atthew Hayden, the former Australian opener, has said it is practically impossible to completely eradicate corruption from the game of cricket.
"The investment the game places in protection strategies to mitigate against corruption is minuscule compared to the vast geographic areas the game is played in and the level of illegal gambling activity," Hayden told the Hindustan Times. "It really is a runaway train."
Hayden said the only the way to counter the threat of gambling was for every individual player and administrator to decide to personally uphold the integrity of the game. "We play a great game, and as players we are honoured to uphold its integrity as a product."
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif, who testified against some of his team-mates before Justice Qayyum's commission, said the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) was a toothless body that could not be counted upon to uncover fraud within the game. "The ACSU does not have the right to conduct raids or arrest people, what they only do is to ask players to avoid suspicious people."
The ACSU was formed in 2000 in the wake of the match-fixing scandal that ended former South African captain Hansi Cronje's career. Its main purpose was to help ensure there would be no repeat of the Cronje case but Latif says it has largely failed in this regard.
"These ex-policemen [ACSU officials] may have been very good in their field, but cricket is a different ball game altogether and only a cricketer can see an irregularity during a match."
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Impossible to clean cricket completely - Hayden
Cush century takes USA to title triumph
USA won the Division 4 title in emphatic fashion, demolishing Italy by eight wickets in Pianoro courtesy a Lennox Cush century that came in only 55 deliveries. The two teams had secured promotion to Division Three on Friday.
Chasing Italy's modest 185 for 9, Cush and Orlando Baker were in a hurry as they rattled up a 102-run stand in only 11 overs. Cush was dropped by Dilan Fernando off his own bowling off the first ball of the fourth over. He responded by pulling the next ball to the fine-leg boundary. A six over midwicket followed off the fifth ball and USA were on their way. Fernando was hit out of the attack, conceding 26 runs in three overs. The other bowlers did not fare better as Cush and Baker kept the onslaught going. Cush took 18 runs off a Hemantha Jayasena over, hitting him for a four and consecutive sixes.
Baker was dismissed by Peter Petricola after making 40 off 34 deliveries with six fours and a six. But there was no stopping Cush as he brought up his hundred in the 17th over. He was finally dismissed with the score on 166 after smashing 101 off only 57 deliveries with 14 fours and four sixes. Captain Steve Massiah was unbeaten on 28 off 26 deliveries, steering USA to victory in 21.4 overs.
Italy, who had chosen to bat, had started poorly, as Kevin Darlington struck twice to reduce them to 16 for 2. Adrian Gordon then removed the middle order taking 4 for 35, and Italy were reduced to 116 for 8 despite Petricola's fighting 42. Gayashan Munasinghe and Roshendra Abeywickrama added 51 runs in a ninth-wicket stand that enabled Italy to reach a fighting total. However, given the mood Cush was in, the target of 186 was never going to trouble USA.
Meanwhile, USA wicketkeeper Carl Wright has been reprimanded by the ICC match referee David Jukes for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct. Through his admission, Wright was found to have breached Article 2 Section 2.1.4 of the ICC Code, which relates to "using language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during an International Match". "I hope Mr Wright has learned that there is no place for this type of behaviour anywhere near the game. I also trust that in future, he will be more courteous and pay others the respect they deserve for their efforts," Jukes said.
Nepal crushed Tanzania by 10 wickets in the third-place play-off in Medicina, dismissing them for 73 and then knocking off the runs in 12.3 overs.
The only thing that went right for Tanzania was the toss, and they chose to bat. A disciplined Nepal bowling attack kept up the pressure throughout, wickets fell at regular intervals - including the last five for three runs - and Tanzania were bowled out for 73 in 39.3 overs. All the bowlers were among the wickets and Shakti Gauchan was the most successful of them with 3 for 10 off nine overs. Issa Kikasi was the only Tanzanian batsman to put up some resistance, top-scoring with 32 off 72 deliveries.
The Nepal openers made short work of the chase, Anil Mandal smashing an unbeaten 47 off 40 deliveries with four fours and three sixes while Mahesh Chhetri remained unbeaten on 24 off 35 with three fours and a six.
