Roger Mortimer, New Zealand Cricket performance director who has been under fire since the 4-0 drubbing in the one-day series against Bangladesh earlier this month, has said he should be lose his job if New Zealand continue to struggle

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2010Roger Mortimer, the New Zealand Cricket performance director who has been under fire since the 4-0 drubbing in the one-day series against Bangladesh earlier this month, has said he should lose his job if New Zealand continue to struggle.”I feel fully responsible for what happened in Bangladesh and if the results continue to go the way they do, I have to be the first person to lose my job – there’s no question about that,” he told New Zealand’s . “I’m a massive advocate of being accountable.”He denied his presence was a distraction, as some critics have claimed, saying it was his role to make sure everyone is focused and “doing what they should be doing,” but conceded that his methods had yet to show results.”We want to see results in India, no doubt. But more importantly for the sport is whether my approach is right. I do think we have a player or two – and I won’t name names – who are starting to show those attributes. But in a cricket team you need a minimum of five or six to really deliver.”So we aren’t making progress yet because we aren’t taking individual responsibility. The only time to do it is when you play. Let’s see what happens in India.”Mortimer, 38, had joined the New Zealand side as a consultant during their previous home season, and took up his current full-time role with them five months ago. He had earlier worked with cyclist Sarah Ulmer and triathlete Hamish Carter, guiding them to Olympic golds in 2004.Last week, the New Zealand board conducted a comprehensive review of the Bangladesh tour, but didn’t made any sweeping changes, preferring to give Daniel Vettori’s men a chance to redeem themselves on the tour of India which starts on November 4.

ESPNcricinfo previews the fifth one-day international between Pakistan and South Africa at Dubai

The Preview by Liam Brickhill07-Nov-2010

Match Facts

November 8, Dubai

Start time 15:00 (11:00 GMT)Pakistan squeezed home to a one-wicket victory in the fourth match and and have fought back to 2-2 for the second time in their last two series•AFP

The Big Picture

An intriguing contest looms as Pakistan and South Africa head neck-and-neck into the final match of their limited-overs series. Pakistan were in this exact position in their last one-day last series, against England in September, having fought back from 2-0 down to set up what should have been a thrilling finale to their controversial English sojourn. As it happened, they capitulated pitifully on an autumnal evening at The Rose Bowl to hand England a 121-run win and the series.Pakistan’s mercurial style of play lends itself to such scenarios, and less than two months later a fittingly enthralling end to what has been a classic series is once again on the cards. It would be foolhardy to suggest a particular approach that Pakistan might take into Monday’s encounter at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium; they could flourish or implode in equally spectacular fashion. But despite the seemingly obligatory disciplinary issues in the Pakistan camp ahead of the game, morale is undoubtedly high and with a noisy crowd behind them they could well surge to a series-stealing win.Of course, South Africa have their own oft-repeated problems with ‘choking’ in crunch matches and will be hoping for a calmly professional performance to quieten those criticisms. The South Africans certainly started this series as the more fancied team, taking their dominance in the opening Twenty20 exchanges into the first ODI where they eased to a crushing eight-wicket win in the at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.But the three games since then have all been nail-bitingly close, and game No. 5 has the feel of a tournament final between two equally-matched teams. Can Pakistan overcome their indiscipline and inconsistency? Can South Africa finish the job and, with the World Cup just over 100 days away, show that the ‘chokers’ tag no longer fits them? There is plenty for both teams to gain from the final ODI.

Form guide

(most recent first)
South Africa: LWLWW
Pakistan: WLWLL

Watch out for…

Younis Khan’s return to Pakistan’s middle order has brought a much-needed level of calmness and experience, and has already added two half-centuries in this series to take his career tally to 39 – along with six ODI hundreds. If they are to avoid a repeat of their shocker at Southampton in September, a solid contribution from him will be vitally important.Graeme Smith is the kind of captain that looks to lead from the front, and won’t shy away from his responsibilities at the top of the order as South Africa push for a series win. He is also reasonably consistent against Pakistan’s attack, having managed 745 runs at 41.38 in 21 ODIs against them. Those runs include eight half-centuries, the last of which was Friday’s well-paced 92.

