live cricket matches

Live Cricket Matches

Tactical time-out a distraction - Chennai official

The IPL's new 'tactical timeout' is a distraction and affects the momentum of a Twenty20 game, according to a top official of Chennai Super Kings. The seven and a half minute break, the interruption caused by the presence of a dog on the field, and the forced omission of South African allrounder Albie Morkel were some of the reasons for Chennai's defeat against Mumbai Indians in the opening IPL game on Saturday, VB Chandrasekhar, Chennai's head of cricket operations, revealed.

"The seven and a half minute break after 10 overs is quite a distraction and comes in the way of valuable momentum, but that is something all teams will have to live with this year," Chandrasekhar wrote in his blog on the team's website. "Further, we had an unscheduled break of seven to eight minutes with a magnificent black canine holding centre stage amid hilarious scenes never before witnessed."

Chandrasekhar, a former India batsman and ex-national selector, is not the only credible face in the IPL to have voiced concerns about the timeout that was introduced to show more commericials on Indian television. Tom Moody, the Kings XI Punjab coach, admitted on Sunday that the timeout had affected his team's momentum, leading to a loss against Delhi Daredevils.

"We had the momentum and we had seven and a half minutes to lose it," Moody said. "It was the perfect time for Daniel Vettori to come on and secure the momentum back in favour of Delhi. But there are going to be days in this tournament when it works in our favour too."

Meanwhile, Chandrasekhar wrote Morkel's omission was a key reason for Chennai's 19-run loss to Mumbai. "A last minute change to the side was to prove costly for us as Albie landed here sans his gear. The airline had lost it in transit from Johannesburg where he had played the last ODI game against the touring Aussies," he wrote. "Albie was very disappointed and stressed at the sad turn of events. We missed him for his all-round skills, although Thushara did bowl well in his opening spell."

The other disappointments for Chennai was the catch dropped by Mathew Hayden at slip to let off Sachin Tendulkar off Andrew Flintoff and the three sixes hit by Abhishek Nayar in another Flintoff over. "Tendulkar was dropped early and later, Abhishek Nayar got stuck into Freddie," Chandrasekhar wrote. "A little more planning was necessary for local players and that is an area to be addressed with greater care. Nayar's cameo gave them a competitive score. These factors, combined with a bad start to our chase when we lost a couple of early wickets, put us quickly in a catch up mode especially as Haydos [Hayden] couldn't dictate terms to Bhajji."

Chandrasekhar wrote that the team was now looking forward to rising to its "expected potential" in Monday's match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, which will also showcase a much awaited clash between Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, his England team-mate. "Dhoni emphasised the need to move on and improve in areas we found sluggish and this was well received," he wrote. "I am sure our team will rise to its expected potential in the next outing. It was not the start we wanted, but a little drubbing on the pride is always good for lifting the level of performance."

In-form Harbhajan seeks success in IPL

New Delhi: Harbhajan Singh sat down with CNN-IBN to look ahead to Season Two of the IPL. Leaving the nightmare of slap-gate behind, Harbhajan says he is a changed man, and his performance in New Zealand will be the ideal springboard for the IPL.

On New Zealand tour

Harbhajan Singh: It was a very good tour, not just for me but for all the team-mates. We won in New Zealand after 41 years, which is great. I've been on tours before, but we couldn't do well on previous tours to New Zealand. But I'm happy we have done it this time.

Critics will never be quiet. They will still find something else to talk about. I don't play for these guys. I play for my country, which is more important than listening to what goes around. I know what I'm capable of doing and what is my contribution to Indian cricket. I don't need to prove anything to anyone.

CNN-IBN: Over the past eight months or so, your best has come in Test cricket, taking 70-odd wickets during this period. What is so special about your bowling these days? Have you changed anything in your bowling, or is it the experience you have got better with?

Harbhajan Singh: Let me correct you first: it's 80 wickets. I have not done anything special and I haven't changed anything in my bowling. I've just been bowling freely and playing a lot of cricket at the right time, giving my best shot whenever I've gone out to play for India.

CNN-IBN: The last IPL didn't have good memories for you. You must be keen to set the records straight and do well for Mumbai Indians.

Harbhajan Singh: Whatever has happened is over and done with. We all make mistakes learn from them. I've learnt a lot, I've moved on as a cricketer and I'm looking forward to doing well for the IPL for Mumbai Indians. Keeping my fingers crossed that I perform the way I have been.

About the Mumbai Indians side

Harbhajan Singh: We have a very balanced side with a good mix of youth and experience. We have a lot of players who can win games for us. We have Jean-Paul Duminy, the new man in the team, Kyle Mills, Lasith Malinga who is fit. Apart from them we have Sanath Jayasuriya, Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, and a lot of other youngsters as well who can win games for us.

