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Hotels are full, tickets are being sold for ten times their original price, and the Prime Minister will be there. Such is the build-up for India v Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2011Games don’t come much bigger than an India v Pakistan World Cup semi-final, so it’s no surprise Mohali, which will host the match on March 30, has become the most sought-after destination in India. The Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh will be there, and so will industry heavyweights, and IPL franchise owners, Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya. Not only is there a mad scramble for tickets on the black market, but all the hotels are reportedly booked within a 25-kilometre radius and there is even a shortage of parking space at the airport for those with private planes.The stakes for the game were raised (as if a place in the World Cup final was not enough) on Friday when Singh sent a note to Pakistan prime minister Yousuf Gilani, and president Asif Zardari, inviting them both to the contest, the first such gesture since the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.”I propose to be at Mohali to watch the World Cup semi-final match between India and Pakistan to be held on 30th March,” the note said. “There is huge excitement over the match and we are all looking forward to a great game of cricket that will be a victory for sport. It gives me great pleasure to invite you to visit Mohali and join me and the millions of fans from our two countries to watch the match.”Security
The Chandigarh police are taking no chances with such a high-profile match, and have completely cordoned off the Pakistan team hotel. They have also given the team a list of dos and don’ts during their stay in the city. “More than 1000 policemen have been pressed into service,” HS Doon, senior superintendent of Chandigarh Police, told the . “We are using jammers and the team has been told to co-operate with us. Any team member, who wishes to go out of the hotel, will have to inform us at least four hours in advance.”An ICC official told ESPNcricinfo that there is an additional buzz in addition to the excitement and passion in Mohali considering India are playing Pakistan. “It is a mother of all finals even if it is just the semis,” the official said. It is also understood that the ICC is happy with the security arrangements at the venue. “The level of security that was expected is in place,” the official said.Accommodation
Hotels all over the city are packed and have been forced to turn away people. “We are full over the next five days,” Saera Dir, the sales and marketing head for the Taj Hotel, told the . “For the last one week, we have been politely declining requests from at least 50 clients every day.”Of course the lack of space in Chandigarh is not something that will deter an intrepid fan. “We could not get any bookings in Chandigarh or Mohali,” Gurgaon-based businessman, Rohan Gupta said. “The room we got was at a resort nearly 25km from the stadium. But we don’t mind as long as we can enjoy the excitement of the match in the stadium.”Tickets
Tickets have been sold out for days, but fans are still thronging to the PCA Stadium in the vain hope of finding them from somewhere. “I have been coming here since Monday, but have not been able to get any ticket,” Vikas Sharma, a young executive with a private company, told the .The rush for tickets has naturally led to allegations of black-market profiteering, with tickets going for as much as 10 times their original value. “The tickets are available, but you pay Rs 3000 for a Rs 250 ticket and shell out Rs 10,000 for a Rs 1000 ticket,” Ram Kumar, a bank officer in Chandigarh, told the same newspaper.The Punjab police admitted this is a problem but said they will do what they can to stop the illegal sale of tickets. “It is a problem and many cricket lovers will suffer due to this,” Mohali district police chief Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said. “We will try our level best to check black-marketing of tickets. Our officials will be deployed in plain clothes around the stadium and at various other locations to catch the black-marketeers.”

“We will try our level best to check black marketing of tickets. Our officials will be deployed in plain clothes around the stadium and at various other locations to catch the black-marketeers.”District police chief Gurpreet Singh Bhullar

