Middlesex rejuvenated under Fraser

Last year: 3rd, CC Div 1; Group stage, FLt20; 2nd in Group A, CB40.

2012 in a nutshell: Third in the Championship constituted a very decent year after promotion. Perhaps only a lack of consistency cost them an even higher finish, with four losses including a 15-run defeat against Durham when set only 118 to win and an eight-run defeat against Surrey when set 254. The seam bowling - led by Toby Roland-Jones and supported by Tim Murtagh, Gareth Berg and Steven Finn - was very good, but the spin bowling - Ollie Rayner, with 15 wickets in 10 games, was the leading wicket-taker - and the batting were weaker. Of those who played regularly, only Chris Rogers averaged more than 35, with Neil Dexter, Dawid Malan and Jo Denly struggling for consistency. Eoin Morgan, when he was available, also proved a great disappointment, averaging 18.16 in the Championship. They struggled for runs from their wicketkeeper, too, with John Simpson and Adam Rossington failing to make a Championship half-century between them. They might consider themselves unfortunate to miss out in the CB40 - they finished second in their group - but started poorly, with early losses against Gloucestershire and Worcestershire and then suffered the abandonment of two potentially-winnable games. They lost four of their first five T20 games and never looked likely to challenge.

2013 prospects: Any team with a seam attack including James Harris, Toby Roland-Jones, Tim Murtagh, Corey Collymore and, perhaps, Steven Finn, have to be contenders. Some doubts remain about the batting and spin bowling in the longer format, but it is hoped that the appointment of Mark Ramprakash as batting coach will help Dexter, Denly, Malan and co find the consistency to complement their quality. Stirling, who is not part of the Championship side, and Morgan are largely underutilised, too. They will require more runs from their wicketkeeper, whoever it might be. Middlesex could be dangerous in the shorter formats, too, particularly when Stirling and Morgan are available. They remain in the market for a second overseas player in FLt20, with a batting allrounder the ideal candidate. There is some concern that Australia's chaos could bring an unforseen call for either of their overseas players: Chris Roger or Adam Voges. Their T20 record - they have reached the knockout stages once in seven years - is a disappointment, but they seem to have the personnel to do better. Off the pitch, Middlesex have invested around £750,000 in their facilities away from Lord's, at both Radlett and in Finchley.

Key player: Such was the desire within the county game to sign James Harris that, upon his departure from Glamorgan, he held discussions with every Division One county and the top three in Division Two. Middlesex won a very competitive race to sign him and, as a consequence, have a highly-skilled, highly-motivated seamer who, if he stays fit, should prove a regular matchwinner.

Bright young thing: Ravi Patel is a 21-year-old left-arm spin bowler in the mould of Murali Kartik who could make the spin bowling position his own in 2013. He broke into the team at the end of end of the 2012 season and claimed eight wickets in the match in an innings defeat of Lancashire. He chose shortly before the season to abandon his degree at Loughborough in order to concentrate full time on cricket and has been rewarded with a two-year contract.

Captain/coach: Neil Dexter remains the club captain and will lead the side in limited-overs cricket, but Chris Rogers remains the captain of the County Championship side. Angus Fraser, the director of cricket, inherited a club lacking direction and has, relatively quickly, helped fashion a team with an exciting future. Richard Scott remains head coach.

ESPNcricinfo verdict: The issues with the batting and, perhaps the spin bowling, may mean this is a year early to expect a sustained Championship challenge, but that seam attack will always give them a chance. While their neighbours across the river hog the headlines, it is Middlesex who look better placed for the next few years.

Read our supporters' network preview on Middlesex. ESPNcricinfo will be publishing a fan blog for each of the 18 counties as we build up to the 2013 season

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Moors, SSC move into finals

Moors Sports Club beat Panadura Sports Club by seven runs in a thrilling, final-round match of the Premier League tournament. The win put Moors at the top of Group A and helped them book a place in next weekend's final.

