Shakib Al Hasan admitted that the experience of taking consecutive Test matches deep into the fifth day had left his team weary when it came to the sharp end of the contest

Andrew Miller in Dhaka24-Mar-2010Shakib Al Hasan admitted that the experience of taking consecutive Test matches deep into the fifth day had left his team weary when it came to the sharp end of the contest, as he reflected on a series from which his players emerged with great credit, but once again, nothing tangible to show for their efforts.For Shakib it was a match from which he took great personal pride, as he underlined his credentials as a world-class allrounder with scores of 49 and 96, as well as a marathon haul of 4 for 124 in 66 first-innings overs. But those three statistical near-misses encapsulated the frustrations that Bangladesh felt collectively, as a match that they had dominated for large parts of the first half of the game degenerated into a sapping nine-wicket defeat.”We were bowling in the last session of the fifth day, and in the last Test we also played five days, so it was tiring for us,” said Shakib. “Normally we don’t play so much cricket, so it was a very tough job for us, and I think many of us lost our intensity. We need to see how physically fit we are, because maybe some of us thought we cannot do it anymore at this stage. When England got to 100 for 1, we were a bit loose, which should not have happened.”Inevitably, much of the blame for Bangladesh’s collapse will be pinned on the umpiring on the third day, but Shakib denied that his side had still been dwelling on those missed opportunities when they shipped six match-changing wickets the following day. Instead he blamed misfortune, with Junaid Siddique being caught off Alastair Cook’s boot, and Imrul Kayes bowled via an improbable deflection off the thigh-pad.But at 172 for 6, with a lead of 94 going into the final day, there was still a slender opportunity to bat out for a draw, a result that would have counted as a very moral victory. Shakib’s intent was plain upon the resumption, as he set about establishing a total that could be defended, but in the end he played one rash shot too many with a century beckoning and only the No. 11 Rubel Hossain for company.”The situation was that we had to score either 40-odd runs or survive 10 more overs,” said Shakib, whose stumping for 96 off James Tredwell left England needing 209 in a minimum of 55 overs. “I thought the second one was a difficult option, so I went for my shot. Maybe I could have defended it, but in that case, if Rubel was out in the next over, I would have regretted it.”At first I thought to play a sweep over square leg,” he said. “Then I thought his ball was not spinning at all. Everything was coming straight, so I wanted to play straight. But that did spin and I missed it. It was a very tricky situation because I had to think both attack and defence, and I’ve hardly ever faced a situation like this. It was a new experience for us, but hopefully we will learn from it.”Personally, I tried to give whatever I could. If you consider my Test career, I would say I worked harder in this Test than anyone,” he added. “I just wanted another 20-25 runs, so that we could have push them. If they had needed more than 110 runs in each session things would have been easier for us. But they needed only 100 and 100, and on the last day of the last game, it was difficult for us.”For Shakib, it was the third time in his Test career that he had been stuck on 96 at the end of an innings, although he did reach his maiden century against New Zealand in February. “Nowadays luck is not doing any favour to me,” he said. “I’ve got 49, 96, four wickets … the last one was not coming. Hopefully luck will smile on me again.”With a little more experience – and they are gaining more and more with each match – Bangladesh will be better placed in the future to capitalise on situations such as they faced in this contest. For all that England’s approach to the match attracted few admirers, their greater awareness of the end-game paid off in the final stages, as Cook pointed out afterwards.”I think we could have chased up to 250 in 50 overs on that wicket,” said Cook. “We didn’t mind Bangladesh playing a few shots, because we were happy to sacrifice a few runs for wickets, instead of having to prise them out. Once we’d got a good start, and kept our wickets in hand, towards the end we felt we could chase anything down.”On that wicket, you needed a really big score in the first innings,” he added. “Bangladesh needed a bigger score if they wanted to win the game, and they will learn from that experience that 400 wasn’t good enough. But the fight that they showed here and at Chittagong has surprised us all and it bodes well for their future.”

