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ESPNcricinfo previews the Irani Cup match between Rest of India and Rajasthan in Jaipur

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya30-Sep-2011

Match facts

October 1, Jaipur
Start time 0930 IST (0400 GMT)Had they not been involved in the Champions League, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina could have been part of the Rest of India team•Getty Images

Big Picture

Not for the first time the first first-class game of the Indian domestic season will be reduced to a sideshow. Last year, the Irani Cup clashed with Australia’s two-Test series in India, and this time it will fight a losing battle with the four-day game’s ultimate foe, Twenty20 cricket. It’s not so much a battle for hearts and minds of most of Indian cricket fans – that appears to have been settled – but one for putting the best team available on the field.

Many who would presumably have found a place in the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup are representing their IPL franchises in the Champions League Twenty20. Those yet to prove a point in Test cricket, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli for example, are unavailable, and so are those who could have a Test future – R Ashwin and S Badrinath.Fans are not the only ones neglecting the start of the first-class season. The Irani Cup could have done without the selection fiasco that raised questions about the selectors’ professionalism and their communication with state associations vis-à-vis the availability of players. At a time when Indian domestic cricket is struggling to stay relevant to the needs of upcoming cricketers in the wake of other, more lucrative, options, the selection blunders and the scheduling are all the more concerning.For many players with an eye on India’s international assignments in the months to come, this is the first opportunity to attract attention. Seven members of Rest of India are part of India’s ODI squad against England, and will also be keen to stake their claim for the home series against West Indies in November.Ajinkya Rahane impressed in the limited-overs games in England, and his selection owed much to his prolific run in the previous domestic season, during which he averaged 87 in the Ranji Trophy. He’s part of a strong squad with an attacking batting line-up – Manish Pandey was the fourth-highest run-getter in 2010-11, the captain Parthiv Patel is back in the Indian squad and opener Shikhar Dhawan will want to make a return to the national side.The bowlers will be under greater scrutiny. Many would have liked to have a look at the Jharkhand seamer Varun Aaron during the ODIs in England, and he is likely to share the new ball with Umesh Yadav, who had a satisfactory tour with India Emerging Players to Australia and is in the ODI squad against England. Rahul Sharma, the legspinner, shone in this year’s IPL and won a national call-up, and joins the race for the regular spinner’s spot in the absence of Harbhajan Singh.Rest of India’s opponents, Rajasthan, made history by winning the Ranji Trophy for the first time but had problems in the build-up to this match. Pankaj Singh and Deepak Chahar, the seamers who took 20 wickets in three Super League games and 63 in the Plate League, have suffered injuries. Pankaj is out – he was replaced by Aniket Choudhary – while Chahar reportedly split the webbing of his palm, but may play. The veterans Aakash Chopra and Hrishikesh Kanitkar are key to the batting line-up and Rajasthan will hope Ashok Menaria and Rashmi Parida, who are returning from injuries, perform in the middle order.

Players to watch out for…

Abhinav Mukund made 620 runs in nine Ranji Trophy games last season, but had difficulty against the moving ball in the Tests in the West Indies and England. Abhinav will feel he could have had a better start to international cricket, and with the home series against West Indies coming up, he’s back in friendlier batting conditions. Vacancies may fill up with the return of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, but he won’t want to waste time getting into the groove should an opportunity arise.Ashok Menaria led India in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup, and after recovering from injury was elected by Rajasthan for the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals last season. He answered their call with centuries in each knockout game. He has had a run in the IPL, cracked 112 in a high-scoring game in the Emerging Players Tournament, and also bowls left-arm spin. Against a formidable Rest of India line-up, much may depend on how Menaria delivers for Rajasthan.

Pitch and conditions

The track at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur reportedly has some grass on it, and Parthiv didn’t mind that. “We have three very good medium-pacers in side in Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav and R Vinay Kumar. So, we are not concerned about the grass,” he told .”This time it has more grass on it. Last year, it turned out to be a run feast but I hope it is a sporting one this time,” Rajasthan captain Kanitkar said. “We did not have any say in it and the chairman of the BCCI pitch committee was here to supervise.”

