The 2010 Champions League Twenty20 will see two groups of five teams each competing in a round robin format

Cricinfo staff29-Jun-2010

How the tournament works

The ten teams are divided into two groups of five each, who play a round-robin format
Group A: Chennai Super Kings, Victoria, Warriors, Wayamba, Central Districts
Group B: Mumbai Indians, Lions, South Australia, Royal Challengers Bangalore, winners of West Indies domestic Twenty20
The top two teams from each group then progress to the semi-finals.

The 2010 Champions League Twenty20 will see two groups of five teams each competing in a round-robin format, with the top two sides from each group going through to the semi finals.The set-up is a departure from the 2009 edition, which had four groups of three teams, with the two teams from each group advancing to another league stage which determined the semi-finalists. Despite the change, the tournament features the same number of matches – 23 – as last year. The matches have been evenly distributed across four venues, with each stadium hosting at least five games.The Mumbai Indians open the event on September 10th against the South African side Lions at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, which also hosts the final on September 26. Mumbai and Lions are part of Group B, along with South Australia, Royal Challengers Bangalore and a team from the West Indies that will be determined in late July.The teams drawn in Group A are the 2010 IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, Australia’s Big Bash champions Victoria, South Africa’s Pro Series champions Warriors, which is a combination of the Eastern Province and Border first-class teams, as well as Sri Lanka’s Wayamba, which represents the North Western Province, and New Zealand’s Central Districts.The 2009 champions, the New South Wales Blues, did not qualify for the 2010 Champions League.There are a number of players who are eligible to play for two teams: Jacques Kallis (Warriors, Bangalore), Mark Boucher (Warriors, Bangalore), Makhaya Ntini (Warriors, Chennai ), Kieron Pollard (South Australia, Mumbai), Dwayne Bravo (Victoria, Mumbai) and Cameron White (Victorian, Bangalore).New Zealand’s Ross Taylor is the first player to qualify with three teams – his home province Central Districts, and ‘away’ teams Victoria and Bangalore. Bravo and Kieron Pollard could join Taylor if T&T emerge as champions of West Indies’ domestic Twenty20 competition.If a player chooses to play for an ‘away’ team rather than his ‘home’ team (the team from the country he is eligible to represent in international cricket), the ‘away’ team must pay US$200,000 compensation to the ‘home’ team. No compensation is payable to an ‘away’ team if a player chooses to play for his ‘home’ team.That being the case, South Australia are already resigned to losing Pollard and are waiting to learn whether Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi will be available. Pollard and Afridi were key components in the Redbacks qualifying for the lucrative Twenty20 event, but they were not part of the state’s 20-man preliminary squad for the tournament.

Headingley produced another of the extraordinary days that has littered its history as Australia were blown away for a paltry 88 before Pakistan built a lead of 60 with seven wickets in hand

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan21-Jul-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMike Hussey was lbw to Umar Gul on a dramatic first morning at Headingley•Getty Images

