All posts by h716a5.icu

Quinton de Kock has been ruled out of the rest of the series against against West Indies with an ankle ligament tear

Firdose Moonda in Centurion20-Dec-2014Quinton de Kock has been ruled out of the rest of the series against against West Indies with an ankle ligament tear. The wicket-keeper will miss the remaining two Tests, and all of the limited-overs matches which includes three T20s and five ODIs, with an eye on making a recovery in time for the World Cup.He requires between six and 12 weeks of rehabilitation but South Africa’s first match of the tournament is in eight weeks’ time, which team manager Mohammed Moosajee said will “hopefully afford a sufficient recovery period.”De Kock rolled over his ankle during the warm-ups on the morning of the third day of the Centurion Test and was unable to keep wickets for the rest of the match. AB de Villiers, who did the job before de Kock debuted in Sri Lanka, was handed the gloves and will keep them for the rest of the series. Cricket South Africa said a player “to act as cover will be announced in due course.”That would likely mean a Test debut for the only reserve batsman in the squad, Temba Bavuma. The Lions No.3 has played 68 first-class matches and an average of 35.95 and would likely bat in de Kock’s position in the lower middle-order. If he plays, he will be the first black African batsman to ever represent South Africa and the first black African player to turn out for the team in almost four years, after Lonwabo Tsostobe was part of the New Year’s Test in 2011.Alternatively, South Africa could search outside the squad but that would against their policy of promoting players who have been non-playing members of the squad before casting the net wider. A batsman who may come into contention would be Farhaan Behardien, who is currently second on the this season’s first-class competition run-charts. Rilee Rossouw, the Knight’s batsman. is injured, while Colin Ingram, who is the third on the run-scorers’ list, has accepted a Kolpak deal at Glamorgan.More worryingly for South Africa will be whether de Kock will return to full fitness before the World Cup. Since November last year, he has been both the first-choice opener and wicketkeeper and has formed a successful partnership with Hashim Amla at the top, while also relieving AB de Villiers of the workload. Although de Villiers could find himself back behind the stumps, if de Kock is not available for the World Cup, South Africa will have to look for another opener. Morne van Wyk, who played at the 2011 World Cup and currently captains the Dolphins, would be one option but South Africa will hope de Kock is fit in time.

A persistent knee problem has put Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul’s Test future in doubt

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2014A persistent knee problem has put Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul’s Test future in doubt. Gul has played only eight ODIs and four Twenty20 internationals since having surgery in May 2013 and each time his comeback has been stymied by fitness problems.He said he was targeting the Tests against Australia in the UAE in October, but if he failed to make that deadline he could take a call on whether to continue in the format.”It is frustrating and right now the doctors and trainers at the national cricket academy have told me I am still not 100% fit and need to do more rehabilitation and gym training so that the knee is back to normal,” Gul told PTI. “I don’t feel comfortable bowling right now because of the knee problem and if you ask me right now if I could play Test matches I would say no.”Gul sustained the knee injury in March 2013 during the second ODI against South Africa in Centurion. Following the injury, he travelled to Australia for surgery and after six weeks of rest, began his rehabilitation. His appearances since then – the ODIs against Sri Lanka in January, the Asia Cup, and the World T20 – have been sporadic.”Honestly speaking at present I don’t know what my future is,” Gul said. “But I am targetting a return to the test side for the series against Australia later this year. But if that doesn’t work out I could quit playing Tests to prolong my career.”It is never easy to make a comeback from a knee surgery. But I have tried to do my best as I want to play for Pakistan. But if I am not feeling 100% fit and I don’t feel comfortable bowling I will not make myself available for selection.”

The final day at Lord’s might have been hard to stomach but Sam Hain made sure it was more than palatable by scoring the first of what might be a good few hundreds at the home of cricket

