I can't bat like Dravid – Uthappa

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Robin Uthappa says he wants to stay in the opening slot and continue playing aggressively

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2011Robin Uthappa smashed a half-century and a century in the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, while opening the batting for India Green, and is looking forward to what will be an important domestic season for him. Uthappa has not played for India since 2008 but believes his route back to the national side could be built based on an insistence on opening and playing his natural game.”I enjoy opening,” he told the . “I play my best at the top of the order and when things go my way more often than not I put the team into a good position. When I played for the Indian team, I chose to bat up and down the order for the sake of the team. But now I will stick to the opening slot. It’s a good start to the season and I will try to build on it.”In the first match of the Challenger Trophy, he reached 56 in quick time before playing a rash shot that led to his dismissal and a subsequent collapse, but Uthappa says he won’t curb his attacking instincts.”I am an instinctive player; when I feel like going for a shot, I back myself and go for it. There are advantages and disadvantages of instinctive and aggressive batsman. When it comes up right, it looks beautiful, but the same shot looks ugly when you get out. I am definitely trying to play longer because if I do that it would be beneficial for the side I am playing for. I am working hard on that, but you don’t expect results overnight.”I have played cricket one way all my life. It’s better for me to continue playing the way I have been playing. If I play like Rahul Dravid or S Badrinath, I won’t be very successful. I am going to play aggressively, that brings out the best in me. That’s the way my team and people like me to bat.”Uthappa had a mediocre IPL 2011 for Pune Warriors, not managing a half-century in 14 matches, but says he has been in good touch for the last five months.”I have been playing my natural game in the last four or five months. I enjoy myself when I open the batting and I really feel I am coming into my own. The season has just begun. It will be a very important season, especially with the Ranji Trophy coming up. I am ready for the challenge.”

Hosts Bangladesh rout Japan

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A round-up of the action from the second match-day of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2011Bangladesh Women routed Japan Women in Savar, bowling them out for 38 and chasing the score in 4.4 overs without losing a wicket. Japan elected to bat and reached 21 for 0 in 11.1 overs. Then Bangladesh’s spinners came on and Japan couldn’t cope. Captain Salma Khatun and Suktara Rahaman took 5 for 5 and 5 for 9 respectively to end Japan’s innings in 28.3 overs, Only one of Japan’s batsmen reached double figures and extras was the second-highest scorer with nine. Bangladesh reached the target with the minimum of fuss, with the openers hitting five fours between them and ten runs through wides helping their cause.Pakistan Women‘s spinners set up their second win in as many games when they dismissed Ireland Women for 140 in Fatullah before their batsmen knocked off the target for the loss of only two wickets. Sadia Yousuf, Bismah Maroof and Nida Dar snapped up nine Ireland batsmen for 69 runs after Qanita Jalil had struck in the opening over. Jill Whelan (35) and Cecelia Joyce (19) steadied Ireland and got them to 47 for 1 but the innings came unstuck once the spinners got into the act. Whelan was bowled by Dar while Yousuf accounted for Cecelia and captain Isobel Joyce (23) to end with 4 for 19. Jalil and captain Sana Mir gave Pakistan a breezy start, putting on 50 in ten overs before Jalil was caught off Whelan for 28. Javeria Khan came in to support her captain and remained unbeaten on 41 as Pakistan won with nearly 18 overs to spare.South Africa Women hammered USA Women by 198 runs at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan Ground in Savar to make it two wins in two games for them as well. An opening partnership of 200 at almost a run a ball put South Africa in charge before the middle order chipped in with cameos to lift their side to 343 for 5. Shandre Fritz and Trisha Chetty missed out on centuries but their brisk 90s set the tone for the innings. Cri-zelda Brits and Mignon du Preez built on the openers’ work with aggressive 40s as South Africa surged well past 300. USA could not get going in the chase, losing a wicket in the second over before the spinners, led by 18-year old legspinner Dane van Niekerk, stifled the innings. van Niekerk took 3 for 29 while Sunette Loubser and du Preez struck twice each to keep USA to 145 for 9.In another one-sided match, Sri Lanka Women skittled Netherlands Women for 61 and then chased the target in 14.2 overs at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. Sri Lanka were given early breakthroughs by their seamers after Netherlands chose to bat. Sripali Weerakkody and Udeshika Prabodhani took three wickets between them to leave Netherlands 14 for 3. The middle order manage to occupy time at the crease but did not score many runs. Kerry-Anne Tomlinson played 104 balls but scored just 15 balls, while Esther Lanser took 54 balls to score 10. The result was that Netherlands’ innings lasted till the 42nd over but they could only manage 61. Sri Lanka lost three wickets in their chase but that was after the openers had done most of the work by racing to 46 in 8.2 overs.Netherlands’ batting had been impressive in their first match against Zimbabwe, which they won easily, and their captain Helmien Rambaldo said the difference in this match had been that Sri Lanka did not bowl many loose balls. “Zimbabwe bowled bad balls which helped us score runs yesterday,” she said. “Sri Lanka bowled very few bad balls making it far harder to score runs. The pitches here definitely help the ball turn and we prepared for those types of conditions whether it be facing spin or bowling it, but today we simply were not up to the mark.”Sri Lanka’s captain Dilani Manodara said spin was Sri Lanka’s strength but she was also pleased with her seamers’ performances. “The conditions here are similar to Sri Lanka so we’re working with our strengths, which are our spin bowlers who claimed plenty of wickets in our loss yesterday [against South Africa] and also in today’s win. I’m extremely pleased with our spinners’ performances but our fast bowlers also did well today.”.