Team news

Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s back spasms continue to be a worry for South Africa, and once again they didn’t have the firepower to restrict Pakistan in the closing overs on Friday. Wayne Parnell leaked 53 runs in less than nine overs in that game, and could make way for Rusty Theron, who is a canny operator at the death.South Africa (possible): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Colin Ingram, 7 David Miller 8 Johan Botha, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Rusty Theron
Pakistan seem to have struck a winning combination and, barring injury, are unlikely to mess with the line-up that fought so hard for Friday’s series-levelling win.Pakistan (possible): 1 Imran Farhat, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Fawad Alam, 6 Shahid Afridi (capt), 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Abdur Rehman, 9 Zulqarnain Haider (wk), 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Shoaib Akhtar

Pitch and conditions

The same strip is being used for the third match in a row, and the low, slow bounce and grip for the spinners that has been exhibited by this pitch so far is sure to get more exaggerated. Of course, that didn’t stop 549 runs being scored in the fourth match, and if the bowlers get it wrong they will still be punished. All of which makes a winning total rather hard to predict. What be predictable, though, is the weather: there might be the odd cloud around on Monday but it should be hot and dry once again.

Stats and trivia

• Shoaib Akhtar has bowled reasonably well in this series without setting the world alight, and is Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker with six scalps at 32.16. But his career average in ODIs against South Africa is very impressive indeed, with his tally currently at 26 wickets at an average of 21.53.
• Hashim Amla needs just four runs to reach 1,000 in ODIs in 2010. AB de Villiers is not far behind him at No. 3 on the 2010 runscorers list, and will also reach 1,000 for the year if he gets close to a hundred. Shahid Afridi, at No. 22, is the leading Pakistani runscorer, with 577 ODI runs to his name.
• Pakistan are yet to beat South Africa in a limited-overs series, and have not won a one-day series since they beat West Indies 3-0 the last time they were in Abu Dhabi in November 2008.

Quotes

“This series is a very close affair, so we need to take all our chances and if we do then we will win the series, which will be a very good achievement considering our recent record.”

“We obviously want to win the series, but you also want to see which players are available before the World Cup because this is our last chance to play on sub-continent type of pitches here.”

Round-up of the fifth day of the fourth round of the Ranji Trophy Super League

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2010

Group B

V Cheluvaraj made an unbeaten half-century as Railways picked up a point against Tamil Nadu•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Abhimanyu Mithun took four wickets to give Karnataka an innings victory over Orissa at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Orissa came in to the fourth day with nine wickets in hand, and at 203 for 3, with Niranjan Behera on 94, around the halfway point of the day’s play looked good for a draw. Mithun, the fast bolwer who played three Tests for India on their tour of Sri Lanka in July, then struck two quick blows, getting rid of Behera and Biplab Samantray, and seamer Sreenath Aravind dismissed Rakesh Mohanty to leave Orissa reeling at 216 for 6. The tail didn’t add many more as Orissa were out for 279, leaving them second from bottom in the table.Seamers Murtuja Vahora and Sankalp Vohra bowled Baroda to within a point of the top of the Group B table, as they completed an innings and 55-run victory over Punjab at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. Baroda needed just 16.2 overs on the fourth day to complete the win. Punjab had just six wickets in hand by Saturday, and it was soon five, as Vahora trapped Vishwas Bhalla lbw in the third over of the morning. Vohra then took wickets of consecutive balls in the next over to reduce Punjab to 83 for 7. It was soon 87 for 8, as Vahora picked up his fourth of the innings, bowling Punjab opener Sarul Kanwar. Jaskaran Singh scored a few late runs to at least avoid his team the embarrassment of being bowled out for less than a hundred, but when he was dismissed by Jot Chhaya, the visitors were still well behind Punjab’s total. Vohra finished with 3 for 40. Punjab are now languishing at the foot of the table with just two points from four games.Himachal Pradesh crumpled for 84 to give Uttar Pradesh the three points for a first-innings lead at the Green Park stadium in Kanpur. India medium pacer RP Singh knocked over VA Indulkar for 17 before Sudeep Tyagi ran through HP’s lower order, taking 5 for for 27 from 11.4 overs. Opener Sangram Singh was the only batsman in double figures, top-scoring with 28. UP struggled as well in their second innings, ending the day on 138 for 8. Eklavya Dwivedi made 59, the only half-century of the match, while 27-year-old debutant offspinner Gurvinder Singh took 4 for 22 after going wicketless in the first innings.

