Middlesex endure two defeats in one day

Sussex 128 (Jordan 25, Roland-Jones 3-25) beat Middlesex 115 for 6 (Morgan 30, Piolet 2-15) by 13 runs
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Dawid Malan's runout sparked Sussex's dogged defense of 128

Quite what Middlesex envisaged when they agreed to open their NatWest T20 Blast campaign with back-to-back games at Lord's, it surely was not two defeats within five hours.

By succumbing in such a fashion they not only suffered a severe blow to their chances of progressing in the tournament, but they did nothing to encourage new supporters to return for another helping. Watching Middlesex scratch around for 20 overs in scoring just 115 is not what T20 was designed to offer.

To be fair, Sussex produced some admirable cricket in the field and again showed the benefits - the somewhat prosaic benefits - of accurate medium-pace and spin bowling. Steffan Piolet, delivering his medium-pace with admirable control, conceded just 15 runs in his four overs to claim the man of the match award, while Yasir Arafat conceded only two more.

But, thrilling though it is to see the likes of Chris Jordan charge in with the Lord's Pavilion behind him, it is unlikely many children will be begging their parents to take them back to see such any of the medium to slow bowlers that made up 12 overs of the Sussex allocation again soon. And Jordan will now depart on England duty.

This was an odd game. While the earlier match, played on the same surface, had realised 361 runs, this one brought just 243. Perhaps the pitch had slowed a fraction and certainly the bowling was better in the second game, but it is hard to avoid the confusion that the main difference was simply underwhelming batting from both Sussex and Middlesex.

Certainly Middlesex will reflect that this was a largely self-inflicted defeat. By starting their modest run-chase slowly - they managed just 26 from the first six overs - the top-order increased the pressure on their side and that pressure resulted in some pretty thoughtless strokes.

Eoin Morgan scooped to backward square leg, Dan Christan, who endured an undistinguished day having fallen first ball in the previous game, drove down the throat of long-leg and Paul Stirling flicked to square leg. Joe Denly, whose grim run of form has earned him just 34 runs in six innings this season across two competitions, missed a sweep.

	Players have to realise that, if they want the decent salaries, if they want to play in front of good-sized crowds, if they want domestic cricket to become viable and relevant, they have to appeal more to the customers' demands

It should have been a straightforward victory. Only one Sussex batsman, Jordan, reached 20 as Middlesex produced a much-improved bowling performance. James Harris and Toby Roland-Jones claimed five for 35 between them, while Ravi Patel produced a tight spell of left-arm spin bowling. At one stage Sussex went 34 balls without hitting a boundary.

But in defending 128 - surely one of the lower totals defended in this competition - Sussex provided another reminder of the limited-overs prowess that has seen them win four senior limited-overs trophies since 2006. In such circumstances, calm heads and confidence are as important attributes as any.

The players, understandably, have reservations about the demands of back-to-back games. But the players also have to realise that, if they want the decent salaries, if they want to play in front of good-sized crowds, if they want domestic cricket to become viable and relevant, they have to appeal more to the customers' demands. It is, after all, meant to be a spectator sport.

A comparison with some US sports, particularly baseball, would suggest that cricketers do not have too much about which to complain.

From a marketing perspective, the back-to-back game experiment was a modest success. About 11,000 spectators bought tickets and about another two-and-a-half thousand more members attended.

The acid test is whether those numbers can be maintained. In the longer-term, the ECB hope to see T20 attendances almost double over the next three years. It is an ambitious target and will require counties to buy into the vision. This match provided a step in the right direction, but suggested there was a long way to go.

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Spot fixing issue clouds T20 launch

Essex 181 for 2 (Pettini 95*, Bopara 45*) beat Middlesex 180 for 5 (Malan 86*, Morgan 77, Topley 3-26) by five wickets
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It tells you everything you need to know about the current environment in which televised cricket is played that, moments after an excellent game of T20 cricket played in front of a large audience at Lord's, that Ravi Bopara should find himself fielding questions about match-fixing in a press conference.