Stats and trivia

Geoff Marsh, the former Australia batsman and coach, has been appointed coach of the Sri Lankan team, filling the vacancy created by Trevor Bayliss’ departure after 2011 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Sep-2011Geoff Marsh, the former Australia batsman and coach, has been appointed coach of the Sri Lankan team, filling the vacancy created by Trevor Bayliss’ departure after the 2011 World Cup. Marsh’s two-year term begins on September 27 and he will not continue coaching the Pune Warriors IPL franchise.”I told Pune Warriors and they were very good about it. Coaching an international team takes a lot of time and being able to fit both of them in just wouldn’t have happened,” Marsh, who was with Pune during IPL 2011, told ESPNcricinfo. “They’re very comfortable with it. I enjoyed my year at Pune Warriors. They’re a fantastic family. They could see that coaching an international team is an honour, so it was all good.”Marsh had been in talks with Sri Lanka Cricket when he was in the country during Australia’s recent tour. His appointment ends a period of upheaval in Sri Lankan coaching following Bayliss’ exit. Stuart Law, who was Bayliss’ assistant, took over for the England tour before quitting to coach Bangladesh. Rumesh Ratnayake was in charge of the Sri Lanka side for the home series against Australia.Marsh played 50 Tests and 119 ODIs for Australia, and was a member of the World Cup winning side in 1987. After retirement, he became a level 3 qualified coach and was at the helm of the Australian side from 1995 to 1999, when he became the first – and so far only – cricketer to win the World Cup both as player and coach. Subsequently, he took over as coach of Zimbabwe from 2000 to 2004. He was also a national selector for the Australian team.Marsh continues the trend of Australians coaching Sri Lanka, after Dav Whatmore, John Dyson, Tom Moody, Bayliss and Law.

Cricket Australia’s chief executive, James Sutherland, has described as “baseless and outlandish” the claims heard in a London court that Australian players were the biggest match-fixers in the game

Brydon Coverdale11-Oct-2011Cricket Australia’s chief executive, James Sutherland, has described as “baseless and outlandish” the claims heard in a London court that Australian players were the biggest match-fixers in the game. The court heard recordings made during last year’s sting in which Mazhar Majeed, the agent and alleged fixing conspirator, claimed to act for Nathan Bracken and knew Ricky Ponting’s manager.Bracken’s manager, Rob Horton, vehemently denied the claims and told the Daily Telegraph that his client was considering taking legal action in London to protect his name, while Ponting’s manager, James Henderson, also dismissed the allegations. Sutherland said he was confident that if the ICC had any inkling of fixing by Australian players, he would have been aware of it.”There is nothing that I have at hand to suggest that these are anything but baseless and outlandish allegations,” Sutherland said. “I’m very confident that through my dealings with the ICC that if there was issues of concern or players who were being monitored or looked at closely that I would understand more about that. The ICC have not told me of anything and on that basis I’m very confident that these are nothing but baseless and outlandish.”These sweeping statements unfairly malign Australian cricketers. If there is one skerrick of evidence we will investigate Australian players. But in my dealings with the ICC I’m very confident that I would know and I would understand if there were concerns about Australian players, or allegations about players, or investigations afoot in regard to Australian players. I have heard none of that.”Sutherland said he would speak to ICC officials on Tuesday about the claims. He said if any Australian player was found to have taken part in match-fixing, Cricket Australia would have no hesitation in issuing a life ban from the game.”There’s no doubt that the game needs to continue to be vigilant,” he said. “The publicity around this is a very clear reminder that there are people out there who want to corrupt the game. It’s very important that we take a position to protect players and officials and the sport itself from being anything but a proper contest.”If there is any issue or any concern, we will investigate them. If we charge players and we find them guilty, we will have no qualms about issuing a life sentence on players who are found guilty of match-fixing.”Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, said it was “appalling” that the reputations of Australian players had been stained by “someone with a highly questionable reputation”.”Let’s not forget that all of our matches are scrutinised by the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit and there is no evidence whatsoever of Australian players being involved in any form of match fixing,” Marsh said. “In the event that any meaningful, credible information came to light on this issue, we would welcome an investigation, however unless this occurs we should view these allegations as baseless.”Australian cricketers are very well educated about the dangers and consequences of match and spot fixing, and have a strong history in reporting incidents where they have received suspicious approaches. The players and the ACA believe there is no place in the game for match fixing and support the strong penalties in place under the respective ICC and Cricket Australia codes.”

Lancashire have been warned to expect losses of up to £3million for 2011 before the club’s finances begin to recover

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2011Lancashire have been warned to expect losses of up to £3million for 2011 before the club’s finances begin to recover with the completion of rebuilding work and the benefit of hosting an Ashes Test in 2013.Last week the club announced losses of £2.1million for 2010 and David Hodgkiss, the club treasurer, said there will be one more tough set of results before a healthy turnaround is expected following Old Trafford’s success of securing international cricket until at least 2016.”In 2013 the picture changes significantly,” Hodgkiss told the . “We forecast the club will be heavily into profit with a turnover in excess of £20m. And we will remain in profit until at least 2016, at which stage we will be a very profitable business.”It has been a tough few years for the club which missed out on the 2009 Ashes and was then caught up in a costly legal battle over their redevelopment which they finally won earlier this year.The ongoing work at Old Trafford meant all Lancashire’s home County Championship matches were played at outgrounds in 2011 with Aigburth, Blackpool and Southport staging games. Lancashire’s four-day relocation to Liverpool is cited as one of the key reasons behind their Championship success as the pitches were far more conducive to results than has often been the case at Old Trafford.Championship cricket will make a partial return to Old Trafford in 2012 with four matches due to be held at the county headquarters with the other four remaining at outgrounds due to the impact of the building work that will continue throughout the season. New media and player facilitates are being constructed while work will also start on renovating the pavilion.However, all Lancashire’s home CB40 and Friends Life t20 matches will be staged at Old Trafford while the ground will host two England matches; a one-day international against Australia and a Twenty20 against South Africa.

