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Younis Khan has given up the captaincy of Pakistan once again, and taken a temporary break from the game altogether, after failing to overcome a long-running rift with a group of players

Osman Samiuddin11-Nov-2009Younis Khan has given up the captaincy of Pakistan once again, and taken a temporary break from the game altogether, after failing to overcome a long-running rift with a group of players. Effectively, after Younis informed the Pakistan board chairman Ijaz Butt of his decision, it signaled a victory for player power over an unpopular captain.”I met the chairman today and told him I needed to rest,” Younis told Cricinfo. “I told him I feel as If I have no command over this team. And if a leadership has no command over its players, what is the point of continuing to lead? I also told him that the last 3-4 months have been very trying times for me, not just with the cricket but all that has happened outside it. I need time to get myself together now.”At least eight or nine players in the current squad have been unhappy with Younis as captain for a while and had made their concerns clear to Butt immediately after the Champions Trophy. The loss to New Zealand in the three-match ODI series, in which Younis failed with the bat, cranked up the pressure, with a number of voices in Pakistan calling for his ouster. Today Younis decided that he had lost “command” over the team and carrying on was not an option.The PCB immediately named Mohammad Yousuf, senior batsman and one-time stand-in captain, as the man to lead the side in a three-Test series in New Zealand beginning later this month. Kamran Akmal, the wicketkeeper, will be his deputy.The PCB’s no-frills press release stated simply that Younis had asked for a rest and Butt is reported to have said that they did not object to the decision. “We did appoint Younis captain until the 2011 World Cup, subject to his performance and fitness, but we have no objection to him asking for a rest, and I don’t think it’s turmoil in Pakistan cricket,” he said.

Revolt within the ranks

Pakistan’s history is no stranger to such player revolts. In 1981-82, almost the entire XI decided they were not going to play under Javed Miandad’s captaincy. A second XI was picked, Miandad stayed on but soon stepped down of his own accord, paving the way for the start of Imran Khan’s captaincy.

In 1992-93, Miandad was again sidelined by his own players during the ODI series in Australia, which led to Wasim Akram taking over. And not long after, Akram was pulled down by a group of players led by his own vice-captain and fellow fast bowler Waqar Younis.

Younis’ tenure, which began earlier this year, has been crippled by a lack of support from his players. Ostensibly his resignation last month, after the Champions Trophy, was over the match-fixing allegations leveled against his side, but as the affair progressed it became increasingly clear that Younis was trying to outmanoeuvre a group of players who were not with him. It worked briefly, as the board made him captain till the 2011 World Cup, with enhanced powers over selection, but the players’ support has clearly not been forthcoming.Younis refused to go into further detail over which players had revolted but it is believed the group is led by Shoaib Malik and includes other seniors such as Shahid Afridi and Kamran Akmal. Sources close to Younis say that he was particularly disappointed in the manner in which some players were dismissed in the last ODI against New Zealand.Though Pakistan ultimately lost by seven runs, their batting had collapsed to 101 for 9 – effectively losing those nine wickets for 54 runs – until a miraculous last-wicket stand took them nearly all the way. But the way established batsmen were dismissed – in a rash of pull shots – on a placid pitch has led Younis to conclude that it was done to undermine him.”He was really unhappy with the shots some of the batsmen played and he feels as if they did it deliberately to undermine him,” one source told Cricinfo. “He just feels as if he is knocking his head against a brick wall, telling batsmen, senior guys, how to play and them just not listening. He is tired of the constant fighting within the team, especially when it is not clear what they are all fighting or upset about. Nobody has gone to him directly to say anything and that has upset him the most. It isn’t so much the pressure of his own failures that has brought him down as this.”Younis’s immediate future is unclear. It is believed that he wants to continue playing international cricket and will return to Pakistan and play some domestic cricket to set himself up for the Australia tour, beginning at the end of December. A return to captaincy seems highly improbable; neither is the PCB likely to offer it to him, having been burnt so many times, nor is he likely to take it up, given his experience this time round.As a result, Yousuf’s elevation marks a remarkable comeback for the batsman, who only recently was in exile from the national team for his involvement with the ICL. He has led Pakistan in the past, twice in Tests in Australia – both lost – and once at home against South Africa in 2003-04, which Pakistan won. Incidentally, he was also a replacement captain for Younis once before, for all of a day, when Younis walked away from the post ahead of the 2006 Champions Trophy, only to be convinced to come back.The buzz in Pakistan suggests that former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has also played a hand; in recent days, Inzamam has been publicly vocal about the need to dispose of Younis, openly pushing the candidacy of Shahid Afridi as ODI captain. According to some reports, Yousuf contacted Inzamam – the pair are very close – before accepting the job. Some are even touting Inzamam as the next coach for Pakistan.

