Punjab to take on Chennai in IPL second-semi today

The second semifinal of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be played between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.

Kings XI Punjab have talented batsmen including Captain Yuvraj Singh, Sri Lankan batsmen Kumara Sagakkara, Mahela Jaywardane, Australians Shaun Marsh, James Hopes and bowlers Piyush Chawla, Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth.

Kings XI have won 10 of 14 round matches they have played in the league and lost four matches.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings have won eight matches in the tournament. Kiwi star cricketer Stephen Fleming, South African all rounder L.B. Morkel, Mkhaya Ntini, Sri Lankan legend spinner Muralitharan are empowering the Chennai squad.

Super Kings coach Kepler Wessels said his side would go with the psychological advantage in clash with Kings XI Punjab. "We had beaten them early in the tournament when we had our strongest team and later on even without the overseas players we still managed to win. It's an advantage to go into the semifinals against them with this record."

Katich anchors Aussies, Ponting joins 10k-run club

Simon Katich fashioned his third Test hundred and overshadowed the 10,000-run milestone of captain Ricky Ponting to lead a solid Australia batting performance in the second Test against West Indies on Friday.

Katich was undefeated on 113 as Australia, choosing to bat on a hard, docile pitch, reached 259 for three in their first innings when bad light stopped play eight overs early on the opening day of the inaugural Test at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground. The venue has became the 11th ground to host Tests in the Caribbean and the 98th in the world.

Katich reached his landmark when he drove his 197th delivery from Dwayne Bravo languidly through mid-on for his eighth boundary.

But Katich was fortunate that Runako Morton dropped the straightforward chance he offered on 90.

The left-hander, promoted to open the batting in the absence of the injured Matthew Hayden, tried a cut, failed to keep the ball down, and it flew straight into Morton's lap, and the fielder floored it.

Katich, however, had to share centrestage with Ponting. The Australia captain supported with a serene knock of 65 which made him the seventh batsman to pass 10,000 runs in Tests.

Ponting drove a full length delivery outside the off-stump from Ramnaresh Sarwan through extra cover for two to move to 61 and reach the milestone about 15 minutes after the tea break.

West Indies had a scare early in the morning, when Edwards slid on the fresh pitch, as he was about to deliver his first ball of the Test. The fast bowler recovered to continue his opening spell, but he bowled raggedly, and the Aussies were able to get away to a sound start.

After lunch, Katich and Ponting completed contrasting half-centuries to build a solid platform for Australia.

Making full use of the plu-perfect conditions, the pair carried Australia to 151 for one at the tea break.

Katich reached his 50, when he hooked Powell to deep fine leg for his sixth boundary, and Ponting brought up his half-century, when he swung a short ball from the same bowler over mid-wicket for his fifth four.

After tea, Australia endured a shaky first hour, when they lost Ponting and Hussey.

From the first ball to the last, Clarke stroked the ball crisply, and executed some elegant off-drives which brought him most of his five fours.

Clarke had an anxious moment on 21, when he drove through the hands of Powell on his follow-through with the bowler more interested in self-preservation.

Australia lead the three-Test series 1-0, after they completed a 95-run victory in the opening Test last Monday at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.

Australia have now won 13 of the last 14 Tests they have contested against West Indies and need only a draw to secure their hold on the Frank Worrell Trophy - symbol of Test supremacy against West Indies. The Aussies have not lost a Test series in the Caribbean since 1991.

The third and final Test between the two sides starts on June 12 at Kensington Oval in Barbados.

I did not interfere in team selection for India - Arendse

Norman Arendse, the president of Cricket South Africa, has denied interfering in team selection, in particular, the row involving Charl Langeveldt's selection over Andre Nel for the recent tour of India.
In an interview to the Cape Times, Arendse asserted that Langeveldt was indeed in the original squad and he went on to blame the selectors for leaking information to the media, leading to Nel being dragged into the issue.

"I don't know what was said to Andre Nel," Arendse told the paper. "I can't comment on that. All I can say is that I did not interfere in the team selection. I never took him out and put in Charl Langeveldt. Whoever spread that story must take responsibility. It is absolute lies."

The transformation policy had earlier led to a delay in naming the squad for the short tour of Bangladesh which preceded the Indian tour. It led to a very public argument between Arendse and coach Mickey Arthur over the quota policy and both sides issued counter complaints about their treatment.

Arendse complained the squad contained only four coloured players instead of the stipulated seven and Arthur responded saying Arendse should keep out of team selections. Ultimately, Arthur got the team he wanted as the original squad presented to Arendse was selected, which didn't include Langeveldt.

The issue reared up again towards the end of the tour, when the Test squad for India was announced. Langeveldt got the nod over Nel, sparking speculation over the decision. Nel was apparently devastated over his omission, leading to further rumours that he considered quitting international cricket. CSA soon confirmed those reports were false. There was further drama when Langeveldt pulled out of the India tour, saying the entire controversy over his selection had upset him.

"The protocol is for the selection convener (Joubert Strydom) to hand me a sheet with a squad of 14 or 15 names on it," Arendse said. "If the target of seven players of colour is not met, he is supposed to give me an explanation. If I'm not satisfied with the explanation, I then ask him to explain further or I send the team back. That never even happened in that particular case. When the team was presented to me, Langeveldt was in the team. He was always in the original team. The problem has been leaks to the media from the selectors themselves.

"Selectors must take collective responsibility for the team that is eventually agreed. Given our fragile situation and the transformation policy of CSA, one or more selectors have only served to fuel an already very fragile situation. I am not a selector and I don't discuss the merits or demerits of players with selectors."

Arendse insisted that he enjoyed a good working relationship with Arthur after the row. "We have a good relationship and a good understanding," Arendse said. "I'm a cricket person and he's a cricket person. It was never an issue between Norman Arendse and Mickey Arthur. But unfortunately that was how it was portrayed by certain sections of the media because it suited their agenda."

Arendse however, admitted he was disappointed at Langeveldt's decision to cancel his contract with CSA and sign as a Kolpak player in England.

"Firstly, I have to say that Kolpak does not mean players are no longer not allowed to represent their country. We have cleared that up with the English and various councils. But yes, it has been disappointing that Charl made himself unavailable, and also his turning down of a contract offered by CSA. The irony is that he would have been an automatic choice for England, and the further irony is that Andre Nel has benefited from his non-availability. It's not a train smash, we have lots of talented youngsters who can take his place."

Watson helps Rajasthan march into final

This was Shane Watson's match. Imposing himself on the first semi-final, he boosted Rajasthan Royals with an electric fifty before rattling Delhi Daredevils' top order with an outstanding opening spell. Shane Warne had complained about being deprived of home advantage but his side adjusted perfectly to the conditions at the Wankhede Stadium, putting on a show that illustrated exactly why they have been the stand-out team in the competition.

Delhi were like a side struck with stage fright. Their bowlers were rattled by a brand of unconventional strokeplay - even the peerless Glenn McGrath went wicketless for 38 runs - before their batsmen succumbed against a disciplined attack. Virender Sehwag's decision to field may come under scrutiny but Rajasthan's ruthless efficiency might have steered them to the final either way. The farcical end to the match - when Mohammad Asif took an age to get his bat into the crease - summed it up.

The scorecard may indicate a hopelessly one-sided contest but Rajasthan had their shaky moments. Losing the toss meant facing up to McGrath and Asif on a juicy pitch and three quick wickets for Farveez Maharoof pushed them from 65 for no loss to 76 for 3.

Graeme Smith, who was aided by a runner once his hamstring injury resurfaced, and Swapnil Asnodkar, who broke a window pane at fine leg with an audacious pull, provided the early impetus but the innings could have easily lost its way with Maharoof, utilising the bounce and movement on the surface, luring the top order into loose strokes.

Watson's arrival put the innings back on track. From the moment he took 21 off the 11th over, with two ferocious pulls for six, only one team bossed the contest. With the high, straight back-lift that's been the feature of his batting in the tournament, Watson swung through midwicket and square leg. He targeted specific bowlers and went through with shots even if he wasn't to the pitch of the ball, allowing the timing to take care of the rest.

