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The Indian players in the IPL auction could be set for a bumper payday as there is far more overseas talent for fewer slots and vice versa

Sharda Ugra and Nagraj Gollapudi07-Jan-2011Here’s the good news: there is a total of $72.3m dollars floating around for cricketers from all over the globe at the IPL’s bumper auction in Bangalore’s Royal Gardenia hotel this weekend. Most of it, though, will be spent on Indian players, with the big-ticket overseas players discovering that after three seasons of big spending, their big tickets have expired.The reason: there are many more overseas players up for auction than their Indian counterparts. Or, to put it another way, far more overseas talent for fewer slots and vice versa.The 2011 auction has 305 overseas cricketers for the 95 foreign slots available among the ten teams, as opposed to 48 Indians in the auction for what in reality are a minimum of 200 places. As in conventional economics, the IPL’s law of demand and supply dictates that demand will fix its own price.”If you are looking for an allrounder from among the foreign players,” one franchise official said, “you know if you have ten options and you don’t get the first nine, you will get the tenth, who will still be a player of quality. That is not what is happening with the Indians.The sheer scarcity of Indian talent will drive values and prices very high.”The auction is likely to indicate how franchises will conduct their business in the second phase of the IPL, where team numbers are up from eight to 10 and the schedule changes to a 74-match calendar with playoffs.Steve Rixon, the former Australia wicketkeeper now on the Chennai Super Kings support staff, told ESPNcricinfo that the franchises at this auction would be a “little smarter” than the previous one, and make their choices very carefully over “who they are selecting, why they are selecting and whether they fit into the bigger picture.”Given the IPL’s lopsided numbers, there is now a slim chance of overseas players picking up the highest IPL contract, like the $1.55m deal handed out to both Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff in 2009. It is in fact Yusuf Pathan and Yuvraj Singh who could well be in a close contest for the weekend’s biggest wage slip, because they are both Indian and impact players.Nor will it be a surprise if some of the best-known international names land far smaller pay cheques than a range of players spanning Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa and Saurabh Tiwary.The grapevine suggests that most franchises will not fill their quota of ten overseas signings. The biggest lesson from the past three seasons of the IPL, a franchise executive said, was that, “ten foreign players are too many… you waste them. Sometimes you have to leave a quality player on a bench. It’s not good for him, not good for you. The optimum number is about eight. It gives you enough options: to play an extra bowler, someone may be injured or unavailable.”
The auction’s global graph, said another official, would move east and south. “Franchises will spend more money on Indian players followed by the Sri Lankans and South Africans. Then the Australians, because of availability. That is where the England players will be hurt – usually their window is too small for teams to consider.”
Some overseas players will, of course, command high prices. These will be men of express pace, like Dale Steyn or Shaun Tait, who can blow open games, or batsmen who can do the same, like Chris Gayle or David Warner. Or a big name whose purse will come with the promise that he can win at least four or five games on his own and command star value. Step forward Muttiah Muralitharan and Jacques Kallis.The most unpredictable buys in the auction could well come from the new franchises, like the faction-ridden Kochi or Sahara-owned Pune, who find the entire exercise a mental and financial challenge – more so because 12 star players have already been retained. A Chennai franchise insider said the two new teams would be looking for that one star buy. Their plans, he believed, would be similar to Chennai’s in 2008. “Unlike most teams, Chennai didn’t have an icon player. Chennai went all out to get MS Dhoni. This time again there is expected to be a mad rush for such a player who could add the star value and the brand image to the franchise… at least one such player who could be their captain.”However one of the officials of a new franchise said his side were left with “not so many” options. “The top 10 players in the world are gone. If you take Mumbai and Chennai, they have been allowed to retain players who are easily worth around $6 million.”
They would do well to heed Delhi’s advice: that the players with the biggest price tags aren’t the only ones to pursue. Due to the Twenty20 format, a Delhi insider said, it doesn’t make sense to spend money beyond a certain level on a player. “We have seen that several high-value players have not delivered in games”. The brevity and speed of the game, he said, gives a less-skilled player a “better chance of delivering in a big T20 game… just like there is far less chance of a lesser player coming through in a tough Test match situation. That is the nature of the beast.”The best squad, then, is a mix of “allrounders and impact players”. Or, as Rixon put it, players who fit the teams’ macro-mould. “If bowling is your strength, you need strong upper-order batting. You need players who can bowl and bat…” Teams would also be on the lookout for the decision-makers who can deliver. “That is where the older heads have a role to play and that can only come from experience. That is why there are still older players on the circuit.” That is why Anil Kumble will be missed.The presence of a Tait or a Steyn, and therefore the demand for them, will be even more vital and valuable than that of a star batsman. Even over four overs, their pace and ability can ask questions of the bits and pieces players (who will proliferate in the IPL) that will likely be left unanswered.Team like Kings XI Punjab, who have had three rough and controversial years followed by three months of legal wrangling with the BCCI, will be looking for stability. A Punjab spokesman said the franchise wants players, “who perform and not only those who command large amounts of money. It will be performance that counts and not only money.”It’s the IPL so money will count. It will walk and strut and it will talk. But at the auction, it is going to speak a language not of glamour or glitz, but that of business and bottom lines. The $74.3m are, for the better part, going to have to be judiciously spent.