George Dockrell wants to put behind him a frustrating 2011 and begin the new year in style when he faces England in Dubai next month

Andrew McGlashan18-Dec-2011George Dockrell, the Ireland and Somerset left-arm spinner, wants to put behind him a frustrating 2011 and begin the new year in style when he faces England in Dubai next month.Dockrell, 19, has been named in the ICC Associates and Affiliates team that will play England in their first warm-up match before the Test series against Pakistan. He is already a highly regarded bowler and has just completed his first year on the Somerset books, but a dislocated shoulder at the World Cup meant he wasn’t able to quite make the strides he wanted in the county set up. He made just one County Championship appearance although did play in the Friends Life t20 semi-final against Hampshire and at the Champions League in India.”It was a tough year after the World Cup,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I was hoping to take my form into the English season but the injury set me back a bit which was annoying. These things happen and I’m now just looking forward to next year and playing a lot of cricket. If I have a good winter with Ireland then that will set me up well for the next English summer.”The three-day match against England will also allow Dockrell an extended bowl against a Test-match batting order rather than the four-over and 10-over stints he has been restricted to in his previous Twenty20 and ODI outings.”I’ve played them before in the World T20, the World Cup and again in Ireland but this will be something different in the longer form and it will be more of a test bowling more overs,” he said. “The longer form of the game is the one side I want to develop most at the moment so it will be great to bowl against the No. 1 Test team and hopefully I’ll get plenty of overs under my belt.”Dockrell will line up alongside Ireland team-mates Will Porterfield, who will captain the ICC team, and Boyd Rankin with the latter also part of the England Lions set up. Dockrell has already been tipped as another Ireland cricketer who could press for Test honours with England in the future but is adamant none of those thoughts are crossing his mind yet.”I’ve only been playing for two seasons and I’m still trying to break into the county scene so that is where my mind is focused at the moment,” he said. “I need to make huge developments in my game before I look too far into the future.”Although the match in January is a nice bonus for Dockrell it is not the most important cricket he has coming up in the early part of next year. In March, Dubai will also host the World Twenty20 qualifiers involving 16 teams of which only two will qualify for the full tournament in Sri Lanka next September. Having elevated themselves to the leading Associate nation, Dockrell is aware that it is crucial that Ireland continue to reach these global events.”Only two teams qualify and it’s a huge thing for Ireland,” he said. “It’s quite a long tournament and our focus is getting to that World Cup because it’s massive for the team to ensure we stay on the world stage.”

Doug Bracewell has said that New Zealand expect a more competitive limited-overs leg of the series against Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2012In some ways, New Zealand’s last few months can be personified in the journey of one of their new fast bowlers, 21-year-old Doug Bracewell. In four months, Bracewell has won all but one of the matches he has played in, including three Tests, and is part of what is becoming a braver, bolder New Zealand side.”I couldn’t ask for more. I may as well hang the boots up,” Bracewell joked. “It’s been good, it’s been awesome. Hopefully we can continue the form and can continue the momentum into the ODIs and Twenty20s.”An outsider without a central contract a short while ago, Bracewell is now part of all three international squads and has been a significant part of the continuity in the country’s cricket. “I like to play all forms,” he said. “I enjoy the T20s and the one-dayers. I’ve been going alright in T20s for Central Districts and hopefully I can take that form onto the international stage.”
Bracewell took nine wickets and scored 181 runs in the T20 HRV Cup recently and if his domestic form in that format mirrors his performance in first-class compared to Test cricket, New Zealand should ready themselves for a another star.They play Zimbabwe in three ODIs and two T20s and Bracewell said they expect a more competitive limited-overs leg of the series. “They [Zimbabwe] are probably more of a shorter-form team so we won’t be taking them lightly and we’ll want to back up this performance.”Validating one performance with an equal or better showing the next time is something that has become a mantra for New Zealand. After their victory against Australia in Hobart, which was engineered by Bracewell, New Zealand have concentrated on making sure they build on that. “We talked about backing up that Hobart performance and not taking Zimbabwe lightly,” Bracewell said. “Finishing a Test match in three days is unreal and the boys are feeling pretty confident. We’ll take a few days to let it sink in and our next target is to win these one-dayers.”Having been part of the touring party to visit Zimbabwe in November last year, Bracewell has first-hand knowledge of Zimbabwe’s potential. He was not part of the XI that were put to the sword by Zimbabwe’s batsmen in their record chase in the third ODI in Bulawayo but watched from the change room and made this observation. “They’ve got a few guys in the top order that can strike it pretty clean and if they get away, they can be hard to stop,” Bracewell said, alluding to the likes of Brendan Taylor and Malcolm Waller. ‘We don’t give them anything; we have to keep going hard.”While being careful not to show the smaller Southern African side less respect than the bigger one, Bracewell acknowledged that some part of New Zealand’s vision is trained on the series against South Africa. “Zimbabwe coming out here is a good test for us before South Africa,” he said. “Hopefully our batters can get into some form before they come out and our bowlers can do the same.”The bowling group has come under particular scrutiny, after New Zealand opted for a four-seam attack in their last two Tests. A clutch of young pacemen consisting of Bracewell, Tim Southee and Trent Boult are being lead by the veteran Chris Martin and the growing relationship between the four is adding to New Zealand’s strength. “Chris just does his own thing. He doesn’t get too wound up and he just backs himself,” Bracewell said. “He has been pretty good with me and Boultie [Boult]. He is a great bowler and he has a few decent words to say and I respect the way he goes about his game.”

