Match facts

Tuesday, May 6 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

	It’s time for Stephen Fleming to fire after Matthew Hayden’s departure © Getty Images

The Big Picture

Four days ago, the Chennai Super Kings were sitting on top of the points table with four wins out of four. Two defeats and a Trans-Tasman exodus later, they’ve slipped to No. 4. Chennai’s loss of form, with the bat in particular, has been dramatic. They were swung out for 109 by Sohail Tanvir in their previous game, the lowest score by a team batting first in the IPL. On paper, they have batsmen who can fire, and bowlers who have shown the ability to contain. All teams are entitled to their bad days and Chennai would do well to erase those bad memories as soon as possible. They will take heart from the fact that their opponents Deccan Chargers are languishing right at the bottom of the points table. However, Deccan have several impact players such as Adam Gilchrist and Shahid Afridi who, can single-handedly change the course of a match. The middle-order also needs to back up the efforts of Rohit Sharma, who is among the leading runscorers of the tournament.

Watch out for …

… Adam Gilchrist taking on Makhaya Ntini. Ntini bowled a maiden over against Rajasthan Royals and was one of the few bowlers who returned decent figures after the assault. Rohit taking on Muttiah Muralitharan should be another interesting battle in the middle overs.

Team news

Shahid Afridi has had a rough time with the bat so far but his saving grace is his contribution with the ball so one would expect him to retain his place. Chamara Silva has been warming the bench since he arrived in India and could be slotted in instead of Herschelle Gibbs. Moreover, Rohit could use some support in the middle order and Silva’s finishing abilities could be just what Deccan need.Deccan Chargers: 1 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 VVS Laxman (capt), 3 Scott Styris, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Shahid Afridi, 6 Chamara Silva, 7 Arjun Yadav, 8 Sanjay Bangar, 9 RP Singh, 10 P Vijaykumar, 11 Pragyan OjhaAs the only specialist foreign batsman in the side, Stephen Fleming needs to fire after two failures. Parthiv Patel hasn’t really pushed on after making starts. With only four overseas players to choose from, they are likely to retain their line-up from the previous game.Chennai: 1 Parthiv Patel, 2 Stephen Fleming, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 S Vidyut, 5 Albie Morkel, 6 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 7 S Badrinath, 8 Joginder Sharma, 9 Manpreet Gony, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Makhaya Ntini

IPL form (last five matches)

Chennai Super Kings: WWWLL
Deccan Chargers: LLWLL

Stats and trivia

Rohit Sharma is one of the contenders for the orange cap, having scored 235 runs at a strike-rate of 153.

Parthiv Patel has scored only 92 runs in six innings at an average of 15.33.

Quotes

“I am doing well opening the innings, but if the situation requires, then we will certainly change the order. Perhaps even Afridi will open the innings, if necessary.”

Scorecard

	Chris Read: his 12th first-class hundred put Yorkshire onto the back foot © Getty Images

