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Surrey’s teenage batsman Jason Roy hit the first Twenty20 hundred by a Lions batsman since the short-form format started eight seasons ago to ease his side to a 38-run win over lacklustre Kent.

23-Jun-2010

ScorecardSurrey’s teenage batsman Jason Roy hit the first Twenty20 hundred by a Lions batsman since the short-form format started eight seasons ago to ease his side to a 38-run win over lacklustre Kent.In a one-sided Friends Provident t20 derby at Beckenham, Surrey cantered to 201 for four – one more than they posted at the Oval against Hampshire 24 hours earlier – courtesy of an unbeaten 101 by 19-year-old Roy. A tight bowling display coupled with athletic fielding then restricted the hosts to 183 for eight, allowing Surrey to rack-up their fifth win from nine outings, while inflicting a sixth defeat in eight for the troubled Spitfires.Batting first having won the toss, resurgent Surrey lost their skipper Rory Hamilton-Brown for six in the third over when he miscued a straight drive into the hands of mid-wicket. Thereafter Roy and Steven Davies laid solid foundations for the visitors with a second-wicket stand worth 78 in nine overs. Davies, backing away to leg to make room for his expansive drives over the off-side field, hit 42 from 28 balls with five fours and a six.The left-hander’s stay ended when he chipped to deep mid-wicket. Younus Khan was next man out for eight when he drove straight to long-off to bring together Roy and the man they nickname ‘Roy’, Australian Andrew Symonds, for a sublime fourth-wicket stand of 63 in five overs.Though muscular and hard-hitting himself, there were times when former Kent all-rounder Symonds could only watch and admire the clean hitting of former Whitgift School prodigy, Roy. Hitting with immense power off front and back foot, he cleared the ropes five times and plundered 11 boundaries to coast to a 56-ball hundred in only his third Twenty20 game and the sixth limited-overs game of his career.Though Symonds skied a return catch to Matt Coles to go for 31from only 16 balls, Roy saw it through to the final over to ink his name into the Surrey record books. Kent’s response started dismally when both Rob Key and Geraint Jones nicked loose drives to keeper Davies, Chris Tremlett accounting for both men.Darren Stevens, Kent’s form player so far this term, reached seven before he thumped a back-foot force into the hands of Chris Schofield in the covers. Azhar Mahmood then fell for 34, skying to the same fielder as Symonds moved toward a haul of five for 18 against his former side.Though Martin van Jaarsveld moved to a swift half-century – and ultimately to 82 from 49 balls – the asking rate soared beyond 18 moving into the final five overs. Unsurprisingly that target proved well beyond the compass of the misfiring Spitfires.

Netherlands fast bowler Mark Jonkman has been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action during the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 tournament

Cricinfo staff11-Jul-2010Netherlands fast bowler Mark Jonkman has been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action during the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 tournament. Jonkman will have to undergo testing within 21 days and, if necessary, remedial action. However, he will be allowed to continue bowling in international cricket until the results are out.Jonkman, who missed the third-place play-off against Afghanistan on Saturday after taking 10 wickets in five matches, was reported by on-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Buddhi Pradhan after the final group match against Ireland.In their official report, the umpires said: “When Netherlands took the field for the first innings of the match with Ireland batting, Mark Jonkman bowled in two spells, one from each end, and we were both able to observe his bowling action from square leg. With the naked eye we have concerns with the legitimacy of Mark’s bowling action in general and consider it worthy of report under current ICC regulations.”Jonkman is now required to submit to an independent analysis of his bowling action which will be conducted by a member of the ICC panel of human movement specialists. If he is found to have bowled with an illegal action during the independent analysis then he will be suspended from bowling in international cricket until he undertakes remedial action and is reassessed.