We just need to play some good cricket. You can't really say who will win in Twenty20 cricket. All I can say is that the effort will be there, and we'll give our best shot to win games for Mumbai Indians.

Pietersen will have positive effect - Steyn

Dale Steyn believes captain Kevin Pietersen and coach Ray Jennings have leadership and management skills to take Bangalore Royal Challengers right to the top in the IPL. Pietersen's style of leading by example, he said, would have a positive effect on the team while Jennings' ability to crack the whip would help players stay focused.

"He [Pietersen] leads from the front always. That is a great strength of his," Steyn told Cricinfo from Johannesburg ahead of the final ODI against Australia.

The team's owners, unhappy with their second-last position in the inaugural tournament, appointed a new coach and captain: Martin Crowe, who was the coaching director, was replaced by Jennings while Pietersen took over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid, the team's icon player.

Steyn said he did not know Pietersen well enough to understand him, having played against him only last year in England. That would apply to many in the team, so Steyn felt the challenge was to get acquainted quickly and understand Pietersen's philosophy. "I don't know him at all. I have played against him but I still don't know what kind of a man he is, what kind of mood swings he has, but it is going to be interesting and we are going to have to find our feet quickly."

According to Steyn, Bangalore were unlucky to lose a lot of games marginally last year. "We did not dominate, but we were competitive", Steyn said. He felt things would be different this time, especially because of Jennings, who has the ability to turn rank outsiders into champions.

"He is capable of turning teams that have nothing into something fantastic," Steyn said. "He is really good at it. I remember him taking Eastern province [in 2001], who were an almost nothing team, to winning the SuperSport series, the four-day championship, one of the most difficult competitions to win."

Jennings was coaching South Africa when Steyn made his international debut in 2003. For Jennings, it was important to help Steyn find his feet as quickly as possible. That did not happen; Steyn had to go back and work hard before coming back a year later. Things are different now and he is enjoying one the best phases of his career. For the better part of the last five months he has performed well against the Australians. He was the highest wicket-taker in both the home and away Test series; he also shared the top spot with team-mate Makhaya Ntini in the ODI series in Australia, and is the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing ODI series.

"Back then he was coaching and now he is going to be managing me," Steyn said when asked what sort of a relationship he expected to forge with Jennings. A possible worry for Bangalore is the absence of Zaheer Khan, one the best fast bowlers in the game today, who moved to Mumbai Indians. Steyn said the inclusion of slow bowlers like Roelof van der Merwe was likely to balance the loss.

"Zaheer brings something different into the team in that he is left-arm fast bowler and complements me perfectly. He was fantastic for us last year and comes with a lot of experience. We are going to miss him. But if you have seen the domestic Twenty20 tournament in the last two years in South Africa, the spinners have been the match-winners. Roelof van der Merwe has been the hero. He can be useful and can pair with another spinner to do the damage."

The presence of four South Africans in the Bangalore squad - Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, van der Merwe and Steyn - was considered an advantage by outsiders and Steyn agreed. "We have been playing well and we definitely know the conditions a hell of a lot better in our own country. Even if the four international players cannot be all from South Africa in an IPL game, you are going to get a lot of advice from the local players. It can only help to get the extra bit of advice."

Last year Steyn had inadvertently summed up Bangalore's low-key performance with an unforgettable quote. "The IPL was only four overs a game and it was like a paid holiday; you only had to work hard if you felt like it, which is probably why we finished second-last." Did he still consider it a party? Steyn had a hearty laugh. He said this time the IPL was at an opportune time for players who would be preparing for the World Twenty20 in June in England.

"The IPL is a great tournament. This year it is even better because it becomes a bridge into the World Twenty20 which will start in England immediately in June. There is no better preparation than competing in the IPL, which is a Twenty20 competition."

Lahore attack tops ICC agenda

Calcutta: The International Cricket Council (ICC) will consider the security implications of last month’s terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Pakistan on the 2011 World Cup that is due to take place in the subcontinent, when it meets at a two-day meeting in Dubai.

The ICC board, its top decision-making body, will receive a report on the attack at the meeting, which starts on Friday.

Pakistan skipper Younis Khan will also attend the meeting while Mahela Jayawardene, the captain during the Sri Lanka tour, will join via telephone to give his version of the attack.

The ICC board is also expected to decide on an application by the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), who are seeking approval for their Twenty20 League. The ICL players from many countries are barred from official cricket under pressure from the influential Indian board.

The other items on the agenda are:

The board will receive a report on cricket in Zimbabwe from a task team headed by Julian Hunte, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board.

The board will consider a replacement for Michael Holding, who resigned last year, as the media representative on the ICC Cricket Committee.