Group A

Bengal moved up a place in the Group A table after they picked up three points for a first-innings lead against Gujarat at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. The match was always headed for a draw after the entire first day’s play was washed out, but there was still interest for both sides left in the game on the fourth day as Bengal needed another 175 runs to overhaul Gujarat’s first-innings total of 273, with eight wickets in hand. Part-time seamer Priyank Panchal gave Gujarat hope, getting rid of Dibyendu Chakrabarty to leave the visitors at 125 for 3. But Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary and Anustup Majumdar seemed to have sealed the points with a 102-run partnership. Gujarat made once final charge, dismissing Tiwary for 92, and then getting a couple more quickly. But Majumdar continued to finish with 74, and offspinner Arnab Nandi scored a half-century on debut, to take Bengal home. Gujarat are still above Bengal in the table, but have now picked up only two points from their last two games.The battle to finish with a first-innings lead and three points went down to the wire in the match between Mumbai and Assam at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. The hosts just got home thanks to a century by Abhishek Nayar and a battling 29 at the end by Ajit Agarkar. A string of four wickets for 16 runs, three from offspinner Arlen Konwar, who finished with 5 for 105 in the innings, had left Mumbai in real trouble at 268 for 8, still 30 runs short of Assam’s first-innings total. Agarkar put together 23 for the ninth wicket with left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla to reduce the equation to eight required for the lead with one wicket in hand. He and Kulkarni survived, got the required runs and got Mumbai to 318 in the end. It hadn’t looked like it would be such a struggle for Mumbai when Abhiskek Nayar and Sahil Kukreja were at the wicket. The two added another 117 runs to their overnight partnership before Kukreja was bowled by Dhiraj Goswami. Nayar continued to reach 122, but when he fell, Mumbai panicked and it needed Agarkar’s recuse act at the end to see them through. Abdulla gave Mumbai some added cheer at the end of the day, taking three wickets in Assam’s second innings. Mumbai extend their lead at the top of the Group A table to four, with the win, while Assam are third from bottom.Saurashtra and Delhi earned a point each at the Khanderi Cricket Stadium in Rajkot, after rain made a result impossible. Vikas Mishra picked up a five-for as Saurashtra declared their innings 354 for 9, with Kamlesh Makvana making an unbeaten 52 and sharing in a 67-run partnership with Sandip Maniar for the eighth wicket. Delhi openers Shikhar Dhawan and Unmukt Chand responded by adding 91, with Dhawan in particularly aggressive form, notching up 51 from 59 balls, and striking seven fours. Chand made a more patient 58, from 97 balls. Once they fell, Mithun Manhas and Aditya Jain took Delhi to 194 at the close of play.Just 34 overs were possible on the last day of the game between Tamil Nadu and Railways at the Technology Chemplast Ground in Chennai, but that was enough time for Faiz Fazal to make 71 and V Cheluvaraj an unbeaten 54, as both sides picked up a point.

