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Rajasthan Royals have picked four players from the Rajasthan Ranji squad and Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane as a part of their uncapped basket. Aakash Chopra is the most prominent name among the Rajasthan players signed with the other three being middle-order batsman Ashok Menaria, seamer Deepak Chahar and wicketkeeper Dishant Harendra Yagnik. Along with Chopra, who moved to Rajasthan as a professional from his home state of Delhi this season, both Menaria and Chahar’s spectacular performances helped Rajasthan reach the Ranji Trophy final after 36 years.Rahane has been a prolific scorer in domestic cricket, and averages 69.01 from 47 first-class games, and 40.41 from 43 List A matches. He was a crucial factor in Mumbai’s 38th and 39th Ranji title wins, making 1089 and 809 runs.”We are pretty happy with what we have got,” Sean Morris, the Rajasthan franchise’s CEO, said. Morris also explained how Chopra, a former India Test opener, was an uncapped player. “According to the IPL rules if a player has not played for India in the last five seasons he automatically becomes uncapped,” he said. Chopra, who played the first two IPL seasons with Kolkata Knight Riders, confirmed the development.Meanwhile Rajasthan’s Ranji captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar has been approached by Kochi. “We are talking to him,” Mehul Shah, one of the Kochi owners said. It is also understood that Pune Warriors have come to an agreement with Kamran Khan, the left-arm fast bowler who played for Rajasthan in the second IPL, but was sent back midway during the campaign to correct his action, which was found to be questionable.Kolkata Knightriders have sent in “10-12” requests to IPL for players they would be interested in. Royal Challengers Bangalore were negotiating with hometown boy Mayank Agarwal, who was part of the India Under-19 World Cup team last year.The Baroda Ranji side has attracted attention as well, with captain Pinal Shah, left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt, allrounder Swapnil Singh, batsman Kedar Devdhar and seamer Murtuja Vahora said to be in advanced stages of discussions with some franchises.Two days after the auction, all ten franchises have been frantically hunting for quality uncapped players, a scarce commodity in Indian cricket. Various team owners rushed to Baroda hours after the weekend auction to woo players like Ambati Rayudu, one of the performers in IPL 2010 and a vital part of Mumbai Indians’ run to the final.The buzz at the Moti Bagh ground was in contrast to the Ranji semi-final, which was played at the Reliance Stadium in Baroda, watched mostly by journalists, a handful of spectators, and a few stray dogs. Not that the cricket so far has been attractive enough to drive fans to the ground, but the rush among the IPL franchises to sign uncapped domestic players suddenly turned the spotlight on a domestic match.Siddhartha Mallya, owner of Bangalore, checked in on Monday morning as teams were getting ready for the final net season before the final day. While Mallya was one of the early IPL birds to arrive in Vadodara, there are reports that many more are headed to the city which is home to Chirayu Amin, head of the IPL governing council, and also the president of the Baroda Cricket Association. Among those expected to arrive tomorrow are Manoj Badale, co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals, Ness Wadia, co-owner of the Kings XI Punjab, and Geoff Lawson, coach of the Kochi team. Amin himself was at the ground today, and apparently it was one of the extremely rare occasions on which the president has been seen at a domestic match in Vadodara.