Headingley produced another of the extraordinary days that has littered its history as Australia were blown away for a paltry 88 before Pakistan built a lead of 60 with seven wickets in hand. Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer, who was on a hat-trick straight after lunch, were again outstanding with devastating late movement, and were well supported by Umar Gul, after Ricky Ponting decided to bat first. In reply Pakistan moved to 148 for 3 when bad light ended play.Four days after having to install a new captain following Shahid Afridi’s shock Test retirement, the new man handed the debatable honour, Salman Butt, probably made his best move of the day by losing the toss. Ponting took a brave call after torrential overnight rain, and with heavy morning cloud cover, putting faith in his top order to weather the challenge. But the gamble backfired in startling fashion as Australia crumbled to their seventh lowest first-innings total of all time.Headingley is another venue where, like Lord’s, overhead conditions are as important as the surface and Pakistan’s frontline pace trio were often unplayable as they made the ball move late off the seam. In scenes reminiscent of the days of Wasim and Waqar, the bowlers didn’t need much help from the fielders with seven wickets either bowled or lbw as Australia failed to combat Pakistan’s full length.Conditions remained favourable for bowling throughout, but Australia looked shell-shocked when they took the ball barely halfway through the second session and Pakistan’s openers virtually wiped off the measly total with a stand of 80. Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson were erratic, but Hilfenhaus – who dropped Butt on 42 – eventually made the breakthrough when he swung one between his bat and pad three runs later.Shane Watson returned to make two late incisions with Imran Farhat (43) beaten by late swing and Azhar Ali (30) sending a thick edge to Tim Paine as the light started to fade, but Umar Akmal gave a indication of Pakistan’s mindset in the final over of the day by slogging Steven Smith’s legspin over long-off for six. The lead has already grown and Australia will need some Sydney-style inspiration to turn this game around.The initial six overs of Australia’s innings were a false dawn and the opening stand of 20 would remain the best partnership of the innings. Simon Katich departed when his strength became a weakness as he shuffled across the crease against Aamer and Watson followed in the next over when he was plumb in front to Asif. Ponting and Michael Clarke were often playing at fresh air as they tried to rebuild with both batsmen regularly squared up by late movement.Aamer was rested after a five-over opening burst but his replacement, Gul, maintained the pressure and he quickly located a full length. He ended Clarke’s struggle when the vice-captain played all round a straight delivery after beginning the over with two flat-footed wafts.Asif was given an extended spell and the move paid huge dividends when he nailed Ponting lbw for the second time in a row. He found late movement into Ponting, who lunged onto the front foot, and the ball was heading for middle and leg as Pakistan’s bowlers continued to leave the fielders redundant.Mike Hussey has rescued Australia from many a hole – often against Pakistan – but this time he was powerless to arrest the slide as Gul brought one back into his front pad, although subsequent replays showed Rudi Koertzen, standing in his final Test, had erred on this occasion and leg stump would have been missed. Even at 41 for 5, Australia would have expected someone in the lower order to haul them beyond three figures, as happened in Sydney earlier this earlier, but this time Pakistan refused to release the pressure.A fielder finally became involved when Kamran Akmal gloved an excellent catch to remove Marcus North as Umar Amin’s introduction proved a masterstroke from Butt. Amin had only six first-class wickets to his name, but his gentle medium-pace found North’s outside edge and the dismissal summed up the early fortunes of both teams.Australia’s hopes of reaching anything like a respectable total were ended with the first two balls of the afternoon session when Aamer produced his latest impression of Wasim Akram with a brace of cracking deliveries. The first, to Smith, snaked back between bat and pad but the next was even better as Johnson lost his off stump to one that curved away past his outside edge.To compound Australia’s woes Hilfenhaus was run out from third man by Amin before Paine’s wild thrash at Asif ended the innings. Paine’s top score of 17 was the joint fourth-lowest highest individual effort in a completed Australian innings and the lowest since the 19th century. That statistic alone sums up the remarkable nature of the demise.

Katherine Brunt played a major role in England’s one-day series triumph over New Zealand, contributing with both bat and ball at crucial times