Cayman Islands won the fifth-place play-off in Navile, brushing aside Argentina by seven wickets after having restricted them to 182 for 9.
Opener Ramon Sealy set up the chase for Cayman Islands, top-scoring with 60 off 57 deliveries with seven fours and three sixes. By the time he was out, only 81 runs were needed with 33 overs remaining. Saheed Mohamed and Ryan Bovell needed only 75 deliveries to knock off those runs. Mohamed was unbeaten on 42 off 44 deliveries while Bovell remained unbeaten on 33 off 37.
Argentina had earlier struggled to 182 for 9, having elected to bat. Opener Carlos Gibson steadied the innings with a patient 45 off 116 deliveries but Argentina were badly hit after he had to leave the field due to an injury. Three run-outs didn't help their cause either. Several batsmen got starts but failed to convert as Cayman Islands kept things tight.
de Villiers displaces Dhoni as No. 1 ODI batsman
South African batsman AB de Villiers has displaced India's captain MS Dhoni as the top ODI batsman according to the latest ICC ratings. de Villiers, who averages 43.56 in 101 ODIs, had a prolific season that took him to 805 points in the ratings, nine clear of Dhoni. Michael Hussey, the Australian batsman, was third on the list with 792 points.
de Villiers amassed 667 runs in his last 10 ODIs, which included four centuries and two fifties against top opposition. Three of those centuries came in consecutive games, in Gwalior, Ahmedabad and Antigua. Though de Villiers did not play in August, Dhoni's patchy form in the Sri Lanka triangular series, where he scored only 140 runs in five outings, led to the swap at the top.
"My ultimate aim is always to do well for the team and to help South Africa win trophies but it is nice to be acknowledged in this way," de Villiers said. "Two years ago I said I wanted to be the best batsman in the world and it is pleasing to see that I am starting to get results." He is also keen to move up from his No. 11 position in the Test ratings.
de Villiers had ankle surgery during the off-season and was to continue his rehabilitation during a conditioning camp with the senior team. "It [the ankle] is coming on nicely and I can't wait to pick up my cricket bat again."
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara was at the top of the Test batting table with 874 points, 15 ahead of Virender Sehwag. Dale Steyn and Daniel Vettori maintained their respective positions at the head of the Test and ODI bowling charts, while Jacques Kallis and Shahid Afridi remained the top allrounders in the two formats.
Test cricket's last-minute arrival
One hundred and thirty years ago this week the first Test in England took place at The Oval. But it was a hastily arranged affair at the end of a long and largely derided tour by an Australian team, and was staged at The Oval rather than the more obvious location of Lord's, because of the lofty attitude of the MCC towards the "colonials".
Although what we now recognise as the first Test took place in Australia in March 1877, when the Australians toured England the following year, the MCC, which ran the game then, refused to offer them any games against a representative England XI. That sniffy attitude was undermined when the tourists beat a strong MCC side at Lord's, skittling them for 33 and 19, but the seeds for the 1880 Test at The Oval were sown when, a week later, 35,000 over two days watched the Australians' game against Surrey.
The seriousness with which Australian tours were taken was best highlighted by the then influential Lillywhite's Cricketers Annual, which in 1879 noted, with disapproval, that visits were treated as a virtual joke.
An English tour to Australia under Lord Harris in 1878-79 had not helped relations when a riot marred a game against New South Wales at the SCG. Many felt it was too soon after that for an Australian side to return and feared they would receive a hostile welcome if they did.
Nevertheless, plans were put in place for an 1880 tour under Billy Murdoch. However, a dispute between the Victorian and New South Wales boards meant the trip was not finally confirmed until April, by which time counties had arranged their fixture lists and had no intention of altering their plans.
James Lillywhite, acting as agent for the Australians, failed to secure any matches on major metropolitan grounds. At every turn he was curtly rebuffed. In January the Surrey committee declined a plan for a game against the county, claiming the "season was too full". Lillywhite countered by offering to play for charity but the committee, while split, again declined.