A superb fighting century by Chris Read, England’s forgotten wicketkeeper (by the selectors, if nobody else), lifted Nottinghamshire from a position of danger to one of dominance against Yorkshire on the third day at Headingley.”It’s not an easy pitch to score runs quickly on” seemed to be the common verdict. To all appearances, though, the pitch underwent quite a transformation after lunch, as Read and his enterprising sixth-wicket partner, Graeme Swann, tucked into the hapless Yorkshire bowling attack, which was missing Morne Morkel with a hamstring strain. For the first time in the matchthe scoreboard fairly galloped along as the pair added 136 runs, and in the process turned the match on its head.Until Read and Swann joined forces, Yorkshire were taking a grip. Their bowling was useful rather than threatening, while Nottinghamshire’s top order, with the exception of Mark Wagh, had disappointed. Matthew Hoggard and Morkel made the batsmen fight for runs, with Morkel wayward in direction at times, but then producing the odd vicious rearing delivery reminiscent of an inspired Steve Harmison.Wagh made a steady start to a solid innings, reaching fifty off 125 deliveries, but was handicapped by a heavy outfield. Darren Gough did not take the new ball for Yorkshire, but when he did come on, he proved expensive. In his second spell, though, he immediately took the vital wicket of Wagh, whose low slash to gully was splendidly held by Adil Rashid. Without his 56, the heroics that followed might never have occurred. Nottinghamshire were reeling at 115 for 5.Swann was the man who first began to change the complexion of the match. Until then, no batsman had really taken the bowling apart successfully, though Gerard Brophy had not done too badly on the first day, but Swann was not prepared to bow to convention and soon pulled Gough for six. In fact, apart from Wagh’s wicket, it was not destined to be a good day for the Yorkshire captain with the ball. Read decided to join the party, as the modern saying goes, and smackedhim for three fours in the next over.Legspinner Rashid was the next bowler to suffer, as Swann hit him for two sixes, over long-on and then straight, as he ran to his fifty off 57 balls. Read joined him in the following over, taking 80 balls. In all, 147 runs came in the afternoon session for just one wicket, by far the most productive batting period of the match.Morkel said after close of play that the pitch had become slower on the third day, while the bowlers were no longer able to get the ball to swing and they found conditions less favourable, especially with the old ball which lost condition badly.It took a surprise delivery from Anthony McGrath to break the stand: a quicker, straight ball kept a little low and trapped Swann lbw for an invaluable 68. But there was no respite for Yorkshire’s suffering bowlers, as Read had his sights set high and Stuart Broad looked every inch an allrounder, especially when he drove with power and élan through the covers.Read survived a difficult chance at second slip on 93, but reached his 12th career century with a handsome boundary through extra cover. It took him 168 deliveries, and Broad soon arrived at his fifty off 70 balls.The pair batted through a period of dim light until the sun-bathed close of play, by which time all Yorkshire had left to hope for was a salvaged draw. Nottinghamshire were 57 runs ahead with four wickets still standing, and everything to play for on the final day.

Chittagong Vikings captain Tamim Iqbal said that a missed run-out chance and a dropped catch cost the side dearly in their 33-run loss to Barisal Bulls on Monday.Ziaur Rahman was involved in both incidents, in the 14th and 16th overs of Barisal’s innings. He first bungled a run-out chance against Mahmudullah, who was on 27 at the time; Mahmudullah went on to score 51. Ziaur appeared to have disturbed the stumps just before the throw hit the stumps, but the TV replays were inconclusive in determining if the bowler had broken the bails.

Cooper pleased with Barisal’s team effort

It was expected that much of Barisal Bulls’ strength would come from Chris Gayle, who is scheduled to arrive later this week, but they have won three out of four games without him, which led Kevon Cooper to highlight Barisal’s bench strength.
“We don’t have the big-name players yet but we are still playing good cricket,” Cooper said. “Hopefully when Chris games for the next games, the guys embrace him and we bat better and go on to win this competition.”
Cooper also praised captain Mahmudullah, whose 51 kept Barisal afloat after they lost three early wickets.
“I am around a great bunch of guys. [Mahmudullah] Riyad is a great leader. I played with him in Chittagong a few years ago. He has the dressing-room, the guys respect him.
“His innings was very important for us. Myself and Sami hit a couple of sixes in the end but it was important for him to steady the ship. He is a guy that I look up to in terms of leadership. He bats for the team. He has improved a lot as a player.”