Xavier Doherty’s sudden elevation to the Test squad will only turn into a trip to Brisbane if he can out-bowl Nathan Hauritz at the SCG this week. Doherty, the left-arm spinner, will go head-to-head with the incumbent Hauritz when Tasmania play New South Wales from Wednesday.Having gained a full-time spot in the Tigers’ line-up this season, Doherty jumped into a one-day debut two weeks ago. He is on the verge of another big leap after being picked in the huge 17-man squad for the opening Test, but has to make the final cut when the outfit is trimmed to 12 or 13.”I guess it’s probably come down to that given the fact that they will cut it back by the end of the week,” Doherty said in Sydney. “They are obviously looking at something this week, I guess this week’s performances probably won’t hurt too much.”Like most people, Doherty, 27, was surprised by the elevation. “I guess it wasn’t that long ago that I was not even carrying the drinks for Tassie,” he said. “It comes as a bit of a shock and it’s a nice shock.”Usman Khawaja was on the tour to England for the Pakistan Tests during the winter but didn’t get a game. It has made him even more desperate to play.”Just getting a baggy green one day would be a dream,” he said in Hobart. “I never try to put too much pressure on myself. If it is meant to happen it happens.”Khawaja will be jostling with Callum Ferguson and Steven Smith in Australia A’s match against England, although the tourists will have their four best bowlers preparing in Brisbane. Ferguson, who is back after a knee reconstruction, is in his first ODI squad after impressing in 26 ODIs.”After 11-and-a-half months of rehab, I really didn’t expect to be here right now,” Ferguson said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty when you hurt your knee like I did. I’m just thrilled to be back playing cricket.”Ryan Harris is battling a persistent knee injury and doesn’t expect to play at the Gabba, but he insists he’ll be ready when needed. “In all honesty I don’t think I’ll be included in that first Test,” he told AAP. “But if someone goes down and things change, I will be ready to go. That’s going to be my role – to be ready if anything goes wrong.”Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said Phillip Hughes was disappointed to miss out, but the team did not need cover for the openers Simon Katich and Shane Watson. “We would consider him in a middle-order position,” Hilditch said, “but at the moment we think the two young players from Australia A we picked are in a bit better form and ready to go.”

Abbottabad held all the cards in their contest against Lahore Ravi at the Gaddaffi Stadium in Lahore, gaining a first-innings lead of 255 and imposing a follow-on. Lahore had begun the day on the back foot, reduced to 43 for 4, but there was an improvement in fortunes on the third day with Saadullah Ghauri and Ashraf Ali striking half-centuries. Asif Ashfaq, batting at No.10, too, resisted with 33 but these efforts were inadequate against a collective bowling effort from Abbottabad. The seamers Ahmed Jamal and Mohammad Naeem shared five wickets, as did the other three bowlers. Jamal returned to torment Lahore in the second innings, removing the openers and leaving the opposition at 55 for 2 at stumps, still 200 adrift, making an innings win a strong possibility.The proceedings were similar at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground where Lahore Shalimar imposed a follow-on on Quetta. Quetta had begun the day on a slightly more comfortable note but didn’t take long to lose their way. Barring opener Bismillah Khan, who made 44, and Taimur Ali, who top-scored with 77, there was little support from the rest as the visitors collapsed to 205 all out, conceding a lead of 230. Legspinner Saad Nasim was the wrecker-in-chief, picking up his maiden five-for and was backed up by seamer Arsalan Mir, who took four. Nasim, like Jamal against Lahore Ravi, returned to take two more in the second innings to leave Quetta reeling at 116 for 5 at stumps.State Bank of Pakistan kept themselves in the hunt for a first-innings lead against Hyderabad on the third day at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad. In pursuit of the hosts’ 326, SBP reached 277 for 5 at stumps thanks to a potentially game-turning fifth-wicket stand of 182 between Rameez Alam, who fell one short of a century, and Naved Yasin, who reached his ninth first-class ton and in quick time, remaining unbeaten on 102 off as many balls. SBP were in trouble at 82 for 4, losing two early wickets in the morning, before Alam and Yasin stepped up. The pair was separated with the score on 264 and Yasin’s presence remains the key if SBP are to edge ahead tomorrow.There was no play on the third day of the contest between Karachi Whites and Pakistan Television at the National Stadium in Karachi. The decision was a mark of respect for politician Imran Farooq, who was killed in London and his body was brought to Karachi for the funeral.