Cricinfo staff18-Jul-2010Katherine Brunt played a major role in England’s one-day series triumph over New Zealand, striking the winning boundary in a tense, one-wicket win in the first match at Taunton, and picking up three cheap wickets to help restrict the visitors to a gettable total infront of her home crowd at Barnsley in Saturday’s series-sealing nine-wicket victory.”It’s been a hard summer trying to find my form,” she told ecb.co.uk. “I’m carrying a few niggles but I’ve stayed strong but the conditions and pitches haven’t suited my bowling until today. I’ve really had to work hard at bowling immaculate lines and lengths, which is all you can bowl on pitches like at Taunton.”I’ve worked hard and so has everyone else, and we’re all just hitting our straps now and putting in some really good performances. The batters had to dig really deep and Sarah Taylor and Claire Taylor played really, really well.” Sarah and Claire Taylor shared in an unbeaten 98-run stand on Saturday, Claire reaching a half-century which included six fours and a six, and Sarah anchoring the innings with 49 not out.”We’ve had a lot of rain here so it turned out to be a good seamer’s track,” added Brunt. “It turned quite a lot as well so it was always the bowlers’ day – for the first time in quite a while.”Brunt suggested that New Zealand captain Aimee Watkins’ decision to bat first was a tactical error in bowler-friendly conditions, and highlighted the value of knowledge of conditions at the ground. “That just goes to show that we know the local weather and how the pitch has always played,” she explained. “I guess that helps – me being a Yorkshire girl, a local girl, to help them out with that – so we were fortunate to have that edge.”Brunt lauded Barnsley Cricket Club’s efforts in staging the first international match at the ground, which will hold special memories for her after her dominant performance with the ball helped England bounce back after their disappointment in the Twenty20s, which New Zealand won 2-1, with several members of her family in the crowd.”I managed to reserve 25 tickets for my family – cousins, aunties and uncles – so I’m really glad they could make it and see what I do and how much I enjoy playing cricket for my country. It’s fantastic to be able to have a one-day international here. I never thought that was possible, but Barnsley Cricket Club has come a long way.”They’ve built a a new pavilion and they’ve got a new scorebox, which is brilliant. They’re done a really great job today hosting and hopefully there’ll be some more in the future.”

Cricket Australia will consider dismantling its out-dated board structure in favour of a more streamlined and representative model

Peter English13-Aug-2010Cricket Australia will consider dismantling its out-dated board structure in favour of a more streamlined and representative model. Talk of a move towards a commission-style executive was the result of a board meeting on Friday that also confirmed the start of an eight-team domestic Twenty20 competition for 2011-12.Currently six state sides play in the extremely popular Twenty20 Big Bash but that will be expanded to include regional outfits. “We’ve been asked to consider all the issues to go full-steam ahead with the league and launch it a year earlier,” James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive, said.The board meeting came at the end of a week-long Australian cricket conference to plan for the future and the potential remodelling covers all levels. The initial top-level structure under discussion is a six-person board, with one member from each state, along with up to four invited directors. Changes to the six state boards are also expected.”There’s a whole range of reasons why the board has chosen to implement a review of the governance of CA,” Sutherland said. “Certainly one of the things we talked about quite often [at the conference] was the importance of cricket ensuring that we had the interests of the whole Australian community represented throughout cricket, from the board to volunteer level.”It is something the board wants to get into with some haste, there is some work that needs to be done between now and the next [board] meeting to see how it is to take place. There are numerous moves afoot in various sports for them to be changing their governance model, and one of the considerations for us will be to benchmark world’s best practice.”

Hyderabad has thrown its hat into the ring to stage the second Test between India and New Zealand from November 12 to 16

Sharda Ugra14-Sep-2010Kanpur may not be ready and Kolkata unwilling, but Hyderabad has thrown its hat into the ring as a possible venue for the second Test between India and New Zealand from November 12 to 16. The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, on the eastern outskirts of Hyderabad, has staged three ODIs since 2005 and was conferred Test status by the BCCI and the ICC in June this year.Kanpur was scheduled to host the second Test between India and New Zealand but threw up its hands saying that its 10,000-seater ‘students’ stand’ was incomplete. Kolkata then cited renovation of the Eden Gardens for next year’s World Cup as the reason for its inability to hold the Test. Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) president, Arshad Ayub, told ESPNcricinfo, “Hyderabad would certainly and absolutely be ready to stage the India-New Zealand Test. We haven’t been contacted, but I believe the BCCI may be considering it”.Ayub said Hyderabad was “already in the line” to host a Test as it wrote to the BCCI asking to be allotted one, depending on, “the rotation of the Test match grounds or whose turn it was.” The Rajiv Gandhi Stadium will stage an India v New Zealand ODI on December 4, but the prospect of hosting two international matches within the space of three weeks was, Ayub said, “not a problem at all”. The HCA has not been formally spoken to by the BCCI about the Test against New Zealand, “but we are ready and able”.The two confirmed venues for the India-New Zealand Test series are Ahmedabad (November 4 to 8) and Nagpur (November 20 to 24). The series has been dogged by scheduling issues starting in July when the Mumbai Cricket Association backed out of staging the third Test, due to the renovation of the Wankhede Stadium for the World Cup in July, followed by Kanpur’s constructions problems earlier this week.

