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In the recent past, two former greats have criticisedthe current cricketing set-ups of their respective countries.Coincidentally enough, those very two teams are set to clash inthe not-too-distant future.Alvin Kallicharran, in an interview to a cricket website, calledRoger Harper, the coach of the West Indian team, a “mediocrecricketer” and added rhetorically, “What has he achieved?” Therewas not so much as a whisper of protest against the remarks ofthe elegant left-handed batsman of yesteryear. Kapil Dev thenfollowed suit with more scathing criticism, suggesting that starslike Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly appeared to lackcommitment. This time, though, the reaction around the countrywas instantaneous – an almost unequivocal condemnation of KapilDev’s statements. The reason for the disparity in reactions issimple: Kallicharran was right and, with all due respect, Kapilwas not.If someone had suggested even one year ago that Ganguly would besetting an example for Kapil Dev in acting with grace anddignity, he would have been summarily dismissed as a lunatic. Butby choosing to not react to Kapil Dev’s allegations, Ganguly hasshown that there is perhaps a leader in him yet. Much hated bythe foreign media for what is seen as an arrogant attitude, andeven dubbed “Lord Snooty” by one particularly caustic journalist,Ganguly has now shown that he has it in him to act sensibly, evenin the heat of the moment.Tendulkar, of course, is a different case altogether. To questionthe man’s commitment is to test the elasticity of the imaginationto ridiculous limits, and even a man of Kapil Dev’s staturecannot really take anything away from Tendulkar. The respect hehas earned since that first bloody battle against arch-rivalsPakistan as a callow 16-year old cannot be diminished by a fewoff-the-cuff remarks. After all, as the saying goes, if you takea glass of water out of the ocean, it does not make the ocean anysmaller. With his deafening silence, the little Mumbaikar hasgiven Kapil Dev’s words all the attention they deserve – none.India have just departed for the Caribbean one man short, withGanguly joining the team two days late on account of a domesticdelay. Whispers have begun to do the rounds again. “Is therereally a problem, or is he meeting up with another starletgirlfriend of his?” churn the rumour mills. “Why are theredifferent rules for Ganguly and for the rest?” question thedetractors. Really, just when are the media and public going totire of asking the same old questions?Just before Steve Waugh’s Australians landed in India to breachtheir “final frontier,” a veteran Indian journalist pulled measide and raised a rather interesting point. Have you noticed howwell Steve Waugh runs Australian cricket, he asked, referring tothe Aussie press as almost an arm of the cricket team when heremarked, “How carefully they plan and attack one cricketer withstories and theories in the build-up to a tour.” Ganguly shoulddo the same, he suggested – call a meeting of the press, reachout to them and work as a team.One hopes that things have not come to such a pass yet, wherereporters pit themselves against each other as keenly as theteams that slug it out in the middle. But whether you agree withhis views or not, you have to admit that the media has never beenas powerful as it is today, especially with respect to Indiancricket. The proliferation of televisions and the fact that onlyone commentator is not a former Test cricketer make it impossiblefor the players to ignore what is being said about them.And so the familiar tunes are being strummed out as India get setto take on the Windies. Before a ball has been bowled, people arekeen to see to it that Ganguly does not get his due. The team,accordingly, also comes under more pressure to perform. WillIndia be triumphant away from home? To stick one’s neck out whenit comes to Indian cricket is about as safe as betting that anunseeded Croat will win Wimbledon.But hang on a sec. Goran Ivanisevic did just that, didn’t he?Perhaps that is why one is tempted to think that West Indies 2002will be the series that forever changes the way Ganguly isperceived. Sure, nothing will take away the magic of SunilGavaskar and 1971. Things have changed a lot since, and Gangulyand his troops look all set to collect a coveted silver to place upon the relatively bare shelf that houses thegoodies from India’s efforts overseas. Rahul Dravid said,somewhat unimaginatively, “If we do play to our potential andplay as a team, we have a good chance.” Surely the Indian vicecaptain meant, “This is our best chance of a series win away, andI have a sneaking feeling that this will be it.”