The ICC has announced the schedule for the eight-team ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2010

Cricinfo staff17-Dec-2009The ICC has announced the schedule for the eight-team ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2010, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates between February 9 and 13.The winner of the tournament will join South Africa and India in Group C at the ICC World Twenty 20 in the Caribbean in May while the losing finalist will join Group D which includes the West Indies and England.The Qualifier involves two groups of four teams with Ireland, Scotland, Afghanistan and the USA making up Group A while Kenya, the Netherlands, Canada and the UAE will fight it out for supremacy of Group B.Ireland, Kenya, Canada, the Netherlands, Afghanistan and Scotland have directly qualified for the qualifier on the basis of their ODI status while the UAE and the USA have been controversiually invited to participate by the ICC.A total of 17 matches will be played over five days with Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium hosting six group stage matches and Dubai International Cricket Stadium at Dubai Sports City staging 11 matches, including six group stage matches, four Super Four matches and the final.

Andrew Strauss took a leaf out of Dale Steyn’s batting textbook, and launched England’s innings in the same aggressive manner with which South Africa’s No. 10 had closed that of his own team

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller27-Dec-2009Close England 103 for 1 (Trott 17*, Cook 31*) trail South Africa 343 (Kallis 75, Smith 75) by 240 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDale Steyn climbed into England’s bowlers, but Andrew Strauss hit back in style•Getty Images

Andrew Strauss took a leaf out of Dale Steyn’s batting textbook, and launched England’s innings with a 49-ball half-century – his fastest in Tests – as the second Test at Durban produced yet more dramatic momentum shifts on an eventful second day. By the time bad light brought another early end to proceedings, England had recovered from the indignity of watching South Africa’s last pair, Steyn and Makhaya Ntini, add 58 carefree runs to their eventual total of 343, and reached the close in a promising position on 103 for 1.Strauss, however, was that one England wicket to fall, bowled for 54 in the fifth over after tea by the one man to have troubled him consistently throughout this tour, Morne Morkel. Strauss had already enjoyed one massive slice of good fortune when the third umpire, Steve Davis, overturned an lbw appeal in Morkel’s first over of the same session, despite inconclusive evidence of an inside-edge onto the pads, but second time around no replays were needed. Morkel’s height, pace and off-stump accuracy combined to blast through Strauss’s defences, and bring to an end the brightest of a series of cameos that lit up an otherwise piecemeal day’s cricket.Strauss has been in the form of his life in the past 12 months, and such was his dominance in the early part of his innings that his opening partner, Alastair Cook, was feeding on scraps at the other end, with 8 from 36 balls at the interval. Strauss crashed nine fours in his innings, including four in eight balls against a toiling Ntini, whose medium-paced offerings fed all three of Strauss’s strengths – the pull, the cut and the drive. Steyn, bubbly after his 58-ball 47, provided some hairy moments with late swing from a tight new-ball line, and Morkel also found Strauss’s edge with a lifter on off stump, but Jacques Kallis’s rusty swingers were no match for a man in Strauss’s mood, as he was drilled for two fours in consecutive balls.Strauss’s surge of intent eventually rubbed off on Cook, whose confidence began to grow before the close as he produced a succession of cathartic pulls and slog-sweeps to move to 31 not out, his best start of the series, while Jonathan Trott overcame a hostile welcome from crowd and opponents alike to reach stumps unbeaten on 17. The combined effect was to leave England handily placed after a tough day in the field, in which they were made to toil for their breakthroughs in conditions that ought to have favoured their seam attack.South Africa had resumed their innings on 175 for 5, still shaken following the loss of three wickets in the space of five overs in a dramatic mini-session on the first evening, and when James Anderson launched an extended two-and-a-half hour session with a series of sharp inswingers in muggy conditions, England were hopeful of a swift denouement.Instead they were thwarted by a succession of counterattacks, starting with Mark Boucher who was South Africa’s principal source of momentum for the first hour of the day. Resuming on 1 not out, he clipped the first ball of the day, from Anderson, through midwicket for four, and the leg-side remained his principal scoring area throughout an aggressive 50-ball stay.In total, Boucher scored 38 of South Africa’s first fifty runs of the day, including a premeditated slog-sweep to knock Graeme Swann off his length as he entered the attack midway through the first hour. But it was eventually Swann who ended his cameo via a referred lbw, as England finally extracted some good news from the review system, after squandering all four of their attempts during last week’s Centurion Test.Boucher’s departure, however, was the cue for de Villiers to step out of the shadows and take up the cudgels for his team. With sweet timing, especially off the back foot, he rode his luck to the occasional delivery that reared outside off, but cashed in on the regular occasions that England lost their length. He eventually fell for an even 50, caught behind off the second ball of Stuart Broad’s new spell, having just completed his half-century from 96 balls.Swann then set about whittling through the tail. Paul Harris attempted a sweep and was adjudged lbw for 2, a decision that was upheld on review despite protestations that the ball had brushed glove before it hit the pads, and though Morkel struck some lusty blows in a useful 23, he was extracted in the first over after tea, pinned lbw from the sixth ball of a Swann over in which every delivery had looked likely to end his stay.That, however, was the end of Swann’s fun for the day. With his eyes on his second five-wicket haul of the series, he was instead repelled by a staggeringly composed onslaught from Steyn, who farmed the strike to keep Ntini as far from the firing line as possible, while cashing in with three fours and three sixes, each in consecutive Swann overs as he opened his shoulders to clear the ropes at long-off and long-on.England’s bowlers lost their direction in the course of his onslaught, with several deliveries speared into the pads and away for four byes, but the pick of Steyn’s shots was a stand-and-deliver back-foot cover-drive off Anderson that would have made de Villiers proud. But with his second Test fifty there for the taking, Anderson straightened his line and grazed a lifter off his outside edge, to give his team some welcome relief, and set the stage for Strauss’s spirited, if shortlived, response.