I'm ready for a recall – Tsolekile

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Seven years after making his Test debut, Lions wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile says he is ready for an international recall

Firdose Moonda07-Dec-2011Seven years after making his Test debut, Lions wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile says he is ready for an international recall. Tsolekile played three Tests in 2004 and was touted as a successor to Mark Boucher but did not go on to challenge for a spot. After moving from Cape Town to Johannesburg and, in his third season up country, Tsolekile believes he has done enough to be given a second chance.Tsolekile was named captain of the South Africa Invitation XI, which will play a three-day match against the Sri Lankans in Benoni from December 9. Although he was not included in the squad for the first Test, Tsolekile hoped to make a big enough impression to get selected later in the series.”My mind is in the right place. I’m in the right space and I’m ready for it,” Tsolekile told ESPNcricinfo. “I am a much better player than I was when I first played international cricket. I must be thereabouts, because the guy who plays for South Africa A is usually next in line.”Tsolekile also played in the A side that faced the Australians and scored a half-century on a tricky pitch in Potchefstroom. He had also captained the A team on tours to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh last year.Although a competent wicketkeeper, Tsolekile was tripped up at international level by his batting. He scored 47 runs in three Tests and admitted he was below-par. “Keeping has always come naturally to me, but I would say that my batting wasn’t up to international standards when I made my debut.”Since moving to the Lions franchise, after the coach Dave Nosworthy rescued an out-of-contract Tsolekile from an office job, he spent a lot of time crafting his batting technique. “I used to rely too much on talent,” Tsolekile said. “In batting, you have to work hard for runs, so the big thing for me was to learn to become more patient.” Tsolekile said he learned from batsmen Neil McKenzie and Zander de Bruyn and the efforts paid off.In his first season with Lions, Tsolekile was the leading wicketkeeper at domestic level, both with bat and gloves. He scored 581 runs at an average of 58.10 and had 39 dismissals. The 2010-11 season was less profitable and his 281 runs came an average of 25.54. He amassed fewer runs than fellow wicketkeepers Daryn Smit, Morne van Wyk and Heino Kuhn, but Tsolekile and Kuhn had the most dismissals – 35. This season Tsolekile is, once again, in front. He has 269 runs from four matches.Tsolekile believed his performance over the previous three seasons would strengthen his case. “When you pick a wicketkeeper, you have to look at someone who has been consistent and had two or three good months, not just one.”I have always batted at No. 6 or 7 and so I am used to pushing the lower order along,” he said. “None of this will be new to me. I am 31-years old now and know my game well.”

