Sangakkara moves to No.3 in ICC ratings

Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka’s vice-captain, has shot up to No.3 in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen. Sangakkara, who recently cracked an unbeaten 200 in his latest outing against Bangladesh, has only Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf and Australia’s Ricky Ponting ahead of him in the list.Sangakkara can, however, claim to be ahead of Yousuf and Ponting in at least one respect: this was his fifth Test double hundred, eclipsing the four each scored by the two players in front of him in the table. Sangakkara, who averages 52.17 from 66 matches, has managed double-hundreds against four opponents and now has the highest-ever rating by a Sri Lanka batsman in Test cricket.Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful, who also had a good outing in the recently concluded second Test at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium, has climbed to a career-high listing. Ashraful, on his first tour in charge of Bangladesh, scored a defiant unbeaten 129, an innings that propelled him up 15 spots to 45th position in the batting table. Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, who chipped in with a feisty 80, climbed 54 places to 102nd place.Muttiah Muralitharan, who snapped up four wickets in the first innings of that game and one in the second, hasn’t extended his lead at the top of the rankings for Test bowlers but still remains well clear of South Africa fast bowler Makhaya Ntini. Third-placed Anil Kumble of India is some distance behind these two but he can close the gap with some good performances in the forthcoming Test series against England.

Top 15 Test batsmen
Rank Batsman Points
1 Ricky Ponting 936
2 Mohammad Yousuf 915
3 Kumar Sangakkara 875
4 Kevin Pietersen 862
5 Michael Hussey 842*
6 Matthew Hayden 828
7 Jacques Kallis 820
8 Rahul Dravid 801
9 Younis Khan 789
10 Shivnarine Chanderpaul 762
11 Ashwell Prince 755
12 Inzamam-ul-Haq 735
13 Mahela Jayawardene 714
14 Paul Collingwood 712
15 Stephen Fleming 674

Top 15 Test bowlers
Rank Bowler Points
1 Muttiah Muralitharan 913
2 Makhaya Ntini 856
3 Anil Kumble 730
3 Shaun Pollock 730
5 Shane Bond 722*
6 Matthew Hoggard 721
6 Monty Panesar 721*
8 Stuart Clark 720*
9 Mohammad Asif 710*
10 Shoaib Akhtar 698
11 Andrew Flintoff 680
12 Chaminda Vaas 678
13 Corey Collymore 673*
14 Danish Kaneria 662
15 Brett Lee 644

*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.For more details, click here.

Shaw misses out on India series

Shaw has injured her knee and will miss India’s tour of England © Getty Images

Nicola Shaw, the England medium-pacer, has been ruled out of the forthcoming international series against India due to suspected ligament damage in her right knee. Shaw, the Nottinghamshire bowler, is awaiting the results from a scan she underwent yesterday.Shaw, 24, sustained the injury during the final round of matches for the women’s County Championship. Laura Marsh, the Sussex fast bowler, has been drafted in as her replacement following successful performances throughout the Super 4s and in the County Championship.England host India for two Tests and five one-dayers, the first of which gets underway tomorrow at Dublin.