David Lloyd at Lord's03-Sep-2014
ScorecardSam Hain again demonstrated his talent with his third century of the season•Getty ImagesThis stalemate neither banishes Middlesex’s relegation blues nor mathematically obliterates the Bears’ title hopes. But the odds are heavily in favour of these teams playing in the same division of the County Championship next season with Warwickshire having “only” a limited-overs title or two to defend in 2015.Dreams of a treble, already somewhat fanciful given Yorkshire’s enviable strength in red-ball cricket, were severely dented when all but seven overs of the second day at Lord’s were lost to drizzle and bad light.To win from there, Warwickshire needed to rip through Middlesex’s first innings but, in the event, it was the hosts who gained a 10-run lead before declaring, nine down, with lunch approaching this morning. The remaining fare might have been hard to stomach but Sam Hain, a 19-year-old possessor of rare talent, made sure it was more than palatable by scoring the first of what might be a good few hundreds at the home of cricket – and on his first appearance as well.True, the situation was not highly pressurised. But Hain, looking poised and polished from the start, lived up to his reputation as one well worth the watching. He completed his century, from 162 balls, just before hands were shaken on a draw and seldom looked like missing out on a prize to treasure.”You grow up reading and hearing about all the history of Lord’s so to score a hundred here, well, it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Hain said. “I’m just over the moon with the way it has been going for me. I tried to be positive from the start today and luckily it went for me.”Events elsewhere brought both good news and bad. Durham’s victory over Notts cheered Warwickshire and saddened Middlesex while the reverse was true once Yorkshire defeated Lancashire.Warwickshire are now 33 points behind the leaders with two games left and badly need Yorkshire and Notts to play out a draw next week. But even before the end of this game, they could be excused for turning their attentions to tomorrow’s Royal London Cup semi-final against Kent at Edgbaston.Hain has not been playing in the 50-over side and does not expect to be involved tomorrow. “I’ll let this hundred sink in and hope to see the boys get over the line against Kent,” he said. And the championship title? “Wherever we finish we can be immensely proud of what we’ve done.”With the T20 Cup already in their kit bag, this season can be considered a success for Warwickshire, come what may. But another final would do nicely.As for Middlesex, they are now locked together with Durham, having only Lancashire and doomed Northants below them. A lead of 12 points over Lancashire is useful but their remaining three games include a Lord’s meeting with Durham and a final round trip to Old Trafford. No time for the mid-season table-toppers to relax, then.The final day, though certain to bring nothing in the way of edge of the seat excitement, was seldom short of interest.First, once Middlesex had secured a valuable fourth batting point after resuming on 310 for 6, watchers were treated to the sight of Rikki Clarke bowling to an 8-1 off-side field with left-hander Tim Murtagh hemmed in by an almost impenetrable semi-circle from first slip to short mid-off. But even that ploy failed to earn the visitors a third bowling point.Optimists sensed the possibility of some afternoon drama when Warwickshire, with opener Varun Chopra laid low by a stomach upset, lost both Ian Westwood and Jonathan Trott – to an edge and a checked drive to mid-on – before they had cleared the small arrears. But William Porterfield and Hain stood firm in the face of a particularly challenging opening spell from Murtagh and then flourished to the tune of 173 undefeated runs.There is no grander stage that Lord’s. But Hain – born in Hong Kong, with British parents and committed to England despite having played for Australia Under-19s – seems destined to play in front of far bigger audiences, on a regular basis, as his career develops.This was his third Championship century of the season, after a maiden hundred against Northants and another taken off Durham. He drove fluently on both sides of the wicket and, even when cramped for room by Toby Roland-Jones, had the confidence and class to deliberately spoon a boundary over the slip cordon. A rare talent, indeed.

Glen Chapple opted for safety first against Warwickshire but Steven Croft still enjoyed a day to remember

