Fast bowlers set up West Indies win

West Indies’ fast bowlers made best use of the early morning conditions in Townsville to give their team an advantage that India failed to bridge as the day wore on. They took the field after an aggressive war cry during the team huddle on the boundary, after which their four quicks worked their way through India’s top order with a primarily short-of-a-length attack. Deprived of scoring opportunities and losing wickets regularly, India stagnated and managed only 166.Faced with a middling target, West Indies could afford to see off the new ball but they lost two early wickets in the process. India’s pace options were limited, though, and once the spinners came on the middle-order batsmen settled in without much trouble. John Campbell and Anthony Alleyne charted the course with a 58-run partnership and Kyle Mayers helped finish it with 17 balls to spare. Mayers’ 43 complemented his performance earlier in the day – 10-0-35-2.The early work, however, was done by Mayers’ colleagues, Ronsford Beaton and Jerome Jones. Beaton hit speeds of 143kph bowling with the wind, while Jones ran into it and delivered at 135 kph. They focused on keeping the ball back of a length and quite straight, giving the Indian batsmen very little to come forward to. There were cracks on the surface, which resulted in some uneven bounce.Jones, the left-armer, struck first, having Prashant Chopra caught at square leg in the second over. Beaton hit Unmukt Chand on the body, forcing the batsman to take a breather on his haunches. Chand and Baba Aparajith concentrated on survival but in the ninth over Aparajith tried to hook a bouncer from Beaton and gloved it to the wicketkeeper.India were 25 for 2 after the mandatory Powerplay and Beaton and Jones finished their first spells with maiden overs. Their replacements, Justin Greaves and Mayers, kept the Indians pinned to their crease. India had hobbled to 50 for 3 when Chand’s patience wore thin in the 20th over. He had been let off by the keeper Sunil Ambris earlier but the second edge, off Mayers, was taken.Smit Patel, India’s wicketkeeper, settled against West Indies’ spinners and was instrumental in getting India over 150. He made 51 but was unable to stay until the end, when Beaton and Jones returned to check India at the death.India’s new-ball bowlers weren’t as fast but they were accurate. Sandeep Sharma moved the ball both ways. His inswing was significant but it was two perfect outswingers that found Ambris’ edge and the top of Kraigg Brathwaite’s off stump. His first spell read 5-2-5-2.Campbell and Alleyne had to see off a few overs of pace before spin was introduced in the 12th over, and from then on the chase got easier. They kept driving to long-on and long-off to pick up singles with little risk. The scoring wasn’t quick but it didn’t need to be. West Indies and India were level around the 31st over mark, at 87 and 86 for 4, but the gap grew after that.Harmeet Singh, the left-arm spinner, picked up three wickets but India needed to trigger a collapse to avert a West Indian victory. Alleyne and Mayers did not allow that to happen, and their 58-run stand secured the gam

Mott on NZ coach shortlist

Matthew Mott, Glamorgan’s head of elite performance, is one of three men shortlisted to become the new head coach of New Zealand.New Zealand and Delhi assistant coach Trent Woodhill and Mike Hesson, the New Zealander who resigned as Kenya’s head coach in May, are understood to be the other candidates on the shortlist for the role to replace John Wright, who decided against signing a new contract in April after a disagreement with New Zealand director of cricket, John Buchanan. Wright will leave his role at the end of New Zealand’s tour of the Caribbean.Paddy Upton, the former India and current South Africa mental conditioning coach, was also on the shortlist but has pulled out. The remaining candidates will be interviewed for a third time this week, with a new head coach set to be confirmed by July 25 – giving him a month to prepare New Zealand for their tour of India.”We are keen to retain Matthew’s services,” Glamorgan chief executive Alan Hamer said. “However, like all good coaches, he has aspirations to work at the highest level and we have therefore given him our blessing to apply for the role.”Mott, 38, arrived at Glamorgan for the 2011 season having spent four years as head coach of New South Wales. He also spent two years working under Buchanan at Kolkata in the IPL.Were Mott to move on it would leave Glamorgan faced with changing their coaching staff for the third time in two years. Following the 2010 season, they decided to appoint Colin Metson as managing director of cricket, prompting former head coach Matthew Maynard to resign and Mott to arrive in his place.At the end of last season another coaching review led to Metson becoming community and cricket development manager, with Mott resuming sole responsibility for Glamorgan’s first XI as their new head of elite development.So far, none of the changes have brought success on the field. In 2011 Glamorgan finished sixth in Division Two of the County Championship and failed to make an impression on either one-day competition. This season, it took them over two months – 13 matches – to record their first win in any competition.