Defeats in their most recent games have resulted in Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders dropping a place in the points table, to sixth and seventh respectively

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran31-Mar-2010

Match facts

Thursday, April 1
Start time 20.00 local (14.30 GMT)Kolkata have blown hot and cold this season. What they’re looking for is consistency•Indian Premier League

Big picture

Defeats in their most recent games have resulted in Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders dropping a place in the points table, to sixth and seventh respectively. They opened this year’s tournament at the DY Patil Stadium on March 12, and Deccan will aim to level the score against a team which has blown hot and cold this season.Deccan are coming off two successive defeats, the cause of both being the disappointing batting. Adam Gilchrist said his team had been inconsistent and that nobody was getting a big enough score. A target of 149 wasn’t challenging enough for Rajasthan Royals and Yusuf Pathan, who blitzed 73 off 44 balls to complete a thumping win. Against Mumbai Indians, a Harbhajan Singh blitzkrieg dented their bowling figures and confidence even before they began the chase. Their key players, including Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds, didn’t fire and the rest – barring Rohit Sharma – weren’t good enough backup options. A win will take them closer to the top four.Kolkata have performed better than they did last year, but they’re still a work in progress. With players of the caliber of Chris Gayle and Angelo Mathews, they have underperformed, as three wins and four losses suggest. There’s inconsistency in the batting, like in the case of Manoj Tiwary, who has two fifties and two ducks in six innings. They will need to win at least five of their next seven games to stand a chance of making the semis and, in order to do that, they’ll have to find their best combination as soon as possible. Their coach Dav Whatmore said he wants them to win all their remaining home games. They’re unpredictable, extremely mediocre in defeat but also capable on their day, like when they choked Punjab.

Form guide (most recent first)

Kolkata Knight Riders LWLLL
Deccan Chargers LLWWW

Team talk

Dav Whatmore, the Kolkata coach, didn’t reveal any details of the team composition on the eve of the game. He said Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis would be considered at some stage. He also backed Sourav Ganguly to open and dismissed suggestions that he was struggling.For Deccan, Gilchrist said the team would decide on VVS Laxman’s inclusion later. Monish Mishra replaced him in the previous game but scored only 13. Kemar Roach gave them extra speed, but will they sacrifice him for Chaminda Vaas’ accuracy?

Previously…

Kolkata 3 Deccan 2
In their first meeting this year, Kolkata overcame a poor start thanks to Mathews and Owais Shah to post 161. Deccan appeared on course to chase it down but collapsed to lose by 11 runs.

Prime numbers

• Kolkata have the lowest average runs per over during the Powerplay in this IPL – 7.35. Deccan have the third-highest – 9.08.
• RP Singh has conceded nine sixes, the joint-highest for a bowler in this IPL.

In the spotlight

Ishant Sharma bowled just one over against Delhi, got pasted for 17 but took a wicket. He is Kolkata’s leading wicket-taker at the moment with seven wickets but his economy rate of 9.04 in six games isn’t so flattering.Scores of 1 and 0 have put a lot of pressure on Deccan’s captain Gilchrist. He insists that the batting is not just dependent on him, but his twin failures have had an effect on the rest in the last two games.

The chatter

“We won one game chasing. But chasing can sometimes be a little bit tricky with the extra pressure of losing wickets. Yes, we have talked about it. We feel that we have got the team to come up, whether we bat first or second.”
Dav Whatmore“I do not see our match against KKR as a revenge match. Rather, I would term it as a match where we should rectify the mistakes we made in the previous matches.”
Adam Gilchrist

New Zealand will resume their long-term rivalry with Australia in Sunday’s Women’s World Twenty20 final

The Bulletin by Peter English14-May-2010New Zealand 180 for 5 (McGlashan 84, Devine 27, Selman 2-27) beat West Indies 124 for 8 (Taylor 40, Watkins 3-26) by 56 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Sara McGlashan delivered a magnificent performance with 84•AFP