It is not that Bopara or anyone else involved in this match is in the least bit suspected of anything untoward. It is that, as cycling and athletics have found, that once a sport is shown to have a problem with corruption, that it casts a shadow over everything else, however good and innocent and clean.

Bopara produced a gem of an innings to clinch this game. With his Essex side required to chase a daunting target of 181, he came to the crease with 69 more runs required and seven-and-a-half overs left.

But he timed his assault so perfectly - he thrashed 24 from the final six deliveries that he faced; albeit against some wretched death bowling - that Essex were able to open their NatWest T20 Blast campaign with a victory with an over remaining.

But it was not his calm head or clean hitting over mid-wicket that interested the media afterwards. It was the spectre of match-fixing. And while Bopara spoke eloquently about the desire to stamp out corruption, he did suggest that more could be done at county level.

"It's a beautiful game," Bopara said. "The last thing we want to do is put the fans off. We want to keep it as clean as possible and keep the fans enjoying it.

"It's horrible when the fans are questioning everything that happens. As far as I know, everyone I've played with has played the game cleanly and we should do everything we can to keep the game clean.

"If there is any odd behaviour it should be reported. It can be drummed into county cricket a bit more just how important it is to report it. That is key."

Bopara also backed Ian Bell's suggestion that county players should be prohibited from communicating with the outside world during limited-overs games; especially televised limited-overs games. So any mobile phones or laptops should be confiscated ahead of matches.

"You don't need to speak to anyone over half a day," Bopara said. "If there is a problem, people can always phone the coach or the manager of the team. But if that's what is required to keep the game clean then let's do it."

As it happens, mobile phones are already taken off players at several clubs, including Essex, during games. But that is more to encourage the players to focus on the game and communicate with their teammates than an attempt to combat corruption."

The talk of corruption partially obscured the excellence of a match-winning innings by Mark Pettini. The Essex captain made an unbeaten 95 from only 54 balls, helping his side to a blistering start to their reply despite a laboured contribution from Alastair Cook.

While Cook limped to 22 from 21 balls, Pettini thrashed a wayward Middlesex attack to all parts as Essex reached 71 without loss by the end of the sixth over. It was the perfect start to a demanding run-chase.

Essex had actually stolen the momentum about half-an-hour earlier. Reece Topley, the tall left-arm swing bowler who missed the first month of the season as he recovered from a stress fracture of the back, delivered two excellent overs - the 18th and 20th - that conceded only eight in total and claimed the wickets of Joe Denly, who looks horribly out of form, Dan Christian, who missed a horrid swing across the line to his first delivery, and Andy Balbirnie, who was caught behind as he tried to pull a slower ball.

"It was an absolutely brilliant spell," Pettini said afterwards, "especially as it was his first serious game back after four months out with a stress fracture."

It meant that Middlesex, who had seemed on course for a total of around 200, scored only 27 from the final four overs and failed to capitalise on a score of 153-2 after 16 overs.

That Middlesex had set such a platform owed much to outstanding innings from Eoin Morgan and Dawid Malan. Morgan, exceptionally strong through mid-wicket, provided a reminder of why he is such a valuable limited-overs player as he thrashed four sixes over the leg-side and punished an attack that could not quite hit the desired full length. Malan, who enjoyed a fine T20 campaign in 2013, also impressed and showed the value of batting through the innings as the middle-order failed to build on the pair's foundations.

Perhaps, had Steven Finn been available, Middlesex might have managed to defend their total. But the fast bowler was rested from the back-to-back T20 games on Saturday and is most unlikely to feature in the Championship match starting on Sunday in Northampton. He has a minor side strain.

This was a fine win for an Essex team stilling missing a couple of senior bowlers and Monty Panesar playing his first T20 match since August 2011.

For a Middlesex side facing back-to-back matches, it was tough to take. They will take little comfort from the knowledge that the experiment with two games in the day seems to have attracted an audience of around 15,000 despite Arsenal playing at Wembley.