Amit Mishra, the legspinner, teased with his flight and loop but Watson was intent on spoiling his rhythm - going down on one knee, he slog-swept him over midwicket, a technique that Yusuf Pathan was to pick up later.

Such a commanding total wouldn't have been possible without the final flourish. Yusuf celebrated his recall to the one-day squad with a blistering 21-ball 45, an innings where four mighty sixes dripped off his bat. Without the Watson back-lift, without too much initial movement, he showed what brute force could do, blasting over long-on and midwicket. He spotted slower balls too, smearing McGrath over midwicket for the shot of the evening.

Delhi have their fielders to thank for avoiding further embarrassment but their effort was put in the shade by some acrobatic catching by Rajasthan. Shikhar Dhawan pulled off a diving catch to dismiss Smith but it was Tauwar Kohli's peach of a dive, throwing himself to the right of cover to latch on to a Gautam Gambhir slash, that will stick in the mind.

Watson may have top scored for his side, but his job wasn't done yet. Up against one of the most formidable opening combinations in the IPL, he cranked up his pace. Sehwag was done in by the extra bounce, holing out to deep point, Gambhir was frustrated into slashing in the air and Dhawan pulled straight to square leg. Every wicket was accompanied by an ecstatic expression - one that indicated the triumph of a well-laid plan.

Tillakaratne Dilshan's furious swinging was never going to be enough against a constantly mounting asking-rate and he kept losing partners who misread the bounce in the track. Manoj Tiwary top-edged a bouncer from Munaf Patel and Yo Mahesh struggled against a short one directed at the shoulder. The rest were clueless against Warne's fizzers.

He admitted he would have bowled first if he had won the toss but would have been pleasantly surprised at the amount of turn and bounce the surface offered. He toyed with the tailenders, mixing legbreaks and sliders as if this was a Test, and he could afford to wear an impish smile through the spell, considering the match was in the kitty.

Morkel gets national contract for IPL performance

Lauding Albie Morkel's "stand-out" performance in the Indian Premier League, Cricket South Africa has handed the lanky all-rounder a national contract that takes effect from next month.
Morkel joins fellow all-rounder Robin Peterson and batsman Neil McKenzie as the three new players awarded contracts by the national cricket body.

"His record earned him a contract with the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League and he has been a stand-out player in getting them through to the semi-finals," Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola said in a statement.

"His improving value to the Proteas is illustrated by his batting strike rate of 154.34 (213 runs at an average of 35.50) and his bowling economy rate of 8.61 (11 wickets at 28.18) in this competition," he added.

The latest contracts bring the number of contracted players under Cricket South Africa to 18.

"After close examination of the talent available and the needs of the Proteas, it was felt that Neil, Albie and Robin would fill the identified gaps and should be drawn in as contracted players," Majola said.

"We are confident that they will add much value as CSA contracted players, and we look forward to the Proteas providing another highly successful season," he added.

McKenzie, coming into the team in the second half of the season for Tests against the West Indies, Bangladesh and India, finished top of the batting averages (621 runs at 77.62) with two big centuries against Bangladesh and India.

He also featured in the world record first wicket partnership of 415 with skipper Graeme Smith.

Peterson played in the Test series against Bangladesh and took his first five-wicket haul at this level and six wickets in the second Test overall.

T20 popularity will hit Test cricket hard: Afridi

With the Indian Premier League taking Twenty20 cricket's popularity to dizzying heights, Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi foresees a bleak future for Tests as the five-day format would struggle to find favour among fans seeking instant entertainment.

Afridi, who returned home after a lackluster outing with the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers in the IPL, said the league had been a grand success and the support and interest of the people had left him amazed.

"Even though our team performed badly but still in our final game there was a big crowd out to support us and this shows the interest the IPL has created," he said.

"I can't say if 50-overs cricket would be affected by the popularity of twenty20 but certainly Test matches would be hit hard as people are more interested in seeing instant and exciting cricket," he added.

The flamboyant all-rounder, who came a cropper with the willow in the IPL, admitted that he has been ignoring his batting for bowling.

"I know I disappointed and let down my fans with my batting failures. But now I am going to pay attention to my batting once again and I am confident I can get back into form soon.

"I am l looking forward to playing in the tri-series in Bangladesh against India it will be a good opportunity to make amends," he stated.

Hayden ruled out of West Indies tour

Australia received a jolt ahead of Friday's second Test with Matthew Hayden returning home after failing to recover from a lingering achilles injury. Ricky Ponting's team missed Hayden in the first Test in Jamaica, especially in the second innings when they collapsed to 18 for 5 before recovering to score 167.

"He's no good," Ponting told AAP. "Haydos will be going home pretty much ASAP.

"He had some scans after the game in Jamaica and, just with the time difference, he had to wait to get the experts back there to have a look at those, and obviously there's some tendon damage. It's just not going anywhere so we just want him to get home ... and get him back on a programme to get him right for the Champions Trophy."

Alex Kountouris, the side's physiotherapist, said Hayden's right achilles tendon injury has not made sufficient progress during his time in the West Indies. "He will not be able to participate in the second Test and was highly unlikely to be available for the third Test," Kountouris said. "With the large volume of cricket to be played over the next 18 months it was decided he should return to Australia to undergo rehabilitation and consult specialists. This means he will not be available for the five one-day internationals against West Indies."

Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said Brad Hodge would remain with the side, "which is richly deserved given his strong performance in the first Test". Hodge made crucial contributions with 67 in the first innings and 27 in the second, but he will lose out to Simon Katich for the final batting spot once Michael Clarke comes back in at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

Katich will open for the second game in a row while Clarke, the vice-captain, will take Hodge's place at No. 5. Hilditch said the selectors would be meeting later in the week to discuss Hayden's replacement for the one-day series that begins after the third Test.

Reshuffled teams ready to show true credentials

The first Test in Jamaica uncovered more issues than it dealt with and it is unlikely many of them will be solved definitively during the second game in Antigua from Friday. Will West Indies be back as a mid-table force or will their batting inconsistencies prevent them from climbing above No. 8? At what point are Australia in their drop from untouchables to mortals, and when will the performances of the world champions level out?

Was the destruction caused by Fidel Edwards and Daren Powell in the second innings at Sabina Park something that can scare opposition teams regularly? Is Stuart MacGill the two-year answer to the tourists' spin bowling problems? Will Twenty20's Dwayne Bravo ever feel comfortable defending for more than a couple of overs? And what difference will the return of key players make?

Immediate answers are impossible, but the range of questions confirms the new levels of interest in the series. The relatively tight opening contest has given life to an affair that was expected to be one-sided. Matthew Hayden's absence for the rest of the series and the possibility of Chris Gayle and Jerome Taylor regaining fitness could bring the two teams' standards further together over the next two games.

Stuart Clark's fine second-innings bowling on Monday managed to cover up Australia's batting frailties, but the hope that Hayden would provide some cement at the top has gone. Simon Katich will sneak ahead of Brad Hodge, who is squeezed out despite comfortably out-performing Katich in pressure situations during the opening game. However, further twisting to an already unsettled order was considered unnecessary. Michael Clarke, who is back from compassionate leave, will re-enter at No. 5 and will be vice-captain for the first time in a Test.

"There's no doubt [Clarke] is jumping out of his skin," Ponting told AAP. "He did what he had to do back in Australia and it's been a tough time ... He really loves playing cricket for Australia and with a bit more responsibility now and a leadership role in the group he is blossoming every day."

Strength in Australia's middle order is important because the sight of the fallible opening pairing of Katich and Phil Jaques will provide a lift for Edwards, Powell and Taylor. The West Indies fast men looked like world beaters at Sabina Park and Australia will need to find better ways of coping during the inaugural Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

During the World Cup last year Australia played three games on the new arena, which still had a sandy outfield, and the conditions offer another unpredictable element to the Test. So far both sides have trained at the smaller, older Recreation Ground and the players will get their first look at the North Sound pitch the day before the game.