Ballance, Chinouya star for Rhinos in draw

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A century from Mid West Rhinos’ captain, Gary Ballance, helped his team gain the first-innings’ lead and a point from their drawn match against Mashonaland Eagles at the Harare Sports Club

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2012
ScorecardA century from Mid West Rhinos’ captain, Gary Ballance, helped his team gain the first-innings’ lead and a point from their drawn match against Mashonaland Eagles at the Harare Sports Club.The Eagles chose to bat and were troubled by medium-pacer Richard Muzhange. Muzhange picked up four top and middle order wickets, as the Rhinos struck at regular intervals and kept the Eagles to 207. No one could manage more than wicketkeeper Ryan Bishop’s 44 for the Eagles.Apart from Ballance, none of the other Rhinos’ batsmen could build long innings when it was their turn to bat. While Ballance made an unbeaten 101, the next highest scorer in the line-up was Riki Wessels with only 34. However, Ballance’s effort was enough to secure a crucial five-run lead. The pick of the Eagles bowlers was Douglas Hondo, who ran through the lower half of the line-up with figures of 4 for 40.The Eagles batsmen failed for the second time, being shot out for 165 in the second innings. This time new-ball bowler Michael Chinouya was their tormentor-in-chief, claiming 5 for 45 as well as a run out. That left the Rhinos 161 to get, but hardly any time to do so. Play ended with them on 34 for 1 after ten overs.

'Chance to show our resilience' – Strauss

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Andrew Strauss hopes that England will utilise the anguish of the first-Test defeat as a motivational tool

George Dobell in Dubai19-Jan-2012Sometimes it is in their lowest moments that sides find strength. Just as Pakistan, torn asunder both on and off the field, regrouped at the end of 2010, so England used the pain of their humiliation in Jamaica in 2009 to inspire them to build for better times.Now Andrew Strauss hopes that England will utilise the anguish of the first-Test defeat as a motivational tool. While accepting that England’s much vaunted batting line-up had seriously underperformed, England’s captain was keen to avoid recriminations.”In both innings we didn’t apply ourselves as well as we should have done with the bat,” Strauss said. “You can scratch your head and ask why and come up with so many recriminations and questions. The most important thing is that the batsmen are very clear about their method and that they use that feeling of disappointment as motivation to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”It won’t be a huge challenge to pick the team up. There will be a huge feeling that we haven’t given a good an account of ourselves, and that will give us good motivation to come back in the second Test. We’re a really tight unit. We win and lose together, you move on and it’s a chance for us to show our resilience and character. I know we have those in abundance but we have to show that. Nobody likes losing, that is for sure.”We treated it like an aberration when we lost in Perth and we will treat this as an aberration as well. But we do have to make sure we don’t repeat those mistakes. One of the things you have to be, as an international cricketer, is honest with yourself. You have to make sure you ask yourself the right questions and come up with the right answers before moving on.”Andrew Strauss: “As a side it’s important we keep connected with the fact we’ve done a lot of good things over the last two years.”•Getty Images

Strauss has a hard balancing act, however. Several of England’s batsmen – notably Kevin Pietersen – fell to shots bordering on reckless, but Strauss is aware that the spirit within the squad will not be improved by blaming individuals. At the same time, though, he wants the players to take responsibility for England’s first Test defeat since December 2010.”When a guy has just come in after a bad shot, you don’t expect your team-mates to jump up and down telling you what a terrible shot you played,” Strauss said. “But it’s important you don’t run away from facts and the truth. As batsmen we have to be honest and ask did we play well enough. We have to ask: was our game plan smart enough, were we switched on enough. All those questions are important. But I also think, at times like these the easy thing is to look at everything that went wrong. As a side it’s important we keep connected with the fact we’ve done a lot of good things over the last two years and we will continue to do so.”Strauss made no excuses, though. He accepted that the pitch was flat and dismissed that his side had any inherent problems against the spin of Saeed Ajmal.”We were caught off guard in that first session of the first day on a very flat wicket,” he said. “From then on Pakistan never let us back into the game. You have to congratulate them for the way they played, but we’re disappointed with the way we batted in both innings, particularly the first innings as it wasn’t a 50 for 5 wicket. We have to learn some lessons and move forward.”A couple of us contributed to our own downfall, which allowed Ajmal to put more pressure on the batsmen coming in. The ball wasn’t turning a huge amount and I think the players who did get in and spend some time at the wicket looked fairly comfortable, but not enough of us were able to do that. We face a lot of good bowlers in Test cricket. I don’t think there’s anything about Ajmal that we should be unduly worried about. We have to be very clear about our game plan and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes.”It’s a disappointing result because we did a lot of things well in our build-up. We played good cricket in the warm-up games. We weren’t undercooked or underprepared. I’m certainly determined to come back strong in Abu Dhabi and I’m sure the rest of the guys are too.”

