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Nottinghamshire have one of the most attractive batting line-ups in the county game. Seldom can they have been as becalmed as this

Tim Wigmore at Lord's11-Sep-2013
ScorecardAttacking shots were hard-earned, but Steven Mullaney helped put Nottinghamshire in a strong position•Getty ImagesNottinghamshire have one of the most attractive batting line-ups in the county game. Seldom can they have been as becalmed as this. A mantra of “safety first” may not be inspiring – it was under this slogan that the Conservatives lost the 1929 election – but there was no denying its effectiveness at Lord’s.Nottinghamshire have already put themselves into a position from which they should not lose this game, especially taking into account the disagreeable weather forecast. Even a draw would put them on the brink of confirming their Division One status.After Middlesex won the toss and bowled, adhesiveness was needed to withstand a typically probing opening spell from Tim Murtagh. But his visions of inflicting the same damage on Nottinghamshire’s top order as he had on England’s eight days ago encountered a roadblock named Steven Mullaney.There is nothing glamorous about Mullaney’s batting, but he is assured playing the ball through the offside and leaves the ball well. It is a method that earned him a hundred at The Oval in July – his first game opening the batting for Nottinghamshire – and he needs only 12 more runs to add another London century.It could have been very different though. To the third ball of the day, Mullaney called a sharp single – and it looked rather too sharp as a direct hit dislodged the stumps. But he was given the benefit of the doubt, the ball went to the boundary and Mullaney was off the mark with a five.Mullaney was well-supported by Michael Lumb, who provided a reminder that he is capable of attritional batsmanship to go with the pyrotechnics England see in Twenty20s. Lumb had reached 54 until he fell top edging a sweep to Ollie Rayner’s offspin. Rayner did not enjoy a pitch offering the assistance of The Oval – when he ravaged Surrey’s batting with 15 wickets – but he bowled with impressive control once again. Based on a season’s Championship haul of 41 wickets at 21 apiece, Rayner must have a reasonable chance of an England Lions berth.Shorn of Steven Finn and Toby Roland-Jones – who is out for the rest of the season – Middlesex were a little disappointing in the field. James Harris went for 3.54 an over – expensive in the context of an overall run rate of 2.32 – seemingly trying to bowl too quickly and too short.Perhaps he looks at the admirable Murtagh, who had to go to Ireland to begin his international career, and senses that the England selectors do not look kindly upon a perceived lack of pace. The risk, of course, is that Harris loses the consistency that meant 11 counties sought his signature when he moved on from Glamorgan a year ago. An average of 40 this season suggests Harris has yet to get the balance quite right.As the evening descended into farce – the players went off for bad light, returned without discernible improvement and then went off for good 13 deliveries later – it was hard to avoid asking what Alex Hales made of it all. He is the top-ranked Twenty20 batsman in the world but no longer able to make Nottinghamshire’s Championship side after a wretched red-ball season: hardly what he would have envisaged when his county prevented him going to the IPL in April.Hales will soon have to make a decision: does he want to play Test cricket – something not beyond a 24-year-old of his talent, but which would take copious graft on the county circuit? The alternative is to maximise his Twenty20 skill, something that may be in England’s immediate interests given his integral role in that format. If Hales pursues the second path – and he is due to have a meeting with Nottinghamshire to discuss the matter after the season – the IPL will certainly have a place for his belligerence.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former BCCI president who will carry out the day-to-day administration of the Indian board following N Srinivasan’s decision to step aside temporarily, has said he is keen to restore Indian cricket’s “good name”