After their strong comeback on the final day in Jamaica, and with the rust shaken from their break between Test series, Australia's position is comfortable and a draw would retain them the Frank Worrell Trophy. It is hard to gauge whether West Indies are under pressure or happily playing above themselves. While there was disappointment at their final-day collapse, there was pleasure at home and overseas in the way they stood up to Australia for much of the contest.

People in the Caribbean are talking cricket again and the local players will be expected to continue their harassment of the world champions. If they can cope with the increased demands then there will be opportunities to create further holes in Australia's redeveloping outfit.

Gayle's entrance would provide some much needed stability, especially after Brenton Parchment's unconvincing contributions in Jamaica, and his leadership will also allow Ramnaresh Sarwan to concentrate solely on batting. The side desperately needs to support Shivnarine Chanderpaul and an uncluttered mind would be the best thing for Sarwan, who failed twice last week as the stand-in leader. A groin injury has meant Gayle has not been able to play since the Sri Lanka series, but the problem is improving and the side will be more formidable if Taylor overcomes a back complaint.

John Dyson, the West Indies coach, said during the week his players realised at Sabina Park that the Australians were not superhuman. It is an important step for any side that wants to move from also-rans to contenders, and the view worked for Australia in the 1990s when they were trying to steal the trophy.

In the other camp Tim Nielsen was so impressed by West Indies that he believed they were capable of improving to No. 3 or 4 in the rankings. The evolving Australia were surprised by the initial fight of West Indies and now realise that even if their batting clicks and their bowlers are on song, the series is not likely to be one where the world champions beat up on the easy beats. When they were last in Antigua a year ago that scenario would have been unthinkable.

Marsh century conquers Rajasthan

Rajasthan Royals may have ended the league stage on top, but it will be the Kings XI Punjab who head into the semi-finals full of confidence after triumphing by 41 runs in a dead-rubber top-of-the-table clash in Mohali.

Shane Warne rested himself for the game, and there was not much the Rajasthan Royals' captain-cum-coach could do watching from the dugout as Punjab's top order knocked them out of the contest. Shaun Marsh led the way with a 69-ball 115 and James Hopes' 51 provided him support in a century stand before Yuvraj Singh finally found his rhythm with a blistering 49. Without Warne, Rajasthan looked insipid in the field, and a weakened attack without him and Sohail Tanvir, the tournament's best bowler, leaked away too many short and wide deliveries.

Rajasthan, despite a stumbling start, made a spirited effort at hunting down an imposing 222. There was a fluent fifty from Niraj Patel and two blistering hands from Yusuf Pathan and Kamran Akmal, but the match had pretty much been sealed after Punjab's batsmen provided a royal feast for the fans in their last home match.

Marsh, who has been the in-form batsmen for Punjab, was quick off the blocks. Shane Watson had taken over the captaincy, but Marsh started by spanking two wide deliveries off him for boundaries through the off side. The cut, pull and the lofted straight drive were seen aplenty as Marsh began his assault to go past Gautam Gambhir as the tournament's leading run-getter.

At the other end, Hopes got the occasional boundary while letting his partner take most of the strike, and he had to take some evasive action as Marsh blasted one off Watson that went right under his legs. The Powerplay overs fetched 51, but there was no respite for Rajasthan as Pankaj Singh was taken for 17 in the seventh: Marsh clobbering one over midwicket, before lacing the next through extra cover.

Marsh took a single off Dinesh Salunkhe's first ball to become the tournament's leading run-scorer, and a rank bad ball was blasted through midwicket to bring up his fifty. At 88 for 0 after ten overs, the Mohali crowd were set for a treat from their batsmen, and Hopes shifted gears as Punjab looked to build an imposing score. He got three boundaries off Siddharth Trivedi in the 11th over, and Yusuf's offspin was slog-swept into the stands en route to his fifty, which came 30 deliveries.

Next it was Marsh's turn; Yusuf was flat-batted over long-on for four before the Western Australian stepped down the track for to send one sailing over long-on. Yusuf got a breakthrough as Hopes holed on to deep midwicket and the two quiet overs that followed were the brief lull before Yuvraj came out storming and landed the knockout blow.
By then Marsh was marching towards his hundred, and he struck a six over Pankaj's head to move to 97, and a single later in the over - that cost 25 - brought up the sixth century of the IPL. The pressure was getting to Rajasthan, and Yuvraj cashed in: he swivelled around to pull one for six, before dispatching one through square leg.

Yuvraj was in the sort of mood that caught him when he smashed six sixes off Stuart Broad in the World Twenty20. He did hit five sixes off six consecutive deliveries - though it was spread across three overs this time - before he was run-out off the last ball of the innings, one short of what would have been the tournament's fastest fifty. Marsh had fallen earlier in the over, but Punjab were way past the par score of 180 initially suggested by Warne.

Rajasthan surprisingly opened with Mohammad Kaif and Niraj. Kaif fell early, as did Younis Khan, but Niraj, who held his calm during the gripping run-chase that knocked out the Mumbai Indians, scored a sparkling fifty.

He cracked four fours in a Sreesanth over: he worked the ball square on the off side as the bowler gave him width, and launched a slower ball down the ground. VRV Singh tried to test him with shorter deliveries, but Niraj managed to find the boundary. Punjab's bowlers had frittered away a winning position in their shock loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders, but today they were largely disciplined and were backed up by sharp fielding.

Though Niraj kept the score ticking, Rajasthan were struggling at 67 at the halfway mark. Piyush Chawla removed Niraj and Watson, but Rajasthan were given a glimmer of hopes as Yusuf Pathan and Kamran Akmal nonchalantly blasted sixes and scored 54 in three overs to bring it down to 90 off the final six.

Punjab had conceded 71 in the final five overs against Kolkata, but Chawla picked up his third wicket, removing Akmal, and even the hard-hitting Yusuf, who's been a revelation in the tournament, couldn't save Rajasthan. Warne had experimented with his line-up and Delhi Daredevils will be wary of a backlash come the semi-final in on Friday. As for the Chennai Super Kings, they will know they're up against a juggernaut.

Flintoff set to miss ODI series

Andrew Flintoff's side strain is likely to force him out of England's one-day series against New Zealand next month.

England are due to announce their one-day squad on Friday for the Twenty20 International and five ODIs, and had hoped Flintoff would have recovered in time.

But, speaking at the launch of Lancashire's Twenty20 Cup campaign, Flintoff admitted he is still recovering.

"I've not got a fixed date yet on when I can play and I think I'll know more once I start doing more running and then get back into the cricket again," Flintoff told PA.

"These things have a history of taking six weeks and it will be three weeks on Thursday since I did it.

"I don't know the exact dates of the one-day series but I've still got a few weeks before I'm fit so I'm not sure what the chances are of me being fit for that.

I saw Geoff Miller and Peter Moores last week and they're not going to rush me back." Flintoff had been expected to be included in England's Test series against New Zealand, after a promising start to the season with the ball for Lancashire.

But he picked up a side strain while bowling for his county, ruling him out of what would have been his first Test since January 2007.

He could, however, return for the South Africa series and the first Test at Lord's on July 11.

"I'd love to be involved against South Africa, but I think I learned my lesson from last time, building up and trying to play against New Zealand and it didn't happen," he said.

"I'm going to see how it goes.

I'd love to play against South Africa obviously, but I'm not going to build it up too much because I don't want to get disappointed again."

England unveil Caribbean itinerary

The England & Wales Cricket Board has confirmed the itinerary for England's 2009 tour of the West Indies, comprising of four Tests, one Twenty20 international and a five-match ODI series.

England will arrive in Barbados on Wednesday, January 21, where they will play two three-day warm up matches before moving to Jamaica for the first Test against West Indies at Sabina Park on Wednesday, February 4.

The teams then move onto Antigua, where the second Test will take place at Sir Vivian Richards stadium in North Sound, starting on February 13, and a two-day tour match, the details of which have yet to be confirmed, will be fitted in before the third Test in Barbados, starting on February 26.

