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On the day it mattered, every aspect of Australia’s game came good to earn them their sixth Women’s World Cup

The Report by Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai17-Feb-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jess Cameron’s half-century was the centrepiece of a strong Australian batting performance•Associated PressOn the day it mattered, every aspect of Australia’s game came good to earn them their sixth Women’s World Cup. The batting, wobbly for most of the tournament, started with a bang and ended with a bang, despite another wobble in between. The bowling and fielding, top class through the tournament, choked West Indies in the chase. Jodie Fields, a captain who wants to get wickets at all costs, took her aggression to another level, consistently targetting the opposition’s best batsmen with her best bowlers. Ellyse Perry did not disappoint her captain, neither did Lisa Sthalekar. It was no surprise and indeed no shame for West Indies to be outclassed by a team that lost just one of seven games, that too, by eight runs.All three day-night games at Brabourne Stadium in the tournament had been won by sides who batted first and posted big totals. Australia did the same after winning the toss and left West Indies needing to chase the highest total in a World Cup final.Rachael Haynes and Meg Lanning went after the new ball, and No. 3 Jess Cameron ensured no let-up for the West Indies bowlers with 75 off 76. Australia’s middle-order worries came to haunt them, though, as they slipped from 181 for 3 to 209 for 7, before Fields and premier fast bowler Perry helped the side rebound with an unbeaten stand of 50 off 40.The pressure of their maiden final seemed to get to West Indies as they fielded rather poorly and conceded too many runs upfront. Medium-pacer Tremayne Smartt was especially ordinary with her lines and lengths and was taken for 43 in five overs. Smartt rounded off a horror day when she hurt herself following a couple of misfields at point and had to leave the field.All three top-order batsmen, Lanning, Haynes and Cameron were severe on anything wide or short. There were several cuts and pulls in the innings, with Cameron also lofting down the ground for boundaries. Lanning departed after an opening stand of 52 in ten overs, as she found mid-off when trying to hit Stafanie Taylor for successive fours. That hardly hurt the progress of the innings, as Cameron arrived. Haynes swept frequently and also used the reverse-sweep, and Cameron carted Smartt for two sixes in an over.Most of the Australia batsmen fell going for more shots. The 17-year old legspinner Shaquana Quintyne helped West Indies claw back with a spell of 10-1-27-3. Haynes top-edged an attempted pull to midwicket off Quintyne. Cameron blasted a Shanel Daley full toss to deep midwicket in the 36th over.That began a period of about seven-eight overs when West Indies regained some lost ground. Sthalekar, Sarah Coyte and Erin Osborne went cheaply trying to go after the spinners. But Australia had more left in the tank. Fields, who had done little with the bat in the tournament, came good with an unbeaten 36 off 38 while Perry, returning after missing the Super Six stage with an ankle injury, contributed 25 off 22.The highest Australia’s bowling had conceded in the tournament was 227, and West Indies needed their key batsmen Taylor and Deandra Dottin to fire. Perry and Sthalekar were to end the game soon.Perry gave Australia a scare when she aborted her run-up for her first delivery twice and felt her left leg. That didn’t stop her from striking off the last ball of her first over, the tenth, trapping Kycia Knight in front with a length ball that straightened into the left-hander.With the first ball of her second over, Perry found the outside edge off Taylor’s bat and Lanning took the ball at slip but the batsman stayed after replays proved inconclusive. Bowling with superb rhythm now, Perry needed three more balls to take out Taylor, who pushed a length delivery back to the bowler. In her third over, Perry sent back Natasha McLean, who swiped across at a full delivery and was caught plumb in front.West Indies delayed the arrival of the powerful Dottin, who eventually came out in the 22nd over after No. 4 Kyshona Knight retired hurt following an extremely defensive stay. The asking-rate was over seven now with Sthalekar’s spell reading 7-2-12-0.Fields brought back Perry against Dottin, giving her two more overs, but Dottin played them out calmly. Sthalekar responded at the other end, flighting the ball and turning it in through the gate to bowl the captain Merissa Aguilleira. Four overs later, the game was all but over as Sthalekar lured Dottin down the track with another flighted delivery, which Dottin completely missed and was bowled. Dottin had hit a few meaty blows, but Fields had stuck with her best bowlers, and got the reward.At 109 for 5 in the 31st overs, it was game over for West Indies and though they lasted until the 44th, there was no doubt over who would be crowned world champions.