Scotland’s development programme has been named the best in Europe at the ICC Development Programme Awards for 2010

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jan-2011Scotland’s development programme has been named the best in Europe at the ICC Development Programme Awards for 2010. Scotland won the ‘Best Overall Cricket Development Programme’ award for significant achievements in all aspects of the game – in junior cricket, women’s cricket, in new strategies and the creation of new pathways.”This award is a tremendous endorsement of what we have been striving to achieve over the past few years,” said Steve Paige, Head of Community Development for Cricket Scotland. “It also recognises the important value of the contributions volunteers play in developing cricket at grassroots level.”Last year, we saw some fantastic achievements within our community programmes: 468 schools competed in our schools cups. We had 56 primary schools festivals. We educated more than 300 teachers in introductory programmes and 110 umpires attended introductory courses, with 58 taking Level 1 exams. We delivered courses to 134 physical education students and now we have over 450 active UKCC coaches.”And our development team around the country have been doing a splendid job in growing the game and ensuring we have sustainable structures in the clubs, so they can support all the children and adults that want to play the game.””These very well deserved awards are in recognition of the great work which is ongoing in our Associate and Affiliate member countries; all involved should be very proud of themselves,” added ICC Regional Development Manager Richard Holdsworth.The Pepsi ICC Development Programme Annual Awards promote excellence in cricket development and recognise exceptional performance and service to the game in the ICC’s 95 Associate and Affiliate Member countries. Nominations were received from national bodies, clubs, associations, teams, schools and individuals. The European regional winners will now be put forward for the Global Pepsi ICC Development Programme Awards.

Zimbabwe’s spinners completed the job started by batsmen Tatenda Taibu and Craig Ervine, maintaining an asphyxiating grip on Canada’s batsmen to secure a 175-run win

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill28-Feb-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Man of the Match Tatenda Taibu top-scored with 98 and then completed two stumpings as Zimbabwe romped to a 175-run win•Getty Images

Zimbabwe’s spinners made sure a record third-wicket partnership between Tatenda Taibu and Craig Ervine didn’t go to waste, maintaining an asphyxiating grip on Canada’s batsmen to secure a 175-run win in Nagpur. Taibu and Ervine’s stand, which is Zimbabwe’s highest for the third wicket in ODIs and their fifth largest overall, helped their team recover from a decidedly shaky start to reach 298 for 8 on a good batting wicket. While the ascendancy had swung between the two teams in the first innings Zimbabwe’s slow bowlers assumed full control in the afternoon, sharing 37.1 overs and all ten wickets as Canada were bowled out in the 43rd over.Despite needing practically a-run-a-ball from the start Canada would still have begun their batting effort with the belief that an upset was not impossible. What was needed was a positive start by their opening pair, the unlikely couple of veteran batsman John Davison and the comparatively foetal Nitish Kumar who, at 40 and 16 respectively, are the oldest and youngest players at this tournament.Davison looked to attack Ray Price – who shared the new ball once again – almost immediately but ran straight past a flighted delivery that straightened just enough to clip the top of off stump. Things got worse for Canada four overs later when, in consecutive deliveries, Price stuck out his left hand and held onto a chipped drive to get rid of Kumar and Ashish Bagai swept straight to short backward square. Jimmy Hansra safely negotiated the hat-trick ball but the damage had been done with Canada staring into the precipice at 7 for 3.Hansra and 19-year-old Ruvindu Gunasekara clung gamely to the crease for a while, but the required rate rose steadily as the slow bowlers strengthened their stranglehold. As the frustration rose Hansra again used his feet to Utseya but this time an arm ball rushed past the outside edge and he was easily stumped for a 41-ball 20.Gunasekara followed in the very next over, bottom-edging an attempted late cut onto his own stumps, and when the big-hitting Rizwan Cheema mis-hit a full toss straight to short fine leg Canada were 66 for 6 and the match was over as a contest. With the pitch exhibiting increasingly extravagant turn legspinner Graeme Cremer was unleashed on the lower order, and both Tyson Gordon and Khurram Chohan were flummoxed by his subtle variations in flight and spin.Zubin Surkari briefly held Zimbabwe at bay, gritting out a brave 26 before he fell to a leg-side stumping. Cremer wrapped up the innings an over later, ripping one through Balaji Rao’s defences to claim his third wicket.