Meanwhile, the MCC briefly entertained a proposal for a game at Lord's, submitted by WG Grace, who offered to raise an XI himself. But the Australians could not rearrange their schedule around the date offered and the idea lapsed.
Grace's involvement was not entirely altruistic. At the start of the summer he noted the tour was "a doubtful experiment" as there was "a growing prejudice against speculating and travelling teams". But by July he appreciated there was money to be made from a high-profile contest at Lord's, not least by him, and for the remainder of the tour he was an active advocate of such a game taking place.
As the tour limped on it was largely ignored by the press and appeared to be on the way to being a public relations and financial disaster. At one stage Lillywhite had to take out advertisements seeking any opposition willing to play the side, and by mid-July only Yorkshire and Derbyshire of all the counties and serious representative teams had been played, and even then not on a major ground. By the end of the four-and-a-half month trek only eight first-class matches had been played alongside 45 other games.
In late July, at the sixth time of asking, the Surrey committee agreed to stage a game against the Australians at The Oval on September 6, 7 and 8, one of only a handful of matches the tourists were to play in the south all summer. The question of raising a strong England XI remained.
Charles Alcock, the Surrey secretary and one of the leading administrators in cricket and football in both sports' early days, began a month of frantic travel around the country to persuade the top players to take part. He began with a visit to Canterbury to try to convince Lord Harris to captain the XI; aided by the persuasiveness of Grace, who was playing in the festival against Harris, Alcock achieved his hardest goal. With Harris signed up for the venture, he knew others would follow.
From there Alcock went to Hove to ask the Sussex committee to cancel a game Lillywhite had arranged with them on the same three days in September, and again was successful, his argument aided by compensation of £100. After that he travelled extensively to recruit leading players, and all but three - Emmett, Ulyett and Hornby - who had been involved in the Sydney riot, agreed. Harris later wrote that he "had to bring a lot of pressure to bear on several prominent amateurs… to play". By the time of the match a good-strength side had been assembled.
As news spread that a representative side would play the Australians, interest in the tour in general took off. The huge crowds that flocked to The Oval suggested the lofty attitude of the authorities was hopelessly out of synch with those of the public.
Although the actual attendance is uncertain, Wisden reported "20,814 persons passed through the turnstiles on Monday, 19,863 on the Tuesday, and 3751 on the Wednesday". The game itself was a thriller and the dismissive attitude towards Murdoch's Australians was forgotten as the establishment congratulated itself on such a fine venture.
Alcock, exhausted but delighted, wrote: "In the eternal fitness of things… the game was in every way worthy of an historic occasion."
A hundred years later England hosted the Centenary Test. It was a sign of the times that it was played at Lord's rather than The Oval, purely for financial reasons: Lord's could hold more spectators and guarantee greater revenues. And it was ironic the hosts, and the organisation that made a healthy profit, was the MCC, the very club that had done so much to obstruct the Australians at the dawn of international cricket.
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When Cush comes to shove
When Guyana take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday, there will be a tremendous amount of support from fans back home on the northern coast of South America. But because of one player in the team, they'll have support stretching across the Caribbean to North America as well.
Lennox Cush, a senior member of the Guyana squad, is the only player participating in the Champions League who plays for the USA national team. While he came up through the Guyana system as a hard-hitting batsman and still plays in the top order for the United States, he has demonstrated all-round skills by morphing into an attacking offspin bowler for Guyana in Twenty20. In a squad with an average age just under 27, Cush's versatility, experience and spirit are a definite plus for the captain, Ramnaresh Sarwan.
"Obviously we use him as a bowler, but of course I think he's one of the individuals that's very focused, very fun," said Sarwan. "He always brings a certain type of spirit to the team and everyone welcomes him because he's so funny. I think it's always good to have someone like that in your team."
There have been a few bumps on Cush's road to playing in front of a worldwide audience, but he's managed to hold on to his big smile all this time.
