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The Indian Premier League’s player auction on Wednesday saw the eight franchises battle with bids, but the process of building a team has only begun ahead of the tournament in April.The IPL’s Bangalore franchise, Royal Challengers, are on the verge of signing Martin Crowe as part of their strategic management team, Cricinfo has learned, with only the paperwork left to be completed. Hyderabad have snapped up Robin Singh, India’s fielding coach. Vijay Mohanraj, the team’s chief executive, confirmed Singh’s appointment as the team’s coach.Crowe, the former New Zealand captain, is expected to be a backroom player for Bangalore, handling key responsibilities in cricket and marketing, while Venkatesh Prasad, India’s bowling coach, is likely to play a more visible, hands-on role.Crowe, Prasad and Singh join a high-profile list of names of IPL support staff, which includes John Buchanan, the former Australia coach, for Kolkata, and Tom Moody, the former Sri Lanka coach, for Mohali.Among the other franchises, Delhi had already designated Victoria’s Greg Shipperd as their coach. Mumbai, Chennai and Jaipur are yet to reveal their cards.Bangalore believe Crowe is the kind of innovator and out-of-the-box thinker the team, led by Rahul Dravid, needs for the Twenty20 format. Apparently, Crowe’s record of having invented the Cricket Max format as far back as 1996 has gone in his favour. Besides, some of the innovations in Cricket Max have found a place in the Twenty20 format.Crowe as New Zealand captain was also the prime mover behind launching the burly left-hander Mark Greatbatch as an aggressive opener during the 1992 World Cup, and even got offspinner Dipak Patel to open the bowling in that tournament.Bangalore will hope that Crowe lends just the right kind of drive to a team that’s currently leaning on the traditional batting foundation of Dravid and the two signings from the auction: South Africa’s Jacques Kallis and India’s Wasim Jaffer.Hyderabad, who bought Australian allrounder Andrew Symonds for US$1.35 million, said Singh was their “logical choice” for coach.”Former Hyderabad offspinner and domestic veteran Kanwaljit Singh will assist Robin,” Mohanraj, a former Ranji opener for Hyderabad, said. “Robin is a logical choice as he understands the Indian conditions. The tournament is just over a month away, and he wouldn’t need any time to adjust to the situation here, unlike maybe some of the foreign coaches. He has also worked with our Indian players [VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma and RP Singh], which makes it easier.”The Bangalore franchise, meanwhile, will unveil their team logo on Friday evening at their home ground, Chinnaswamy Stadium, which will also host the IPL’s opening ceremony on April 18.

Knights handed Cape Cobras a 148-run drubbing after Rudi Second’s sixth List A century set up Knights’ bonus-point victory in Cape Town, a result that helped them remain in contention for the title. It was the Knights’ biggest win in tournament history.Coming off the back of a last-over defeat in the previous game, Knights were dealt the early loss of opener Diego Rosier (16), after being put in to bat. Second, the Knights wicketkeeper, anchored the innings thereon with a 128-ball 104, hitting including eight fours. He was ably supported by Tumelo Bodibe who struck a career-best 93 off 107 balls – studded with eleven fours – and shared a 183-run stand for the second wicket with Second.While the partnership took Knights’ past 200 in 37 overs, it was David Miller’s quickfire 58 that helped Knights amass 300 in 50 overs. Miller, batting at No. 4, hammered six fours and two sixes in his 37-ball knock, and put on 75 off 52 balls with Second for the third wicket before falling to Rory Kleinveldt, who claimed the best returns (3-41) for Cobras.In reply, Knights medium-pacer Shadley van Schalkwyk’s double-strike in the third over set the Cobras back. Dillon du Preez then removed Andrea Agathangelou (24) and Zubayr Hamza (2) as regular wickets had the Cobras reeling at 40 for 5 in the 12th over.Dayyaan Galiem top-scored with 41, and put on 43 runs for the sixth wicket with Aviwe Mgijima (19). Rosier (3-29) then chipped away at the tail with his legspin to help Knights skittle Cobras out for 152 in 32 overs.Farhaan Behardien top-scored for Titans with a 50-ball 45•Gallo Images

Titans beat table-toppers Dolphins by 33 runs in a rain-curtailed contest in Durban to move to within one point of the top spot. Defending 205 from 40 overs, Titans removed the Dolphins openers inside the first three overs, before rain reduced the game further. Just 16 runs, and six overs, were knocked off the revised D/L calculations. Handy cameos from Sarel Erwee (38) and Khaya Zondo (41) kept Dolphins in the hunt, but regular wickets effectively killed the game. Left-arm spinner Shaun von Berg finished with figures of 4 for 40, while medium-pacer Junior Dala took 3 for 26.That Titans had 205 to defend was down to a 71-run, fifth-wicket stand between Farhaan Behardien (45) and Albie Morkel (38), after they were reduced to 73 for 4 in the 21st over. David Wiese provided the required impetus towards the end with a 25-ball 37 that included three fours and two sixes. All five Dolphins bowlers picked up at least one wicket each.