Moors, who were placed second before this match, needed an outright victory over leaders Panadura to secure a final berth. Panadura won the toss and put the opposition into bat on a result-oriented pitch. Moors were dismissed for 240, thanks largely to a five-wicket haul by Gayan Sirisoma. Panadura, though, were skittled for exactly half that score in their first innings as Malinda Pushpakumara took 7 for 56, dismissing five of the top six batsmen. Sirisoma grabbed another five wickets in the second innings as Moors fell for 130 with none of their batsmen crossing an individual score of 20. That collapse gave Panadura a second chance, but they fell eight runs short of a target of 251, in spite of contributions from Chamara Silva, Prasanna Jayawardene and Dinesh Ranga Cooray. The last-wicket pair of Sirisoma and Sujeewa de Silva added 23 runs together before de Silva was given out lbw, ending Panadura's season.

In Group B, a run fest helped Sinhala Sports Club (SSC) keep Tamil Union at bay as they qualified for the final, which will be played on their home ground. SSC captain Thilina Kandamby's unbeaten 340, which broke the Sri Lankan first-class record for the highest individual score set by Kusal Perera two weeks ago, was the standout performance of the round.

A Tamil Union bowling attack, that featured Chanaka Welegedera, Suranga Lakmal and Rangana Herath, failed to prevent SSC from scoring a massive 787 for 8, nullifying Tamil Union's chances of an outright win. Dimuth Karunaratne was the first of three centurions, hitting 115 off 170 balls, after his opening partner fell for a four-ball duck. Kaushal Silva made 180 at No. 4. Kandamby arrived after Karunaratne's dismissal, with the score at 241 for 3, and put on 195 with Silva. He later shared a 226-run partnership with Upul Bandara for the seventh wicket, before eventually declaring the innings at stumps on the second day. Needing almost 800 to get the first-innings points they needed to displace SSC, Tamil Union had little to play for on the final day and were all out for 314. Kaushal Lokuarachchi was the highest wicket-taker for SSC, picking 4 for 136.

Air Force Sports Club and Burgher Recreation Club competed in what was effectively a relegation battle amid some controversy. The pitch prepared for the match was deemed unsuitable and the teams played on a different surface, which only allowed for a two-day match. The difference between the two teams was 1.7 points, with Air Force on 51.6 and Burgher on 49.9, but Air Force managed to secure first-innings points by gaining a lead of 29 runs to help seal their place in the Premier League. Opener Thuppahi Nadeera scored an unbeaten 105 in the first innings for Air Force and guided his side to 244, with little support from his teammates. Left-arm spinner Akila Isanka then took 5 for 90 as Burgher were dismissed for 215. With only two days of play possible, the match ended in a draw.

Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club defeated bottom-placed Kurunegala Youth by six wickets. Navy needed an innings victory to stay in the first-class competition and, their six-wicket victory wasn't enough to take them past Badureliya Cricket Club in the points table. Navy made 369 in the first innings, with Chanaka Ruwansiri making 122. Although they dismissed Kurunegala Youth for 212 and 182, they still had to bat in the fourth innings to chase a target of 26.

Three left-arm spinners topped the list of wicket-takers this season. Moors' Pushpakumara took 64 wickets, ahead of Panadura's Sirisoma and Colombo Cricket Club's Dinouk Hettiarachchi, who both took 58. No bowler with more than 30 wickets had a better average or strike rate than 19-year-old offspinner Tharindu Kaushal who finished with 50 wickets in spite of playing fewer matches than the table leaders due to his national commitments. Sachithra Senanayake, who led the table before he left for national duty, finished with 49 scalps.

Among the batsmen, SSC's wicketkeeper Kaushal Silva scored the most runs, hitting four hundreds and two fifties to pile up 814 runs. Former Test opener Malinda Warnapura made 804 runs while Air Force's 20-year-old batsman Yashodha Lanka made 802. The best average however, belonged to Kusal Perera who scored 695 runs at an average of 115.83 in four fewer matches than the table leaders.

The end of the season also sees six teams - three lowest-ranked teams from each group - culled from the top competition. These teams will move down to form an emerging league, which begins next year. The matches in the league will be treated as club matches. After the final round, Burgher Recreation Club, Lankan Cricket Club and Saracens Sports Club were relegated from Group A, while from Group B, Navy Sports Club, Galle Cricket Club and Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club will not play first-class cricket in 2014. The relegations are part of a three-year plan to halve the number of clubs playing in the top three-day tournament, in order to improve the quality of the first-class competition.