Australia took 59 minutes on the final day in Adelaide to wrap up a 4-0 whitewash over India

The Report by Brydon Coverdale28-Jan-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRyan Harris started the day with the wicket of Ishant Sharma•Getty Images

Before the Sydney Test, Glenn McGrath gave his typical prediction that Australia would win the series 4-0. Few people truly expected it to happen. But such has been the gulf between the two sides that four weeks later, Australia wrapped up a whitewash within 59 minutes on the last day at Adelaide Oval, the only Test in the series that India managed to take to a fifth day.Australia’s 298-run victory was finalised when Nathan Lyon found the edge of Umesh Yadav’s bat and Brad Haddin gloved the ball cleanly, which led to celebrations from the Australians. Not wild celebrations, though. The restrained type of self-congratulation that follows a long period of work, with the knowledge that even more toil remains ahead.That the 4-0 series win was not enough to lift Australia out of fourth position on the ICC rankings is an indication of how far the side had fallen, and how much work remains for Michael Clarke and his men. But they are the on the way up. Their next Test tour is to the West Indies in April, and there they can move up the rankings list, closer to their goal of regaining the No.1 spot.For India, this was the culmination of a miserable year away from home. They remain in third spot on the rankings, but only just. They began the day at 6 for 166, with no hope of chasing the target of 500 or batting all day to play out the draw. The first wicket came when Ishant Sharma edged behind off Ryan Harris for 2, and that was closely followed by Wriddhiman Saha (3) also edging behind off Peter Siddle.R Ashwin and Zaheer Khan stole a few boundaries but it was only ever a question of which bowlers would get the wickets. Zaheer skied a catch off Ben Hilfenhaus for 15 and the final wicket came when Yadav edged behind with the total on 201. That gave Lyon 4 for 63, an encouraging end to a series in which he was the least effective of Australia’s four main bowlers, against batsmen adept at handling spin.Harris ended up with 3 for 41 but it was appropriate that all four frontline bowlers, including Man of the Match Siddle, picked up at least one wicket. It has been their constant pressure throughout the summer that has kept India’s powerful batting line-up in check. Significantly, it was not until the final Test of the series that India found a centurion, and then it was the newest member of the top six, Virat Kohli.VVS Laxman averaged 19.37 for the series, Virender Sehwag averaged 24.75, Rahul Dravid 24.25, Gautam Gambhir 22.62, MS Dhoni 20.40 and Sachin Tendulkar 35.87. None of them scored as many runs as Kohli, whose 300 came at 37.50, and such results should encourage the selectors to give more opportunities to fresh batsmen.The Indian bowlers were also below-par. Zaheer finished with 15 wickets at 31.80, a decent result and an indication that he keeps working hard even in trying circumstances, and Yadav showed promise with his 14 wickets at 39.35. But Ishant’s five wickets at 90.20, Ashwin’s nine victims at 62.77, and the folly of picking Vinay Kumar at the WACA all stood out as disappointments.Hilfenhaus and Siddle headed the Australian attack throughout the series, and they were wonderful. Clarke and Ricky Ponting were outstanding with the bat. It was a complete display from an Australian unit that heading in the right direction. And a squad that can always look back on this 4-0 result with pride.