Gautam Gambhir, the India opening batsman, has said he is happy with his fitness and the next step in his recovery from injury is putting bat to ball again

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2010Gautam Gambhir, the India opening batsman, has said he is happy with his fitness and the next step in his recovery from injury is putting bat to ball again. Gambhir missed the third Test against Sri Lanka earlier this year and the second Test against Australia because of knee problems. He has been named in the side that will take on New Zealand in a three-Test series starting November 4 in Ahmedabad.”It’s important to get back into the rhythm,” Gambhir told the in an interview. “I have increased my batting time at the nets and am happy with my fitness.”Gambhir said it was very frustrating to sit and home and watch India playing. “I watched every bit of the Visakhapatnam game [against Australia] and I missed being part of the team. To be honest, missing out on a game after being dropped feels bad but to sit out with injury and watch other people play feels even worse.”Gambhir chose to rest his knee in the light of the upcoming assignments – the potentially tough tour to South Africa and the World Cup. He has also spent a lot of time at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, undergoing rehabilitation.The biggest challenge, according to him, will be starting from scratch after the layoff. “When you go out to bat in a match after a long break, you just try to test if you still have the old touch. When you come back from a break, you need time to get used to things around you. If you look, I haven’t played much in the last three months. It’s a challenge that I am now looking forward to meet.”Gambhir believed he had done enough to merit a place in the side for the 2011 World Cup that will be hosted in the subcontinent, but was quick to add that the other series were equally important. “It is not just about playing the World Cup but it’s about being in good form and being absolutely fit. I plan to build on it from this New Zealand series, then to South Africa series and so on.”Gambhir thinks the BCCI’s proposal to send India’s Test players to South Africa a week ahead of the tour is a great idea. “[If ] you go to South Africa after playing in subcontinental conditions you need to adjust. The more time players get to acclimatise themselves in those conditions, it will be fantastic preparation.”

Ashish Nehra, one of India’s first-choice seamers in the shorter versions of the game, has made himself available for Test cricket, six and a half years since he last turned out in the whites at the highest level

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2010Ashish Nehra, one of India’s first-choice seamers in the shorter versions of the game, has made himself available for Test cricket, six and a half years since he last turned out in whites at the highest level.”I had never said that I will not play Test cricket again,” Nehra told . “It was just that initially after my comeback, I wanted to concentrate on the ODIs and Twenty20s. Now that I am back in the national side for one and a half years, I feel confident to make a comeback in the Test fold. I will like to make myself available for selection during the South Africa Test series.”A spate of injuries in the mid-2000s pushed Nehra out of the Indian team, but he clawed back into the reckoning with a watershed performance in the 2009 IPL in South Africa, where he stood third in the wickets chart with 18. He has since become a regular in India’s ODI plans and sporadically featured in Twenty20 internationals. His susceptibility to injuries, however, has kept him out of the Test team.Since his international comeback in June 2009, Nehra has played 36 one-dayers, picking 54 wickets at an average just under 30. More importantly, he has not missed a single game due to fitness issues or injuries, and Nehra hopes that he can carry that durability into the longest version. He is headed to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore to follow a fitness program that will prepare him for the upcoming tour of South Africa.”I am planning to play one Ranji Trophy for Delhi before the New Zealand ODI series to check how my body is holding. I am enjoying my cricket at the moment and I don’t see any reason why I can’t make a comeback.”For me the top-most priority is the World Cup next year. That is why I have been so choosy about playing in the longer version. But after World Cup, there is lot of Test cricket to be played as India would be playing against England, West Indies. I will like to again play Test cricket with the same intensity that I used to at the start of my career.”While Nehra is keen to return to Tests, it remains to be seen whether the selectors, who have treated India’s fast-bowling talents on a case-by-case-basis, will include him in their plans. Zaheer Khan is currently the only seamer who walks into the side in all three formats, but, of late, he has been used selectively in a bid to prolong his career. Nehra, on the other hand, has slotted well into the one-day side, with his ability to move the new ball and deliver yorkers in the closing stages. Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth, who have been lacklustre in the shorter versions, have been persisted with for Test cricket. Both bowlers have reposed that faith with strong performances in recent times, and Nehra will have to stave off competition from them to enter the Test side.

