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Fawad Ahmed unpicked Tasmania’s batting, to send Victoria on their way to a five-wicket victory in Bankstown

Daniel Brettig01-Oct-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Fawad Ahmed picked up four wickets for just 38 runs•Getty ImagesFawad Ahmed dealt as deftly and gracefully with the barbs flung his way by Doug Walters and David Campese as only a few hours earlier he had unpicked Tasmania’s batting, to send Victoria on their way to a five-wicket victory in the domestic limited overs competition at a windswept Bankstown Oval.Speaking publicly for the first time since Walters and Campese harshly questioned his decision not to wear the alcohol sponsor’s logo on his Australian team shirt, Fawad said he had been gratified by the support he received from the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland, and the national team. He also said he bore no ill will towards Walters and Campese, who subsequently apologised for Twitter comments that included the words “tell him to go home”.”I know they [Walters and Campese] are both legends and I still respect them,” Fawad said. “This is a free country, everyone has their own opinion and they can say anything. I didn’t agree with their opinion, that’s a different thing, but I will respect them, and in this country everyone has a right to free speech. They can say what they want to say, and on that occasion I think it is something new for a country like Australia.”We are not a big population the Muslims, about 1.8%, so it was a different kind of thing, and CA was amazing, they really helped and supported me. This is an amazing country, if you are performing well in any field of life you will get a chance and people will definitely support you.”Support was precisely what Fawad needed after his first over of the domestic season was hoisted for 20 runs, starting with an amiable full toss that Ed Cowan swung high over the midwicket fence. Adjusting to a strong wind, Fawad also delivered a pair of wides, leaving his new captain Matthew Wade with a furrowed brow as the Tigers advanced to a strong position with Cowan and George Bailey in occupation.Regaining his composure, Fawad’s next two overs went for only five runs. He was then held in reserve, and brought back into the attack by Wade in the 39th over with the Tigers still well placed at 4 for 163. He struck immediately, coaxing Jon Wells to drive to short cover, and flighted the ball enough to gain another two wickets from skied shots in subsequent overs that ensured Tasmania would not reach 200. John Hastings was similarly effective at the other end, while Jon Holland’s slow left-arm spin made a welcome return following the shoulder injury that curtailed him last summer.Best of all, however, was a Fawad googly that flummoxed his fellow Australian slow bowler Xavier Doherty, who had his off stump knocked back as he tried to flick to leg. The excitement of Fawad’s teammates at each wicket was reciprocated by the bowler, his final 7.2 overs reaping four wickets for just 18 runs. “Throughout the game it was difficult because the wind was really quick,” Fawad said. “Bowling against the wind with a pretty small boundary was tough for me, but the guys supported me and it was pretty good.”It was a tough start, I took it a bit lazy, but bounced back nicely – the guys really supported me, especially the captain, and that was a turning point for me, supporting me and boosting my morale. After that I concentrated on the legspin and the line and length. There was spin but it was pretty slow, so I just tried to bowl into the stumps, not to turn the ball much because you needed dot balls and some maidens.”Cowan’s sturdy contribution was not enough to lift the Tigers to a total that overly bothered Victoria’s batsmen, despite a pitch that remained sluggish and low throughout. Bansktown’s quota of seven matches in the competition will not be promoting particularly technicolor cricket, and after two defeats in as many matches, the Tigers must find a way to better use the prevailing conditions.Certainly Fawad will not mind bowling a few more overs on strips as slow and dry as this, though there are other advantages to a legspinner should the surface offer up greater offerings of bounce and pace.”It’s great to see a legspinner in domestic cricket with control and ability to turn the ball,” Cowan said. “As Stuart MacGill did for NSW in one day domestic cricket, legspinners are gold dust, because they can clean up a tail and take wickets through the middle overs. So it is really exciting to see a high quality legspinner here and hopefully pushing for consistent international honours.”