Deccan Chargers will remain terminated after the Bombay High Court on Thursday overruled the arbitrator’s decision to impose a status quo on their expulsion from the IPL. The BCCI had terminated the franchise after it had failed to meet the deadline stipulated to raise the Rs 100-crore bank guarantee ($19 million). The Chargers immediately approached CK Thakkar, the court-appointed arbitrator, who put a stay on the termination order passed by the High Court. However, it was quashed on Thursday by Justice RD Dhanuka.”The arbitrator had no jurisdiction to grant a status quo,” Justice Dhanuka said. “On the same day (October 12), the high court had denied extension of time to DCHL to furnish Rs 100 crore bank guarantee as directed by the court on October 1.”In another petition filed by DCHL, the court refused an interim stay on the termination of the franchise.”DCHL has still not furnished a bank guarantee. Hence there is no change in the circumstances to grant relief to DCHL. No case is made out for interim relief for granting stay on termination. The application seeking stay is a gross abuse of law,” Justice Dhanuka said.The only avenue left open to the Chargers now is to file an appeal in the Supreme Court, challenging the High Court’s order. The franchise stands terminated, unless the arbitrator finds the grounds of termination were not valid and can prove that.

With the weather once again preventing any play until mid–afternoon a draw looks the most likely outcome unless either Notts or Durham can force the initiative on the third day.A well–judged catch at long on by Paul Franks, off the bowling of Greg Smith, prevented Paul Collingwood from reaching his second century of the season and ended the Durham first innings on 284.In response Notts lost the wicket of Guy Welton but Darren Bicknell and Greg Blewett played with great assurance to end the day on 38–1 from 15 overs.Earlier Paul Collingwood’s 95 had frustrated Notts who had harboured hopes of dismissing the visitors cheaply after reducing them to 148–5 on the first day.Richard Logan was again expensive, on his county debut, but did manage to pick up 4–69 from his 16 overs, Durham had reached tea at 234–7 and some lusty blows by Danny Law, who made 22, threatened to take the total beyond 300 but the home side fought back to pick up maximum bowling points.When Notts batted they lost Guy Welton for nought in the second over, fencing at a leg side delivery from Neil Killeen. Blewett, who replaced him at the crease, began in confident fashion with a couple of well–executed cover drives off James Brinkley.Bicknell, who saw less of the strike, played watchfully although Killeen did manage to beat the bat three times in one over just before the close.On a good batting wicket the Notts skipper and his new Australian teammate have the platform to build a large total on the third day, if the rain stays away!

All nine players who were nominated for two teams in next month’s Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa have opted to represent their respective IPL teams over their domestic sides.This includes the Trinidad and Tobago players Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine, who will now turn out for Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders. The other players who have confirmed their participation for their IPL teams include Faf du Plessis, Albie Morkel and Michael Hussey (Super Kings), Mitchell Johnson (Mumbai), Brett Lee (Knight Riders) and Morne Morkel (Delhi Daredevils).According to the tournament rules, the IPL franchises which have acquired the nine players will have to pay US$150,000 as compensation to the ‘home’ teams of the players. The Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board may gain financially, but will be considerably weakened by the loss of three key players, all of whom are integral to West Indies’ limited-overs setup.Trinidad is among the six teams that will play a qualifying round, starting October 9. The other teams in the mix are Yorkshire, Uva Next, Auckland, Sialkot Stallions and Hampshire. The top two teams in the qualifying round will join the remaining eight sides for the group stage, starting October 13. The final will be played on October 28, in Johannesburg.Meanwhile Virender Sehwag, who led Daredevils to the top of the table in the league phase of the IPL this year, has stepped down as captain, with Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene taking over. Sehwag has been Daredevils’ regular captain for most seasons, except in 2010 when Gautam Gambhir was put in charge.Auckland Aces: Gareth Hopkins (capt), Andre Adams, Michael Bates, Brad Cachopa, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Ronnie Hira, Anaru Kitchen, Mitchell McClenaghan, Azhar Mahmood, Bruce Martin, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, Lou VincentChennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (capt), R Ashwin, S Badrinath, Doug Bollinger, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Ben Hilfenhaus, Michael Hussey, Ravindra Jadeja, Albie Morkel, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha, S Anirudha, M Vijay, V Yo MaheshDelhi Daredevils: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Virender Sehwag, Varun Aaron, Ajit Agarkar, Unmukt Chand, Morne Morkel, Pawan Negi, Naman Ojha, Irfan Pathan, Kevin Pietersen, Andre Russell, Venugopal Rao, Ross Taylor, David Warner, Umesh YadavHampshire: James Adams, Shahid Afridi, Kabir Ali, Michael Bates, Daniel Briggs, Michael Carberry, Liam Dawson, Sean Ervine, David Griffiths, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Hamza Riazuddin, Bilal Shafayat, Glenn Maxwell, James Vince, Christopher WoodHighveld Lions: Temba Bavuma, Gulam Bodi, Zander de Bryun, Quinton de Kock, Neil McKenzie, Pumelela Matshikwe, Chris Morris, Dirk Nannes, Ethan O’Reilly, Alviro Petersen. Aaron Phangiso, Dwaine Pretorius, Sohail Tanvir, Jean Symes, Thami TsolekileKolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (capt), Iqbal Abdullah, Shakib Al Hasan, L Balaji, Rajat Bhatia, Manvinder Bisla, Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee, Brendon McCullum, Sunil Narine, Yusuf Pathan, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Shami Ahmed, Ryan ten Doeschate, Manoj Tiwary

