Dermot Reeve replaced as Maharashtra coach

A stomach ailment has forced Dermot Reeve, the former England allrounder, to be replaced as Maharashtra's senior coach for the rest of the season. Reeve, who was unable to make it to New Delhi for Maharashtra's Ranji Trophy Group B tie against Delhi that ended on Tuesday, has been replaced by the former Maharashtra captain Surendra Bhave.

The team has slumped since Reeve took over from the Australian Shaun Williams ahead of the season. With two rounds to go in the league stage, Maharashtra are at the bottom of Group B. With eight points from six games, Maharashtra are in danger of being relegated to Group C. As a result, Reeve's tactics were being questioned not just by a section of the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA), but also those on the Ranji circuit. Suresh Raina, the Uttar Pradesh captain, criticised Reeve's defensive tactics during UP's tie in Pune.

However, MCA president Ajay Shirke put the sacking theory to rest. "Dermot is unwell for a while. Since it has been clear that he will not be able to be with the squad all the time, we had to make a decision since it puts a lot of pressure on the captain," Shirke told ESPNcricinfo. "As a result, we have appointed Surendra Bhave as the coach. He will take us through the rest of the season."

Bhave, the former Maharashtra opening batsman, served as a national selector for four years till last September. He had been appointed chairman of Maharashtra's senior selection panel ahead of the 2011-12 season, thereby acquainting him with the players.

"It is unfortunate to lose Dermot's services but we are determined to make the most of the remaining two games. We will do everything we can to avoid relegation," Bhave said after a long practice session at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium on Friday, on the eve of Maharashtra's match against an in-form Baroda.

Read More..

India seek to build on T20 boost

Match facts

December 22, 2012
Start time 1900 (1330 GMT)

Big Picture

One-off or two-match Twenty20 series are usually lacking in context, and that's even more the case on this England tour which is taking place a couple of months after the premier, global T20 tournament has ended. But, for a side beaten in a home Test series for the first time in eight years, the positives have been few, and the limited-overs games offer an opportunity to push for more. There were encouraging signs for India in Pune; they fielded with intensity and Yuvraj Singh returned to his match-winning ways.

Described as a side in transition in Tests, India looked much more at home in the shorter format as opposed to England, under a stand-in captain and a new-look team. Alex Hales stood out for England with his display of clean striking at the top of the order - he's one of three Nottinghamshire players from the first T20, each of whom have been told by their county that they will not be allowed to the play in the IPL next season.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
India: WWWLW
England LLWLL

In the spotlight

Ajinkya Rahane has been made to wait for a Test debut but has been impressive in the shorter formats. He pulled off a couple of cleanly-struck straight sixes in the first game and looked good for more before he mistimed one to mid-on. Often talked up as a future member of the Indian Test top order, Rahane's opportunities in the international arena have been very limited, just four so far this year.

Samit Patel has had more chances but hasn't had the best of years. He lost his place in the Test XI this series, though chipped in with a quick 24 in the first T20 international in Pune. He's got another T20 game to finish 2012 on a brighter note.

Team news

Jonny Bairstow has left the squad and flown back to England for "family reasons". Jade Dernbach was expensive in his three-over spell in Pune and England could consider giving Glamorgan seamer James Harris a go in his place.

England (possible): 1 Michael Lumb, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Luke Wright, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Samit Patel, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 James Tredwell, 9 Stuart Meaker, 10 Danny Briggs, 11 James Harris.

Should India wish to make a change, they have Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the Uttar Pradesh seamer, or Abhimanyu Mithun, on the bench.

India (possible): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Ajinkya Rahane 3, Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Parvinder Awana/Abhimanyu Mithun, 10 Piyush Chawla, 11 Ashok Dinda.

Stats and trivia

• India's win over England in Pune was their second-best against a non-'minnow' team in terms of balls to spare; they had won with 15 balls to spare against Pakistan in the World Twenty20.
• Yuvraj Singh's effort was the 16th instance of a player scoring 30 or more and picking up three or more wickets in the same game. He's done it twice.

Quotes

"I felt each and every bowler, apart from Yuvraj, bowled at least one bad over in the game. But I'm overall very happy with the performance."
MS Dhoni on India's win

"We got off to a great start. Alex Hales played tremendously well along with Luke Wright but in that middle period we failed to kick on and score. That positivity wasn't there in our batting and we lacked about 15 or 20."
England captain Eoin Morgan

Read More..

IPL player auction on February 3

The player auction ahead of the Indian Premier League's sixth season will be held on February 3, it was announced on Friday. The decision was conveyed to all nine franchise representatives during a workshop in Jodhpur. Later in the day, IPL chief executive Sundar Raman tweeted the news.