Tim Murtagh took 5 for 12 as Derbyshire were blown away for 60 in their second innings to give Middlesex their second win in as many games

Alan Gardner at Lord's19-Apr-2013
ScorecardTim Murtagh wrought havoc in Derbyshire’s second innings as they were dismissed for 60•Middlesex CCCFor six-and-half sessions, Derbyshire sweated and fought their way into the ascendency against a team plenty have tipped as title contenders. The Division One novices, back in the top tier for the first time since 2000, ground out more than they might have got with the bat and then kept hustling with the ball, for a first-innings lead that could have proved decisive in a low-scoring match. They caught a glimpse of the path to a famous Lord’s victory, if only they could hold their nerve. But then, in about the average running time of a movie, as deftly as Keyser Soze springing the coop, “like that, it was gone”.Middlesex now have two wins from two, this comprehensive nine-wicket victory brought about by the usual suspects of their formidable fast-bowling attack, who dismantled Derbyshire in a little over two hours. Skip a session in the top tier and it can hurt you. Tim Murtagh had bowled better than 2 for 68 suggested in Derbyshire’s first innings but he was richly rewarded for pitching the ball up in an unchanged 12-over spell from the Nursery End either side of lunch on Friday. Swing and seam deputised effectively for shock and awe, as Murtagh returned devastating figures of 12-7-12-5.Steven Finn was also appreciably hostile, despite being uppercut for six by Wayne Madsen (he dismissed Derbyshire’s captain next ball), while Toby Roland-Jones made sure the innings disappeared in a suitably dramatic puff of smoke by removing nine, ten and jack in consecutive deliveries to complete the first hat-trick of his senior career. The teams had tugged back and forth on the rope for two days but it took only one sharp jerk to bring Derbyshire down in a heap for their lowest score against Middlesex.It was the sort of bowling display to make Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s director of cricket, puff out his chest with understandable pride, although he admitted his team had “mugged” Derbyshire. “To have won two games out of two is a fantastic start but we can still play better,” he said, ominously for opponents but enticingly for those studying the fixture list: Middlesex’s next game is at home to Surrey in two weeks’ time. “From our perspective that’s the encouraging thing, we have started well, we’re playing some good cricket but we can do better, there’s room for improvement.””I don’t think many counties have won a title in April,” was his good-humoured response to talk of the Championship (which Middlesex last won when Fraser was a player in 1993). “At the start of the season, our goals were to build on what we’ve achieved in the last two years and to establish ourselves as one of the top three or four sides in the country and that remains the case.”When 15 wickets fall in little more than two sessions of cricket, hurrying this game to an unexpected three-day finish, you can be sure that polite questions will be asked about the technique and application of batsmen. In fact, they might not have been so polite in the away dressing room, with only three Derbyshire players getting into double figures. Shivnarine Chanderpaul has seen one or two collapses in his time – he featured in two of West Indies’ five lowest Test scores, including their 54 all out on this ground in 2000 – but his unflustered, two-hour 18 not out was perhaps the archetype of a man keeping his head while all around others were losing theirs.No one was blaming Chanderpaul, of course, and Kipling’s poem “If” also contains that canonical line about treating the imposters of triumph and disaster the same. Karl Krikken, Derbyshire’s coach, will hope his players can do just that, in order to steel themselves for what looks like being a testing season, and although he attempted to shrug off the collapse he was disappointed that a hard-working display had not resulted in a more impregnable first-innings position.”We felt we competed for two days,” Krikken said. “Sides do get bowled out for 60 occasionally, Middlesex bowled well. I don’t think we dealt with it as well as we should have done. But the most disappointing part of it, when you look at the game, we were 130 for 3 in the first innings and you hope from that position you push on to 300. I felt we’d done all the hard work and just let it go. Obviously it’s disappointing to get bowled out for 60 but I felt we had the match in the ascendency on the first day and we took our foot off the pedal.”Of the pressing need for more runs, Krikken said: “Ultimately it’s up to the players to man up with the bat. We’ve had two fifties this year in 33 knocks and it’s just not good enough.” This defeat was certainly a schooling and, in a division where there are several fearsome attacks willing to beat up vulnerable teams behind the bike sheds, Derbyshire will have to learn fast.

With Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith missing from the team, Robin Peterson and Hashim Amla have put their hands up to perform advisory roles for AB de Villiers

Firdose Moonda27-May-2013Robin Peterson and Hashim Amla have put their hands up to fill South Africa’s leadership vacuum at the Champions Trophy. In the absence of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers has been left without two of his most important advisors, and the self-confessed uncertain leader will have to rely on other names in a largely inexperienced squad.De Villiers is the most capped player in South Africa’s squad and will shoulder tremendous responsibility in the competition. He will have to captain, keep wicket and be the senior-most batsman in a line-up that includes two players, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy, who are making a return from injury.Although that duo is part of South Africa’s new leadership core – du Plessis is the Twenty20 captain and Duminy is the next most experienced member of the squad – they will doubtlessly have their own form to focus on. It will be up to Peterson and Amla to be de Villiers’ consultants, and both have expressed a willingness to assist.Peterson is South Africa’s first-choice spinner, and his 11 years as an international cricketer will come in handy in pressure situations. “I always take a leadership role where I can and I’d like to continue to do that,’ Peterson told ESPNcricinfo, before the squad left for a training camp in Amsterdam at the weekend. “But we’ve created an environment where everyone is a leader, and I think that’s the secret to [our] success.”However, it is Amla’s desire to contribute as a leader again that may seem surprising. After he stepped down as vice-captain in February, it seemed Amla had walked as far away from seniority as he could. Now he finds it drawing him back in and this time, because the team needs him, he is not likely to shy away from it. “If I find the need to add value in a certain way, then I will go ahead.”We’re in a good space. Most of us are pulling in the right direction. Jacques hasn’t been around the one-day game for the last year or so, so maybe the team has had a taste of it. Graeme’s experience and assistance to AB will be missed but we will conduct ourselves as we normally do and keep building the team.”With a unit still in transition, outgoing coach Gary Kirsten indicated that South Africa do not enter the competition under as much pressure as they usually do. But the players are still smarting from the manner in which they exited the 2011 World Cup and last year’s World T20, and are desperate to prove they can win.”Maybe the expectations of people [are] a bit less, I’m guessing,” Amla said. “But that doesn’t affect the team itself. Every tournament we’ve been to, we’ve been as best prepared as we can and there’s no excuse … you can’t put your finger on why we haven’t won. Obviously, we want to win. We want to send Gary off with a smile and fond memories of the team. It will be great for him to have an expression of the value he has given to us. It’s important for us to win.”Peterson, too, believes South Africa will not be forgiven too many more slip-ups by their fans, especially as Kirsten was thought to be the man who could change their fortunes. “There is no less pressure than going to any other world event,” he said. “It’s going to be very tough for us, especially because a lot of [the] guys [are] going to their first world event, but this is a different team from 2011. We have grown significantly since then. Gary has added a whole new dimension.”Careful following of processes is Kirsten’s biggest legacy and Peterson believes the self-belief Kirsten has gifted the unit will change the way South Africa’s Achilles’ heel often operates. “People talk a lot about our middle order, but they are mentally tougher than people give them credit for,” he said. “It will be great to see them out there doing what they are capable of and winning matches for us.”

A round-up of matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2013East ZonePritam Das took his career-best figures, 5 for 30, bowling Odisha out for 140 to set up Assam’s eight-wicket win at Eden Gardens. Das took five of the first six wickets to fall, leaving Odisha on 101 for 6; Gokul Sharma claimed 2 for 22 and they were dismissed in the 47th over. Govind Podder was the only Odisha batsman to make more than 20 and he was dismissed for 50.Opener Pallavkumar Das led the Assam chase, making 67. He had 61-run partnerships with Dheeraj Jadhav and Sibsankar Roy, and when he fell the score was 122 for 2. Assam achieved the target in the 35th over.Jaskaran Singh, Subroto Ghosh and Shahbaz Nadeem took three wickets each to bowl Jharkhand to a 34-run win against Tripura at the Jadavpur University Complex in Kolkata. Defending 232, Jharkhand reduced Tripura to 52 for 5 in the 15th over, and they couldn’t come back from there. Ajay Ratra began to rally with the lower order but all they could manage was 198 before they were dismissed in the 49th over.Jharkhand’s total had been built around Ishank Jaggi’s 87, because they did not get substantial contributions from anyone else. After he was dismissed in the 36th over, with the score on 164 for 4, the remaining batsmen crumbled and Jharkhand were also dismissed in the penultimate over.

Angus Fraser has fashioned a side with an exciting future. While their neighbours across the river hog the headlines, it is Middlesex who look better placed.