Two overs later, he dropped Seekkuge Prasanna on 22, and parried the ball for six at long-off. Naeem Islam, did a similar thing a few deliveries later, conceding a six over long-on. Chittagong’s overall cricket was also sloppy – Elton Chigumbura bowled a nine-ball over and Kamran Akmal was run-out for a duck after he failed to slide his bat in while attempting a single.”We made a beautiful start, especially in the first six overs but then it was the same old story. We missed a simple run-out of Mahmudullah and Prasanna survived an easy catch. And they took the game away from us in that Elton [Chigumbura] over. But I don’t want to take the credit away from Mahmudullah and Barisal,” Tamim said.Chigumbura had already given away 16 runs in his first over when Tamim recalled him in the 19th over. He gave away 22 runs, which included a four that was hit off a no-ball and was followed by two wides.”We have some plans in the team meeting,” Tamim said. “We knew that [Kevon] Cooper loves to hit over cover and straight. When Elton was bowling, I was trying to tell him to bowl in such a way that he hits towards square-leg or the midwicket area, where he had a better chance to get a wicket or give away singles as it was the larger side of the ground. But, unfortunately, he bowled the wrong line.”Tamim said that Akmal’s dismissal was a “schoolboy error”: “All I can say is that Kamran’s run-out was a schoolboy error. All of our foreign players know what to do. They can improve. I really don’t have an answer for Kamran’s run-out. If someone like Dilshan, a batsman rated as high as Chris Gayle in T20s, did the job with bat and ball, we would have been in a good position. We depend a lot on them, which they have to understand.”

Otago left-arm spinner Nick Beard has turned to a career in real estate as he takes time off cricket to work on his bowling action. Beard underwent biometric testing in Australia and was subsequently cleared in May. But he was not picked in the final squad for the Georgie Pie Super Smash.He last played for Otago in October, during a first-class match against Canterbury, but was the highest wicket-taker when they won the T20 competition in 2012-13.”It is frustrating, and it has been a fall from grace I suppose,” Beard told . “But it is what is, I accept I am not good enough at the moment to be playing for Otago.”It was really difficult to go through,” he added regarding the scrutiny over his action. “But I look at the positives and getting my real estate papers done was definitely one of those.”It was a massive eye-opener for me. It is really only something that most guys look at once they look at retiring from cricket. I can now see the positives in having something behind me early and it provides a good balance for my life.”Beard had joined the real estate industry in September 2014 and has since made two sales while also juggling his duties as a contracted Otago player.”Cricket comes first. Obviously I am contracted to Otago, so cricket is No, 1. I do everything I can to be the best I can be for cricket. But I guess there is a lot of free time, especially at the moment when I’m not playing in this Twenty20 series. So I just pop up to the office when I have free time and try and juggle both.”Beard, who has taken 46 wickets in 55 T20s, said he wanted to make sure he doesn’t rush back. “I guess even now I’m still not 100 per cent comfortable in my action and I’m still striving to get better at it every day,” he said.”I monitor it myself, I do video work most days to make sure that I am not falling back into old habits. Because I pulled myself out, it is all off my own back – so I look at it myself more than anybody else.”

Liam Dawson, the uncapped Hampshire spinner, has been named in England’s 15-man squad for the World Twenty20, which gets underway in India next month.Dawson, 25, who impressed the selectors during the recent England Lions series against Pakistan A in the UAE, was not originally chosen for the current senior tour of South Africa. However, he will link up with the squad ahead of the two Twenty20s next week, when England’s coach, Trevor Bayliss, will get to assess his merits properly.”I haven’t actually seen him play a game,” Bayliss said after the announcement. “I went to one or two of the Lions practices and saw him in the nets. From a bowling point of view, he gets a bit on the ball and he looks as though he’s got something about him personality-wise. He can bat as well and he’s a good fielder apparently.”Dawson admitted the call-up came out of the blue. “I wasn’t expecting it,” he told BBC Radio Solent. “I did pretty well for the Lions in the two months I was there with them in the UAE for 50-over cricket and also the T20 series.”In the back of my mind, I thought potentially I might have a very small, outside chance, but thankfully I’ve been selected and I’m very excited about it.”

England squad for World T20

• Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) (Capt)

• Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)

• Sam Billings (Kent)

• Jos Buttler (Lancashire)

• Liam Dawson (Hampshire)

• Steven Finn (Middlesex)

• Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)

• Chris Jordan (Sussex)

• Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)

• Joe Root (Yorkshire)

• Jason Roy (Surrey)

• Ben Stokes (Durham)

• Reece Topley (Hampshire)

• James Vince (Hampshire)

• David Willey (Yorkshire)

