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Chavan aims to return to cricket

Ankeet Chavan, the suspended Rajasthan Royals player who was released on bail earlier this week, has targetted getting back to competitive cricket. “I have always given my 100%, I have always played cricket with a lot of passion,” he told the media in Mumbai. “I just hope and believe that I get a positive result from the judiciary system so that I get to play cricket again and I get back to my career, where I was.”

Siddharth Trivedi, the Rajasthan Royals pace bowler, is likely to be suspended by the BCCI pending inquiry for breaching the board’s anti-corruption code in relation to the ongoing IPL controversy.Trivedi is not under the scanner for any direct wrongdoing but for not reporting to the IPL or the BCCI the fact that he had been approached by bookies. During the investigation into the case involving his three team-mates who were arrested for alleged spot-fixing, he reportedly told police authorities about several approaches he received from bookies that he did not pay heed to. Not reporting it first to the board could go against Trivedi, and he is likely to receive a show-cause notice later this week.”Since he didn’t report any of these alleged approaches to either his team management or the IPL authorities or the BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit, he has to be issued a show-cause notice and suspended till the investigation is complete,” a BCCI insider said.Trivedi, a witness for the prosecution, had also recorded a statement before a magistrate in a Delhi court last month.According to the BCCI’s anti-corruption code, Trivedi’s actions amount to a breach of the regulations. Article 2.4.2 of the code refers to “failing or refusing to disclose to the ACU of the BCCI (without undue delay) full details of any approaches or invitations received by the participant to engage in conduct that would amount to a breach of this anti-corruption code.” Article 2.4.3 explains how a breach would also include failing to report “approaches or invitations that have been received by any other party to engage in conduct that would amount to a breach of this Anti-Corruption Code”.Gujarat bowler-turned-bookie Amit Singh, who was arrested along with Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila and other bookies, is also likely to be sent a show-cause notice and suspended.Though Singh wasn’t contracted to any of the IPL franchises for the 2013 season, according to the board’s anti-corruption code a player is monitored for 12 months after his last domestic or international appearance. Singh had featured in Gujarat’s Ranji Trophy campaign in the previous domestic season as well as the IPL, and is allegedly suspected to have played a pivotal role in mediating between the cricketers and the betting mafia.

Three young cricketers from Sri Lanka’s war-affected regions have been named in the squads scheduled to participate in a one-day tri-series, which aims to prepare Sri Lanka’s national side for the Champions Trophy. Fast bowler S Silojen and wicketkeeper Rishan Tudor, both 19, have been named in the Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Combined sides respectively, while top order batsman S Sanjeewan, 21, has been picked for Sri Lanka A.Tudor, who played for St. Patrick’s College, Jaffna, had impressed Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara last year, after he was chosen for the Unity Team that traveled to Singapore in October last year. Sanjeewan, who played for St. Michael’s College in Batticaloa, had also been part of that side.”They are really talented cricketers and I’m very happy that they’ve got this chance,” Northern region coach Ravindra Pushpakumara, who had worked with all three players, said. “Last year when we went to Singapore, Murali got to bowl a few overs at Rishan Tudor, who was wicketkeeping, and Murali and Sanga were amazed at his ability to pick the doosra so quickly. Sanjeewan also hit a couple of very fast fifties on that tour.”Silojen meanwhile, had been spotted by chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya on a recent trip to Jaffna, and has since been enrolled in Sri Lanka’s pace bowling academy. He had played for Kokuvil Hindu College.”Everyone who has worked for this is extremely happy,” Pushpakumara said. “It’s been a dream to see cricketers from the north and east playing in high level teams, and our first objective has been realised.”The tri-series begins on May 12, and all seven matches will be played in Pallekele. The Sri Lanka team for the tournament features only six cricketers who have been picked for the Champions Trophy squad, as the remaining players are currently in India for the IPL.