Sri Lanka Under-19s have retained their core team from the recent tri-nation series against India and England for the upcoming Under-19 World Cup which starts from January 27 in Bangladesh.Sri Lanka trimmed five members from the 19-member squad for the tri-nations series, but the only new inclusion in the side is Charana Nanayakkara. The squad will be captained by Charith Asalanka, who led Sri Lanka U-19s to the final of the recent triangular series, and was the leading run-scorer for Sri Lanka with 158 runs in five matches. Allrounder Shammu Ashan has been retained as vice-captain.Sri Lanka are in Group B of the tournament’s league stage, alongside Canada, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and will play their first match on January 28, against Canada.Sri Lanka U-19 squad: Kaveen Bandara, Salindu Ushan, Shammu Ashan (vc), Charith Asalanka (capt), Avishka Fernando, Wanidu Hasaranga, Kamindu Mendis, Charana Nanayakkara, Vishad Randika, Lahiru Samarakoon, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Jehan Daniel, Damitha Silva, Thilan Nimesh

ScorecardFile photo: Piyush Chawla scored 58 and was part of an 89-run stand with Akshdeep Nath•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Half-centuries from Akshdeep Nath and Piyush Chawla saved Uttar Pradesh on the last day, as the team held on for a thrilling draw against Punjab in Kanpur. UP were staring at defeat at the score of 10 for 3, and then 96 for 5, in their chase of 342, but managed to stay firm to rescue a point. Punjab dominated most parts of the day by giving UP 84 overs to bat, and dismissed Suresh Raina for another low score, but could not build on it to snare the six points that would have strengthened their case for booking a knockout berth.

Punjab batsman Mayank Sidhana on

Whether Punjab declared too late
“We had to be safe before declaring because if we had declared earlier, they have Suresh Raina, and if he had clicked they would have won. So we wanted to be sure before declaring and give them a target of 300 to 350.”
Punjab’s bowling and fielding
“Our bowlers bowled really well, they put in a lot of effort. Umang Sharma and Akshdeep played very well and patiently. We bowled well but credit goes to them too. There was nothing lacking in our bowling, but there were some lapses in our fielding, which always happens. Catches get dropped and some brilliant ones are taken so our bowling didn’t lack anything.”
Pitches Punjab have played on this season
“I’m playing my first match of the season. Wherever we have played we’ve got extreme wickets, except Bombay, which had a good track. Here we got a green track and Patiala was a turner. For the next match also I think we’ll get a track to get six points, either it will be totally green or a turner because both teams will need six points. This track was good for bowling and batting both, so we enjoyed it.”
Pitches prepared at the end of the league stage
“We all needed six points at this stage and there were four teams on 17 points. If they had given a flat wicket then nobody would have taken six points. Every team needs six points and pitches are made according to the strength of the home team. So that’s why all teams try for six points.”