Craig Kieswetter hit his first County Championship half-century of the season as Somerset reached 517 all out on the second day against title-chasing Nottinghamshire at Taunton

30-Jul-2010

ScorecardCraig Kieswetter hit his first County Championship half-century of the season as Somerset reached 517 all out on the second day against title-chasing Nottinghamshire at Taunton.
It was only the wicketkeeper’s ninth innings in the competition due to England one-day commitments, but he will still have been relieved to hit 73 after a spell of poor form with the bat. Peter Trego made 54 and Darren Pattinson took 5 for 95. By the close Nottinghamshire had replied with 278 for 5 and required a further 90 to avoid following-on.Samit Patel (92 not out) and Chris Read (75 not out) led a determined fightback from 130 for 5 after Matt Wood had made 72 against his former team. Somerset began the day on 423 for 6 and Peter Trego was given a life on 38 when Wood dropped him at long leg off Pattinson. Trego went on to reach his fifty from 61 balls with eight fours and Kieswetter followed him to the landmark in the same over, having faced 87 deliveries and hit six fours.Pattinson claimed his fifth wicket when Trego drove a catch to Mark Wagh at deep cover. Trego and Kieswetter had added 113 for the seventh wicket, but worryingly for Nottinghamshire the ball was starting to turn, as Kieswetter found to his cost when bowled by Patel.Alfonso Thomas added an unbeaten 30 at the end of the innings and Nottinghamshire were left with six overs to face before lunch, which they reached at 15 without loss. Wood and Alex Hales extended their opening stand to 41 before Hales was caught at slip by Marcus Trescothick off the fifth ball of Murali Kartik’s first over.It was 48 for 2 when Wagh, on four, drove Trego to Zander de Bruyn at short extra cover, one of several imaginative field placings in catching positions in front of the bat placed by Trescothick.
Wood reached his half-century from 87 balls with nine fours, punishing anything short with some attractive off-side shots, but with the total on 119 he edged another left-arm spinner, Arul Suppiah, to Trescothick at slip.It was 128 for 3 at tea and Nottinghamshire looked to be slipping into deep trouble when Charl Willoughby struck twice in the first over of the evening session. First he had Dave Hussey taken low down by Trescothick, his third slip catch. Then two balls later Alistair Brown lifted a good length ball straight to De Bruyn at cover.Read survived a difficult chance to Kartik at slip off Willoughby on five and gradually helped Patel turn the innings around. Patel’s reached his fifty from 103 balls, with eight fours and a six, while
Read’s half-century came from just 58 deliveries and featured 11 boundaries. By the close they had put on 148 in testing circumstances to keep Nottinghamshire in the match.

Rilee Rossouw hit a breezy century as South Africa A batted themselves into a strong position on the first day of the first unofficial Test against Sri Lanka A

Cricinfo staff10-Aug-2010
ScorecardRilee Rossouw hit a breezy century as South Africa A batted themselves into a strong position on the first day of the first unofficial Test against Sri Lanka A at Pallekele.Rossouw hit 13 fours and three sixes in his 131 off 154 deliveries and was involved in two century stands which formed the bulk of the South African score of 339 for 5. Coming in at the fall of opener Stephen Cook, Rossouw added 116 runs for the second wicket with Dean Elgar, who made 74 off 135 balls.Sri Lanka struck back with two wickets in two overs, as offspinner Janaka Gunaratne had Elgar caught by Sachithra Senanayake and Stiaan van Zyl was caught behind without scoring off legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna. However, Rossouw combined with Jonathan Vandiar for another century partnership as the duo added 120 runs for the fourth wicket. Rossouw was finally caught behind by Kaushal Silva off Gunaratne with the score on 287.South Africa seemed to be heading towards stumps without any further damage, but Vandiar was trapped leg before by Senanayake in the penultimate over of the day, having made 68 off 144 deliveries. However, with Heino Kuhn – who has ten first-class hundreds – unbeaten on 33 at stumps, South Africa will be confident of easing past 400 on the second day.

The Australians continued their dominance of the warm-up match against the Board President’s XI in Chandigarh by producing another powerful performance on the second day

Sidharth Monga in Chandigarh26-Sep-2010
ScorecardBen Hilfenhaus removed Gautam Gambhir early•AFP