The BCCI has sent a notice to all 10 IPL franchises instructing them to refrain from approaching uncapped India domestic players until notified to do so

Nagraj Gollapudi21-Dec-2010The BCCI has sent a notice to all 10 IPL franchises instructing them to refrain from approaching uncapped India domestic players ahead of the 2011 tournament until notified to do so by the board. “The circular states the franchises can only sign players once the IPL lets them know the timing,” a franchise official told ESPNcricinfo.Under league rules, the domestic players have been broken down in to three categories, depending on how much first-class cricket they have played. The lowest tier of players can sign for Rs 10 lakhs (US$21,500) per year, the middle tier for Rs 20 lakhs ($43,000) and the top tier – those who have played at least five seasons of Ranji Trophy – will be paid Rs 30 lakhs ($64,500) per year. According to the official, a shortage of good domestic players is the reason why franchises are reportedly pursuing deals already.However, not everybody is happy. Another franchise official said that the IPL’s closed-door method is only hurting them. “How can the IPL do this and not announce the date when we can start signing the talent? Otherwise we might lose on fetching a good buy.”

• The IPL has asked the franchises to submit a list of players they would be interested in the auction by December 24. This will help them strike out the names nobody wants, helping smoothen the two-day auction process

• The domestic players that are not signed by the franchises after the BCCI gives the go-ahead will remain unsold, and will not be a part of the auction

IPL 4 has been dogged by controversy since the then chairman Lalit Modi was suspended by the BCCI in April. Modi was later removed from the administration of the league altogether, while two teams with alleged links to him- Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab – were terminated by the board. Both teams have since been reinstated by the courts and will take part in the player auction in January.There seems to be another viable reason why the IPL is being strict on the signings of uncapped domestic players. “The BCCI is wary. What if both Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals sign uncapped players, and then falter on the guarantee money the Bombay High Court asked them to raise by January 3 as a condition for restoring their status after they were terminated?,” an IPL official told ESPNcricinfo.

Imran Tahir is being saved as a secret weapon by South Africa for use in next month’s World Cup, but the opposition are not the only people he will catch by surprise

Firdose Moonda25-Jan-2011Imran Tahir is being saved as a secret weapon by South Africa for use in next month’s World Cup, but the opposition are not the only people he will catch by surprise. Wicketkeeper AB de Villiers has yet to stand behind the stumps to the Pakistan-born legspinner in a match situation.Adjusting to a wrist spinner, may prove a “challenge,” according to Daryn Smit, who is the wicketkeeper at the Dolphins franchise that Tahir plays for in domestic cricket. Tahir only moved to the Dolphins this season and Smit said he learnt to keep to the legspinner by playing against him previously. “I was lucky because I was able to pick him when I was facing him and that helped me when it came to keeping to him.”Tahir’s biggest variation from the legbreak is his googly, which is also his wicket-taking ball. “The only way to pick it is to watch how it comes out of the hand,” Smit said, indicating that it is not easily read off the pitch. “That’s the real difficulty, because you can’t be going one way for the legbreak and then he’s actually bowling a googly.”Even though Smit adjusted quickly to keeping to Tahir in the first-class competition, he still found it testing to do the job in the MTN40 limited overs tournament because of the number of day/night games. “Imran is harder to pick up at night, especially when he makes subtle changes with his hand,” Smit said. “Against a black sight-screen and under artificial lights, it takes some getting used to.” Three of South Africa’s six group stage matches are day-night affairs, including the opening match against West Indies. Both their warm-up games will be played under lights, so de Villiers should have at least one opportunity to get used to Tahir in the dark.It appears that de Villiers has a tricky job ahead of him, but Smit is confident in his ability to adjust to Tahir, having known de Villiers since his youth. “A lot of people say AB is a part-time keeper, but I know that he isn’t. At Under-19 level, I was the first-choice ‘keeper and he was the back-up and he was a good keeper,” Smit said.de Villiers is not the only one who will have to adjust to having Tahir in the side. South Africa have not had an aggressive spinner since Paul Adams and Graeme Smith will have to learn how to manage Tahir. “He is an attacking spinner and that means he is going to go for runs. It may mean setting slightly more defensive fields,” Smit said. He advised that a little bit of risk, in allowing Tahir to concede a few runs, will go a long way because “every time he bowls I feel he’s got a chance to take a wicket.”While Smit is looking forward to seeing how Tahir fits into the South Africa side, the bulk of his anticipation is reserved simply for watching his team-mate make his debut. He said that everyone in the Dolphins squad is eager to see Tahir bowl on the international stage. “In this one-day series [against India], we waited for the starting line up every game to see if he was there. We all know what a matchwinner he can be and we know he will do well.”Although Tahir has no international experience, Smit thinks he is more than ready to step up to the big stage. “He has over 500 wickets at first-class level and even though it is very different to international cricket, the years of experience will have set him up well. The conditions in the subcontinent should suit his bowling style.”If he offers the national team half of what he’s offered the Dolphins, they’ll do well.”