New Zealand will resume their long-term rivalry with Australia in Sunday’s Women’s World Twenty20 final after Sara McGlashan’s stunning half-century earned a 56-run win over West Indies. McGlashan crunched a magnificent 84 from 55 balls as New Zealand raced to 180 for 5 and the bowlers backed up by restricting their opponents to 124 for 8.Australia beat India by seven wickets on Thursday to reach the decider for the first time, but New Zealand will start as favourites following their dominant form in the format. They have also beaten Australia six times in a row and are the only team Alex Blackwell’s side fears in Twenty20.McGlashan showed why during her powerful performance and she gained excellent help from Sophie Devine as they delivered the highest score of the tournament. After being 49 for 2, McGlashan and Devine put on a speedy 93 at almost 11 an over to eliminate West Indies’ chances.Showing power and poise, McGlashan blasted two sixes down the ground and six fours, while Devine chipped in with 27 from 22. McGlashan fired a brutal boundary clearance to long-on from the offspinner Anisa Mohammad and in the same over Devine launched her into the stand at backward square leg. Those six balls cost 19 and New Zealand quickly went further ahead.McGlashan brought up her half-century with a force for four through mid-on and followed next ball with a boundary to fine-leg. She also cleared the rope straight off Shemaine Campbelle before Devine produced a clever late cut for four.West Indies had no answers despite trying spinners and medium pacers to stop the flood of runs. Devine fell in the 17th over, giving Shakera Selman (2 for 27) her second wicket, but McGlashan continued to plunder until she was beaten by Selman’s direct hit from short third man. Nicola Browne thrashed a six to midwicket in the last over to finish unbeaten on 15 and provide a late surge.The start of the match was disrupted by a heavy shower, which sent the players off after 10 deliveries, and Suzie Bates (7) was the first casualty on the resumption. The visitors suffered another early loss when their captain Aimee Watkins (20) tried to lift the rate and miscued.West Indies’ chase started brightly against two spinners operating with the new ball, but Watkins soon forced a legside edge from Pamela Lavine. With her side needing to score at nine an over, Stafanie Taylor provided some muscle as she targeted the legspin of Erin Bermingham. Taylor collected two sixes and Cordel Jack brought up the team’s fifty in the sixth over with another clearance off the slow bowler, who gave up 28 in three overs.Jack departed on 18 with a soft pull off Browne to midwicket and Taylor went in the following over when run-out for 40 off 33 by McGlashan. Deandra Dottin then managed a single before swiping at Browne and edging behind to Rachel Priest, leaving the hosts in serious trouble at 76 for 4.West Indies tried to hit their way out of trouble but the assignment was too difficult and their flame went out. Watkins benefitted from the late thrashing to collect 3 for 26 while Browne and Lucy Doolan both finished with 2 for 20 off four overs.New Zealand reached the final at last year’s event but were beaten by England at Lord’s, so the players are desperate to go one better this time. Only Australia stand in their way.

World cricket is set for a serious political rift over the nomination of John Howard, the former Australian prime minister, as the president-designate of the ICC

Martin Williamson and Brydon Coverdale26-May-2010World cricket is set for a serious political rift over the nomination of John Howard, the former Australian prime minister, as the president-designate of the ICC. The cricket boards of South Africa and Zimbabwe are leading an initiative to block Howard’s nomination, while Australia and New Zealand, who jointly nominated him, stand behind their man. Four votes are needed to block Howard’s nomination and it is believed that, barring some dramatic late changes, his candidature will not be a formality.The BCCI’s position is expected to play crucial role in the issue. David Morgan, the president of the ICC, is scheduled on Thursday to meet Sharad Pawar, who takes over the presidency next month, and is expected to discuss the matter.Cricket South Africa has taken up the matter in the strongest of manners, accusing David Morgan, the ICC president, of ignoring the sentiments of an “overwhelming number of ICC directors” who were opposed to Howard’s candidature. Morgan has also been accused of making the matter a personal cause.The ICC follows a policy of regional rotation for its presidency and this year was the turn of Australia and New Zealand. Howard, a career politician and self-declared cricket tragic, beat off a strong challenge from New Zealand Cricket, which favoured John Anderson, a former chairman of the board and a long-time cricket administrator, to win the nomination for the term, which starts from 2012. He was due to serve as vice-president to Pawar for the next two years.As it turns out, though, a section of the ICC board has strong reservations about Howard. Zimbabwe Cricket has made no secret of its opposition to a man who was so critical of it when he was prime minister and is certain to vote against him if the matter reaches that point.Morgan has strongly defended his position in an email exchange with Mtutuzeli Nyoka, the CSA president. He is believed to made it clear that he had no personal agenda and that he had acted according to the ICC constitution. He is expected to vigorously defend Nyoka’s charge and is understood to have reminded his fellow directors that their job is to act in the best interests of ICC members, and not pursue personal agendas.Howard, it will be stressed, was selected by New Zealand and Cricket Australia as part of the ICC’s constitutional process, and therefore Morgan has not acted unconstitutionallyFor the record, the ICC is playing down the issue. “The board has not yet discussed the matter,” its chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, told Cricinfo.” What you might be hearing might have happened on the sidelines but it was not discussed at the board meeting. The process is that Australia and New Zealand nominate someone, followed by the board considering the nomination before putting it before the annual conference. It is a three-step process.”It [the opposition to Howard’s nomination] is speculative at this moment. We haven’t yet faced such a scenario; it has not been blocked as yet, nor even considered.”Asked what would happen if the nomination was rejected, Lorgat said: “We will probably go back and ask (the same region) for another nomination. But that has never happened and what you are saying is speculative.”Meanwhile, Cricket Australia stood firmly behind its man. “We remain rock solid in our support of the nomination,” Peter Young, the CA spokesperson, told Cricinfo. “CA and NZC undertook an exhaustive professional process and have come up with a joint nomination that we are convinced is the best possible nomination we could put forward. We will continue to be welded on in our joint support of that nomination. We have made that clear to the ICC in recent weeks.”Australia’s position received unqualified backing from New Zealand cricket. “We certainly haven’t heard any notification from ICC that there’s a problem with that. We’re certainly not contemplating any other scenarios than John Howard being our man,” Justin Vaughan, the NZC chief executive, said.”We believe we went through a very robust and thorough process. We believe ICC should accept that and accept the nomination.”The matter may come down to the neutrals and the ECB offered a non-committal comment on the situation. “It’s up to New Zealand Cricket and Cricket Australia to nominate a candidate and we as the ECB will await that nomination at the ICC annual conference,” an ECB spokesman said.The sense of what is at stake was summed up by Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman. “This is a very sensitive issue right now so I don’t want to discuss it,” Butt said. “I know John Howard personally and I know how much he loves the sport and the game.”

Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen believes the series loss in England has provided a silver lining, with the unexpected return of Shaun Tait to the ODI setup a promising sign for the future

Brydon Coverdale in London01-Jul-2010Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen believes the series loss in England has provided a silver lining, with the unexpected return of Shaun Tait to the ODI setup a promising sign for the future. Tait, who hadn’t played an ODI since February 2009, was a late inclusion in the squad and has picked up four wickets in his two games, adding speed and shock value to an attack that has performed well under pressure.Tait decided two years ago that his body was better off if he avoided first-class cricket and concentrated on the shorter formats, where he has been hovering in the high 150kph region. While Tait has been economical and collected wickets, one of the best signs for Australia is that his body is so far standing up to 50-over cricket.”It’s one of the real bonuses for us out of this series that he’s been able to get back in the squad and play so well,” Nielsen said ahead of the final ODI at Lord’s. “The only thing that I find a bit difficult with [not playing first-class cricket] is the fact that unless the schedule works out really well, he can have quite big gaps between games and not get the volume of bowling that keeps him going.”So, while he’s fresh, he needs to find ways of training harder and training well between games, whereas the four-day games used to maintain his regular contact with competitive games. He’s finding a pretty happy medium at the moment with the amount of work he does. His body is responding well to that. He’s getting fitter and maturing as a player as well. He’s feeling better about himself, he’s feeling comfortable in his world, his body’s not hurting every time he bowls.”Tait picked up the important wicket of Andrew Strauss at The Oval on Wednesday but the star of the attack was Ryan Harris, who finished with 5 for 32 in Australia’s first win of the series. It was the third time in his short 16-game career that Harris has taken a five-wicket haul, and it continued the trend of the bowlers sharing the workload.Doug Bollinger’s 3 for 20 at Old Trafford nearly set up a miraculous win, Steven Smith has snared five victims in the series and Harris was also the most impressive in the first game in Southampton. Nielsen was pleased with the progress shown in such a short space of time from a bowling group that entered the tour with limited international experience.”This is the first time this complete bowling attack has bowled in England, so they’re getting better and better as they go on,” he said. “We realise they were very short on experience over here. We’ve seen them improve their length, improve their lines and learn about the conditions we’re playing on over here, slower wickets that don’t bounce as much as at home.”Although the side has been without its leader Mitchell Johnson during the one-day series due to his elbow infection, he has joined the group and is set for a comeback during the two Twenty20s against Pakistan next week. Johnson has been bowling in the nets this week but Australia won’t be tempted to give him a run in Saturday’s final ODI.”The reason for getting him here was to ensure we had him outside and bowling and going as well as we could leading into the Test matches,” Nielsen said. “We were concerned if he stayed in Perth and it happened to be wet and cold he wouldn’t get the bowling outside. He’s been great with our quicks and he’ll be ready to go for the Twenty20s.”