Though the venue for the auction is yet to be finalised, the representatives were told it would be held "in a metro". The auction, which is likely to see 37 players going under the hammer, was earlier expected to be held on January 12. However, the IPL authorities decided not to let it clash with India's one-day series against England (from January 11-27).

Meanwhile, besides briefing the representatives about the auction date and schedule, the workshop had the IPL organisers making various presentations related to player regulations, sponsors' obligations, etc. It was followed by one-on-ones with each of the nine team owners.

"It was a routine exercise, similar to what has happened during the earlier workshops," a franchise official said, preferring anonymity. "The workshop has kind of symbolised that the new season has indeed begun. It's time for everyone to start preparing."

Read More..

South Africa hammer woeful New Zealand

South Africa 87 for 2 (du Plessis 38*) beat New Zealand 86 (Kleinveldt 3-18, Peterson 2-8) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

It is early days for New Zealand in South Africa, but in the opening Twenty20 at Kingsmead there was a gulf between the teams that does not bode well for the tour. New Zealand crumbled for 86, only just avoiding a new record low in the format, before the home side cantered to their target with more than seven overs to spare.

A callow batting order, with much resting on new captain Brendon McCullum, was always likely to struggle, especially after just one warm-up match to prepare but it was still a hugely disappointing effort. South Africa, though, under a new captain and coach, looked primed for the home season with their only sour note when debutant Chris Morris picked up a leg injury.

It was obvious that Ross Taylor's absence would leave a vast hole and Martin Guptill was also ruled out of this match with a stomach bug, but the top order did not give itself much of a chance on a slightly two-paced surface. The batsmen paid the price for too much aggression too early, perhaps in an eagerness to exploit the Powerplay. Doug Bracewell, at No. 9, made an unbeaten 21 to at least lift them over the 80 they made against Pakistan in 2010.

Rory Kleinveldt struck with his first ball with one that bounced a touch more against Rob Nicol to give Quinton de Kock, the debutant wicketkeeper, his first catch. De Kock, who turned 20 earlier this week, was one of seven new caps (three for South Africa, four for New Zealand) handed out between the teams for this match as the sides looked to start afresh after a poor World Twenty20.

Dale Steyn had Peter Fulton caught at mid-on before Kleinveldt claimed the key wicket of McCullum who top-edged a hook and was well caught by Steyn running backwards from short fine-leg. After the six-over Powerplay, New Zealand were already tottering at 27 for 3 and it didn't get better although James Franklin may have received a harsh decision with suggestions the ball brushed his arm when attempting to hook.

Morris, another of the debutants, claimed his first international scalp when Corey Anderson, also in his first match, clubbed to mid-off and later added Colin Munro who at least had shown some decent shot-selection before slogging across the line. However, Morris could not complete his allocation after suffering what appeared to be a muscle strain with two balls remaining. Last week he was ruled out of the domestic one-day final with a quad injury so questions will be asked about whether he was ready for this match.

Between Morris's two wickets spin also made a mark as Robin Peterson gained from the slightly tricky nature of the surface. However, it was nowhere near as tough as the scoreline suggested. With New Zealand left to try and bat out the overs - which they failed to do - Peterson was able to collect South Africa's most economical figures in Twenty20 (2 for 8).

South Africa's chase did not start smoothly when the under-pressure Richard Levi edged Mitchell McClenaghan, a left-arm seamer to add to the plethora of that style New Zealand can call on, to first slip but captain Faf du Plessis and Henry Davids, making his debut at the age of 32, were soon into their stride.

Davids was off the mark with a ungainly hack which he edged past leg stump but also sliced a six over deep point while du Plessis drove beautifully through the off side. De Kock, who has come into the international amid much hype, began in eye-catching style by lofting his third ball straight down the ground and showed a touch of class through the off side.

To compound New Zealand's problems some of their ground fielding would have shamed a club side. It really was a horrid evening for them. Twenty20 was meant to be a format where they might, just, have pushed South Africa but on this evidence that theory appears far-fetched.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 NB/Wides New Zealand 72 13 0 27/3 7/2 (18.2) 0/2 South Africa 38 14 1 46/2 nil 0/1

Read More..

BPL yet to finalise contract with franchises

The Bangladesh Premier League continues to face issues, with the players' auction on Thursday happening with only a verbal agreement in place for the tournament, rather than any proper paperwork; there is still no official agreement signed between the BPL, Game On Sports (the event management firm) and the franchises. Apart from this, the players' salaries issue hung dimly above the auction floor as the seven franchises acquired the overseas and local cricketers of their choice.