Smart Stats

• Brendan Taylor became the third batsman to be dismissed off the first ball of a World Cup game. Three of the dismissals have come against Zimbabwe.

• Tatenda Taibu’s 98 is the first instance of a Zimbabwe batsman being dismissed in the nineties in a World Cup game and the 32nd instance overall of a batsman being dismissed in the nineties in a World Cup match.

• Taibu’s 98 was his third-highest score in ODIs and his 17th fifty overall. In 14 matches since June 2010, he has scored 564 runs with five half-centuries.

• The 181-run partnership between Taibu and Craig Irvine is the highest partnership for Zimbabwe in World Cups, surpassing the 166-run stand between Grant Flower and Craig Wishart against Namibia in 2003. It is also the fifth-highest stand for Zimbabwe in ODIs overall.

• Zimbabwe’s 298 is their fourth-highest total in a World Cup game. They have 18 scores over 300 in ODIs.

• Zimbabwe’s 175-run win is their largest in World Cups and their fourth largest in ODIs overall. The margin of defeat is also the second largest for Canada in World Cups.

Canada had been able to put up much more of a challenge with the ball, legspinner Rao picking up career-best figures of 4 for 57 as Zimbabwe were kept under pressure on either side of Taibu and Ervine’s partnership. There was a real buzz in the field when Brendan Taylor and Charles Coventry were removed within the first four overs – Taylor pinned in front of his stumps by a Khurram Chohan inswinger on the very first ball of the day – but as the shine faded and the sun baked all life from the wicket the batsmen settled in and a large total loomed.After seeing off the new ball Taibu took two boundaries from offspinner Jimmy Hansra’s first over, another brace from his second, to calm Zimbabwe’s nerves. He barely dipped below a-run-a-ball thereafter, bringing up a 46-ball fifty in the 15th over and playing with increasing fluency. Ervine, who made a cautious start to his innings with 17 from his first 35 balls, eventually began to pick up the tempo too and used a variety of sweep shots against the spinners to good effect as the partnership passed 100.It appeared Zimbabwe had assumed full control once more, but as the ball softened it began to grip the surface and Rao got the breakthrough with one that bounced a little more than Ervine was expecting, ricocheting off the shoulder of the bat and the pad and looping up for wicketkeeper Bagai to complete a good catch. Ervine had reached 85, his highest score in ODIs, but his dismissal sparked another collapse and when Taibu top-edged a sweep to be out for 98 Zimbabwe were 201 for 5.Rao had luck on his side in nipping Greg Lamb and Sean Williams out, Lamb chopping a long-hop onto his own stumps and Williams gloving a sweep to give Bagai the chance to take a third smart catch, diving forward. Zimbabwe were precariously placed at 240 for 7 at that point and were thankful for an enterprising 41-run stand between Prosper Utseya and Graeme Cremer, which gave the score took a sheen of respectability after a stuttering start and a middle-order wobble. As it turned out, their score was more than enough against a Canadian line-up that showed precious little competency in combating an unrelenting hydra of spin.

