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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.”

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.”

Two successive sixes off Sammy’s bowling, and from Brad Hodge’s bat, launched Rajasthan Royals into the second qualifier, where they will take on Mumbai Indians for a place in the final

The Report by Abhishek Purohit22-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBrad Hodge turned it around from 57 for 5 (file photo)•BCCIThree days ago, two successive sixes from Darren Sammy had launched Sunrisers Hyderabad into the IPL Eliminator. Three days later, two successive sixes off Sammy’s bowling, and from Brad Hodge’s bat, launched Rajasthan Royals into the second qualifier, where they will take on Mumbai Indians for a place in the final. The victory also meant Royals sealed their place in the 2013 Champions League Twenty20.Hodge’s was a blinder of an innings in many contexts. Prior to this, he had not spent a lot of time in the middle, Rahul Dravid preferring to use him as a finisher. He came in at 57 for 5 in a chase of 133 on a slow, uneven pitch, on which almost everyone had struggled for timing. He was up against the best attack of the season in a knockout situation. Royals had been up for a week against a spot-fixing controversy that had shaken their team and messed up their combinations.Hodge’s response was one befitting a man who has made the most Twenty20 runs in the world. When he cracked the second ball of the last over 96 metres into the crowd beyond the long-on boundary, he finished on 54 off 29. He hit five sixes on a pitch where the first one took 14.1 overs to come.This match was Royals’ after a start of 50 for 1 inside seven overs. Shane Watson was another batsman who was making a mockery of the difficulties posed by the pitch, pushing forward and getting boundaries with sheer power. His pull off the legspinner Karan Sharma was headed for six over deep midwicket when Sammy jumped several feet to intercept the ball, and turn the game.Royals lost a wicket each in the next three overs to slip to 57 for 5. Sammy did most of the damage, keeping it straight to hit the stumps, as Dishant Yagnik and Stuart Binny missed. Ajinkya Rahane popped one back to the other Sunrisers legspinner Amit Mishra.Fifty-eight were needed from 40 when Hodge tore into Karan, a bowler most sides had found difficult to get away. Two sixes and a four in the space of four deliveries. He followed it up with a straight six off Mishra in the next over. Sunrisers were visibly stunned, and Mishra, whose first three overs had gone for eight, was irritated.Sunrisers hung in, though, despite a wayward 18th over from Dale Steyn. Hodge tried to hit a six almost every ball off Thisara Perera in the 19th, and managed five runs. It came down to 10 needed off six, but Hodge needed two deliveries.Sunrisers did well to get to 132 from 67 for 3 after 14 overs. Royals went in without a spinner, but their various kinds of medium-pacers tied Sunrisers down with lack of pace and width.Vikramjeet Malik, playing his second match of the season, sent back Parthiv Patel and Hanuma Vihari in the space of four balls. Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White took their time to push on. White, especially, looked in good touch but both fell in trying to step up the pace of scoring.Sammy and Perera were going to be key at the death but again, both fell just as they were starting to dominate. Sammy came out swinging sixes but was run out by an accurate, powerful throw from the deep by the substitute Rahul Shukla for 29 off 21. Perera zoomed to 11 off 6 before edging behind.It was still not an easy target by any means and Royals’ inexperienced middle order seemed to blow it, but Hodge was lurking at No.7 to deliver the knockout punch.

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.

It is early days for New Zealand in South Africa, but in the opening Twenty20 at Kingsmead there was a gulf between the teams that does not bode well for the tour