The fourth and final Test (March 6-10) will be played at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad, with the same venue hosting the Twenty20 match less than a week later.

The tour concludes with the five-match ODI series, starting with two games in Guyana on March 20 and 22, closely followed by two more in Barbados, and the series finale in St Lucia on Friday, April 3.

England's recent tours of the Caribbean have generally started and finished five weeks later, which suggests that a window has been created to allow players from both squads to compete in the Indian Premier League.

Either way, England face a busy 2009 schedule, with the ICC World Twenty20 in May and June, followed by the Ashes in July and August.

I will consider coaching Pakistan' - Akram

Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, said on Monday he will consider coaching the Pakistan team if offered the role.

"Coaching Pakistan is a matter of great pride.

It is my way of returning something back to cricket which gave me so much," he told reporters on the opening day of the specialised coaching camp for fast bowlers at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Akram, along with National Cricket Academy chief coach Mudassar Nazar and coach Aaqib Javed, is supervising the seven-day long camp aimed at polishing the talent of 16 upcoming bowlers.

Akram said he was busy with his media commitments but that he would definitely consider an offer from the Pakistan board.

"But I am already serving cricket as I am always there to take on short coaching assignments the way I am doing now," he said.

He also said Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson, currently in his home town in Australia, should join the national team's training camp as soon as possible.

"I think the coach should be there when the camp starts and he must be there to supervise the training," he said when told that Lawson might arrive late for the team's training camp for the tri-series in Bangladesh, which starts on June 8.

Dhoni relieved after seeing his team in IPL semis

Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni praised his bowlers for restricting Deccan Chargers to under 150 runs and said the victory brought relief for the team.

"Definitely a big relief if it ends up a crunch game in do or die situation and you got to win. Of course it was crucial," he told reporters in the post match press conference after beating Hyderabadi team by seven wickets and sealing the last IPL semifinal spot.

The Jharkhand player said bowlers did a commendable job to set up the win.

"I think we have bowled well. We had started off well, I think bowlers did the job initially. 150 odd runs were quite an achievable target and the wicket was good," he said.

Dhoni said in the last-four stage of the tournament, performance of the top-order would be crucial.

"In T20 matches if top-order batsman like Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag or Shaun Marsh or any top-order has his day definitely it puts pressure on rival teams.

"Semifinal... if it is a close game, there will be lot of excitement even to the players. It depends on what happens on the field," he said.

Adam Gilchrist, the losing captain, said the team would review its performance.

"I do not have any excuses. It depends which way you look it (defeats). It is not end of the world. We should settle down and review, make a self assessment and think over where we faulted and plan for the future."

Afridi returns as Deccan bat

Shahid Afridi gets a final opportunity to delight the Hyderabad crowd...
Although he lost the toss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni got what he wished for as Deccan Chargers chose to bat in Hyderabad. The game is crucial for the Chennai Super Kings: a win will make them the fourth team to go through to the semi-finals, while a loss will leave their fate hanging on the result of the Mumbai Indians-Bangalore Royal Challengers clash.

The pitch is expected to be conducive for run-scoring, and Dhoni said he would be more comfortable with a target to chase. However, he will be wary of the Deccan batsmen - they haven't fired in unison yet, and today will be the last opportunity for the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi to delight their home fans and win their first game in seven attempts in Hyderabad. Deccan, though, will be without Rohit Sharma, who hasn't recovered from a finger injury he suffered in their last game. Chaminda Vaas, Sanjay Bangar and Chamara Silva are the other omissions from the XI that played Bangalore on Sunday as Afridi, Sarvesh Kumar and Pragyan Ojha return.

Chennai came excruciatingly close during their chase of a big score against the Rajasthan Royals, and Dhoni has kept faith in his team and not made any changes. However, they conceded 211 in their last match against Rajasthan, and Dhoni would hope his bowlers can keep the Deccan batsmen to a much lesser score.

Teams
Chennai Super Kings: 1 Parthiv Patel (wk), Stephen Fleming, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Albie Morkel, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), 6 S Badrinath, 7 Abhinav Mukund, 8 Manpreet Gony, 9 L Balaji, 10, Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Makhaya Ntini.

Deccan Chargers: 1 Adam Gilchrist (capt & wk), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Shahid Afridi, 4 Venugopal Rao, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Ravi Teja, 7 Arjun Yadav, 8 Pragyan Ojha, 9 Sarvesh Kumar, 10 RP Singh, 11 P Vijaykumar.

SRK may set up cricket academy

Bollywood actor and the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan today met the chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at Writers’ Buildings and expressed interest in setting up a modern cricket academy in the city.

In reply, the chief minister urged the actor to take some “initiatives” in the film production sector in the state.
Though both the chief minister and Shah Rukh refused to divulge the details of the meeting, officials who were present said though a lot of things were discussed, the main focus was on the cricket academy and the film industry in West Bengal.
A senior official said: “Shah Rukh proposed to set up a modern cricket academy in the state. The academy will be set up on the lines of Australian Cricket Academy in Melbourne. But the discussion was very informal as no formal proposal was submitted by Shah Rukh."
It was learnt that the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders showed interest in setting up the academy at Rajarhat. A formal proposal must be submitted before this could be finalised.
Officials also said the chief minister invited the Bollywood actor to invest in the film industry of the state especially in the production sector. Mr Bhattacharjee told Shah Rukh about the Kolkata Film Festival (KFF) and he invited Shah Rukh to attend the next KFF scheduled to be held in November.
In reply, Shah Rukh also said the state has a lot of talent in this sector. He told Mr Bhattacharjee that the cameraman of his film Chak De India was from Kolkata. He also mentioned if proper infrastructure could be developed here, local talents would have a better platform to prove their excellence. This segment of the meeting is considered to be important because the state government has already invited expression of interest from private partners to run West Bengal Film Development Corporation in a joint venture.

Rajasthan secure top spot with last-ball win

Sohail Tanvir took an impressive 4-14 to become the tournament's highest wicket taker...

The Mumbai Indians lost their third successive nail-biter to leave their semi-final hopes hanging by a thread. With 43 needed off the final three overs for the Rajasthan Royals to protect their 100% home record, youngsters Niraj Patel and Ravindra Jadeja kept their nerve - while several more experienced Mumbai players lost theirs - to win it off the final ball.

The result means Delhi Daredevils become the third team to make it to the semi-finals and if the Chennai Super Kings win their match against Deccan Chargers on Tuesday, Mumbai will be out of contention.

When Shane Watson was dismissed with 69 runs still needed off 48 balls and no big-name batsmen to come on a pitch not conducive to stroke-making, Mumbai were in command. The Mumbai bowlers maintained a tight line-and-length and runs came mainly in singles. With Niraj and Jadeja hardly threatening, the equation became a difficult 43 off the final three.

A streaky inside-edge for four and a misdirected yorker which deflected off the pads to the fine-leg boundary left Rajasthan needing 34 off the last two. Jadeja then clubbed Rohan Raje over cover for six off the first ball and a couple of twos followed in the over. Raje's final delivery should also have gone only for a couple, but shoddy work at the bowler's end - one among Mumbai's several elementary fielding errors - gave away a crucial, extra run.

Four runs came off the first two balls of Dilhara Fernando's last over and Rajasthan required 11 off the final four balls. A flat, powerful six over long-on from Niraj got them closer but only two runs were scored off the next couple of deliveries and three were needed from the final ball. Fernando, an experienced international, then sent down a leg-side wide and Niraj mistimed the last delivery to mid-on. Only one run should have been taken but the batsmen chanced their luck and set off for the second. Sanath Jayasuriya, another experienced campaigner, fumbled the throw from the deep to fluff a simple run-out opportunity and hand Rajasthan yet another victory.

At the start of the chase of 146, amid some uncontrolled across-the-line heaves and suicidal running, Kamran Akmal punished Ashish Nehra's wide deliveries and picked off two boundaries off Shaun Pollock. After surviving some close shaves, Akmal was run out when he made the basic error of not dragging his bat into the crease.