On the eve of the auction, BPL chairman Afzalur Rahman Sinha said: "We haven't had enough time to sign an official agreement with the franchisees as yet. We're going into the auction based on a verbal agreement with the franchisees."

The agreement, which, when finalised, will be for a period of six years, will contain details on the working of the tournament, TV rights and key financial issues, among other things.

"I am hopeful that we'll have the deals struck by the end of this month and I am confident that the problems that occurred last year will not be repeated," Sinha said. "As of now, we have to keep the ball rolling."

BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick told reporters on Thursday that they have set the franchises a deadline: "We have completed the Memorandum of Understanding with the franchises and sent them the drafts of the contracts. We have given them the deadline of December 22 to complete all formalities."

Towards the end of the auction, some of the team owners took turns to speak to the media. Things turned sour when Salim Chowdhury, the owner of Dhaka Gladiators, was faced with a volley of questions regarding the player payments issue. "I don't understand why the question of money keeps coming up," he said. "If a team has spent Tk10 crore (approx USD1.25ml) and is charged with not paying Tk50 lakh (approx USD60,000), why are we facing questions? Moreover, we are also participating in the auction and the tournament, so our intention is to play cricket.

"We read a lot of news about undue player payments but we have never spoken about the money we have not been paid by our sponsors."

Player payments are not the only monetary issue for Dhaka Gladiators, as a PR agency had recently sued them over unpaid payments.

Another issue on the day was the rumour going around that there was a prearrangement between the franchises regarding who would buy whom at the auction. The organisers said such an arrangement wasn't possible. "We've also heard the rumour that there has been an arrangement [among the franchises], but going by the auctions and the prices, I am certain it didn't take place," Mallick said.

Read More..

USACA might split with T20 investor, league in doubt

A proposed Twenty20 league in the USA, headed by the USA Cricket Association and New Zealand Cricket, may be on the verge of collapse after USACA president Gladstone Dainty allegedly informed stakeholders at the annual general meeting on December 15 in New York that the board's partnership with Rajiv Podar, the primary investor supplying funding to USACA through Cricket Holdings America LLC, might be coming to an end.

It is a scenario that is being denied by Podar.

"It is true we have been and we are still in active discussions with some investors," Podar wrote in an email to ESPNcricinfo.

"There have been some delays, mainly due to detailed planning and putting a proper structure and plan together. Given the magnitude of the project and our desire to have a world-class event, delays are normal. Frankly, I do not see how this is going to be a potential danger in ending the league. The company is being financed and progressing as planned."

When the CHA LLC agreement was signed in 2010, USACA was supposed to receive $2 million in annual payments from Podar in the form of advances drawn against future earnings from licensing fees secured by the proposed league. A further $3 million bonus payment was set to be disbursed to USACA from Podar by the end of 2011 in the form of share sales after securing another investor in the CHA LLC partnership to join Podar, Top Bloom, Neil Maxwell's Insite Organization, USACA and NZC.

Dainty admitted to ESPNcricinfo in November that USACA had actually been getting "about half" of the $2 million in annual payments from Podar that were originally agreed to as part of the CHA LLC deal.

According to sources, an additional investor was never secured and USACA never received the $3 million bonus despite two extensions granted to broker an agreement. The latest extension passed on December 15. Podar however was quick to dispel notions that the proposed league or his affiliation with CHA is in danger of coming to an end.

Dainty, who is also the chairman of the board of CHA in addition to being USACA president, is set to have a meeting in New York with Podar next month regarding the funding issues. If the sides part ways, it could mean that there will be no CHA T20 league unless a different investor is found to take Podar's place within the CHA structure to prevent it from collapsing.

It could also mean that USACA would have to repay Podar the millions of dollars he has already advanced them since 2010, which could pose problems for USACA since they do not have any significant revenue streams to facilitate repayment.

The money Podar extended to USACA was initially seen as a resource for funding USA development programmes. However, on-field endeavours took a back seat to legal battles in 2012 as USACA spent well into six figures this year on lawyer fees.

Consequently, USACA only organised one domestic tournament in 2012, a solitary 50-over match for the national championship on November 11 in Florida between a group of players handpicked by the USACA administration and designated as the Eastern and Western Conference. Despite multiple press releases promising to do so, USACA failed to organise a women's national tournament in 2012 and never put together a national junior tournament either despite receiving roughly $300,000 in funding from the ICC for the purpose of such development initiatives.