New York reclaim national title

In a repeat of their performance at the inaugural National Championships in 2002, the New York Region emerged from its Eastern Conference and Super League finals with an unbeaten 5-0 record, and defeated second-place Central West Zone (Texas) convincingly in the Championship final to reclaim their National title.A national US tournament had long been considered an impossibility by observers. The country was too large, its major cricketing centres few and far between, travel costs prohibitive, and there were no funds or infrastructure to sustain a national tournament. The 40-odd cricket leagues and 600 cricket clubs dotted across the landscape were an impressive demonstration of the growth of US cricket in the past decade, but US cricket had remained Balkanized by geography and demographics, and there seemed to be no way out of its situation.The idea of a national tournament based on territories or zones was first floated by Clive Lloyd and Bernard Cameron of Major League Cricket (MLC), as part of a grand design which was proposed to the USACA board as a way to restructure US cricket. The USACA was less than enthusiastic about working with MLC and indeed, MLC, after a year of operation, seems to have disappeared from the US cricket scene leaving no discernible trace. But the inter-zonal idea for a US national championship survived MLC’s apparent demise, and was adopted by USACA as its own program.USACA’s original plan had been to divide the Championship into two, an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference, each comprising four of the eight regions defined by the USACA. Each conference would conduct its own tournament, and the top two from each would meet in a Super League to determine the national winner.All things considered, the first National Tournament was a success, although not an unqualified one. The Western Conference, held early in the season in the Bay Area, was well-organised and executed. The Eastern Conference was less so: one zone even dropped out because its member-leagues could not agree on a common team or strategy. The finals, in Los Angeles, turned out to be a contest between the Eastand West-coast powerhouses of New York and Los Angeles, with New York emerging as the first champions.By contrast, the second US National Championships were a disaster. The Western Conference, held this time in Chicago, was riddled with problems; appalling umpiring decisions, atrocious pitches, bad arrangements and a host of other problems. (It was learned later that, in an effort to save money, USACA had left it to host leagues to provide volunteer umpires — in retrospect, not a wise move.)In the Eastern Conference, New York were unexpectedly dethroned by the South East Zone (Florida). The finals were almost completely washed out by the aftermath of a major rainstorm in Texas, and the SE Zone emerged as national champions as the winner in the only Super League game.In 2004, the National Tournament was completely revamped. Both Eastern and Western Conferences were played in Plano (Texas) — the consolidation evidently helped a great deal, and things went off rather smoothly. New York and Mid Atlantic zones won the Eastern Conference, eliminating SE Zone. The Western Conference yielded two winners, Central Zone (Texas) and the Northwest Zone, both with the same number of points–the big surprise was the elimination of Southern California, whose star-studded line-up wilted under the spirited attack of the Northwest and the two Central Zones.The full details, statistics and score sheets for the Super League matches can be found at the Southern California Cricket Association web site ( target=”new”>https://www.scalcricket.org).The Northwest Region, representing a far corner of the United States which had not been given any respect in US cricket, had entered the Super League with an undefeated Conference record for the first time in their short history. They performed competently enough in the field, restricting New York to 226 runs, but suffered a complete batting collapse, losing 5 wickets in the first 3 overs, and simply could not recover. Their second match, against Mid Atlantic, ended in a tie — the first one in the history of the tournament.New York, after disposing of Northwest summarily, turned their attention to Central West (Texas), the team with the best chance of defeating New York according to the experts. This was also a victory for New York, but Central West were without their best batsman who was to be absent for the rest of the tournament.Mid Atlantic opened with a loss against Central West (Texas) whose star batsman, Sushil Nadkarni, scored a chanceless 111 with 5 sixes–the best single innings of the Super League. Unfortunately, Nadkarni was injured and unable to play for the rest of the tournament. Their second match was the tied game with Northwest, described earlier.The final was essentially a replay of the second-day match between New York and a Nadkarni-less Central West. New York’s batting was uneven but adequate — excellent batting by the top order, a middle-order collapse, and then a spirited performance by the tailenders to attain a respectable total. Central West opened in fine style, reaching three figures without loss, But a devastating spell of spin bowling by veteran Zamin Amin took out Central West’s top and middle orders, and Central West’s tailenders simply didn’t have the skill and the experience to turn things around.The consolation match between Northwest and Mid Atantic was something of an anti-climax, and the only one in the Super League to be marred by accusations of bad umpiring. Mid Atlantic scored a competent but unspectacular 220. After that, a series of very doubtful umpiring decisions took out Northwest’s best batsmen, and a dispirited Northwest played out their innings for a desultory 150 — a sad end to a Championship performance that, up to that time, had been its best in US cricket.So, who was the best batsman in the tournament: Nadkarni, or Steve Massiah? This question has been hotly debated in US cricket circles, and the tournament did not provide a clear answer. Nadkarni had the best single innings of the Super League; Massiah of New York, on the other hand, was the most consistent batsman, scoring between 50 and 100 in all the matches he played. Perhaps, if Nadkarni had not been injured, we would have had a better basis for comparison. As it is, such judgments will have to wait for another match — or, another championship.