After Fernando dismissed the explosive Yusuf Pathan and Swapnil Asnodkar, Rajasthan were struggling at 54 for 3 after nine but Shane Watson clouted a couple of over-pitched balls from Raje for four to ease the tension. However, Mohammad Kaif was run out after some slapstick running between the wickets and Tendulkar, running across from midwicket, pulled off a blinder to send back Watson in Raje's next over. That was when Rajasthan, as they have through the tournament, found new heroes to bail them out in Niraj and Jadeja.

After choosing to field, on a pitch where was keeping low, Rajasthan restricted Mumbai to 145, a modest total that was reached thanks to Yogesh Takawale's eight-ball 24. Rajasthan's bowlers held sway for most of the innings, and Man-of-the-Match Sohail Tanvir reinforced his status as the tournament's best bowler with a four-wicket haul that earned him the purple cap.

Mumbai struggled to find momentum from the start, and the opening pair of Jayasuriya and Tendulkar were stifled by the new-ball bowlers to such an extent that only 29 runs, and two boundaries, came in the Powerplay. Pathan, bowling flat and quick, and Siddharth Trivedi also kept Mumbai in check before Warne came into the attack for his much-anticipated showdown with Tendulkar. Warne varied his flight well but was competently handled by Tendulkar, who kept tucking him away to the leg side.

Only 60 came off the first ten overs, and Jayasuriya felt the need to provide some impetus. An attempt to mow Trivedi over midwicket was miscued but landed safely and an outside-edge raced past the wicketkeeper for four. However, his luck ran out off, and a pull went straight to midwicket.

Things were to get worse for Mumbai as Tendulkar closed the face of the bat early to a slower ball from Tiwary, offering a simple return catch. Robin Uthappa's short, uneasy stay at the crease ended when Akmal effected a smart stumping off Warne, and it was the impressive Abhishek Nayar's three off-side boundaries that pushed them along.

Just as the innings was gathering some momentum, Tanvir ran through the Mumbai middle-order, taking four wickets in two overs to leave them at 120 for 7. However, Takawale lifted Mumbai with a assault against Watson - four fours and the innings' only six came off the final over to take them to a competitive score.

However, that proved insufficient as Rajasthan again dug deep to pull off a win which guarantees them first place while Mumbai were left to rue some basic mistakes which cost them dearly.

Brilliant Clark gets Australia home

Stuart Clark took five wickets to help Australia win the first Test against West Indies by 95 runs.

Chasing 287, West Indies were ripped apart by Clark and fellow paceman Brett Lee as the hosts fell for 191.

Resuming on 46-1 on the fifth day, West Indies lost skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan and opener Devon Smith early and slumped to 117-6 at lunch.

Denesh Ramdin and Darren Sammy rescued some pride with a partnership of 67 but by then Australia had the game won.

Seamer Clark finished with figures of 5-32, his best Test performance.

Clark made the early inroads by dismissing Sarwan for 12 and Smith for 28, with neither batsman able to build significantly on their overnight scores.

Dwayne Bravo became Clark's third wicket of the morning - and the fourth of an impressive second innings - when he spooned a catch to Mitchell Johnson to head back to the pavilion for a duck.

And Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who hit a century in the first innings despite being flattened by a Lee bouncer, managed just nine before he was caught and bowled by Lee.

The Australian fast bowler was unlucky not to pick up the wicket of Ramdin as well when wicket-keeper Brad Haddin just failed to hold on to a diving catch.

The missed chance threatened to frustrate the tourists as Ramdin and Sammy halted the steady flow of wickets with some determined batting.

Ramdin, though, was eventually run out for 36 and the break-up of the partnership sealed the Windies' fate.

The impressive Clark struck again to remove Sammy lbw for 35 and even though Daren Powell cracked six fours on his way to 27, spinner Stuart MacGill claimed the final two wickets in successive balls to seal victory.

MacGill had Powell caught behind, while debutant Amit Jaggernauth (0) was held by Phil Jaques at short leg.

Strauss ton inspires England win

A century from Andrew Strauss helped England to a six-wicket victory in an absorbing second Test at Old Trafford.

Resuming on 76-1 in search of 294, Strauss and skipper Michael Vaughan played positively in a stand of 90.

Vaughan fell shortly before lunch after a fluent 48, but Strauss reached his 12th Test ton before driving Iain O'Brien to slip for 106.

Kevin Pietersen was needlessly run out with 56 needed, but Ian Bell (21) and Paul Collingwood (24) saw England home.

Barely 24 hours earlier, few could have realistically believed that England had even a remote hope of breaking out the champagne.

Having collapsed to 202 all out and conceded a first innings lead of 179, they were staring down the barrel when the Kiwis reached 50-1, before the Monty Panesar-inspired collapse to 114 all out.

New Zealand, so often accustomed to the role of underdogs, seemed to implode from that position of total dominance on Sunday and for much of Monday could do little to regain the initiative.

That is not to take anything away from England, who went about the majority of the chase in textbook fashion, rotating the strike, running purposefully and generally putting pressure on the bowlers and fielders.

Once again the bone-jarring north-easterly breeze was drifting across the ground, but it was movement in the wicket England were concerned with and they tried to negate it by calling for the heavy roller before play began.

Whether that nullified the threat is open to question but Daniel Vettori and Iain O'Brien, who posed all manner of problems in the first innings with some prodigious movement, had little success.

Vaughan looked a different player from the first innings and produced some vintage shots with a classic cover drive taking the runs required below 200.

A wild throw from wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum flew away for four overthrows to bring up the fifty partnership between Strauss and Vaughan.

Vettori brought on Jacob Oram, who restricted England so successfully in the first innings.

But after an hour's play, 53 runs had been added for no further loss and the Kiwi skipper called his troops together on the outfield for what amounted to an Emergency General Meeting.

There were other moments to suggest it was not going to be New Zealand's day - a leading edge from Vaughan fell short of cover and the skipper collected four off the shoulder of the bat, with the ball looping high over gully.

Vaughan's confidence was soaring and he played a trademark backfoot drive for four, but 25 minutes before the interval tried one shot too many against Chris Martin and edged to the keeper.

For a brief period the ball began to move a bit more off the pitch, and Vettori brought himself into the attack 15 minutes before lunch against Pietersen, who had fallen lbw to him twice before in the series.

Although the first ball produced a massive appeal, looping over the stumps for four leg byes, there was never a sustained period of pressure, and Pietersen merely continued in the same positive manner as his colleagues.

After lunch he sauntered down the pitch to launch Vettori back over his head for six, and England continued comfortably. Or so it seemed.

Just when the tourists had an air of resignation, Strauss saw his composed innings ended by a brilliant low catch by Ross Taylor at slip.

It should not have had an effect, but Pietersen, ever the egotist, took the positive running motif too far with his pursuit for a second.

McCullum neatly collected Martin's throw from fine-leg, whipped off the bails and the match took another twist.

Suddenly, master spinner Vettori was bowling to the dreadfully out-of-form Collingwood, there was a huge appeal for lbw - rejected after close consideration by umpire Simon Taufel - and misfields were replaced by diving stops.

O'Brien deceived both Collingwood and Bell with slower balls in the same over but could not hold on to return chances, the second as straightforward as they come.

Collingwood remained in painfully scratchy style, but Bell eased the jitters with the occasional pleasing stroke as the runs gradually whittled down.

In the last over before tea, Collingwood took the bold approach with some agricultural boundaries to seal a remarkable triumph, England's highest run fourth innings chase at the famous Manchester ground.

England chase 294 for victory

England are chasing 294 to win the second Test against New Zealand at Old Trafford. Follow the action on the Cow Corner blog.

The hosts reached 76-1 at the close as 16 wickets fell on day three in Manchester.

England, resuming on 152-4, capitulated meekly and were bowled out for 202 with Daniel Vettori claiming 5-66 to surrender a first innings deficit of 179 runs.