Punjab, now remain third in Group B with 20 points, while UP are right behind them with 18, the same as Tamil Nadu. Punjab and UP are still in the fray to make it to the last stage, but UP will need a lot of results going in their favour, besides just registering a win of their own in the last round.UP’s star and match saviour on the last day was Nath, who scored his maiden fifty playing his fifth first-class match, by showing maturity and composure one would normally not associate with a 22-year-old. Nath came out only in the third over and had to step up under pressure to chase a formidable target for a team in desperate need of six points. The hosts had to abandon their chase and Nath made sure he stood in Punjab’s way too, of marching to victory.UP, who had expressed openly their intent to chase down 300-350, were thrown off track by Punjab’s openers Brainder Sran and Deepak Bansal, both left-handed pacers. Bansal struck on his first ball with a beautiful outswinger to draw Himanshu Asnora’s outside edge, and Brainder rattled the hosts further with twin strikes within four balls. He first extracted good bounce with a short-of-length delivery to take Almas Shaukat’s edge, and despite being dispatched for four by Raina two balls later, Brainder had him caught with some movement outside off as Yuvraj Singh grabbed an excellent low catch with both hands with a dive to his right. Three down, UP still had 81 overs to survive in the day.Nath’s first crucial stand came with Umang Sharma, and the duo saved UP from being dismissed for a paltry score for the second time in the match. They played the waiting game by leaving plenty outside off without worrying about runs. Umang was also helped by being dropped on 0 at gully off Bansal, and he took off by taking two fours off Siddarth Kaul’s first over. Umang took 18 balls to get off the mark and Nath took 15, before Harbhajan brought himself on.Harbhajan struck either sides of lunch. He first trapped Umang lbw from round the wicket and then deceived Eklavya Dwivedi with a straighter one as the batsman played for the turn, but missed. Dwivedi had been slightly aggressive to put the pressure back on Punjab, but his innings of 27 did not last more than 45 balls after the stand of 47 with Nath.Nath’s determination did not waver, though, and an in-form Chawla gave him ample support for more than two hours to steer UP to safety. Nath’s stubbornness and Chawla’s ability to pick runs started tilting the match towards a draw as the ball barely moved around and conditions became better for batting. Chawla lofted Harbhajan for a six over long-on and when Yuvraj bowled just before tea, Chawla crunched him for two fours through the covers.Chawla and Nath scored more freely in the last session before surviving several chances. Siddarth’s reverse swing tested them, while Harbhajan bowled with several close-in fielders as edges flew by. Punjab dropped their biggest chance when Chawla was on 39 and Siddarth produced his outside edge but Manan Vohra put down a simple chance at second slip. The crowd’s heart was in their mouth again when Chawla got another outside edge, in the next over off Sran, but the ball fell short of first slip.That did not flicker Chawla’s approach at all, as he continued to hook the pacers and loft Harbhajan. He was mostly favoured by luck as the ball fell in no man’s land or went just wide of the slips. Both batsmen reached their fifties in quick succession and Punjab got a sniff of victory when Chawla’s edge was finally taken by the wicketkeeper. However, amidst more edges and lbw appeals, Saurabh Kumar survived the last half hour of the day to ensure Nath’s innings of more than five hours did not go in vain.Earlier, Punjab had completely bossed around the start of the day by smashing 51 runs in the first seven overs, before declaring on 295 for 7. Once Harbhajan was bowled for 0, Uday Kaul brought up his 16th first-class hundred with a flick to the leg side, and Brainder hammered Praveen Kumar for 18 runs in an over, involving three fours and a six. Uday was unbeaten on 109 and Brainder on 26 off 20.

Ishant Sharma, the Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler, has been fined 10% of his match fee for kicking the stumps down during the IPL match against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Saturday. Clive Lloyd, the match referee, found Ishant guilty of a level 1 offence (clause 2) as per the ICC’s Code of Conduct, which relates to abuse of ground equipment.Ishant’s is the latest in a series of penalties handed out to players over the last few days in the tournament. Harbhajan Singh, the Mumbai Indians offspinner and stand-in captain, was suspended for 11 matches for slapping his India team-mate Sreesanth, who is with Kings XI Punjab. Sourav Ganguly and Shane Warne, the captains of Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals respectively, were each fined 10% of their individual match fee over a disputed dismissal in a match in Jaipur.

IS Bindra, the former BCCI president, said on Wednesday that the ICC principal advisor’s post is an ideal arrangement for him personally and stressed that his new role would not lead to an Indian domination over world cricket affairs.”I am only an advisor, not the chief executive, so there need not be any worry,” Bindra told Cricinfo. “There should absolutely be no alarm over any Indian domination of world cricket. India’s intention is not to dominate the West. India will use its immense financial powers for the betterment of world cricket, and act as an engine of growth for other countries. My being with the ICC will only cement those bonds.”Bindra’s two-year tenure is renewable and part of it is likely to overlap with Sharad Pawar’s term as ICC chairman, leading to fears that the top positions in world cricket will be in the hands of one country.Bindra, however, said that he would take up the ICC job only in July after the first edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is over and would remain on the League’s governing council till then.”For now, I will remain on the IPL governing council and will take up the ICC assignment only in July after the first tournament of the IPL is over. By then, the IPL would have taken off anyway. I also have some other commitments which prevent me from taking over the advisor’s position sooner,” Bindra said.Bindra said that his responsibilities at the ICC would include development of cricket in North America and China, ensuring strong ties between member nations, and overseeing major tournaments like the World Cup. Some of those key responsibilities, he said, were close to his heart.”Developing cricket in North America, especially, is very close to my heart. Even when I was the BCCI president in the early 1990s, we played a major role in launching the Sahara Cup tournament in Toronto. My other responsibility, of cementing the good relationships between member countries, is something I look forward to,” Bindra said.Bindra said that the ICC job was the best thing that could have happened for him, as it would mean that he is able to retain his base in India. “It’s an ideal arrangement as far as I am concerned. I can do my best for international cricket, and at the same time serve my state association.”