Australia will tour Bangladesh for the first time since 2006 in April 2011, straight after the on-going World Cup, for a three-match bilateral one-day series

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2011Australia will tour Bangladesh for the first time since 2006 in April 2011, straight after the on-going World Cup, for a three-match bilateral one-day series. They are scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on April 4, just two days after the World Cup final, and will play ODIs on April 9, April 11 and April 13, all at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur.In accordance with the ICC Future Tours Programme, Test playing nations must tour each other at least once every six years, and Australia have toured Bangladesh just once since they attained Test status. That tour was in April 2006 and Australia won both Tests and all three one-dayers. The FTP had Australia scheduled to play two Tests this time around as well, but the Bangladesh Cricket Board have announced Australia will leave immediately after the three ODIs.One repercussion of the tour will be that the players from both teams’ squads will miss the first week of the IPL, which begins on April 8. As many as 36 current Australia players were sold to IPL franchises during January’s auction, while Shakib Al Hasan is the only Bangladesh player who is part of the Twenty20 tournament.Australia have had a busy last five months, having played series against India, Sri Lanka and England in the lead-up to the World Cup. Bangladesh have enjoyed a slightly more spread-out schedule, with a couple of one-day home series the only cricket they played in the six months before the World Cup.Bangladesh have beaten Australia just once in 16 one-dayers against them, back in 2007 in Cardiff. Since they last played Australia in September 2008, they have won 25 of their 53 one-day games, and have been on a good run at home, where they recently won series against New Zealand and Zimbabwe.

Brydon Coverdale in Bangalore11-Mar-2011Seren Waters might sound like the name of a peaceful spa retreat in the rainforest, but he’ll need every bit of his inner calm on Sunday when Shaun Tait is bearing down from 22 yards. As Kenya’s opening batsman, Waters has the task of deflecting Tait’s 150kph-plus offerings, and if he survives that he’ll be rewarded by facing Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson. Serenity now.”I don’t think there is another attack in the world comparable to that,” Waters said. “They’ve got three of the quickest bowlers in the world and they’re coming one after the other, so there’s no real respite. It’s going to be an experience.”An experience is one way of putting it. At the very least, it’s something to tell his classmates when he heads back to Durham University, where he is studying human geography and has a full schedule of exams waiting for him in the middle of the year.Waters has played for Surrey’s Second XI but his cricketing future, like many of the Kenyan players, is in some degree of limbo. The ICC’s decision to cut the next World Cup to ten teams means that even though Waters is only 20, he is well aware that this could be his first and last 50-over World Cup.However, there may be a place for Kenya at World Twenty20 tournaments in the future, and if that happens then Waters will appreciate the experience of facing the likes of Tait. He nominates Shoaib Akhtar as the fastest bowler he has ever faced, having played Pakistan earlier in this competition, and is looking forward to testing himself against the Australians.”Throughout the tournament all of us have faced bowlers we’ve never faced before,” Waters said. “We came up against [Lasith] Malinga, who is unique in what he does, and [Muttiah] Muralitharan. Facing Australia is going to be a big challenge, because three bowlers that are bowling about 150kph consistently is something that none of us will have ever faced before.”The reality is that nothing is expected of Kenya on Sunday. They have played poorly in every match so far, even losing to Canada, and they face the very real prospect of completing a World Cup without winning a game for the second time in their history. In that environment, even a competitive effort against Australia would be seen as a victory of sorts.”The three Test nations we’ve played we haven’t really come close to giving them a game, so we’d hope to give Australia a good game,” Waters said. “Winning would be something you’d probably dream about. Realistically, having seen the way we’ve played so far it’s probably something not many people are expecting. But to give them a good game is our target. Throughout my childhood they’ve been the best side in the world, so the opportunity to play them in the World Cup is pretty special.”Adding to the challenge for Kenya, their most experienced player, Steve Tikolo, didn’t train in Bangalore on Friday due to illness. The Kenyans have relied heavily on the veteran Tikolo over the years, but their future lies with young men like Waters. And Sunday’s match looms as the biggest test of his short career.