Neither Alan Richardson nor Glen Chapple were ever capped at Test level. But, even aged 37 and 39 respectively, England’s loss remains county cricket’s gain.

Tim Wigmore at Old Trafford11-Apr-2013
ScorecardGlen Chapple, like his opposite number Alan Richardson, still counting the wickets not the years•Getty ImagesNeither Alan Richardson nor Glen Chapple were ever capped at Test level. But, even aged 37 and 39 respectively, England’s loss remains county cricket’s gain.There is much linking the two. They are euphemistically described as elder statesman. Let’s face it: that means by the standards of professional cricket, and especially fast bowlers, they are rather old.They are two seam bowlers destined to be labelled ‘workmanlike’ by those who rarely see them. And, on a day in which rain, gloom and sheer cold might have put off many, both Richardson and Chapple were typically exemplary, mixing accuracy with enough late-career nip to induce OCD in batsmen constantly having to check the safety of their off-stumps.Yet the differences between the two are, perhaps, even more significant. Chapple is a one-club man of the sort 21st Century sport is meant to have eradicated while Richardson is onto his fourth county. Chapple enjoyed early stardom in his career – he almost played for England as a 21-year-old in 1995, and was a regular on A tours in the mid-to-late 1990s – but Richardson has undergone a more circuitous route to success.After a solitary game for Derbyshire in 1995, Richardson spent a few years playing Minor Counties cricket and could easily have drifted out of the game. It was only in 1999, at the age of 24, that Richardson enjoyed success at first-class level. He has continued his trajectory of improvement ever since: averaging 33 for Warwickshire, for whom he played until 2004, then 27 for his next county Middlesex, who he represented until 2009. But that season, he took only 11 wickets at 56: nearing 35, would anyone give him another?Happily the answer was yes, and Worcestershire have been spectacularly vindicated ever since: 185 wickets, and counting, at an average of 23. Last year, Richardson even had the honour of being named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year. Fittingly, Chapple was rewarded in the same year, after leading Lancashire to their first Championship in 77 years.Not only because he plays at Old Trafford and is in his 40th year, Chapple could be described as the Ryan Giggs of county cricket. And – like Giggs and indeed Richardson – he probably now needs an element of protection to ensure readiness for the biggest challenges. Lancashire and Worcestershire will be reluctant to do so but surely need to rest the duo from limited overs games to maximise their chances of immediate Championship promotion in 2013.Although descriptions of their bowling styles inspires many of the same adjectives, Chapple and Richardson have subtly different virtues. Chapple has a smooth, rhythmical action and generates just enough seam movement to worry batsmen. Equally reliable, Richardson’s action could hardly be described as smooth – just before his delivery stride, he shapes as if like a windwill. It is slightly ungainly, but what comes next isn’t: able to extract more bounce than Chapple, Richardson can shape the ball both ways.As they have edged towards middle age, Chapple and Richardson have lost a little pace but have acquired new skills – they are both adept at bowling either over or around the wicket. Richardson used this variation to trouble Lancashire’s openers in a typically testing spell (8-2-13-0) towards the end of the day.Chapple, after a first day in which his wicket-taken impact was limited to an athletic catch, claimed two wickets, including opposite number Daryl Mitchell for an attractive 74, to restrict Worcestershire to 334. They had earlier reached 315-6, thanks to a 96-run stand between Mitchell and Gareth Andrew, who smashed Simon Kerrigan for a six over mid-wicket en route to his 52.The washout of the entire afternoon session, and the threat of further interruptions in the game – notwithstanding the use of floodlights – makes it likely that Chapple and Richardson’s efforts will soon be forgotten as mere features of an uneventful drawn game. That may be true, but their career-long exploits certainly will not.