He was brought up in Georgetown with his four sisters by a single mother. "It was a mess," says Cush. "It was kind of tough because our mother was left to fend for us. Things turned out well, but at the end of the day she's the one that should be taking all the praise." Sadly, Cush's mother died from kidney failure only a month after he made his first-class debut against Windward Islands in 1996.
"When it had happened, he took it very hard, like, I think, every other person would," reflected Sarwan, who has known Cush very well for more than 15 years. "His mum was such a loving and caring person, and she was such a good mum to him. She taught him the right things in life. Obviously she wasn't there to see him play on a consistent basis, but I think it kind of motivated him to try and see what he can achieve. Even when we're playing cards sometimes, he brings up his mother's name. It shows obviously that he still thinks about her and he holds her very close to his heart."
Cush started to achieve more in 1998 during the domestic one-day competition. In the Red Stripe Bowl Final, he took a catch that dismissed Leeward Islands captain Stuart Williams, before taking 4 for 37 to bowl Guyana to the title.
After some solid batting performances playing league cricket in England during the summer of 1999, he was looking forward to building on his success for Guyana and pushing for a place in the West Indies side when a freak accident curtailed those plans.
"I was just kidding around with a little relative of mine in New York and he ran behind me," says Cush, motioning to show how his right knee wound up being dislocated. He points to the sizeable surgical scars that trace the outside of his knee. "I didn't know the seriousness of it. I just told him to pull it, turn it back into place. You can imagine that. I blacked out two times in five minutes."
All of his ligaments had been damaged and he wound up needing two surgeries three months apart and missing the entire 1999-2000 season.
"I think he was very close," surmised Sarwan when asked if Cush could have made it into the West Indies team had he not suffered such a devastating injury. "His knee, that was a big setback for his career."
A few years after recovering, Cush reached his best form with the bat during the 2001-02 season, scoring two centuries while averaging 39 in the domestic four-day competition. But it wasn't enough to crack the West Indies side and by 2005 he had played his last four-day and one-day games for Guyana.
The following year he had qualified to play for the USA. He had become a permanent resident, having met the woman who would become his wife in New York and married her there in 2001. He was selected to play for America for the first time at the 2006 ICC Americas Division One Tournament held in Canada.
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The emergence of the Stanford Twenty20 competition, though, breathed life back into his Guyana career. In the second edition, held in 2008, he was the second highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with eight in three games, and he was drafted into the Stanford Superstars team. However, he sustained another knee injury during the training camp, this time to his left anterior cruciate ligament. He gave it a go against Middlesex, but when it came time for the grand finale against England, he failed a fitness test and didn't get to participate in the Superstars' ten-wicket romp.
Almost two years later, it appears that Cush is finally going to get his chance on a big stage. So far he has been having a golden summer. It started with his performance in July at the Caribbean T20, where he formed a potent spin combination with Devendra Bishoo to help Guyana win the title. Cush was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with 11 in four games, including a hat-trick against Combined Campuses and Colleges.
Three weeks later he helped USA win the ICC World Cricket League Division Four in Italy, where he was named Man of the Match in the final against the hosts. He opened USA's chase and rampaged his way to his first century in a red-white-and-blue uniform, notching 101 off 57 balls with 14 fours and four sixes in his team's eight-wicket victory.
It may have been a 50-over game but he was already prepping himself for Twenty20 mode in the Champions League. He'll be batting down the order for Guyana, but his team should feel confident that he's capable of scoring runs if needed.
"I think we've got a very strong batting line-up and he's being picked mainly for his bowling in this team," said Sarwan. "But I think it's important that because we have a few experienced guys and a few inexperienced guys, we want to try and spread them out and allow everyone to be able to handle situations. I think Lennox batting at that position, if we were in trouble, I think he would be a good player for the situation and probably guide us through it."
Cush hopes that he will serve as an inspiration for players from the USA to strive for bigger and better things in the future and hope that they too might get to stand toe to toe one day with some of the biggest stars in the game. "I think knowing that they can be there sometime or at some point is an added motivation for them, and me playing there, I think that will help them to even play harder to get to that level and bring US cricket to that level," says Cush.