George Dobell02-Apr-2013Last year: 3rd, CC Div 1; Group stage, FLt20; 2nd in Group A, CB40.2012 in a nutshell: Third in the Championship constituted a very decent year after promotion. Perhaps only a lack of consistency cost them an even higher finish, with four losses including a 15-run defeat against Durham when set only 118 to win and an eight-run defeat against Surrey when set 254. The seam bowling – led by Toby Roland-Jones and supported by Tim Murtagh, Gareth Berg and Steven Finn – was very good, but the spin bowling – Ollie Rayner, with 15 wickets in 10 games, was the leading wicket-taker – and the batting were weaker. Of those who played regularly, only Chris Rogers averaged more than 35, with Neil Dexter, Dawid Malan and Jo Denly struggling for consistency. Eoin Morgan, when he was available, also proved a great disappointment, averaging 18.16 in the Championship. They struggled for runs from their wicketkeeper, too, with John Simpson and Adam Rossington failing to make a Championship half-century between them. They might consider themselves unfortunate to miss out in the CB40 – they finished second in their group – but started poorly, with early losses against Gloucestershire and Worcestershire and then suffered the abandonment of two potentially-winnable games. They lost four of their first five T20 games and never looked likely to challenge.2013 prospects: Any team with a seam attack including James Harris, Toby Roland-Jones, Tim Murtagh, Corey Collymore and, perhaps, Steven Finn, have to be contenders. Some doubts remain about the batting and spin bowling in the longer format, but it is hoped that the appointment of Mark Ramprakash as batting coach will help Dexter, Denly, Malan and co find the consistency to complement their quality. Stirling, who is not part of the Championship side, and Morgan are largely underutilised, too. They will require more runs from their wicketkeeper, whoever it might be. Middlesex could be dangerous in the shorter formats, too, particularly when Stirling and Morgan are available. They remain in the market for a second overseas player in FLt20, with a batting allrounder the ideal candidate. There is some concern that Australia’s chaos could bring an unforeseen call for either of their overseas players: Chris Rogers or Adam Voges. Their T20 record – they have reached the knockout stages once in seven years – is a disappointment, but they seem to have the personnel to do better. Off the pitch, Middlesex have invested around £750,000 in their facilities away from Lord’s, at both Radlett and in Finchley.Key player: Such was the desire within the county game to sign James Harris that, upon his departure from Glamorgan, he held discussions with every Division One county and the top three in Division Two. Middlesex won a very competitive race to sign him and, as a consequence, have a highly-skilled, highly-motivated seamer who, if he stays fit, should prove a regular matchwinner.Bright young thing: Ravi Patel is a 21-year-old left-arm spin bowler in the mould of Murali Kartik who could make the spin bowling position his own in 2013. He broke into the team at the end of end of the 2012 season and claimed eight wickets in the match in an innings defeat of Lancashire. He chose shortly before the season to abandon his degree at Loughborough in order to concentrate full time on cricket and has been rewarded with a two-year contract.Captain/coach: Neil Dexter remains the club captain and will lead the side in limited-overs cricket, but Chris Rogers remains the captain of the County Championship side. Angus Fraser, the director of cricket, inherited a club lacking direction and has, relatively quickly, helped fashion a team with an exciting future. Richard Scott remains head coach.ESPNcricinfo verdict: The issues with the batting and, perhaps the spin bowling, may mean this is a year early to expect a sustained Championship challenge, but that seam attack will always give them a chance. While their neighbours across the river hog the headlines, it is Middlesex who look better placed for the next few years.