Damien Wright will return to Tasmania next summer as coach of the Hobart Hurricanes and an assistant to the Tigers’ new head coach Daniel Marsh. Since he retired from playing, the former fast bowler Wright has spent time as New Zealand’s bowling coach as well as working with Victoria and the Melbourne Stars.He will be Tasmania’s senior assistant coach and the move reunites two key men from the side that broke Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup drought in 2006-07: Marsh was the captain and Wright took eight wickets and scored 67 and 47 in the final victory over New South Wales. He was later part of Sheffield Shield-winning sides with Victoria in 2008-09 and 2009-10.”I’m excited to be coming back to Hobart as assistant to Dan,” Wright said. “I’ve seen first-hand the strength of the Tigers programme and can’t wait to get involved again and from what I have witnessed the Hobart Hurricanes have just grown from strength to strength on and off-field.”Cricket Tasmania’s high performance manager Richard Allanby will also be an assistant coach to Marsh, while Lachlan Stevens, who stepped down as Western Australia’s head coach during the summer, has signed on as high performance manager of Cricket Tasmania’s youth pathway programme.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDale Steyn took three in four balls to close out the match•BCCI

Sunrisers Hyderabad made a winning debut in the IPL as they defended a low score at their home ground on a slow, difficult pitch. Thisara Perera, Sunrisers’ $675,000 acquisition, did not begin too badly for his new franchise, top-scoring with a quick 30, taking the first two Pune Warriors wickets and causing a run-out. Amit Mishra wasn’t too far behind, his legbreaks leaving Warriors confounded on a helpful surface. Dale Steyn left the Warriors top order dazed with his outswingers and returned to blow away the lower order with three wickets in four balls.Not many would have given Sunrisers a chance when they almost sleepwalked their way to 126 after being put in, barring a brief effort to break free from Perera. Deccan Chargers, the franchise Sunrisers replaced, had an atrocious record at this ground, and Sunrisers appeared set to extend that in front of a lukewarm turnout. But they came out a different unit with the ball.Steyn, charged up as almost always, beat the Warriors openers repeatedly with quick outswingers. Ishant Sharma was accurate and testing, as he can be in helpful conditions. The wickets came Perera’s way, though.After running him fine for a boundary, Robin Uthappa tried repeating the stroke and went caught behind. Marlon Samuels gave the lone slip catching practice in Perera’s next over, Kumar Sangakkara deserving credit for sticking with the fielder and the bowler.Warriors’ batting line-up stretched way down to No. 8 Mitchell Marsh, but it was to come unstuck as Mishra brought out his control and variations. Yuvraj Singh, on IPL comeback, walked down, and was easily beaten and stumped. Manish Pandey’s struggle to put bat to ball ended with a mishit slog off Mishra, as the asking-rate started mounting.Almost everything clicked for Sangakkara on the field. He needed young Ashish Reddy to bowl a decent 17th over, and the bowler responded by uprooting Ross Taylor’s leg stump with a full, slower delivery.With 33 needed off three overs, Perera was to make another important contribution. Angelo Mathews, who came in at No. 7, smashed a full toss straight back at Perera, who stuck out his right hand, and the dangerous Marsh was caught short of his crease at the non-striker’s end.Warriors’ lower order panicked against Steyn, trying to attack the fast bowler while their captain looked on helplessly from the other end, ruing the fact that his team left as many as seven deliveries unused.Sunrisers used up their quota when they batted, but weren’t able to find any momentum. The top four got only starts, and it was down to Perera to breathe some life into a suffocating innings. He began with consecutive fours off Rahul Sharma and slogged Marlon Samuels’ darts for two more boundaries before mishitting an Ashok Dinda full toss in the 18th over. Perera’s fall meant Sunrisers weren’t able to finish well with the bat, but they were far more determined with the ball.