Hoggard hopes revived

Hoggard: scans reveal no cartilage damage© Getty Images

Scans on Matthew Hoggard’s injured knee have revealed no cartilage damage, and he will play in a warm-up game next week as preparation for the Test series against West Indies, which starts at Lord’s on July 22.Hoggard injured his right knee in Yorkshire’s National League game against Middlesex on Sunday, and limped out of the attack after bowling just three balls.At the time there were fears that Hoggard had damaged the cartilage in his knee, but today Dr Peter Gregory, the ECB’s chief medical officer, announced that: “The scan revealed no damage to Matthew’s cartilage and he will continue to undergo treatment from the Yorkshire physiotherapist over the next few days. This is the same knee that Matthew injured last year and we decided to scan him as a precautionary measure.”Subject to fitness, Hoggard and Simon Jones, who suffered a stress fracture in his left foot during the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s, will now play for MCC against West Indies in a three-day match at Arundel, starting on July 13. Graham Thorpe and Mark Butcher will also play in that game for MCC, who will be captained by John Stephenson, the former Essex allrounder who recently started work at Lord’s as MCC’s new head of cricket.MCC team to play West Indians (Arundel, July 13-15)
1 Alastair Cook (Essex), 2 Sven Koenig (Middx), 3 Mark Butcher (Surrey), 4 Graham Thorpe (Surrey), 5 Dale Benkenstein (South Africa), 6 John Stephenson (Essex, capt), 7 Riki Wessels (Northants, wk), 8 Min Patel (Kent), 9 Simon Jones (Glamorgan), 10 Charl Willoughby (South Africa), 11 Matthew Hoggard (Yorks).

Elite C pick five points from drawn Duleep tie

A slew of runs and as many as four centuries from both side saw the Elite A-Elite C Duleep Trophy tie at the Gymkhana Ground, Secunderabad, drawn after four days play, with Elite C picking five points by virtue of their first-innings lead.Heavy overnight rain delayed the start of the game by a day, as wet ground conditions caused play to be called off at around four in the afternoon, after repeated inspections. The conditions, however, gave Elite C skipper Shiv Sunder Das some hope of help for his fast bowlers, and he elected to bowl after winning the toss.Das’ fast bowlers, however, could not capitalise on the conditions. Daniel Manohar (26) and Sadagopan Ramesh (42) put together 56 runs for the first wicket. The real spine of the Elite A innings, however, lay in centuries from Sridharan Sriram and D Vinay Kumar. The former hit 109 off 201 balls, with 14 fours, while the latter made 125 off 230 balls, with 18 fours and one six.Elite A thus reached 369 before they were bowled out in 120.1 overs, with left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni doing maximum damage for Elite C, taking five for 104 in 40 overs.At 86 for three, it appeared as if Elite A could pull back the match by at least garnering points for the first-innings lead. But Jacob Martin and Pankaj Dharmani added 225 runs for the fourth wicket, Martin scoring 132 off 254 balls (14 fours) and Dharmani making 105 (203b, 11 fours, one six).That stand got Elite C close to the Elite A first-innings score, and despite a collapse thereafter, a few sturdy tail-end contributions enabled Elite C to register 398 before being bowled out. Elite A then played out 7.3 overs aimlessly in their second innings, the draw by then an assured result.