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Court order clears road for Zaka Ashraf return

The Islamabad High Court has dismissed the order issued by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board, on February 10 that removed Zaka Ashraf as the chairman of the board and formed an eight-member committee led by Najam Sethi. The natural consequence of the court order would be that Ashraf is back at the helm of affairs. The detailed court order, likely on Monday, will further clarify the bigger picture.

"We were not the petitioner but we were made a party of various petitions against Najam Sethi for termination of dozens of employees," Ashraf's laywer, Affan Kundi, told ESPNcricinfo. "Wrapping up the various petitions, the judge suspended the SRO issued by PM on February 10. And the natural legal interpretation suggests that Zaka Ashraf is back as chairman. I am not sure if there is any other interpretation but meanwhile this is the best understanding of the judge's remarks."

"This is a win for Pakistan cricket," Ashraf said. "I will try to correct the wrong things in Pakistan cricket and do whatever is good for Pakistan cricket."

Sethi, however, said he was going to wait for the detailed order and it was up to the government to appeal against it. "The instability in the PCB is not good for cricket," Sethi said.

On February 10, Sharif superseded Ashraf-led governing board and directed a management committee to pick a PCB chairman from among its eight members. The committee chose Najam Sethi, who has acted as interim chairman while Ashraf was suspended in 2013 by the same court. Sethi has been working as the PCB chairman, leading the eight-member adhoc management committee that also included Shahriyar Khan (former PCB chairman), Zaheer Abbas (former Pakistan captain), Naveed Akram Cheema (chief secretary, Punjab), Shakeel Sheikh (former member of PCB board of governors), Yousaf Naseem Khokhar (former member of PCB board of governors), Iqbal Qasim (former cricketer), Ijaz Chaudary (IPC secretary).

Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi, heading the single-member bench at IHC, was the judge hearing petitions against the PCB challenging the termination of a number of employees in the board, including that of former chief selector Mohammad Ilyas. Although Ashraf was not the petitioner, he was made a party to it.

In the last 12 months, Ashraf had been removed as the PCB chairman twice. He was suspended in May 2013 by the Islamabad High Court after it ruled he had been elected via a "dubious" and "polluted" process. However, after a complicated legal process, he was reinstated by the same court on January 15 this year before Sharif dismissed him again on February 10.

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Lancashire claim first win

Lancashire 194 for 3 (Smith 74, Horton 71*) beat Worcestershire 182 for 5 (Munro 39, Oliver 34, Clark 2-30) by 12 runs
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Paul Horton and Tom Smith's 128-run stand allowed Lancashire to edge to a 12-run Twenty20 Blast victory over Worcestershire at Old Trafford.

When Lancashire posted 194 for 3, Horton and Smith could have been forgiven for expecting a solid victory. The visitors had other ideas, maintaining a brisk pace throughout and falling just 13 runs short of an impressive turnaround result.

Worcestershire reached 182 for 5 in their 20 overs - with little more than half a run an over between the two sides.

Lancashire claimed their first win of the tournament after losing out by 33 runs to Nottinghamshire on Friday night.

Horton's unbeaten 71 from 43 balls steered Lancashire to an imposing total. Opener Smith fired 74 from 53 balls to set the tone, before Saeed Ajmal had him stumped by wicketkeeper Ben Cox.

His was the third wicket to fall. Karl Brown went first for 28, with Charles Morris forcing him into an edge to Cox. Two balls later the sequence was repeated, with Steven Croft being drawn into nicking one to Cox.

Lancashire could have found themselves in bother at 55 for 2, but Horton joined Smith and the duo forged a decisive partnership.

Smith eventually fell to Ajmal with eight balls of the innings remaining and Lancashire 183 for 3, with Jos Buttler adding an unbeaten 10 before the finish.

Moeen Ali blasted Worcestershire out of the blocks, with a quick-fire 11 from four balls. Steven Croft dismissed the opener though, with Brown holding the catch in the fifth ball of the innings.