Rain thwarts Derbyshire's victory push

ScorecardTop-of-the-table Derbyshire were again left frustrated by the weather, as rain reduced the third day’s play in their County Championship match against Leicestershire to 18.1 overs at a soggy Grace Road.In that time, the Division Two leaders scored another 68 runs to reach 259 for 5, giving them a lead of 82 runs and a second batting bonus point. Dan Redfern and David Wainwright extended their unbeaten sixth wicket partnership to 109, with Redfern looking well on course for his third Championship century of the season.Redfern, the 22-year-old, was still there on 81 off 138 balls when play was abandoned for the day in mid-afternoon. Wainwright was 45 not out. But with so much time lost to the weather, Derbyshire have a lot to do to secure their fifth win of the season.The start was delayed for an hour by early morning rain, but Redfern wasted no time adding to his overnight score of 40, clipping a four through midwicket off the first ball of the day from Wayne White.A neat leg glance to the boundary off the same bowler took Redfern to his half-century off 87 balls with seven fours. He continued to score at a rapid rate, and collected three more fours in one over from Nathan Buck, although the last of them was an inside edge which almost jagged back into the leg stump.But it was Wainwright who brought up the century stand with a cracking cover drive to the boundary off Nadeem Malik. Then, 20 minutes before the scheduled lunch break, the rain swept in and with no sign of a let-up in the conditions the game was abandoned for the day at 3.30pm.

Negi, Sehwag give Delhi fourth straight win

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPawan Negi’s spell swung the game Delhi Daredevils’ way•AFP

A game-changing spell from left-arm spinner Pawan Negi followed by a fifth consecutive half-century from Virender Sehwag overwhelmed Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur and helped Delhi Daredevils strengthen their hold on the No. 1 position. The six-wicket victory, achieved with 28 balls to spare, was Daredevils’ fourth consecutive win this season and gave them 16 points after ten games, while Kolkata Knight Riders are second with 13 after ten. One more win in six remaining games will assure Daredevils a place in the playoffs.The previous game between these sides, two days ago at the Kotla, had been decided by a one-run margin, with Daredevils stealing victory from a dire situation. Royals looked like stretching Daredevils today as well, until Negi began to spin through the top order. After replacing Ajit Agarkar in Daredevils’ XI, Negi began his spell when Royals were 56 for 0 in six overs. By the time he finished they had slumped to 95 for 5 after 13, and were eventually restricted to 141.Negi was brought into the attack after the fielding restrictions were lifted and went for only six in his first over. In his next, after bowling two dot balls, he induced in Ajinkya Rahane the need to attempt the unorthodox, a reverse swat that landed in Virender Sehwag’s hands at point. Until then Rahane had helped Royals score at about ten an over with mostly conventional yet extremely potent strokes. Rajasthan were 71 for 1.Shane Watson, playing his first game this season in place of the injured Kevon Cooper, did not take long to unfurl a trademark heave against the other left-arm spinner, Shahbaz Nadeem, depositing the ball over deep midwicket. When he exhibited similar intent against Negi, he missed and lost off stump. In his final over, Negi had Brad Hodge caught cutting to point and Ashok Menaria holing out to long-on to finish with 4 for 18. Before that brace of wickets another in-form Royals batsman, Owais Shah, had been caught behind, top-edging a pull off Umesh Yadav. Royals had lost 5 for 24.Through all this, Rahul Dravid stood firm. He had contributed a fair share to the early momentum, then watched the advantage fritter away, and took it upon himself to bat through the innings. In the 17th over, he drove Morne Morkel inside out to bring up a half-century off 35 balls. In the penultimate over, though, Dravid’s slog across the line resulted in the ball going off the inside edge on to his leg and then on to hit the off stump.Royals’ hopes of defending 141 surged when Mahela Jayawardene was lbw without scoring in the first over. They were short lived, though, as Sehwag launched a withering assault. He hit five of his first six balls for four and after 17 deliveries that count was up to nine. When the fielding restrictions were over, Daredevils had raced to 61 for 1 and their momentum did not abate.In the eighth over, Sehwag used his bat like a ramp to launch Pankaj Singh over the third-man boundary. The shot made him the only batsman with five consecutive Twenty20 half-centuries, this one taking only 20 deliveries. With Sehwag ripping apart Royals, Pietersen was overshadowed in his final innings this season during a partnership of 96 for the second wicket. Daredevils will miss Pietersen’s consistency at No. 3, but with Sehwag in some of the best form the format has known, Daredevils’ place in the playoffs is virtually sealed.