No tickets were sold for the fourth ODI between India and Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens after the Cricket Association of Bengal decided to offer available seats to its members and affiliated clubs

Cricinfo staff24-Dec-2009No tickets were sold for the fourth ODI between India and Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens after the Cricket Association of Bengal decided to offer available seats to its members and affiliated clubs. The stadium is being renovated for the World Cup in 2011 and with four stands out of service, only half the seats were available for the match.”We are obliged to reserve seats for our members and clubs,” CAB official Biswarup Dey said. “Even all of them were not accommodated because there was just not enough space. So we decided not to sell tickets for the game.”The one-dayer was Kolkata’s first since February 2007, when former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, a rival of the current Sharad Pawar-Shashank Manohar faction, returned to power in the state. But Kolkata will host four World Cup matches.Virender Sehwag, India’s stand-in captain, said it was unusual not to play in front of a packed Eden Gardens. “But there will be a better, bigger stadium for the World Cup,” Sehwag said. “Still, 40,000 is more than what we get at many grounds around the world.”

Scotland needed the Super Over to beat Uganda in the second match of the Kenya Twenty20 Tri-Series

Cricinfo staff31-Jan-2010
Scorecard
The second game of the Kenya Twenty20 Tri-Series between Uganda and Scotland ended in dramatic fashion, with the scores tied before Jan Stander sealed a win for Scotland in the Super Over. Arthur Kyobe carried his bat in Uganda’s run chase with an unbeaten 51, but Ryan Watson’s last gasp dismissal of Dennis Tabby ensured the match went to the one-over eliminator.Uganda recovered well from their mauling at the hands of Kenya in the first match of the series to restrict Scotland to 109 for 8. Tabby removed opener Fraser Watts and Kyle Coetzer in his opening spell, but Scotland still looked set for a decent total when they reached 66 for 3 in their first 10 overs.They stumbled against Uganda’s spin in the second half of their innings, however, with the 16-year-old Henry Ssenyondo picking up three wickets for just 20 runs. Frank Nsubuga showed his experience, stemming the flow of runs and picking up the important scalps of Gavin Hamilton and Watson, while Deusdedit Muhumuza’s medium pace also proved frugal.With his fellow opener Roger Mukasa falling in the first over, Kyobe played a lone hand for most of Uganda’s innings. Captain Akbar Baig joined him to provide a brief spell of stability, but Ross Lyons and Majid Haq worked steadily through the Ugandan middle order before Ssenyondo and Kyobe swung the match back Uganda’s way with the largest partnership of either innings. Their 44 took Uganda to 99 before Haq bowled Ssenyondo to spark panic in the Ugandan ranks.With only 11 runs needed in four overs, Watson and Richie Berrington’s nerveless death bowling got the better of Uganda’s tail, and with Tabby dismissed off the final ball of the innings the match was taken into a Super Over. Haq kept Uganda to just six runs in their over before Stander sealed the result by smashing Nsubuga for a boundary with two balls to spare.