There were enough Pakistan supporters at The Oval to give the impression that this warm-up ahead of the Champions Trophy mattered, but in essence it was pointless

The Report by David Hopps at The Oval03-Jun-2013
ScorecardRyan McLaren helped give South Africa’s total respectability but it was not enough to challenge Pakistan•AFPThere were enough Pakistan supporters at The Oval to give the impression that this warm-up ahead of the Champions Trophy mattered, but in essence it was pointless, not just in terms of the group stages but also in the general scheme of things.Pakistan will claim a psychological advantage after breezing to a six-wicket victory against South Africa with more than four overs to spare, they were vastly superior throughout and their supporters celebrated a well-drilled victory with their usual enthusiasm, but it will not much matter in the morning.These sides meet again at Edgbaston in a floodlit affair in Group B in a week’s time, but if Pakistan’s comprehensive victory will ensure they will go into the match with their confidence high, it will all count for little the moment the real match begins.AB de Villiers, not surprisingly, took such a view. With South Africa so comprehensively beaten, he would have been a fool not to. “It’s not about the result, it’s about what you get out of it. I am sure each guy will stand up when the time is right. I think Pakistan’s loss in South Africa will have affected them more than us today. That was a competitive series; this was just a warm-up game.”South Africa beat Pakistan 3-2 in that series but it was a scratchy series victory which provided further evidence that their dominance in Test cricket is not replicated in the one-day game.Of more concern to South Africa will be the state of Dale Steyn’s back. “It’s a bit stiff and sore – we will reassess it in the morning,” de Villiers said. Steyn departed at the end of the fifth over, clutching his side, but it could have just been that he does not like warm-ups, especially a warm-up which included his loss of a bouncer battle with Nasir Jamshed, who got two in three balls, top-edged the first one and then hooked the second over fine leg for six.It is an odd thing that the top eight teams in the world are in England for the Champions Trophy and that some of them are practising against each other a few days before the off, but not in any sort of meaningful way, in the nonsensical “15-a-side, bat and field 11” hybrid that is gradually gaining currency as a way to provide decent practice, while quietly undermining the game in the process.Pakistan rested arguably their two most threatening bowlers, Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Irfan and took a look at the rest of their attack. It was a shrewder move than playing all 15 and they were not complaining when they made good use of helpful bowling conditions and reduced South Africa to 83 for 7 after 22 overs.But South Africa did field 15 and, when that happens, the best XI almost invariably get to bat. With JP Duminy coming in at No 8 and Ryan McLaren one place lower, their position was in essence stronger than it appeared. The eighth wicket added 94 in 23 overs and South Africa escaped to the sort of score that gave Pakistan some decent batting practice.That did not scrub out Pakistan’s good memories in the field. Hashim Amla lasted only two balls before Junaid Khan had him lbw. Colin Ingram took a single to Misbah-ul-Haq which was presumably based on the Always Run To The Oldest Player In The Tournament theory, only to find that his stumps were thrown down at the non-striker’s end.Asad Ali bowled a decent new-ball spell and finished with 3 for 30, while Wahab Riaz, who took identical figures, responded to his destruction of South Africa’s middle order – Faf du Plessis, Farhaan Behardien and David Miller within the space of four overs – by fist-pumping celebrations that he would struggle to beat were he to take wickets in the final itself.When Pakistan batted, life continued to go swimmingly. Jamshed ran himself out carelessly, a direct hit by Amla from midwicket, but Imran Farhat batted capably, Mohammad Hafeez retired out with a half-century to his name and the most outlandish dismissal of all, suffered by Asad Shafiq, as the bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe freakishly parried his drive to Aaron Phangiso at mid-off raised merely an eyebrow or two.Somehow, cricket just about gets away with these low-intensity games. The warm-ups have been deliberately under-promoted so as not to devalue the real tournament, but TV still provides live coverage of this cricketing wallpaper and treats it with fake seriousness. The matches are played with a respectable level of intent and, who knows, some players might even be playing for their places, but there is no discernible tension. The game just floats by in a vaguely harmless manner.Pakistan’s tour of Scotland and Ireland, and South Africa’s warm-up in the Netherlands were proper warm-ups, offering the chance of an upset that matters. So, too, the series between England and New Zealand. The game would have better served if other warm-up matches had taken place against the counties, offering further chance of a spot of giant-killing, but there is so much cricket in England you could not have trusted the counties to put out full-strength sides and no doubt the telly would not have liked it.