ScorecardOpener Luke Pomersbach scored 61 in Queensland’s chase, but didn’t get much support from the other batsmen•Getty Images

Ben Hilfenhaus cut through Queensland’s top order and Luke Butterworth followed up to hand Tasmania a resounding 163-run victory in the Sheffield Shield match at the Gabba.The Tigers’ win leaves all six states still in contention for the Shield final with one round remaining. They began the day hoping to build on a 190-run lead, and quick runs from Tim Paine and James Faulkner achieved this goal, setting the Bulls 307 to win in a little more than two sessions.The Tigers took a definitive grasp of the contest on either side of lunch, dismissing the first four Bulls batsmen for eight runs and leaving a varied seam attack to work through the rest. Only Luke Pomersbach and Nathan Reardon offered resistance.Hilfenhaus’ eight wickets for the match showed he is finding strong form after missing the India Test tour due to his recovery from a side strain.

Steven Davies, the Surrey wicketkeeper, has spoken openly for the first time about suffering from depression after a difficult 2012 season in which he experienced the loss of his friend and team-mate Tom Maynard, coupled with a dip in form that cost him his place in the England set-up and also saw him dropped by Surrey.Davies was left out of Surrey’s crucial fixture against Nottinghamshire in September, which they won to secure Division One status, although he returned for the final game of the season after his replacement, Gary Wilson, departed for the World T20 with Ireland. At the end of the season, Davies chose to take some time away from cricket and he has come back refreshed and keen to return to international contention.”I took a bit of a break at the end of last season,” Davies told Surrey TV. “I suffered with depression and took a few months off and it’s done me the world of good. I spent some time with my family and now I’m fresh and ready to crack on this year.”Maynard’s death in June, after an accident on the London Underground, hit Surrey’s young squad hard, with Davies among those struggling to come to terms with the loss. The tragedy contributed to Rory Hamilton-Brown, Maynard’s flat-mate, standing down from the Surrey captaincy after a period of compassionate leave. He eventually left the club, choosing to move back to Sussex over the close season.”Last year was tough for everyone,” Davies said. “It affects people in different ways. For me, I really struggled. I knew I just needed some family time. I had a bit of break away and now I’m ready and really looking forward to the 2013 season.”The subject of depression in cricket has become a more openly discussed, with players such as Marcus Trescothick, Matthew Hoggard and Iain O’Brien – who has recently contributed to a PCA awareness campaign – revealing their experiences of the illness. A book on dealing with depression, with a foreword by Trescothick, has been distributed to all PCA members this year.After choosing to take a break, Davies, 26, was offered an unusual touring experience – for a cricketer – over the winter. Davies is one of the few openly gay sportsmen in the UK and he has developed a friendship with the singer Elton John, a cricket fan known for being a regular around the England dressing room during the 1980s. At John’s suggestion, Davies joined him on the road for a few weeks.”Since I came out, we’ve bonded,” Davies said. “He’s looked after me in many ways, he knew I was going through a hard time and I mentioned that I was going to take some time away from cricket. He said that winters in England can be a bit depressing and he asked me ‘Why don’t you come on tour with me?’ … I had a great time. It’s a different world that he lives in but it was great to experience it.”Back at The Oval, where Davies has resumed his preparations for the new season, the wicketkeeper was encouraged by Surrey’s prospects. With Graeme Smith signing as the club’s overseas player and captain, as well as the arrivals of Vikram Solanki and Gary Keedy, Surrey have added experience to their squad as they attempt to make a more confident statement in 2013.Davies also knows that a strong start with Surrey could aid his ambitions with England. After touring with England in the UAE last year, he was put on standby for the Edgbaston Test against West Indies in June, after Matt Prior sustained an eye infection. That was his last involvement, however, and the rise of Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler seemed to have squeezed Davies out of contention, even after Craig Kieswetter was dropped, but he has not given up on adding to his 13 caps.”I had some time away from cricket but really kept up my strength work,” Davies said. “I spent a lot of time in the gym getting my core strength up. County seasons are long – you need to be strong and fit.”Initially it’s getting back into things and doing well for Surrey. We’ve got a great squad this season and have recruited some experience. I feel like we’re going to do great things and it’s about scoring my runs and taking my catches. After that it’s about getting back into the England set-up. It’s where I want to be and it’s why I play the game of cricket.”