Three days of cricket saw Gujarat and Baroda flexing their battingmuscles in the West Zone Under-14 Tournament at the Sardar PatelGujarat Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad. The match ended as a draw onSaturday with Gujarat taking five points to Baroda’s three.Electing to bat after winning the toss on Friday, Baroda batsmen heldthe centre stage for the best part of a day and half to declare at428/8 in 132.4 overs. Mrunal Pandey with 4/93 excelled with the ballas the Baroda kids had a good time with the bat. Two of them got totheir hundreds. Captain Aditya Bochare made 132 and Priyank Barnda139. Opening the innings, Bochare was in punishing form smashing theball for 20 fours in his 151 ball innings that lasted for a littleless than 3 hours. Barnda played a sedate innings facing 295 balls ina little over five and half hours, striking the ball for 3 sixes and 9fours. Barnda added 149 for the sixth wicket with Sahil Patel who madean unbeaten 75 off 133 balls hitting 7 foursIt must have been a brave declaration by Baroda captain Bochare. Withthe all important first innings lead at stake, Gujarat went about withtheir batting with consummate ease. Three centuries were scored asGujarat made 482/6 in 167 overs at the close of match. Sunny Patel andMrunal Patel put on 149 for the second wicket. Sunny made 110 off 149balls hitting 12 fours. Mrunal was more in a compiling mood as he made178 in 490 balls. He struck 23 boundaries in his eight hours and 49mintues long innings. He was also involved in a partnership of 179 forthe sixth wicket with Kuldeep Gadhvi who made an impressive 111 offjust 142 balls. Gadhvi struck 18 boundaries as he along with Mrunalpushed the Gujarat first innings past Baroda’s.

Omar Henry, who has Test match and international one-day cricket on his CV as well as the captaincy of Scotland, has been appointed convener of the South African selectors in what amounts to an almost total clean-out of Rushdi Magiet’s discredited previous panel.Of Magiet’s six selectors, only Haroon Lorgat remains on the new five-man panel named on Wednesday. Along with Henry and Lorgat, Pat Symcox, Hugh Page and Douglas Maku, the black African representative, will pick South Africa’s national teams in a season that will culminate with next year’s World Cup.According to United Cricket Board chief executive Gerald Majola, the UCB general council wholly endorsed the recommendations of the newly-constituted National Cricket Committee. Although there was a slight delay in announcing the new panel, this was largely the result of the time it took to inform the axed former selectors that their services were no longer required. Along with Magiet, Morris Garda, Graeme Pollock and Peter Bacela did not win re-election. Mike Procter, who is now an ICC match referee, was not available to be re-elected.The most striking feature of the new panel is that it possesses far greater credibility than its predecessor. Given the performance of the previous panel, it could be argued that this is no great feat, although, in fairness, the previous selectors tended to be hamstrung by the inept and muddled Magiet.Along with Henry, who will relinquish his position as Boland coach, Symcox has also played post-isolation first-class and international cricket and will be a popular choice among the wider South African public. Within cricketing circles, the appointment of the genial Page, who played for South Africa during isolation, will also be welcomed and his brings to the new panel his knowledge of South African junior cricket as convener of the national under 19 panel.Lorgat provides continuity with the former selectors while Maku, a Border selector, is unlikely to be a dominant influence in his first season on the panel, but will remind the selectors of the UCB’s commitment to transformation.It is Henry, though, who will attract the most attention. A left-arm spinner and handy lower-order who played in the 1992 World Cup, he started his career under the old South African Cricket Board before switching to the SA Cricket Union. He remains the oldest player to have made his Test debut for South Africa – he was 40 years and 295 days old when he played against India at Kingsmead in 1992.More significantly, Henry’s appointment signals the end of some of the old grudges and suspicions that have lingered on in South Africa cricket. Because he crossed the floor from black to white cricket, he was at one point viewed as a sell-out. His new appointment, however, indicates a softening of some previous hard-line attitudes. With the performance of the selectors bound to be closely monitored ahead of the World Cup, Henry’s credentials should go a long way towards satisfying most of the sometimes disparate elements that make up South African cricket.The first tasks facing the new panel would seem to be resolving the question of the nationally contracted players as well as naming a training squad with the World cup in mind. As selection convener, Henry will remain on the National Cricket Committee, but Symcox and Lorgat will have to drop off. It is not entirely clear when and by whom they will be replaced.