A pair of fighting half-centuries from Phillip Hughes in his first match for South Australia wasn’t enough to stop Queensland open their Sheffield Shield title defence with a comfortable win at the Gabba

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2012
ScorecardPhillip Hughes made 95 and 83 in his first match for South Australia but it wasn’t enough to prevent a Queensland victory•Getty ImagesA pair of fighting half-centuries from Phillip Hughes in his first match for South Australia wasn’t enough to stop Queensland open their Sheffield Shield title defence with a comfortable win at the Gabba. The 191-run margin was confirmed after Luke Feldman and Ben Cutting led a strong performance with the ball from Queensland, who dismissed South Australia for 271 in their second-innings chase of 463.The Redbacks began the day two wickets down and needing a minor miracle to avoid defeat, and the loss of Callum Ferguson for 44 to Cutting didn’t help their cause. Hughes departed soon afterwards for 83 to add to his 95 from the first innings, a fine output in his first game since moving from New South Wales, but with precious little support from the rest of the order it would have taken a couple of big centuries from Hughes to keep South Australia in the contest.Feldman (4 for 50) ran through the middle order and was at one stage on a hat-trick, as the Redbacks lost 5 for 18 in less than five overs, before Nathan Lyon (21) and Joe Mennie began a tail-end resistance. Mennie struck his maiden first-class half-century and finished on 79 not out from 74 deliveries as the fight ran out for the Redbacks.South Australia did not win a match in last year’s Sheffield Shield competition and have finished on the bottom of the table for each of the past three seasons. This loss extended their poor record to no wins from their past 17 Sheffield Shield matches.

Offspinner Harbhajan Singh and batsman Ajinkya Rahane will join their respective Ranji Trophy teams for the next group game that begins on Saturday

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2012Offspinner Harbhajan Singh and batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who have been part of India’s squad for all three Tests against England, will join their respective Ranji Trophy teams for the next group game that begins on Saturday. The third Test of the four-match India-England series is currently underway in Kolkata, but neither player is part of the Indian XI.This decision is in line with the policy adopted by the India team management over the past four seasons, by which as many players as possible are released from the national squad for Ranji games during home series’. This is done with a view to help the reserves remain match-fit.Harbhajan and Rahane will fly from Kolkata to Mumbai on Thursday, to join Punjab and Mumbai – these teams will play each other at the Wankhede Stadium in the next round of Ranji games. The pair, along with most of the other India regulars, featured in the season-opening round of the Ranji Trophy matches from November 2. While Harbhajan could make little impact with the ball as the Punjab captain against Hyderabad, Rahane scored 129 and 84 for Mumbai against Railways.The players’ availability will be a major boost for both teams, in particular Mumbai; Punjab, with young batsman Mandeep Singh at the helm, have already assured themselves of a place in the knockouts with four victories in five matches, but Mumbai are yet to win this season.Harbhajan, having recovered from a viral infection, featured in India’s humiliating ten-wicket defeat against England at the Wankhede Stadium. Rahane is yet to play in the Test series. The final game of the four-Test series will begin in Nagpur on December 13.

Shane Watson and Brett Lee may be taking early leave from Australia’s sobering tour of England after both suffered calf injuries in the tourists’ eight-wicket loss to England at Durham.