Paul Edwards at Edgbaston11-Jun-2014
ScorecardSteven Croft scored a hundred then gave Warwickshire a brief scare with the ball•PA PhotosSkippers from another age – one thinks of Stuart Surridge or Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie – tended to regard draws either as a last resort or a personal defeat. In the latter case, their teams may not have lost but their own captaincy skills had been found wanting.Such an attitude is rarely to be found in today’s county cricket, fine as much of it is. This is a deeply pragmatic age, and with five points awarded for a draw, the cautious approach is also the business-like option. Somewhat bizarrely – this is early June, after all – Lancashire reached the halfway point of their County Championship season at the conclusion of this drawn game against Warwickshire and Glen Chapple clearly felt that that the final afternoon was too soon to employ such wanton fripperies as a remotely sporting declaration.Indeed, one felt that the Lancashire captain would rather have taken up a second career as a fan dancer than given Varun Chopra’s men much of a chance of winning this game. When Chapple did finally declare, soon after Steven Croft had reached his first century for over a year, Warwickshire were left needing to score 287 runs at a rate of 7.36 runs per overs. The scoring rates in the previous three innings of the game had been 2.68, 2.60 and 3.92. To quote the Shangri-Las: “You get the picture? (Yes, we see).”Chapple might now be regretting not giving his spinners more time to befuddle the out of form Warwickshire batsmen. After William Porterfield had been run out for 20 in the 12th over when Chopra turned down a second run to midwicket, Croft completed a day he will remember fondly by removing both the Warwickshire captain and Laurie Evans for whom good form must currently seem like a condition other cricketers experience.Moreover, when Sam Hain was lbw for nought, playing no shot to Croft in only his fourth first-class innings, there were still over nine overs to be bowled. Tim Ambrose then strode out like a young P.E. master intent on sorting out shenanigans in the playground. Sadly, he reckoned without the classic slow left-arm delivery from Kerrigan which clipped the top of his off stump, and it was left to Rikki Clarke and the imperturbable Ateeq Javid to secure an unexpectedly nervy draw with 12 minutes remainingChapple’s position on the declaration was still defensible. This game was played a slow wicket – the pitch was more suited to a five-day game, if anything – on which it had seemed difficult to take wickets in clumps, yet on which Croft had managed a century in 114 balls. The nine points Lancashire took from this game moved them two above Durham, whom they meet at the Riverside on Sunday. In eleven days’ time Lancashire host Northamptonshire at Old Trafford. There are still plenty of winning opportunities left in the season. That, at any rate, is the argument.What was certainly more encouraging for Lancashire supporters was the way in which some of their side’s batsmen coped with bowlers of the quality of Boyd Rankin and Jeetan Patel. Although Andrea Agathangelou perished when trying to hit the offspinner over the top in the fourth over of the morning and Ashwell Prince was also stumped when coming down the wicket and trying to defend, those successes were separated by 22 overs. That period included only the dismissal of nightwatchman Kerrigan brilliantly caught one-handed high to his right by second slip Porterfield off Rankin.And while Prince, who possesses forearms like floodlight pylons, was punching Keith Barker down the ground and through the covers to make 36, Croft was employing judicious aggression of his own and settling into an innings which has re-established his place in Lancashire’s middle-order wherever Usman Khawaja bats against Durham. Having reached a 55-ball half-century with a cut off Chris Wright, Croft received the congratulations of his captain in the middle when he got to three figures. The declaration followed soon afterwards.And for all that Jos Buttler had nicked Clarke to Ambrose and Tom Smith had been bowled off the inside edge by Rankin, Lancashire will be justifiably pleased to have reached 300 for only the third time this season. At least they can argue that they toughed this game out in difficult circumstances. Whether toughing it out will be enough to enable them to prosper in Division One is another matter.

Minutes after Lalit Modi was declared the president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, the BCCI suspended RCA for allowing a banned individual to be a part of its affairs