No break for some Australians

Australia’s captain Michael Clarke had stated that the Twenty20 Champions League would be an equal impediment for both his side and South Africa’s ahead of their Test series down under in November. However the announcement of the squads for the club competition has shown that in this case, one side is slightly more equal than the other.
Seven Australian Test players have been chosen for T20 duty in South Africa: Ben Hilfenhaus and Michael Hussey (Chennai Super Kings), David Warner (Delhi Daredevils), and Pat Cummins, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Starc and Shane Watson (Sydney Sixers). The five South African Test players to be involved will be Morne Morkel (DD), Alviro Petersen (Highveld Lions), Jacques Kallis (KKR), AB de Villiers and Jacques Rudolph (Titans).
Two likely Australian Test players, Ed Cowan and James Pattinson, hold T20 contracts but were not chosen for their respective sides. Players participating in the final of the Champions League on October 28 will have little more than three days to change gears before South Africa’s tour match against Australia A at the SCG from November 2. The first Test begins in Brisbane on November 9.

Mumbai Indians: Harbhajan Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Mitchell Johnson, Dinesh Karthik, Dhawal Kulkarni, Richard Levi, Lasith Malinga, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Thisara Perera, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Suryakumar YadavPerth Scorchers: Tom Beaton, Michael Beer, Paul Collinwood, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ryan Duffield, Ben Edmondson, Herschelle Gibbs, Brad Hogg, Simon Katich, Mitchell Marsh, Joe Mennie, Shaun Marsh, Marcus North, Nathan Rimmington, Luke RonchiSialkot Stallions: Shoaib Malik (capt), Qaiser Abbas, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shakeel Ansar, Mohammad Ayub, Umaid Asif, Bilawal Bhatti, Raza Hasan, Ali Khan, Imran Nazir, Faisal Naveed, Naved-ul-Hasan, Abdur Rehman, Haris Sohail, Shahid YusufSydney Sixers: Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Michael Lumb, Nathan McCullum, Nic Maddinson, Ian Moran, Phil Nevill, Stephen O’Keefe, Ben Rohrer, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Dominic ThornleyTitans: Martin van Jaarsveld (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Henry Davids, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, Paul Harris, Heino Kuhn, Eden Links, Ethy Mbhalati, Mangaliso Mosehle, Rowan Richards, Jacques Rudolph, Roelof van der Merwe, Alfonso Thomas, David WieseTrinidad and Tobago: Denesh Ramdin (capt), Samuel Badree, Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, Kevon Cooper, Rayad Emrit, Shannon Gabriel, Sherwin Ganga, Jason Mohammad, Evin Lewis, Yannick Ottley, William Perkins, Ravi Rampaul, Lendl Simmons, Navin StewartUva Next: Thilina Kandamby (capt), Fawad Alam, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dilhara Fernando, Umar Gul, Charith Jayampathi, Chintaka Jayasinghe, Andrew McDonald, Dilshan Munaweera, Jacob Oram, Seekkuge Prasanna, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sameera Zoysa, Sachithra Senanayake, Upul TharangaYorkshire: Joe Root, Moin Ashraf, Jonny Bairstow, Gary Ballance, Andrew Gale, Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Dan Hodgson, Phil Jaques, Adam Lyth, David Miller, Steve Patterson, Azeem Rafiq, Adil Rashid, Ryan Sidebottom, Iain Wardlaw