Rohan Gavaskar puts CAB in the drivers seat

Karnataka State Cricket Association XI (KSCA XI) were sent ona leather hunt by a rampant Cricket Association of Bengal(CAB) captain Rohan Gavaskar on the second day of the threeday MRF Buchi Babu quarter-final between the two teams at theGuru Nanak grounds in Chennai on Tuesday.Rohan, son of little master Sunny Gavasakar, made 188 off 217balls with 30 boundaries and three sixes as his team gained apotentially match-winning 107-run first innings lead. When badlight brought play to a premature close, CAB were 339 for 8off 89 overs.It was a wretched day for the KSCA XI, as Gavaskar smashed thebowlers to all corners of the park. And to make matters worse,KSCA captain, India’s ace leggie Anil Kumble, had to pull outafter bowling just five overs because of a recurrence of hisshoulder problem. Gavaskar’s rollicking 187-run third wicketpartnership with Amitav Chakravarthy, 44 off 173 balls, waswhat set the tenor for the day’s play. After early jitterswhich saw CAB reduced to 11 for 2 in the sixth over itself,Chakravarthy dropped anchor at one end allowing Gavaskar towade into the KSCA bowling at the other end.Even after the dismissal of Chakravarthy in the 54th over,Gavaskar continued in his merry ways. A 51-run partnership forthe fifth wicket with No. 6 Saikat Mukherjee gained CAB thevital first-innings lead.By the time he was out, with the score reading 306 for 7,Gavaskar had ensured that his team had all but sealed a placein the semi-finals. Of the KSCA bowlers, former India mediumpacer David Johnson in particular was pathetic. He conceded asmany as 76 runs in the eight overs that he bowled today whichalso included seven no-balls and one wide. His onlyconsolation was the wicket of Gavaskar but by then the damagehad already been done. Off-spinner Santosh Vadeyaraj also wentfor over four and over while former India left-arm spinnerSunil Joshi returned just 1-53 off his 21 overs.Fast bowler NC Iyayappa who persevered manly was the savinggrace claiming 4-65.* New Zealand ‘A’ notch up huge totalResuming on 303/4, the New Zealand ‘A’ side posted a mammoth474/8 declared in the first innings of their clash against MRFat the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The home side, inresponse made 113/2 off 27 overs before play was called off onthe second day.As on the first day, the New Zealand ‘A’ batsmen enjoyed thebest of a flat wicket on Monday. Hamish Marshall, unbeaten on84 when the day’s play began, notched up an innings highest120 (16 fours, 2 sixes) before being caught by SridharanSriram at covers off the bowling of left arm spinner BablooKumar. Marshall’s quick knock enabled the New Zealand ‘A’team to pile on the runs. Batting around Marshall was wellbuilt southpaw Jacob Oram. The pair added 92 runs for thefifth wicket.After Marshall’s departure, Oram continued to notch up theruns, with stumper Chris Nevin playing a good hand. Oram’sinnings finally came to a close when he was seventh out withthe score on 452. Oram’s 74 came off almost twice as manyballs and included seven boundaries and a six. Nevin’s 29 (49balls, 4 fours) helped New Zealand ‘A’ reach 474, the score atwhich they eventually retired.Steady batting by MRF skipper Sriram (45 not out, 82 balls, 8fours) and Tanveer Jabbar (51, 77 balls, 9 fours) saw MRFcross the 100 mark. However, still 361 runs behind in thefirst innings, with just one day left to be played, the MRFteam is in a position they would have liked to avoid. In theevent that the first innings of both teams is not completed,the match will be decided by spin of the coin. Simply put, MRFneed to score 361 runs off the minimum 95 overs to be bowledtomorrow. If they are dismissed for less than 474, New Zealandwill advance to the semi-finals. And finally, if MRF bat outthe final day and yet fail to take the first innings lead, thefates of both teams will lie in the result of the coin toss.* Indian Railways assured of semifinal berthIndian Railways virtually made sure of a berth in thesemifinal of the MRF Buchi Babu Invitation cricket tournamenton Tuesday. Replying to National Cricket Academy’s firstinnings total of 158, the railwaymen had piled up 451 for nineoff 138.4 overs by stumps on the second day of the three daymatch at the Southern Railway grounds in Chennai.Railways, who were 116 for two overnight, sent the NCA lads ona leather hunt. Dheeraj Sharma and Yere Goud added 163 runsfor the third wicket off 50 overs before the latter was bowledby off spinner M Dharmichand for 82. The skipper faced 143balls and hit ten fours and two sixes.Raja Ali (4) did not last long but Sharma and Prahlad Rawatput together a fifth wicket partnership of 56 runs off 18.2overs. Sharma was then out for 137. He faced 292 balls and hit13 fours and five sixes. Rawat and Sudhir Wankhede thenprolonged NCA’s agony by figuring in a sixth wicketassociation of 119 runs off 21 overs. Wankhede was then bowledby left arm spinner Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan for a bright 63off only 67 balls. He hit eight fours and a six.Rawat proceeded confidently to his hundred and at close wasbatting with 105. He has so far faced 188 balls and hit 14fours. Dharmichand and Vidyut toiled hard and were rewardedwith four wickets each. Vidyut conceded 144 runs off 46.4overs while Dharmichand gave away 99 runs off 34 overs. Playwas stopped due to rain at 4.46 pm.* Jolly Rovers gain all-important first innings leadJolly Rovers huffed and puffed their way to a slender yetvital 22-run lead on the second day of their MRF Buchi Babuquarter-final against All India Associate Banks at the IIT-Chemplast grounds inChennai on Tuesday.With just a day’s play remaining, Rovers, who finished the dayat 269 for nine, seem destined to make the semi-finals barringa minor miracle.In the morning, Rovers, resuming at their overnight score ofeight for no loss, got off to a good start.Openers Sujith Somasunder and Vikram Kumar both made steadyprogress. The two put on 80 before Kumar was dismissed for apatient 28 off 79 balls.Somasunder though continued his steady accumulation of runsreaching 57 off 134 balls with two fours and two sixes beforebeing dismissed.Two more quick wickets got the Rovers pulses racing, but No.4J Hariesh and J Joseph (29) put their team back on course witha calming 80-run partnership.Hariesh and captain Ajay Kudua then put on 36 runs to bringRovers within shouting distance of the Banks score of 247.Hariesh, who made 76 off 147 balls with eight fours, was thelast man to be dismissed on the day.For Banks, KST Sai, DS Manohar and JP Yadav claimed two wicket each.