The Australians continued to dominate their tour game against the Board President’s XI. After the openers, Simon Katich and Shane Watson, scored centuries on day one, Marcus North, who would have been under some pressure after he scored just 36 runs in four Test innings against Pakistan, scored 124 unbeaten runs in less than three hours to take the Australians past 500. Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter George then ran through the Board President’s XI top order to reduce them to 53 for 5 at one stage.The only matter of concern for the Australians would be Nathan Hauritz, their lead spinner, who was played with ease by the BP XI lower order. Piyush Chawla scored an unbeaten and entertaining 64 off 73, and made sure his side wasn’t embarrassingly bowled out in one session of play on a slow pitch.There was a scare for the Australians early on as Pragyan Ojha removed both Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke in his second over of the day. Ponting played back to one that pitched on an in-between length, and seemed to suggest the ball stayed a bit low too. Clarke jumped out of the crease, found he wasn’t quite to the pitch of the ball, and was given bat-pad. Suddenly the quiet BP XI fielders became chirpy. The small crowd started cheering the spinners. Out came an extra set of shin pads, helmet, and abdomen guard. But North and Tim Paine thwarted it all in a 167-run partnership that ended when North was called back to give the rest a chance to bat.North is a notoriously nervous starter, and he seemed to make a conscious effort not do anything silly in the first 30-40 balls he played. It showed in how he let Paine do the early scoring, and only opened up when Chawla presented him with a long hop. In the next few overs, he pulled and drove Umesh Yadav for fours, and lofted Ojha over midwicket for another.Another period of acceleration was to come. There was a point when North was on 26 and Paine on 17. By the time Paine reached 19, North had moved to 49. He played almost all the shots except the straight drive. He wasn’t made to. The bowlers allowed him to stay on the back foot and cut and pull. When he drove, he drove through extra cover. The sweep was used sparingly: in fact he swept only thrice in scoring his first 59 runs.When he grew in confidence, he started sweeping and lofting more, and raced to his century. Paine provided the ideal solid base at the other end. He seemed to be enjoying tiring the bowlers down. After North ended his innings, though, the BP XI got quick consolation wickets, the last five falling for 11. Michael Hussey’s comeback will make sure the tail is not that long in the Test matches.The collapse at the top of BP XI innings was more spectacular. In his second over, Hilfenhaus surprised Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane with extra bounce. Gambhir went back looking at the fingers of his right hand, and Rahane looking at some spot on the pitch. Peter George, known to be in the Glenn McGrath mould, started accurately, and removed a left-hand batsman, Shikhar Dhawan, with the first ball he bowled to him. It was a McGrathesque dismissal: the ball pitched around off, and took the edge of the hanging bat. He got Saurabh Tiwary caught-behind too, but that was a loose shot away from the body. Between those two dismissals, Mitchell Johnson squared Cheteshwar Pujara up with what seemed to be late movement away.At 55 for 5, though, spin was introduced. Chawla found it easier to negotiate and added 37 with Wriddhiman Saha. He used his feet a lot, and got to the pitch of the ball with ease, lofting both the spinners for a six each, including Steven Smith in his first over. That Smith’s over was bowled three overs before stumps didn’t stop Chawla from going after him. Between them, the Australian spinners bowled 11 overs for 66 runs, and couldn’t manage a maiden. Hauritz got one inside edge from Chawla that went fine of the wicketkeeper, and that was that.A No. 7 attacking their spinners with ease was the only worrying sign for the Australians over the last two days.

Peter Siddle is set to play his first match for Australia in nine months after being named in the squad for Sunday’s Twenty20 against Sri Lanka at the WACA. The wicketkeeper Brad Haddin will also make his comeback after a long injury lay-off

