Lions have four points, but a slightly poorer net run-rate than Royal Challengers Bangalore, their opponents and the other contenders for the remaining semi-final slot from Group B

The Preview by Sidharth Monga20-Sep-2010

Match facts

Tuesday, September 21
Start time 1730 (1530 GMT)
Anil Kumble will be desperate to make amends for a match-turning dropped catch against Mumbai Indians•Indian Premier League

Big Picture

This is as good as a quarter-final. Lions have four points, but a slightly poorer net run-rate than Royal Challengers Bangalore, their opponents and the other contenders for the remaining semi-final slot from Group B. Bangalore have two points, but they need not worry about net run-rate either. Bangalore have Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid to thank, for they took their last game until the last ball, which ensured their net run-rate stayed higher.With all those net run-rate complications put aside, this straight knockout promises to be a knockout in the other sense too. There will be South African fast bowlers, and they have all been bowling fast. Dale Steyn for Bangalore, Ethan O’Reilly and Craig Alexander for the Lions. Sitting in the dugout, when he watches his team-mates bat, Steyn could be looking at future international team-mates bowling.

Teams

Bangalore seem to have a good combination going, except for B Akhil, who neither bowled nor batted in their defeat to Mumbai Indians. At any rate, he was slated to bat in at No. 7. They could look to go with either the better batsman, Manish Pandey, or the specialist spinner, Nayan Doshi.Royal Challengers Bangalore: (probable) 1 Jacques Kallis, 2 Rahul Dravid, 3 Robin Uthappa (wk), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Cameron White, 6 Virat Kohli, 7 B Akhil / Manish Pandey / Nayan Doshi, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Anil Kumble (capt), 11 R Vinay KumarLions have a difficult choice to make after Alexander, brought in ahead of the experienced Shane Burger, impressed everybody with his pace. They will hope to have Neil McKenzie fit and playing.Lions (probable): 1 Alviro Petersen (capt), 2 Jonathan Vandiar, 3 Richard Cameron, 4 Vaughn van Jaarsveld, 5 Neil McKenzie / Jean Symes, 6 Robert Frylinck, 7 Zander de Bruyn, 8 Thami Tsolekile (wk), 9 Shane Burger / Craig Alexander, 10 Aaron Phangiso, 11 Ethan O’Reilly

Watch out for…

Those who have played under Anil Kumble know him to be a tough captain, severe on mistakes. He was just as severe on himself when his drop let Dwayne Bravo off the hook. That drop cost Bangalore the match. Watch out for a charged-up Kumble, looking to make up for that error.Besides being a livewire in the field, Aaron Phangiso is a pretty clever Twenty20 bowler, which shows in his economy-rate of 6.30, the fifth-best among bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 10 overs in the tournament. A supreme athlete, he is a good squash player too.

Key contest

Dale Steyn v Alviro Petersen Petersen, like other opener-captains in the tournament, has been Lions’ most consistent batsman and highest run-getter. Steyn has been Bangalore’s impact man. The tussle between these Test team-mates could decide the match.

Stats and Trivia

• Bangalore’s Ross Taylor has hit 148 sixes in Twenty20 cricket, five ahead of the second-paced David Hussey, who has played 36 more innings than Taylor.
• Jacques Kallis has registered 17 scores of 50 or more, which is joint-third on the all-time list, behind Brad Hodge’s 23 and Hussey’s 19.

Trinidad & Tobago’s team manager, Colin Borde, has said that he was confident that Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo remained committed to West Indies cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Sep-2010Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, the Trinidad & Tobago allrounders, remain committed to West Indies cricket, their regional team manager Colin Borde has said. Borde’s comments came a day after it was reported that the two had turned down central contracts from the WICB.”I don’t think by not signing the central contracts that they are not interested in West Indies cricket,” Borde told . “It is just that, probably, they did not want to be contracted year round.”I am sure they have their reasons and will be having discussions in the next few days to let these be known. But I am quite confident that Dwayne and Kieron are both committed to West Indies cricket and will make themselves available for selection.”The contracts Pollard and Bravo refused to sign were worth US$80,000, and required the players to make themselves available for West Indies at all times. Pollard, however, had already shown a reluctance to do so when, in June, he turned down a place on the West Indies A-team tour to England in favour of his deal with Somerset for the Friends Provident t20.Both players have, however, been named in a Trinidad & Tobago squad for the WICB President’s Cup 50 Overs Tournament in Jamaica next month.WICB corporate communications officer, Imran Khan, told the board would make an announcement shortly on the players to replace Bravo and Pollard. The WICB had offered 25 players contracts on August 31 – ten of them were development contracts worth $25,000 – and gave the players until September 10 to accept them. If any player chose not to accept the contract, the board said it would make alternate offers.