West Indies coach Ottis Gibson has said that leaving Ramnaresh Sarwan out of the Test team was a tough decision but one that needed to be made in the interests of the touring squad in Sri Lanka. Fitness issues and indifferent form have kept Sarwan out of the side in 2010, but Gibson said he still has a lot to offer the team.”It came down to whether we can continue to take Sarwan on tour and then have one of our best players not available to us for selection all the time,” Gibson said. “The decision was taken to give him more time to get fit. I still think he’s got a lot more contributions to make to West Indies cricket and that gives him the opportunity to do the things he knows he needs to do to not just get fit, but stay fit to make those contributions.”Gibson backed the “strong decisions” made by the selectors in picking a new-look squad, with Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo stripped of their leadership roles following their refusal to sign WICB’s central contracts. Darren Sammy took over as captain from Gayle, while Brendan Nash was named vice-captain.”The selectors have picked a team in trying to chart the way forward for the West Indies in the coming years,” Gibson said. “We are in the decision-making business and West Indies cricket, from where it sits currently, needs strong decisions and those are the decisions the selectors have taken. It’s an exciting time for Darren and Brendan but also for some of the young guys who have been picked.”The squad includes the uncapped pair of fast bowler Andre Russell and wicketkeeper Devon Thomas, who was picked in place of Denesh Ramdin. Gibson was confident that both the team and the new players stood to benefit from their presence on a potentially tough tour of Sri Lanka.”Thomas’ selection comes at the back of a very good stint at the Sagicor High Performance Center in Barbados,” Gibson said. “He has had rave reviews when they went on tour in Canada. The thinking of the selectors is that the subcontinent is a tough place to tour, and if you’re going on a tour like that you need to have cover in specialist positions so therefore the view of taking two keepers [Carlton Baugh is also in the side] is exactly that.”When I see Andre Russell, he excites me. He is a big, tall fellow and he has got some pace. We took the decision to take him along and it will give me an opportunity to work with him and introduce him into the international arena that way.”Gibson also reposed faith in the inexperienced leadership pair that will take charge of the side. Sammy has played only eight Tests since his debut in 2007, while the Australia-born batsman, Nash, has featured in 15.”Darren Sammy as a cricketer and as a leader always plays with passion. Hopefully when he leads, he continues to lead in that way. What we don’t want is for him to get the job and change the way he is. I said to him already that he must be his own man and make sure that we, as management, will take as much stress off him so he can do his job.”Brendan Nash, since he’s been here, has been very professional,” Gibson said. “Growing up in Australia, he’s got a steely Australia attitude, meticulous with his preparation. That’s what I see of Nash and that’s what I hope he brings to his role as the vice-captain of the team – to lead in that regard, continue to show the younger players in the team in that way.”

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has issued an apology for the comments he made during the one-day series between England and Pakistan when he claimed the hosts’ players had taken “enormous amounts of money” to lose the third ODI at The Oval. The England players have accepted Butt’s apology and withdrawn the threat of legal action which had loomed since the outburst.In a joint statement issued by the PCB and ECB, Butt admitted he had no evidence to back up his claims – which he repeated to multiple media outlets – and that he regretted the “misunderstanding” that followed even though he initially refused to back down from his comments.”I wish personally and on behalf of the Pakistan Cricket Board to withdraw the comments I made concerning the England and Wales Cricket Board and each of the England players who played in the one-day International at The Oval on Friday 17 September. It is regrettable that there was a misunderstanding arising from my comments.”I would like to make it quite clear that in the statements which I made that I never intended to question the behaviour and integrity of the England players nor the ECB nor to suggest that any of them were involved in any corrupt practices or in a conspiracy against Pakistan cricket.”In particular, I wish to make it clear that I have never seen any evidence of any wrongdoing by any England player or the ECB at any time,” he added. “I deeply and sincerely regret that my statements have been interpreted to cast doubt upon the good names of the England players and the ECB and hope that this public withdrawal will draw a line under the matter.”Butt also acknowledged the role the ECB are playing in trying to keep Pakistan on the international scene despite the team being unable to play at home due to security concerns. Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, heads the Pakistan task force and the team played a neutral series against Australia during the English season and plans had been in place for them to return next year until the spot-fixing scandal erupted.”The ECB and its chairman have been and continue to be a friend of and hugely supportive of Pakistan cricket,” Butt said. “I am very grateful for their efforts in that regard and for their hospitality this summer. We at the PCB, like all other cricket governing bodies, are committed to a zero tolerance policy to corruption in the game and will continue to work hard with the relevant authorities to eradicate it.”Following Butt’s outburst Andrew Strauss, with the full backing of the board, said the players would pursue all their legal avenues if Butt didn’t respond to a letter demanding a full and public apology. “The ECB and the England players who played at The Oval warmly welcome this withdrawal and now regard the matter closed,” the statement concluded. “Giles Clarke confirmed that following this statement he is continuing in his role as the ICC Pakistan task team chairman.”Earlier in the day Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, had rebuked Butt for not going through the official channels if he had concerns about match-fixing. “I would have been much more satisfied had it been a direct approach to us or ACSU inspectors,” he said.ESPNcricinfo also understands that the ICC considered suspending Butt over the remarks but gave the chairman time to issue an apology.

