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Match facts

Saturday, April 19, 2008
Start time 20:30 local time (15:00 GMT)

The Big Picture

Shane Warne and his Rajasthan Royals travel to Delhi, where the Daredevils await them for their opener under the recently installed floodlights at a refurbished Feroz Shah Kotla. Neither Rajasthan nor Delhi made any big purchases during the auctions; Virender Sehwag, the Delhi Daredevils captain, tops the payroll list for his franchise at US$833,750, while Mohammad Kaif is the most expensive player for the Jaipur-based franchise, at $675,000.Delhi start favourites for the clash, with a heady mix of aggressive batsmen, wily bowlers and athletic fielders, but it will be folly to underestimate the tactical acumen of Warne, the coach and captain.

Watch out for …

Some big hits. Delhi has in its ranks the explosive Sehwag, alongside Gautam Gambhir, a standout performer for India in Twenty20s, and Shikhar Dhawan, while Rajasthan have big hitters of the ball in Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan. Warne’s battle with Sachin Tendulkar has been touted as one to watch in the IPL, but the contest against Sehwag will be no less engaging. After conquering batsmen the world over in unison, Glenn McGrath and Warne will be on opposing ends, though it’s unlikely they will bowl to each other.

Team news

Both teams will miss some of their overseas players. Delhi will be without Pakistanis Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Asif, while AB de Villiers is back in South Africa playing the Standard Bank Pro20 Series. For Rajasthan, Graeme Smith is also away on domestic duty, forcing them to send an SOS call to 38-year-old Darren Lehmann after Mark Ramprakash turned down the offer. Also unavailable are the Pakistani trio of Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal and Sohail Tanvir, besides hard-hitting allrounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, the only English player in the league. Delhi are likely to open with Sehwag and Gambhir, with Tillakaratne Dilshan and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik occupying middle-order spots. Manoj Tiwary, Dhawan, Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia will vie for the remaining slots in the batting line-up, leaving space for four bowlers, spearheaded by McGrath and Daniel Vettori, one of the most effective bowlers in last year’s World Twenty20 in South Africa. An injury to Sri Lankan allrounder Farveez Maharoof means Tasmanian Brett Geeves, a surprise signing, might get a game, while it will be a toss-up between Yo Mahesh and Pradeep Sangwan, unless Delhi opt for a second specialist spinner in Amit Mishra.Delhi (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag (capt), 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 Manoj Tiwary, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Brett Geeves, 10 Glenn McGrath, 11 Pradeep Sangwan.Rajasthan’s allrounders – Pathan and Watson – form the core group along with Warne and Mohammad Kaif. Taruwar Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, two of India’s World Cup-winning Under-19 team, might get a look in, while Mahesh Rawat is expected to keep. Munaf Patel might seem to be a bit laidback for Twenty20 but, barring injury, he should be opening the bowling alongside Rajasthan’s very own Pankaj Singh.Rajasthan (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Taruwar Kohli, 3 Mohammad Kaif, 4 Darren Lehmann, 5 Niraj Patel, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Mahesh Rawat (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja , 9 Shane Warne, 10 Pankaj Singh, 11 Munaf Patel.

Stats and trivia

Bob Berry, who played twice for England in 1950 and was the first man to be capped by three counties, has died at the age of 80.Berry honed his craft in the Lancashire Leagues before making his debut for his native county in 1948, and although the county was packed with spinners, he forged his way into the side with his slow left-armers. Although he was not biggest turner of the ball, his variation in flight was exceptional, and in 1950 he earned himself a Test trial in which he took five wickets. As a result, he made his Test debut in the first Test against West Indies in 1950, taking 5 for 63 and 4 for 54 as England won their only match of the summer. Retained for Lord’s, he went wicketless as West Indies claimed their famous victory, but he bowled economically and was unfortunate to be dropped. He was included in the Ashes touring side that winter, but did not break into the Test side.In 1953 he took all ten Worcestershire wickets in an innings (his figures were 10 for 102) but places at Lancashire were increasingly hard to come by and in 1955 he joined Worcestershire and enjoyed three of his most successful seasons. Nevertheless, in 1958 he moved to Derbyshire, where he ended his first-class career.In retirement he became a publican and enjoyed local fame as a pigeon breeder, as well as maintaining strong links with the game. He was president of Farnsfield CC, where he lived, and also the Lancashire Players’ Association.Berry had always been close friends with Lancashire’s Malcolm Hilton, and when his wife and Hilton died, he married Vera Hilton.