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Lancashire target immediate promotion

Deep into last season the hoardings around Old Trafford's many redevelopment projects sported advertisements aimed at recruiting new members for Lancashire. Their main feature was a cropped photograph from the previous year's Championship triumph at Taunton. Sweaty, ecstatic faces beamed out at the Manchester public. "Let's do it all over again!" bellowed the posters. By August they looked like a bit of a bad joke.

Having won ten matches in 2011, Glen Chapple's team registered just one success last summer and were relegated to Division Two with a meagre 106 points. A joke did the rounds in September that Lancashire had more seats in their new press box than points in the table. The dejection felt by the predominantly young Red Rose squad in the Lord's dressing room after their fate had been confirmed was a new experience for most of them but it was also an unwelcome novelty for their coach Peter Moores, who had guided Sussex to the title in 2003 before masterminding Lancashire's success two years ago. So the new season will offer interesting challenges - a favourite Moores noun - for a man who has never worked with a relegated side before.

There is, however, no doubt as to what the biggest challenge will be. "Getting back into Division One is our number one goal," Moores said."It's really important for us, closely followed by winning a one-day trophy. To achieve both of those things would be our perfect season. The economic impact of playing in the second division isn't as great in cricket as it is some sports but Lancashire are a big club and we don't just want to be in the first division, we want to be one of the top sides in that division.

"You look around this ground and you say this is a first division club, but the fact is that it isn't in the first division this year, so we just have to get stuck in and start winning games of cricket. Drawing isn't good enough. The players have never been lacking in commitment, they realise the expectation of the club and they should take that as a positive."

What might also act as a spur to the Lancashire players is the recollection of their feelings when they were relegated last September. The fact that it had been on the cards for some weeks probably did nothing to soften its reality. Predictably, perhaps, Moores does not shy away from the memory. Instead, he seeks to incorporate it into his preparation.

	"There is now terrific competition in the club and it's maybe something we were missing last year. Each player has to know that there is somebody else snapping away at him, keeping him sharp" Lancashire coach, Peter Moores

"We've experienced winning and losing in two seasons," said Moores. "The losing is a bigger learner because it stays with you for longer, you can't get away from it until you can put it right. We have to deal with Lord's last summer and you do get to a point when you're very keen to play some more cricket and get yourself back where you want to be.

"There are always little things you might want to have done differently but we lost three of the first four games last season and in two of those we had opportunities to win which we didn't take. After that, it wasn't that we were getting beaten all the time, it was just that we weren't getting any wins, largely because of the weather.

"There is a fine line between winning and losing in the first division and unless you have a very good start you often find yourself in the middle of the table not knowing whether you're pushing to win it or pushing to survive. You don't fluke a Championship and if you add up the number of four-day wins we've had since Glen Chapple and I have been here you'd find us in the top two or three sides ... Also, this group of players has had two semi-finals and three quarters in the one-dayers, so we have been competitive in all forms of the game for four years."

Perhaps the chief area in which Lancashire's cricket lacked punching power in 2012 was the top-order batting, so the re-engagement of Ashwell Prince, the only player in the side to average above 30 in last season's Championship, and the signing of Simon Katich will probably be seen as good news by Old Trafford loyalists. In the bowling department, Sajid Mahmood was released and Gary Keedy allowed to join Surrey, the latter move giving further opportunities to slow left-armer Stephen Parry and the highly rated rookie offspinner Arron Lilley. But perhaps the most interesting signing is that of the ex-Leicestershire allrounder Wayne White, a player who impressed Moores on the club's pre-season tour to Dubai.

"Wayne's a rapidly emerging cricketer who has found himself a bit later than some," said Moores. "He was leading wicket-taker for Leicestershire two years in a row but he bats, bowls and fields. He wants to move his game forward and we want to help him do that.

"Elsewhere, we've made bold decisions by letting players go and that will create opportunities for others. But we're going to need the experience of senior cricketers around, so Katich and Prince will help that. We want to develop our own players but if we see someone like Wayne who will add something to the side, we'll be happy to go down that route. There is now terrific competition in the club and it's maybe something we were missing last year. Each player has to know that there is somebody else snapping away at him, keeping him sharp."

It has been an eventful winter for Moores too. In the autumn he was appointed to the ECB's Fellowship of Elite Coaches and in March he was one of only two coaches from non-Olympic sports accepted on to UK Sport's Elite Programme, a recognition, some would say, of his coaching class. The ex-England coach was honoured by both appointments and admits that he has "strong ambitions" for his future career. For the moment, though, he is happy to be where he is.