Strauss seeks Middlesex revival

England’s captain Andrew Strauss, whose lack of runs became a source of debate on the winter tours in Asia, will seek to regain form in a full programme of county matches ahead of the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s on May 17.While some players, such as Ian Bell, Monty Panesar, Ravi Bopara, Steve Davies and James Tredwell will be available for this week’s round of championship games, others – such as James Anderson, Graeme Swann and Alastair Cook – will be rested until the start of May.Full availability of England squad
James Anderson (Lancashire): Available for championship match against Nottinghamshire (May 2-5)
Ian Bell (Warwickshire): Available for all cricket from April 16 up to and including CB40 match against Derbyshire (May 13)
Ravi Bopara (Essex): Available for all cricket
Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire): Available for championship matches against Kent (April 26-29) and Leicestershire (May 2-5)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire): Currently unavailable, continuing rehabilitation following calf injury. Expected to be available in early May
Alastair Cook (Essex): Available for all cricket from May 2 up to and including CB40 match against Worcestershire (May 13)
Steven Davies (Surrey): Available for all cricket
Steven Finn (Middlesex): Available for championship matches against Durham (April 19-22) and Worcestershire (May 3-6)
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex): Currently at the IPL commitments. Available for all cricket from May 15
Monty Panesar (Sussex): Available for all cricket
Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire): Available for all cricket
Kevin Pietersen (Surrey): Currently at the IPL commitments. Available for championship match against Worcestershire (May 9-12)
Matt Prior (Sussex): Available for championship matches against Warwickshire (April 26-29) and Lancashire (May 9-12) and tour match against West Indies (May 5-7)
Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire): Available for championship matches against Lancashire (May 2-5) and Middlesex (May 9-12)
Andrew Strauss (Middlesex): Available for all cricket from April 16 apart from CB40 match against Netherlands (May 14)
James Tredwell (Kent): Available for all cricket
Chris Tremlett (Surrey): Currently unavailable, continuing rehabilitation following back surgery
Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire): Available for all cricket from April 23 up to and including CB40 match against Derbyshire (May 14)

Botha to lead SA against India in one-off T20I

South Africa squad

Johan Botha (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Faf du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Colin Ingram, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Rusty Theron, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk, Dane Vilas

Johan Botha will lead South Africa in the one-off Twenty20 international against India in Johannesburg on March 30 with regular limited-overs captain AB de Villiers and vice-captain Hashim Amla being rested. Farhaan Behardien and Dane Vilas have got first-time call-ups to the 13-man national squad.The selectors decided to rest the XI playing the ongoing final Test in Wellington against New Zealand as they would reach South Africa just two days before the game against India. Jacques Kallis, who pulled out of the Wellington Test with a stiff neck, was included. “We are leaving all the players out who are involved in the current Test match against New Zealand with the exception of Jacques Kallis for whom there are special circumstances,” Andrew Hudson, the convener of selectors, said.”They will arrive back home two days before the start of the match, having travelled halfway across the world, including a 10-hour time difference, and we don’t believe they will be in any condition to play an international game of cricket.”We have chosen a squad of 13 as there is some doubt about the fitness of Kallis who has been ruled out of the current Test match. The team management needs to have plenty of options available; such is Kallis’ all-round value to the side.”Lonwabo Tsotsobe was the only other member of the Test squad in New Zealand to be selected.”We still have a very strong squad for this important match including the bulk of the players who won the T20 international series in New Zealand,” Hudson said. “The players who have been called up for the first time have all done extremely well in the domestic equivalent and this follows our policy of rewarding good domestic form. Behardien and Vilas are currently high up the batting averages for the MiWay T20 Challenge and they also have imposing strike rates.”