Worcestershire settled quickly though, with Tom Kohler-Cadmore hitting 25 from 13 deliveries before James Anderson had him caught by Stephen Parry. They maintained the pace despite losing relatively regular wickets, with Richard Oliver eager to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Oliver struck 34 from 23 balls before he was clean bowled by Arron Lilley, with Worcestershire 78 for 3.

Colin Munro and Daryl Mitchell immediately struck up a fruitful partnership, until Jordan Clark had Mitchell caught by Parry. Mitchell made 19 from 14 balls, and departed with the visitors 121 for 4 from 12.3 overs.

Clark claimed his second wicket by dispatching Munro for 39 from 33 deliveries, with Horton claiming the catch. Munro's removal left Worcestershire 144 for 5 with less than four overs remaining.

Alexei Kervezee and Ross Whiteley set about trying to blast their way to an unlikely victory - and came impressively close.

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England rejects power Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire 182 for 5 (Patel 56) beat Lancashire 149 (Clark 44, Mullaney 4-46) by 33 runs
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A trio of discarded England batsmen saw Nottinghamshire to victory in their opening match of the NatWest T20 Blast at Trent Bridge.

James Taylor, Michael Lumb and Samit Patel - none of whom were included in the England limited-overs squads named earlier this week - thrashed 125 between them from only 84 balls to take the Nottinghamshire total out of reach of a Lancashire side that look painfully thin in terms of their batting.

If Patel, who made a 39-ball half-century, went on to record the highest score of the game, it was Taylor who most impressed. At one stage he hit James Anderson for three successive fours, before clipping Kabir Ali over midwicket for six. It was another reminder of his range of stroke and his power. Aged 24, and with a career T20 batting average of 35.16 and a List A average of 50.76, you would have thought he was exactly the sort of player the England selectors were looking towards for the future.

Indeed, Taylor could be forgiven for wondering what more he has to do. While he has spent the last few days giving positive interviews to every news outlet that was interested about the attraction of this competition, he has seen Michael Carberry, almost 10 years older and with an inferior record in all three formats of the game, recalled to the squad after delivering a scathing and not entirely accurate assessment on the team management.

Patel might wonder what more he has to do, too. Blessed with marvellous hand-eye coordination, he put away anything less than yorker length with power and skill in recording the 15th half-century of his T20 career. He later delivered four overs of gentle but well controlled left-arm spin, claiming his 100th T20 wicket in the process.

That Patel was not unbeaten was due to an outstanding boundary catch from Steven Croft in the final over of the Nottinghamshire innings. It appeared as if Patel had repeated the stroke of the previous ball - a six over long-on - but Croft produced a superb leap and held on to a catch that will have to be a contender for the best of the season.

By then the damage was done, though. Lumb and Taylor had added 54 in four overs, Patel and Riki Wessels a further 53 in 5.5 and, by the time Patel and Chris Read added another 39 in 24 balls, Nottinghamshire were out of reach.

Perhaps, had James Anderson bowled his full allocation of overs, Lancashire might have restricted Nottinghamshire to a more manageable total. The reason given by Lancashire for the seemingly odd decision was that they felt Wayne White was bowling better than Anderson.

Lancashire never threatened to get close to their target. While Jos Buttler, of whom a miracle is expected almost every time he bats, produced a few sparkling strokes - a scoop to fine-leg off his second delivery, a reverse sweep of remarkable power and a thrash over long-on - too much was required of him.

Jordan Clark, a 23-year-old with a large reputation in second XI cricket which included six sixes in an over last season, also hit the ball unusually cleanly in making 44 from 20 balls, but by then it was a question of how large the margin would be. Clark, who would be one of those players most at risk of losing his place should Andrew Flintoff make a comeback, was yorked by the impressive Andy Carter.

Almost the only fault Nottinghamshire made all evening was Taylor dropping a simple catch offered by Tom Smith at mid-on. But Alex Hales, earlier undone by a sharp short ball from Anderson, picked up the rebound and saw that Smith was run out with a fine, strong throw.