While fans wanted to know how the local cricket association sold tickets in bulk to individual buyers, the association said it was powerless to stop the practice. “Our preparations are going on in full swing for this match,” GS Walia, joint secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association, said. “We cannot do anything directly in case of black-marketing. People came, stood in queues and bought tickets. Now if they sell them to anybody else in black, how can we keep a track? It is not under our control. But there will be enough security checks to ensure the genuineness of tickets.”Transportation
According to the , space at Chandigarh airport is limited so private jet owners have been asked to arrange for their planes to drop them off, then head off to places like Amritsar or Delhi to park for the day, before returning to pick them up after the match.Those fans who have to fly commercial airlines should be prepared to pay a huge premium, reported , a business paper. Business-class tickets are sold out, and an economy ticket for the 30-minute flight between Delhi and Chandigarh will cost between Rs 7407 and Rs 10,482 on March 29. A flight to Chandigarh from Delhi on any other day costs about Rs 3200.”With business-class seats already sold out, and full-service fares reaching the maximum levels – Rs 9000 on Delhi-Chandigarh and Rs 22,000 on Mumbai-Chandigarh – the airlines will need to add some excess capacity to take advantage of the peaking demand for 29-31 March,” Aloke Bajpai, the founder of travel portal iXiGO.com,” told . “Even tertiary sectors to Chandigarh, such as Jaipur-Chandigarh, are selling at Rs 8000.”Meanwhile the also reports that a special bus service is being set-up at Wagah, which is at the border between India and Pakistan, to make it easier for Pakistan fans to get to the stadium. About 6500 visas are expected to be issued for the game.Advertising
The overwhelming interest in the game has also proved to be a godsend for the broadcaster, ESPN Star Sports (ESS). Four years ago, ratings tumbled after India were knocked out in the group stages, making it much harder to sell advertising space. Things couldn’t be more different this time around. “There are very few spots left,” Sanjay Kailash, executive vice-president, ad sales and new media for ESS told the . “We are looking at substantially higher rates compared to what we were selling before the tournament started.”

The hapless Kochi Tuskers Kerala ran into each facet of Bangalore’s brilliance, and were dismantled clinically in a nine-wicket hiding, that came with 6.5 overs to spare

The Bulletin by Nitin Sundar08-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChris Gayle bullied Kochi Tuskers Kerala•AFPIf you aren’t a fan of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, there’s good news and bad news. The good news first: Tillakaratne Dilshan has found form late, and will not unleash any more violence in the IPL, since he is headed to England. The bad news is that Chris Gayle is in such form that you probably wouldn’t notice Dilshan’s absence. And then there is worse news – Bangalore are fielding like a team possessed. The hapless Kochi Tuskers Kerala ran into each of these facets of Bangalore’s brilliance, and were brushed away by nine wickets, with 6.5 overs to spare.On a day when their franchise went green, Gayle and Dilshan did more than their bit for the environment, setting up a finish before the floodlights took full effect. Gayle began the mayhem by depositing RP Singh into the second tier behind long-off in the first over. Dilshan responded by looting 20 runs off Ramesh Powar in the second over. What followed was not for children and the faint-hearted.At the start of Prasanth Parameswaran’s over, if you had stopped him and said he was going to do worse than concede six sixes, he would have laughed it off. After all, he was a man who had stared Virender Sehwag in the face and nailed him in his first IPL over. Today was a different day, though.Parameswaran chugged in and delivered a length ball first up, and Gayle carved it over point for a six. Parameswaran did not flinch; Sehwag had done likewise the other day before perishing. Today, Parameswaran’s second ball was a slower ball. Bad idea. Worse, it was a no-ball. Gayle slashed him for six more. The free-hit was thumped through midwicket. The next ball was thundered through the covers. By now, Parameswaran was clearly rattled, and he ran in robotically to delivery two more length balls. Six over cover, followed by a shimmy down the track and a 91 metre six over long-off. The last ball was a high full toss, and Gayle inside-edged for four more. The over had gone for 37, and Parameswaran had a story his grandchildren would ask him to relate years from now. Kochi, meanwhile were looking for an early flight out. Dilshan ensured they would have enough time to beat the Bangalore traffic and make it to the airport in time.Incredibly, Bangalore were just as clinical on the field. Daniel Vettori made masterly bowling changes on a sluggish track. He came on after his fast bowlers had allowed Kochi to get off to a good start, and stalled them with two huge wickets. His fielders – from the usually nimble AB de Villiers, to the rarely agile Zaheer Khan – responded with brilliance, and Kochi lurched from 64 for 1 in eight overs to 89 for 5 in 14, before finishing on 125 for 9.Kochi’s problems began with Brendon McCullum’s inability to adapt to the slowness of the strip, though Michael Klinger’s smart footwork got them early boundaries. Vettori switched to Plan B after four overs, bringing Gayle and himself on. McCullum charged Gayle for two fours, but Vettori lulled him into an awry swipe with a smart variation in length.Parthiv Patel kept looking for boundaries, and Kochi had managed at least one in each of the first eight overs. The party was about to end though: Bangalore struck in each of the next three overs. Klinger yorked himself by charging out to Gayle, before Vettori cracked the game open by getting Mahela Jayawardene to edge behind. Bangalore’s fielding then took centre-stage.Brad Hodge nudged his first ball behind point and took off for a non-existent single. Parthiv responded before pulling out of the run, and was soon running alongside Hodge towards the bowler’s end. AB de Villiers pouched the wide throw on the dive with his left glove and, not knowing that both batsmen were stranded close to the other end, threw down the stumps in one smooth, graceful motion as he tumbled.Three overs later, Zaheer bettered the effort: Hodge whipped S Aravind off the hips and the ball was hurtling towards the boundary when Zaheer jumped up full length and intercepted with one hand at short fine leg. Kochi were visibly stunned, and never looked like recovering. Bangalore’s fielding kept bettering itself right up to the last over, when Mohammad Kaif took a brilliant catch running forward, and de Villiers slung-shot another run-out. What followed after the break was just plain cartoonish violence.

Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, believes that his bowlers can take plenty of positives out of the series against Pakistan despite the home team losing the final Test in St Kitts

ESPNcricinfo staff25-May-2011Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, believes that his bowlers can take plenty of positives out of the series against Pakistan despite the home team losing the final Test in St Kitts. Pakistan levelled the 1-1 with a comfortable 196-run victory, denying West Indies the chance to win a Test series for the first time in more than two years.”We did a great job getting the win in Guyana and we were looking for similar success here in St Kitts, but things did not go our way,” Sammy said. “Pakistan played some good cricket and you have to give them credit. Our bowlers did all that was asked of them all throughout the series. They bowled with heart and that is what we asked. This is one of the positives we could take out of the series.”We had momentum coming into the match, and we had them on the run in the first innings but the last-wicket stand switched the momentum a bit and took it away from us at that stage. When we batted we did not put enough runs on the board and we were always playing catch-up from that stage.”Especially impressive were Ravi Rampaul, who collected 11 wickets at 20.90 during the series, and Sammy himself, who took 10 at 17.90. The challenge for West Indies now is to regain their focus for the upcoming series against India, who will soon arrive for three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20.”It’s all about hard work and putting into play what we worked hard on during the training sessions,” Sammy said. “We have a full series against India coming up and it will be a tough series. We have to continue to put in the hard work and look to put totals on the board so the bowlers will have runs to work with. We are a confident group of young men and we will go into that series with the belief that we can win.”The first match against India is the Twenty20 in Trinidad on June 4.

Tailender Danny Briggs kept his nerve to guide reigning champions Hampshire to a thrilling two-wicket win over Glamorgan at the Rose Bowl

08-Jun-2011
ScorecardTailender Danny Briggs kept his nerve to guide reigning champions Hampshire to a thrilling two-wicket win over Glamorgan at the Rose Bowl. Hampshire have now won their first four Friends Life t20 fixtures this season but plucky Glamorgan made them fight all the way for their latest success.Chasing Glamorgan’s seemingly inadequate 120 for 9, Hampshire lost a spate of wickets in their chase, with seven going down for the gain of only 64 runs. That left then labouring on 115 for 8 going into the last over from Mark Cosgrove, but Briggs, batting at No 10, picked up four useful runs and Dominic Cork (9 not out) added two to his total as Hampshire scraped just home with four balls to spare.Leftarm spinner Briggs had earlier shone with the ball as he undermined the Glamorgan innings by running through the middle order to take 4 for 24 from his four overs.Glamorgan captain Alviro Petersen chose to bat first but none of his batsmen could build an innings, with Jim Allenby’s modest 28 the best they could muster. Allenby’s was the fourth wicket to fall with the score on 69 – the only victim of former Glamorgan stalwart Simon Jones.Hampshire lost Jimmy Adams to the fourth ball of their reply but Michael Lumb and James Vince put on 50 in six overs as Hampshire appeared to be heading for a comfortable win.But Glamorgan hit back with the introduction of veteran spinners Dean Cosker and Robert Croft, the former removing Lumb and Benny Howell and Croft sending back Vince.Dimitri Mascarenhas was the only man from Hampshire’s final six batsmen to reach double figures, but in the end the hosts did just enough with Briggs and Cork dragging them over the line at the death.