As England had their first serious net session of the Ashes tour, events on the opposite side of Australia may not have escaped their attention as the Gabba served up a dramatic two-day Sheffield Shield match

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2010As England had their first serious net session of the Ashes tour, events on the opposite side of Australia may not have escaped their attention as the Gabba served up a dramatic two-day Sheffield Shield match with Queensland twice skittled for under a hundred. Kevin Mitchell, the Gabba’s curator, didn’t rule out a repeat of conditions for the first Test.Brisbane has suffered a large amount of rain in the early stages of the season and the bowlers enjoyed themselves on a lively surface, none more so than Mark Cameron who took 11 for 64 in the match. There are still three weeks to go before the first ball of the Ashes on November 25, but there is the prospect of England’s quicks feeling more at home than they may have imagined.”Anything is possible,” Mitchell told “If there are some cloudy and humid days [during the preparation] then the moisture will stay in the wicket and the grass will continue to grow – that’s what happens in the tropics. So it would be something that could possibly happen.”We are hoping for 10 or 12 days including the duration of the match to have nice sunny days – if that happens it will be a fantastic match. If we don’t get all that it will still be a fantastic match – you just won’t see as many runs.”However, it’s difficult to say which side a green-top would favour because pace bowling is Australia’s stronger suit, with the likes of Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle to call upon, while England will be confident of exploiting any turning conditions they encounter with Graeme Swann.”I know Ricky Ponting and the Australian guys enjoy the pace and the ball coming onto the bat – it provides fairly entertaining cricket,” Mitchell added. “But obviously when you get conditions like we have just had plus that bounce and pace, with movement and swing as well, it is a difficult wicket to play on.”Such conditions could raise the prospect of Australia playing an all-pace attack so there is some irony that Nathan Hauritz, who captained New South Wales, played in the match to regain some form instead of linking up with Australia’s one-day squad. He ended up bowling just two overs, although he did pick up the wicket of Cameron Boyce.England, though, will be wary of reading too much into conditions three weeks out from the first Test. Australia have a formidable record at the Gabba and haven’t lost since facing West Indies in 1988, 22 Tests ago. And if Andrew Strauss fears getting sucked in by conditions, he need only seek out Nasser Hussain who put Australia in on the 2002-03 tour and watched them finish the first day on 364 for 2.

Odean Brown scored 66 and took three wickets to give West Indies A an opportunity to push for a win against Pakistan A

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2010

ScorecardOdean Brown, the Jamaica legspinner, gave West Indies A an opportunity to push for a win against Pakistan A with his all-round performance on the third day at Arnos Vale. Brown first ensured that a couple of quick wickets from seamer Yasir Arafat, who has played three Tests for Pakistan, didn’t derail the West Indies A innings. Brown’s highest first-class score in 51 innings prior to the match was 33, but he doubled that on Friday to help West Indies reach 357 in their first innings. He then took three wickets to put Pakistan under pressure, leaving them at 122 for 3 at stumps, just 26 ahead of the hosts. Khurram Manzoor, who scored a century in Pakistan A’s first innings, was unbeaten on 66 and his captain Faisal Iqbal, who has played 26 Tests for Pakistan, was still at the wicket, batting on 33. The pair’s role will be crucial in trying to save the match on Saturday, as West Indies will fancy their chances of running through Pakistan’s lower-order after they took the visitors’ last seven wickets for 60 runs in the first innings.