Twenty-two year old South African batsman Dominic Telo has signed a two-year Kolpak contract with Derbyshire. Like many before him, the announcement was accompanied by comments that the players intended to use the time to qualify for England.”Dominic is one of the brightest young batsmen in the South African game and we are naturally delighted to have tempted him to Derbyshire,” John Morris, Derbyshire’s head of cricket, said. “It is important to note that Dominic has signed with the intention of qualifying so that he can eventually play as an English cricketer. At such a young age, time is certainly on his side.”Telo scored 648 runs in eight matches at an average of 58.90 for Western Province in 2007-08, including three hundreds. He also made an unbeaten 99 in a losing cause in the final of the provincial three-day challenge.

Wednesday at the Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi proved why Indian cricket might be sinking further into the mire. With two of the country’s finest teams – Indian Railways and Baroda – battling it out for the prestigious Ranji Trophy, the curator served what could best be described an enormous dud – a pitch where the ball started to keep low as early as in the first session of the first day itself. The end result was there for all to see; Railways after a brisk start struggled to 253 all out in their first innings. Baroda, who had to play five overs on the day, were 17 for no loss in reply.The nature of the pitch meant that the toss could prove vital. Railways, then, had every reason to celebrate when their captain Abhay Sharma won it in the morning and elected to bat. An impressive opening stand between Amit Pagnis and Jai P Yadav followed.Yadav, who replaced prolific opener and India all-rounder Sanjay Bangar at the top of the order, was the steadying influence in the partnership. Pagnis, for his part, went after the bowling, stroking as many as seven fours on his way to 35 off 42 balls before Baroda off-spinner Ajit Bhoite claimed him with a ball that kept low.Tejinder Pal Singh, who followed, helped Railways consolidate, adding 31 runs for the second wicket with Yadav. His brief but eventful stay saw him score 18 off 19 balls with three fours before the visitors’ other spinner, left-armer Valmik Buch, snared him.Railways No. 4 Yere Goud might never have received the India call-up but he has remained the home team’s most prolific batsman over the years. The Railways, who are looking to avenge their defeat in last year’s Ranji final to the same opponents, must have pinned a lot of their hopes on him.Goud’s start was promising, and he slowly but surely settled to do business, milking runs whenever the opportunity presented itself. Yadav, at the other end, had also begun to gain in confidence and soon the most promising partnership in the Railway innings began to flower. The run-rate might not have been anything to write home about, it being only a tad over two, but 64 runs were scored in the 31.5 overs that the duo were together. Goud’s dismissal, when he dragged an in-cutter from medium-pacer Rakesh Patel onto his stumps, however, was to induce a turnaround in the fortunes of the two sides.Next man Raja Ali (0) and skipper Abhay Sharma (9) both failed as Railways were reduced from a healthy 146 for two to 170 for five. Fourteen runs later, Yadav, who had played with commendable application and skill while compiling 85 off 171 balls, brought about his own downfall by tamely guiding Buch into the waiting hands of Baroda captain Jacob Martin at first slip.Two more late-order wickets, those of Murali Kartik and Kulamani Parida, for the addition of just twelve runs put Baroda firmly on top. But at that stage, Shreyas Khanolkar, who had come in after the fall of Abhay Shrma, found a dependable partner in No. 10 Zakir Hussain.With Hussain using the long handle to good effect and Khanolkar also among the runs, the duo put on a useful 53 runs for the ninth wicket. Hussain’s luck though ran out with the Railways score on 249, Patel trapping him lbw after he had scored 23 off just 34 balls. Last man Harvinder Singh added four more runs to his team’s score before Khanolkar was dismissed for a patient and useful 44 off 72 balls.For Baroda, Patel and off-spinner Bhoite claimed three wickets each while their other medium-pacer Shekar Joshi and left-arm spinner Buch had to be satisfied with two each.When the visitors replied, openers Connor Williams (12*) and Satyajit Parab (5*) stroked four boundaries between them as Baroda began their reply on the right note.With the ball already keeping dangerously low, the second day’s play will now prove crucial. Baroda would be hoping to achieve a healthy first innings lead as batting last on an already wearing wicket would prove a most difficult task. Railways, on the other hand, would be hoping to restrict Baroda as this would put them well and truly on course to snatch the Ranji Trophy from the defending champions.