The preview of the second ODI between Sri Lanka and India in Hambantota

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria23-Jul-2012Match factsTuesday, July 24
Start time 1430 (0900 GMT)Thisara Perera will have a bigger role in Nuwan Kulasekara’s absence•AFPBig PictureIn the latter stages of the first ODI, Sri Lanka’s lower-order batsmen made a push towards the target of 315, but their attempt was too late. The hosts lost by 21 runs but that late charge revealed the fragility of India’s bowling attack, which depends heavily on the batsmen to provide a cushion of runs. When the teams meet again in Hambantota on Tuesday, Sri Lanka’s batsmen will want to time their acceleration better.Bowling has been India’s weaker suit for a while and Sri Lanka’s opportunity lies in exploiting the rustiness that may linger after a six-week break. Apart from Irfan Pathan and R Ashwin, the other Indian bowlers were expensive in the first ODI, but Sri Lanka lost momentum when Kumar Sangakkara had to stabilise the innings. Zaheer Khan bowled some good balls, but also many easy ones. Umesh Yadav generated pace but lacked direction and Pragyan Ojha was worked around. Sri Lanka could take a cue from the way Thisara Perera attacked to plan their comeback.India, on the other hand, will back their strong suit – the batting – to deliver consistently and make up for the weakness in their bowling.Form guide (Completed games, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LWWWL
India WWLWWWatch out for…In Kulasekara’s absence, Thisara Perera will share the responsibility of leading the bowling attack along with Lasith Malinga. Perera took three wickets in the first ODI and also scored a 28-ball 44 that gave Sri Lanka a glimmer of hope during the chase. At No. 8, though, his skills may be underused.After an indifferent IPL, Virat Kohli started the new season where he had left the old one. Four centuries in five innings – three of them against Sri Lanka – means the Sri Lanka bowlers need to find a way to get past him to test the rest.Team newsSri Lanka have included fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep in the squad as a replacement for the injured Nuwan Kulasekara but it is the left-armer Isuru Udana who is likely to make an ODI debut.Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Isuru Udana, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Rangana HerathIndia have a settled batting order, which allowed then to play a fifth bowler in Pathan, who bowled economically in the first ODI. Rohit Sharma squandered another opportunity, but India are unlikely to change much so early in the season.India: (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Pragyan Ojha.Stats and triviaThe overall bowling averages of India and Sri Lanka in the last 12 months – 36.43 and 37.97 – are just above that of Zimbabwe in one-day internationals.Malinga had an economy of 5.36 in the last 12 months; against India, though, it was 7.52.Kohli’s ODI average is 51.33, but it drops to 29.15 in 14 matches in Sri Lanka.Quotes”I guess IPL has been a factor. The Indian players have played a lot against Malinga. But that doesn’t mean that he is bad bowler. He can destroy any opposition on a given day.”

“It was important for us to set up a platform and [so] Sanga [Sangakkara] was trying to build an innings. [But] We never had momentum going into the last 10 overs. We’ll try to refocus and come back strong.”

Hampshire hope to sign Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi for the Champions League Twenty20

George Dobell30-Aug-2012Hampshire hope to sign Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi for the Champions League Twenty20 even though he did not appear for them during the Friends Life t20.The rules of the Champions League state that a player must be registered in the qualifying period. The rules do not insist that the player has actually appeared in a game. Afridi was due to appear for Hampshire this season, but was unable to play due to issues in obtaining a visa. The club have confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he was satisfactorily registered in order to sign him for the Champions League.When Afridi became unavailable Hampshire signed Glenn Maxwell, the Australian allrounder, who became an instant hit as he scored 179 runs at a strike-rate of 175.49 and claimed seven wickets in nine matches. His success earned him a call-up to the Australia squad for the World Twenty20 and current series against Pakistan in the UAE.Hampshire and Yorkshire, who were the losing finalists in the FLt20, must go through another qualifying event in South Africa in order to enter the full Champions League. Hampshire have been drawn in a group with New Zealand side, Auckland Aces, and Pakistan side, Sialkot Stallions. Only the team that tops the group will enter the main League. The other two will be eliminated without earning any prize money.