Brydon Coverdale25-Oct-2010Peter Siddle is set to play his first match for Australia in nine months after being named in the squad for Sunday’s Twenty20 against Sri Lanka at the WACA. The wicketkeeper Brad Haddin will also make his comeback after a long injury lay-off and will replace Tim Paine, while Michael Hussey and Mitchell Johnson have been rested.The 12-man squad for the first international of the home summer is made up entirely of Victoria and New South Wales players and features the spinner Steve O’Keefe, who made his debut for Australia in England in July. John Hastings, the Victoria allrounder who played his first ODI last week in India, has also been included for a potential Twenty20 debut.The non-selection of Hussey and Johnson is understandable, as they will instead warm up for the Ashes with a Sheffield Shield match for Western Australia against South Australia beginning this Friday. However, the same theory was not used for the Test opener Shane Watson, who will play the Twenty20 instead of a first-class outing for New South Wales against Queensland that begins on the same day.Watson, Haddin and the captain Michael Clarke are the only Test certainties included in the Twenty20 line-up, although every player will have the chance for at least one Sheffield Shield game before the first Ashes Test. Siddle is also aiming to re-establish his credentials after spending the winter laid up with a stress fracture in his back.Siddle, 25, had been a regular member of the Test attack until his injury struck, but he faces a challenge to force his way back in ahead of one of Mitchell Johnson, Doug Bollinger or Ben Hilfenhaus. His best chance might be if the selectors choose four fast men on a potentially seam-friendly Gabba pitch for the first Test.”Peter is a key bowler in all forms of the game and has made a return from injury and is now ready to take his place in this Australia Twenty20 squad,” the chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, said. Siddle made his initial return for Victoria in the Champions League Twenty20, and is now playing in the Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania.Haddin is also on his way back after a lengthy period on the sidelines, having not played for Australia since May due to an elbow problem. His absence allowed Paine to prove himself an impressive option at Test and one-day level, but there is no doubt that Haddin will remain the No. 1 man for the Ashes.Hilditch said: “It is unfortunate for Tim Paine, having played so well for Australia recently, to miss out on this squad but Brad has made a very good recovery from his elbow injury and is an established member of our side in all forms of the game.”The squad also sees some of our best young talent continuing to increase their international experience and exposure. Players like Steve Smith, Stephen O’Keefe and John Hastings all have exciting all-round skills for Twenty20 cricket and it will be great to see them against a very strong Sri Lanka squad.”Daniel Christian and Nathan Hauritz, who were in Australia’s ICC World Twenty20 squad this year, were left out, while Ryan Harris and Shaun Tait were unavailable due to injuries. And there was no place for Brett Lee, who is in the early stages of his comeback after an injury-plagued year and had been keen to target the Sri Lanka series for an international return.”It would have been his plan to be ready for this but with only two one-day games after an extensive break we want to see him play a bit more domestic cricket yet,” Hilditch said. “Certainly there was a lengthy discussion even for this squad, but it really felt too early.”Australia squad David Warner, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (wk), Michael Clarke (capt), Cameron White, David Hussey, Steven Smith, John Hastings, Steve O’Keefe, Peter Siddle, Clint McKay, Dirk Nannes.

India turned a bad morning into a bright afternoon despite the committed effort of Shane Watson, who collected his third century in a week

The Bulletin by Peter English01-Oct-2010Day 1 Australia 224 for 5 (Watson 101*, Ponting 71, Zaheer 3-45) v India

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Ricky Ponting’s run-out turned the tide•AFP

India turned a bad morning into a bright afternoon despite the committed effort of Shane Watson, who collected his third century in a week. Watson, who posted twin hundreds in the tour game, survived two chances in delivering the sort of performance expected of a specialist opener, not one Australia have manufactured over the past year.Despite Watson’s calm 101 on the opening day, the visitors are far from safe at 224 for 5 after a stinging late burst from Zaheer Khan, India’s only fit paceman following a knee injury to Ishant Sharma. Zaheer, who was steaming in the second session during a confrontation with Ricky Ponting, gained his second lbw when he picked up Michael Hussey (17) with a reverse-swinging delivery and followed up by clipping Marcus North’s off stump when he tried to leave on 0.Zaheer finished with 3 for 45 off 16 overs to continue the fine recovery by a side that was struggling badly over the first half of the day. The locals would have been happier had MS Dhoni, who returned from the Champions League Twenty20 two days ago, caught a regulation chance off Tim Paine (1 not out).On a pitch with low bounce and gaining in turn, Watson began in an aggressive mood but toned down once Ponting and Michael Clarke departed before tea, leaving the tourists at an uncomfortable 172 for 3. Until Ponting’s departure for 71, Australia had been the ones in control but his run-out forced a change of pace, and Watson started grinding towards three-figures.There was no rush from Watson as the Indian spinners delivered tight spells in the afternoon and were called on for more work following Ishant’s departure after 7.4 overs. Only 45 runs were scored in the final session as the ball softened and the spinners closed in against the defensive Watson, Clarke and Hussey.

Smart Stats

• Shane Watson’s unbeaten 101 was his second Test hundred, and his first against India. Since July 2009, when he began opening the batting, Watson averages 51.95, with ten 50-plus scores in 23 innings. Prior to July 2009, Watson averaged 19.76 in 13 innings with one fifty.

• The 141-run second-wicket partnership with Shane Watson was Ricky Ponting’s 79th century stand in Tests, which puts him in second place, behind Rahul Dravid’s 82.