Match Timeline

The injury to Ashish Nehra has put the Indian team management in a dilemma over who should be his replacement for the World Cup final against Sri Lanka

Nagraj Gollapudi 01-Apr-2011The injury to Ashish Nehra has put the Indian team management in a dilemma over who should be his replacement for the World Cup final against Sri Lanka. The likely choices are Sreesanth and R Ashwin, but MS Dhoni said that he was yet to make up his mind on whether to go for a third seamer, or play two seamers and an extra spinner.”That is a tricky one,” Dhoni said 24 hours before the final. “If you see the Mumbai track there is a bit of pace and bounce for the seamers initially. Also if there is reverse swing going on, the third seamer can have an impact on the game. At the same time if the three seamers are bowling well I can easily manoeuvre the bowling.”According to Dhoni, playing only two seamers along with four spinners including part-timers did not afford him the same flexibility. Yet, on the two occasions India adopted that strategy, they won: in the final group match against West Indies, and in the quarter-final victory over Australia.”If one of the fast bowlers has an off-day it gets difficult,” Dhoni said. “Still we should not forget that, in whatever opportunities Ashwin has got so far he has done really well. We have confidence in him. But we have not thought out our bowling combination yet.”Dhoni disagreed that playing Sreesanth – who leaked 53 runs in five overs in his only game – would be a gamble. “He is one player who gets excited when it comes to big games,” Dhoni said. “If he is playing he will be in a good frame of mind. Sree is one character who can swing the ball and get you early wickets. It would be an exciting choice we would need to make.”But he did admit that being a volatile character, Sreesanth could easily disappoint. “The only person who can control Sreesanth is Sreesanth,” he said. “It is beyond my control and I don’t think too much about.”Dhoni, however, clarified that Sreesanth’s unpredictability was not the reason behind him not featuring in India’s campaign after the opening game against Bangladesh. Dhoni said that India had played the line-ups most suited to the conditions in the knockout matches, and Sreesanth did not fit in with the requirements. “It has been unfortunate that we could not give him any further chances after the first match where he did not bowl that badly,” Dhoni said. “But after that we gave chances to quite a few other individuals, which was needed at that point. After the last match in the group stages we have fielded the best XI, which suited the conditions.”Going by the two league games played here, the Wankhede pitch has proved beneficial to teams batting first. In the first of those games, New Zealand made 358 against Canada after being put in to bat. Four days later Kumar Sangakkara’s century helped Sri Lanka set a challenging target of 265 against New Zealand, who were flattened by the trickery of Muttiah Muralitharan. Dhoni was certain Muralitharan would play tomorrow despite fitness worries, and he believed the teams would prefer to bat first. “Being the final, more often than not most of the teams would love to bat first, put runs on the board and put pressure on the opposition,” he said. “You might see the wicket getting slower as the game progresses. There will not be too much of a difference apart from handling the pressure which might be more in the second innings compared to the first.”

Vincent Barnes, South Africa assistant and bowling coach, believes the lack of black African players in the national team could be the result of a deeper problem that flows from managerial level to the playing field

Firdose Moonda12-May-2011Vincent Barnes, South Africa’s assistant and bowling coach, believes the lack of black African players in the national team could be the result of a deeper problem that flows from managerial level to the playing field. Barnes, who has been coaching for 17 years and been the national set up since 2003, would like to see transformation taking place throughout the ranks in South African cricket.”It is a worry that we don’t have as many black African players coming through the system. But, we have to develop coaches and administrators of colour as well,” he told ESPNCricinfo. “It’s no coincidence that players of colour will perform where they are some people of colour involved as well.”Barnes is one of two coaches of colour involved in professional cricket, which includes the national team and the franchises; Warriors’ Russell Domingo is the other. While there are some assistant coaches of colour, such as Lawrence Mahatlane who is involved with the Lions, there is a dearth of black African, coloured and Indian coaches, which Barnes thinks may filter down to player development.South Africa have had one prominent black African player since readmission, Makhaya Ntini, who retired from international cricket in November last year. Currently, Lonwabo Tsotsobe is the only black African player in the national set-up although there have been short stints by Monde Zondeki, Thandi Tshabalala and Thami Tsolekile. International cricket is still not played in any major predominantly black areas, such as the Soweto township outside Johannesburg, where there is a fully functional stadium. Although cricket is played widely among black Africans, the rate of progress of them playing for franchises and, ultimately, international cricket is still slow.Despite that, representation in the national team by coloureds and Indians has grown and South Africa were able to field six players of colour in their group stage match against Bangladesh in the recent World Cup. Barnes said that the harmony in the group was proof that the racial debate in South African cricket has moved on, at least at the highest level. “We had so many players of different colours, from different cultures and everyone believed that everyone else deserved to be there,” he said, while acknowledging that change, lower down, must speed up.As one of the few people of colour involved in coaching, Barnes has made it part of his mission to help speed that up, as part of his commitment to developing cricket in the country. “I am determined to find and create opportunities for people of colour,” he said.It’s no easy task, especially for someone who was denied the opportunity to play international cricket because of his race, but it’s Barnes’ way of opening doors for others that were slammed shut on him. Barnes played for the Western Province Cricket Board during the apartheid era and also represented Western Province after unity. “I know what’s it like to play in intense, high pressure situations and it’s up to me to be able to prepare people for that challenge. But sometimes I am harder on players of colour, because I want them to achieve.”