Ben Hilfenhaus’ bowling is the most important thing for Australia in this match but it was his batting that dug the A team out of a hole on the opening day against Sri Lanka A

Cricinfo staff18-Jun-2010Sri Lanka A 1 for 17 trail Australia A 208 (O’Keefe 61, Senanayake 8-70) by 191 runs

Scorecard
Ben Hilfenhaus scored 42 and bowled two overs at Allan Border Field•Getty Images

Ben Hilfenhaus’ bowling is the most important thing for Australia in this match but it was his batting that dug the A team out of a hole on the opening day against Sri Lanka A in Brisbane. The hosts were 7 for 103 when Hilfenhaus, who has been out since last year with a knee tendon problem, arrived to partner Steve O’Keefe and lift them to a more competitive 208.Sachithra Senanayake, the offspinner, completed a stunning day when he ended the 105-run partnership and also finished the innings to claim 8 for 70. The figures were his best in a first-class game and he started the damage by removing the first six batsmen as the hosts slipped to 6 for 92. Senanayake’s hopes for all 10 wickets were ended by Dammika Prasad, who removed Peter Forrest (12) on the way to 2 for 21.O’Keefe was knocked over by Senanayake for an innings-high 61 while Hilfenhaus fell to Prasad for a career-best 42. Sri Lanka finished at 1 for 17, with Hilfenhaus bowling two overs and O’Keefe taking the wicket of Tharanga Paranavitana for 3.

A career-best 178 by former England wicketkeeper Geraint Jones coupled with
three last-session wickets for James Tredwell saw Kent take the initiative on
day three against County Championship title hopefuls Somerset

05-Aug-2010
ScorecardA career-best 178 by former England wicketkeeper Geraint Jones coupled with
three last-session wickets for James Tredwell saw Kent take the initiative on
day three against County Championship title hopefuls Somerset.Kent were indebted to Jones for his five-and-a-half-hour stay during which he
added another 114 runs to his overnight total as the hosts finished 372 all
out.Somerset’s second innings got off to a stuttering start and they were on 138
for 3 at stumps, an overall lead of 146.After resuming on their overnight position of 175 for 3, Kent lost Martin
van Jaarsveld (71) in just the second over of the day when he played across the
line to Ben Phillips to depart lbw. Darren Stevens’ 33 came to a spectacular end when Peter Trego went full-length to his left to take a reflex return catch, then Tredwell nicked a bat-pad catch to short leg to become the first of Murali Kartik’s 2 for 50 return.Five runs later Azhar Mahmood fell for a duck, leg before to a Charl Willoughby
inswinger, before Malinga Bandara hung out the bat and clipped to Trego in the
gully to present Phillips with another scalp on his way to 5 for 72 – his
best championship return since 1997.At 260 for 8 Kent were in real danger of missing out on a third batting
bonus point, but thanks to Jones they cut the Somerset lead to only eight by the
time their last wicket fell and took their batting points tally to four.Right-hander Jones intelligently farmed the strike during a ninth-wicket stand
with Amjad Khan that added 90 in 13.5 overs, with Khan contributing just 11. After Jones had manoeuvred his side past 300, he unfurled an array of shots that saw him kick on from his second century of the summer and through the 150 barrier in a further 45 deliveries.Jones lost Khan with the score on 350 when he fell leg before to a full-length
ball from Kartik, but he nevertheless went on to better his previous career-best
total of 156, achieved against Surrey last year. By the time he went lbw, hit on the boot by an Alfonso Thomas yorker, Jones had chalked up 24 fours and three sixes in taking Kent through to 372.Batting again by 2.45pm, Somerset looked sound until tea but then lost three
wickets in the closing session to England’s understudy offspinner Tredwell. First-innings centurion Arul Suppiah missed an attempted pull to go leg before for 28, Zander de Bruyn (14) reverse-swept straight to the man at backward point, and Jos Butler suffered a second-ball duck when he rashly swept high to square leg.Somerset skipper Marcus Trescothick, with an unbeaten 61, and James Hildreth
(27 not out) brought some stability to proceedings to take their side into the
final day without further drama.