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2013Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former BCCI president who will carry out the day-to-day administration of the Indian board following N Srinivasan’s decision to step aside temporarily while the investigation into corruption in the IPL is on, has said he is keen to restore Indian cricket’s “good name”, but did not promise “instant results”.Speaking a day after his appointment as temporary BCCI head, Dalmiya said he did not have “any medicine [with which] you get an instant result. We don’t have any such kind of a magic. We will try our best … [to see that] the good name of cricket is retained.”Dalmiya remained noncommittal on whether he will represent India at the ICC while at the BCCI’s helm. “I may or may not represent BCCI at ICC, no decision has been taken yet,” he said. “I am entitled, it is my choice.”He confirmed that Sanjay Jagdale, who tendered his resignation as BCCI secretary on Friday in wake of the scandal, will not return to his post. However, Ajay Shirke, who stepped down as board treasurer, had still not confirmed his exit, Dalmiya said: “As far as Jagdale is concerned, he has told us that he does not want to continue as secretary. But we have not been able to communicate with Shirke so far. We are hoping that we would be able to get a reply [on whether he has reconsidered his decision] from him by tomorrow. We will wait till tomorrow.”When asked about the process by which Jagdale would be replaced, Dalmiya was again noncommittal: “Whether [the power to appoint a new secretary is] available [to me] or not, you will come know tomorrow. I think I have been given adequate powers by the board. But I am not concerned about whether I have powers or not. My concern is that I want to do my duty.”BCCI aside, Dalmiya has headed the ICC previously, and is widely credited to be one of the chief architects who laid the foundation for Indian cricket to become the financial powerhouse it is. This time though, 73-year-old Dalmiya said he would not be looking to call the shots for too long. “I will be happy if I can serve cricket. That is enough for me. I don’t have any wishful thinking.”

MS Dhoni said the challenge posed by Pakistan will depend on their mindset

Nagraj Gollapudi14-Jun-2013There is no point wasting time debating about the significance of this match. India versus Pakistan in cricket, anywhere, any series, at any stage of the tournament has never been, can never be, a dead game. It does not matter whether the stands are choc-a-bloc or there are a few thousand seats left vacant – the needle of the contest is as sharp as ever.India will take this final group match seriously only because they do not want to enter the semi-finals hit by a fresh bout of doubts in case of a defeat. Pakistan will look forward to playing some mischief as only they can by playing their best game. Confidence and momentum are important going into a big match like the semi-finals and MS Dhoni pointed out how important Saturday will be for India.Misbah-ul-Haq had already said that for Pakistan there would be no pressure. Asked to expand on whether Pakistan were more dangerous or less, Dhoni said it depended on the opposition’s mindset. “It depends on what they are thinking. If their thinking is they have nothing really to lose, let’s go out, be expressive on the field, don’t bother about the result, then they can be dangerous. But if the thinking is they are not qualified, this is a game against India, let’s win this game so we have it as a consolation prize, they’ll be in big trouble,” Dhoni said ahead of India’s training session on Friday.From being the underdogs before the Champions Trophy began, India have become the team to beat. The last time both teams played, in India earlier this year, Pakistan had won the ODI series. One of the biggest factors behind India’s struggle back then was the lack of momentum created by the openers.In that series, India had tried out three openers, who scored an aggregate of 78 runs in three innings, averaging 12.16 for the opening wicket. Ajinkya Rahane played just one match and scored four runs; Virender Sehwag got 35 runs in two innings while Gautam Gambhir could muster only 34 in three matches. Never once did the Indian openers raise a fifty-run stand, and kept exposing the middle order early.In contrast the back-to-back century stands between Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have been one of the pillars of India’s success so far in the Champions Trophy. Dhawan and Rohit have put on 228 runs, at a run-rate of 6.19, both numbers the highest by any opening pair.”We are a side that relies quite a bit on a good start,” Dhoni said. “It doesn’t really mean that we always need hundred-run partnership. We need some time, the openers need to spend some time in the middle, and that really comes from the dressing room. That has been the case whenever we have got off to a good start; more often than not we have been able to capitalize on that.”At the same time Dhoni is aware of that Pakistan have one of the better bowling line-ups, especially the threat of their spin twins Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez. The pair has been the most economical against India in the last five years from June 2008 (minimum five innings). Ajmal’s bowling average of 18.41 against India is the second best among spin bowlers against since 2000 after James Tredwell’s 18.18 (minimum five innings). In the same five years Hafeez has the best economy rate against India among spinners – 3.57 from 49 overs followed by Ajmal’s 4.03 from 77.3 oversDhoni said India were not getting worried too much and their focus was to carry on doing what they have been doing right so far. “The fact that we have quite consistently scored runs – that is something that is very important. The fact that we have been able to chase scores and good scores against good bowlers and good wickets where there was a bit of bounce for the fast bowlers. All in all it is a very pleasing aspect, and also the bowling department we have seen if there’s a bit of help for the fast bowlers, even though our fast bowlers can come back in the game, bowl really well in the middle overs, so overall I’ve been very happy. Fielding, we have not been known for our fielding standards, but we have seen I think right now we are the best fielding side. You can compare us to any other side, and most of our fielders, they are good fielders, and the rest are above average fielders.”