Tim Bresnan kept in the frame for an England place in the first Test against India at Lord’s next week by grabbing four Worcestershire wickets

11-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Tim Bresnan took four wickets on a day dominated by the bowler•Getty ImagesTim Bresnan kept in the frame for an England place in the first Test against India at Lord’s next week by grabbing four Worcestershire wickets on the first day of the County Championship match at Scarborough.In conditions which aided seam and swing, Yorkshire bowled out their fellow Division One strugglers for 168 on a green-tinged pitch after sending them in to bat, Ryan Sidebottom also showing good form to pick up three wickets.It was not entirely plain sailing for the Yorkshire batsmen either, but skipper Andrew Gale hit a robust unbeaten 68 for his side to close on 135 for 5, still trailing by 33.Before the match started, wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow, son of former Yorkshire captain David, received his county cap from skipper Gale and it was not long before he was celebrating with a catch behind the stumps.By then, however, Worcestershire had lost both their openers in the first six overs, Matt Pardoe falling lbw to Sidebottom and Daryl Mitchell edging Bresnan to Adam Lyth at first slip.Batsmen were finding survival difficult with the ball moving about appreciably and Vikram Solanki was dropped at second slip by Gary Ballance, but the miss was not expensive because in the same over he edged Richard Pyrah to provide Bairstow with his catch.Pyrah and Ajmal Shahzad were proving just as formidable as the opening bowlers and after Moeen Ali had edged Shahzad into the slips, Worcestershire slipped to 41 for 5 when Alexei Kervezee was lbw to a dipping yorker from Pyrah.There would have been a third wicket for Pyrah if Ballance had not dropped Gareth Andrew, who offered a chest-high chance to second slip and this miss was to prove costly because the left-hander went on to top score with 40.The morning slump continued, however, as Ballance jubilantly held James Cameron off Sidebottom and Worcestershire went to lunch on 61 for 6 . But Andrew and Ben Scott boosted the total straight after the interval as Bresnan and Sidebottom suddenly leaked runs with 43 coming off three overs.The chief culprit was Bresnan who went for 37 in four overs. The third ball of Shahzad’s return saw Andrew given another chance, Adil Rashid failing to hold on at third slip.This time Andrew did not cash in because in the next over from Sidebottom he drove low to Anthony McGrath at mid-off and Scott departed for a brave 26 when he tried to lift Bresnan over the arc and was held high at third slip by Rashid.Light rain brought forward the tea interval and on the resumption Bresnan polished off the innings by getting rid of Jack Shantry and Alan Richardson with consecutive balls to leave Saeed Ajmal unbeaten on 27.Yorkshire’s reply got off to a bad start, Joe Root being run out without facing a ball when Richardson deflected Lyth’s drive into the stumps and it became 15 for 2 with Lyth’s edge at Shantry going into Scott’s gloves.But Anthony McGrath, desperate for runs, and Gale, put Yorkshire in command again with a productive third-wicket stand of 92 in 19 overs.Gale took three boundaries and McGrath one in an over from Andrew which cost 19 and then Gale racked up five consecutive boundaries at the expense of off-spinner Ajmal, the fourth one rushing him to his half-century off 51 balls with 10 fours.Yorkshire slid late in the day as McGrath was lbw to Richardson for 32, Bairstow was pinned lbw by Ajmal and Pyrah was run out without scoring, but Gale remained unbeaten at the close.

Deep into this series, if these two teams are level and the injury list gets too long, we could have just Stuart Broad go against Rahul Dravid, and it would be a contest just as engrossing

The Report by Sidharth Monga30-Jul-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outRahul Dravid scored his third century in five Tests, all in tough conditions, all after his 38th birthday•AFPSmart stats

Stuart Broad’s hat-trick is the first by a bowler at Trent Bridge and the fifth by an England bowler since 1990. It is also the first Test hat-trick against India.

Rahul Dravid’s 117 is his second century of the series and his 34th in Tests. His century tally brings him joint-fourth on the list of batsmen with most Test centuries.

Broad’s 6 for 46 is his best bowling performance in Tests and his fourth five-wicket haul.

Broad became only the fifth England player to score over fifty and pick up a five-wicket haul in the same match against India. Ian Botham has achieved the feat on two occasions.