Victoria’s captain David Hussey extended his team’s lead at the top of the Sheffield Shield table to eight points after guiding the Bushrangers to a six-wicket win over New South Wales at the MCG

Cricinfo staff15-Feb-2010Victoria 418 and 4 for 200 (Hussey 79) beat New South Wales 225 and 387 (Hughes 149, S Smith 124, McDonald 3-51) by six wickets

ScorecardDavid Hussey raced the Bushrangers to victory with an aggressive 79•Getty Images

Victoria’s captain David Hussey extended his team’s lead at the top of the Sheffield Shield table to eight points after guiding the Bushrangers to a six-wicket win over New South Wales at the MCG. Steven Smith’s second first-class century helped the Blues reach 387 but they lost their wickets too quickly on the final day, which gave Victoria plenty of time to chase 195.Trent Copeland did his best to restrict the hosts and had Nick Jewell lbw for 2 and Aaron Finch also trapped in front for 26, before Hussey and Lloyd Mash steadied the Bushrangers. It was an important innings for Mash, who has been given the chance to replace Brad Hodge in the first-class line-up but this season had scored 14, 8, 0, 2 and 6.He finished with a handy 40 before edging Josh Hazlewood to slip just after tea, and Hussey (79) and McDonald, who made 39 not out, got them close to the line. The winning runs came via a six from Matthew Wade, who came to the crease for two balls only and cleared the boundary off Steve O’Keefe.The Bushrangers began the day still needing six wickets to finish off the Blues and things began well with the early departure of Dominic Thornely, who was lbw to McDonald for a duck. The Blues looked well-placed to bat for a draw when O’Keefe (43) and Smith (124) put together a 93-run stand and Smith brought up his hundred with a six off Jon Holland.However, both men fell playing attacking strokes and it gave the Victorians the chance to test the tail against the second new ball. McDonald and Damien Wright finished with three wickets each and an extended opening session meant Victoria began their pursuit straight after the lunch break, with plenty of overs in hand.

No other team will be as thankful for the IPL’s return to India as Rajasthan Royals

Sidharth Monga11-Mar-2010

Rajasthan Royals

Home grown: Key to Rajasthan’s fortunes are how well their domestic players, such as Swapnil Asnodkar, perform•Associated Press

No other team will be as thankful for the IPL’s return to India as Rajasthan Royals. Back on flat pitches and facing low bounce, the likes of Yusuf Pathan and Swapnil Asnodkar become major weapons again. Then there are the Shanes, Warne for the entire season, and Watson for the later half. Also there is the home crowd that took to this Cinderella XI in the inaugural season. For a while now, Warne has been talking about how the inaugural IPL was the best cricketing time of his life, and how the home support was “amazing”.From March 13 onwards they will be in familiar territory: in India, and underdogs after their lukewarm performance in South Africa. And once again they will want considerable contribution from their Indian players, the cornerstone of their success in 2008. Yusuf, Asnodkar, Munaf Patel, Naman Ojha, Kamran Khan and Siddharth Trivedi – none of them is a superstar, none of them assured of a place in the Indian Twenty20 side. But under Warne, and with the likes of Graeme Smith, Watson, Morne Morkel, and Shaun Tait, they could well form a winning combination again.

The buzz

Warne’s Twitter page has been abuzz. Hardly a day passes when he doesn’t talk about longing for action or say “Go Royals”. Damien Martyn, a new recruit, has started sledging him about baked beans. Despite Shilpa Shetty’s presence, it’s all about Warne there. The fingers are working well on Twitter, but how well is the wrist going with the ball after nearly a year of no competitive cricket?

New faces

Tait, Martyn and Englishman Michael Lumb have almost been handpicked by Warne. Tait has been in red-hot bowling form, but true to Rajasthan fashion, the other two come without many expectations of them. Delhi’s Sumit Narwal and Bengal’s Abhishek Jhunjhunwala are the domestic acquisitions. Of course, there are unknown faces who are not even big names in domestic cricket.