Gayle diagnosed with grade two groin strain

Chris Gayle has arrived in South Africa carrying a grade two groin strain that could keep him out of action for the Dolphins for at least another week. Gayle is contracted to the Durban-based franchise for the entire MiWAY T20 Challenge but missed their first match on Sunday because of an injury sustained while playing for the Barisal Burners in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).Gayle’s injury was assessed in Durban on Monday, and both he and the Dolphins are remaining tight lipped about when he will be fit to play. The usual timeframe for an injury of this description to heal is two to three weeks and Gayle has already had a week’s healing time.”We will have to look at how the rehab goes,” Gayle said in Durban. “I’m feeling a bit better. The last couple of days I was feeling a bit on the negative side, but I’m walking much better than when the injury happened. It’s slowly progressing but, as a sportsman, I have to look after myself properly and try and get back on the park as quickly as possible. We will take each day as it comes.”The Dolphins play three matches this week, on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and then have a four-day break before their next match on March 2nd. They opened their campaign with a three-run win over the new seventh franchise, Impi, on February 19. Gayle is their only overseas signing after Australia quick Shaun Tait pulled out with an elbow injury.Gayle is aware that he is marquee player of the event, which has ten internationals spread across the seven franchises, and is determined to live up to the hype. “I know that the expectations are very high. I try not to overdo things and keep it as simple as possible,” he said. “It’s cricket and you never know when you are going to have a bad patch but once I get a start in a particular series, I try and maintain it as much as possible. You have to try and be consistent and score as many runs as you can.”While Gayle recovers from his injury, he will still be involved with Dolphins the camp. Interim coach Lance Klusener, who called him a “legend”, said Gayle would play an important role in mentoring some of the young players in the squad. Gayle has played in 20-over leagues across the globe, having participated in Australia’s Big Bash, Zimbabwe’s Stanbic T20 and the BPL in just the last three months.After the tournament in South Africa, he will play in the IPL. It’s this vast experience that the Dolphins hope to gain from and Gayle seems more than willing to share. “I try and deal with the mental aspect of my game first of all, make sure that I am very strong upstairs and ready for the challenges,” Gayle said.One of the people who may be most interested in Gayle’s tales is not a member of the Dolphin squad at all. Richard Levi, who shares the record with Gayle for the highest individual Twenty20 international score and broke his record for the most sixes in an innings on Sunday, plays for rival franchise, the Cobras.Gayle heard the news of Levi’s innings on his arrival in South Africa and announced his thoughts on Twitter.He was full of kind words for Levi even days after. “Hopefully he can go from strength to strength, and do bigger and better innings in the future. He will have a lot on his shoulders now,” Gayle said. “I’ve been there, you might score a lot of runs on the international scene as a youngster but there is a lot of technology involved now and it’s going to get harder.”So you have got to learn how to manipulate bowlers. They are working you out, so you have to try and be a step ahead of them.” Levi, who returns home after Wednesday’s Twenty20 against New Zealand, will have the opportunity to meet Gayle on February 26, when the Cobras play the Dolphins in Paarl.

Sam Wells added to New Zealand Test squad

New Zealand Test squad

Ross Taylor (capt), Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Dean Brownlie, Martin Guptill, Chris Martin, Brendon McCullum, Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori, Kruger van Wyk (wk), BJ Watling (wk), Kane Williamson, Sam Wells

Sam Wells, the 27-year-old Otago allrounder, has been added to the New Zealand squad for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe after impressing in the warm-up match in Gisborne. Wells, a left-hand batsman and right-arm medium-pace bowler, made his first-class debut in 2007 and has played 21 first-class games, in which he averages 38.10 with the bat, with two centuries.So far*, in this season’s Plunket Shield, he is the leading run-getter for Otago. He is not even in the top 15 in the overall list, though. He has taken just two wickets in the season, and has a first-class bowling average of 34.27. He was given an opportunity to play for a New Zealand XI against the touring Zimbabweans, and scored 65 in the first innings, helping to take the team out of a sticky situation. He also took a wicket.Wells’ selection has taken many by surprise, including himself. “I guess I never knew I was as close as I was,” he told Radio Sport. “I went to a pre-season camp at the start of the year and Wrighty [coach John Wright] had a few words and said they were looking for someone to fill that allrounder’s role but I imagined to myself that I would have to put together a couple of pretty substantial seasons to be in this position.”The low-profile Wells said even his girlfriend didn’t believe he was called up. “I’m not very well known and I think my mum might have been the only one picking me in the side. It took a while to convince my girlfriend that I was telling the truth.”Wells’ inclusion takes the squad up to 13 members, with seven batsmen available. John Wright said Wells had been added to give the squad some balance.”Sam is a talented allrounder and we are confident, if the opportunity arises, he will perform well at international level for New Zealand,” Wright said. “He has impressed during the three-day match in Gisborne with the bat and his skills with the ball will give good balance to the side.”The Test against Zimbabwe begins January 26 in Napier.*07:34 GMT, Jan 24: The article has been modified to reflect that the 2011-12 season of the Plunket Shield is ongoing