Tigers openers build platform on rainy day

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Ed Cowan and Steven Cazzulino built a handy opening stand for Tasmania in reply to New South Wales’ 7 for 341 declared on a second day that was heavily interrupted by rain

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2012
ScorecardEd Cowan and Steven Cazzulino built a handy opening stand for Tasmania in reply to New South Wales’ 7 for 341 declared on a second day of the Sheffield Shield match that was heavily interrupted by rain.Only 27.1 overs were bowled on day two of the twilight fixture, But Cowan and Cazzulino held firm to reach 0 for 81 against the Blues before the showers returned for good.Both formerly based in NSW, Cowan and Cazzulino have formed a useful opening combination for the Tigers this summer.

Afghanistan secure World Twenty20 berth

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A round-up of the preliminary finals and play-offs in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2012

Preliminary finals

The Afghanistan players celebrate after securing qualification for the 2012 World Twenty20•Getty Images

Afghanistan ensured they will appear at the ICC World Twenty20 for the second competition running with a comprehensive win over previously unbeaten Namibia in Dubai. Victory by 47 runs booked Afghanistan a place in the final of the qualifying tournament, where they could meet Namibia again; they will play either Ireland or Netherlands – who both won their first play-off games earlier in the day – for the second berth on offer for the 2012 World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.Having chosen to bat, Afghanistan were dismissed off the final ball of their innings for 146. Against big-scoring Namibia, other sides may have felt that score was barely enough – but Afghanistan have swept all before them in the last week and the bowlers blew away their opponents’ dangerous top order, effectively ending Namibia’s hopes at 18 for 4 after four overs. Dawlat Zadran was the destroyer-in-chief, taking 3 for 1 in his opening two-over spell, including the wicket of Raymond van Schoor, the tournament’s leading runscorer, for a first-ball duck. Gerrie Snyman was also dismissed for 0 in the same over, before Dawlat had Craig Williams caught behind and Aftab Alam – who went on to claim 4 for 25 – removed Louis van der Westhuizen, ensuring that none of the top four made double figures.After that opening blitz, Namibia’s hopes were in tatters and they were eventually bundled out for 99. Their struggles put into perspective Afghanistan’s score, with several batsmen getting in and then out. Karim Sadiq and Javid Ahmadi put on 57 for the opening wicket in 6.3 overs but they both fell in quick succession as Sarel Burger claimed three for 16 from his four overs. With boundaries drying up – Afghanistan managed 10 fours and no sixes – Asghar Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi chipped away lower down the order. In the end, their efforts proved more than enough.Ireland swept past Canada in the first play-off stage, winning by 10 wickets at the Dubai International Stadium. Read the full report here.Netherlands edged out Scotland by three wickets at the ICC Global Cricket Academy to set up a meeting with Ireland in the next stage. Chasing 167 to win, Netherlands looked in control thanks to a steady hand from Tom Cooper, but his dismissal for 60 left them requiring 15 from the last two overs, with seven wickets down. The tension was broken swiftly, however, as Tim Gruijters smashed his second ball for six, with 11 runs coming off the penultimate over bowled by Kyle Coetzer, before Tom de Grooth’s top-edged four sealed victory with five balls to spare. Scotland, coming off a surprise group-stage defeat to USA, had earlier given themselves a chance of an upset thanks to another impressive opening stand between Richie Berrington and Calum MacLeod. They put on 59 in 6.3 overs before Berrington’s departure for 37, with MacLeod – a former bowler – going on to pass 50 for the third time in the tournament. Netherlands’ spinners slowed the scoring in the later stages though, with Mudassar Bukhari, Pieter Seelaar and Peter Borren each picking up two wickets as the Dutch kept the target down.