Somerset are likely to be without Alviro Petersen for the first game of the Championship season

George Dobell08-Apr-2013Somerset are likely to be without Alviro Petersen for the first game of the Championship season.Petersen, who has signed as club’s overseas player for the first part of the season, has been detained in South Africa to complete fitness tests for the national board. He will fly on Tuesday night and arrive in London on Wednesday morning, leaving little time to complete the necessary formalities and travel to Chester-le-Street for the match against Durham.”He will arrive in London on Wednesday morning,” Dave Nosworthy, Somerset’s new director of cricket told ESPNcricinfo, “so it’s unlikely we can get him through customs and up to Durham in time.”Petersen’s absence is a blow to Somerset. They are already without Nick Compton, who is being rested on the order of England following his impressive efforts for England over the winter, and hoped that Petersen could help plug the gap.They do welcome back the seamer Alfonso Thomas, however, who had an agreement with the club to prioritise the Championship over any potential IPL contract. Somerset were second in the Championship in 2012, equalling their best-ever finish.Warwickshire, last season’s champions, are also set to be missing a key player, with Chris Woakes rested on the orders of the ECB. The allrounder is suffering from fatigue, so will not be available again Derbyshire. Keith Barker and Boyd Rankin are also out, with Dougie Brown, Warwickshire’s new coach, confirming that Oliver Hannon-Dalby and 20-year-old Tom Milns will form the bowling attack alongside Chris Wright.

Jordan Clark, a 22-year-old Lancashire batsman who has yet to make his first-class debut, earned himself a place in cricket history by hitting Yorkshire left-arm spinner Gurham Randhawa for six sixes in an over

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2013Jordan Clark, a 22-year-old Lancashire batsman who has yet to make his first-class debut, earned himself a place in cricket history by hitting Yorkshire left-arm spinner Gurman Randhawa for six sixes in an over during a 2nd XI match in Scarborough.The feat came on the second day of the contest as Clark latched onto Randhawa’s 13th over and struck all his blows over the midwicket area. His modest response to the achievement was to say that he thought the time had come “to step it up a little.” Until the point of the 36-run over, Randhawa had figures of 2 for 15 in 12 overs.Although Clark’s striking did not come in a top-level match it had him being mentioned in the same breath as Garry Sobers, Ravi Shastri, Yuvraj Singh and Herschelle Gibbs who have achieved the rare full house of sixes in first-class, List A or Twenty20 cricket.”I hit the first few pretty well, had a chat to my team-mate, and I just carried on really,” he told BBC Sport. “I just remember feeling a bit of pressure on the last ball and thinking ‘I have got to have a crack’.”Clark, who was part of Lancashire’s 2nd XI Trophy-winning team last year, has so far been restricted to one-day and Twenty20 appearances for the first team having joined the club’s academy in 2008.He was not the only fringe county batsman to launch a barrage of sixes on Wednesday as Middlesex’s Adam Rossington, playing against Cambridge MCCU, hit five consecutive sixes in an over against Akbar Ansari although Rossington was never in with a chance of matching Clark as the over had begun with a dot ball. He did, however, strike the next ball he faced from Ansari in the following over for another six.

Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, has agreed by mutual consent to leave the county at the end of the season. It brings to an end eight years at Taunton, a period in which he has revived the county’s fortunes.