ScorecardIf Graham Onions thought his seven wickets had put Durham on course for victory, he was a wiser man by the close•Getty Images

If the ECB do end up looking into this game, after 32 wickets fell in six sessions, then their only conclusion should be to consider enforcing the services of a batting liaison officer for both sides.Seventeen wickets on the second day trumped 15 on Friday with some panache, as superfluous waft followed ill-judged drive.Amid all the tumbling wickets, Middlesex have surely snatched the points, needing only 44 runs, with eight wickets remaining and still two days of cricket left, for a fifth win to put them back in the Championship hunt.As brains were failing to switch back from Twenty20’s “see ball, hit ball” setting, it was Graham Onions who took the most personal glory from the second-day cascade, as he finished with 7 for 62 – the best bowling figures of any Durham bowler against Middlesex.But after Onions, primarily, bowled out Middlesex for 168, Durham fell in their second innings for 171 to swing the game back towards the home side.It wasn’t quite Onions’ persistence that was rewarded, but his change-ups: shorter balls doing for Neil Dexter and Ollie Rayner, although their choice and execution of shot left a lot to be desired. Once he tempted Gareth Berg to limply fend at a ball that left him late, the remaining two wickets, which happened to be Steven Finn and Tim Murtagh, were always going to be a formality. He needed only 20 balls to take the five remaining wickets.At lunch, no sooner had observers blogged and tweeted of his success, he gave his wife Emma and son Olly (on his first trip to Lord’s) a tour of the media centre.By this point Durham had already been reduced to 43 for 3, having lost opener Mark Stoneman just four balls into their second innings, with the score still on nought.

Graham Onions on wickets, babies and England

On a poor Durham batting performance “I didn’t think I’d have the pads on today to be honest, and to strap the bowling boots on again today was bitterly disappointing. The way we have batted in this game isn’t really good enough; we haven’t put together any partnerships. It’s not a 400 wicket, but it’s not a bad wicket either.”
On taking 7-63 in front of his family: “It’s the first time my son’s been here. It still feels kind of weird saying, ‘Oh my son’s watching me play.’ It’ll take some getting used to, but it’s pretty special. Still, he’s only six months so I don’t think he quite understands what I’ve done. Don’t worry, I’ll remind him.”
On England: “If the opportunity comes I feel ready, and that’s what I’m pleased about. If I wasn’t bowling well then my confidence wouldn’t be there. Today’s a nice reminder to the selectors. If I get to play at Chester le Street that would be fantastic.”

In the afternoon session, Ben Stokes and Will Smith consolidated exceptionally well to record the first fifty partnership of the match. However, then came the first of three two-wicket clusters which will prove to be the difference between victory and defeat.For the second time in two days, Smith undid his good work with an appalling shot, attempting to pull Murtagh, but simply lobbing the ball into the hands of Finn running around from mid on. Six balls later, Paul Collingwood had his stumps rearranged by Corey Collymore.While most batsmen fumbled and flailed, only Stokes looked truly at ease – his solid balance aiding his timing, which was spot on. The way he treated Finn spoke volumes of a man who grown as a batsman – hitting him in front of square with ease, including a controlled pull shot for four.However, upon becoming the first batsmen to pass 50, he inexplicably danced down the wicket to Ollie Rayner, and a big-turning off spinner, to allow John Simpson the easiest of stumpings. Two balls later, Michael Richardson followed him back for a duck.Middlesex displayed considerable urgency when they began their chase of 147, with 26 overs left in the day. Threes were taken at every opportunity – with a couple of optimistic ones sensibly turned down – but this slowly morphed into panic, as Joe Denly looked to play a shot every three balls, regardless of their worth.After getting away with a particularly lax attempt to hit over the top – the ball spooned over mid-on before plugging – he followed up with a pair of boundaries so clean and crisp that you were happy to give him the benefit of any doubt: an aesthetically-pleasing stroke through extra cover off Rushworth followed in the next over by a back foot smash through cover.However, he could not even entertain playing the ball that ended his innings, as Onions drew the first genuinely alarming reaction from the pitch when a good length ball reared up and caught the shoulder of the bat – the extra bounce such that Stokes needed to backpedal to take the catch at point.Morgan could have gone the very next ball – a huge shout for LBW silenced in a flash as the umpire turned to the scorer’s box to signal a no-ball. He survived another, when Rushworth, coming around the wicket, thought he drew a faint edge through to the keeper. All of the Durham side were up in unison but Morgan and the standing umpire were unmoved.