The Report by Andrew McGlashan21-Dec-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSouth Africa’s bowlers were not given much resistance to work against•Gallo ImagesIt is early days for New Zealand in South Africa, but in the opening Twenty20 at Kingsmead there was a gulf between the teams that does not bode well for the tour. New Zealand crumbled for 86, only just avoiding a new record low in the format, before the home side cantered to their target with more than seven overs to spare.A callow batting order, with much resting on new captain Brendon McCullum, was always likely to struggle, especially after just one warm-up match to prepare but it was still a hugely disappointing effort. South Africa, though, under a new captain and coach, looked primed for the home season with their only sour note when debutant Chris Morris picked up a leg injury.It was obvious that Ross Taylor’s absence would leave a vast hole and Martin Guptill was also ruled out of this match with a stomach bug, but the top order did not give itself much of a chance on a slightly two-paced surface. The batsmen paid the price for too much aggression too early, perhaps in an eagerness to exploit the Powerplay. Doug Bracewell, at No. 9, made an unbeaten 21 to at least lift them over the 80 they made against Pakistan in 2010.Rory Kleinveldt struck with his first ball with one that bounced a touch more against Rob Nicol to give Quinton de Kock, the debutant wicketkeeper, his first catch. De Kock, who turned 20 earlier this week, was one of seven new caps (three for South Africa, four for New Zealand) handed out between the teams for this match as the sides looked to start afresh after a poor World Twenty20.Dale Steyn had Peter Fulton caught at mid-on before Kleinveldt claimed the key wicket of McCullum who top-edged a hook and was well caught by Steyn running backwards from short fine-leg. After the six-over Powerplay, New Zealand were already tottering at 27 for 3 and it didn’t get better although James Franklin may have received a harsh decision with suggestions the ball brushed his arm when attempting to hook.Morris, another of the debutants, claimed his first international scalp when Corey Anderson, also in his first match, clubbed to mid-off and later added Colin Munro who at least had shown some decent shot-selection before slogging across the line. However, Morris could not complete his allocation after suffering what appeared to be a muscle strain with two balls remaining. Last week he was ruled out of the domestic one-day final with a quad injury so questions will be asked about whether he was ready for this match.Between Morris’s two wickets spin also made a mark as Robin Peterson gained from the slightly tricky nature of the surface. However, it was nowhere near as tough as the scoreline suggested. With New Zealand left to try and bat out the overs – which they failed to do – Peterson was able to collect South Africa’s most economical figures in Twenty20 (2 for 8).South Africa’s chase did not start smoothly when the under-pressure Richard Levi edged Mitchell McClenaghan, a left-arm seamer to add to the plethora of that style New Zealand can call on, to first slip but captain Faf du Plessis and Henry Davids, making his debut at the age of 32, were soon into their stride.Davids was off the mark with a ungainly hack which he edged past leg stump but also sliced a six over deep point while du Plessis drove beautifully through the off side. De Kock, who has come into the international amid much hype, began in eye-catching style by lofting his third ball straight down the ground and showed a touch of class through the off side.To compound New Zealand’s problems some of their ground fielding would have shamed a club side. It really was a horrid evening for them. Twenty20 was meant to be a format where they might, just, have pushed South Africa but on this evidence that theory appears far-fetched.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy said that batting till the final over of the innings, despite the clutch of early wickets, made the difference for his team in the fourth ODI in Mirpur

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur07-Dec-2012West Indies captain Darren Sammy said that batting till the final over of the innings, despite the clutch of early wickets, made the difference for his team in the fourth ODI in Mirpur. They fought their way to 211 for 9 after losing half their side by the 24th over, and that total eventually proved to be too big for a Bangladesh line-up that looked all at sea against quality pace bowling.”Looking at the way the game was unfolding, I always told myself that if we bat till the end we stand the chance of scoring 190-plus,” Sammy said. “It is about applying yourself in the middle. My partnership with [Darren] Bravo was crucial. We just said ‘let us try to bat deep’.”We wanted to have a go in the last four overs. We kept losing wickets, so we had to push [launching the final surge] back. But it proved today that 212 runs was a lot [to chase] on that wicket.”Sammy’s all-round performance was, ultimately, the difference between the two sides. He held firm with the bat after West Indies had fallen to 102 for 6 in the 32nd over from the relative comfort of 71 for 1 just an hour before. He took stock of the situation and batted calmly with Darren Bravo, the pair adding 43 runs for the seventh wicket. Bravo was caught and bowled by offspinner Sohag Gazi, one of several poorly-timed dismissals for West Indies, in the 43rd over.Sammy then had the likes of Veerasammy Permaul and Sunil Narine for company but, even now, rather risking hitting out and allowing his team to be bowled out, he kept his head. He only launched in the last three overs of the innings, taking 35 valuable runs. He did have a life, being dropped at deep-square leg on 30 when West Indies were 168 for 8, and he made it count for his team.”Last game it was Marlon [Samuels], today it is me. It is about players putting their hands up and doing what matters for the team,” Sammy said. “As a leader, you always try to lead from the front. It gives you a good feeling inside. It won’t happen all the time because it is a team sport but when you do it, it feels good.”Sammy also made a major contribution with the ball, removing Anamul Haque and Naeem Islam off successive balls in his first over before accounting for Mominul Haque in his third over. He took advantage of the Bangladesh batsmen’s impatience. With Kemar Roach, his opening partner, he had reduced Bangladesh to 13 for 5 by the sixth over, and the series-levelling win was all but confirmed.West Indies thrived by attacking with pace and short pitched bowling up front and, today, the spinners did the other half of the job. The bowling unit’s showing pleased Sammy: “Our pacers have been taking the wickets throughout the Test series. In this game the ball was carrying nicely, maybe because of the dew. We all know Kemar bowls 90-plus miles per hour. Even [Dwayne] Smith did a good job. Sunny [Narine] and [Veerasammy] Permaul got some spin. All the bowlers put their hands up.”Saturday’s game now, for all intents and purposes, is a final, and West Indies are in the ascendancy. The pressure was on them when they returned to Dhaka from Khulna 2-0 down, and they have turned their form around as they would have liked. “It was a must-win game for us, I’m just happy that the team did what they had to do to win,” Sammy said. “We have had good days in the Test series, the last [one-day] match … We did what we had to do today, which is level the series. It sets up a big final tomorrow.”