Nagraj Gollapudi06-May-201411:27

‘I’m going to show them how cricket is run’ – Modi

Minutes after Lalit Modi was declared the president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, the BCCI suspended RCA for allowing a banned individual to be a part of its affairs. At the same time, the BCCI has said cricketers from Rajasthan won’t suffer since an ad-hoc committee will run cricket in the state till the dispute with the RCA is resolved.”Interim president Shivlal Yadav has suspended RCA as per rule 32 (vii) under the BCCI’s constitution. We will very shortly come out with an ad-hoc committee to take care of cricket in Rajasthan,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel told ESPNcricinfo. “Modi has already been expelled from the BCCI and he has not challenged that ban. Those are known things. So, for us, Modi is a non-existent person.”BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel: ‘The ad-hoc committee will work out how Rajasthan can play in BCCI tournaments’•Mahesh AcharyaModi called the BCCI move “illegal” and said he would challenge it. “They have no powers to form an ad hoc committee,” he said. “They have illegally suspended RCA. They cannot do that.”Immediately after returning as the RCA president, Modi spelt out his plan to revamp cricket in Rajasthan. However, with the BCCI deciding to suspend RCA, the fierce tussle between the former IPL chairman and the BCCI seems to be far from concluded. Patel was in no mood to resolve any dispute. “Where is a question of resolving anything? We have suspended both Modi and the RCA. Those who want to go with them can go,” he said.”But we will see that cricket is not affected and cricketers are not affected across all age groups. The ad-hoc committee will work out how Rajasthan can play in BCCI tournaments. The boys and cricket should not suffer. That is our primary goal. The players do not need to worry. We will see how to make them comfortable.”Patel said last week’s Supreme Court order, which directed the court-appointed observers to announce the results on May 6, had made it clear that the aggrieved parties can challenge the poll results at an appropriate forum. “In the same order on April 30, the honourable Supreme Court has directed that if it is found by BCCI that any person has acted against any rule/regulation/law which is to be enforced by us, it would be open to us to take action against such person. Here it is the RCA that has gone against our rules and we have taken action now.”Sharad Pawar, the former BCCI and ICC president, said the board’s move to suspend the RCA was shocking. “I was shocked to hear about the decision. I think it is a very harsh decision by the BCCI,” Pawar told PTI. “For the sake of one individual to suspend a whole organisation is really shocking. I hope (BCCI interim president) Shivlal Yadav will show some spirit in the organisation and respect the views of the judiciary.”Modi, who was the founding chairman of the IPL, was suspended by the BCCI on April 26, 2010, following various allegations of misconduct. After Modi left the country citing security reasons, a special enquiry panel appointed to conduct an enquiry into the 11 charges against Modi found him guilty on eight counts. As a result, a special general meeting of the BCCI expelled Modi for life on September 25, 2013. According to the BCCI regulations, Modi’s expulsion cannot be revoked for at least three years from the date of issue of the ban.

Victoria have secured the promising young legspinner James Muirhead for the next four seasons after he signed a long-term deal to stay in his home state

Brydon Coverdale05-Feb-2014Victoria have secured the promising young legspinner James Muirhead for the next four seasons after he signed a long-term deal to stay in his home state. Muirhead, 20, was a left-field selection for Australia’s recent Twenty20 series against England but despite his lack of experience he bowled well in all three games, showing impressive control and gaining significant turn.He made his first-class debut for Victoria last summer but has not played a Sheffield Shield match this season, although he is expected to be given an extended run in the four-day side when the Shield restarts next week. His emergence as an international bowler will leave Fawad Ahmed with an uncertain immediate future less than a year after the Australian selectors were considering him for an Ashes campaign.Ahmed has played five Shield games this season for 14 wickets at 34.07 and he appears to have drifted out of international contention in all formats. The left-armer Jon Holland has also played Shield cricket for Victoria this year and was part of the Australia A side that took on England in Hobart in the lead-up to the Ashes series, but he too may find himself struggling for a place in the side if Muirhead is picked.Muirhead’s success in the T20s against England will make him a strong chance for selection for the World T20 in Bangladesh, where spin is expected to play a key role, and Victoria were understandably keen to lock him into a long-term contract given his age and potential.Last year, South Australia were fined $15,000 for breaching Cricket Australia’s rules on player movements after they were found to have held talks with Muirhead, then on a rookie contract with the Bushrangers, without informing Cricket Victoria. The interest from interstate may well have increased after this summer but Muirhead, who was born and raised in Melbourne, was keen to stay in Victoria.”I feel like Victoria is the best environment for me to develop my cricket,” Muirhead said. “I was born in Melbourne, I live in Melbourne and now I can just focus on playing my cricket in Melbourne. We’ve got a great set-up, with the best coaches … so I’m very happy.”The Victoria coach Greg Shipperd said Muirhead remained a work in progress but the state’s coaches were looking forward to helping him develop his bowling and understanding of the game over the next four seasons.”We seem to be a bit of a factory of spinners at the moment,” Shipperd said. “So to have secured one of Australia’s most promising legspinners – someone who has already shown in the heat of international competition that he’s got the nerve and an exciting skill set – to have him commit to Victoria is a really positive move for our squad.”