Spurs could hire Frank upgrade who O'Hara thinks is "better than Arteta"

After wins against Burnley and Manchester City within the first two games of the season, it appeared as though Thomas Frank was the perfect man to lead Tottenham Hotspur forward.

His side scored five times and kept two clean sheets in the process, with the Dane making an immediate impact within his side at both ends of the pitch in the Premier League.

However, a run of four defeats in their last seven league outings has seen the Lilywhites slide down to 11th in the league table, subsequently mounting the pressure on the 52-year-old.

The 3-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest on Sunday is the latest example of the struggles the manager has faced in recent weeks, which could lead to the fans turning on the Dane.

As a result, numerous options have been drawn up, which could lead to a change in manager in North London ahead of the upcoming January transfer window.

Spurs’ hunt for a manager to replace Frank

Over the last couple of days, former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has been touted with a sensational return to North London if Frank is dismissed from the role.

The Argentine, who is currently managing the US men’s national team, has previously spoken about his desire to return to the Lilywhites after leaving in November 2019.

However, it’s unclear if a deal would be agreed at present, especially with the 53-year-old set to lead the host nation into the World Cup in the summer next year.

He’s not the only manager in their sights at present, with Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner, another manager currently being considered by the Lilywhites hierarchy.

According to CaughtOffside, the Austrian is just one manager that’s currently under consideration by the hierarchy, which could lead to an approach with his deal with the Eagles set to expire in June.

The report also states that the board have been hugely impressed with his work at Selhurst Park, which could make Spurs the next stepping stone in his career.

Described as “a better manager” than Arteta by the outspoken Jamie O’Hara, Tottenham could be onto a winner with this one.

How Oliver Glasner compares to Thomas Frank

After leading Brentford up the English pyramid and making them an established Premier League club, the decision to appoint Frank looked like the right one, subsequently allowing him to make the next step in his career.

His tactics have shown glimpses of being successful, but ultimately, the results and performances have been far too inconsistent in recent months.

The board will no doubt give the Dane time to lead them back up England’s top-flight, especially after paying a reported £10m compensation package for his services.