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Sep-2012Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, has agreed by mutual consent to leave the county at the end of the season. It brings to an end eight years at Taunton, a period in which he has revived the county’s fortunes.Rose, who remains Somerset’s most successful captain having guided the county to five trophies between 1979 and 1983, took charge of the first team in 2004 and has overseen a transformation of the club from languishing in Division Two of the County Championship, into a very competitive unit that consistently challenges in all three competitions.Rose led them to the Twenty20 title in 2005 and two years later, he side won Division Two of the County Championship. They progressed into perennial title-challengers, coming closest to a maiden Championship in 2010 when three wickets in the final session of the season for Nottinghamshire stole the crown away.But since that 2005 T20 success Somerset have consistently failed to get across the line, losing three T20 finals in a row and last year’s Clydesdale Bank 40 League final before this season’s loss in the semi-final on T20 finals day – a defeat that convinced Rose it was time to move on: “I have come to the conclusion that a new and fresh approach is needed at first team level,” he said in a statement. “I have had immense pride in overseeing the development of Somerset over the last eight seasons. Our progress in that time from the age groups through to the first team has been outstanding with teams competing at the highest levels across the board. Our cricket has been highly attractive to watch and is reflected by the fantastic support. I also take a lot of pride in the development of the talented young cricketers that are now representing England, England Lions and England U19’s.”Players such as Jos Buttler and Craig Kieswetter have all flourished under Rose’s stewardship and the county continues to produce a string of talent, with Alex Barrow, Craig and Adam Dibble three of the latest to have broken into the first team.And it is his commitment to developing young players that Somerset chairman Andy Nash sees as Rose’s greatest legacy. “Brian has also overseen substantial and lasting improvements in our age-groups, player’s pathway and academy which has resulted in the development of abundant young talent. We are delighted that he has offered to provide ongoing advice next year which will allow us to draw on his immense knowledge and understanding of the game. This decision provides the club with the opportunity to take stock and ensure we are effectively positioned for the 2013 season.”

Alviro Petersen, the South Africa opening batsman, has agreed to extend his early-season stint with Somerset and will now play in the Friends Life t20.

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2013Alviro Petersen, the South Africa opening batsman, has agreed to extend his early-season stint with Somerset and will now play in the Friends Life t20.Petersen, 32, had initially signed for the first half of the County Championship season but will now extend his stay until the end of July.He has not played an ODI since January 2012 and is unlikely to be involved in South Africa’s Champions Trophy campaign that begins on June 6. He will therefore be available for the Flt20 which begins on June 26.”I am very pleased that I will now be able to stay on at Somerset and play Twenty20,” Petersen said. “Over the years they have done well in the competition and I would like to think that my contributions will help them to lift the trophy.”Petersen has a steady record in Twenty20 having played 72 domestic matches averaging 28.08 with 13 half-centuries. His runs have come at a healthy strike rate of 121.56.He will attempt to help Somerset on their way to an elusive trophy. The ghost of many near-misses hangs over them having not won a competition since 2005 despite contesting three finals since and losing in the 2012 Flt20 semi-final.”This is great news for Somerset,” Somerset head coach Andy Hurry said. “Having a top class performer like Alviro in our T20 squad will certainly boost our batting and bring a wealth of experience to the side.”Somerset encountered problems trying to bring in overseas players last season. Their initial signing of Chris Gayle was scuppered by his return to the West Indies one-day squad. And a subsequent attempt to bring in Faf du Plessis was blocked by Cricket South Africa.

ESPNcricinfo previews the first IPL qualifier match between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders in Pune