Justin Langer, the Australia Test opener, is looking forward to a short stint with Somerset where he hopes to work on his game as well as keep a lookout for opponents he might face in this year’s Ashes.Langer, who has not played a competitive match since he was hit on the head by a vicious bouncer from Makhaya Ntini in April, will take the place of fellow Australian Dan Cullen, who is due to play with Australia A in the Top End series.He was declared fit after passing a series of neurological and vision tests and will be going to Somerset later this month. “I had my eyes checked last night, and I have got almost perfect vision, so there are no more excuses for me with my eyesight,” Langer told . “Ironically I had the same tests four years ago and the results were better on Monday than they were [then].”I am not sure if that means I am getting smarter, or if the concussion was not as bad as we first thought.”This will be excellent timing to get in amongst the action again and get back in the rhythm of batting,” said Langer, who might be opening for Somerset along with his English counterpart, Marcus Trescothick. “He and I will probably be trying to stay out there as long as we can together, not only to make as many runs for Somerset as possible, but also to get a few tips on how each other are doing.”Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, said that the players were delighted about Langer joining them at the county.”Justin offers tremendous help both on and off the pitch and will be a great asset to us during the six weeks that he will be with us,” he told the county’s website. “He will also be an informal coach because he has got a great rapport with the younger players.”His stint with the county is subject to clearance by Michael Brown, the general manager of cricket operations for Cricket Australia, who will consult with medical staff and the Australia coach John Buchanan. “We aim to get him over by the third week in June to play in the pre-Twenty20 games and the C&G match against Ireland in Belfast,” Rose said.Langer has experience of county cricket, having spent three seasons with Middlesex between 1998 and 2000, and Rose was confident the batsman, who turns 36 in November, could sign for an entire season next year. “Justin wants to get back into the English game as well and sees Somerset as the ideal county for him to do that with, so we will be having serious discussions when he arrives,” Rose said.”If he does come back to join us in 2007 we would be delighted because we have a young side. His character and the way he bats would be a huge asset in a first-class season, particularly if he is available for the majority of the time, which seems likely at the moment.”Langer’s Australian team, Western Australia has been hit by news the WACA Ground could become a smaller stadium that stages only domestic games if a state government report is carried out. Seven recommendations have been tabled including one for a major venue to accommodate Australian rules, rugby union, football and international cricket. If this project gains approval the WACA could be downscaled to host interstate matches.”Our first reaction to the prospect of the WACA Ground not being considered as having a role in the staging of major events, cricket or otherwise, in ten years is one of disappointment,” Tony Dodemaide, the WACA chief executive, said. “However, by no means is this a fait accompli.”We aren’t resigned to any outcome at this point. We have only just received the document and the association will undertake a detailed analysis of the report to properly assess the implications for the WACA Ground, our members and stakeholders, and, most importantly, the long-term well-being of cricket in this state.”