Despite the recent slump in form, the Lilywhites still sit just six points off a place within the top four of the division, which could easily see the side secure another season of European football.

However, any move for Glasner would allow the club to gain a serious upgrade in the managerial department, especially considering the work he’s already conducted across the capital.

The 51-year-old is coming up to two years in the role at Selhurst Park and has already claimed the FA Cup title – the first major trophy in the Eagles’ 120-year history.

Away from the trophies won, the Austrian has also achieved a better record in the Premier League, with the underlying figures highlighting why he would be the perfect man to replace Frank.

Glasner, who’s “destined for greatness” according to Anil Kandola, has achieved a better win rate in the Premier League, as seen by his success rate of 41%.

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Such a record, combined with his tally of trophies won, highlights the success the Palace boss has already endured in his career – arguably making him a serial winner.

How Glasner & Frank compare in the PL

Statistics (per 90)

Glasner

Frank

Games managed

67

168

Wins

27

60

Draws

22

42

Losses

18

66

Points per game

1.51

1.32

Win percentage

41%

35%

Goals per game

1.5

1.4

Goals conceded per game

1.1

1.5

Stats via Transfermarkt

He’s lost fewer of the games that he’s taken charge of in England’s top-flight, often finding a way to grinding out results, something which the Lilywhites have lacked this season.

However, quality at both ends of the pitch is also needed for success, with Glasner’s sides currently scoring more and conceding less than any of Frank’s sides in the Premier League.

It’s unclear how soon the Spurs hierarchy would consider parting ways with Frank after his summer arrival, but the Dane desperately needs to transform the situation or his job will certainly be at risk.

As for the Palace boss, he would be the perfect man to take over in North London, with Glasner having all of the tools to make the club serial winners in the near future.

He'd turn Simons into Dele 2.0: Spurs' top target to replace Frank revealed

Tottenham Hotspur appear to have made their mind up on the future of manager Thomas Frank.

ByEthan Lamb

Depleted Chennai face biggest test

Match facts

Friday, May 2, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

With Matthew Hayden gone, Stephen Fleming has a chance to step up from the bench and make an impression at the top © Getty Images
 

The Big Picture

The Chennai Super Kings are the only unbeaten team in the Indian Premier League but, with the departure of Mathew Hayden, Michael Hussey – their top two runscorers – and Jacob Oram, the real work has just begun if they are to stay at the top. Their first match after the exodus is against third-placed Delhi Daredevils, who haven’t been hit as hard: they’ve lost only Daniel Vettori, who played two of the four matches. Chennai now have a huge hole in their top-order and they will be tested by the IPL’s best new-ball attack – Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif. A win at home against a strong opponent could provide Chennai with the confidence needed to maintain a strong campaign throughout the tournament. Delhi, whose batting has been almost as smooth as their bowling, will have other plans, though, and the fight for the semi-final spots could become more open than it currently is.

Watch out for …

… Stephen Fleming, who is almost certain to make his IPL debut following the departure of Hayden and Hussey. He’s played 36 Twenty20 matches and will need to use all his experience to counter Delhi’s attack. The battle between Muttiah Muralitharan and Delhi’s openers, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, could prove crucial if they get going against Chennai’s new-ball attack. Sehwag hasn’t had much success against Murali, falling to him four times in 38 balls since 2002 but Gambhir, on the other hand, has played Murali effectively, scoring 42 runs off 39 balls against him during the recent CB Series in Australia. Watch out too, for AB de Villiers, who may finally get a game: Dinesh Karthik has scored only 26 in two innings and de Villiers could slot in as a wicketkeeper-batsman.