As of now, the CHA-organised USA Twenty20 league is scheduled to begin in June but signs that the league initiative was on shaky ground came to the surface earlier this month.

Dainty and Maxwell, the chief executive of CHA, gave conflicting accounts on the state of proposed league. Dainty told ESPNcricinfo that Associate-level players would be recruited to form the nucleus of the player talent pool while Maxwell stated in a separate interview that the league was still hoping to secure top-flight players from Full Member nations for a launch next summer with six teams playing on artificial pitches in New York.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Dainty is also at odds with Maxwell over the latter's plan to stage matches on artificial pitches, which is presently the only viable way to play matches in New York and other major metropolitan markets due to a lack of turf facilities.

Read More..

Dhoni delighted with fielding effort

MS Dhoni praised the efforts of his team in the field after India comfortably won the opening Twenty20 in Pune by five wickets. England began well with the bat, through Alex Hales and Luke Wright, before Yuvraj Singh took three wickets to knock the stuffing out of the innings.

India's fielding, which was often shoddy during the Test series, also improved considerably with Ajinkya Rahane claiming three out-field catches and Virat Kohli taking a superb, low, effort at long-on. With Suresh Raina also back in the team there was a far more athletic appearance to India and Dhoni did not have to shield so many slower movers.

The turning point of the match came in the 13th over when Yuvraj, who had already removed Wright, bowled Hales for 56 off 35 balls and two deliveries later had Eoin Morgan, the England captain and leading Twenty20 batsman, caught at long-on. Yuvraj later added 38 off 21 balls which included picking off Danny Briggs' only over for 18.

"Yuvraj was brilliant. He bowled really well and at the right pace," Dhoni said. "I felt each and every bowler, apart from Yuvraj, bowled at least one bad over in the game. But I'm overall very happy with the performance."

"And the fielding, which I wanted the team to do well. I thought we did brilliantly.

"The pressure was on the bowlers," he added. "The way Hales started - he went after the bowlers - that was the difficult part. We all know it's a bit easier to score against the new ball on the sub-continent, particularly in India. It was important from the eighth over that we tried to bring the team back into the game."

Morgan was left frustrated by the way England's batted faded from the position of 89 for 1 in the 11th over. They were also below their best with the ball where they conceded 10 wides after Jade Dernbach set the tone with three in his first over.

"We got off to a great start. Alex Hales played tremendously well along with Luke Wright but in that middle period we failed to kick on and score. That positivity wasn't there in our batting and we lacked about 15 or 20.

"We never seemed to get going again. We continually lost wickets, which is a shame because because the start we had, we were on for a good score. We always thought we were in the game. We lacked a small bit of discipline in our bowling but we were always up against it with that score on the board."

Read More..

Cri-zelda Brits returns for South Africa

Cri-zelda Brits, the former South Africa women's captain, will return to the international stage for the tour to West Indies later this month which is part of the team's preparation for the Women's World Cup in India.

Brits, 29, took an indefinite break from international cricket last year to focus on her off-field profession after she was promoted to a manger with her company. Now, with the World Cup around the corner, Brits is excited about her return.

"I'm really happy to be back," he said. "This is a very exciting time for me and I'm really looking forward to representing my country again. This break served to show me how much I love the game and how much I've missed playing international cricket. I can't wait to get into get on the field in St Kitts and do what I was born to do."

Brits made her debut against India in 2002 and initially played for more than a decade during which time she gained 57 ODI caps. She has also played four Tests and 17 Twenty20s.

Hilton Moreeng, the coach, said: "It's a pleasure to see the return of an experienced player like Cri-zelda, I'm certain she'll have a positive influence on the side. I'm confident about the team we've chosen, it's a really good mixture of youth and experience and I'm happy with the depth in the side.

"We're excited about going to the West Indies and to face some tough competition. This is the best preparation for the World Cup that we could ask for and we look forward to our arrival and getting our campaign started."

The squad includes two debutants, Savanna Cordes and Elrisa Theunissen, after they impressed in CSA Women's Provincial League.

South Africa leave for St Kitts on December 28 for their series which will take place from January 7-15. They will finish off with a two-match T20 series before departing for the World Cup in India.

Squad Mignon du Preez, Susan Benade, Cri-zelda Brits, Trisha Chetty, Savanna Cordes, Dinesha Devnarain, Shandré Fritz, Marizanne Kapp, Dané van Niekerk, Marcia Letsoalo, Sunette Loubser, Yolandi Potgieter, Chloe Tryon, Elrisa Theunissen

Read More..