Michael Clarke believes Ricky Ponting’s tendency to fire in the biggest contests will be the spark to overcome a long-term period as a batting mortal

Peter English24-Aug-2010Michael Clarke believes Ricky Ponting’s tendency to fire in the biggest contests will be the spark to overcome a long-term period as a batting mortal. Ponting wants to forget the past year, which included a tenderised elbow courtesy of Kemar Roach, and in his past four series has 681 runs at 40.05, figures inflated by a double-century against Pakistan.Clarke, the vice-captain, has watched his leader closely in the nets and spots encouraging signs before huge Test series against India and England, and next year’s World Cup. “He’s a wonderful leader and been an amazing player for such a long time, and he always plays his best cricket in big tournaments,” he said. “I know he is excited about the next eight months.”It is not unusual for elite players to ease off in intensity during smaller series, but it was strange for Ponting’s standards to slip so much against Pakistan in England (average of 24.5), West Indies (34) and New Zealand (23). The only time he broke free was against Pakistan, with his 209 – he was dropped before he scored – pushing his mean up to 63. Since the 2006-07 Ashes series his overall average has dropped from nudging 60 to 54.66.Ponting, 35, insists he has more to show. “Last year for me Test-wise is one of those years where I look back and almost write it off,” he said. “I think I got run out three times, got caught at bat-pad three times. I am working as hard as I have ever worked, if I am averaging 54 now I have to push that up again, up to a level I know I am capable of playing at. That’s the great challenge for me.”Since Roach roughed up Ponting at the WACA, bowlers around the world have sensed an opportunity with short balls. “They have probably changed the way they bowl at me as a result of the start of last summer in Australia,” he said. “I am probably getting more short bowling than I used to get as a result of getting hit on the elbow.”He has no plans to move from No.3 and said it was nothing to do with ego. “I feel when I am playing well that I am the best person for that role,” he said. “I will work hard, try and take my chances and be the player I want to be.”After Ponting comes Clarke, following his switching of spots with Michael Hussey for the Pakistan series. Now 29, Clarke said his position in the line-up isn’t important, but the move is significant as it puts him closer to the No.3 role that he needs to star in if he is to become one of the game’s best.”When I was younger where I batted was probably more important to me but now it doesn’t bother me,” he said. “It’s about whatever Ricky thinks and best suits the team … I am not really stressed about it. I am pretty carefree about wherever I bat and I am going to play the way I want to play, I am going to try and be as successful as I can.”During Ponting’s tough times Clarke said he has been available to take on extra duties. International captains, even those in charge of only two formats, can be over-loaded easily, stealing concentration from their batting.Clarke is starting to know what that is like with extra glare on his Twenty20 strike-rate when he is in charge of that team. “I make it very clear to [Ponting] that anything he needs I am there for him 24-7,” he said. “Anything he needs off the field, on the field, I will be there for him.”

Some critics argue that MS Dhoni is more lucky than good as captain. He doesn’t care; he just keeps winning