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit21-May-2012Match factsTuesday, May 22, 2012
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Who will have the last word tomorrow?•AFPBig PictureDelhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders have easily been the best sides this IPL. It is not only the points table which tells you that. The other two sides in the playoffs have not been as dominant. Mumbai Indians have won as many games as Knight Riders have, but have not been remotely as clinical; Chennai Super Kings have had to rely on other sides’ messing up to sneak in.Neither Daredevils nor Knight Riders have made it to an IPL final before. One of them will do that tomorrow. Daredevils have traversed the entire length of the points table this season, ending on top following their last-place finish in 2011. Realising that their batting was too dependent on Virender Sehwag last season, they brought in heavyweights like Kevin Pietersen, Mahela Jayawardene and Ross Taylor. While Taylor has almost sleepwalked through the season, Pietersen’s impact while he was available was huge. The arrival of David Warner has filled the void left behind by Pietersen and Jayawardene has been steady.Knight Riders’ transformation from the side once led by Sourav Ganguly is now complete. They were the target of numerous jokes for the first three IPL seasons but no one’s laughing now. A run of eight consecutive defeats in 2009 has given way to six consecutive wins this season. Had Knight Riders not blown a middling chase against Kings XI Punjab at home, they would have won nine in a row.A heavy-duty Daredevils line-up is up against the only attack to go for less than seven runs an over this season. The venue tilts the contest slightly in favour of Knight Riders. The pitch at the Sahara Stadium in Pune has been a tricky one for batsmen, as Pune Warriors’ Robin Uthappa pointed out. “It’s the toughest wicket we have played in the country and it’s very difficult to score runs here,” Uthappa said. Only Wankhede Stadium, among the regular venues, has had a lower run-rate this season, 7.11, than Pune, 7.34.Knight Riders defended 136 quite comfortably against Warriors a couple of days ago in Pune. Daredevils had chased down 147 in 16 overs against Warriors in Pune. Should be some contest tomorrow. The loser will get another match on Friday to make the final.Form guide
Delhi Daredevils: WLWLW (most recent first)
Kolkata Knight Riders: WWLLWPlayers to watchDespite the presence of other big guns, Daredevils have still relied, though to a lesser extent than previous season, on Virender Sehwag. Their captain has responded with 484 runs at a strike-rate of 164.62, including five consecutive half-centuries. The slowness of the Pune pitch had made no difference to Sehwag when he took the Warriors bowlers for an unbeaten 87 off 48 balls. Will he smash Sunil Narine tomorrow, like he said he would have done had he not got out early when these two sides last met?Twenty-two wickets at 5.14 runs an over. Sunil Narine has been nearly unplayable, with even Sachin Tendulkar failing to pick him. It is very difficult to decipher from his release whether it is an offspinner or the flicked carrom ball, unlike in the cases of Ajantha Mendis and even R Ashwin. How will Daredevils tackle him?That Gautam Gambhir has made six fifties this season and the rest of his team-mates put together have managed three says it all. Knight Riders, though, have managed to win their previous two games without a big contribution from their captain. Gambhir has made lots of runs this season on pitches where scoring them has not been easy. Will he manage to click again?Team combinationWarner, Jayawardene and Morne Morkel should take three overseas player spots. Will Daredevils risk playing Taylor as the fourth? Will they stick with the allrounder Andre Russell, who went for 51 runs in their previous game? Or will they play Roelof van der Merwe for an additional spin option? They went in with two Indian left-arm spinners Pawan Negi and Shahbaz Nadeem when they played Warriors in Pune.Knight Riders could stick to the same side that won in Pune and Mumbai, with plenty of spin options in Narine, Shakib Al Hasan, Iqbal Abdulla and Yusuf Pathan.Meetings this seasonDaredevils won a rain-affected game by eight wickets in Kolkata. Knight Riders restricted Daredevils to 153 in Delhi in the return match and won by six wickets with Brendon McCullum making a fifty. Jayawardene and Gambhir had a heated altercation in that game after the former was given not out when he edged Jacques Kallis to the wicketkeeper.Stats and trivia Knight Riders have scored the least runs this season as a team, 2150 in 15 games compared to Daredevils’ 2365 in 16. Knight Riders have conceded just 6.99 runs an over, by far the lowest this season. The next best are Mumbai Indians, who have gone for 7.54. Daredevils have given away 7.73. Warner and Sehwag have the highest strike-rates this season, 172.02 and 164.62 (min 100 runs)Quotes”I told everyone ‘give this line-up a year or so and we will dominate,’ and that’s exactly what we have done.”

India and Pakistan have agreed to a three-match ODI series, to be held in India in December

