ICC may control T20 Tournaments

London: As popularity of the Twenty20 format of the game seems going through the roof, the International Cricket Council (ICC) are considering regulating the spree of T20 tournaments to protect the attraction of international cricket.
"All these tournaments are springing up and what we are trying to do is regulate them in a more effective way. A private businessman might have different ambitions but we have to protect the game of cricket," ICC Chief Executive Officer Haroon Lorgat was quoted as saying.
"Twenty20 is an opportunity that people have spotted they can take advantage of, but that doesn't detract from what has been agreed by all members that we will not sacrifice nation-v-nation cricket. Everyone recognises its importance. People are not disregarding it," he said.
Interestingly, Lorgat's comment came days after 6 Bangladesh cricketers, including former captain Habibul Bashar, resigned from the national team in an apparent move to join the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).
"If there wasn't an interest in the sport there wouldn't be so many challenges. I would rather come into a scenario where things are moving at great speed, with new forms of cricket and a new audience," the South African added.
The Champions League Twenty20 tournament will also be held here in December, and the rebel ICL will also start its third session from October 10.

source: www.mid-day.com

SL lifts domestic ban on 'rebel' ICL players

Sri Lanka will re-admit players aligned with the unauthorised Indian Cricket League into domestic cricket, officials said on Friday, in a move that defies the world cricket establishment. "Players will be allowed to play for their respective clubs and share their expertise, but cannot represent the country," Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) media manager Shane Fernando told AFP. The SLC had last year banned its five ICL players -- Marvan Atapattu, Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana, Avishka Gunawardena and Saman Jayantha -- from playing any official cricket matches. The decision comes two days after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) joined its counterparts from other countries in banning 13 players, including former captain Habibur Bashar, who has signed up with the ICL. The ICL, bankrolled by India's largest listed media company Zee Telefilms, was launched last year in a direct conflict with the powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The BCCI not only barred any ICL player or official from taking part in official cricket, but also convinced other boards to take similar action against their 'rebel' players. The Indian board also started its own lucrative Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition, featuring the world's top stars, to counter the ICL. Not surprisingly, ICL officials welcomed Sri Lanka's decision. "This is a step in the right direction," ICL business head Himanshu Mody told the Cricinfo website. "We hope that this decision will pave the way for Sri Lankan cricketers to play both for the ICL and their country in the near future." The ICL's first season last year comprised Twenty20 and 50-overs-a-side matches between eight teams that included a mix of international players and domestic Indian cricketers. Among the top stars aligned with the ICL are retired former Test captains Brian Lara of the West Indies and Inzamam-ul Haq of Pakistan, besides fiery New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond and veteran Chris Cairns. The Dhaka Warriors will be added as the ninth team in the second season starting on October 10.

source: www.circbuzz.com

Can Chennai halt Rajasthan's juggernaut?

And so it is that the Indian Premier League's finale will feature the team that started off like a express train, and another that has enjoyed the smoothest ride through the six weeks. The wheels threatened to come off for the Chennai Super Kings after that 4-0 start, but they regrouped from the loss of their Australian contingent to stitch together the victories that have taken Mahendra Singh Dhoni to the threshold of another major Twenty20 triumph. The Rajasthan Royals were hammered in their opening game, but have since scripted the sort of fairytale that Eric the Eel and other underdogs could only dream about. Both demolished their semi-final opponents, and there will be no shortage of confidence on either side as two of the most intuitive leaders in the game face off for the sport's richest prize.

After thumping the Delhi Daredevils to take their deserved place in the final, Shane Warne had appeared quite indifferent when he was asked which team he would prefer to face. There was little doubt though that he expected it to be Kings XI Punjab. After all,
of all the teams in the IPL, they had been most adept at absorbing pressure. The chase against Delhi in a game decided by Duckworth/Lewis had been timed to perfection, and they had also enjoyed a thrilling last-ball win against the Mumbai Indians.

But with Chennai reprising their early-season form, there was nothing majestic about the men from Punjab. With the stakes higher than ever, they took the pressure as well as a Coke can would a hobnailed boot. The established internationals like Yuvraj Singh and Mahela Jayawardene were the main culprits, and Dhoni could afford to stick to the tried-and-tested script after initially springing a surprise by throwing the new ball Muttiah Muralitharan's way.

It helped that his pace bowlers were absolutely outstanding. On a pitch that offered plenty of bounce, Makhaya Ntini was always going to be a factor, and so it proved. But it was Manpreet Gony, the son of Punjab in Chennai yellow, that took the vital wickets of Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj, bowling a maiden along the way. Throughout the tournament, his accuracy and consistency have been eye-catching, and in favourable conditions, he excelled by not getting carried away.

Gony and Ntini, supported splendidly by the ever-impressive Albie Morkel, will face their sternest test against a Rajasthan team that has already beaten them twice. Graeme Smith's muscular hitting may be missing, but in Kamran Akmal, Warne has a replacement who certainly doesn't lack flair or hitting ability. Shane Watson will be desperate to emphasise his most-valuable-player status in the game that matters most, while Swapnil Asnodkar and Niraj Patel will be encouraged to adapt the no-fear approach that has served them so well thus far.

The key to the contest will be Rajasthan's bowling, the most varied and effective in the competition. Sohail Tanvir has been the best new-ball bowler on view, while the heavy ball that Watson bowls was far too much for Delhi's star-studded batting to cope with. Siddharth Trivedi's changes of pace have been tough to get away, while Munaf Patel has eased back into the national reckoning with the accuracy that first caught the eye.

And then, there's Warne, the piper calling the tune. The rave reviews that his captaincy has earned have slightly obscured the fact that he also has 19 wickets for the tournament. On a helpful pitch, like the one he got in the semi-final, no one can rip a legbreak quite like he does. The straighter one has also fetched him wickets, as has the aura that appears to intimidate some batsmen even before they settle into the stance.

Both teams have got superb performances out of their Indian contingents. Suresh Raina, S Badrinath and the remodelled L Balaji have excelled for Chennai, while Warne has inspired top-drawer efforts from Ravindra Jadeja, Munaf, Trivedi and Asnodkar. Warne was insistent that it was the seven Indian players who were the real key to success. "You expect the four foreign guys to do a job," he said. "But it's the local players that can be the difference between winning and losing."

Dhoni, who has led India to victory at the World Twenty20 and in the CB Series, has had a charmed life as leader so far. But in Warne, he's up against perhaps the greatest big-match player there's ever been. It should be some contest.

Dileep Premachandran is an associate editor at Cricinfo

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