Play-offs

Nepal beat Kenya by five wickets and two balls to spare to win a semi-final for the seventh place play-off in Dubai. After choosing to bat, Kenya were restricted to 139 for 4. Their captain Collins Obuya top scored with 52 off 42 balls. Basanta Regmi took 3 for 23 for Nepal, while Shakti Gauchan conceded only 19 in four overs. Nepal’s openers gave the chase a steady start, adding 64 in ten overs and their captain Paras Khadka remained unbeaten on 26 to secure the victory. Nepal’s chase was aided by 17 extras.Papua New Guinea (PNG) defended a modest total of 118 for 9 against Italy to win the other semi-final for the seventh place play-off in Dubai. Damian Crowley took 4 for 18 to limit PNG after they chose to bat, while Carl Sandri claimed 2 for 18. Opener Tony Ura (37) was the only PNG batsman to make it past 20 and the innings was floundering at 69 for 6 before the tail propped the total past 100. PNG’s bowlers, however, bowled economically and struck regularly to hinder the Italy chase. Hitolo Areni took 3 for 9 in four overs, and had support from the new-ball attack, Willie Gavera and Rarva Dikana. Italy slipped from the comfortable position of 81 for 3 in 14.4 overs and were restricted to 106 for 7 in 20 overs.Hong Kong beat Uganda by five wickets to win one 11th place play-off semi-final in Sharjah. After putting Uganda in, Hong Kong restricted them to 130 for 8. Apart from the openers, Roger Mukasa and Arthur Kyobe, no Uganda batsman made more than 20. Irfan Ahmed to 3 for 32 for Hong Kong, while Roy Lamsam took 1 for 15 in four overs. Ahmed then scored an unbeaten 55 to lead the chase, while Waqas Barkat and Jamie Atkinson made 31 and 30. Hong Kong slipped in the later part of the innings, losing four wickets for eight runs, but still reached the target with four balls to spare.USA beat Bermuda by 34 runs after a powerful batting performance to win the second semi-final for the 11th place play-off in Sharjah. They amassed 193 for 5 after choosing to bat; Steven Taylor made 38 off 22 balls, Sushil Nadkarni 48 off 30 and Orlando Baker 39 off 32 deliveries. The least expensive Bermuda bowler was Joshua Gilbert, who conceded 8.33 an over. During Bermuda’s chase, Lionel Cann struck three sixes and four fours in his 73 off 47 balls but got poor support from his team-mates. Muhammad Ghous took 2 for 20 for USA, while Abhimanyu Rajp and Almore Hutchinson also took two wickets apiece. Bermuda were restricted to 159 for 8 in 20 overs.After losing all seven of their Group B matches, Oman beat Denmark by 17 runs in the 15th place play-off. Oman chose to bat and their openers, Zeeshan Siddiqui and Jatinder Singh, made half-centuries in first-wicket partnership of 113. After that stand was broken in the 14th over, though, Oman’s momentum slipped and they finished on 155 for 5. Denmark were well placed in their chase, having reached 109 for 2 in the 15th over, but then lost frequent wickets to finish on 138 for 6. Hemal Mehta was Oman’s most successful bowler, taking 3 for 29 in four overs, while Amir Kaleem took 1 for 11 in three.

'IPL 5 will be a super success' – Rajiv Shukla

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Rajiv Shukla, the chairman of the IPL, has denied reports that the Twenty20 tournament’s popularity has declined, and said that the “response [this year] is rocking” and that “IPL 5 will be a super success”

