to take them past 100, but the target proved too steep as Stallions eventually fell short by 44 runs.

Faisalabad Wolves 154 for 4 (Waqas 39, Asif 34, Masood 2-14) beat Bahawalpur Stags 91 for 8 (Tariq 28, Shahzad 4-20) by 63 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball-details

Faisalabad Wolves off to a winning start, routing Bahawalpur Stags by 63 runs in the opening match of the tournament.

Wolves, after opting to bat first, made a brisk start as opener Farrukh Shehzad began with an aggressive pull over midwicket for a first-ball boundary. A blow on his helmet while attempting a dilscoop didn't slow him down, and he went on to hit six boundaries including a six before edging Fahad Masood behind the stumps for 30 off 20 balls. Left-hand batsman Ali Waqas was stuck on 6 after five overs but he improved during a partnership of 39 off 41 balls with Asif Ali. With the help of five boundaries including two sixes, Asif struck 34 off 25 balls to propel Wolves.

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who joined his team minutes before play began with wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Salman as the makeshift captain until Misbah arrived. Wolves had closed in on 100 by the 14th over before Misbah (22 off 20 balls not out) took guard. He anchored a 40-run stand for the fifth wicket with Khurram Shehzad (19 off 12 balls) to take Wolves to competitive total of 154.

Stags' chase got off to a disastrous start, with two wickets off the first two balls. A faint edge down leg handed opener Imranullah Aslam a golden duck while Kashif Saddiq slashed a wide and uppish delivery only to be caught at point.

Hammad Tariq (28) and Moinuddin (15), the top scorers for Stags, tried to stage a recovery but Wolves proved too strong. Stags kept losing wickets regularly and were never able to bring down the asking rate, crumbling to 91 for 8 in 20 overs. Shehzad, the Man of the Match, was the main destroyer, conceding only 20 runs for his four wickets.

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Kent declare substantial loss

Kent have become the latest county to record a substantial fianncial loss from last season, declaring a deficit of £628,054 for the year ending October 2012.

During a season of horrendous weather and Olympic distractions, Kent struggled like most counties to balance their books and received their lowest gate receipts since 2004. The festival at Tunbridge Wells was almost entirely lost to the weather and Canterbury cricket week clashed with the second week of the London Olympics.

Gross earnings were actually an improvement on the 2011 season and the club insisted that their long-term plans remain in place. This includes the continued development at Canterbury, which began with new club offices and the sale of land for housing at the pavilion end.

They have signed a deal to develop the Old Dover Road side of the ground with a development company specialising in retirement properties. Similar property developments have funded ground improvements at Bristol and Taunton.

"We had expected to close the operating loss quicker than was possible last year, but it has to be remembered that it was an exceptionally bad year weather wise," chief executive Jamie Clifford said. "We put together a long-term financial plan for the Club in early 2011 and we remain on course. With activities over the winter months and our plans for this summer, we expect further improvements during 2013."

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Clarke an unlikely starter in IPL

Australia's captain Michael Clarke will be encouraged to take much-needed rest at home, rather than taking up his likely appointment as captain of the Pune Warriors in the IPL, as the best remedy for the back and hamstring problems that bedevilled his India tour.

Clarke underwent scans soon after his arrival in Sydney and ESPNcricinfo understands these showed that his back trouble was caused not by any new source but the same degenerative disc that has afflicted him since his teenage years.

Complaints of hamstring discomfort were also assessed, with no evidence found of a new injury, rather the accumulated wear of carrying a tender muscle through the tour after he strained it during the home Test series against Sri Lanka.

As a result of these dual problems, Clarke is expected to be advised to rest and then train to strengthen his body rather than linking up with the Warriors. It has been reported that Clarke may be offered as much as A$2 million to lead the IPL franchise after Yuvraj Singh expressed reluctance to be captain, but the risk of fouling up an Ashes campaign that may define his captaincy is acute.

On his early return to Sydney following his inability to regain fitness in time for the fourth Test of an ignominious series on the subcontinent, Clarke said he would "listen to the experts" regarding his battered and fatigued body and his IPL participation.

"I'll have scans this week and spend plenty of time with the physio, fingers crossed it turns out okay," Clarke said. "Sitting down for 12 hours has made it a little bit stiff, but I'm really confident that I'm in good hands with my physio here in Sydney.

"I'd be silly to make that decision [on the IPL] right now, I think I need to wait on the results, listen to the experts and then make a plan from there. I've had my back issues since I was 17 years of age so this is no different. In regards to my hamstring I hurt it throughout the Australian summer and it has just lingered on. I haven't had the opportunity to get that 100% fit due to how much cricket we've had."

Clarke's manager, James Erskine, has said his client's appearance in the IPL was now looking less likely. "Too early yet, but seems to look a bit doubtful," he told The Australian. "Obviously, his priority is the Ashes."

The national team's coach Mickey Arthur, the national selector John Inverarity and the team performance manager Pat Howard have no formal right to bar a player from participating in the IPL, as the tournament's span has been defined by Cricket Australia as a leave period. However they are likely to privately advise various players of their preferences, as was done last year when Shane Watson was counselled to stay out of the event.

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