Daniel Brettig07-Jul-2012Australia have called the left-armer Mitchell Starc, currently bowling well for Yorkshire in county cricket, into their squad for the final ODI of the series against England at Old Trafford on Tuesday, after injuries to Shane Watson and Brett Lee. Starc is due to join up with Australia after playing in Yorkshire’s final FLt20 group match on Sunday.Watson and Lee may be taking early leave from Australia’s sobering tour of England after both suffered calf injuries in the tourists’ eight-wicket loss at Durham. Watson could bowl only one over in England’s innings before leaving the field, while Lee had bowled two balls of his second spell when he felt pain in his right leg and also headed to the treatment room, following an abortive attempt to bowl a third.Watson and Lee are being assessed by Australia’s physio Alex Kountouris and the team doctor John Orchard, with the results of MRI scans to be known as early as Sunday. Both are unlikely to take part in Manchester, leaving Lee stranded one wicket shy of Glenn McGrath’s Australian ODI wicket-taking record. As he digested his first series defeat as Australia’s Test or ODI captain, Michael Clarke confirmed the calf injuries, and that he had advised Lee to get his problem checked out before trying to bowl again.”I haven’t had time to speak to Alex yet, but I do know they’ve both got calf injuries – to what extent, I don’t know,” Clarke said. “I ran from slip to ask what it was about, and he said it was cramp. I just said at that stage ‘go off, and find out if it is’. I haven’t seen him since.”Though Australia had to cope with the most difficult of the conditions at Chester-le-Street having been sent in to bat after heavy overnight rain, Clarke would not offer any excuses for another comprehensive loss to England. The margins of defeat has only grown with each match in this series, reminding the tourists of how far they have to go to provide a serious challenge for the Ashes on English soil in 2013.”I do believe England got the better of conditions, but it’s easy to make excuses,” Clarke said. “I think we had the better of conditions at Lord’s as well, and England still found a way to beat us. That’s what you have to do, against good opposition – in all different conditions around the world; you’ve got to find a way to have success. Unfortunately, once again today, we were outplayed.”How far apart, are we? I don’t know; you do everything you can to try to win every game, taking the field for Australia. Unfortunately, sometimes you lose; on this tour, we haven’t seen the other side. But we’ve got one game to go, and I’d be very disappointed to go home without a win.”Australia’s failure to make significant totals has been matched by their inability to make a dent in England’s top order, an area Clarke noted with particular disappointment. As an aggressive captain searching for wickets, Clarke has not been short of ideas, but his bowlers have foundered on the rocks of Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott.”I’d like to see more of their batting order, that’s for sure. We can’t get through the top three or four at the moment,” Clarke said. “We haven’t taken wickets – Clint McKay’s been really our only wicket-taker. I don’t care what form of the game it is, you’ve got to get blokes out.”If you want to slow the scoring you take wickets – that’s always been my attitude in any form of the game. “It’s been very disappointing that we haven’t been able to bowl England out. Credit to them – they’ve used the conditions better, bowled very consistent areas to build up pressure.”As for the question of whether or not the defeat had added to the scar tissue Australia carry from their past two Ashes losses, Clarke hoped there would be few ramifications in 12 months’ time. But he will not know for sure until the likes of James Pattinson, Matthew Wade and David Warner face England again.”We’ve got a lot of guys involved in our Test squad who aren’t involved in the one-dayers. Yes, the result hasn’t gone our way on this tour so far,” Clarke said. “But it’s been a great opportunity for the players who haven’t played much cricket in England to get here and see the conditions – especially for our young bowlers.”It’s been good for our batters who haven’t had the chance to play against a really good English attack to see how good they are. We know we’ve got some work to do, in one-day cricket but also Test cricket before the next Ashes.”

Ravi Bopara failed with the bat in his guest appearance for Gloucestershire but contributed three wickets as they ran the South Africans close

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Aug-2012
ScorecardRavi Bopara managed only 3 with the bat but claimed the same number of wickets in the South African innings•Getty ImagesRavi Bopara failed with the bat in his guest appearance for Gloucestershire but contributed three wickets with his medium pace as they ran the South Africans close in their one-day warm-up match. No one reached fifty in a South African side that was markedly different to the one that beat England 2-0 in the Tests but they reached their target with an over to spare, when No. 8 Robin Peterson hit David Payne for four.Bopara, who is part of England’s squad for the ODI series against South Africa, which starts on Friday, was drafted in after Gloucestershire’s request to the ECB for a guest player to drum up interest. The ECB may have been tempted to try and exile Kevin Pietersen to Bristol but while Bopara is not be such a marquee name, he has become a mainstay of England’s one-day plans and was in need of practice after missing a month of cricket due to personal problems.He lasted only four overs at the crease in scoring 3, however, and Gloucestershire were reliant on the talents of 23-year-old Dan Housego to set a competitive total. Housego, who joined Gloucestershire from Middlesex over the winter, has made an encouraging start to life in the west of England despite an injury earlier in the season, and reached his maiden one-day hundred from 123 balls.It looked like he might run out of partners when Lonwabo Tsotsobe removed Will Gidman at the end of the 36th over, to leave Gloucestershire 156 for 6, but James Fuller joined Housego to second-top score with a merry 39 at a run-a-ball, the pair adding 94 in 11.2 overs. After recording his century, Housego lashed 32 from 13 balls before becoming Ryan McLaren’s third wicket. Albie Morkel, recovered from an ankle injury, and Wayne Parnell also picked up two wickets apiece, though Imran Tahir had a less successful day, going for 32 off 4.5 overs, including being hit for consecutive sixes by Fuller.In response, the South Africans were indebted to partnerships of 69 between Dean Elgar and Justin Ontong and 67 from Morkel and McLaren, as well as a rapid 41 down the order from Parnell. Hashim Amla, after scoring 482 Tests runs against England at a stately strike-rate of 58.85, switched smoothly into one-day mode with a 30-ball 32 out of a stand with Elgar worth 39, before the No. 1-ranked ODI batsman was caught by Bopara off the bowling of Payne.Bopara then broke the South Africans’ second-wicket association by bowling Ontong, as three wickets fell for ten runs, but contributions from Morkel, McLaren and Parnell kept the tourists in the game. With the required rate rising above six, Ed Young’s final over – the 46th – went for 14 and despite Bopara returning to dismiss Parnell, the South Africans had done enough to maintain their unbeaten record since arriving in the country. If England are left to rely on Bopara with the ball on Friday, that run may well continue.

Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq will not travel to play in South Africa’s domestic 20-over competition

Firdose Moonda23-Jan-2012Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq will not travel to play in South Africa’s domestic 20-over competition. The Pakistan duo was signed up by the Johannesburg-based Lions franchise, whose chief executive Cassim Docrat confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that neither will participate in the tournament.National duty will keep Afridi away from The Wanderers. Pakistan play four ODIs and three T20s against England between February 13 and 27. Afridi will then play two matches for the Dhaka Gladiators in the Bangladesh Premier League and will likely also be involved in the Asia Cup which is scheduled for March 12 to 22. The South African tournament runs over six weeks from February 15 which will clash with both these events.Razzaq recently had a shoulder injury which kept him out of Pakistan’s end-of-year tour to Bangladesh. He played for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League, alongside Afridi, but has not been performing to standard. He scored 42 runs in six matches and took two wickets for a bloated 123 runs. Docrat said the decision was taken from the Lions side not to pursue the engagement with Razzaq.The withdrawal of the Pakistan pair leaves the South African competition with just one of its four major signings. Shaun Tait, the Australia fast bowler, pulled out of the Durban-based Dolphins squad two weeks ago with an elbow injury. Only Chris Gayle is still confirmed, for the Dolphins, though there was some speculation about his availability following his hefty deal with the Bangladesh Premier League.Gayle was bought for US$ 551,000 by Barisal and will only play a handful of matches in Dhaka. The amount he is being paid by the BPL is reportedly eight times more than the Dolphins are dishing out for him but they have received a guarantee from Gayle’s management.”When I saw that he was involved in the Bangladesh Premier League I called his agent to see if it would affect his South African deal,” Jesse Chellan, chief executive of the Dolphins said. “His agent has assured us that he will be available for the full campaign. He is due to arrive on February 16.”The Dolphins are still searching for a replacement for Tait. Chellan said the BPL has “hampered us,” in the search to find suitable foreign players. Kieron Pollard and Sohail Tanvir were also on the radar of some South African franchises but have both been contracted by the BPL.The Lions are close to signing Dirk Nannes while the Cobras and Titans have secured the services of Owais Shah and Alfonso Thomas respectively. One of the other names mentioned is that of Dwayne Bravo, who was not picked up at the BPL.The six South African franchises are allowed to contract two foreign players each. The yet-to-be-named to seventh franchise, which will be announced this week and will comprise of the best semi-professional cricketers in the country, will be allowed four. However, with the prospects thinning out it seems likely that the tournament will be without the glam factor that a foreign contingent brings, leaving the competition at risk of being the lowest in profile among its counterparts.The IPL leads the pack but T20 competitions in other countries have followed suit. The BBL, the BPL and even Zimbabwe’s Stanbic T20 featured some of the games marquee 20-over cricketers while South Africa’s does not even have a name or a sponsor yet.The ongoing bonus scandal has kept corporates away from CSA over the past summer. They played the T20s and one-day series against Australia without a backer and secured cooking oil manufacturer Sunfoil ahead of the two Tests. Sunfoil have stayed on for the Sri Lanka series and extended their agreement to include the one-day series.Standard Bank sponsored the 20-over competition since its inception but pulled out at the end of last season when they cancelled all their sports sponsorships. CSA are still in negotiations for a replacement but the recent resignation of their commercial manager, Richard Glover, has set them further back. With the competition little over three weeks away, the possibility of the tournament being funded entirely by CSA is looming.A source close to CSA said the body can handle the costs “for now,” although the format of the 20-over competition was altered to cater for a specific sponsor. A seventh franchise was included and the teams will play a double-round of fixtures instead of just one match against each of the other teams as was previously the case. “At least CSA have stuck to the new format and have not downgraded the event just because there is no sponsor yet,” the source said.