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Ashes contenders miss out on CA contracts

Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Jackson Bird and Moises Henriques, all potential Ashes tourists, have been omitted from Cricket Australia's list of centrally contracted players for 2013-14. The initial list of players was expanded from last year's 17 to 20, the maximum allowable figure under the current MOU with the players union.

As has been the case for some time, multi-format players stand a better chance of earning the immediate financial security of a CA contract than all but the highest-ranked Test match specialists, something that counted against Bird and Khawaja in particular. In their places were the likes of George Bailey, Clint McKay and Xavier Doherty, all regulars in the ODI and Twenty20 teams.

While CA does not release the player rankings, it is believed that Mitchell Starc was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the extra money freed up by the retirements of Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting. However the selection of 20 players allowed the national selectors to broadened the spread of remuneration at a time when Australian cricket has fewer outstanding performers to call on than at any stage in recent years.

The selectors' concerns about the lack of batting depth available to them was confirmed by the inclusion of only six specialist batsmen among the 20. This included Bailey, who made only one first-class 50 all summer, and the vice-captain Shane Watson. Only the captain Michael Clarke could truly be said to have earned his batting keep over the past year.

"Jackson Bird, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith were all very close to making this contract list and we expect them to take opportunities that are presented across formats to represent Australia and make a case for an upgrade to a CA contract, as the year unfolds," the national selector John Inverarity said.

"Of the 20 players on the 2013-14 contract list all currently hold a CA playing contract. The 17 players initially contracted for the 2012-13 season played a significant role in selections across the various formats during the season. Those upgraded to the contract list during the season all proved their worth.

"Phillip Hughes has made a lot of runs throughout the past 12 months and is a young player who we are looking to become a reliable and prolific run-scorer, while Ed Cowan worked hard in the last 12 months to earn an upgrade and the panel feel that he is deserving of selection on this list for the coming year.

"George Bailey has been one of our most successful ODI batsmen since he debuted in that format in March 2012. Clint McKay's success as an ODI player was reflected in him being awarded Australia's One Day Player of The Year at the Allan Border Medal.

"The National Selection Panel is very impressed by the manner in which James Faulkner has been performing and developing. He is a very competitive young man who consistently manages to have an impact on games with both bat and ball. Glenn Maxwell is a talented young player who has had opportunity invested in him. He is very aware that he needs to tighten his game and perform with greater impact and consistency."

Apart from Michael Hussey and Ponting exiting the international game, David Hussey also lost his contract and will require an extraordinary resurgence in run-scoring form to regain his place over the next year.

More to come...

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'Spirit of cricket won't be curtailed by such prejudice' - Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara, the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain, has said the decision to exclude Sri Lankan players from the IPL matches in Chennai will not "curtail" the spirit of cricket. The players, he said, continue to feel "very welcome" in other parts of India.

"Politics in this case has restricted our presence, our belief to play in every part of India. But I don't think sports and spirit of cricket is ever going to be curtailed by such prejudice," Sangakkara told PTI. "The build-up has been different and difficult for Sri Lankan players. But at the end of the day they are here to play IPL."

"The Sri Lankan Cricket Board has made it clear that no Sri Lankan players will be [playing] in Chennai. [But] India is much more than Chennai and Tamil Nadu, and I think the rest of India has been very welcoming of us."

The IPL's governing council decided that the matches in Chennai will not feature any Sri Lankan cricketers or match officials, following growing political tensions, stemming from the treatment of certain ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Responding to comments from former players stating that the Sri Lankans should boycott the IPL due to the restrictions, Sangakkara said: "It has been a divisive issue back home as well. But this is not a nation versus nation issue. It's only a state... and I don't think it is the entire state [Tamil Nadu].

"So, we've got to put it in the right perspective. Foreign policies are not going to be dictated by that and had it been a nation versus nation issue then Sri Lankan players would not have been here."

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Yorks hampered in bid for Miller

Yorkshire's bid for another successful Friends Life t20 campaign looks set to be hampered by visa rules with their chance to sign South African batsman David Miller disrupted by the regulations.

A deal to sign Miller, a powerful left-hander, has already been agreed but he currently does not meet the visa criteria for an overseas player.