The ECB, emboldened by a Supreme Court ruling against ticket touts, have launched a poster campaign against the resale of tickets for next summer’s Champions Trophy and Ashes series.Cricket fans could even face the threat of a ban from county grounds if they are caught selling tickets for personal gain during what promises to be a sought-after summer of international cricket.Auction websites such as Seatwave and Viagogo will also be monitored according to a poster campaign under the slogan: “TOUTS OUT! Where did YOUR ticket come from?”There has already been an unprecedented demand for Ashes tickets this year after England’s recent successes.A recent legal ruling by the Supreme Court promises to work in the ECB’s favour. They are entitled to demand from ticketing websites the details of customers who are seeking to profit by reselling their Ashes tickets above face value.An ECB spokesman said: “We want fans to understand that we are committed to eradicating ticket touting. Fans need to understand that we will make targeted interventions into the market place and will cancel tickets if we spot them being sold at inflated prices on ticketing websites.”Touts who resell tickets to concerts and sport events online faced losing their anonymity following a court ruling in November. In a case between the Rugby Football Union and Viagogo, the Supreme Court ruled that Viagogo must release names and addresses of people who resold tickets to England rugby matches on its site.When the RFU monitored Viagogo in 2010-2011, the governing body found that tickets to its events were being sold for up to 20 times their face value, breaching its ticketing terms and conditions.The RFU had led the way among governing bodies in the past by taking legal action, but it had previously been unable to address sites like Viagogo as the company offer anonymity to sellers.Viagogo went into voluntary liquidation after a TV documentary criticised its methods. It now trades as Viagogo AG, based in Switzerland.