Tariq Engineer23-Apr-2012Rajiv Shukla, the chairman of the IPL, has denied reports that the Twenty20 tournament’s popularity has declined, and said that the “response [this year] is rocking” and that “IPL 5 will be a super success”. However, he conceded that the IPL has increased the likelihood of players getting injured, but said the BCCI has taken steps to ensure they are treated properly.While crowds have filled stadiums for most games so far this season, Television Viewer Ratings have continued to drop. The first 16 games posted a TVR of 3.65, down from 4.00 a year earlier and 4.61 in 2010, according to TAM Sports, a division of Tam Media Research, a leading television ratings agency in India. Set Max, which telecasts the tournament, has also signed fewer advertisers and sponsors this year. Despite these indications, Shukla believes reports of the IPL’s decline have been exaggerated.”I think it is a myth,” he told in an interview. “I don’t think you are aware of the facts.” Shukla said there has been a 56% increase in internet viewership and that while television ratings have declined, that is true of the industry as a whole and that the measure of what makes a popular show has changed.”If you look at the TRPs, [for] all metros it is between 7 to 10 [for the IPL]. And the paradigm has also shifted. Those shows which used to get 7, 8, 9, 10 TRPs, if they can get 2 or 3, they are actually good shows.” One explanation for the downturn in ratings, Shukla said, is TAM’s expanded coverage, which now includes smaller towns with a population of at least 100,000. That, in turn, has diluted the effect on the ratings of the tournament’s popularity in bigger cities.According to Indiantelevision.com, the opening game of the IPL between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings drew a rating of 6.13, the highest of the season so far but well below the 7.77 rating for the opening game last year and 6.95 the year before. The IPL did give Set Max four of the top five rated shows between April 4 and April 10, but while the Delhi Daredevils game against Kolkata Knight Riders posted a 5.56 rating, the other two games had ratings under 4.00. The lowest rated game from the first week was between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Daredevils, which drew a TVR of just 2.68.Perhaps more worrying for the IPL is that it posted its first ever decline in the total number of people who have watched the show to this point, while advertisers have also adopted more of a wait-and-watch approach. Three major brands – Parle, LG Electronics and Godrej – chose not to continue their association with the league this season. Alok Bharadwaj, senior vice-president of Canon India, told the earlier this month that advertisers are starting to consider other options as their returns from the IPL are not proportional to the increasing costs. Canon has reportedly cut down its spending on the league by 80%.However, Shukla claimed that sponsors had not abandoned the league and said that a better picture of the ratings and viewership would emerge once the tournament had ended. “You are trying to analyse it on the basis of one or two weeks,” he said. “Let the IPL finish and then I’ll talk to you … none of the sponsors have gone away. Everybody is with us. Whatever rights we are selling, it is going on higher price. I am running the shop so I know.”Shukla also said that broadcasters Set Max were pleased with the ratings of the tournament so far and had not complained to the BCCI about sponsors or ratings. “They are very happy. Will they come to you to complain? They haven’t complained to us. There is no such problem.”In an interview with on April 16, Rohit Gupta, the president of Multi-Screen Media (MSM), which owns Set Max, said that 35% to 40% of the channel’s ad inventory was still unsold but that it was early days and he expected the ratings to rise as the tournament progressed. “You actually need just two or three games to do well, which are closely fought games to then build the interest levels.” Gupta said he was in talks with more sponsors and advertisers and anticipated selling most of the inventory over the duration of the tournament. Last season MSM had managed to sell about 90% of its inventory before the tournament started.Where Shukla did admit there was a problem was in the case of player injuries. The issue came to the forefront last year after Gautam Gambhir was diagnosed with a shoulder injury during the tournament and Virender Sehwag opted to delay shoulder surgery until Daredevils were out of the running for a place in the playoffs.”Because of these matches, sometimes injury problems do occur,” Shukla said. “What we have done this time is [to] ask BCCI physios to stay in touch with the physios and trainers of all the franchises, so if there is any injury, timely action is taken. Apart from that, we have a large group of players. Now for every slot we have five, six alternatives, so if somebody is injured, we immediately replace him. So Indian cricket is not affected.”Shukla also said that no player is being made to play the tournament against his will. “If anybody is feeling fatigued, has any injury, he should immediately inform the BCCI or the IPL secretariat and he will be given adequate rest. Nobody is being forced to play, irrespective of how big is the player.”

'Accuracy, extra pace key to Narine's success' – Bayliss

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Kolkata Knight Riders’ coach Trevor Bayliss has said that Sunil Narine’s “accuracy and extra pace” have made him the most successful spinner in the IPL this season