Yorkshire will be playing at Scarborough for at least another decade after signing a long-term agreement with the outground.Officials from both clubs as well as the local council secured North Maine Road’s future as Yorkshire took on Hampshire in the County Championship. Last season the ground came in for some criticism for poor facilities, but recent work has ensured Yorkshire will return.”Cricket on the east coast forms an important part of the Yorkshire cricket calendar and I’m delighted that Yorkshire will be playing games here over the next decade,” Stewart Regan, the Yorkshire chief executive, said. “The ground has improved enormously over the last year, but the hard work does not end there.”We will continue to work in partnership with Scarborough CC, the local council and Welcome to Yorkshire to attract new investment so that cricket on the east coast can be preserved long after this 10-year agreement expires.”Bill Mustoe, chairman of Scarborough Cricket Club, said: “This is a big day for Scarborough Cricket Club and fully justifies the improvements we have made to the ground over the last year. I would like to particularly thank Welcome to Yorkshire who have invested time, money and a deep appreciation of what staging Yorkshire cricket matches means to the east coast region.”

ScorecardHalf-centuries from James Middlebrook and David Murphy for Northamptonshire were in vain as Gloucestershire boosted their County Championship promotion hopes with a seven-wicket victory in three days at Wantage Road.An eighth-wicket partnership of 141 between Middlebrook and wicketkeeper Murphy offered some belated resistance from the home side, with Middlebrook making 81 and Murphy 55 in a total of 252. Jon Lewis took 3 for 45 to help set Gloucestershire 75 to win, a target they reached comfortably despite Jack Brooks taking the early wickets of openers William Porterfield and Jonathan Batty.Northamptonshire began the day teetering on the brink of defeat on 128 for 7, following on from their paltry first-innings total of 124 all out and still 50 runs behind their opponents. Resuming at the crease for them were Middlebrook and Murphy, who were on 20 and 1 respectively.They stuck around to post Northamptonshire’s best partnership of the match, beating the 38 made between Ben Howgego and Alex Wakely in their first innings. They survived the first hour to ensure that Gloucestershire would have to bat again and Middlebrook reached his fifty from 109 balls, having been dropped on 43 by Porterfield at third slip off Steven Kirby.He and Murphy went on to pile on the runs together as they continued to frustrate the visitors’ attack until lunch, which they reached on 231 for 7. Together they set a record eighth-wicket stand for Northamptonshire against Gloucestershire, passing the 96 made by Roy Virgin and Sarfraz Nawaz at Northampton in 1977.Murphy went on to reach his half-century from 133 balls in the fourth over of the afternoon before Lewis broke the deadlock when he pinned Middlebrook lbw in the third over after the second new ball was taken. Brooks (1) was then pinned leg before by James Franklin before Murphy was dismissed in the same manner by Lewis to wrap up the innings and set Gloucestershire their small victory target.Ireland international Porterfield made a brisk 23 in 13 balls before smashing a loose drive off Brooks straight to Wakely at mid-off. Brooks then claimed a second victim when he forced wicketkeeper Batty to edge to his opposite number Murphy.Gloucestershire captain Alex Gidman’s middle stump was then sent tumbling by Zimbabwe’s Elton Chigumbura before rain stopped play with 22 runs still needed for victory. Chris Dent and Steve Snell quickly guided Gloucestershire over the line when play resumed, finishing unbeaten on 28 and 10 respectively.