But then left-arm spinner Panesar, who claimed his 100th Test victim before the tea interval, spearheaded the fightback as he helped dismiss New Zealand for 114 in their second innings

Vettori removed Alastair Cook late on but Andrew Strauss (23) and Michael Vaughan (12) saw England through to the close and they need a further 222 runs for victory.

The highest fourth innings total to win a Test at Manchester is currently 231 by England against West Indies in 2004.

England, at 180-9, were still two runs short of avoiding the follow-on before Stuart Broad, who registered England's only boundaries of the morning, took them over the threshold.

Kevin Pietersen (26) edged one to Ross Taylor at slip, Ian Bell (8) then edged Iain O'Brien to second slip where Taylor took the catch after a juggle and Paul Collingwood (2) was trapped lbw by Vettori after the ball struck him on his back leg.

Tim Ambrose (3) gave Taylor his third catch with an edge to slip off Vettori and Panesar (1) edged Kyle Mills to Brendon McCullum, who took a spectacular, diving, one-handed catch before Broad was the last man out for 30.

But Panesar also exploited a pitch that offered considerable bounce and turn as New Zealand's batsmen struggled to master his bowling.

He removed Jamie How (29), James Marshall (28), Brendon McCullum (0), Ross Taylor (15) all lbw and had Vettori (4) and Kyle Mills (8) caught as they attempted to sweep.

James Anderson had removed Aaron Redmond early on but the Kiwis were 50-1 before their demise with Ryan Sidebottom chipping in with the wickets of the ailing Jacob Oram and O'Brien with Daniel Flynn unable to bat.

Symonds Half-Century Leaves West Indies 287 To Win

An Andrew Symonds half-century helped Australia recover from 18 for five to be bowled out for 167, leaving the West Indies a victory target of 287 on day four of the opening Test in Jamaica.

Bad light ended play early with the West Indies on 46 for one, Brenton Parchment caught by Brad Haddin off of Stuart Clark for 12 and Devon Smith (19) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (eight) the unbeaten batsmen. The West Indies will resume the final day requiring a further 241 runs to win, Australia nine wickets in a match that is beautifully poised.

Symonds hit 79, sharing half-century stands with Brad Hodge (27) and Haddin (23) before he was the second last wicket to fall, excellently caught by Darren Sammy off of Dwayne Bravo, who bowled excellently to return four for 47.

Daren Powell's fifth ball of the day caught the toe end of Mitchell Johnson's bat and gave wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin a simple catch and at 18 for five, Australia had for just the fourth time in their long Test history lost five wickets before reaching 20 runs, the West Indians emulating England's efforts in 1888, 1896 and 1936.

Hodge counter-attacked with four boundaries and looked in good touch as he and Symonds moved Australia past 50 and brought up a half-century partnership in 95 balls. However, Hodge was out soon after, edging Bravo to Denesh Ramdin for 27.

A driven four from Haddin took Australia's lead past 200 and he and Symonds survived without further alarm to lunch. But for a better throw from the deep early in his innings, Symonds might have been run out and he made the home side pay.

After lunch, he hit three sixes off of Amit Jaggernauth, one of which took him to an eighth Test half-century and he received excellent support from Haddin. The pair added 74 before Haddin saw a full-blooded drive plucked out of the air by Runako Morton at short cover off of Bravo.

Brett Lee hung around for nine runs and received a through working over from Fidel Edwards. He was peppered with short balls until he was offered a length ball which he inside edged to Ramdin who took another smart catch. Lee hung around as if there was some doubt about the ball carrying but he was eventually given his marching orders after umpires Aleem Dar and Russell Tiffin conferred.

Perhaps he knew that the end of the innings was nigh, Symonds departing four runs later and then Stuart MacGill providing Morton with the simplest of catches at cover. Symonds' innings included nine fours and those three sixes and must rank as one of his best innings, coming as it did with Australia in all sorts of trouble.

287 will not be at all easy for the West Indians with Australia no doubt keen to bounce back from being rolled over for a below par score.

Australia outscored the West Indies 431 to 312 in their first innings; Ricky Ponting (158) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (118) were centurions for Australia and West Indies respectively.

ECB ponder radical domestic changes

The ECB's board of directors will meet on Thursday to discuss radical changes to the English domestic structure, in response to the hype surrounding the Indian Premier League and the huge global success of Twenty20.

Among the ideas being mooted are, according to today's Guardian, a 21-team Twenty20 league and a revamped Pro40 competition of two 20-over innings per side, as well as a return to the three-day Championship. Perhaps most notable is the plan to divide the Championship into three conferences, with southern, midland and northern divisions.

In addition, the ECB are committed to a four-nation Twenty20 quadrangular, bankrolled by the Texan billionaire Allen Stanford.

It has been made abundantly clear that the IPL has shown the cricket world how to make vast amounts of money in a short space of time, and England - slightly peeved that they didn't think of it first - want a slice of the pie. One such idea is an English Premier League to directly challenge its Indian counterpart, with the IPL champions joining the competition to inflate interest from overseas broadcasters. However, the EPL could mean a reduction in the number of county sides, with teams merging into franchises or regional sides, a notion many county chief executives have rejected out of hand.

The radical changes could come into effect as early as 2010, coinciding with a renewed deal for broadcasters. ECB's current contract with BSkyB, Five and the BBC, worth £220m, expires at the end of the 2009 season.

Deadly duel: It's Shane vs Sachin

We thought, and subsequently rued, that we had seen the last of it.
That only memory and those nostalgic classic DVDs will help us relive those moments that famously compelled the peerless Sir Donald Bradman to realise that, yes, he just might have a parallel in modern day cricket, while forcing similar confession out of Richie Benaud, former Australian captain and leg-spinner.

The sight of Shane Warne slumping disconsolately on his haunches after Sachin Tendulkar had collared him for a "it's gone miles" maximum with effortless ease in the unforgiving dust of Sharjah, or Tendulkar being teased, lulled, deceived and eventually snared by the master leg-spinner in the extravagance of Melbourne Cricket Ground and the cauldron of Chennai has not only enthralled the connoisseurs, but also the commoners.

Tendulkar vs Warne has been more than a mere contest, it has been a battle, a battle of mind as much as of body, of craft as much as of graft, of flair as much as of attrition, of silk as much as of steel; a rivalry lacking the obviousness of the Muhammad Ali-George Foreman one, but none of its intrigue and skill. What has added to its allure is the fact that there has been no outright winner.

Surely, Tendulkar has had the edge over his charismatic adversary, but Warne's absence from India's 2004 and 2008 Down Under forays due to a drugs ban and retirement has ensured that the jury is not out just yet on this one. And even the sporting Gods are keen on another dance.

That is why on Monday, they have provided both of them with a chance for a final hurrah, something which was inconceivable even six months back, when IPL was yet to be launched.

In Jaipur, the two talented and driven men will square off once again, but this time in a format their bodies might loathe, but the mind certainly relishes. Two individuals well in their professional dotage, past their prime-Warne is "happily retired" now- full of mutual admiration, eager to land one final, decisive blow.

Warne is certainly roused up for this one, even willing to ignore the call of his "battered" body. After beating Chennai, when asked by this correspondent when he would take a break as he had been playing in every game, Warne said he would sit out the next one. But when told he would be up against Sachin, he promptly changed his stance, saying, "then I'll probably sit out against Mohali!" That comment itself lays bare the desire and his eagerness to get back at a man whom he describes as "his favourite cricketer", and the one who gave him "nightmares".

Sachin too was effusive in his praise on Sunday. "He is a great bowler, it'll be a fantastic challenge. Which I am looking forward to," the Master said. It's been eight years since they last faced-off. High time they duelled again.

Ganguly and Gul end Kolkata's campaign on a high

Umar Gul inspired the Kolkata Knight Riders to a thrilling final-over win over Kings XI Punjab...

The final game of the IPL's first season for the Kolkata Knight Riders provided Sourav Ganguly and his team a chance to redeem themselves in front of their home fans. An insipid performance in the field and for three-fourths of the chase suggested the campaign would end on a low note but, after Umar Gul sparked life into the chase, Ganguly did the rest to upset Kings XI Punjab' winning momentum ahead of the knockout stages.