The future of the Bangladesh Premier League as a reputable international tournament is now in serious doubt after FICA, the international players’ federation, advised against future participation

George Dobell26-Mar-2014The future of the Bangladesh Premier League as a reputable international tournament is now in serious doubt after FICA, the international players’ federation, advised against future participation because of prolonged non-payment of fees.ESPNcricinfo understands many players are still awaiting full payment for the 2013 edition of the BPL, with FICA – the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations – now stating it has “no choice” but to “recommend players don’t participate.”FICA’s condemnation of BPL comes at a bad time for Bangladesh as it concentrates on staging a successful World Twenty20 tournament.”Whilst a few players have received full payments from their participation in the 2013 BPL, the vast majority haven’t and payments are now months overdue,” Paul Marsh, chairman of FICA, said. “This is a repeat of the issues we saw in 2012.”Unfortunately this is an outcome FICA predicted and we advised players prior to the tournament of our concerns. We were hoping the BPL would prove us wrong and deliver an event that addressed our concerns.”It didn’t and going forward we are left with no choice but to recommend players don’t participate in an event that doesn’t respect players’ basic contractual rights.”The latest player chasing payment is Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan. He claims he has been paid only 21 per cent of the fee promised to him for representing Dhaka Gladiators. Although he was promised a second instalment immediately after the tournament, this payment never reached his bank account. The franchise owners insist they owe him nothing.The Bangladesh Cricket Board, who originally said they would act as guarantors in the event of non-payment issues in the BPL, are now claiming it is not their responsibility to pay the fees incurred by franchises. Sri Lanka Cricket have made representations to the BCB on Dilshan’s behalf, but to no avail.Tim May, the former chairman of FICA, had warned players against participating in the BPL as early as 2012 due to similar issues.The news comes just days after it emerged that several Chittagong Kings players – England’s Ravi Bopara, Netherlands’ Ryan ten Doeschate, West Indies’ Kevon Cooper, Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor and Surrey’s Jason Roy – had also complained to the BCB that they have not been paid.

The BCCI today virtually served notice on any ICC Full Members opposed to a makeover of the ruling body, indicating that India’s participation in ICC events was subject to the radical draft proposal being approved by the ICC’s executive board