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jul-2012India and Pakistan will resume bilateral ties with a “short series”, comprising three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals, in December and January. The matches will be held between the Test and one-day legs of England’s tour of India and will form the first bilateral series between the two sides since Pakistan toured India in end-2007.The decision was taken by the BCCI at its working committee meeting on Monday. Rajiv Shukla, a senior BCCI official, said the plan was to hold the three ODIs in Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata, and the Twenty20 matches in Ahmedabad and Bangalore.”The BCCI was firm that no India-Pakistan series will be held at a neutral venue so it was decided to invite them [Pakistan] after December 22 when the England team leaves after playing the Twenty20 Internationals,” Shukla said.”This was the slot where the tour could have been accommodated and we did that accordingly. I have spoken to the home minister and he has said his ministry has no objection. The Ministry of External Affairs [India’s foreign ministry] has also agreed to this tour.”Bilateral cricketing ties were snapped following the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008, though the two countries have played each other in the World Cup, Champions Trophy and Asia Cup.The decision comes after prolonged, high-level consultations between officials of the two boards and, latterly, of the two governments. BCCI president N Srinivasan and PCB chief Zaka Ashraf have held several discussions this year regarding resumption of ties, with Pakistan hoping to fit in a series at the end of the year, during the Christmas break in England’s tour of India.”It’s a positive move by the BCCI,” Ashraf told reporters at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. “It’s been six months since I have been discussing with the BCCI about the possible revival of ties and the final breakthrough came during the IPL final. Ultimately, we have received the invite from the BCCI and now we will sit to discuss the modalities of the series.”It is Pakistan’s turn to host a bilateral series between the two. But there has been no international cricket in the country between Full Members since the March 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus and it is understood that India are not keen to play at a neutral venue, as has been the case with all Pakistan’s ‘home’ series since the attack. Subsequently, Ashraf said India had the prerogative to decide on the dates and host the series, but the PCB would want the BCCI to share revenue because the PCB has apparently not yet recovered from the financial loss suffered when India pulled out of their planned tour in 2009.The news is another step forward in both boards’ efforts to improve cricketing relations after the Champions League T20 governing council’s approval of the inclusion of the Sialkot Stallions in this year’s tournament, to be held in October. Sialkot will be the first domestic team from Pakistan to take part in the event. “The CLT20 is owned by the BCCI, Cricket Australia, and Cricket South Africa, so we will recommend to the governing council that the BCCI has no objection and is prepared to invite a Pakistan team,” Srinivasan said at the time.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Champions League Twenty20 match between Mumbai Indians and New South Wales

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya01-Oct-2011Match factsMumbai Indians v New South Wales, October 2, Chennai
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)David Warner is due a big score•Associated PressBig PictureA Super Over win against Trinidad & Tobago has revived New South Wales after a poor start to the tournament. A defeat in that game, which looked very likely, would have put the former title-winners on the brink of elimination but Moises Henriques engineered a thrilling victory that has kept their hopes of qualification alive. Wins in their next two games would guarantee their progress, but they are up against a team on the verge of making it to the semi-finals. Should New South Wales lose, they leave themselves at the mercy of other results.Mumbai Indians have had to field a side missing a few big names due to injuries but are undefeated thus far. Sarul Kanwar took full advantage of the vacancy created by the injury to Davy Jacobs and attacked the Cabe Cobras in Mumbai Indians’ previous game. The match was washed out after the first innings but Mumbai Indians would have backed themselves to win after posting 176. On a superb batting track in Bangalore, Mumbai Indians were able to score at a good clip despite losing wickets as Kieron Pollard muscled his way to a half-century. In a way, Pollard owes his bumper signing with Mumbai Indians to New South Wales; they were at the receiving end of his brutality with the bat two years ago in the same tournament. And it was Henriques who bore the brunt of it.A win will ensure Mumbai’s qualification; a defeat, especially a big one, would continue to leave the group open.Watch out for …David Warner: Like the rest of the New South Wales top order, Warner has got the starts but hasn’t quite pushed on. He struck 20 in his team’s opening game and 38 against Trinidad and Tobago but the domineering approach that he introduced himself with more than two years ago against South Africa is yet to be put on show this tournament.Andrew Symonds: He’s had a low-key tournament so far. In two games, he came in with his side in some trouble but didn’t last long in either. He didn’t have much time in the previous game but blasted an unbeaten 14 in eight balls, with Harbhajan Singh for company at the other end. Symonds came into this tournament having not played any competitive cricket since the IPL, and needs to prove he can still be a match-winner.Team newsMumbai Indians are unlikely to make any changes given Kanwar’s bright start with the franchise. Ben Rohrer has an impressive record for New South Wales, but has been dismissed cheaply twice in as many games at No.6. Whether his team addresses that with a change in the line-up remains to be seen.Stats and trivia New South Wales were involved in a tie, and then a Super Over win, for the first time in their Twenty20 history. There have been eight T20 ties this year; last year had the most ties in T20 history, 11 in all.Kieron Pollard and Jacques Kallis are the joint-leading run-getters over the three seasons of the Champions League Twenty20, tied on exactly 362 runs each. Pollard has a chance to edge ahead. Quotes”We’ve got to come up with a better batting effort through that middle phase. If no-one bats through [the innings] it’s very difficult.”
Simon Katich, the New South Wales captain, has a clear message for the top order.