ScorecardJoe Leach continued to defy the Gloucestershire attack•Getty Images

Worcestershire’s Joe Leach scored his maiden first-class hundred to hold up Gloucestershire’s victory charge at Cheltenham.Leach, who top-scored with an unbeaten 82 in the first innings, made 103 not out as Worcestershire reached 296 for eight at stumps on the third day to hold an overall lead of 152.Thilan Samaraweera also scored 63 for Worcestershire and his fifth-wicket stand of 109 with Leach did much to keep the visitors in contention, although Gloucestershire remain favourites to register their third win of the season. Will Gidman was the most successful of the Gloucestershire attack with 3 for 72, while on-loan left-arm spinner Tom Smith took 2 for 85.Worcestershire began the day on 31 for no wicket and an attritional morning session brought just 53 runs from 29 overs. Gloucestershire had to wait until the final half hour of the session to celebrate a wicket, and it came when Daryl Mitchell pushed forward to Smith and edged to Michael Klinger at slip.Smith, on loan to Gloucestershire from Middlesex, struck again four overs later when Moeen Ali gave a bat-pad catch to Hamish Marshall at short leg. Matt Pardoe’s obdurate innings of 39, from 168 balls, ended in the fifth over after lunch when he was caught behind by Gareth Roderick off Will Gidman.It became 102 for 4 when Alexei Kervezee was run out at the striker’s end by James Fuller’s throw from mid-off after being sent back by Samaraweera. Gloucestershire had to wait 27 overs for another wicket as Samaraweera and Leach put on 109 in largely untroubled fashion.Leach reached a fluent 53-ball half-century with a cover-driven boundary offspin bowler Miles Hammond, and Samaraweera reached his 121-ball fifty in the next over with a single off Smith.Gloucestershire took the second new ball immediately after tea and it was only four overs old when Will Gidman won a lbw verdict against Samaraweera, whose 134-ball innings had contained nine fours.Ben Cox departed soon after, caught down the legside by wicketkeeper Roderick off Craig Miles to depart for six, and Gareth Andrew went for 14 when he edged a drive off Will Gidman into the hands of Alex Gidman at first slip.Leach continued to bat impressively and he surpassed his previous best score – the 82 he made in the first innings – with a straight-driven boundary off Will Gidman.Shaaiq Choudhry helped Leach add 28 for the eighth wicket before he was bowled by Fuller for 10. Leach survived a head-high caught and bowled chance to Benny Howell on 91 and went on to reach his century with a cover-driven boundary off Smith from the second ball of the last over.