After seeing their world-beating game-plan improved on by England,
Australia are now looking to their Ashes dominators to provide a way out
this mess

Peter English at the SCG07-Jan-2011After seeing their world-beating game-plan improved on by England,
Australia are now looking to their Ashes dominators to provide a way out
this mess. For more than a decade Australia were the leaders in planning
and innovation, but over the past couple of years they have gone into
freefall.England’s 3-1 Ashes victory, their first Down Under since 1986-87, has
provided Australia with another fierce reality check after a batch of them
in 2010. “I think 100% we have to learn from what England did this
series,” Clarke said. “Their performance, not only with bat and ball, but
in the field, was outstanding for a five-Test series. There’s a great
starting point to be able to turn up every day for five Tests, to perform
as well as they did.”Clarke was in the unfortunate position of being in charge when the trophy
was handed over, having replaced the injured Ricky Ponting for the final
Test. He may have the job full-time if the selectors decide Ponting’s time
is up before the next tour of Sri Lanka in August, although Clarke loyally
pledged his support to the official leader.If Clarke takes over at least he knows what his side needs to do to
succeed against the best teams. “It takes a lot of discipline, a lot of
planning before the series,” he said. “The [England] bowlers have executed
their plans outstandingly against our batters and their batters have
cashed in when we haven’t bowled in the right areas. We do need to look at
how England have played in this series and take a lot of notes from that.”The overall campaign was a poor one for Clarke, who performed so strongly
in the 2006-07 and 2009 Ashes campaigns. Clarke, who managed only 193 runs
at 21.44, said it felt like the lowest point of his career.”Unfortunately I’ve lost a few Ashes series now and they’re all pretty
bad,” he said. “But being the vice-captain of the Australian team, and
having such a disappointing series with the bat, it probably is [the
worst].”Clarke, 29, has retired from Twenty20s to focus on improving his impact in
the longer forms of the game, but he was asked whether he should hold his
five-day spot for the Sri Lanka trip. “I would like to, I really hope so,”
he said. “Throughout this series I’ve played well in a couple of innings,
but I couldn’t go out and make a big score.”If he had the series over again he would have practised more against tall,
fast bowlers before the first Test in Brisbane. He spent the early stages
of the series being targeted by short-pitched deliveries when he was
overcoming a back injury, and was unable to find any fluency.Australia’s lead-up included one-day games against Sri Lanka and a couple
of domestic fixtures, while England were fine-tuning from the moment their
home summer ended. They were better in all disciplines except
wicketkeeping, where Brad Haddin and Matt Prior were evenly matched.James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive, dismissed any
criticism of the schedule having an influence on the result. “To point the
finger at the preparation and suggest that was responsible for us losing
the series 3-1 is rubbish,” he said. “We actually played more Test cricket
than England did in the two or three months leading into the Ashes
series.”Clarke was hurt by the standard of the side’s fielding and said the
bowlers needed more patience and discipline. “That’s what England have
done throughout this series,” he said, before offering his attack some
sympathy.”I feel a bit for the bowlers, because I know they’ve copped a lot of
criticism throughout this series, but I think we as batters have to take a
lot of responsibility as well,” he said. “If you can put 400 runs on the
board, as England have shown, your bowlers generally bowl a lot better
than what we have. Putting 100, 200, 250 on the board and expecting the
bowlers to get them out for that sort of target, I think we’re asking a
hell of a lot.”