This was close to a perfect opening evening for the re-launch of the competition. On a fine pitch for this format, spectators were treated to fours and sixes, brilliant catches and hopeless drops, a couple of amusing run-outs and enough warmth to allow a crowd of 10,971 to sit in relative comfort until past 9pm. That is only just short a record for a group game on this ground and, after a home win and an entertaining evening, there is a good chance many will return.

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Styris still has what it takes

Leicestershire 197 for 4 (Styris 63, Cobb 38) beat Derbyshire 170 for 7 (North 90, Buck 3-26) by 27 runs
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Leicestershire made a winning start to their NatWest T20 Blast campaign on Friday as a half-century from Scott Styris helped them to a 27-run victory over Derbyshire at Grace Road.

The three-time winners, inserted by their opponents, recovered from the early loss of Niall O'Brien to post 197 for 4 in their 20 overs.

Styris was the star of the show, with an unbeaten knock of 63 off 31 balls that included seven fours and three sixes, while there were also important contributions from captain Josh Cobb (38), Greg Smith (35) and Ned Eckersley (33).

Marcus North then starred for Derbyshire posting 90 off 47 balls, in which he struck consecutive sixes three times and also hit six fours, but it was not enough as the visitors ended up on 170 for 7.

Things had begun in concerning fashion for Leicestershire, just the second ball of the match seeing Niall O'Brien go for a golden duck, caught by Tim Groenewald off Mark Footitt.

But after that, they soon got into their stride as Cobb - who struck three sixes - and Smith produced a fine array of shots to put on a second-wicket stand of 69.

Cobb then fell victim to Wes Durston, stumped by Gareth Cross but the Foxes continued to make decent progress before Smith looped a Chesney Hughes delivery to Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

It was at that point that Styris entered the fray and he lost his partner in the 16th over, Eckersley caught at mid-off by Durston off the bowling of Jonathan Clare.

Styris and Tom Wells (13 not out) then saw out the remaining overs unscathed.

It was not long before Derbyshire's reply was in trouble, Nathan Buck making the breakthrough in the third over by sending Hughes' (seven) middle stump cartwheeling.

Buck soon had his second wicket as O'Brien caught Stephen Moore (24) and Chanderpaul was gone for a duck in the following over, bowled by Anthony Ireland.

Derbyshire then stabilised a little, North and Durston (28) putting on 70 for the fourth wicket, before the latter was dismissed by a superb one-handed diving catch by Cobb off Buck, who finished with 3 for 26.

Cross (two) was then caught on the boundary by Rob Taylor off Jigar Naik, but North kept going and appeared set for a possible one-man rescue job until he was bowled by Ireland in the 18th over with Derbyshire on 153.

Groenewald was subsequently run out by Cobb in the final over as Leicestershire saw out the win.

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Glamorgan break their Hampshire duck

Glamorgan 161 for 7 (Rudolph 34, Wallace 33, Briggs 3-26) beat Hampshire 151 for 6 (Coles 42, Owen 3-32) by 10 runs
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Glamorgan claimed their first ever T20 win at the Ageas Bowl as they beat Hampshire by 10 runs in their NatWest T20 Blast opener.

The visitors posted 161 for 7 with several batsmen getting starts but Will Owen returned figures three for 32 in the reply as Glamorgan restricted their well-fancied hosts to 151 for 6.

Hampshire won the toss and put Glamorgan in to bat with Jim Allenby hitting the first ball of the campaign behind square for a four.

Jacques Rudolph then dispatched Matt Coles for three consecutive boundaries before Hampshire turned to the spin of Danny Briggs and the decision brought quick results as Allenby was stumped by Michael Bates for 15.

The combination of Briggs and Bates produced results again as Rudolph was stumped for 34 off 21 balls and Mark Wallace was next to go for 33 as Liam Dawson took an impressive catch off Will Smith on the midwicket boundary.

Six balls later Murray Goodwin was gone for 14 with the veteran caught by Kyle Abbott off the bowling of Dawson and Ben Wright followed for eight as Dawson took a second catch of the night off Coles.