Gold League
Karachi Urban beat Rawalpindi by seven wickets on the final day of their Quaid-e-Azam Cricket Championship at Karachi to reach the top of the Gold League points table.Needing 110 runs for a win, Karachi Urban lost three wickets to reach the target in 26 overs. Agha Sabir, the Karachi Urban opener, made 44 and then Saeed Bin Nasir, who made 107 in Karachi Urban’s first-innings score of 506, finished it off with an unbeaten 29 off 30 balls.Rawalpindi, resuming at their overnight score of 63 for 2, were dismissed for 264 in their second innings. Awais Zia and Sohail Tanvir frustrated the Karachi Urban bowlers for some time with a 121-run stand for the seventh wicket after Rawalpindi had slumped to 127 for 6. Tanvir made 78 off 93 with 13 fours while Zia made 43.Tahir Khan, Karachi Urban’s offbreak bowler, followed his 5 for 112 in the first innings by getting 4 for 90 in 30 overs to finish with a match-haul of 9 for 202. Left-arm spinner Azam Hussain, a left-arm spinner, claimed 3 for 50 after taking 4 for 94 in the first.With their third win in four matches, Karachi Urban have raised their points tally to 24. Rawalpindi have slipped to the third spot behind defending champions Sialkot.Starting February 7 Karachi Urban will play Sialkot in their sixth round match at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot while Rawalpindi will play Lahore Shalimar at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.Defending champions Sialkot made a lunge towards the top of the table after they beat Lahore Shalimar by nine wickets at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. Lahore Shalimar will be fighting to avoid relegation when they play Rawalpindi next.Lahore Shalimar, following on overnight at 198 for 3, were 16 runs behind Sialkot. They lost there last seven wickets for 59 runs with Mansoor Amjad, the 19-year old legbreak bowler who has been signed by Leicestershire for the 2007 season, taking 5 for 35 and Sarfraz Ahmed, a left-arm fast-medium bowler, taking 3 for 61.Sialkot scored the 44 needed to win in 10.1 overs losing one wicket in the process.Gaining the full nine points for the first time from their three wins in four matches, Sialkot now have a total of 21 points. They are now second behind Karachi Urban and pushing Rawalpindi to third place.Silver League
Quetta managed their only win of the tournament after they defeated Hyderabad by two wickets on the final day of their Silver League match at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad.Hyderabad set Quetta a target of 229 after being bowled out for 325 in their second innings.Umar Javed, Quetta’s No. 3 batsman, made an unbeaten 90, just missing out on his maiden first-class century, from 180 balls and hitting nine fours. He added 62 for the fifth wicket with Naseer Khan who made 36.Hyderabad still finish above Quetta in the Silver League table with an identical record of one win, three defeats and a draw from five matches with nine points.Abbottabad lost out on a place in the final after Lahore Ravi defeated them by 58 runs day at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground.Lahore Ravi made 339 in their second innings after having conceded a first-innings lead of 152. Setting Abbottabad a target of 188, Lahore Ravi went on to bowl them out for 129 in 62 overs..Nasir Jalil, Abbottabad’s No. 9 batsman, top-scored for them with 28. Mohammad Bilal was the next highest with 26. Imran Ali got 4 for 54 to complete a match haul of 8 of 118 while Wahab Riaz followed his first innings 4 for 77 with 3 for 33 in 20 overs.Multan and Islamabad will now meet in the Silver League final after their match at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad ended in a draw with only 38 overs of play were possible due to inclement weather conditions.Multan were set a target of 644 and they ended the day at 127 for 5 – 512 runs short.Since Abbottabad were beaten by the Lahore Ravi and couldn’t add to their total of 12 points Multan retained their 21 and stayed at second position behind Islamabad. Having gained 36 from their first four matches, Islamabad earned three from the draw with Multan and ended with a total of 39.Multan were demoted from the Gold League after finishing at the bottom of the table last season. They are looking to return to the Gold League if they win the Silver League final to be played from February 7 to 11 at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore.