The 21 runs added by India for the last five wickets is the fourth-lowest aggregate runs for the last five wickets in Tests against England.

The 128-run stand between Dravid and Yuvraj Singh is the third-highest for the fifth wicket for India in Tests in England.

VVS Laxman averages 96.55 in the second Tests of series since January 2009 with two centuries and seven fifties.

The 93-run stand between Laxman and Dravid was their eighth fifty stand in the last 21 times they have batted together. Their last century stand came in the Sydney Test in January 2008.

Yuvraj’s 62 is only his second fifty outside the subcontinent. Outside Asia, he has now scored 345 runs at an average of 20.29.

Deep into this series, if these two teams are level and if the injury list gets too long, we could have just Stuart Broad go against Rahul Dravid, and it would be a contest just as engrossing. On the second day of the Test, Dravid showed impeccable discipline, courage and skill in scoring his third century in the last five Tests before Broad brought England sensationally back, with a hat-trick and a spell that read 5.1-2-5-5 to keep India’s lead to just 67. Dravid’s support cast was stronger on the day, though: VVS Laxman charmed 54, Yuvraj Singh timed 62, and Ishant Sharma removed Alastair Cook before stumps to leave India ahead. For how long, though, is difficult to say in this Test with massive swings of fortune.While there was much for both sides to be pleased about, there were major concerns too. England had trouble with injuries: Graeme Swann, who took a blow on the left hand while batting, remained ineffective after he came on to bowl in the 56th over, and Jonathan Trott might not be available to bat after he hurt his shoulder while fielding. India, on the other hand, lost wickets in two clusters: the first three for 46, the last six for 21.All that with sun out, which made the conditions a touch easier, but it was hardly what batsmen would queue up to get a chance at. Two batsmen, though, the grand old men of Indian cricket, love exactly such challenges. And if injuries have put them in unusual batting positions, it becomes twice the fun. Dravid and Laxman came together when Abhinav Mukund fell first ball of the innings yesterday, survived the torturous last hour, and then played some blissful cricket in the morning, adding 69 in the first hour and a half, 56 of those in boundaries.Their partnership was much more crucial and beautiful than the 93 runs might suggest. India’s batting order was in disarray, they were coming off a disaster at Lord’s, and the conditions were demanding. The two responded with positive yet tight cricket. Laxman played some gorgeous drives and mere pushes for fours through the off side, and Dravid exploited the vacant third man region. Laxman kept on pulling; it mattered little that the same shot resulted in his crucial dismissal in the second innings at Lord’s. Dravid kept on leaving outswingers even marginally outside off, making sure he didn’t repeat his crucial Lord’s dismissal.Both James Anderson and Broad swung the ball either way. However, the India batsmen, unlike yesterday, were not going to let them bowl where they wanted. The two hit four consecutive boundaries in the second and third over of the day; those 16 runs in four balls followed 24 off the first 100 legal deliveries of the innings.The next hour was a masterclass, from Laxman in timing and placement, and from Dravid in holding one end up. Singles weren’t bothered about. The first time they changed ends was in the 12th over of the day, when Laxman flicked one straight to fine leg. Only Anderson came close to getting a wicket, but the Hot Spot didn’t register an edge off an outswinger.The scoring-rate and the mesmerising stroke-play might have created an impression that the bowlers were not in the game had the England quicks not kept asking questions with the occasional inswinger or the extra bounce. The bat kept coming down in time for the inswingers, and although one of the short ones hit Dravid on the wrist, the two negotiated the bounce well. They had built a solid base for India before Tim Bresnan bowled the perfect outswinger to send Laxman back for 54.Dravid, having popped a painkiller after the blow to the wrist, kept up the vigil. England showed they would keep fighting as they took out Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina to turn 93 for 1 into 139 for 4. Dravid, despite all the funny bounce, movement and momentary physical discomfort, stood resolute at 51 then. It was a clever effort. Out of those 51, 40 came in boundaries, fully utilising the attacking fields.If it’s the third session, it’s got to be Stuart Broad•Associated PressIn a crucial spell for the match and for Yuvraj’s career, Kevin Pietersen dropped Yuvraj on four. Unlike at Lord’s India made England pay for that drop with a 128-run partnership, the biggest of the match. Apart from that drop, Yuvraj was authoritative and opportunistic against every loose delivery, especially against spin – 41 of his 62 came against Swann and Pietersen. For Dravid, the fields finally fell back, and he started working the singles. As the new ball approached, Dravid reached his third century past the age of 38, and India attained the lead.Already in arrears, with six wickets to take, England needed some magic. A first-ever hat-trick against India would surely qualify as magic? Who else to turn to, then, if not Broad? He began with Yuvraj’s wicket in the sixth over with the new ball. The ball both seamed away and kicked at him. In his next over, he drew one loose shot from MS Dhoni. Harbhajan Singh hit the leather off the next ball, but was given lbw, which reiterated what a stupid deal his board had brokered in the ICC meeting. Of course Harbhajan wasn’t allowed a review.On the hat-trick, Broad bowled the perfect delivery for Praveen Kumar, who doesn’t like getting behind the line of the ball. Through the bat-pad gap it rattled the off and middle stumps, kicking off Broad’s much-deserved gun-slinging celebrations straight from a Western. Dravid, helpless at the other end, now looked for quick runs and upper-cut straight to third man.Fifteen entertaining runs later, Ian Bell ended the Indian innings with a special short-leg catch. India took a quick wicket to pull some of the momentum back. Over all, India, who pride themselves on making comebacks, were up against a side matching them on that count. Promising days lay ahead.