ScorecardLaurie Evans held Warwickshire’s middle order together•PA Photos

A first Championship win since April and a couple of Friends Life t20 successes and Warwickshire’s dismal season suddenly appeared to be looking up. Then came another in a succession of injuries that have blighted their defence of the title they claimed so emphatically in 2012. Chris Wright is the latest victim in this run of poor luck after a scan revealed that a stress fracture lay behind the back troubled that flared up at Uxbridge last week.Conditioned in the modern way to accentuate the positives, Warwickshire are not inclined to make injuries an excuse. It was the Ashley Giles way and his successor, Dougie Brown, is of a similar mind. Yet there has not been a match, it seems, without two or three of last year’s side missing, sometimes more. Inevitably, there are consequences in faltering form.Only two of the team selected for this match have played in every Championship round; some, such as Keith Barker and Ian Westwood, have missed half or near enough. In addition to Wright, captain Jim Troughton is also absent with back trouble. Oliver Hannon-Dalby, signed in part as cover for injuries, is himself sidelined, also with a stress fracture. At least Laurie Evans has recovered from the broken hand inflicted by a ball from England’s Steven Finn in May.As if to prove it, Evans, the 25-year-old former Surrey batsman, has set himself up to achieve the target he had set himself for when Finn interrupted his progress, namely to complete his first Championship century. He was 15 runs away at the close of the opening day.It was hard work at times, the result of a sluggish pitch and an appetite for work among the Nottinghamshire bowlers in spite of the building heat. You would expect it of Harry Gurney and Ajmal Shahzad, lithe young men both; less so, perhaps, of the more heavily burdened Luke Fletcher and the creaky Andre Adams. Yet all of them bowled a testing line and length and, for the most part, kept it up.But Evans maintained his concentration well and picked his moments for some nicely executed shots on both sides of the wicket, picking up a dozen boundaries. “It was attritional cricket and they bowled well and I played probably the worst I have played at the beginning of an innings all year but it was a matter of hanging tough and getting through it and I played a lot more fluently later,” he said. “I like to be attacking and I’ve got out in the past by trying to dominate at the wrong times and going at balls I shouldn’t be so I was pleased to come through the difficult periods.”Evans anchored at least a partial recovery by Warwickshire, who lost Varun Chopra to a gloved catch to second slip early and then saw William Porterfield leave a ball from Adams that clipped his off stump. Westwood rode his luck somewhat, surviving dropped catches on 32 and 50 before clipping a ball from Samit Patel straight to mid-on for 67.Tim Ambrose, who took it upon himself to up the pace of scoring after lunch, raced to 39 off 43 balls before brushing a leg-side delivery from Adams to be caught behind, but when Patel’s left-arm spin bowled Chris Woakes and Rikki Clarke fell to a stunning catch by James Taylor at midwicket Warwickshire felt danger welling up again at 213 for 6.Adams, who is 38 on Wednesday, finished the day on 3 for 49 from 24 overs, again underlining his durability. Adams is a strong man yet fragile in the sense that he needs to care for himself assiduously lest something goes badly wrong and ends his career. His skills with the ball, though, seem never to diminish.He willingly passes them on, too, frequently accompanying a younger bowling team-mate back to his mark, offering a word of encouragement or advice. He seems to have taken Shahzad under his wing in particular as Nottinghamshire try to mould the former Yorkshire quick into a bowler with more than simply pace and menace to his game.The improvement is coming, too. Adams apart, no one troubled the batsmen more and it was he who was left fuming when Westwood had his moments of luck as Patel and then Alex Hales failed to do their duty in the slips. Nought for 49 did not do him justice.