Bangladesh romped to a nine-wicket win over Malaysia in the third-place play-off in the CLICO International Under-15 tournament in Trinidad. Malaysia collapsed from 47 for 2 to 73 all out, with offspinner Khaza Khairuddin taking 4 for 15 and Naseef Ahmed 4 for 9. Didar Hossain (41*) led the chase and Bangladesh knocked off the runs in the 12th over. Despite the loss, Malaysia have performed tremendously considering they only entered the competition at the last minute following the withdrawal of Zimbabwe.Ireland defeat ICC Americas by two wickets in the fifth-place play-off in Tobago. Ireland appeared to be heading towards defeat as they slid to 77 got 6 chasing 139, but Barry McCarthy (44*) and Jonathan Andrews (16) added a vital 52 for the seventh wicket to guide the Irish to victory with three overs in hand. ICC Americas should have posted a bigger score, but from a platform of 110 for 3 they fell away, with Andrews and Ben Wylie taking three wickets each. ICC Americas’ lack of discipline also told as their bowlers gave away 24 wides and five no-balls.Netherlands finished in seventh after a 60-run win over the very poor Kenya side. Stefan Ekelmans’ 51 was the anchor as Netherlands made 172 for 8 in 50 overs, Kenya’s bowlers contributing 21 wides. But Kenya’s batsmen, as has been the case throughout, were simply not good enough, with Irfan Karim’s 50 one of only two scores in double figures as they limped to 112 in 44.2 overs.

Scotland will play their first official one-day international matches on foreign soil when they travel to Bangladesh next month.The eight-day trip, departing from Glasgow on December 10, will feature one warm-up game before the two ODIs, in Chittagong on December 15 and Dhaka two days later.If Scotland captain Craig Wright plays in both games he will overtake Greig Williamson as Scotland’s most capped player of all time with 154 caps.Cricket Scotland chief executive Roddy Smith said: “This is the start of a tremendous adventure for Scottish cricket. Over the next four months, Scotland’s top cricketers will play full international matches in places they’ve never visited, and we will be judged by our performances. Bangladesh is just the beginning.”Several of the squad have played in Bangladesh before; Dougie Brown with England and Ross Lyons and Omer Hussain, for Scotland in the 2004 U19 World Cup.Scotland have played only eight official ODIs – five of them in the 1999 World Cup, and national coach Peter Drinnen added: “The Bangladeshis will certainly want to win both these games, after we defeated them in Edinburgh two seasons ago. But we will be just as hungry for success, because we want to continue to build our international reputation.”Squad Craig Wright (capt), John Blain, Dougie Brown, Gavin Hamilton, Majid Haq, Paul Hoffmann, Omer Hussain, Dougie Lockhart, Ross Lyons, Neil McCallum, Dewald Nel, Navdeep Poonia, Colin Smith (wkt), Ryan Watson, Fraser Watts.