Team news

Most teams in the competition have a problem of plenty when choosing their overseas stars for the playing XI. Chennai have no such problems because they are left with only four foreign players: Murali, Albie Morkel, Fleming and Makhaya Ntini, the latter two yet to play in the competition. There is also a doubt over their leading fast bowler Manpreet Gony, who has a fever.Chennai: 1 Parthiv Patel, 2 Stephen Fleming, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wk), 5 S Badrinath, 6 Albie Morkel, 7, S Vidyut, 8 Joginder Sharma, 9 Muttiah Muralitharan, 10 Manpreet Gony, 11 Makhaya Ntini.Delhi are unlikely to make too many changes, though Vettori’s absence makes Maharoof a strong contender for a comeback, having taken four wickets in three games with an economy of seven an over. However, Delhi have been relying on their top order to do most of the scoring so the inclusion of de Villiers could strengthen the middle.Delhi: 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Manoj Tiwary, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Farveez Maharoof, 9 Mohammad Asif, 10 Yo Mahesh, 11 Glenn McGrath.

Chennai Super Kings: WWWW
Delhi Daredevils: WWLW

  • Gambhir has scored 174 runs in four innings at a strike-rate of 144. He is 16 runs away from over-taking Hayden as the tournament’s top-scorer and claiming the orange cap.
  • Chennai Super Kings’ Joginder Sharma and Suresh Raina have taken four catches each, the most the tournament so far.

    “Makhaya [Ntini] brings in a lot of experience and will of course open with the new ball. Albie is fine allrounder and then we have Stephen Fleming batting at the top of the order. So, I feel that our team has the kind of balance that it did not have in the previous four games.”
    Kepler Wessels, coach of the Chennai Super Kings.

  • West Indies board seeks to resolve contracts issue

    Will the rancour be settled before the home series againt South Africa?© Getty Images

    The ongoing sponsorship row between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the Players Association has moved closer to a resolution with the board setting a deadline of February 28 to sort out the contracts issue. The two parties, who have been at loggerheads since last December, had suffered a setback with the leaked memo prepared by the team sponsor Digicel. The representative of the sponsor accused the players of focussing more on off-field activities rather than on it, an allegation denied by the players. However, Digicel has assured its continual support to the team.”The WICB, after examination of the respective positions, reiterated its desire that everything should be done to conclude the negotiations by February 28 well in advance of the beginning of the 2005 home series on March 29,” remarked Leonard Robertson, WICB’s corporate communications manager, following a directors’ meeting in Barbodos last weekend.”The chief executive officer provided an update on the negotiations between the WICB and the WIPA which are aimed at securing Retainer Contracts, a Collective Labour Agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding, a Players’ Code of Conduct, and a Match/Tour Contract.”The crux of the problem is the clash between players’ obligations with the new sponsor, Digicel, and the players’ individual endorsements with their rival, Cable and Wireless.Robertson said: “The CEO indicated that priority was being given to concluding agreements on Clause 5 of the Match/Tour Contract, which deals with Sponsorships and Endorsements, and on the level of sponsorship fees.”The WICB has revealed that the source of the leak of the memo to the media was not someone within the Board. Robertson said that the directors of the WICB considered the tour reports on the recently concluded VB Series in Australia from the manager Tony Howard, coach Bennett King, and media liaison officer Imran Khan and have committed the reports and their recommendations to its follow-up process.”As part of the follow-up process,” Robertson said, “the directors expressed an intention to seek a meeting with Digicel to have the substantive issues arising out of the publication of the document resolved. The process will be conducted in a manner that ensures fairness to the players, the sponsor and the WICB.”

    Gough says TV show has cost him his place

    Darren Gough has taken a swipe at England’s selectors, claiming that they have overlooked his claims for a place in the one-day squad because he missed last winter’s tours.Initially, Gough, 36, withdrew in order to spend more time with his family, but he subsequently appeared on – and won – the BBC’s celebrity talent show Strictly Come Dancing.”I never give up and I’m determined to get back in but the only reason I’m not selected was the fact I did Strictly Come Dancing,” Gough told the BBC. “The reason I took the winter off was to spend some time with my children and it was the best winter I’ve had.””A lot of people on commentary are saying, ‘England’s best bowler is playing for Essex.’ It’s up to me to keep performing and let people push for me to get back in.”But Gough admitted that unless the call comes for the end-of-summer ODIs against Pakistan, that will be it for him. “If I don’t get a recall for the Pakistan series, I’m not going to get the recall … but I can only put in my performances on the field.”