“It’s good to be in England.” MS Dhoni did not just utter it once, he uttered it twice. But, oh dear, Dhoni is in Wales, a land proud of its distinct national identity. For all Dhoni’s charming smile, the good folk of Cardiff will be shuddering, there will be revolution in the valleys and in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerych-wyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, the village with the longest name in Britain, they will be lost for words. There again, with a name like that, that is not altogether surprising.Welsh passions have occasionally boiled over. Robert Croft, a former England spinner, much loved in the Land of Song, was such a proud Welshmen that he always insisted he was playing not for England but for the British Lions. Croft once got into a dressing room altercation with Mark Ramprakash when Ramprakash questioned his allegiance.But India’s captain need not worry himself unduly about his slip. Britain is routinely confused over whether it regards itself as Great Britain, the United Kingdom, or three of the UK’s constituent parts: England, Scotland and Wales. That is even before you consider the European Union.If Croft leads a party of protesting Welsh nationalists outside the ground they will be lost in the general melee because, by the time the match begins, Cardiff will not be in Wales, it will be part of Little India. India v South Africa, the opening match of the Champions Trophy is sold out, and flags of saffron, white and green will fill Bute Park. The bottomless passion for cricket among India and Pakistan fans will help to bring this tournament alive.The ECB (that is actually the England and Wales Cricket Board, not that everybody remembers the silent W) expects 10 of the 15 matches to be full to capacity – 11 if India top the group and return to Cardiff for the semi-final, perhaps to meet England. If there is one thing Cardiff could rely on, it is if England reached the semi they would know they were in Wales.But that is not all. Even those who know they are in Wales might be confused once they reach the stadium. For years, the locals have implacably referred to the ground as Sophia Gardens, in defiance of its renaming as the Swalec Stadium when the old ground was largely demolished in the search for international cricket. And we have to admit, ESPNcricinfo has often not known what to think.Thanks to naming rights issues, for the Champions Trophy, and Champions Trophy alone, the ground has been rebranded as Cardiff Wales stadium, with poor old Sophia Gardens nowhere to be seen, except in the hearts of tens of thousands of county supporters.It is astonishing what confusion can descend upon a cricket ground once the politicians and business executives get involved. They would be better advised to turn their attentions to why so many shops are boarded up in St Mary’s Street.Dhoni, of course, proves that all this renaming malarkey is largely a waste of time unless somebody posts it on Facebook.One matter Dhoni was definite about was that India will respond to the new rules – two new balls and more fielders in the circle – by fielding five specialist bowlers. “With the new rules it will be very difficult to play four bowlers and rely on the part-timers so definitely five bowlers will feature,” he said. “It depends who you consider an allrounder and who you consider a bowler.The team, at a best guess, will have Rohit Sharma and Shikar Dhawan as openers and Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin batting at No 7 and No 8. The weather is set fair in Cardiff, at least for this week, so India should be able to field two spinners without suffering as a consequence.This is the first tournament India have played outside their own country under the new regulations — two new balls and an extra fielder in the circle. In India, the regulations keep the balls harder in the middle overs and make strokeplay more possible, but in England, more conducive to seam bowling in any event, the bowlers will have a distinct early advantage.The emergence of Umesh Yadav, in particular, makes India well equipped to take advantage with the new ball when batting but there are questions over whether they can achieve early stability with the bat if the conditions are testing. Even so, they should begin overwhelming favourites against a South Africa one-day side which lacks the strut of its Test counterpart.”The game, you can say, has changed a bit with the introduction of the new Laws,” Dhoni said. “It means if you keep wickets in hand you can really exploit the conditions and make a lot of runs. Most of the teams will see a bit of a change in their approach and try to keep wickets intact in the first 10 when the new ball may do a bit.”The fast bowlers have a really important role. If you see the way the game has progressed, and see the statistics, most of the sides in the first 10 overs will be happy to get 40 or 45 runs and keep as many wickets intact as possible. That loss of 20 runs in the first 10 you can make up later if you have wickets in hand. If a side gets going more often than not they will end up scoring more than 300. We need to adapt quickly.”Yadav, who collected five top-order wickets in as many overs against Australia, has been allowed a privilege not granted to other members of the Indian party. He married Tanya Wadhwa, a fashion designer, in Nagpur on May 29 and has been allowed to bring his wife on honeymoon. There will be a few envious looks from team-mates in the hotel reception.