NZC has not made any major changes after its meeting reviewing New Zealand’s disastrous tour of Bangladesh, where they lost all four ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2010The New Zealand board has put on hold any sweeping changes following the team’s disastrous tour of Bangladesh, where they lost all four ODIs. It has instead set up a specialised cricket committee and called on the players to redeem themselves on next month’s tour of India.The board met on Friday with captain Daniel Vettori, coach Mark Greatbatch and performance director Roger Mortimer, after nine-hour-long meetings on Thursday with NZC management and Martin Toomey, a high-ranking official of SPARC (Sport and Recreation New Zealand), a government sponsored body to promote sports in the country.Chris Moller, the NZC chairman, called Friday’s meeting with the team officials “comprehensive and robust”, and said that the New Zealand team needed to be given an opportunity to redeem themselves, on the tour of India next month.”We believe that the team needs to be given the chance to demonstrate that they can perform,” Moller said, “the players must take responsibility.”The cricket committee comprises Moller, former international cricketers Stephen Boock and Rob Hart, and High Court judge Sir John Hansen. Its remit will run “from the grassroots right through to the elite level, including the Black Caps.”Moller said that while the performance in Bangladesh was “very concerning”, they will be no major changes in team composition or in the team management immediately. Vettori is the team’s captain, part of the selection committee, their leading bowler and an important lower-order batsman, but NZC decided he didn’t have too much on his plate. “We asked that question, we had a good debate on the subject,” Moller said. “Dan commented that he feels the level of weight on his shoulders was far less than was the case 12 months ago.”Bangladesh’s emphatic victory was the first time they had defeated major opposition in a series. The tour was marred by poor weather and rain washed out New Zealand’s warm-up games, forcing the visitors to go into the ODI series with no match practice. Their batsmen struggled to adjust to the pace and turn of the pitches in Mirpur and failed to score more than 200 in three out of four innings.

Tim Paine, Australia’s backup wicketkeeper, faces some time on the sidelines after injuring his hand during the All-Stars Twenty20 match in Brisbane

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2010Tim Paine, Australia’s backup wicketkeeper, faces some time on the sidelines after breaking the index finger on his right hand during the All-Stars Twenty20 match in Brisbane. Paine was batting when he was struck on the hand by a 148.2kph rising delivery from Dirk Nannes, and he immediately retired hurt.Channel Nine had Paine miked up during his innings and as he left the field with his glove off, he said it felt “seriously no good”. When asked if he thought a bone was broken, he replied: “I think so.”Paine was sent to hospital and x-rays revealed what was described as “a clean crack” in the finger, although it was not clear on Sunday night how long he would be out of action.Paine firmly established himself as the second in line to Brad Haddin this year, playing four Tests in England and India while Haddin was injured. Paine performed well in his first Tests, collecting 17 dismissals and averaging 35.87 with the bat.However, Paine was not expected to play any part in the Ashes unless Haddin suffered another injury. Haddin will play the first Test at the Gabba starting on Thursday, and it will be his first Test appearance since the tour of New Zealand in March.

Robi Nicol’s half-century anchored Canterbury to a six-wicket win over Otago at Village Green

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2010The return of Brendon and Nathan McCullum from national duty could not halt Otago’s losing streak and they now have virtually no chance of reaching the finals after Rob Nicol’s half-century anchored Canterbury to a six-wicket win at Village Green in Christchurch. Canterbury won the toss and chose to field, but it looked like Peter Fulton’s decision had backfired after Otago openers Brendon McCullum and Aaron Redmond powered their way to 42 in the first five overs. After Brendon McCullum was out, Redmond continued fluently, to reach his half-century. Ian Butler, at No. 7, blasted five sixes in an unbeaten 46 off just 20 balls as Otago added 55 runs in the last five overs to reach 168 for 7.In reply, Canterbury got off to a rapid start as openers Nicol and Fulton added 50 in the first five overs. Fulton and No. 3 Carl Frauenstein fell in quick succession but Nicol and Dean Brownlie added 41 off 27 balls to steady the innings. Brownlie fell with the score on 92, with Canterbury still needing 77 off 51 balls. Nicol and Ryan ten Doeschate sealed the game for Canterbury, putting on 72 runs in 7.1 overs, and reaching the target with five balls to spare. They are now joint-second with Northern Districts on 12 points.

Cricket fans clashed with police in Dhaka in the rush to buy tickets for the 2011 World Cup to be held in the sub-continent next month

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jan-2011Cricket fans clashed with police in Dhaka in the rush to buy tickets for the 2011 World Cup to be held in the sub-continent next month. The tickets went on sale on Sunday at 80 branches of the private City Bank and the state-owned Agrani Bank after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) made 15,000 per-match available for the public. The fans, reportedly, were angered after being told that only 500 tickets would be sold per branch as a result of the strict scrutiny over buyers’ identification papers. A few fans and a photographer are known to have suffered minor injuries in the protests.”They raised slogans and held demonstrations. We dispersed the protesters and maintained calm,” police inspector Shah Alam told . Bangladesh will be hosting eight matches during the competition.

Nathan Hauritz continued his outstanding batting form with another century that put New South Wales firmly on top against Queensland at Blacktown Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2010
ScorecardNathan Hauritz has made two centuries in two matches•Getty Images

Nathan Hauritz continued his outstanding batting form with another century that put New South Wales firmly on top against Queensland at Blacktown Oval. And just to remind the Test selectors of his credentials, he added a wicket late in the day while Doug Bollinger picked up two, leaving the Bulls with a massive task in reply to the home team’s 9 for 458 declared.Queensland went to stumps at 3 for 84, with the debutant Andrew Robinson on 46 and Craig Philipson on 5. The Bulls will rue their inability to skittle the tail of New South Wales, after the score was 6 for 270 when Hauritz joined his fellow centurion Nic Maddinson at the crease late on the first day.Maddinson fell for 137 but Hauritz kept the runs flowing in a strong partnership with Trent Copeland, who made his first half-century for the Blues and was eventually lbw to Cameron Gannon for 53. But the star of the second day was Hauritz, who took 89 first-class innings to post a century, and has now followed it with another in his 90th.He posted 146 against South Australia at the SCG last week and finished unbeaten on 110 this time, when Stuart Clark declared the innings. The best of the bowlers for Queensland was Chris Swan, who took 4 for 86, with all of his wickets having come on the opening day.