Chennai Super Kings’ exceptional run of form has been built on the principle of unity, a theme also visible in the other team led by MS Dhoni

Nitin Sundar07-Apr-2011Big PictureChennai Super Kings’ exceptional run of form has been built on the principle of unity, a theme also visible in the other team led by MS Dhoni. While most sides used the 2011 auction as an opportunity to clean out the closet, Chennai focussed on minimising churn. The four best players were held back, and the franchise fought hard to repurchase the likes of R Ashwin, Doug Bollinger, Mike Hussey, Shadab Jakati and S Badrinath from the auction pool. With a solid bunch of performers at their disposal, and the added advantage of familiarity among their ranks, Chennai are primed for another good season.On-field success is only one half of Chennai’s story, though. Chennai is arguably the most successfully branded IPL franchises, with their PR campaign capturing the very essence of cricket on the streets and beaches of the city. Year after year, they come up with the most endearing promos, with everyone from Dhoni to Bollinger joining the Chennai layman in the chorus. The party will resume in full force at Chepauk when they stride out in their yellow jerseys on Friday.Key playersUntil famous bat-twirl after the winning six in the World Cup, the most enduring MS Dhoni image was the uppercut he landed on his own helmet after whacking Chennai into the 2010 IPL semi-finals. It was a rare show of emotion from a man who seldom loses his composure on the field. As wicketkeeper-captain, Dhoni is the team’s brains and the nerve-centre rolled into one. His perceptive use of R Ashwin with the new ball, and positioning of a very straight mid-off to snare Kieron Pollard in the 2010 final are now part of IPL folklore.Michael Hussey is an unusual choice at the top, yet Chennai’s decision to open with him ensures stability and a solid foundation for the muscular middle order to launch from. After a personally fulfilling Ashes, Hussey was laid low by a serious hamstring injury that kept him out of the initial stages of the World Cup. With Matthew Hayden missing in action this year, Hussey should face no hindrance in resuming his alliance with M Vijay at the top of the order. He will, however, join the party a little late after Australia’s one-day tour of Bangladesh.R Ashwin‘s prowess with the new ball, bowling to fields that are pulled in, is based on his accuracy. He may not be able to bowl six different balls in an over, yet he can get each one of them to land them on the same spot, and get the odd one to surprise the batsman by going away. Having picked up the carom ball by watching Ajantha Mendis bowling in Chepauk before he became an international sensation, Ashwin has become as lethal in its use as the inventor himself. Ashwin’s biggest strength, though, is not his variety, but his reluctance to over-use it.Big name inChennai have picked wisely in including Nuwan Kulasekara and Tim Southee for the new season. Their bowling attack in past editions often included three spinners, but this time they have two high-quality seaming options to fall back on. Both Kulasekara and Southee rely on exemplary seam position, and while Southee’s stock ball is the outswinger, Kulasekara specialises in mixing legcutters with huge induckers. Bollinger and Morkel are likely to be the first-choice fast bowlers, but Southee and Kulasekara could come into the picture as the tournament wears on.Big name outTwenty20 was clearly not Muttiah Muralitharan‘s format, yet he found a way to be effective, by going round the wicket and twirling his offspinners and doosras from the same spot around middle and off. He formed a formidable tweak-trio with Ashwin and Shadab Jakati, and Chennai – the team and the city – will miss his presence and personality, as much as his immense skills.Below the radarS Badrinath‘s India days might be behind him, but year after year he turns in stellar middle-order performances for Chennai. Badrinath’s methods will not fill up the stands – his high elbow, straight bat and along-the-ground shots are incongruous in this format, but he is the kind of man Dhoni backs. Badrinath’s domestic record speaks of a man whose appetite for runs borders on gluttony. He provides the stability in a middle order that features attackers like Raina, Morkel and Dhoni himself. Expect more of those typically unsung, unnoticed but invaluable gems from Badrinath this season.Last three seasonsChennai have been the most consistent IPL team, having made the semi-finals in each edition of the tournament. Not once was their passage into the last four straightforward – at one point in the 2010 season, they were languishing at seventh in a field of eight teams – but each time they managed to find a game-breaking performance to see them through trouble. In 2008, they had the upperhand for most of the final against Rajasthan before losing off the last ball. Their 2009 campaign was halted at the semi-final stage by Bangalore, powered by a cool innings from Manish Pandey. Chennai were unstoppable at the business end of the 2010 edition, and easily trumped a nervous Mumbai in the final.