Morgan ready for T20 captaincy challenge

Eoin Morgan, England's stand-in T20 captain, has said the two T20 internationals with India before Christmas will provide a young squad with the chance to begin formulating their plans for the 2014 World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.

England, the 2010 World T20 champions, were knocked out of this year's tournament in Sri Lanka at the Super Eights stage, a performance Morgan said didn't meet the team's own expectations. With T20 captain Stuart Broad injured, Morgan will step up to lead the side in Pune on Thursday and he hoped that a very different set of players could replicate England's historic Test success.

"As we've seen in the past, when the Test side has done well, it's had a knock-on effect with the other two teams - and certainly we'll be looking to win these two games and take confidence and momentum from the Test side and keep the winning habit up," Morgan said.

"Sri Lanka was a bit of a disappointment - we certainly didn't achieve any of our expectations or perform in crucial games when we really needed to. There were a number of areas we looked at and identified, and we hope we'll produce the performances which will catch up the learning curve we're going through at the moment.

"It's in preparation for Bangladesh, and the young guys coming through have fantastic potential. I hope they'll perform over the next four or five days."

Morgan has led England in a single ODI in the past, against Ireland in 2011, but is one of the senior members of the T20I squad. Of the Test touring party, only Morgan, Tim Bresnan, Samit Patel, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root have remained in India for the T20I leg. Graeme Swann, Steven Finn and Kevin Pietersen are among those rested, while Broad is recuperating from a heel problem and Craig Kieswetter and Ravi Bopara have been dropped.

England struggled in their World T20 defence and only managed to beat Afghanistan and New Zealand. Their heavy group-stage defeat to India underlined concerns about playing spin and, although they appear to have worked out a method in Test cricket, the scoring rate required to be competitive in T20 cricket could cloud minds once again.

Morgan was himself injured for England's only previous T20I assignment in India, which they won by six wickets, but he was upbeat about leading a new-look side. "It's a great opportunity for me in these two games against one of the best sides in the world in their backyard," he said. "It's certainly going to be a challenge I'm looking forward to."

Although Morgan has not had many opportunities to play so far in India, his two innings on tour have produced scores of 76 against Mumbai A and 47 in the England Performance Programme's win over the Dr DY Patil Academy. After being given further responsibility by Broad's absence, Morgan said he was ready to make the leap from reserve to captain.

"Being vice-captain of the Twenty20 side in the first place, you're always going to be thrust into a situation where the captain might get injured," Morgan said. "It's something not that I've prepared for it, but mentally you think if something happens to Broady then you might get the chance. Really, I'm quite happy to take the reins."

Read More..

ODI recall for Afridi a possibility - Misbah

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, could be considered for the ODI squad for the tour of India, days after he was dropped from the same, according to ODI captain Misbah-ul-Haq. Afridi looked in good form during the ongoing practice matches at the conditioning training camp ahead of the India tour, scoring two back-to-back half-centuries to press his case for a recall. He was, however, named in the Twenty20 squad.

"If his form remains like this and we need him, we will definitely consider him," Misbah said at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. "The form of senior players, who are experienced enough, is very important. They are seniors, whenever you give performances like this it will be good for Pakistan."

Afridi had a poor World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, where he scored 30 runs in six matches at an average of six and claimed four wickets at 42.74. In his last 12 international innings across all formats, he averages 6.30 with the bat. He failed to make an impact in the recently concluded national Twenty20 competition and looked rusty.

However, during the one-day practice matches, he scored 52 off 40 balls on Monday and clubbed another impressive 92 off 64 balls on Wednesday. He looked composed and controlled with the bat, cutting, sweeping and executing with a straight bat rather than slogging wildly. A lofty six over the bowler's head into the dressing room was perhaps the biggest hit in the last three days. But if he is to cement his place in the side as an allrounder his bowling needs to improve. At the moment, though, his power hitting is a positive for Pakistan.

Misbah said Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan's batting consultant, has given the batsmen tips on how to tackle pressure while playing against India. "Inzamam has been very useful in helping us prepare both psychologically and mentally - what type of hurdles we are going to face, how to get out of it, how as a batsman you should carry yourself," Misbah said. "No doubt in India-Pakistan cricket you have to play aggressive cricket and we will try to apply it over there."

Misbah was wary of India despite their defeat in the Test series against England at home. "There is no point underestimating them. We will have to play hard cricket. Every bowler has a role to play. Against India you need a balanced attack," Misbah said, stopping short of naming Saeed Ajmal as their key bowler. "You can't depend on any one, otherwise you will be under a lot of pressure. India has depth in their batting line-up and you can't catch them with any one bowler."

Read More..