Jimmy Adams caught Chris Cooke at long-on as Briggs took his third wicket and Ruaidhri Smith had his leg stump removed by Coles for just 2 in the final over.

Michael Carberry, called up to the England limited-overs squads earlier in the week, was first to go in reply with Owen bowling the opener for 4. Adams was then caught by Cooke as Owen got his second wicket and Carberry was soon back on the field as a runner for Dawson, who had a leg injury.

Dawson soon retired hurt bringing Sean Ervine to the crease but skipper James Vince was next to fall, stumped by Wallace off Andrew Salter for 38. Coles then began to clear the rope as Hampshire pushed on, leaving themselves needing 51 off the last five overs.

Ervine cracked three consecutive boundaries but was bowled by Owen and when Smith was run out, the writing was on the wall with Coles bowled by Graham Wagg with the penultimate ball.

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Arafat pulls off last-ball win

Sussex 172 for 8 (Wright 56, Hamilton-Brown 30) beat Surrey 171 for 7 (Roy 57, Wilson 50, Zaidi 3-32) by two wickets
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Yasir Arafat was signed by Sussex for the third time to bring his considerable T20 experience to an attack that struggled last season. But his first dividend came in the form an unlikely cameo with the bat that saw him strike the last two balls for four to secure a breathless two-wicket victory for his side.

Sussex needed 16 off the last over and it all seemed to be going to plan for Surrey when Jade Dernbach conceded a single off the first delivery and then had Chris Jordan caught in the deep.

But Ben Brown sliced the third ball high over the extra-cover boundary for six then took a single and left the rest to Arafat. His first ball perfectly dissected the two boundary runners on the off side and the final delivery whizzed past Gary Wilson's despairing dive off a thick edge and down the slope to the third-man rope.

Sussex covet wins over their oldest rivals more than most so the celebrations that followed, as his team-mates ran from the dug out to engulf Arafat, were perhaps understandable.

On a two-paced pitch Surrey must have felt their score of 171 for 7 was defendable. But both attacks struggled for control at times. This was their first competitive run out with the white ball and at times the quicker bowlers in particular looked rusty while Dernbach's struggles at the end revived painful memories of his woes during the T20 World Cup.

Jason Roy (57 off 43 balls) and Gary Wilson (50 off 39) played well after they had got the measure of the conditions before Azhar Mahmood provided acceleration in that uncomplicated way of his at the end with 23 from 12 deliveries. For Sussex, Ashar Zaidi - whose most recent experience of this format was midweek hit and giggle for Accrington last summer - recovered from a poor first over to take 3 for 32 as bowlers who took the pace off prospered.

Matt Prior revealed earlier that he hopes to make his comeback in the Championship game against Middlesex on May 26, although he said it was too early in his recovery from an Achilles injury to say if he will be able to keep wicket as well.

In his absence Sussex are heavily reliant on Luke Wright's uncomplicated hitting and when he and Rory Hamilton-Brown added 55 in 38 balls for the third wicket they were in control. But debutant Tom Curran surprised Wright (56 off 31) with a change of pace before Kevin O'Brien picked up two wickets off successive balls in the 14th over to put Surrey in charge.

The hosts were further inconvenienced when Chris Nash needed a runner after hurting his hamstring but the mood of the crowd improved when, just as they had done in the first innings, umpires Ian Gould and Steve O'Shaughnessy penalised the fielding team with six runs for a slow over rate. Still, Dernbach would have fancied himself to defend 16 off the last over.

By the end the crowd had come to life but on the night T20 was re-launched amidst mch hype there was the sense at Hove that very little had changed.

On a warm late-Spring evening Sussex would have been disappointed had they not attracted the 5,000 who turned up. The ground was pleasantly full and the bars were doing a steady trade but apart from bursts of flames from on top of the scoreboard every time a boundary was scored it didn't feel much like a brave new beginning for a format which has always been popular in Sussex.