David Masters claimed his sixth five-wicket haul of the season in an innings as Essex moved into a commanding position on day three of their County Championship Division Two clash against Gloucestershire at Colchester

19-Aug-2011
Scorecard
David Masters claimed his sixth five-wicket haul of the season in an innings as Essex moved into a commanding position on day three of their County Championship Division Two clash against Gloucestershire at Colchester.The 33-year-old fast bowler took 6 for 75 as the visitors were bowled out for 264. That left Essex with a first-innings lead of 99 and they built on that by reaching 243 for 4 in their second innings before the close.Gloucestershire had resumed on 176 for 6 overnight and Masters was soon adding to his list of victims when he had Jack Taylor snapped up in the slips with only 13 added. And he was to bring the innings to a close by removing David Payne leg before to take his season’s Championship tally to 73, more than anyone else in the country.Ryan ten Doeschate and Graham Napier grabbed the other two wickets, the former getting rid of Jon Lewis, who scored 23 in a partnership of 32 with Richard Coughtrie to ensure his side were not asked to follow-on. Ian Saxelby had scored 27 when he was caught behind off Napier, who finished with three for 43 but no-one was able to remove Coughtrie, whose rearguard action saw him grind out 38 in 107 balls before he ran out of partners.Tom Westley was soon scoring freely for Essex as they set about building a substantial lead. Driving confidently, he smashed seven fours on his way to 30, at which point he was well caught at mid-off by Hamish Marshall.The tempo slackened considerably upon Westley’s departure with the total on 36 – Billy Godleman needing 28 balls to reach double figures. Owais Shah was soon following Westley back to the pavilion, trapped leg before wicket by Will Gidman, paving the way for Godleman and Jaik Mickleburgh to post a stand of 67 in 17 overs.It ended when Godleman, having batted with more fluency to gather seven boundaries in reaching 50, pushed forward against the spin of Jack Taylor and edged to slip. The tempo was to increase with the arrival of Adam Wheater, whose century on the opening day spearheaded an Essex recovery.He struck four fours and a six whilst making 38 in a stand of 63 with Mickleburgh before he was caught on the mid-wicket boundary to give Taylor another success. Immediately afterwards, Mickleburgh completed his half-century having faced 85 balls and will resume the final day on 68 as Essex go in search of a victory needed to keep alive their slim promotion hopes.