Paul Nixon, the 37-year-old former England wicketkeeper, has signed for the Indian Cricket League.”This is an exciting opportunity to end what has been a remarkably eventful year for me,” Nixon said. “I would never have imagined 12 months ago that I would get the opportunity to go on two England tours, and I always saw that as a bonus and a tremendous honour to play for my country.”Nixon was selected by England for the one-day series in Australia following the Ashes, and also for the World Cup. But, at 37, he realizes his chances of further international recognition are probably over.”I now have two big goals to look forward to in my career, playing in this Twenty20 league and the captaincy of Leicestershire,” he said. “This is perfect timing because India is the Mecca of cricket and interest in the Twenty20 game is extremely high due to the success of the national team in becoming world champions.”The league, which begins on November 30, features the likes of Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Left-arm spinners Manan Sharma (4 for 21) and Saqlain Sajib (3 for 24) combined to dismantle Mohammedan Sporting Club for 100 and set up Abahani Limited’s five-wicket win at the BKSP-3 Ground in Savar. The performance vaulted Abahani to the top of the Dhaka Premier League points table; they are ahead of Gazi Group Cricketers and Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club, also on 20 points each, by virtue of a superior net run rate.Coming into the game on the back of successive 300-plus scores, Mohammedan crumbled in 33.4 overs with only one of their batsmen notching up a score in excess of 20. If Sajib scythed through the top-order, Manan wiped out the lower order in equally quick time.Liton Das then razed Mohammedan with a 22-ball half-century that came with the help of four fours and five sixes, as Abahani raced away in an opening stand of 61 that took just 5.1 overs. With 10 runs needed, Abahani slipped up against the duo of Jubair Hossain and Shamsur Rahman, losing three wickets for the addition of one run. But opener Shadman Islam held firm with an unbeaten 24, and in the company of Shuvagata Hom, took Abahani across the line in 15.3 overs. Shamsur and Jubair ended with two wickets each.Gazi Group Cricketers put behind three successive defeats to crush Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by 177 runs at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium.Batting first, Gazi Group ran up 350 for 5, built around Nasir Hossain’s belligerent century. Left-arm pacer Abu Hider then kept the good work going with his career-best List A returns of 6 for 35 as Dhanmondi Club sank to 173 all out in 38.1 overs.Gazi Group suffered an early setback when Anamul Haque was dismissed in the second over for 1. Mominul Haque then blasted a 61-ball 66 and added 74 for the second wicket in the company of Munim Shahriar (35 off 33). The association ended with the latter’s dismissal in the 14th over, which brought out Nasir, who was returning from Ireland where he was involved with the Bangladesh national team in a triangular series.Nasir zoomed to 134 off 113 balls, his fifth List A century, with the help of seven fours and six sixes. He shared a fifth-wicket stand of 147 with Gurkeerat Singh Mann (74 off 60), off just 129 balls, to flatten Dhanmondi Club. Gurkeerat was sent back at the start of the 45th over, but Gazi biffed 66 runs off 35 balls after his dismissal. Nasir continued with his big-hitting ways until he had to retire hurt in the penultimate over with a bout of cramps.In their reply, Dhanmondi Club lost wickets upfront and were reeling at 96 for 6 before the halfway stage. Ziaur Rahman tried to mount a fightback with 46 off 29 balls, but it was snuffed out by Hider who then went on to pick two more wickets in the same over; Dhanmondi were bowled out shortly thereafter.At the BKSP-4 Ground in Savar, Marshall Ayub and Shahriar Nafees strung together a match-winning partnership for the second time in two chases as Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club chased down 242 against Prime Bank Cricket Club with six wickets in hand. That, after Prime Bank put up 241 for 8 on the back of half-centuries from Abhimanyu Easwaran (71) and their captain Asif Ahmed (62 not out).Ayub and Nafees got together with Prime Doleshwar at 58 for 2 in the 12th over of the chase. They took the score to an even 200, adding 142 for the third wicket – their second 100-plus stand in the competition. Marshall was the first of the two to fall, having top-scored with 84 off 89 balls, including ten fours and a six. Nafees was a lot more sedate, his 78 taking 129 balls. He fell with Prime Doleshwar requiring another 24, where after Rajat Bhatia and Farhad Reza sealed the chase.Bhatia also played a key role with the ball, limiting Prime Back with his 3 for 50 in 10 overs. Prime Bank, 120 for 5 at one point, were lifted by a 73-run sixth-wicket stand between Abhimanyu and Asif. Left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny supported Bhatia well, taking 2 for 40 in 10 overs.

Peter Chingoka, the chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, will be in London for the ICC executive meeting next week despite an attempt by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) to have him refused an entry visa to the UK.The British Embassy in Harare recommended to the FCO in London that Chingoka be refused admission to the UK on account of his associations with the government of Robert Mugabe. The FCO rubber-stamped this but Cricinfo has learned that the ban was blocked by Richard Caborn, the sports minister, as he feared that any such move could jeopardise the bid to have David Morgan, the ECB chairman, elected as ICC president in 2008.The Foreign Office compromised and have only given Chingoka a visa for five days. He cannot start his journey until Monday, June 25 and must be out of the country by Saturday, June 30. This will enable him to attend the directors’ meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, and the ICC annual meeting which follows, but that’s all.An ECB spokesman told Cricinfo that the board “had not discussed the issue with the FCO” and that it “was solely a government decision” to limit the entry visa. A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said that they “did not comment on individual visa cases”.Kate Hoey, Caborn’s predecessor as sports minister and the chairperson of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe, told Cricinfo that she was “disappointed” with Caborn’s intervention. “Zimbabwe’s cricket officials are at the heart of the dictatorship’s web of corruption and political oppression. It is sad that the sports ministry has used Morgan’s chances – which are really no chance at all – of becoming ICC president to ask the FCO to go against their better judgment and grant a visa. This sort of unprincipled manoeuvring looks very bad when we are asking other countries to stand firm in isolating those at the heart of Mugabe’s regime.