In the meantime Sarwan is just happy to have Cush healthy and with a smile on his face and believes that he will be a key ingredient for a successful two weeks in South Africa.
"My mindset is to enjoy myself, give it my best and just enjoy the cricket," says Cush on his mental approach to the tournament. "Whatever I'm doing - batting, bowling or fielding - just enjoy it, take the pressure off of myself."
Fans on two continents are hoping that mindset will lead to triumph for Cush and Guyana in the Champions League.
Save the game or lose it
Fixing, whether it be of the spot or match variety, is a major challenge for cricket. Only prompt and firm action can hope to resolve the issue.
With that in mind, it was disturbing to read suggestions that 18-year-old fast bowler Mohammad Amir, if found guilty, could avoid a life ban if he gives evidence against his Pakistan team-mates. What sort of message does that convey? That you'll be excused if you claim you're too young to decipher right from wrong?
What message does it send the crooks? Be sure to "groom" young players and then your "investment" has a greater chance of paying long-term dividends. And doesn't it tell an honest player, "You're a fool. You should've grabbed the money"?
The honest players have already suffered enough just from playing in an era tainted by the fixers.
If he's guilty, in a roundabout way the ICC would do Amir a favour by banning him for life. If he were guilty and was to be reinstated a couple of years down the track, he'd still be in the clutches of the crooks. Any outstanding debts or threats to him or his family would still be hanging over his head. The only way you escape the clutches of these unsavoury characters is the same as the mafia exit strategy: in a wooden box. At least with a life ban from cricket, the youngster escapes their clutches and can get on with what remains of his future.
And if he's forgiven there's the not-so-minor matter of how he'd be accepted by the Pakistan team. Self-interest is never a great team-spirit builder, and ratting on your mates, no matter how devious they might be, is not the way to ingratiate yourself.
If you think that's melodramatic then consider the crooks' background. In many cases they will have built their tainted fortune on such nefarious activities as gun- or drug-running. They have no scruples. Once that's understood you begin to comprehend the enormity of cricket's problem.
Fixing is not a Pakistan problem; it has the power to bring the game to its knees.
Cricket has already missed a golden opportunity to send a strong message to crooks, players and administrators. Pakistan should've been suspended from competition the moment the Lord's Test was completed.
"Can't do it," you say, "it'll ruin the game."
Well, if fixing isn't eradicated then there'll be no game of any consequence to ruin.
How can they play the current ODI series between England and Pakistan?
| The administrators have to assume once a player is in the clutches of the crooks, it's a lifetime deal. That's why Pakistan's refusal to heed the strong warnings issued by Justice Qayyum in his illuminating 1999 report have come home to roost | |||
Mr Fixit in London said he has seven Pakistan players in his pocket and they'd agreed to "throw" two of the ODIs. Three of the Pakistan players are currently under suspension. That leaves four possibly still playing in these matches. Will those players refuse to do the dirty deed because of all the publicity?
Cricket shouldn't have taken that chance. After all, it's not the players who decide the fix and when it'll occur. The administrators have to assume once a player is in the clutches of the crooks, it's a lifetime deal. That's why Pakistan's refusal to heed the strong warnings issued by Justice Qayyum in his illuminating 1999 report have come home to roost. The game is still littered with former players named by Qayyum, cricketers he suggested should never hold positions of responsibility in the game.
Rather than send a strong message, the game has averted its eyes. It's not surprising that 15 years after the initial strong indications the game wasn't clean, we still have evidence of widespread corruption. Given that the Qayyum report was largely ignored and player bans overturned it's not surprising the crooks don't feel threatened.
Like all of cricket's major problems, fixing can't be properly addressed until the issue of the ICC's flawed structure is resolved. There can be no excuse now for not addressing this issue with great resolve and integrity. The game's future is on the line.
The honest players and the fans deserve a concerted effort to clean up the game. If drastic action isn't taken to eradicate fixing it won't be a matter of the administration gambling with the game's future; they'll be delivering it a death sentence.