Steven Finn, who was forced to withdraw from the tour with a side strain, has also been named in the 15, alongside six other players with previous experience of a World Twenty20. Eoin Morgan, the captain, is the only survivor from England’s victorious campaign in the West Indies in 2010, with England choosing, as expected, to overlook Kevin Pietersen despite his impressive recent form in both South Africa’s Ram Slam tournament and Australia’s Big Bash League.There is no place, either, for Stuart Broad – another veteran of the 2010 campaign – who has not played a 20-over match for England since 2014 but had been an outside bet for selection after being drafted into the limited-overs leg of the South Africa tour following injuries to Finn and Liam Plunkett, who also misses out.Reece Topley and David Willey, the left-arm seamers who have been England’s regular new-ball pairing in 50-over cricket, both make the trip, with Chris Jordan and the allrounder Ben Stokes providing England’s other fast-bowling options.James Vince, the Hampshire batsman who also impressed in the UAE with both the senior side and England Lions, is also included in the party, alongside Sam Billings, who will provide hard-hitting back-up to the likes of Jos Buttler and Jason Roy and is currently playing in the Pakistan Super League. James Taylor, however, does not make the cut despite impressive form for England’s 50-over team in recent months.Mahela Jayawardene, the former Sri Lanka batsman, will once again join England’s coaching team for the first ten days of the tournament as a consultant, with Paul Collingwood, England’s trophy-winning captain in 2010, working alongside Trevor Bayliss, Paul Farbrace and Ottis Gibson for the duration.”The limited overs cricket played in the last eight months has been incredibly exciting to watch and these players deserve the honour of representing England at a global event,” said James Whitaker, the national selector. “We have made significant progress during recent series with plenty more to come over the next few years.”Liam Dawson has been selected after consistently strong performances for the Lions recently against Pakistan A. As a left arm spinning all-rounder he will be a very useful addition particularly in sub continent conditions.”Congratulations to all selected and on behalf of the selectors good luck to Eoin and Trevor.”Andrew Strauss, director of England Cricket, said: “Mahela Jayawardene and Paul Collingwood proved very popular additions to the coaching team when they spent time with England in the UAE earlier this winter and I’m delighted that they are both able to help our T20 side. Their international experience, previous success at World T20 tournaments and, particularly in Mahela’s case, knowledge of conditions make them ideal resources to tap into and I have no doubt the players will gain a huge amount from having them around the dressing room.”

Maharashtra held Mumbai to a draw in the Under-14 West Zone leaguematch played at the Pune Club in Pune on Saturday. The hosts tookthree points while the visiting Mumbai lads went home with five pointsowing to their first innings lead.After Maharashtra skipper AkshayOak won the toss and invited the visitors to bat,Mumbai declared their innings at 434/8 off 105.4 overs on the secondday of the match. The highlight was a mammoth 209 run partnership forthe fifth wicket between Shoeb Shaikh and Prashant Naik. Shoeb scored100 off 127 balls with 14 boundaries while Naik piled up 148 off 221balls with 20 hits to the fence.Maharashtra were skittled out for 260 in 92.5 overs. Opener NikhilMunde scored 60 off 121 balls with nine hits to the fence. ChetanKasbekar was unbeaten on 53 off 92 balls. Pratik Kar bagged four for44.Conceding a 174 run lead, Maharashtra followed on. Their secondessay was similar to the first one as they were bundled out for 203 in84.5 overs. Nikhil Paradkar scored 55 off 134 balls with nine hits tothe fence. Rohit Kakde topscored with 60 off 65 with a dozen hits tothe fence. Sanket Chavan picked up three for 34.Mumbai were set a target of 30 runs in three overs to win the matchoutright. They managed to score 22 off the three overs for the loss ofone wicket.