Watch out for

Graeme Smith played the anchor role to Watson’s pyrotechnics in the first season, and was a failure in the second. In 2010, though, Rajasthan will look to him to come back to form, and more importantly be the lead batsman in Watson’s absence for the first half of the season.

Missing in action

Ravindra Jadeja apparently tried to negotiate his own price after his contract ended, and is paying the price by sitting out the whole of the third season. “It’s a shame re Jadeja not being part of the royals at IPL 3.. He is a good player for us. We will miss him!!! Shame,” tweeted Warne.

X factor

Yusuf Pathan can turn matches around quickly. He will be back as one of the main batsmen of the team, as opposed to not quite being sure of his role in the Indian team. Don’t count out a repeat of the first IPL.

Strength

The ability to surprise oppositions, and having two to three solid performers as fallback. Be it Yusuf opening the bowling, be it Asnodkar going bang bang at the top, be it somebody like Kamran with the ball, there is always a Warne to take care if the bowling goes wrong, or a Smith or Watson to control the batting. So Rajasthan, what’s new this time?

Weakness

The batting looks thin till the time Watson joins the team. Yusuf and Asnodkar can be a bit of a lottery, and it would be one pleasant shock if Martyn, at 38, can come and make an impact in their middle order.

Prediction for 2010

Semi-finals, and then who knows?

IPL 2009 – the key figures:

Final position: sixth
Top scorer: Ravindra Jadeja with 295 runs at 26.81 and strike-rate of 110.9
Top wicket-taker: Munaf Patel with 16 wickets at 15.06 and economy-rate of 6.91
Best result: seven-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore
Worst result: 75-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore
Highest team score: 211 v Kings XI Punjab
Lowest team score: 58 v Royal Challengers Bangalore

Umar Gul, the Pakistan fast bowler who was ruled out of the national side for the World Twenty20 in the eleventh hour, revealed that he had voluntarily opted out of the squad owing to fitness concerns

Cricinfo staff20-Apr-2010Umar Gul, the Pakistan fast bowler who was ruled out of the World Twenty20, revealed he had voluntarily opted out of the squad owing to fitness concerns arising from the bowling-shoulder injury he picked during the pre-tournament training camp.”I am 70 to 80% fit at the moment but I do not think that is enough to play in an international event which demands 100% fitness,” Gul told the . “Everyone including the coaching staff was keen to have me on the team considering the fact that my bowling was of some help during the previous two editions of the World Twenty20. Majority of the stakeholders believed that I can regain fitness in ten to fifteen days but that is something that was entirely based on hope.” he said.Gul, the world’s leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 internationals, felt going into the tournament with a question mark over his fitness would have been risky. “I knew very well that it was a big opportunity for me to bag some more wickets. But it was a risk that I think the country and the team was not in a position to afford. I think you can only stake a claim when you feel you are in a position to deliver. I may be able to regain fitness or could never have been in a position to bowl a single delivery in West Indies. That would have been a blow to the team’s chances,” Gul said.Gul was prescribed three weeks of rest before resuming action. “I even have bowled four overs on Sunday but it is the comfort level that is more important. I do not think I was feeling all that relaxed and tension-free while delivering the ball. If that is the case, it means you need rest and some weeks off from training,” he said. “I think I would be ready to offer my services for the England tour. The specialists are taking care of my injuries and hopefully I would be back in action in less than a month.”Allrounder Yasir Arafat was the other injury casualty during the rigorous training camp. After some amout of confusion, the PCB had named Mohammad Sami and left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman as the replacements.

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC CEO, spoke exclusively to Cricinfo about Pakistan’s situation and the ICC taskforce working with the PCB to alleviate the board’s plight