Broad happy with shoulder recovery

Stuart Broad, the England fast bowler, has said he is satisfied with how his shoulder held up during his first day of competitive cricket in four months. Broad took three wickets in his first three overs against an ICC Combined Associate and Affiliate XI on the opening day of the first warm-up match of England’s tour of the UAE.The injury had forced Broad to miss the limited-overs tour of India last year, and came soon after his Man-of-the-Series performance in the home Test series against them in the summer. “The shoulder seems fine, I think it was mid-November by the time it completely healed,” he said after the first day’s play in Dubai. “It seems to be back really stronger than it was before, that’s pleasing.”The ICC XI hit back after the early losses, and tested the England bowlers almost until the close of play. From 90 for 6, half-centuries from Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad and Namibia’s Christi Viljoen lifted the ICC XI to 281.Broad felt the hard work would help the bowling line-up during the Tests against Pakistan. “The conditions have been great because I think they are similar to what we will face in the Test matches,” he said. “It is going to be crucial for us in the Test match series to use the new ball and the second new ball wisely.”That period, from overs 50 to 80, is going to be a real holding role. We are not going to be able to burst through because the pitches are not going to be suited to that.”Over the past two years in the UAE, teams have run up ten Test totals in excess of 300, and only been bowled out four times below that score. Broad expected the Pakistan series to be similar, with a tough grind awaiting the bowlers. “It will be attritional cricket, going at two-and-a-half or three runs an over, fielding for long periods of time, trying to bowl teams out for 300 to 350 and probably fielding for 120 overs. It will be old school Test cricket, I suppose.”After the current three-day game, England have another one against a Pakistan Cricket Board XI before the first Test starts on January 17.

Katich reprimanded over Clarke comments

Simon Katich is looking forward to putting his disciplinary hearing behind him after he escaped suspension from Cricket Australia for cutting comments he made about Michael Clarke in October. Katich pleaded guilty at a CA Code of Behaviour hearing, chaired by retired county court judge Gordon Lewis in Melbourne on Monday, and was handed an official reprimand.”It’s not something you want to go through but I’m glad it’s out of the way now and very grateful for Commissioner Lewis’ findings,” Katich said on SEN radio after the hearing.”Obviously I said things for a reason. At the time I was still coming to terms with the mixed messages I’d been receiving over the previous few months from the chairman of selectors and from other people involved in the team. From that point of view I said what I said, but at the end of the day now I just want to move forward and play some good cricket for New South Wales and put this behind me.”The hearing was delayed from its original date of November 21 due to scheduling conflicts, after Katich was charged by Cricket Australia for his comments on October 28, when he suggested that his dressing-room stoush with Clarke in 2009 had contributed to his axing from Australia’s side. After scoring a Sheffield Shield hundred, Katich was asked whether the appointment of a new chairman of selectors, John Inverarity, would help his cause in winning a recall.”It’s pleasing to hear but I think you don’t have to be Einstein to figure out that it’s not just the selectors that had a part in sending me on my way,” Katich said at the time. “I mean to be brutally honest obviously what happened in the dressing room here a few years ago didn’t help my cause. And obviously the captain and coach are selectors.”Just because he [Inverarity] is going to be chairman of selectors or whatever role it is I wouldn’t have thought that’d make too much difference.”When asked if he could expect to play for Australia again while Clarke remained captain, Katich said: “I wouldn’t have thought so. That’s probably why I’m in this position in the first place.”In the dressing rooms after the 2009 Sydney Test, Katich grabbed the then vice-captain Clarke by the throat after an argument over when the team song would be sung. After Monday’s hearing, Katich softened his tone when asked about his relationship with Clarke.”We were able to play cricket for a good couple of years there in the same team without it causing any problems, so from my point of view I didn’t see any dramas in that respect,” Katich said. “I guess I have just been searching for answers as to why I wasn’t in the team, given that I felt I’d been performing to a reasonable standard over the last three years.”Katich was set to fly back to Canberra on Monday evening to play in the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Tasmania at Manuka Oval, starting on Tuesday.

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