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-20140:00

Ugra: Cricket gives in to BCCI’s blackmail

The BCCI today virtually served notice on any ICC Full Members opposed to a makeover of the ruling body, indicating that India’s participation in ICC events was subject to approval of the radical draft proposal by the ICC’s executive board. The proposal recommends a structural overhaul of the ICC and proposes bigger revenues and more executive decision-making powers to the BCCI, Cricket Australia and the ECB.The BCCI, in a three-point release following an emergent working committee meeting in Chennai, said the committee had formally approved the proposal, terming it as being “in the interests of cricket at large”. The message as regards ICC events was then sent out to the other members, stating that the committee has “authorised the office bearers to enter into agreements with the ICC for participating in the ICC events and hosting ICC events, subject to the proposal being approved by the ICC board”.The BCCI’s working committee also cleared the way for its leading officer bearers to sign bilateral agreements with all other Full Member boards, including Pakistan. The draft proposal contained commitments from the ECB and Cricket Australia over legally-binding bilateral agreements with eight Full Members. The absence of such a guarantee from the BCCI in the draft document had raised apprehensions among smaller boards who subsist on tours from India. Such a commitment could not have been made by the BCCI without approval of the its working committee, a formality completed on Thursday. While the ECB and CA have committed to undertake tours to the top eight countries, in principle, the BCCI’s proposal covers all Test playing nations.”We have never said that it [the draft proposal] was set in stone or a ‘take-it-or-leave it’ proposition,” a BCCI official said. “It is clear that it is a draft and members can discuss it with their respective boards and it can be discussed in the ICC board meeting.” The draft proposal will be presented to the ICC executive board during its quarterly meeting in Dubai on January 28 and 29.It is also understood that the draft proposal, put together by a working group of the ICC’s Finance & Commercial Affairs committee was open for discussion and amendments as long as the BCCI’s central plank – redistribution of the ICC central revenue being proportionate to the income generated through each member board – was not diluted.The BCCI working committee was insistent on not yielding ground on the matter revenue distribution. The proposal recommends a maximum allotment of 21% of the ICC’s revenues to the BCCI on the grounds that Indian cricket helps generate 80% of ICC’s global revenues. The draft proposal, when handed out to the Full Member nations at a specially called board meeting in Dubai on January 9, did not however contain any supporting documentation for its current revenue distribution percentages or future estimates.The ICC’s current broadcast deal expires after the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand but the new tender document for media rights cannot be floated without the all the member boards signing the Members Participating Agreement. The BCCI has made that signature conditional to the re-organisation of the ICC, which automatically implies that no progress on the broadcast deal will be possible till this proposal is cleared.Cricket South Africa is the only board to have publicly opposed the proposal, and the Pakistan Cricket Board have made their opposition privately known. The West Indies Cricket Board is yet to make a statement, but was engaged in a teleconference over the week and has stated that it has “taken a position in the best interests of West Indies cricket”. It is understood to be negotiating a deal with the Big Three. Cricket South Africa argued the idea was “fundamentally flawed” and “in breach of the ICC constitution”, while New Zealand Cricket said it was wrong to jump to the conclusion that the proposal would be bad for cricket. FICA, which represents player associations in seven of the ICC’s ten Full Member countries, declared itself “extremely concerned” with the proposal.One of the key governance changes proposed in the position paper, pertained to the creation of a proposed Executive Committee (ExCo) – a security-council style group with three permanent members, the BCCI, Cricket Australia and the ECB. While the Big Three will insist on being founding members of this committee, the possibility of enlarging it from the recommended four to more could be discussed. “It must be understood however that this another committee just like an F&CA committee that currently works under the IDI (ICC Development International), the ICC’s commercial arm,” the BCCI official said. “It will report to the ICC board, which will have the right to approve or reject its recommendations.” The draft states that the ExCo will act as a “sole recommendation committee … on all constitutional, personnel, integrity, ethics, development and nominations matters”.The BCCI working committee meeting, which took place in Chennai, was chaired by one of the board’s vice-presidents Shivlal Yadav, in the absence of BCCI president N Srinivasan, who could not attend due to the death of his mother early on Thursday morning. It was not Yadav who did the talking, though. Sundar Raman, the IPL chief operating officer, explained the details of the ‘position paper’, outlining the revamp of the ICC and why it was necessary. The proposed revenue model, according to which India stood to earn a bigger percentage of the ICC earnings, was also explained to the members.The other big advantage of the proposal, Raman highlighted, was that India could be more free to negotiate bilateral series with another Full Member instead of being obliged to follow the FTP. The members were also made aware that under the new structure India would host at least one ICC tournament almost every two years, further enhancing its financial strength. Most BCCI members were happy to hear about the move to deal directly with other countries’ boards, which would result in India hosting more international cricket. It was explained to the committee that with this move the BCCI can take even Test cricket to the new stadiums in the country, with one committee member stating that “all the unutilised stadia in the country will be able to host more big matches”.The document was drafted by a “working group” of the ICC’s Finance & Commercial Affairs (F&CA) committee comprising Giles Clarke of the ECB, Wally Edwards of Cricket Australia and N Srinivasan of BCCI, who were assisted by a clutch of commercial executives: Dean Kino (general manager of legal and business affairs, Cricket Australia), John Perera (commercial director ECB) and Sundar Raman (chief operating officer, IPL). Kino and Raman also form a two-man technical committee in the Champions League T20, one of the world’s wealthiest cricket tournaments. It happens to be one of only three committees listed on the tournament website.

Manish Pandey scored his second century of the season and KL Rahul was out in the nineties for the second time in the season as Karnataka took a 193-run lead