ESPNCricinfo previews the game between Punjab and Delhi

The Preview by Sriram Veera22-Apr-2011

Match facts

Saturday, April 23, Delhi
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Will there be any miraculous turnaround for Irfan Pathan?•AFP

Big picture

‘Juice it up baby!’ is the new mantra for the battle-weary Delhi Daredevils, sitting glumly at the bottom of the cesspool. “We have prepared a green wicket unique to Twenty20 cricket. Never before will a Twenty20 be played on such a track with so much grass on it,” the Feroz Shah Kotla curator said. Desperate times call for desperate measures and Delhi is well and truly in the red zone. The light at the end of the tunnel is green. Or so they hope. It makes sense, though. They brought seven seamers (seven!) in the auction and have been slowly killing them on a dull sluggish track. So why not try out a green track and see what happens? Right at the end of the Delhi daredevils’ official team anthem video, there is this scene where Virender Sehwag gives the thumbs down to his team-mates’ efforts and shows them how to bat . It’s now time to start getting it right on the field.Meanwhile the story of Punjab is showing signs of being a blockbuster just as their Bollywood-inspired official site hoped it would. The site features Adam Gilchrist in a mega close-up, as the hero, and has the names of rest of the ‘supporting cast’. Gilchrist was their only star before the campaign but slowly new names are claiming their ticket to fame. Yet, if you check the batting and bowling records of the tournament, only two Punjab players check into the top ten. That once unknown Indian Paul-who? is right at the top of the batting chart and Praveen Kumar is at the No. 9 on the wicket-takers’ list. Punjab’s rise has been as a unit; someone or other has seized the big moments in a game and delivered. Will they continue to surprise or will there be a twist in the tale?

Team talk

The green, green grass means Delhi will pack its team with seamers though one will have to wait and see if the curator delivers on his promise of a devilish pitch. Will Punjab consider playing David Hussey or stick to the winning combination from the last game?Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Irfan Pathan’s past dogs him like a shadow. The questions from the fans are plenty: Oh where is that inswing? Oh where is that pace? What is this gentle dibbly-dobbly stuff? Will we ever get to see the old Irfan? The expectations of him are always huge and the young man has struggled to shoulder that burden. The bowling has been listless, the batting hasn’t come on and in many ways, he has reflected Delhi’s sad reality. Will there be a miraculous turnaround or will he just slither away into anonymity?Dinesh Karthik has had a quiet tournament so far as the top order has been doing the job. In the previous IPL editions, he was a strong performer for Delhi in the middle order and if the law of averages catches up with the top order, Karthik is well-equipped to step up to the plate. He has the shots and while he hasn’t always shown maturity in shot selection, he has the tenacity and the skill to do well on tough pitches.

Prime numbers

• Piyush Chawla has five ducks in all the editions of the IPL and is just one duck behind the record-holder, Shane Warne. His team-mate Praveen Kumar too is in the race, with four ducks.
• Shaun Marsh and Adam Gilchrist have nine IPL fifties though Jacques Kallis is at the top of the table with 13.

The chatter

“Three [wins] in a row after a poor start. It has been a bit of a stop-start tournament, seems like the tournament is just beginning. Paul backed himself, and Shaun was brilliant.”
“Sehwag brings a lot to the table. You learn a lot when you discuss batting with him. When he is around, there is a sense of positively around. He can encourage people when the chips are down.”