Without an EU passport, overseas players need to have played a minimum of one Test match or 15 one-day internationals and/or Twenty20 internationals in the two years prior to the visa application. But Miller, yet to make his Test debut, has played only 13 times for South Africa in the past two years.

South Africa's next fixtures are not until the Champions Trophy in June, with a warm-up ODI against Netherlands before three matches in the group stage of the tournament.

Two appearances in those four matches - and potentially two more if South Africa reach the final - would make Miller eligible to play for Yorkshire. But he could then travel to Sri Lanka on South Africa's ODI tour, which is scheduled for July and clashes with the Flt20.

Miller is Yorkshire's premier target having scored 390 runs at 48.75 for them in last year's tournament, including 72 in the final against Hampshire. They are likely to only make one overseas signing all season due to financial constraints.

Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire director of professional cricket, said at the club's AGM that they would hold out to try and sign Miller after admitting there was very little chance of Australian fast-bowler Mitchell Starc being available.

"With an Ashes tour, the Champions Trophy and an ODI series, Starc's just not going to be available," Moxon said. "David Miller's is not a straightforward situation. He's agreed to come back and we want him back. But he's two matches short.

"If he plays in the Champions Trophy, he could conceivably fulfil those two games to make him available. But we've recently been told that there's a South Africa tour in July now.

"If he doesn't play for South Africa in the Champions Trophy, he can't play for us because he has not played enough games. If he does play in the Champions Trophy, he's likely to be picked for Sri Lanka. Having said that, there is still a chance that the tour could be cancelled."

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Australia keep probables list secret

Cricket Australia will not disclose its list of 30 probables for the Champions Trophy in England this June, breaking the norm followed by all countries ahead of ICC tournaments. It is understood that CA approached the ICC for clarification over the rules about squad announcement and then requested that the 30-man squad, which will be pruned to 15 in a month's time, not be made public.

"Custom and practice is that countries announce their provisional squads 60 days before the first ball is scheduled to be bowled in the tournament," an ICC spokesperson said. "But this isn't compulsory."

Pakistan have already released their list of 30 probables, and other countries are expected to do so by the end of the week. Australia have been grouped with England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, and play their first game on June 8, against the hosts.

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Daniel Marsh to coach Tasmania

Daniel Marsh, the former Tasmania captain, has been entrusted with maintaining a dynasty he played a large part in starting by taking over from the highly successful Tigers coach Tim Coyle for next summer.

Sheffield Shield Champions Tasmania named Marsh after he beat other contenders, including the Victoria assistant coach Simon Helmot, for the role of guiding the Tigers in Coyle's wake.

Widely credited with helping Coyle to build the state's successful team culture and consistently high performance levels when he was captain, 39-year-old Marsh has recently worked as an assistant with the Tigers, replacing Michael Di Venuto when he was called up to mentor Australia's batsmen earlier this year.

Marsh has also spent time at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, and was employed on the 2012 Australia A tour of England as a batting coach.

Coyle's decision to retire from the Tasmanian coaching job at the conclusion of the 2012-13 summer ended a fruitful eight-year tenure that reaped three Sheffield Shields, two domestic one day titles and numerous international call-ups - among players and coaches - for a state that was once defined by the batting of David Boon and Ricky Ponting.

While Coyle's exit will leave a considerable gulf, the choice of Marsh to replace him should ensure a continuation of the same sound principles that have guided cricket in the state. Under Marsh's captaincy, Tasmania lifted their first Shield in 2007 and also won domestic limited overs finals in 2006 and 2008.

Marsh gave up the leadership in 2009, and his successor George Bailey has often spoken of his predecessor's influence. "Dan Marsh is someone that has had a profound influence on my cricket," Bailey said last year. "I will forever be trying to emulate how he thought about the game and how he analysed it, and I think I'll fail dismally. But he was someone who I always enjoyed talking with about cricket.

"He made people feel very comfortable about the cricketer they were, understood the game to the nth degree. He was very level-headed and never got ahead of himself, never got too up when we were winning or too down when we lost - all pretty great characteristics."

The appointment maintains the Marsh family's considerable influence over Australian cricket. Daniel Marsh's father Rod Marsh is a national selector and overseer to all domestic coaches, while another son, Paul, is chief executive of the Australian Cricketers Association.