After 15 overs, Kolkata were stumbling at 104 for 5, needing an improbable 71. Two runs and three balls later they lost Aakash Chopra and in walked Umar Gul, who had taken 4 for 23. After playing the first ball from James Hopes back to the bowler, he proceeded to smash the next two for six - he connected the first in the nick of time for a pull and the ball surprisingly sailed into the stands, the second was sent over long-on.

That seemed to inspire Ganguly, who made Yuvraj Singh rue the decision to bowl Piyush Chawla. Ganguly launched a straight six, swept one for four, and sent one flying over midwicket. Twenty-eight runs had come in the space of five balls, and the chase was back on track.

Sreesanth had delivered a probing first spell but Gul took his chance, and 16 runs off the over - a six and two fours, off the bat and off the leg - brought the equation down to 23 off two.

VRV Singh bowled the penultimate over, removing Gul and giving away only eight runs, leaving 15 needed off the final six balls. The stage was set for Ganguly and he didn't disappoint the Kolkata faithful. The first ball from Irfan Pathan was whipped over the square-leg boundary, followed by a two and another six straight down the ground to tie the score before a single sealed the win.

Punjab, who had clinched two consecutive games in the final over, would have felt their total of 174 - the highest total at Eden Gardens - was enough. Their innings was dominated yet again by their top order. Kumar Sangakkara and Shaun Marsh continued from their partnership against the Deccan Chargers, and Punjab punished Kolkata's lacklustre effort in the field - barring Umar Gul's splendid effort with the ball, there was hardly any spark in Kolkata's performance.

Sangakkara showed off his silken touch and found the boundaries effortlessly. Along with deft touches, he managed to improvise as well; he moved across against Laxmi Ratan Shukla, and swatted the ball over short third man with ease. Marsh wasn't to be outscored, and hit Sri Lankan spin sensation Ajantha Mendis for fours. He then smashed two sixes, premeditating a slog-sweep over midwicket off Shukla, before depositing David Hussey over the straight boundary. But another charge against Mendis landed straight into the hands of Chopra at long-on.

Unfortunately for Sangakkara, a dodgy leg-before decision went against him. Yuvraj has been struggling for form in the tournament but he was given a reprieve. Kolkata's fielding was woeful, with several misfields going for fours and a few spilled chances. Yuvraj got a top-edge, and Ganguly ran back from midwicket to get under the skier, but Chopra, coming in from deep called and was better placed to take it; the two collided, and the ball popped out of Ganguly's hands.

Yuvraj added insult to injury by smashing three fours in Ishant Sharma's final over, and the IPL's most expensive bowler, who has had a disappointing tournament, ended with 49 runs from four overs. But Gul, a steal at US$150,000 considering his World Twenty20 heroics, managed to fire in the yorkers, and after he gave just eight in his first spell, removing James Hopes, he came back to remove the set Sangakkara, who was readying to tee off. Only four came off the final over he bowled, with two scalps, and his 4 for 23 ensured Punjab's score wasn't out of Kolkata's reach.

Nel back as South Africa option for pace

Andre Nel was on Friday named in a 15-man South African squad for a four-Test series in England starting in July.

Nel is one of five specialist fast bowlers in the squad. The others are Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini, Morne Morkel and Monde Zondeki.

Nel, who was controversially omitted from a recent tour of India, has been added to the 14-man squad that went on that tour. Nel was not picked for India because Cricket South Africa's policy of racial targets for touring teams required six black players to be in the squad.

Selection convenor Joubert Strydom said the main motivation for picking Nel this time was the expected rate of attrition for fast bowlers on a tour which has two sets of back-to-back Test matches as well as three other first-class games.

South Africa, who won four series and shared the honours with India last season, have not won a series in on three tours since returning to international cricket in 1991,. They drew the 1994 and 2003 series and were beaten 2-1 in 1998.

The squad will assemble for a training camp on June 17 and leave for England a week later. The first Test starts at Lord's on July 10.

SQUAD

Graeme Smith (capt), Ashwell Prince (vice-capt), Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Morne Morkel, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Monde Zondeki

Two matches to be played in IPL T20 today

Two matches would be played in Indian Premier League (IPL) today.

First match would be played between Rajashtan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. The match will start at 3:30 pm Pakistan Standard Time.

In the second match, Delhi Daredevils would face Mumbai Indians. This match will start at 7:30 pm Pakistan Standard Time.

Rajasthan Royals leading points table with 18 points with Chennai Super stands at second place with 14 points.

Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians secured 12 points whereas Sehwag’s Delhi Daredevils have 13 points.

Cricket pair in race abuse claim

Two British cheerleaders have claimed they were racially abused and stopped from performing at an Indian cricket tournament because they are black.

Ellesha Newton, 22 and Sherinne Anderson, 25, both from London, claim the "n-word" was used.

The women were among a troupe of dancers brought in from around the world to promote the money-spinning Twenty20 Indian Premier League.

Pre-match show organiser Wizcraft said the claims were baseless and false.

Speaking to BBC London 94.9FM Miss Newton, from Islington, north London, said: "We were told by an organiser that we would not be allowed to perform because of the colour of our skin.
"He used the n-word and said the crowds would not appreciate us.

"We were devastated and shocked. We never had to deal with anything like this before."

She said they were both in tears and it was not until their manager spoke to the organisers that they were allowed to join the other dancers.

"When we performed the crowds were cheering. There was no bad feelings; they were taking pictures and they supported us," she said.

Film shoot

"It is not all of India that feels like this, just this one man."

The alleged incident happened last month in a game involving the King's XI Punjab team.

A spokesman for Wizcraft said: "We would like to clarify that these are baseless and false allegations that have been made against us.

"The cheerleaders in question had performed during the match and proof of this are photographs which were taken during the match.

"Their agents have been duly paid for their work and we have receipts to support the same."

Last month, Indian police said the organisers of the IPL tournament could be fined if cheerleaders were deemed to be dressed indecently.

Some politicians say the cheerleaders are "vulgar and obscene".

Rohit and Gilchrist take Deccan to 175

Rohit Sharma hit 32 runs off two overs...

The Deccan Chargers, who are out of the tournament, were in no mood to roll over and play dead for the Kings XI Punjab, who are in to the semi-finals, and put on a positive batting display on the back of half-centuries from Adam Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma.

Put in to bat, Deccan's openers took advantage of Punjab's non-threatening opening bowlers and added 79 in 11.1 overs.

Gilchrist and Gibbs went after the bad balls early in the innings. When VRV Singh bowled full and wide, Gilchrist drove him for fours through extra cover and mid-off. Gibbs, who looked uncomfortable against Sreesanth's swinging deliveries, attacked successive balls drifting on to his pads by flicking through midwicket and nudging past fine leg off. He rounded off the third over - that went for 12 runs - with a perfectly timed drive through extra cover.

The two were cautious when the spinners came on - in the sixth over - and scored only six runs off 12 balls. But a restless Gibbs then decided to turn on the aggression by stepping out and slogging Ramesh Powar for six over midwicket and then lifting Piyush Chawla for two sixes over long-on. Gilchrist, who was troubled by Chawla's googlies, attacked Yuvraj Singh - going inside-out over mid-on for a six. Both were bowled going for big across-the-line hits - Gibbs trying to slog Gagandeep Singh and Gilchrist in sweeping Powar.

Deccan were aided by some shoddy work by the Punjab fielders. Powar fumbled in his dive and allowed a Gilchrist shot to go over the line, while Sreesanth gave away runs with mis-fields at third man and fine leg. Then there was VRV who only half-heartedly tried to go for a catch at long-off to dismiss Rohit Sharma.

That dropped catch proved costly for Punjab as Rohit hit 32 runs off two overs soon after - Gagandeep bore the brunt off it as Rohit hit two sixes and a four off the bowler and got to his fifty off 26 balls. But with his wicket- in the next over - Deccan lost some steam and the last three overs got them only 32 more runs.