Dead-rubber syndrome struck with a vengeance in the fifth and final ODI at Providence, as Pakistan’s batsmen collapsed in a heap to gift West Indies the chance of a second victory in quick succession

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller05-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDarren Sammy ripped through Pakistan’s top order in Providence•AFP

Dead-rubber syndrome struck with a vengeance in the fifth and final ODI at Providence, as Pakistan succumbed to a crushing ten-wicket victory at the hands of Lendl Simmons and Kirk Edwards, who built on a disciplined bowling effort on a slow and low surface to chase down a moderate target of 140 with more than 26 overs remaining. Simmons was once again the star of the batting display, as he followed up his vital half-century in Barbados with an unbeaten 77 from 73 balls, while Edwards played the supporting role to perfection with 40 not out from 71.The manner of West Indies’ victory was every bit as emphatic as the margin, as they romped past a distracted Pakistan team to record their second crushing victory against Test opposition in the space of two months, having routed Bangladesh with more than 37 overs to spare during the recent World Cup. Soon after that performance, however, West Indies themselves were crushed by 10 wickets by Pakistan in their Dhaka quarter-final, and so, having already lost the series with two games to spare, there was only a limited amount of succour to be had. Still, a win is a win, and for a young and remodelled outfit, it could prove vital for forging confidence in the weeks and months to come.For Pakistan, only Mohammad Hafeez produced a performance of any note. He continued his impressive run of form with an 83-ball 55, but the rest of the line-up succumbed meekly to a combination of seam and wrist-spin, as they were bundled out for 139 in 41.2 overs. Ravi Rampaul once again returned the outstanding analysis of 4 for 45, but it was the medium-pace of Darren Sammy, with 3 for 30 in ten overs, that carved open the top-order and laid the foundations for the win.Hafeez, who made an excellent 121 from 138 balls in Pakistan’s one-run D/L defeat in Barbados earlier in the week, took advantage of the chance to bat first by easing along to his 12th ODI half-century, and his fourth in the last six weeks. Having launched the innings with a first-ball pull for four off Rampaul, Hafeez added five more boundaries in reaching his half-century from 66 balls, but his was a lone hand as his colleagues came and went.First to fall was Taufeeq Umar, back in the side after sitting out the fourth ODI. He made a laboured 3 from 12 balls before snicking a length ball from Rampaul through to Carlton Baugh behind the stumps.Ahmed Shehzad proved to be even less fluent, as he ground along to 9 from 33 balls, including a solitary glanced boundary off the legspinner Anthony Martin, who took the new ball in his second ODI appearance. Sammy, however, double-bluffed him by calling the keeper up to the stumps and immediately sending down a bouncer. Shehzad took a wild swing, but under-edged the shot onto his stumps.At 48 for 2 it was already proving to be a one-man show, and Pakistan’s scorecard got even more lop-sided when Usman Salahuddin was nailed lbw on the sweep by Bishoo for 8, albeit to a shocker of a decision as the ball pitched way outside leg. One over later, Misbah-ul-Haq failed for the second match in succession, as Sammy tailed a wicked inswinger into his back pad, and this time there was little doubt about the lbw.Umar Akmal, restored to the team after a break in Barbados, reinvigorated the scoring with a towering swipe for six over long-off, but when Hafeez under-edged a cut onto his own stumps to hand Sammy his third wicket, the innings was in freefall at 93 for 5. Umar added one more boundary in a 27-ball 24 before falling in a similar fashion, dragging on to Rampaul as he attempted a glide to third man.Shahid Afridi has found some tame ways to get out in recent times, but he could do nothing about a brutal lifter that climbed from nowhere and flew through to Baugh, and three balls later Rampaul had his fourth as Wahab Riaz prodded loosely to slip. The wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman provided some resistance with an unbeaten 19 from 30 balls, including a fine cover drive as Rampaul over-pitched, but a brace of Dwayne Bravo lbws wrapped up the innings with more than eight overs to spare.West Indies’ run-chase was over in a flash. They eased along to 34 for 0 in six overs before the mid-match interval, and though each man survived a tough chance behind the wicket – Edwards on 6 and Simmons on 31 – the only real opportunity came when Edwards was sent back for a sharp single, only for an alert Mohammad Salman to whip off the bails having noticed that his bat was over the crease but still in the air. The third umpire decided that there was too much doubt to give the decision, and that was effectively that.