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The 'care factor' will be key for Pune - Donald

Despite being around for two years in the Indian Premier League, Pune Warriors - the most expensive franchise in the event - seem to be struggling to find their feet. In both the editions they have featured in, they have finished near or at the bottom.

No wonder then that their third successive season will see a new captain and coach going into the tournament. While both their previous coaches - Geoff Marsh in 2011 and Sourav Ganguly as captain-cum-mentor last year, when they participated without a head coach - were diplomatic ahead of they stints, Allan Donald, who has been elevated from bowling coach to head coach this year, spelled out his expectations from the players in no uncertain terms.

Referring to his new role as "intimidating" in a tournament that moves "at a million miles per hour", Donald, the former South Africa pace spearhead, urged the players to "care" for one another.

"I am going to have a meeting with our overseas players on their own to explain their commitment to our cause for the next two months. Every one of those players wants to play. I would be disappointed if I wasn't picked. But what is important for Pune Warriors is for everyone to be swimming up one stream, [and] not every way and direction like it went last year," Donald said, referring to a disgruntled unit in the latter half of last year's IPL.

"And negativity spreads cancer. It does because it gets people talking, players talk among each other. And my message to the team is [to] be up front and honest. [This] is going to be the key. I am not here to make anyone promises.

"That's what this format requires. You just can't be pleasing cricketers for the sake of it. I just want guys to be part of the team and helping each other out. The care factor for me is huge. I want guys to look after each other. That creates that relaxed environment that I talk about. That's pretty much what I look for. How we gel as a team, how we grow as a team and how we care as a team is going to be the key for us."

In a season in which Pune Warriors tried out 23 players during the season, not many players were given a long rope. It led to team harmony going for a toss as the tournament progressed, and affected the team both on and off the field. Donald seems to have learned the lessons from the disappointing previous outing: "[I] don't think last year was a great example for me. That was my first year, and I felt that at times, we were a bit gung-ho with our selection.

"At times, [we tried] quick fixes, which didn't work. I see that the teams that have been successful in the IPL have stuck with a certain group of players for a long period of time. And that's what I intend to do.

"Why fix [something] if it's not broken? All coaches and teams are looking for early momentum and confidence, and we have to earn the right to do that first of all. The hard part about this competition is to get your nose in front. I am not looking far ahead. I am not looking at the semi-finals or anything like that. I just want to concentrate on every game, and on what we do in every game. If it doesn't work and we go down fighting, so be it. To try and stick to certain processes is the key."

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'Excited to be back for IPL' - Ponting

Mumbai Indians captain Ricky Ponting has said he is excited to be back for the IPL after a gap of five years. His retirement from international cricket, he said, has allowed him to focus on domestic leagues such as the IPL and the ones that follow.

"I am very excited to be back in IPL," Ponting said. "The way things have worked out - with my retirement from international cricket and finishing off the domestic season for Tasmania and playing well - they have given me the opportunity to be back here.

"The reason I did not come back for IPL 2 and 3 was because I had too much international cricket on at that time. And now that I don't have international cricket, the opportunities for me to play in these domestic tournaments are really opening up."

After the IPL ends in May, Ponting will head to England for two months to play for Surrey and then to the West Indies for nearly five weeks to play in the Caribbean Premier League which begins on July 29.

Ponting said his experience of leading Australia will play a crucial role in captaining Mumbai that already has some big names, such as Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh, with whom he has had "great battles" over the years.

"I have got a really good idea of what makes good teams successful," Ponting said. "And they are all the things I will be bringing to the table in Mumbai. To think that I will be playing alongside Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh, some of the guys I have had great battles over the years, and some of the young local Indian talent I have come across in the last couple of days is great.

"With Mumbai now, we have John Wright, a successful ex-India coach, and Anil Kumble, a successful Indian captain and a very very good Indian player and leader. Obviously me coming into the set-up, we have put together a really strong leadership group."

Mumbai finished third in the points table last season and lost to Chennai Super Kings in the elimination final by 38 runs. The closest they came to winning the title was in 2010 when they lost to Super Kings again in the final.

"Mumbai Indians have a pretty proud tradition in IPL of finishing up the top and being in the semi-finals," Ponting said. "We obviously haven't won the tournament yet but hopefully this year is our year."

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