Deccan will do well to remember that in the last match between the two sides, they had set Punjab 164, which Punjab chased comfortably, losing only three wickets.

Though this match doesn't hold any significance in the tournament, Punjab will want to retain their winning momentum going in to the semis.

Kings XI Punjab: 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 Luke Pomersbach, 3 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 4 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 5 Mahela Jayawardene 6 Tanmay Srivastava, 7 Ramesh Powar, 8 Gagandeep Singh, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Sreesanth, 11 VRV Singh.

Deccan Chargers: 1 Adam Gilchrist (capt & wk), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Chamara Silva, 5 Venugopal Rao, 6 D Ravi Teja, 7 Sanjay Bangar, 8 Scott Styris, 9 RP Singh, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 P Vijaykumar.

2 matches in IPL today

Two matches would be played in Indian Premier League (IPL) today (Wednesday).

In the first match, Mumbai Indians would face Kings XI Punjab. Geo Super will telecast the match live from Wankhede Stadium at 3:30 pm Pakistan Standard Time.

In another fixture of the evening, Chennai Super Kings would take on Banglore Royal Challengers. The match would be telecast live at Geo Super at 7:30 pm.

Kings XI Punjab, Rajashtan Royals and Chennai had already reached into the semifinals of the tournament.

Australia play down Warne return

Cricket Australia (CA) has played down reports that retired leg-spinner Shane Warne could return to international cricket for next year's Ashes tour of England.

The former leading test wicket-taker, who quit the international arena after Australia's 5-0 victory over England in early 2007, was quoted in local media as saying he would consider returning for the next Ashes series.

"If Australia really needed me and there was no one else around, and Ricky (Ponting) thought I could do the job, you would weigh up the options," Warne was quoted as saying in Tuesday's Herald Sun newspaper.

"If Stuey (Stuart) MacGill fell over and broke his leg, and there were no other spinners around, and Ricky came out and said, 'Mate, can you please help us out for this one-off tour? We need you', that is something I would weigh up.".

CA chief executive James Sutherland, however, distanced his organisation from Warne's comments.

"I've been in cricket long enough not to be surprised of any headlines that Warnie grabs," a smiling Sutherland told reporters.

"The simple answer to that is that Shane is retired from international cricket and has been for 15 months or so.

"I acknowledge there has been speculation in the newspapers...but the reality is that Shane is retired and not available for selection.
"It is up to him if he wants to make himself available and that is something only he can decide. I haven't spoken to him."

BEST TEAM

Sutherland said if Warne made himself available, then it would be up to the selectors to decide on the best team.

"I'm not a selector," he added. "They make decisions in the best interests of Australia cricket.

"They choose the best Australian cricket team based on those players that are available at the time.

"It's not for me to be determining what the Australian cricket team needs."

Warne, who took 708 test wickets, has since retired from first-class cricket and is only playing in a domestic Twenty20 competition in India.

"If I wanted to keep playing I don't think there would be an issue with me being the number one spinner and performing," he said.

"I would still love to be playing international cricket, and miss it because I devoted 20 years to first-class cricket. It is a big part of my life.
"If you could just turn up and play test cricket, that would be cool. I would definitely consider that."

ICC World Cricket League : Dawn of a new era for Afghanistan sport

A few years ago, any talk of Afghanistan playing in the ICC Cricket World Cup would have been laughable. But not any more. Thanks to the World Cricket League, which is part of the ICC development programme, Afghanistan has a chance of appearing alongside the 10 full members and three other qualifiers when the Asian subcontinent stages the event in 2011, said a press release of the ICC on Monday.

The Division 5 event starts in Jersey on May 23 with 12 teams battling it out to qualify for the May 31 final which will guarantee them a place in the next stage of qualification. It’s still unlikely but far from impossible Afghanistan will reach the 2011 event and the way cricket is taking off, there is perhaps only a matter of time before we see it taking part in a major ICC event. But even more than that, the WCL Division 5 is an opportunity for this war-torn country to show the world a different side. “After all the turbulent times after the invasion of Russia, I consider it as the dawn of a new era in which our sportsmen will taste international exposure and introduce the new and moderate Afghanistan to the world,” said captain Norooz Khan Mangal, a 23-year-old top order batsman.

“Like any other team, we are traveling to Jersey with the objective to win the tournament and take the first step in the right direction. But at the same time, we would like to make more friends and try to learn good things from the other participants,” he said. “We consider ourselves good and ready for not only the WCL Division 5 but also for the tough season ahead because we have the conviction that we can progress in this tournament. We have to respect the game and our opponents. We will go match by match and event by event.”

Afghanistan is one of six teams in Group B, along with the Bahamas, Botswana, Japan, Singapore and hosts Jersey. Group A is made up of Germany, Mozambique, Nepal, Norway, the USA and Vanuatu. Afghanistan was admitted as an ICC Affiliate Member in 2001. After playing its early cricket in Pakistan with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) funding its tours, Afghanistan started showing signs of improvements in 2006 when it beat a MCC team, led by former England captain Mike Gatting, by 171 runs in a 40-over-a-side match.

In 2007, Afghanistan qualified for the ICC WCL Division 5 after finishing third behind the UAE and Hong Kong in the ACC Trophy. In the same year, it came close to qualifying for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2008 in Malaysia when it lost in the final of the ACC Under-19 Elite Cup final to Nepal in Kuala Lumpur. In November 2007, Afghanistan shared the ACC Twenty20 Cup with Oman in Kuwait after both the teams tied on 157 runs and a pitch invasion prevented a bowl-out to decide the winner.

Afghanistan, as part of its preparations for the WCL Division 5, played 14 warm-up matches in Peshawar, Pakistan last month before attending a training camp at the National Cricket Academy in Kabul which has two turf pitches and a bowling machine.

Talking about the lack of experience of his team, Mangal added: “We are new at this level but so are many of the other teams taking part in Jersey. All the teams start on even terms and I think the sides that stick to the basics will qualify for the final which will be enough to earn it promotion to WCL Division 4. The beauty of the WCL format is that you learn with every tournament and by the time you qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup, you have some sort of experience under your belt. But it’s an ongoing process with no short-cuts and we are happy to follow the same path which the top teams have followed.”

According to Mangal, Afghan men are naturally strong and athletic which means fast bowling is their forte. “Hamid Hassan regularly bowls at 140kph while Dawlat Ahamdzai, Hasti Gul Abed and Ahamd Shah Ahmadi are the other pacers with lots of potential and promise. Amongst the batsmen, Karim Khan Sedeq and Nabi Eisakhil stand out. They like to play aggressively and if they fire in the tournament, we will have an excellent chance to return from Jersey with flying colours. While saying this, I am aware that it’s a team game and we have to gel together like a unit and back each other.” Mangal says it is common knowledge in Afghanistan that the national team is going to Jersey to play in an ICC tournament. “People are talking about it, the media is writing about it and it’s an atmosphere we have never experienced before.”

Other teams in Group B include the Bahamas, Bostwana, Japan, Singapore and hosts Jersey. The road to ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 may be difficult but now there is a distinct pathway for developing teams like Afghanistan and the 11 other sides on their way to Jersey. The first target of the teams gathering in Jersey from May 23-31 will be to finish in the top two which will earn them promotion to the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 thus joining Hong Kong, Fiji, Tanzania and Italy in a six-team event that will take place in the Tanzanian capital Dar Es Salaam from October 4 to 11.

In turn, the top two teams from the Tanzania tournament will progress to WCL Division 3 to be staged in Buenos Aires, Argentina from January 24-31, 2009. The finalists from the Buenos Aires tournament will join the top four teams from WCL Division 2 (the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Namibia and Denmark) and six teams from WCL Division 1 (Kenya, Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands, Bermuda and Canada) in the ICC World Cup Qualifier which will be staged in the UAE in April 2009. The top four associate or affiliate teams from the ICC World Cup Qualifier will book their place at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be staged in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.