Pragyan Ojha, the Indian left-arm spinner who toiled for 46 overs for one wicket on an unresponsive SSC pitch, believes that India should be able to bat their way out of trouble, with three days remaining in the Test.”It’s a very good wicket to bat on,” Ojha said. “You have seen it for the last two days. Once you’re set, you can just bat on. These guys [the Sri Lankan batsmen] have showed that as long as you can avoid silly mistakes, you’re going to get a good score.”In reply to Sri Lanka’s 642 for 4 declared, India made a positive start in the final hour of the second day, reaching 95 without loss. Virender Sehwag raced away to an unbeaten fifty, and the Sri Lankan attack – sans Murali and Malinga – didn’t cause many problems. Ojha doesn’t expect too much wear and tear on the pitch in the coming days.”The way things are going, I don’t think our batsmen will have any problem,” Ojha said. “The wicket is rock-solid, and I just hope that our guys bat on and on.”Ojha and his bowling mates haven’t had a great time on the trip so far, and the pitch at the SSC didn’t give them much chance either. “There wasn’t much turn for me,” Ojha said. “It was coming on to the bat with the new ball and the old ball wasn’t doing much.”As a bowler, especially as a spinner, all you can do is to do the basics right, keep it tight and just make the batsmen struggle for each and every run. They shouldn’t [be allowed to] get it easily.”This was the seventh straight time that India lost the toss in Tests. In Sri Lanka it becomes a big factor for touring teams, because the hosts are very good at ruling out a defeat once they win the toss in a home Test. “I think winning or losing the toss is not in our hands,” Ojha said. “We would have liked to bowl second. If we would have got the amount of runs the Sri Lankans have got, it would have been different.”

Scorecard
Tim Groenewald had Worcestershire in early trouble before Shakib Al Hasan launched a counterattack•PA Photos

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan moved into overdrive on his Worcestershire debut after opener David Wheeldon got stuck in the slow lane at Derby. Shakib raced to 90 off 82 balls while Wheeldon batted for just over three hours for 20 on his first Championship appearance of the season.Tim Groenewald took three wickets to reduce Worcestershire to 66 for 4 but Shakib and James Cameron, with a career-best 89, carried the visitors to 279 with Derbyshire closing 236 runs behind on 43 without loss.There had been plenty of movement for the seamers after Vikram Solanki elected to bat on a pitch which had been uncovered during the rain affected 40-over match against Gloucestershire the previous night. With the ball also swinging in the humid air, the batsmen had to struggle forsurvival and Wheeldon was beaten numerous times although Daryl Mitchell was the first to go when he got an inside edge into his stumps in the ninth over.Solanki hit five fours before he mistimed a pull at Steffan Jones and Groenewald claimed his second victim when Moeen Ali was caught behind down the leg side in the penultimate over before lunch.Wheeldon had scored 12 runs from 82 balls in the morning and he continued to play and miss repeatedly after the interval but Alexei Kervezee was next to go when he was lbw to a Groenewald inswinger.Shakib attacked from the start and quickly passed Wheeldon whose laborious vigil ended when he top-edged a hook at Garry Park after facing 127 balls in 45 overs. Worcestershire then slammed on the accelerator as Cameron ,who was playing in only his third first-class match, and Shakib plundered 101 in just 16 overs.Shakib reached 50 off 49 balls and then launched a punishing assault on Robin Peterson, hitting the South African left-arm spinner for 22 from seven balls while Cameron brought up the century stand by driving Greg Smith’s off spin over the long-on boundary.But in the same over, Smith ended Shakib’s entertaining innings which contained 16 fours when he got one to spin to have him caught behind three overs before tea.Cameron reached his half-century from 67 balls and although Peterson trapped Ben Cox lbw for 17, he came in for some more harsh treatment after Richard Jones had been smartly caught at slip off Smith who ended with impressive figures of 2 for 33 from 18 overs.Cameron passed his previous highest score of 75 by driving Peterson for six and the Zimbabwean then hit the next two balls over long-off but his chances of a century were hit when Matt Mason was run out off a misfield.Peterson had the last word when Cameron was caught at long-on going for his fifth six which left Derbyshire with 11 overs to negotiate. Although Chris Rogers survived a strong lbw appeal against Mason, he and Wayne Madsen played out the day with few alarms.