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MCA accepts conditions in bid to regain IPL final

The Mumbai Cricket Association's (MCA) managing committee has decided to adhere to all the conditions put in place by the IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal, in a follow-up to MCA chief Sharad Pawar's letter asking why the IPL final was taken away from Mumbai. While the MCA vice-president Ravi Savant said it will respect all the conditions imposed by the IPL authorities, Biswal clarified that the IPL has not set any riders on the MCA for the June 1 final to be re-allotted to the Wankhede stadium.

"The managing committee has decided to accept all the conditions, including ensuring seating arrangements for all franchise owners. Since a playoff is their match, they can invite whosoever they want. We can't have a say in it. The reply to that effect has been sent to the IPL chairman," Savant said after the MCA managing committee met for the second time in four days after the IPL authorities moved the final from Wankhede Stadium to the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

However, Biswal told ESPNcricinfo that the question of re-allotting the final to Mumbai does not arise.

"Whether I will respond to the MCA letter or not depends on the contents of the letter," Biswal said. "But I can confirm that I had only explained the reasons for which the decision to move the final to Bangalore was taken. We hadn't put any riders in the last letter. Also, so far we have not received any formal request to re-allot the final to Wankhede."

After discussing the issue, the MCA managing committee has decided to put in a formal request to the IPL to not deviate from the tradition of letting the home ground of the defending IPL champions to host the final and not deprive fans in Mumbai from witnessing the marquee clash. "Once we have decided to fulfill all the conditions, we hope that the IPL would bring the final back to Mumbai," Savant said.

In his reply to MCA on May 13, a copy of which is with ESPNcricinfo, Biswal had cited 14 reasons to take the final away from Mumbai. The main reasons cited by Biswal included permission to be given for temporary hospitality structures or removal of seats in the Garware pavilion, 85% parking space to be reserved for the IPL, removal of restriction for any owners of IPL teams including Shah Rukh Khan, permission for sound and fireworks post 10pm until the presentation ceremony is completed and that the cost of police security should be in line with other locations at Rs 15-20 lakh per game (Mumbai police charge Rs 50 lakh per game).

If the final returns to Mumbai, the five-year ban imposed on Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh in May 2012 will have to be done away with. MCA had banned him following a spat with MCA officials after the game between Mumbai and Knight Riders at Wankhede on May 16, 2012.

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SC to announce IPL probe panel on Friday

The Supreme Court is expected to announce on Friday afternoon the committee that will investigate the IPL corruption issue. The order will be read out in open court and there will be no hearing of the case; the next hearing is scheduled for September, after the committee completes its investigation.

At its hearing on April 22, the court had asked Justice Mukul Mudgal, whom it had asked to carry out the original investigation, whether he would continue a more empowered and deeper probe into the matter. The Mudgal Committee report, submitted to the court on February 10, had included a sealed envelope that included the names of 13 people who, the committee said, should be investigated further, and this is what the court's new investigation will do. The committee said the identities of the individuals were not being disclosed because of the nature of the findings against them.

The Mudgal report formed the basis for the court's order on March 25 asking BCCI president N Srinivasan to stand down from his post to ensure a fair investigation. The court confirmed, on April 16, that one of the names in the sealed envelope was Srinivasan's, though it did not specify the context.

In agreeing to continue the investigation, Justice Mudgal listed specific agencies whose assistance he would require. They included the former CBI special director ML Sharma, one senior officer each deputed by the Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai Police, and a former India cricketer "of repute and integrity". He had also asked for further assistance from police authorities, the Sports Integrity Unit of CBI's anti-corruption branch and other departments or agencies of the central and state governments "as required".

The case dates back to June 2013, when the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) secretary Aditya Verma raised charges of a conflict of interest in the BCCI's original two-member inquiry panel for the IPL corruption issue. A Bombay High Court ruling later termed the probe panel "illegal". The BCCI and the CAB filed petitions in the Supreme Court against this order, with the CAB contending that the Bombay High Court could have suggested a fresh mechanism to look into the corruption allegations.

The Supreme Court then appointed a three-member committee, headed by former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal and comprising additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao and Nilay Dutta to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd, as well as with the larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches and the involvement of players.

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