• Australia’s run-rate reduced drastically after Ponting’s dismissal: till he was at the crease, Australia scored at 3.69 runs per over; after his dismissal, the rate fell to 1.45 (70 in 48.2 overs). Watson scored at a strike rate of 52 (64 off 123) till Ponting was around, and 24 (37 off 156) after he was out. Overall, this is the slowest of Watson’s 11 fifty-plus scores.

• Ponting was run out for the 14th time in his Test career, which is the most for any batsman. Border, Dravid and Hayden are next with 12 such dismissals.

• Zaheer Khan has dismissed right and left-handers 58 times each in Tests since the beginning of 2007, but his average against left-handers (26.01) is much better than the average against right-handers (32.10) during this period.

• Rahul Dravid’s catch to dismiss Michael Clarke was his 46th against Australia, which is only second to Ian Botham, who has 57.

Watson has spent some gut-wrenching periods in the nineties during his 21 Tests, but he stayed calm and crept up on a rewarding second century. The milestone came with a legside clip for two off Harbhajan Singh and he stayed until the end, capturing eight fours from his 279 balls. It was a performance that bettered the 78 he made at the same ground two years ago, an innings that showed he could succeed when grit was required.Watson and Ponting had survived some scares and overcame the early loss of Simon Katich (6) in their stabilising 141-run stand. The two-Test series began with Virender Sehwag’s second-ball drop of Watson, who was also missed by Dhoni on 37, while Ponting benefitted from Ishant’s over-stepping when glancing behind.Ponting returned the charity after responding tardily to Watson’s call for a single and was run out by Suresh Raina’s smart direct hit from midwicket. The third umpire was required to decide Ponting’s fate after his mostly composed innings, but as he walked past the fielders he was called out by Zaheer in the first flashpoint of the series. The taunts resulted in the captain changing direction and walking towards the huddle for a short exchange.It was the fourth time Ponting, 35, had been caught short in Tests since going to England last year and the type of dismissal was particularly frustrating given the strong position of his team. Until that point it was India who had been unnecessarily generous with dropped catches, missed run-out chances and a flood of eight no-balls from Ishant.India went in with four specialist bowlers, but only two were fast men, so Ishant’s injured knee was another concerning development, especially as Harbhajan had to pass a fitness test in the morning. The lack of firepower could harm the hosts for the remainder of the game, but not if Zaheer continues weaving the ball late.India’s initial difficulty was eased by Raina’s brilliant throw and the scoring-rate quickly dropped as Watson and Clarke added 18 at 1.5 an over against the spinners. Clarke then tried to cut a wider ball from Harbhajan and edged to Rahul Dravid at first slip.Harbhajan was much more dangerous after lunch, slowing the runs and creating some half-chances in his 1 for 69 off 29 overs, and the pitch will help the slow men more as the game wears on. Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm orthodox spinner, also played an important role, rarely allowing an attacking option, as he gave away 39 runs in 31 overs. After a strong start the signs are already worrying for Australia, even though their opponents are possibly a man short.

The BCCI’s reworked pay structure for its elite players aims to give Test cricket the financial muscle to keep India’s younger generation of cricketers interested