Osman Samiuddin15-Apr-2010After the Lahore attacks last year, a feeling grew in Pakistan and the PCB that they have been isolated from world cricket, both geographically in terms of tournaments being taken away, and otherwise in ways such as their players missing out on the IPL. How does the ICC deal with something like this?First of all it is a very unfortunate feeling because it is devoid of any truth. In fact it is quite the reverse. There is a lot of sympathy, a lot of understanding, a lot of acknowledgement that we need to do something to make sure that we support Pakistan during this difficult phase brought on because of environmental factors and nothing to do with cricket. It is very unfortunate but untrue. It is very difficult for me as the ICC to try and portray anything different other than to say that it is not true.We have put a task team together, we’ve done everything possible, we’ve supported Pakistan through decisions we’ve made. In fact the task team has gone as far as to try and assist in accommodating international fixtures. One thing is very clear in my mind and I think of my own upbringing with South Africa, where there was real isolation and it’s absolutely the inverse here.Just on the IPL issue, Pakistan’s players missed out. The ICC says it is a domestic issue but isn’t that just deflection? Isn’t it a serious concern that the best players of Twenty20 in the world are not playing in the world’s most lucrative cricket league. Should the ICC not take an interest in that and can they really do anything about this?From a regulatory perspective no, but surely when we speak to our friends across all sectors we try to suggest to and influence them to be as transparent and as open-minded about all this, as possible. But in truth those owners decide on who their teams shall or shall not be and we can do no more.Did it disappoint you?There is an emotional response and all of us were disappointed that some of the better players – Pakistan after all had just won the World Twenty20 – had missed out. So there is an emotional disappointment. But if you think about it intellectually, some of the rationale behind it, you have to understand, some owners didn’t want to maybe go through the difficulty and then you can appreciate the reasoning behind it. Intellectually you can begin to understand why they didn’t want to take the risk.Relations between Pakistan and the ICC deteriorated last year after the World Cup hosting issue and there was the threat of a legal battle. How do things stand now?If there is a legal battle ensuing then of course relationships are somewhat different, you are a bit more guarded, a bit more careful. But we are all professional, we know how to handle these things, we worked through it, we managed it very well and here we are. We sorted the matter out. We’ve always said that perhaps Pakistan misunderstood the reasoning behind it, and it wasn’t an attempt to strip them of co-hosting, it was just of location. But I think all of that fell into place and began to make sense. I would say currently people have long got over the issue of taking the locations out of Pakistan. We’ve settled that in August last year, lots has passed since then and people have moved on.What work has the ICC task force done so far in terms of helping Pakistan?The task force was set up before the Lahore attacks and after the Champions Trophy 2008 decision. Pakistan accepted the invitation in January 2009 in Perth to work with the task force. Some of the positives you can see now, the benefits. In that task force there is a support to do something. England in particular has seen the opportunity to host Pakistan Tests there. It is a huge benefit to Pakistan. I’ve always said, I am very clear on one thing, Pakistan must play international cricket. If it cannot play on home soil, that is unfortunate but it should not stop playing international cricket. At best, let’s play on neutral venues until things become a bit different in the home environment and we can revisit that prospect of playing at home.There was talk of a series of world XI games being played against them in Abu Dhabi, Dubai but that hasn’t gone far?It’s going to be very difficult. These are all suggestions that are worked on. You know how packed the calendar is. In fact even Pakistan themselves – which is a good thing, an excellent thing – are so jam-packed. Nothing I suspect will happen this year, in terms of that suggestion but it is one of the possible options.How important is it, with India being such a financial giant, for Pakistan and India to improve ties and be able to play regularly? Is the ICC doing something about that?You explained the economics of how important it is. From the ICC perspective, it is important that all our members have harmonious relationships. They are all members and we want to ensure that every one of them is working on sound relations with the other.The World Cup is less than a year away now. Could there be problems with regards to Pakistan playing in India: the final for example is scheduled for Mumbai and a Pakistan side hasn’t played there for many years.I’m not concerned now because at the central organizing committee level we’ve been very clear in our minds that should Pakistan reach any of the venues they will play at those venues. That includes Mumbai so if they get to the final, they would be very welcome to playing at Wankhede Stadium.What do you see as the roadmap to cricket returning to Pakistan? 2011 was the earliest the ICC said initially, but realistically when do you see it returning?There is absolutely no timeline, and it would be irresponsible to suggest timelines and create expectations. We need to take it a day, a week, a month, a year at a time. It is something we must just monitor. This year Pakistan are sorted out in terms of international fixtures. When next year comes around, we must keep an open mind. As we read reports and get reports, we’ve got security networks in place and we keep monitoring and keep an eye on developments.Has the ICC looked at its own role as far as security is concerned, maybe at least by standardizing security consultants for all series around the world?Yes we have. We established a security task force that really got going after Lahore attacks headed by Lord Condon. That task force had put forward seven recommendations which the board has agreed. One of those is a standardization of required safety and security standards. Another recommendation which the PCB has implemented is for each full member to appoint a full-time security manager including at the ICC. That network of security managers will arrange standard protocol measures. Now those measures are being written so hopefully by June we could have something in place.