New Zealand slipped into London almost unnoticed on Tuesday, minus their captain Brendon McCullum and senior batsman Ross Taylor who are at the IPL, but are determined to leave their mark on an English season where the main attraction is their trans-Tasman rivals.”We don’t really have anything to do with the Ashes,” Kane Williamson, the captain in McCullum’s absence, said. It helps, no end, that the series played during March between these two teams was very competitive. Talk about flat pitches killing the game was off the mark – weather was the bigger factor in the first two Tests – and New Zealand came within one wicket of a famous victory in Auckland. That is enough for this return contest to be given the respect it deserves.Mike Hesson, the New Zealand coach, hopes his team can provide more than a footnote to the summer. “I can guarantee from our perspective these two Tests are massive for us. We are making progress as a side and we certainly wouldn’t like to be the entrée for the main course later on.”He was even keen to see the benefits in having two key players arrive late for the tour. McCullum and Taylor are due on May 7 or 8, ahead of the second warm-up match against England Lions at Grace Road. McCullum will still have a role to play in the early days of tour, albeit from thousands of miles away, and is in regular contact with Hesson.”I’m actually quite happy with it because with a squad of 15 it’s quite hard to get everyone a game,” he said. “Those guys, although they haven’t been playing a lot, they have been training a lot. To get our whole squad involved in those two warm-up games is critical for us. In previous tours we haven’t even had any warm-up matches so two is huge. There will be no complaints from us about being underdone.”It is nothing new for a touring side to arrive in England for the May Tests in dribs and drabs – Sri Lanka and West Indies have faced similar situations in recent years – and is unlikely to be the last time it happens. Perhaps there should be a sense of gratefulness, and relief, that McCullum and Taylor will be here in time for the Test series. They are both fascinating sub-plots to the series; McCullum’s leadership was a key part of the contest in New Zealand, while Taylor’s return to the set-up has been far from smooth.The abiding memory of the previous series was the dramatic final day where England survived nine wickets down through defiance from Matt Prior, Ian Bell and Stuart Broad – plus Monty Panesar’s desperate dive – and the feeling of a fantastic opportunity missed by New Zealand still lingers.”I’ve tried to forget about that game to be honest, especially the end of it,” Hesson admitted. “We felt we dominated but that’s the game. These two Tests will be tough in very different conditions. We gained a lot of confidence, but it was a series in isolation and we can’t get carried away.”After the upturn in their fortunes during March, there are unlikely to be many major selection headaches leading into the Test series. Hesson confirmed that Hamish Rutherford and Peter Fulton will continue their opening pairing even though Martin Guptill is in the squad again after injury, so the key decision may come down to whether they retain a spinner – Bruce Martin – in their XI or go with four quick bowlers. Doug Bracewell, who missed the home series after injuring his foot on a piece of glass, and Mark Gillespie are the extra pacemen in the squad.

Ricky Ponting has said his and Sachin Tendulkar’s low returns for Mumbai Indians have affected the team’s batting in the tournament. The openers have put together two half-century stands, but thrice the team has lost its first wicket in the first over. Ponting has scored 52 runs in five innings and Tendulkar 69. Asked about Tendulkar’s batting form, Ponting said it has been “no different than mine”.Mumbai Indians made another false start against Rajasthan Royals in a chase of 180 as the openers were out early – Tendulkar in the first over and Ponting in the third – to offspinner Ajit Chandila.”The two guys at the top of the order haven’t done the job required off them by the team,” Ponting said. “We are five games into the tournament; both of us need to play better. If we want to continue winning games and if we want to be the team at the end of it that holds the trophy up, then you need everyone in the team performing more often than not. Neither of us has played as well as we would have liked. I’d expect a lot from myself from the first few games compared to what I have delivered.”Royals, led by an unbeaten half-century by Ajinkya Rahane, put up a challenging total, but Mumbai Indians’ innings fizzled early as Royals took the pace off the ball with the use of spinners and medium-pacers. At 61 for 5 in the 13th over, they had lost all their in-form batsmen. Ponting, however, didn’t blame the pitch.”The wicket was good, as you can see by the first innings of the game,” he said. “It is fair to say that the wicket did a little bit in the second innings, but it always looks that way when the batting is under pressure. So we can’t blame the conditions.”Ponting also added that the team could make some changes now. “We will think about mixing and matching, reorder a bit. I talked to the coaches before this game about making sure our guys in the middle order get a fair bit of batting early in the tournament, because guys like Rayudu haven’t had much of batting yet.”Royals’ offspinner Chandila, who took a hat-trick last season, opened the bowling and was instrumental in putting early pressure with the wickets of Tendulkar and Ponting. He said the wickets were like a “dream come to true” for him.”Taking the wickets of two legends of the game is like a double hat-trick for me, ” Chandila told IPLT20.com. “I still cannot believe this has happened, I feel I am in some sort of dream. I just cannot express how I feel. My hands and feet are cold at the moment. As a bowler, I cannot ask for anything more.”Rahul Dravid sir is like God for me. He just placed his hands on my head before the first over and said, ‘Ajit, you will bowl well. Just be confident when you are bowling and the rest will take care of itself.’ Those words were in my head as I went to bowl.”