Afridi wants to regain respect
Shahid Afridi believes his Pakistan team can emerge from their scandal-hit tour of England with respect. He has backed the side to build on their improved display in the first one-day international at Chester-le-Street and give the hosts a serious challenge in the remaining four matches.
Although Pakistan lost by 24 runs in Durham - a considerable margin in a game reduced to 41 overs - they didn't roll over as had been the case during the two Twenty20 internationals in Cardiff when the batting, especially, was awful to add to the woes of the spot-fixing controversy.
On Friday Kamran Akmal managed his first half-century of the tour, Umar Akmal hit 43 off 33 balls and Asad Shafiq, who had only arrived 48 hours previously from the A-team tour of Sri Lanka, took Tim Bresnan for four boundaries to threaten a tighter finish.
These are all aspects Afridi is clinging to in the hope that Pakistan can return home with their heads held high despite all the allegations that have been thrown their way since the spot-fixing story broke two weeks ago during the Lord's Test.
"We all want to go home with respect," he said. "We want to play some good cricket and get some victories. I know it's very important for the team. Yesterday the performance was much better, not 100% but I was quite happy with the efforts from the boys and that's what I'm expecting in the next game as well.
"We all know we are playing in a very tough situation but we are trying to forget everything that is going on. The players should focus on the games and as captain I'm trying to keep the morale high. We all know how important this series is for our team and our country."
Even though the three players at the centre of the spot-fixing storm - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - are now back in Pakistan, that doesn't mean the issue has moved away from the tour. Wahab Riaz, the left-arm quick who took five wickets on his Test debut at The Oval, will be questioned by police in London next week although Afridi insists he is coping with the pressure and available to play.
"At the moment he is feeling fine," he said. "Let's see what happens when the police investigate him. I really don't know what is going on. I just heard the police want him. But he's feeling okay."
Afridi also asked for the supporters back home to remember that no-one has yet been found guilty of any offences. "The guys are still not guilty and we are waiting for the results. We are good cricketers and want to maintain our respect and that is gained by playing good cricket. The PCB and ICC will take some action if things happened."
Badrinath, bowlers seal emphatic win for Chennai
Chennai 151 for 4 (Badrinath 52*, Anirudha 42, Bracewell 2-28) beat Central Districts 94 (Bracewell 30, Balaji 3-20, Bollinger 2-10, Muralitharan 2-15, Ashwin 2-28) by 57 runs
S Badrinath led a strong counterattack after early losses to guide Chennai to 151, a score that their varied bowling attack defended easily under lights to launch their side's Champions League Twenty20 campaign with a win. Chennai's batsmen recovered from 48 for 3 at the halfway mark of their innings, looting 103 runs off their last 10 overs, nine more than Central Districts managed in their entire chase. Chennai's bowlers maintained control from start to finish, in the process taking a small step towards questioning the theory that IPL teams would struggle in this event.
The game was always going to be decided by how well Central Districts' batsmen would stand up to Chennai's world-class bowling arsenal. And the answers came soon enough: R Ashwin and Suresh Raina dropped chances early in the piece, but even that failed to level the playing field. Doug Bolliner hustled away with a heady mix of pace, bounce and movement. Albie Morkel began the procession, coaxing Peter Ingram into an impulsive pull that went nowhere. Lakshmipathy Balaji then settled into an impressive spell, bowling legcutters at will to outclass the top order, and produced the first maiden of the tournament. Then the spinners came on, and Central Districts' misery was complete.
Ashwin, denied the new-ball role that he relished in IPL 2010, foxed Jamie How with a carom ball that sped past his tentative prod. Muttiah Muralitharan, sporting the 800-number jersey, then sent back Mathew Sinclair and Kieran Noema-Barnett in his opening over. Five down for 36 in the eighth over and no escape routes in sight. Chennai made good use of the remainder of the game, correcting the early blips on the field, led by Matthew Hayden who plucked a couple of screamers in the slips.