ESPNcricinfo previews Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2012

Sharda Ugra03-Apr-2012Big PictureConstant revival is the historical motif of the Daredevils’ home city, but a more contemporary representation of Delhi would include high speed and road rage. Season five of IPL for the Daredevils will then naturally require not only brazen overtaking over hairpin bends, but navigational acumen to arrive at their destination.To finish at the bottom in 2011 after topping the table two years ago is evidence that what was previously fixed, had been broken. The Daredevils ended up with only four wins from 14 matches, trailing even the season’s two new teams. Maybe rejigging of the team after the auction caused the imbalance or maybe it was a brittle top order.Regardless of the explosive pair of Virender Sehwag and David Warner, the Daredevils’ opening partnership crossed 50 only three times in 14 innings, and it lacked an energetic middle order to carry on after repeated early setbacks. Their season opened with a home game in which the Daredevils were all out for 95 and of their four victories, only one was to come at home. By the end of the season, the Daredevils were left in shambles.The repair work for the new season has come in the form of the arrival of two quality middle-order men, Kevin Pietersen, who was brought in from Deccan Chargers, and Mahela Jayawardene, to follow the openers.Had Morne Morkel not broken Ross Taylor’s arm in Wellington, the Daredevils’ middle order would have had the perfect mix: batsmen of calibre combining with the game’s leading entertainers. Morkel himself leads a quick bowling attack with several options, and the presence of Indians among them gives the Daredevils room for flexibility. Along with New Zealand’s Doug Bracewell, who will get his first taste of Indian conditions, and West Indian allrounder Andre Russell, the Daredevils will also field a genuinely quick and now toughened Umesh Yadav. The experience of Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar is valuable and Varun Aaron is said to be recovering from the injury that he picked up last year.Team mentor T A Sekhar who has been signed on again, after a couple of years with the Mumbai Indians, believes that the general gloom about the Daredevils’ lack of slow-bowling options is largely baseless. Twenty20 specialist spinning allrounder Roelof van der Merwe comes with more than useful promise.Along with its eye-catching star cast, a surprise performance from the Daredevils’ second line will be a bonus: whether through Australian allrounder Glen Maxwell, who scored a fifty off 17 balls, a record in Australia’s List-A or teenager Unmukt Chand, who is leading the India under-19 team in Australia during a two-week tour. The formula of a successful team, says Sekhar, comes from a high-profile core of performers and a handy supporting cast arranged around them.Key playersVirender Sehwag: He was the only player the Daredevils wanted to retain in 2010, he is the captain from the 2008 ‘icon’ bunch still standing and he remains the team’s centrifugal force. He will be energised not only by the presence of many shot-makers around him, but by the quality all the way down to No. 6. Still, it will be Sehwag who will need to set the tone for how the Daredevils’ campaign turns out, especially, if he can get them to better starts than last year.Mahela Jayawardene: After Pietersen, the highest signing by the Daredevils from the 2012 auction, Jayawardene finds himself in his third IPL team in five years after being an asset for any franchise and a tough man to let go of. He found himself in the auction only because Kochi Tuskers Kerala got booted out of the IPL and will arrive into a set up that can do with his reassuring presence in the midst of extravagant talents. If he’s not worn out by Sri Lanka’s unending travels, Jayawardene can be the improvisational middle-order man who keeps his head when the big hitters go into turbo mode. His calmness at the crease belies his strike rate. His nous on the field will be of assistance to Sehwag’s leadership and he was quickly named as the vice-captain.Big names inKevin Pietersen: Who else? The Daredevils were willing to spend up to half of their auction purse – $2.3m in fact – on signing Pietersen from Deccan Chargers in the January transfer window. The signing comes with the hope that Pietersen will become the Daredevils’ talisman like Chris Gayle for Bangalore. In theory, Pietersen and the IPL are made for each other – the attention-grabbing performer and the big-ticket stage. His record in the tournament though, is most unlike the man: modest. There’s far too few runs – 329 with two half-centuries – in 13 matches, despite having belonged to the bling-filled environment of Royal Challengers Bangalore. But Pietersen will arrive into the IPL after three weeks of acclimatising in Sri Lanka. What awaits him is a team looking for performers in cricket’s biggest showboat. It’s a match made in heaven.Andre Russell: Russell has pace, aggression, athleticism and star quality. Yet to prove himself internationally in the shortest form of the game, he has fitted well into the West Indies ODI squad and caught the eye when playing India in eight ODIs last year just after the World Cup. At the domestic level though, he has come to terms with the curious demands of Twenty20, churning out runs at a strike rate of 148. He has played in the Bangladesh Premier League for the Khulna Royal Bengals*, but now comes the big stuff. Over the next six weeks, Russell will have a chance to prove that he is cut out for cricket’s most lucrative event, the IPL, and therefore, worthy of a $450,000 pay cheque.Big names outJames Hopes brought optimism when he was inducted into the Daredevils side. He was every inch an allrounder needed by a Twenty20 franchise – a bustling batsman anywhere in the order with handy medium-pace. Last season for the Daredevils though, Hopes played in ten games without producing the high-impact returns expected from him. In exchange for Hopes and Ashok Dinda, both players traded in with the Pune Warriors, the Daredevils had enough cash in hand to sign Pietersen onto their rolls.Below the radarIrfan Pathan: Irfan Pathan will always have his days, like his bigger hitting elder brother Yusuf. Now that injuries are behind him and he has had a satisfactory domestic season for Baroda, the Daredevils will hope for bigger performances from him. If things are going for Irfan with the bat, he can unleash a late charge or a recovery. When the ball is swinging, he has what is needed to disturb batsmen and check the flood of runs. If a player is only as good as his last game, then Irfan’s produced quite a signal: an allround performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final against Punjab that helped Baroda win the title.AvailabilityDavid Warner will turn up in May after the end of Australia’s tour of the West Indies and Ross Taylor, when he has recuperated from his injury. Varun Aaron is building up towards recovery and should be ready by the third week. Unmukt Chand will be back from Australia in the second week but if he gets a game, he will have to make it count.2011 in a tweetTwo semi-finals and a fifth-place finish followed by a crash landing. Law of averages be damned.* April 3, 2012, 16:05 GMT: The article earlier said that Andre Russell played for the Chittagong Kings. This has been corrected