For a man who started the summer amid doubts about his aptitude for one-day cricket, Alastair Cook has enjoyed a pretty healthy first season as England’s full-time ODI captain

Andrew Miller15-Sep-2011For a man who started the summer amid doubts about his aptitude for one-day cricket, Alastair Cook has enjoyed a pretty healthy first season as England’s full-time ODI captain.Two hard-fought series wins over Sri Lanka and India have been complemented by his own impressive returns with the bat, and with the final act looming in Cardiff on Friday, he has the opportunity to send India back home without so much as a single victory to salve their battered pride.”You get judged on the results and we’ve won both series,” Cook told reporters in Cardiff. “It’s an encouraging start but I think the good thing is, in the last two games we’ve not really played that well, but we managed to get the result which bodes well.”Most games, especially in tournaments, are very close. It’s good to get yourself used to those situations. If you dominate games it becomes less stressful. But we’ve made some good progress over the last couple of series.”England have a 2-0 lead with one match to play, following a wash-out in Durham and a rain-affected tie at Lord’s on Sunday. Whatever happens in the fifth and final ODI cannot affect the overall result, but England have enjoyed developing their winning habit this summer, and Cook does not believe any of their appetites have been sated just yet.”Andy [Flower] said it’s amazing how quickly sport can change,” said Cook. “The practice session today, you wouldn’t have known what had happened in the series from the way we’ve trained over the last two days. The hunger in the side is there, it should be there,but it’s good.”England’s dominance has, to a certain extent, been mitigated by the absence of so many of India’s frontline players, from their bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan to the man of the recent World Cup, Yuvraj Singh. Nevertheless, England have themselves had to make do without the likes of Kevin Pietersen, who has been rested, and Eoin Morgan, who has succumbed to a shoulder injury, but they’ve not let those absences affect their outlook.”What’s been encouraging is we’ve had no Eoin or Kevin and others have been given the chance and they’ve stepped up and taking their opportunities well – especially Ravi [Bopara],” said Cook. “We do need a squad and 15, 16, 17 players and people adapting to roles in the side and coming in to produce match-winning innings. The competition is there for places, and that can only be a good thing. We’re all pushing to get into that eleven andcompetition raises the standard.”Alastair Cook wants to finish his international season on a high•Getty ImagesDespite Cook’s best efforts, which included a remarkable innings of 80 not out from 63 balls in a 23-over second ODI at the Rose Bowl, he has been unable to break into England’s Twenty20 plans, with Graeme Swann named as stand-in captain for the two matches against West Indies at The Oval next week.”I was disappointed,” Cook admitted. “You are when your name’s in the hat for selection and it doesn’t go your way. But it gives an opportunity for Graeme to do the job and I’ll think he’ll do a good job. The enthusiasm he has for the game will run off on people completely. He just loves it.”Swann’s default mentality is one that England as a squad appear to have adopted this summer, with the vibe within the team seemingly as good as it ever has been. “I think success bringshappiness,” said Cook. “It’s true when you are generally happy. When you’re notwinning, things start to grate on you a bit more than they would normally. Andthey wouldn’t be if you were winning. But having said that, when we lostin Perth [during the Ashes] our team spirit was still good.”As for India, their morale has been sagging for months, and with seven defeats and no victories in nine matches to date, there’s little succour on offer in this final fixture. While Cook shrugged that their struggles were “no concern to us”, he could at least empathise with the situation their squad now found themselves in.”It’s extremely tough because when we lost the Ashes 5-0, we found that hard,” said Cook. “It’s tough when you are working hard and become beaten by a betterside. It’s hard for morale and confidence. I’m pleased with the way we’ve not let them get back into their stride because we hit the ground running.”The whitewash tour of 2006-07 followed only 18 months after the highlight of England’s decade, the 2005 Ashes triumph – when the side looked capable of dominating all-comers, only to suffer a catastrophic loss of form and personnel. “We haven’t repeated [those mistakes] because we’ve got better,” said Cook. “We’ve taken huge steps forward as a set-up and as England players. And that’s why that’s not happened again.”In a contest that marks the end of India’s tour, there will be a more general farewell to be made, as Rahul Dravid prepares to play his 344th and final one-day international. “He’s an outstanding player,” said Cook. “He’s scored over 10,000 runs in both forms ofthe game. To be around as long as he has is incredible. He’s a great ofthe modern day, there’s no doubt about that.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the semi-finals of the the Faysal Bank T20 in Karachi