Sriram Veera in Johannesburg26-Sep-2010Not sure about familiarity, but success breeds contempt. Throughout this tournament the critics seemed to be waiting for Chennai to stumble so they could have the chance to turn around and say, “Look I told you, these guys were plain lucky. Now they have been exposed”. It’s not so much an anti-team sentiment, but one against their captain MS Dhoni. Many admire his captaincy; some reckon he is pretty lucky.Like most successful teams, Chennai did have their share of luck. They had just five days of preparation but the itinerary allowed them to ease into the groove with two facile wins against the two weaker teams in the competition.In the third game Victoria almost choked but hung on to take the game to a super over where they thumped Chennai. The critics jumped in to savour that moment; Dhoni’s luck ran out,’ they said. He should have given Doug Bollinger that over, they said, calling it a “messy captaincy decision”. Some even speculated that Bollinger had stormed off to the dressing room at the end of that over and that he was not happy with the skipper. The retelling of that story had a malicious glee to it.Dhoni, though, offered a perfectly plausible reason for using Ashwin. “He is used to bowling in the Powerplays. He is an aggressive bowler, he has the variety and he is always ready to bowl whenever you throw the ball to him. He wants to perform; he has grown as a player over the last three IPLs.”Chennai’s next game was against Warriors. There was more ammunition to the ‘he is lucky’ brigade. Warriors chose to play a game within a game; they needed 109 to qualify and didn’t extend themselves too much to try to win the game. They seemed content chasing qualification. The critics said if Warriors to win to qualify, they would have won the game and shoved Chennai out of the tournament. Maybe, and maybe not. We will never know.Luck certainly came their way in the next game in the semi-final against Bangalore. The pre-game talk had revolved around how Dale Steyn would harass the Chennai batsmen with his pace and bounce. He didn’t bowl a single delivery, stumbling off after suffering concussion on the field. It was a freak event. With Steyn’s exit, Bangalore had run out of gunpowder. Game over.That evening Dhoni said Steyn could have made things tricky for his batsmen but that’s not his concern. A reporter said the semi-final was boring. Dhoni’s repartee, “So you think we should have run ourselves out?!” It was said with a smile.Tonight, he was a happy man. He said his plan was to keep the spinners for the middle overs so that they could apply the squeeze, as some of Chennai’s seamers weren’t quick enough to use the semi-new ball effectively. It worked perfectly.Sanjay Manjrekar, the former India batsman, nailed the issue perfectly: “Ajit wadekar was also called a lucky captain but when he became India coach in 1993 I realised he had top leadership quality and you realised why he got the results that he did,” Manjrekar says. “The same thing with Dhoni. He is a guy who does things that are supposed to be done and leaves the rest to fate. He doesn’t try to control everything. That is his greatest strength. If you watch Tendulkar in comparison, he tries to control everything.”Dhoni that way takes lot of pressure off himself and he is someone who makes his players feel very secure. He is not a guy that you see outwardly making brilliant moves but he is quietly he is always encouraging his bowlers. When a bowler is hit for a six and if he has bowled a good ball, you will quietly see Dhoni applauding the bowler. That’s all the bowler needs; that his captain has approved that ball.”At the end of the final, Dhoni was asked for the nth time how he keeps his cool, he said, “There is a dressing room to show your emotions. As a captain, you are as good as your side. This is a very good bunch of people and as a captain you just want to channel all the energy into the same direction. The players put in great effort and frankly it feels very good to be the captain of Chennai Super Kings.”The win was extra-special too, as this will be the last time these particular players turn out for Chennai. “It was indeed a very emotional moment,” Dhoni said. “It was the last game for many of us players as a team. However much you try, we can’t retain all. These three years were great; we played good cricket. You develop a special bonding with each other. The dressing room atmosphere was great; not everybody could get a game but there was no ill feeling. Every one enjoyed each other’s company. To end on a high feels really special.”

A round-up of Monday’s matches in the WICB one-day tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2010Jamaica posted their first win in the WICB competition, and sealed their place in the semi-finals, as they trounced Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) by a whopping 207 runs at Kensington Park.Jamaica were in danger of being knocked out of the tournament after their loss to Windward Islands and a no-result game against Trinidad and Tobago, but gained a bonus point against CCC to finish second in the Group A points table, a point ahead of T&T.Their total of 285 was powered by an opening stand of 138 with captain Chris Gayle and Xavier Marshall both hammering half-centuries. Gayle, who was axed as West Indies captain for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, was particularly belligerent as he raced to 72 off 73 balls with four fours and four sixes. Jamaica lost their way after the opening stand as they stumbled from 175 for 3 to 230 for 7, but a late-order flourish from Andre Russell, who blasted 46 from just 22 balls, pushed Jamaica to 285.Jamaica’s bowlers, led by David Bernard, who picked up 3 for 33, then ran through the CCC batting line-up. Miles Bascombe (37) and Gilford Moore (16) were the only batsmen to reach double figures, as CCC were bowled out for a paltry 78 in the 31st over to give Jamaica a win with a bonus point.Defending champions Trinidad and Tobago were not so lucky as they were knocked out of the WICB Cup after an eight-wicket loss to Windward Islands at Sabina Park. T&T were bundled out for 133 in 40.1 overs, which Windward chased down with ease in 33.2 overs.Electing to bat, T&T never got going as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. At 38 for 4 after 15 overs, it looked like they were in danger of being bundled out for less than 100. However, Dwayne Bravo’s 29 off 25 balls with three fours and two sixes, and an uncharacteristically sedate 39 of 69 balls from Kieron Pollard, pushed T&T up to 133. It was an allround effort from Windward’s bowlers as Mervin Matthew, Shane Shillingford and Nelon Pascal picked up two wickets each.Winward got off to a steady start as their openers Devon Smith and Johnson Charles added 38 for the first wicket. Offspinner Sherwin Ganga then picked up two quick wickets – that of Charles and Andre Fletcher – and at 48 for 2, T&T might have hoped for a collapse. But Smith, who was recalled to the national side for the Sri Lanka tour, anchored Winward’s chase with a steady 51. He and Keddy Lesporis, who made 45, ensured there was no collapse as Windward, captained by Darren Sammy, who was named the captain for the Sri Lanka tour, raced to their third straight win in the competition.