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2010Lost among the large and extremely healthy contract pools for India’s leading cricketers lies the BCCI’s most progressive move so far – giving Test cricket the financial muscle to keep India’s younger generation of cricketers interested.At the end of the BCCI’s Gradation Committee meeting in Chennai on Thursday, along with shrinking the list of contracted players from about four groups of over 40 to three groups of 24, the board has radically reworked the match-fee structure.For the period October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011, the Test match fee has been nearly tripled from Rs 2.5 lakhs per match ($5500) to Rs 7 lakhs ($15,500) per Test. The ODI fee has risen from Rs 1.8 lakhs ($4000) per match to Rs 4 lakhs ($8900) and the T20 fee doubled from Rs 1 lakh ($2200) per match to Rs 2 lakhs ($4400).This, the BCCI says, is an attempt to re-assert the primacy of Test cricket as well as make what used to be a very narrow gap between the earnings of Test and ODI cricketers per match into a fairly vast gulf. It is significant that the BCCI’s Grade A whose retainers are Rs one crore ($220,000) a year are those who (with the exception of Suresh Raina) have been a key part of the Test team over the past few years.BCCI chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty told ESPNcricinfo, “this is a message – that Test cricket is important, it’s the most important form of the game in the world.”In 2009, India played only six Tests but finished the year as the No. 1 team. To keep MS Dhoni’s men at the top, the BCCI invited South Africa and Australia for a two-Test series each outside the ICC’s Future Tours Programme. India’s rise in the Test rankings, Shetty says, “has something to do” with the BCCI’s focus on the long game. “The players were taking the initiative, they had worked hard, we wanted to make sure there were more Tests, that is why we talked to Australia and South Africa.”According to BCCI treasurer MP Pandove, the general mood within the board following a meeting in late October was, “that the boys were doing well in the Test matches, they were No. 1, they should be encouraged to play more Tests. It was decided we had to re-look at the contract structure.”This re-examination meant trying to re-apportion the BCCI’s revenues given out to players. According to the BCCI’s rules, 26% of the BCCI’s annual revenues goes to the players, of which 13% goes to the internationals. Shetty explained: “If you see the ratio was something like 10 Tests and 30 ODIs on average and it meant that an ODI player could play 30 days of cricket and earn much more than a Test specialist who may have played 50 days of cricket, in Tests.” By last year’s pay scale, a VVS Laxman could earn Rs 25 lakhs for playing 10 Tests, but an ODI specialist, for example Praveen Kumar, could earn up to Rs 54 lakhs for 30 ODIs.The restructuring of the graded contract also serves to establish an equilibrium between the three forms of the game. Shetty said when the player contracts were originally formulated, “the plan was to get the contracts down to 20 (eventually). It is something which has to be earned by the player like it happens in other countries.”The BCCI had four grades of contracted players for the past two years, which also coincided with the existence of the breakaway Indian Cricket League (ICL). The intention to reduce the number of contracts arose the moment the ICL was rendered insignificant by the massive success of the IPL in 2008. Getting rid of the Rs 15 lakh per year contracts for a Grade ‘D’ fringe player has also freed revenues to distribute to its most elite players.The overall retainership hike serves two goals: from a cricketing standpoint, it separates the elite from the rest of the pack. BCCI secretary N Srinivasan told the , “We didn’t want too many people … to be a contracted player is a big thing, so we felt that one has to really perform to earn it … it’s not an easy club to get into.” Financially, it reduces the surplus revenue to be distributed across all players as a handout, which in the past, Shetty said, depended mostly on number of matches played rather than on ability or achievements.Between now and the end of its tour to Australia in 2011-12, India will play 15 away Tests, under one of the best match fee scales in the world. It will be their chance to see if, other than re-asserting the primacy of Test cricket, India can retain their primacy Test cricket.

Kevin Pietersen will not be disciplined for his latest Twitter outburst but his captain Andrew Strauss has warned him to be responsible with his comments in the future

Peter English in Adelaide02-Dec-2010Kevin Pietersen will not be disciplined for his latest Twitter outburst but his captain Andrew Strauss has warned him to be responsible with his comments in the future. In a series of tweets Pietersen concluded it was “pathetic” that the practice wickets were not covered more quickly when it rained on Wednesday.When asked if Pietersen crossed the line Strauss said: “No he didn’t. There are kinds of degrees of everything and we don’t want anything that distracts our attention from what is important, which is getting on the cricket pitch and performing.”Pietersen vented after missing out on a long bat by tweeting: “What should a groundsman make sure he does two days out from a Test match?” He followed it with: “Cover the nets when it rains maybe?” His final comment on the subject was: “Pathetic!”Pietersen’s most famous explosive tweet came after he was dropped from the limited-overs sides in August and the incident resulted in England introducing specific regulations for micro-blogging. “We have got a set of guidelines for our players and we fully expect them to adhere to those guidelines as much as possible,” Strauss said.Strauss is not a tweeter but is happy for his team-mates to embrace the format to connect with their supporters. “I wouldn’t prefer all of our players to be exactly like me, it would be a pretty boring dressing room,” he said. “Everyone is different and a lot of the guys really enjoy it. And it is a good way of broadening the appeal of the game, there is no doubt about it.”But it has to be used responsibly and by and large it has been. We have to make sure that we don’t have any more incidences of the likes of what we have seen previously.”

The murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer in Islamabad led to the cancellation of the sixth day of the final

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jan-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer in Islamabad led to the cancellation of the sixth day of the final. The teams will meet again on January 6 to play out the extra day.