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.”

The fast bowler Jackson Bird has been named the Sheffield Shield Player of the Year after a remarkable debut season for Tasmania

Brydon Coverdale14-Mar-2012The fast bowler Jackson Bird has been named the Sheffield Shield Player of the Year after a remarkable debut season for Tasmania. Bird, 25, moved from New South Wales to Hobart last winter after being offered his first state contract and he has rewarded the Tigers by topping the Sheffield Shield wicket tally and helping them reach the Shield final against Queensland, which starts on Friday.Bird was handed his prize at the State Cricket Awards in Brisbane, winning the peer-voted award on 21 votes, ahead of Queensland’s Ben Cutting on 16, and a further three players – George Bailey, Ed Cowan and Liam Davis – all on 15. Bird did not make his first-class debut until the fourth game of Tasmania’s campaign, but he quickly made up for lost time.In his seven matches he has collected five five-wicket hauls and twice has taken ten wickets in a match. He also completed a hat-trick in Tasmania’s most recent game, and has surprised all onlookers, including the Tasmania bowling coach Ali de Winter, who recruited Bird after being impressed by his work in Sydney grade cricket and in the New South Wales Second XI.”It’s been an outstanding year for him, with 48 wickets in just the seven games,” de Winter told ESPNcricinfo after the awards. “It’s his consistency across all games and on various surfaces across the country that has been the really pleasing thing. His bowling has been way above expectations for us.”The South Australia batsman Tom Cooper was named the Ryobi Cup Player of the Year for his 366 runs at an average of 73.20. Cowan finished second in the one-day poll and Klinger, who led South Australia to the title and scored 81 in the final having made 112 in the game that secured them the home decider, came third.The ACA teams of the year for the three formats were also named, with Cooper and Victoria’s Rob Quiney the only m3n to feature in both the four-day and one-day 12-man squads. Surprisingly, the T20 side did not feature any players from the Sydney Sixers, who won the tournament.Leah Poulton and Lisa Sthalekar shared the Women’s National Cricket League award and Meg Lanning was named the Women’s T20 Player of the Year. The New South Wales fast bowler Josh Lalor was named the Lord’s Taverners Indigenous Cricketer of the Year. Simon Taufel won the Cricket Australia Umpire Award. Queensland won the Benaud Spirit of Cricket Award and the New South Wales women’s side won the WNCL Spirit of Cricket Award.Four-day Team of the Year Rob Quiney, Liam Davis, George Bailey (capt), Peter Forrest, Adam Voges (vice-capt), Daniel Christian, Peter Nevill (wk), Ben Cutting, Jayde Herrick, Jackson Bird, Michael Hogan, Tom Cooper (12th man).One-day Interstate Team of the Year Michael Klinger (capt), Matthew Wade (wk), Ed Cowan (vice-capt), Tom Cooper, Nathan Reardon, Rob Quiney, James Faulkner, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Starc, Jason Krejza, Alister McDermott, Callum Ferguson (12th man).Big Bash League Team of the Year Chris Gayle (vice-capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Travis Birt, Owais Shah, David Hussey (capt), Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade (wk), James Faulkner, Shahid Afridi, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Brad Hogg, Daniel Christian (12th man).