Makhaya Ntini has been named Cricket South Africa’s first cricket development ambassador

ESPNcricinfo staff23-May-2011Makhaya Ntini has been named Cricket South Africa’s first cricket development ambassador. Ntini, who played 101 Tests and took 390 wickets and was the first black, African player to represent South Africa, retired from international cricket in November 2010 but had vowed to remain involved in developing the game in rural areas.The announcement was made at the unveiling of GB Molefe hostel at the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape, where CSA runs an academy. Mfuneko Ngam, another former South African fast bowler, heads the project, which gives promising players from previously disadvantaged backgrounds an opportunity to study as well as play cricket through a bursary scheme.Ntini will be involved in the academy as well as other ventures that will assist the unearthing of talent in the area. His responsibilities will include identifying areas where developmental structures must be put in place and being a talent scout in the Eastern Cape. Ntini hails from the province, which is widely considered rich in cricketing talent, but suffers from severe poverty and lack of facilities in parts.”Makhaya is a true ambassador of the sport, he has done more for the game of cricket than anybody in promoting the game,” CSA chief executive Gerald Majola said. “We at CSA decided that, when Makhaya Ntini retires, he can not be gone completely from the world of cricket because many players still need to learn from his experience.”

The BCCI has denied permission to the 12 Indian cricketers who wanted to participate in the Sri Lanka Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2011The BCCI has denied permission to the 12 Indian cricketers who wanted to participate in the Sri Lanka Premier League. The decision was made after the players had asked the BCCI for No-Objection Certificates to play in the two-week long Twenty20 competition, starting on July 19. The SLPL will be run by a Singapore-based private company, Somerset Entertainment Ventures, which will issue the player contracts, something the Indian board believes could lead to complications for the players should disputes arise.The decision, the BCCI said, was taken to protect the players from finding themselves in a tricky situation. “In the IPL the players are contracted by the BCCI, but the SLPL is offering contracts with the event management company,” a BCCI official, who attended the tours and fixtures committee meeting on Saturday at which the decision was taken, added. “So, if there is any goof-up, Sri Lanka Cricket cannot be held accountable. As a result, the board [BCCI] would not like to take any chances.””We took the decision at an informal meeting of 18-20 members held yesterday that no Indian cricketer will be given permission to take part in the league as it is being organised by a private party based in Singapore,” the BCCI president Shashank Manohar told on Sunday. “The board’s policy is not to allow players to take part in private party-organised tournaments.”Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Manoj Tiwary, Saurabh Tiwary, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Manish Pandey and Paul Valthaty, reportedly, are the 12 Indians who had shown interest in playing the SLPL. The BCCI had earlier stated it had no problems with the proposed league and that Indian players are free to take part, as long as there is no conflict with India’s international or domestic schedule.The BCCI official also said the decision to prevent Indian participation in the league had nothing to do with the pressure applied by the SLC and the Sri Lankan Sports ministry in April and May to recall top Sri Lankan players participating in the IPL, ahead of Sri Lanka’s England tour.Reportedly, the SLC top brass were caught unawares by the Indian board’s decision and called for an emergency committee meeting to discuss it. No SLC official was available for comment.The SLPL will be played between July 19 and August 4 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Several foreign players including Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Shahid Afridi, Daniel Vettori, Kevin O’Brien and Herschelle Gibbs have already been signed for the tournament.

Canada have announced their squad for the upcoming ICC America’s T20 tournament in Florida

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jul-2011Canada have announced their squad for the upcoming ICC America’s Twenty20 tournament in Florida. Jimmy Hansra will captain the side for the competition in Fort Lauderdale, which starts July 17, after Ashish Bagai resigned as captain following the World Cup. Many of the first-choice players are resting, in preparation for the upcoming Intercontinental Cup game against Afghanistan.Rizwan Cheema, Hiral Patel, Ruvindu Gunasekera, and Parth Desai head the list of players staying in Canada to prepare for Afghanistan while Harvir Baidwan and Khurram Chohan are completing successful stints in England.Vimal Hardat, vice-president of the Canadian board, said he was confident the team would put up a strong showing in the America’s tournament. “Having already qualified for the T20 Cricket World Cup Qualifier [in 2012] we saw this as a good chance to have some of our prospects test themselves as well as to give our more senior players a chance to get ready for Afghanistan,” Hardat said. The four-day match against Afghanistan will be played in Ontario from August 2.Squad: Jimmy Hansra – BC (Captain), Waleed Ahmed (Manitoba), Trevin Bastiampillai (Ontario), Grant Broadhurst (Alberta), Satsimranjit Singh Dhindsa (Ontario), Zahid Hussain(Ontario), Usman Limbada (Ontario), Deepak Pabla (Quebec), Cecil Pervez (Ontario), Parveen Saroye (Alberta), Jason Sandher (BC), Jonathan Snow (BC), Hamza Tariq (Alberta), Khusroo Wadia (Ontario).