Abbottabad won the one-over eliminator
ScorecardAbbottabad Falcons edged out Quetta Bears in a one-over eliminator after forcing a tie with a run out off the last ball when only a single was required. Defending 126, Abbottabad’s bowlers kept Quetta’s scoring rate below six an over for most part of the innings and picked up regular wickets. At the fall of Quetta’s fifth wicket, 49 were required off 38 balls. A quick 31 by Naushad Irshad and an unbeaten 26 by Arun Lal brought Quetta close, but ended up level.Quetta, after choosing to field, had struck regularly to restrict Abbottabad to 126. Left-arm spinner Jalat Khan led the bowling with his maiden T20 five-wicket haul and was ably supported by a tight spell of 4-2-8-2 by Arun Lal. Abbottabad struggled to find momentum and their top-scorer was Yasir Shah, the No. 8 batsman, who scored 26 off 23 balls.The loss has left Quetta at the bottom of the Group A table with no wins from their six matches. ScorecardBahawalpur Stags were inflicted their first loss in the tournament by Faisalabad Wolves as they fell short of the target by 10 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium. Bahawalpur chose to field and were set a moderate target of 122, but two run outs early in the innings slowed them down. As the pressure mounted, Bahawalpur started losing wickets – three of them to Ehsan Adil. The ninth wicket pair of Mohammad Talha and Zulqarnain Haider made an attempt towards the target, but fell short.Earlier, Faisalabad batsmen had also found it tough to force the pace. Opener Farrukh Shehzad scored 31, but the next highest scorer was wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman with 15. Kashif Siddiq and Kamran Hussain shared two wickets apiece.
ScorecardNaved Malik scored his second consecutive half-century to help Rawalpindi Rams beat Peshawar Panthers by seven wickets. Chasing 142, Rawalpindi were set into motion with a quick 46-run opening stand between Naved and Awais Zia. Although Peshawar made a couple of more breakthroughs, the run-scoring continued at a good clip, with Naved leading the way with a 42-ball 67 that contained four sixes. Rawalpindi crossed the target in the 18th over to keep their chances for a semi-final berth open.Peshawar lost their opener Mohammad Fayaz in the third over bowled by Sohail Tanvir, and then lost three more batsmen to Hammad Azam. Jamaluddin, who scored 32 off 25 balls, and Akbar Badshah, who scored 29 off 21 balls, pushed the scoring towards the end to take the team to 141.
ScorecardA century-stand for the fourth wicket between Fawad Alam and Khurram Manzoor helped Karachi Dolphins beat Hyderabad Hawks by six wickets in a high-scoring match at the Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore. Chasing 162, Karachi stumbled in the first over as they lost both their openers to the bowling of Rehan Riaz. Hyderabad took further control with another wicket in the fourth over, but Manzoor and Alam came together to stage a recovery and set the chase back on track. The 119-run stand that came off 82 balls took the team within the striking range. Although Manzoor fell with the team nine short of a win, Alam carried on and completed the chase with three balls to spare.Hyderabad Hawks, winless in the competition, chose to bat and the openers scored half-centuries to put up 89 in 11.3 overs to set the platform for a big total. Although none of the other batsmen got into double figures, Azeem Ghumman carried the bat through with an unbeaten 71. Sohail Khan picked up two wickets, but was expensive in his four over spell, giving away 54 runs.
ScorecardProductive knocks in quick time by Saeed Anwar jnr, Gulraiz Sadaf and Naved Yasin steered Multan Tigers to a convincing five-wicket victory with six overs to spare against Islamabad Leopards. After restricting Islamabad to 135 for 4, Mutlan lost two early wickets, but the three batsmen scored quickly, although none of them reached a half-century. At 117 for 5, 20 runs were scored off the final five deliveries of the 14th over to achieve the victory.Islamabad, after choosing to bat, lost openers Junaid Nadir and Umair Khan by the fourth over. Faizan Riaz and Bazid Khan added 43 off 46 deliveries. Bazid scored 41 and Faizan 29, both at a run a ball. Although middle-order batsman Imad Wasim accelerated towards the end of the innings with a knock of 34 off 20 deliveries, Islamabad could only set Multan a target of 136.Multan played more aggressively, as six of Islamabad’s bowlers registered an economy rate of more than 9.50 runs per over for their fifth loss this season.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLahore Lions’ No. 7 Abdul Razzaq smashed two sixes off the last over to take his team to a thrilling penultimate-ball five-wicket against Sailkot Stallions at the Gaddafi Stadium.Chasing 161, Lahore Lions were strong at 147 for 2 in the 19th over before two quick wickets were claimed by left-arm spinner Nayyer Abbas. With 13 runs required in the last over, two singles were taken off the first two deliveries, before Umar Akmal was caught out. New batsman Razzaq hit a six off the first ball he faced, and then took a couple of runs off the penultimate delivery before hitting a six off the last one, which turned out to be a no-ball too. The win helped Lahore Lions keep their unbeaten run in the tournament, and lead the Group A table.The bowler, Naved-ul-Hasan, batting at No. 3, had earlier scored 63 off 41 balls to guide his team to 160 for 5.The openers had given them a quick start but both fell by the first quarter of the innings. Naved and Sohail added 64 in 7.5 overs before Sohail was dismissed, and Naved added another 38 runs with captain Shoaib Malik to help set a target at more than 8 runs per over.In reply, opener Ahmed Shehzad, who is the top run-getter this season so far, and captain Mohammad Hafeez scored half-centuries. They put on 78 runs for the second wicket. Although Hafeez departed in the 14th over, Lahore Lions were in control of their chase before the 19th over.