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy in Hubli15-Dec-2013
Scorecard
Manish Pandey’s 161 put Karnataka in total control•ESPNcricinfo LtdManish Pandey scored his second century of the season and KL Rahul was out in the nineties for the second time in the season as Karnataka took a 193-run lead with three wickets in hand. By the time Pandey was bowled late in the day by a delivery that stayed low, his 161 had made a Punjab win nearly unthinkable.With two days remaining, Punjab will need a far better effort from their batsmen in the second innings – they were bowled out for 174 in the first – if they are to take any points from the game.For the second day running, the sun beat down through a cloudless sky, and the spectators surveyed a glowing outfield through crinkled eyes. A pitch that had helped the quicker bowlers on the first day was easing into one full of runs.The contrast between the two innings, though, had more to do with the batting approaches of the two sides than with the conditions. None of the Punjab batsmen, for instance, had shown the sort of patience Rahul did late on day one, in going to stumps on 22 from 74 balls. He had left well outside off stump, and played the drive only when the ball was pitched right up, with an elegantly abbreviated follow-through.He played two such drives in the third over of the day, one through cover and one down the ground, off Sandeep Sharma, and the two boundaries seemed to loosen his concentration momentarily, as he hung his bat outside off at the last ball of the over. The edge, however, dropped short of second slip. In the previous over, Gony had appealed unsuccessfully for lbw after getting one to keep low at Pandey.Those were the only two moments when Punjab came close in the morning session, which ended with Karnataka 166 for 2. After Gony’s first spell of five overs, none of the bowlers looked threatening. Rahul took a liking to Taruwar Kohli’s medium-pace, and drove him straight to bring up Karnataka’s 100 and between point and cover to bring up his third half-century of the season.Pandey, who began the day quietly, burst into life by launching Sandeep over the long-off boundary, and repeatedly pulled him off the front foot, with his bat typically pointing skywards. He was watchful against spin, scoring just seven off 35 balls before lunch from debutant left-arm spinner Vinay Choudhary. He didn’t try to change gears even when he was stuck on 49 for 10 balls.This restraint didn’t last too long, though. Pandey threw his hands out at the first ball he faced after lunch, from part-time offspinner Gurkeerat Singh, and edged thickly, but Mandeep Singh failed to cling on at slip. Pandey was on 59.In Gurkeerat’s next over, Rahul missed a sweep, and the ball struck wicketkeeper Gitansh Khera’s shoulder and bounced onto the stumps. The third umpire took his time poring over replays before ruling that Rahul’s foot had slid out of the crease. By this time, his 159-run partnership with Pandey had taken Karnataka past Punjab’s 174.CM Gautam was lbw to VRV Singh soon after, but Pandey continued to swell Karnataka’s lead while dominating partnerships of 52 and 68 with Stuart Binny and debutant Karun Nair. He moved into the nineties with a straight six off Choudhary and whipped the next ball wide of mid-on to go to 97. The next ball he faced, from Gurkeerat, cleared the sightscreen at the press box end. His second 50 had taken him just 70 balls. That run-spurt had come at just the right time, to knock the life out of Punjab’s bowlers just after they had struck two quick blows.

Chris Gayle is one of the biggest crowd-pullers in Twenty20 leagues but when he is labelled a mercenary, he feels “sad” his performances over the years for West Indies, including in Tests, are ignored

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Aug-2013Chris Gayle is one of the biggest crowd-pullers in Twenty20 leagues across the world but when he is labelled a mercenary, he feels “sad” his numerous performances over the years for West Indies, including in Test matches, are ignored.”I have been giving my all for West Indies for 13 years now,” Gayle told . “So it’s sad when people just forget all that I’ve achieved for the Caribbean and use such derogatory terms. I have scored runs and won matches in Test cricket as well. There are other cricketers too who get bracketed in that category. It’s unfair but you can’t stop tongues from wagging.”Gayle, who has led Jamaica Tallawahs to the semi-finals of the inaugural edition of the Caribbean Premier League, believes T20 cricket will continue to thrive. “It’s the future and is growing bigger and bigger every day. Test cricket will survive, but you have to be realistic and accept things as they are,” he said. “You can come to the ground for two-and-a-half hours knowing that you will be enthralled for every minute you spend there. It’s become a serious business now. You have everyone from movie stars to celebrities coming in and trying to have their own piece of the pie.”Gayle has participated in several leagues across the world and touched upon the difficulties of acclimatising. “I have been with (IPL franchise) Royal Challengers Bangalore for a few years now so that connect is there,” he said. “But it’s difficult to just go somewhere and feel the pulse of that city. I just go with an open mind.”It’s not easy, landing up in a dressing room on short notice and having to get acclimatised immediately. I have been doing this year after year. And I have got used to the whole process. The secret is to not put pressure on yourself to fit into the ecosystem. The best way to make a mark is by winning matches for the team.”The expectations are massive. They don’t just want runs or sixes from Chris Gayle but he has to entertain with bat, ball and in the field. Luckily, I love having fun and ensuring that the fans and everyone is getting their money’s worth.”Gayle, who has has caught headlines during the CPL for his array of sunglasses, believes the tournament has a promising future. “The CPL has a good look. So I needed one too. The IPL is obviously bigger than all other leagues put together. You have so many stars playing together. The CPL does have a long way to go but we’ll get there.”Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel meet in the first semi-final in Port-of-Spain on Thursday, while Jamaica face off against Barbados Tridents in the second one on Friday.