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2012Kolkata Knight Riders’ coach Trevor Bayliss has said that Sunil Narine’s “accuracy and extra pace” have made him the most successful spinner in the IPL this season. Narine has picked up 21 wickets and is currently the joint leading wicket-taker with Lasith Malinga and Morne Morkel.”He is one of the mystery spinners,” Bayliss told the . “That, combined with accuracy and a bit of extra pace, has made him more than a handful. Even if you’re lucky to pick the ball he has bowled, there’s no guarantee that you’ll actually get him away for runs. The more batsmen play, they could pick him better, but Narine has it in him to stay one step ahead. He’s such an unbelievable talent.”Bayliss said that he heard about Narine’s bowling prowess even before Knight Riders signed him for $700,000 in the player auction in February. “I can’t remember who brought up his name first, but I remembered the New South Wales players had been very impressed with him in the Champions League,” Bayliss said. “When his name came up, I felt he’d be a good acquisition. As it turns out, Narine has fitted into the group very well and it’s a pleasure to see him bowl.”Bayliss said that even though Knight Riders have qualified for the playoffs, they must remain focussed. “A good team effort has taken us forward and the boys have shown a lot of character in some of the really close matches. The Twenty20 game is pretty even, so you’ve got to keep giving yourself a chance of winning,” Bayliss said. “We’ve lost a few, but still showed character, such an attitude helps. At this stage, though, we aren’t looking beyond Saturday’s match against the Pune Warriors, because if you get too far ahead of yourself, you could get a nasty surprise.”Bayliss also defended allrounder Yousuf Pathan, who has managed just 138 runs from 13 innings at 15.33. “More than me, I think he’s worried himself. But he’s been working hard and has taken steps forward. He’s doing the right things (before a match), but is going through a phase all players go through,” Bayliss said.He attributed the side’s success this season to strong leadership and quality training. “Gautam Gambhir has done a great job as captain. The way he captained [against Mumbai Indians] was sensational,” Bayliss said. “The squad is like one big happy family, with people getting along with each other. The boys do the right things at training. We may not be practising for long, but there’s quality in what we do. There are no half-measures. Basically, there’s a good feeling in the group.”

Bell and Clarke see Warwickshire home

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Ian Bell underlined his return to form with his second match-winning innings within a week as he helped Warwickshire to a six-wicket win over Northamptonshire

06-May-2012
ScorecardIan Bell underlined his return to form with his second match-winning innings within a week as he helped Warwickshire to a six-wicket win over Northamptonshire.Bell, who lost his place in England’s ODI squad over the winter, struck an unbeaten 82 to help Warwickshire to victory in their opening Clydesdale Bank 40 match of the season at Edgbaston.Bell found form ahead of the first Test against the West Indies at Lord’s with a century against Durham in the County Championship last week and maintained it with another unflustered innings as his side made 212 for 4 in reply to Northamptonshire’s 209 for 7. England colleague Jonathan Trott could make only 10.The pitch was the same one that was used for the Durham match, but it had lost much of its pace and suited the spinners.Bell, though, nursed Warwickshire through a difficult period in which they lost three wickets to Northamptonshire spinners James Middlebrook and Con de Lange to guide Warwickshire to victory with 15 balls to spare in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 103 in 13 overs with Rikki Clarke, who made an unbeaten 54.Bell, who insists he wants to recapture an England place in all formats of the game, completed a calm half-century from 62 balls with four fours and then launched left-armer David Willey for six high over long-on. Clarke rattled to his half-century from just 43 balls before he clipped Andrew Hall off his legs for the winning runs and his seventh boundary.Northamptonshire’s total, which was based around a busy 52 from captain Hall, was competitive but they lost wickets at crucial times and their only partnership of substance was 48 for the fifth wicket between Hall and Stephen Peters.Scotland international Kyle Coetzer made a breezy 44 which included a six and six fours, but the innings lost impetus after he got a leading edge to extra cover off Keith Barker.Barker, who took a wicket with his first ball when Alex Wakely chopped on, finished with three for 41 and helped to tie down the middle order with New Zealand off-spinner Jeetan Patel, who conceded only 24 in his eight overs.Peters helped his captain revive the innings, but he was bowled driving at Andy Miller when well set which left Hall to provide the late acceleration. Hall struck just two fours and pulled a short ball from Clarke for six as he reached a half century from 53 balls.Northamptonshire struck an early blow when Trott drove Chaminda Vaas low to Willey at point but Bell and Varun Chopra laid the platform for victory with a second-wicket stand of 57 before Chopra was taken down the leg side by Niall O’Brien off Middlebrook.De Lange took his first wickets in county cricket when William Porterfield was caught behind cutting out of the rough and Jim Troughton clipped to midwicket, but Bell and Clarke accelerated when the seamers returned to see their side home.