	Vijay Mallya: “I continue to believe that I made the right choice in acquiring an IPL franchise which will create great value going forward” © Bangalore Royal Challengers

Vijay Mallya, the owner of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, has responded to the widespread criticism he received for his remark that his biggest mistake was to trust Rahul Dravid with team selection, by expressing support for his team.”I have read all the reports in the media over [the last] few days with considerable dismay. Matters are not only being blown extravagantly out of proportion but my initial comments in response to Charu Sharma have been twisted and turned in a bizarre manner,” Mallya said. “The Royal Challengers is my team and I have full confidence in them. Admittedly, there are issues on team composition and non-performance but I hope that I can enjoy the legitimate privacy of sorting out issues within my own squad.”He was confident the team would get over its performance in this IPL season and come back stronger in subsequent editions. “I continue to believe that I made the right choice in acquiring an IPL franchise which will create great value going forward,” Mallya said. “I like winning but losing round one doesn’t mean that I have lost the fight.”Mallya’s public statement came a day after Anil Kumble, India’s Test captain and a member of the Bangalore team, said it was time the “people who matter” understood what sport was all about. Mallya had publicly criticised the team leadership – Charu Sharma, the sacked chief executive, and captain, Dravid – for the selection of the squad, which has performed poorly in the IPL.

Over a week since Rafa left Anfield and the debate is still raging as to who should takeover. Kenny Dalglish has reportedly thrown his hat into the ring, although you do feel that if Liverpool is to succeed then the Scots team talk will have to be slightly more inspiring than the one displayed last Sunday on Soccer Aid. Roy Hodgson remains the favourite, although the opinion among the supporters about his possible appointment is split.

This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag of Liverpool blogs which has included…Rafa shows his class; £1bn to sort out Liverpool and do John Barnes’ transfer claims have merit?

Plus we have taken a look at the best Liverpool stories on the Web this week.

England’s World Cup WAGs…well I would

How ‘Championship Manager’s’ finest failed to make the big time

Liverpool’s Greatest Moments in Pictures

Finally a touch of class arises out of Liverpool mess

£1bn to sort out Liverpool FC…really?

Why King Kenny isn’t the answer

Will the real Steven Gerrard finally stand up?

Do Barnes’ Liverpool transfer claims have merit?

Why Rafa deserves a damn sight better legacy

A match made in heaven for Rafa Benitez?

**

Best of Web

**

Why has this Chilean been forgotten in the managerial debate? – Live4Liverpool

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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‘Its all in the mind’ – Rafa’s reign was far from failure – This is Anfield

LIVERPOOL FC: A response to Chris Bascombe’s hatchet job – Well Red

Kenny Dalglish the man to steer Liverpool back to basics – Guardian

Thanks, Rafa – This is Anfield

Dalglish Jr knows who his money is on – Times

Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp retains hope of persuading England midfielder Joe Cole to head to White Hart Lane from Chelsea this summer.

The 28-year-old is out of contract at Stamford Bridge, with a number of clubs aiming to capture Cole, with Redknapp having previously stated that he thought he had missed out on his former West Ham charge.

However, Redknapp was quoted as telling the Daily Express:"Yes, I am prepared to declare my interest in Joe Cole.

"Why not? He is a great player, his contract is up and he is on a free transfer. When he returns, I would love to talk to him about coming to Spurs."

Redknapp had last week told BBC Radio 5 Live:"It looks to me someone's going to make a great free transfer, if he doesn't stay at Chelsea.

"I genuinely don't know who that is. I don't think it's going to be Tottenham.

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"I've got a feeling, I may be wrong, that he's already agreed a deal with someone and it's not Tottenham.

"I'm a big fan of Joe's, but the feedback we've had is that he might well have already done something."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Veteran former Hull City midfielder George Boateng is hoping to continue his career with Celtic.

The 34-year-old Dutchman is available on a free transfer after leaving Hull when his contract expired at the end of last season.

Boateng spent two seasons with the Tigers but joined up with the Hoops during pre-season training on Monday in the hope of impressing new manager Neil Lennon.

The defensive midfielder spent 12 years in the Premier League with Coventry City, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Hull and also won four caps for the Netherlands.

Lennon is already running the rule over another veteran Premier League performer in defender Sol Campbell as he looks to shake up a squad that under-performed last season.

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Defenders Charlie Mulgrew and Cha Du-Ri have already joined the Parkhead club after former caretaker manager Lennon was confirmed as the new full-time boss last month.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email