It has been a disappointing season for both these sides, who began as co-favourites for the Championship but will be happy enough now to steer clear of relegation

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge14-Jul-2011
Scorecard
It has been a disappointing season for both these sides, who began as co-favourites for the Championship but will be happy enough now to steer clear of relegation. The safety of mid-table seems an attractive proposition, which may explain why a match that had notable highlights in the shape of three high-quality centuries ended in a very tame draw.There could have been an interesting finish. When Somerset’s lead, 91 overnight, reached 250, there were around 50 overs left in the match and Marcus Trescothick might have pulled out and invited Nottinghamshire to have a go. But if temptation did show itself, it was only to be passed up. He invited the home side instead to bowl his team out.Thanks largely to Andre Adams and Samit Patel, whose left-arm spin took four wickets, Notts took up the invitation successfully. But by the time they did so only 34 overs remained and the target of 321 was purely academic. There was little reluctance to shake hands and go home when five o’clock arrived.Appropriately enough, the significant innings of a forgettable day was a forgettable hundred from Nick Compton, whose growing penchant is for solid, dependable displays unadorned with flights of fancy, which is forgivable given that he still struggles to recapture the productive form of his early Middlesex days.It would not have been his grandfather’s idea of fun but it is getting the job done. This season, bolstered considerably by his epic nine-hour unbeaten 254 against Durham at The Riverside, threatens to be his best since 2003, when his first full season at Middlesex yielded 1315 first-class runs, including six centuries.He ground out 115 here over six and a half hours before a splendid diving catch by Riki Wessels at short extra cover gave Steven Mullaney his wicket. He struck 14 boundaries but probably turned down as many, preferring not to take the risk.There was good support for him, first from Chris Jones, a 20-year-old Devonian who has played first-class matches for Durham University but was batting for the first time in the Championship. He appeared against Lancashire last season as a nominated replacement for Craig Kieswetter but did not bat or bowl.He earned his call-up for this match after hitting 149 for Somerset 2nds last week and showed sound technique in a tidy 55 and had just despatched Patel through the covers for his 10th boundary when the left-armer found a little extra bounce to have him caught at slip.James Hildreth, whose first-innings 137 had been one of the highlights, hit 39 in rapid time before slicing Luke Fletcher to backward point. Kieswetter, who had shared a 290-run partnership with Hildreth in scoring 164 in the first innings, fell for 21 this time, one of two leg-before victims in the space of three overs for Adams, whose dismissal of Peter Trego at 361 for 6 might have prompted the declaration had Trescothick been interested.Instead, the Somerset skipper allowed the tailenders to swing the bat, which the seam bowler Adam Dibble did with some success on his first-class debut, crashing 39 not out off only 35 balls, including a four and two sixes in the same over off Mullaney. The others were picked off by Patel, who finished with 4 for 70.Stuart Broad’s bowling was again a mixed bag as he sought to regain his form ahead of the opening Test against India. He found a couple of snorters for Kieswetter but nine overs on the day yielded no wickets, although they did take his contribution to the two innings to 53.4 overs, which is the largest number he has sent down in a single match, curiously enough. Given that he has been bowling with his left heel padded and his right ankle strapped, this might seem an odd preparation.Notts faced 15 overs in the end, during which Wessels was caught behind and Alex Hales followed his brilliant 184 with a rather more ordinary 18 before giving a return catch to Arul Suppiah.But it was all fairly meaningless and Mick Newell, the Notts director of cricket, signalled his satisfaction with the outcome by declining the chance to criticise Trescothick’s caution. His side, after all, had lost four times in a row before this match.”We will take 11 points for the draw,” he said. “It was important that we stopped losing and got some batting points on the board.”