The Preview by Umar Farooq01-Oct-2011Match factsLahore Eagles v Sialkot Stallions, October 1, 1st semi-final, Karachi
Start time 1600 (1100 GMT)
Peshawar Panthers v Rawalpindi Rams, October 1, 2nd semi-final, Karachi
Start time 2000 (1500 GMT)
Peshawar’s Umar Gul has a point to prove to win back his place in the national side•Associated PressBig PictureThe 2011 Faysal Bank T20 Cup has thrown up a few surprises in the group stage of the competition, with pre-tournament favourites, Karachi Dolphins, and defending champions, Lahore Lions, both falling by the wayside before the semi-finals.The draw had seemed to favour Karachi, who were in the same group as depleted teams such as Islamabad Leopards and Peshawar Panthers, but Twenty20 is the most fickle form of the game. Sialkot Stallions, the five-time-champions, are finally back in the spotlight after thumping Lahore Lions and Quetta Bears, while Rawalpindi Rams beat Faisalabad Wolves to extend their winning streak and ease into the semi-finals.Most of the games have been played in front of just a few thousand spectators at the National Stadium in Karachi, but a couple of contests that involved the home team, led by Shahid Afridi, had close to overflowing stands. Karachi, though, did not make the semi-finals, and it remains to be seen how many fans turn up to watch the final few matches.Watch out for …Sialkot’s 18-year-old Raza Hasan, a left-arm spinner who last appeared for Rawalpindi, has consistently been called up for the national side but has never been handed the opportunity to kick-start his international career. A good showing here could help his chances.Out of favour Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul, who is captaining Peshawar, also has a point to prove to win back his place in the national side.Team newsIn the absence of seasoned campaigners Naved-ul-Hasan and Abdul Rehman, Sialkot lost their way in 2010, but the pair are back this year and the team, led by Shoaib Malik, have set their sights on re-establishing their dominance in the format. “We were missing several key players for the last couple of events, but particularly with Rana [Naved-ul-Hasan] making his way back into the squad, and Raza [Hasan, who has shifted to Sialkot from Rawalpindi], we have good additions to our squad this year,” captain Shoaib Malik told ESPNcricinfo. “We definitely have our sights on regaining our lost glory as former champions, but [right now] our focus is currently on the semi-final.”Rawalpindi are the defending champions and have responded well to the pressure of trying to retain their title, winning all three of their league games. Though they are a young side, they have not been overawed by the occasion and their strength in depth makes them a definite threat to repeat.Stats and trivia Rawalpindi Rams and Lahore Eagles are the only teams with two batsmen aggregating over 100 runs so far in the tournament Sialkot Stallions’ Sarfraz Ahmed’s 4 for 13 against Hyderabad Hawks is the best bowling figures in the tournamentQuotes”It’s all about the right combination. The Twenty20 format is a unique form of game that requires being on your toes all the way while batting or fielding and [the right] combination means a lot. You can’t afford to be complacent with even a single ball.”
“We weren’t one of the fancied teams going into this tournament, but we have shown that we are a match for any team in this competition.”

Shane Warne is expected to make a decision next week on which Big Bash League to play for, and Cricket Australia will contribute a marketing bonus to encourage him out of retirement

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2011Shane Warne is expected to make a decision next week on which Big Bash League to play for, and Cricket Australia will contribute a marketing bonus to encourage him out of retirement. Warne said last month that he was “definitely going to play a few games” but he had not yet decided for which team, with his hometown sides the Melbourne Stars and the Renegades the likely options.The reported that Cricket Australia was so keen to entice Warne, 42, to play that it would kick in a cash allowance on top of the salary cap, believed to be less than $50,000, to market the new eight-team BBL. Mike McKenna, CA’s Big Bash project owner, told the paper Warne would be considered a terrific asset for the new tournament.”We made that offer to all the teams of an amount of money in exchange for him doing things like making appearances for us,” McKenna said. “He is an asset, he will excite people across the league not just the team he plays for. Coming out of retirement would make it extra special.”If Warne is keen to return to the MCG, the Stars would be his best option, and the team’s CEO, Clint Cooper, said the organisation was doing everything it could to secure his services. The Docklands-based Renegades are Warne’s other Melbourne option, and while teams in other cities would be keen to sign Warne, it is expected he would choose to play in Melbourne, where his children live.Warne has not played elite cricket in Australia since he retired from Test cricket in January 2007, when Australia whitewashed Andrew Flintoff’s England side in a memorable Ashes series. However, he has continued to play Twenty20 and retired from the IPL earlier this year.