Rajasthan Royals are under Rahul Dravid’s leadership this season and have strengthened their batting, which was their weakness in 2011

Tariq Engineer03-Apr-2012Big pictureRahul Dravid will lead Rajasthan Royals after retiring from international cricket•AFPThe key to Rajasthan Royals’ 2012 season will be how they handle the transition at the head of the team. Shane Warne, their inspirational captain and face of the franchise, retired. The man who succeeded Warne is a cricket icon of equal standing but of different temperament. Warne was loud, aggressive and loved being the centre of attention. Rahul Dravid is quiet, restrained and simply goes about his business.What the two have in common though is the ability to lead by example and a deep knowledge of the game. Now that Dravid has retired from international cricket the IPL is his sole cricketing focus, and if anyone can manage the change in culture with as few hiccups as possible, it will be him.Last season was a mixed bag for the Royals, who started strongly and were in contention for a place in the playoffs before fading towards the end. A controversy over the pitch at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, which resulted in the disciplining of Warne, was a distraction, but the side’s slide exposed the lack of depth in their batting. To the Royals’ credit, they have gone some way to address that weakness with the additions of Brad Hodge, Owais Shah and Dinesh Chandimal, who can double up as wicketkeeper and might prove to be the steal of the 2012 player auction.The loss of Warne will also be felt by the bowling attack, and the team will be hoping Brad Hogg, who had success in the Big Bash and the Bangladesh Premier League, can at least partially fill the void. Sreesanth potentially bolsters the seam department, but he hasn’t played competitive cricket for six months and is unpredictable.Key playersJohan Botha was a revelation up the order in 2011 and his unexpected form with the bat was crucial to the Royals’ early success. He also opened the bowling to great effect and the team will need more of the same from him to compete this year.Warne was one of two players retained by the Royals in 2011. The other was Shane Watson. The Australia allrounder will only arrive at the end of April, after the tour of the West Indies, but if the Royals can get off to a good start in his absence, Watson could provide a crucial late spark to help them qualify for the playoffs.Big names inThe Royals bought Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s newest batting sensation, for only $50,000 at the auction. They needed a wicketkeeper who can bat and they got him cheap. Chandimal’s ability and consistency was on show in the recent triangular series in Australia and he should add steel to the Royals middle order.Big names outRoss Taylor, the team’s self-described “finisher”, was traded to Delhi Daredevils on the last day of the trading window. Taylor had a decent tournament in 2011 without producing anything special, and the franchise quickly found a replacement in Shah.Below the radarA transformed Stuart Binny was Karnataka’s go-to man in the Ranji Trophy last season as the allrounder reaped the benefits of a new attitude and a commitment to fitness. He made 742 runs at an average of 67.45 and a strike rate of 83.46. He also took 20 wickets at an average of 20.10. If Binny can bring the same attitude to the IPL, the Royals might not miss Watson as much during the first half of the tournament.AvailabilityAustralia’s ongoing tour of the West Indies means Watson is unavailable until the Test series ends on April 27.

Mitchell Johnson, the Australia fast bowler, has been ruled out of cricket for “five to six months” after undergoing surgery on the big toe of his left foot in Melbourne

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2011Mitchell Johnson, the Australia fast bowler, has been ruled out of cricket for “five to six months” after undergoing surgery on the big toe of his left foot in Melbourne. He sustained the injury while batting in the second Test at the Wanderers in South Africa earlier this month. Not only will he miss the home season as a result, but also the tour to the West Indies in March and April next year.”Mitchell sustained a severe injury to ligaments, commonly referred to as ‘Turf Toe’, when batting in the second Test in South Africa,” Cricket Australia doctor Trefor James said in a release. “Although lesser degrees of this injury can be managed without surgery, Mitchell’s injury was a severe form and surgery was clearly the best option. I would expect Mitchell to be able to return to cricket in five to six months.”This lay-off could make it difficult for Johnson, 30, to force his way back into the national side. He had a disappointing tour of South Africa, where he took 3 for 255 during the two Tests, and in the past 18 months he has taken 35 Test wickets at 45.71. Teenager Pat Cummins impressed during the Test series, and fellow seamers Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson made their debuts in the first Test of the summer, against New Zealand in Brisbane.It was during Australia’s series-levelling victory at the Wanderers that Johnson’s foot problem became apparent, when he stumbled while taking off for a run during Australia’s chase. Johnson was hobbling for the rest of the innings but stayed at the crease until the target was reached.