Sussex returned to the top of Group A in the Clydesdale Bank 40 as Chris Nash’s maiden one-day century set up a 19-run victory over Kent at Canterbury

22-May-2011
ScorecardSussex returned to the top of Group A in the Clydesdale Bank 40 as Chris Nash’s maiden one-day century set up a 19-run victory over Kent at Canterbury.Nash hit an unbeaten 124 while Luke Wright scored 41 as Sussex set a total of 249 all out after being put in to bat. Rob Key top scored with 59 in reply but Kent were never able to keep up with the required rate as they suffered their third defeat in five games in the competition.Nash had made a first century of the season in the last round of County Championship matches against Somerset and carried on where he left off. He set the tone by crashing Azhar Mahmood for three boundaries in the first over and together with Ed Joyce put on 50 for the first wicket.Joyce was caught at mid off trying to hit James Tredwell’s first ball out of the ground but it did not halt Sussex’s momentum as Luke Wright came in to put on 77 with Nash for the second wicket.
Wright fell for 41 as he holed out trying to hit down the ground and it was left to Nash to hold together the Sussex innings.Nash brought up his 50 off 50 balls with seven fours and then hit Adam Ball for the only six of the match on his way to passing his previous best one-day score of 85.The 28-year-old completed his century with a single of James Tredwell but Sussex floundered in the last ten overs as they went from 180 for three to 249 all out, including losing four wickets for two runs in the final over.Kent’s reply was hindered when Joe Denly and Matt Coles fell in quick succession which left Key and Martin van Jaarsveld to rebuild their innings.They put on 48 together in cautious fashion before Nash pulled off a stunning catch to dismiss van Jaarsveld for 24 off the bowling of Monty Panesar. Rana Naved then dropped a simple chance at mid-off when Darren Stevens was just four and it looked like being costly as Stevens went on to hit 43 from just 37 balls.Rana made amend by trapping Stevens lbw and Kent’s hopes looked over when Key followed soon after for 59. Geraint Jones and Azhar Mahmood briefly threatened to set up a dramatic finish but both fell in successive balls to Yardy and Rana as Sussex ran out comfortable winners.