Australia and Sri Lanka enter their second Super Eight encounter with bright hopes after they were successful in the opening fixtures

The Preview by Peter English08-May-2010

Match Facts

Sunday, May 9, Bridgetown

Start time 1330 (1730 GMT)Master and commander: Mahela Jayawardene has held together Sri Lanka’s batting•AFP

The Big Picture

The last time Australia and Sri Lanka played in Barbados was the 2007 World Cup final, an ODI which finished in darkness and with a third global trophy in a row for Ricky Ponting. Both teams have changed considerably since then, with Australia having only four players in the Caribbean who appeared in that game and Sri Lanka six.Each side enters their second Super Eight encounter with bright hopes after they were successful in the opening fixtures. Australia have shown their power and no signs of the slips that have softened up their previous two World Twenty20 campaigns. Following group victories against Pakistan and Bangladesh and a convincing 49-run win over India, they are the form team of the competition.Sri Lanka, who stumbled in the tournament-opener against New Zealand, lost the rust that their board complained publicly about with a 57-run thrashing of West Indies on Friday. Both teams have on-song batsmen at the top of the order while their bowling attacks are also clicking.
Whoever wins will probably have done enough to earn a spot in the semi-finals, so there is extra motivation in this compelling fixture.

Form guide (most recent first)

Australia WWWTW
Sri Lanka WWLLW

Watch out for…

Mahela Jayawardene is the player of the tournament so far and a shining example for the team. In only three matches he has flooded 279 runs at 139.50, with a strike-rate of 163.15, and done it while being true to the roots of his traditional technique. If Jayawardene can keep his streak going – he has scores of 81, 100 and 98 – he can carry Sri Lanka to the final.In comparison to Jayawardene’s heroics, Shane Watson isn’t doing anything stunning. However, Watson and his partner David Warner are quickly forging a reputation as the most feared combination in the game. Watson has two half-centuries in his collection of 139 runs at 46.33, along with a strike-rate of 157.95. Sri Lanka will increase their chances of success if they take care of this brutal pair.

Team news

Mitchell Johnson returned against India as Australia chose their preferred XI, and there will be no need to change unless Johnson’s elbow infection flares. With their batsmen and bowlers firing, Australia have no concerns.Australia (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 Brad Haddin (wk), 5 David Hussey, 6 Cameron White, 7 Michael Hussey, 8 Steven Smith, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Dirk Nannes, 11 Shaun Tait.Muttiah Muralitharan is out of the tournament after re-injuring his groin against West Indies and will leave a big hole. This should give another chance to the offspinner Suraj Randiv, who stepped in for Murali against Zimbabwe, or the last-minute replacement Thilan Thushara.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Mahela Jayawardene, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt, wk), 4 Chamara Kapugedera, 5 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Thissara Perera, 8 Lasith Malinga, 9 Ajantha Mendis, 10 Nuwan Kulasekara, 11 Suraj Randiv.

Pitch and conditions

This is the final game of the Super Eight stage in Barbados before the tournament heads back to St Lucia. The surface has suited the bounce of the Australian fast bowlers and the Sri Lankan batsmen can expect a lot of short balls. Another warm day is predicted for Kensington Oval.

Stats and trivia

• Mahela Jayawardene needs another 39 runs to overhaul Tillakaratne Dilshan’s World Twenty20 tournament record of 317, which was set last year. Jayawardene has already passed Matthew Hayden’s haul of 265 in South Africa in 2007
• The last time the teams played Sri Lanka knocked Australia out of the 2009 World Twenty20 in Nottingham. Australia won the only other exchange they have had in this format, which occurred in the 2007 event
• Michael Clarke dropped himself down the order and didn’t get a hit against India. He hasn’t batted in T20 internationals six times and on five of those occasions Australia have won
  

  Quotes

  “Whatever the role you’re given, you back yourself to contribute. Opening the batting gives you more time, it suits my game.”
  
  Mahela Jayawardene“If we can continue to make totals like that, with our bowling and the way we’re fielding, it’s going to be hard for opposition teams to beat us.”
  
  
  Michael Clarke has faith in his men after they disposed of India