Shannon Gabriel, the injured West Indies fast bowler, has said that he is not likely to be fit in time for the home Test series against New Zealand, which begins on July 25

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2012Shannon Gabriel, the injured West Indies fast bowler, has said he is not likely to be fit in time for the home Test series against New Zealand, which begins on July 25. Gabriel is recovering from a stress reaction in his back, which he picked up during his debut Test against England in May.”I’ve been [recuperating for] three weeks now, the pain is not there anymore,” Gabriel told the . “So [it’s about] getting more fit and stronger now, and [then it’s] back to cricket.”I don’t think I’ll be ready for the New Zealand series. [Closer] to the end of the year, there’s a tour to Bangladesh … hopefully I can be on that team.” West Indies are scheduled to play Bangladesh in November.Gabriel took 3 for 60 in the first innings at Lord’s, dismissing Ian Bell, Matt Prior and Graeme Swann. In the second, he bowled only five overs, during which he removed Kevin Pietersen. Subsequent scans showed a stress reaction in the lower spine, ruling him out of the remainder of the tour.Adjusting to the standards of Test cricket, Gabriel said, had been a challenge. “Over there [in England], it was international cricket,” he said. “It was a big step away from regional cricket. You have to concentrate a little more on what you want to do and the actual planning. It’s every cricketer’s dream to play at Lord’s and it just happened to be me. [Now I must] get back from injury and address the selectors once more.”

Herschelle Gibbs and Mitchell Marsh provided the batting fireworks before a double-wicket maiden from Ben Edmondson sucked the momentum out of the Stars’ chase

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jan-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Herschelle Gibbs was the driving force behind Scorchers’ innings•Getty ImagesPerth Scorchers became the first team to secure a place in the finals of the Big Bash League, and the Champions League T20, after a convincing victory over Shane Warne’s Melbourne Stars at a packed WACA ground. Herschelle Gibbs and Mitchell Marsh provided the fireworks at the start and end of the Scorchers’ innings, before a double-wicket maiden from Ben Edmondson sucked the momentum out of the Stars’ chase. Marsh also chipped in with two wickets and two catches to walk off with the Man-of-the-Match award.In the first half of the chase, Luke Wright and James Faulkner put the Stars on course to overhaul the target of 175, reaching 88 for 2 after ten overs. Enter Edmondson, to swing the match the Scorchers’ way. He had Wright swinging a catch to midwicket before getting the vital wicket of David Hussey for a golden duck courtesy a diving take from wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi. The perfect time for Edmondson to bowl his first maiden of the tournament.There was still plenty of batting to come for the Stars’ but they slipped further off course as Marsh removed Adam Voges and Cameron White in successive overs. Matthew Wade reeled off a few sixes to keep the Stars’ fans hoping, but it proved too tall a target.The Stars’ would have been chasing a more modest total if they had been tighter in the field. Both the Scorchers’ openers, Gibbs and Marcus North, were reprieved early in their innings, though both were difficult chances. Wade then fumbled a simple stumping that would have sent back Paul Collingwood.Gibbs was the driving force behind the Scorchers’ innings till his dismissal in the 17th over. He gave them a bright start by dispatching the first ball of the match through cover for four, and then smashing the first three deliveries of the second to the cover boundary. His stroke-filled innings ended when he top-edged a catch back to the bowler, but there was hardly any slackening of the pace as Marsh clubbed four sixes in the final three overs.The Scorchers now await the winners of Sunday’s clash between Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Sixers in the final, at home next Saturday.