The BCCI has asked Ashish Bhowmick, a member of its ground and pitches committee, to assist Prabir Mukherjee, the groundsman at Eden Gardens, in preparing the pitch for the third Test against England, which begins in Kolkata on December 5. It seems a routine move, part of BCCI’s policy of getting one of the committee members to oversee the preparation of Test pitches, but it has been the focus of speculation, considering MS Dhoni’s continued demands for pitches that turn from day one.Dhoni and the 83-year-old Mukherjee haven’t had the most cordial working relationship either. Despite India’s completion of a 5-0 whitewash of England in 2011-12 with a win in the last ODI in Kolkata, Dhoni called the Eden Gardens pitch an “ugly wicket”. Mukherjee, never one to hold back, responded by saying, “Pitches don’t score runs, batsmen do.” It was also reported that Mukherjee had made disparaging comments about Dhoni’s demands for specific pitches.Board officials, however, sought to dowse speculation. “Prabir Mukherjee is one of the most senior curators in India and Bhowmick, being a member of the BCCI ground and pitches committee from the East Zone, has been asked to assist him,” Biswarup Dey, the treasurer of Cricket Association of Bengal, told ESPNcricinfo.Mukherjee himself was not flustered by Bhowmick’s visit. “It’s not that I’ve been removed or sidelined. We will work together to prepare the wicket,” he told PTI. “I’m more than happy to assist him. He has been asked by the board to help me out. It’s not something that is happening for the first time. I don’t understand what’s the fuss about it.”The BCCI has a policy of asking each of the five members of the ground and pitches committee to oversee the preparation of wickets for international games in their respective zones. While Ramesh Mahamulkar, the Wankhede Stadium curator, prepared the wicket for last week’s Test in Mumbai, Sudhir Naik, the West Zone representative in the committee, supervised the preparations ahead of the match. Similarly, Daljit Singh, the head of the ground and pitches committee, visited Kolkata last week to see if everything was in place.After the Ahmedabad Test against England, which India won by nine wickets on a slow pitch, Dhoni had stated his preference for surfaces that turned and bounced right from the start, so that “the toss was taken out of the equation”. The pitch at Wankhede Stadium met his demands, but England levelled the series with a ten-wicket win.The BCCI, during its annual general meeting in September, had ratified a proposal to expand the ground and pitches committee from five members to 12. The seven additional members were supposed to travel to other centres and help prepare pitches for important games, if required, and also look after the tracks for domestic games that clash with international matches in India.

Unmukt Chand, captain of the Under-19 World Cup winning India team, said that he is not thinking too far ahead and is fully focused on performing positively during India A’s tour to New Zealand in September, for which he had been selected before the World Cup. “I take one tournament at a time. I want to play for India but don’t want to think about it now. I want to do well for India A,” Chand told .Chand, who led India’s win in the final with a century, thereby becoming India’s highest run-getter in the tournament, was speaking during a function organised by the BCCI to felicitate the Under-19 squad. He said that the team had prepared itself mentally to overcome the challenges in the tournament.India lost the first match against West Indies, but won all their matches thereafter, including a narrow one-wicket win over Pakistan in the quarter-final. However, the batsmen failed to dominate and the team was repeatedly bailed out by the bowlers.”All the batsmen go out to score runs but most of the time it does not happen,” Chand said. “We lost the first match against West Indies, but even from that we took the positives like our bowling and fielding. That we carried in further matches.”The best part was, we didn’t know what was happening in India, [which] really kept us on target. The belief was very strong among the guys and we always felt we will go and lift the trophy. [It] only took us further and win the tournament.”He said his team’s half-hour session with Sachin Tendulkar ahead of the event helped.”We had a half an hour session with him before leaving. The session was quite helpful. He told what we would face there and how we need to tackle it. He helped us a lot and told us the do’s and don’ts.”Though happy to be able to overcome a tough test as a team, he said he was aware that they would have to be more mature to deal with future challenges.”Under-19 is a good platform and the boys have showcased their talent and proved that they are good enough. Our boys are extremely talented and can match anybody but they need to be more matured as a player. It would be a bigger challenge to climb up the ladder now.”