The captains of Ireland, Canada and Netherlands admitted there is plenty at stake for their sides as the ICC World Cricket League gets underway in Netherlands on July 1. Ireland launch their title defence on the opening day against former champions Kenya, while last year’s runners-up Canada face Afghanistan; the hosts clash with Scotland.Ireland captain Trent Johnston believed the tournament was a good opportunity to launch his side’s World Cup preparations. “I think Phil Simmons and the selectors are pretty happy with the side we have here. I think it is a good opportunity for the players to put themselves forward for a place in next year’s World Cup squad,” Johnston said.”We have probably got five or six of the regulars here and rest of the guys are trying to put themselves up for further selection. We are in sort of a rebuilding stage, I suppose, before the tournament in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.”Johnston also saw the event as a stepping stone for the younger generation of cricketers in his squad. “We have a couple of guys who will be making their debuts, hopefully at some stage during the tournament. Craig Young, Andrew Bilbirnie, George Dockwell and Paul Stirling played in the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year. They are now in the senior squad and it is a fantastic achievement for Irish cricket to see these guys developing and making into the senior ranks,” he said.Johnston was eager for Ireland to retain their status as the top Associate side and challenge the top teams. “I just want to keep Ireland at top of the Associate tree and keep knocking at the door of the big boys above us. We were close to beating Australia a couple of weeks ago and if we can take that sort of commitment and ability on the field and put three disciplines together, we have got a very good chance of lifting the trophy again,” he added.Canada captain Ashish Bagai said his side was brimming with confidence ahead of this year’s event. “The 2009 tournament was very important for us as the pressure was obviously higher. We did well and what we can take away from that tournament is the confidence which we can use in this tournament. All the six teams are evenly matched so it is going to be a tough tournament but we believe we have enough gas in our tanks to finish at the top,” Bagai said.Bagai believed the tournament would give him a good idea of his side’s progress in cricket’s pecking order. “This is a very important tournament for us. It’s a milestone and a good checkpoint which we can use to see where we stand and what we need to do in future. It gives us a good time to try out a few youngsters and identify our strengths and weaknesses seven months away from World Cup 2011,” he said.Peter Borren also had the World Cup lead-up in his sights, but nothing short of victory in the WCL Division One would do for the hosts. “It is a home tournament and obviously, at the back of our minds is the World Cup but at this stage the most important thing is to win the tournament,” Borren said.”We have to win games of cricket and let’s try to put 100 overs of quality cricket together. It’s always a challenge and it will be the same for all the teams here. I have no doubt that at times during this tournament we’ll see some fantastic innings played by the Netherlands top six or seven batsmen. I also have no doubts that at times our bowling will be sharp.”It’s very often in cricket that you bat very well but let yourself down a little bit with bowling or fielding or the other way round. It has been a challenge for all the Associate sides to put it together for the whole match and our challenge in this tournament will be to be competitive and consistent match after match,” Borren said.