The board will consider means of further promoting Test cricket, the pinnacle of the game.

t20 world cup live

Watch t20 world cup 2009 live here.
Coming soon.

cricket t20 world cup, cricket world, live cricket, live t20 world cup, world cup cricket

Live cricket

Watch all live cricket action here.

live t20 world cup,cricket t20 world cup,live cricket, world cup cricket,cricket world

South Africa emerges IPL frontrunner

In a swift turnaround, South Africa has overtaken England as the preferred venue to host the IPL next month. Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, was flying to South Africa on Monday night to meet with senior officials of the South African government and an announcement is expected on Tuesday.

Weather turned out to be the principal factor that swayed the BCCI officials, a bulk of whom had been in favour of England until Monday morning when the realisation occurred that rain could seriously affect "as many as 70% of the matches" in the Twenty20 tournament, which runs from April 10 to May 24.

In England, concerns have been voiced by senior police officers about the practicalities of arranging sufficient security for such a high-profile event. The IPL clashes with the London Marathon and the FA Cup semi-finals and finals, among other events, while the G20 summit reaches a conclusion in the week before the tournament is due to start. " "Frankly they've been getting a bit ahead of themselves," one senior figure told The Times.

Another reason for England's chances receding is the assurance from top officials within the South African government and CSA that the IPL will receive the full red carpet treatment, well-placed sources told.

"The weather in South Africa seems to have become the deciding factor," the sources said. "Besides, South Africa is working out to be a much cheaper option. The South African government's interest in hosting the event is a major factor, too."

South Africa is also considered a better option when it comes to TV timings in comparison to England. For instance, the IPL wants to start its first match of the day at 4 pm IST, which would mean a 11.30 am start in England. In South Africa it would be a 12.30 pm start. The TV rights scenario is also less complicated in South Africa as Supersport owns the rights both for the IPL and for international cricket played in the country. Additionally, the cost of running the tournament in South Africa would be substantially less than in England. And the fact that the South African domestic season concludes a day before the IPL's scheduled start date should lead to less logistical problems than in England, where the county season will be just underway.

Modi and Gerald Majola, the CSA chief executive, are known to have a strong personal relationship, especially since the two boards became founding partners of the Twenty20 Champions League last year. It is believed that such a rapport would prove crucial in organising a tournament of this magnitude at such short notice. "This gives both the boards a lot of room for negotiations, adjustments and quick decisions, something that may not be possible with the ECB, which has to go by its board for almost every decision," the sources said.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) summoned their provinces to a teleconference on Monday afternoon, where they were updated on the latest IPL developments. "We have been told to expect a decision by Wednesday morning," said a South African provincial official with knowledge of the conference call. "We have had some early discussions about what we might need to do to prepare for this, but as far as we are aware, no final decisions have been made."

Majola spoke cautiously on Monday evening when asked to assess South Africa's chances of hosting the IPL's second season. "Until I meet with Mr Modi and BCCI officials and know exactly what they want and how they think this should proceed, then I cannot say where we stand," Majola told . "It has been strangely quiet since we were first asked by officials from the BCCI and IPL whether we can assist them, and to the best of my knowledge we remain just one of the options out there. We are interested in assisting, but we have not heard anything further."

Manoj Badale, co-owner of IPL's Rajasthan Royals, said he considered South Africa a likely venue. "Certainly based on the conversations I've had, if it [IPL] goes outside India, you'd have to suggest South Africa is the likeliest venue," Badale told BBC Sport.

Shaun Pollock, the former South African captain and current advisor to the Mumbai Indians, said he would be open to serving as a conduit between his IPL franchise and the KwaZulu-Natal board if approached. Pollock is currently in Durban with eight members of the Mumbai squad for a pre-season training camp.

"I would love the Mumbai Indians to come to Durban," Pollock told . "But, having said that, I don't know who will decide which franchise goes where, or even if (the IPL) will come here. It's hard to know at the moment. One person tells you it's 60-40 in South Africa's favour and another tells you it's 60-40 to England. But if it were to come here, I would be happy to help Mumbai if they were interested in basing themselves in my home area and conditions."

As of Sunday evening, England had emerged as the preferred venue to host the tournament after a powerful lobby within the BCCI and the Indian team management felt that such a move would help in preparing for the World Twenty20 in June.

However, that decision was almost entirely dependent on the ECB overcoming considerable obstacles related to costs and logistics and the approval of its stakeholders, including the counties, many of whom fear that their domestic schedule will be affected by the IPL.

Apparently, there is also a certain amount of concern at the ICC level about the state of venues in England for the World Twenty20 starting on June 5. The IPL will run until May 24 alongside the English domestic season starting in April and the West Indies Test series in May. "It's the beginning of the season in England and Wales and there is a lot of Twenty20 cricket being played including the ICC World Twenty20," David Morgan, the ICC president, told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I do think there will be great difficulties in relocating it."