“We were meant to have an ethical foreign policy… that needs to include an ethical sports policy too.”As long ago as July 2004, Lord Avebery raised a request in the House of Lords that Chingoka and Ozias Bvute, Zimbabwe Cricket’s managing director who is expected to attend the ICC meetings next week, be barred from entering the European Union as “close supporters and collaborators of the [Mugabe] regime”.Chingoka, whose son and wife are believed to be in London, usually stays for some time either side of the meeting, as do many officials from other boards, but on this occasion he will have to leave the UK almost immediately after the conclusion of the AGM.

Australia’s captain Steven Smith has admitted the Adelaide Oval pitch explicitly prepared for the day-night Test and the pink ball has more grass on it than he expected, leading the selectors to dispense with the services of the left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe and settle on a three-man pace attack for Friday.Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson would appear to be duelling for the final spot in the XI, with Peter Siddle set to resume his Test career in search of the two wickets he needs to notch 200 for Australia. Smith was positive in his feedback to the oval’s curator Damian Hough after the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and South Australia some weeks ago, but he said the ground’s thick grass coverage this week had surprised him.”It was considered obviously, as he was here to train with us,” Smith said of O’Keefe. “He’s done incredibly well with the pink ball and we thought he might have played a part, but it’s not going to end up that way. We’re going to go in with three quicks and an allrounder.”There’s probably a little bit more grass than I anticipated to be on it. That added bit of grass probably swayed our decision. I think it is going to be a good Test match for us. I think the facilities here are outstanding, I think the wicket is going to be a little bit more difficult perhaps than the Shield match, but I don’t think the conditions will be too dissimilar, so hopefully we can see a good five days of Test cricket.”The pioneering nature of the contest has been underlined by a noticeably bigger build-up than the first two Tests of the series, while the players are to be playing for a one-off cash inducement of $1 million to be split 60/40 between the victors and the vanquished. Smith played down the money, and resorted to his usual approach of terming the concept “exciting” rather than anything to be cynical about.”We are not really worrying about prize money, our main focus is to win the series against New Zealand, they are our cross-town rivals in a way,” Smith said. “I think it is a really exciting concept. I can’t wait to get out and give it a crack, so I think the ball has had a lot of work, it is at a position now where it is going to hold up, particularly in these conditions out here at Adelaide Oval.”So, I think it is a great concept, I think the crowds have rolled in. Obviously the first two Tests were a little bit disappointing with the crowds, and there is some big numbers expected for at least the first three days here, so I think it is really exciting for us moving forward.”We’ve all batted under lights at different times of our careers whether it is white ball, red ball or pink ball, I don’t think there is a huge difference, it is just a matter of going out there and adjusting and adapting to the conditions and playing what we are faced with. They have some quality bowlers who can swing the ball around and we are going to have to be aware of them.”Changes in tactics have been widely forecast for this match, given the vagaries created by the transition from day into night and the prospect of facing a brand new ball and spells of short bowling under lights. However Smith revealed that his much-commented upon decision to declare before stumps against South Australia in the Shield game had been motivated by a rather more traditional circumstance – giving his spearhead Mitchell Starc a few overs when he was angry. It is Starc who shapes as the most destructive force for Australia, particularly after the retirement of Mitchell Johnson in Perth.”That Shield game, I think Starcy was pretty fired up and angry after being bounced for a few overs there,” Smith said. “That was purely my decision, to declare that evening and have a crack. It worked out well in the end. But I don’t think the tactics and so much has to change as much as people believe.”Losing someone of the quality of Mitchell Johnson is always tough for a team, but I think Mitchell Starc is going to step up and fill that role. We saw that last week. It was extremely impressive to bowl 37 overs above 145kph consistently. Hopefully we can see a lot more of that.”