The margin and manner of defeat were both long shots given the way Central Districts' seamers started. MS Dhoni's decision to bat on a fresh pitch was tested immediately by sharp movement and spongy bounce. M Vijay poked nervously at the first ball of the innings, edged the second short of slip and sparred uncertainly at the third, all outside the off stump. Matthew Hayden did not learn from Vijay's travails and top-edged a pull off the last ball of the over to continue his miserable run from the IPL.
Suresh Raina succumbed to a vicious bouncer from Adam Milne that he could not evade in time. The pressure was on Chennai and Vijay was clueless against the swing, and more obviously, the bounce. He kept committing to shots early, edging into vacant areas, before Doug Bracewell removed him with a brute that took the shoulder of his bat on its way to the slips.
In conditions that were not cut out for flashy strokeplay, Badrinath, arguably Chennai's most correct local batsman, took control. Brendon Diamanti grassed him at point in the fifth over, but otherwise his innings was chanceless. Srikkanth Anirudha, who got a promotion ahead of Dhoni, was reprieved early as well, Michael Mason dropping a regulation offering at deep midwicket. Soon, Central Districts were left ruing their two blemishes in an otherwise impressive fielding effort.
Badrinath's plan initially was to pick singles and settle in. With the wicket losing its early spice, he opened up in the tenth over, drilling Mitchell McClenaghan off the backfoot for four. Unlike his colleagues who struggled to handle the bounce, Badrinath repeatedly used it to his advantage, cutting and pulling bumpers for sixes.
Anirudha, at the other end, hit the ground running, and soon Central Districts were leaking runs at both ends. He hung deep in the crease, converting full-length balls into half-volleys and gaining extra time to handle short balls. The result was a flurry of boundaries through the off side, the best being an inside-out carve for six, off Mason in the 15th over.
Anirudha departed after a stand of 73 in 8.1 overs, but despite Dhoni's continued absence at the crease on account of a flu, Morkel ensured a strong finish. Badrinath did not get much strike in the end overs, but he had already played his part. An upper-cut for four, off Milne in the final over, took him past fifty and Chennai had completed a strong recovery. At that stage it seemed like Chennai's bowlers had been given something to work with. Around a hour-and-a-half later later, their ruthlessness on the field made even that score look superfluous.
Mumbai will bounce back says Duminy
The shocking defeat at the hands of local side Highveld Lions in the Champions League Twenty20 opener notwithstanding, Mumbai Indians batsman JP Duminy said the IPL side has the firepower to bounce back in the tournament.
Coming into the match as underdogs, Lions stunned a star-studded but sloppy Mumbai by nine runs last night to register the first upset of the Twenty20 tournament at the Wanderers.
But Duminy said it was just an off day as captain Sachin Tendulkar's 42-ball 69 could not save the day for his side.
He insisted that Mumbai would roar back into the tournament in their next match against South Australia Redbacks in Durban on September 14.
"It is the first game of the tournament and obviously we would have loved to start the tournament on a winning note.
But we are not yet out. There are three more games to go and we definitely have the side to make a comeback," the left-handed South African batsman told reporters at the post-match press conference.
"He (Tendulkar) played exceptionally well but in the end cricket is a team game and all of us needed to chip in," Duminy said.
Duminy said fielding remains a concern for the Mumbai team and lauded the Lions bowlers, especially Shane Burger who accounted for the crucial wickets of Tendulkar and dangerman Keiron Pollard, for their exemplary display at the death overs.
"I think we played pretty well but our fielding was not upto the mark and we need to address the issue in the coming games. But hats off to Lions bowlers. They bowled brilliantly at the end," Duminy said.
Meanwhile, Lions captain Alviro Petersen said Tendulkar and Pollard's wickets were the turning points of the match for his side.
"If they (Tendulkar and Pollard) were there, they could have won the match for Mumbai. So both the wickets were crucial," he said.
He said coming into the match as underdogs, the home side could not have asked for a better start.
"It's a great start. That's what we have been looking for. I quite like the underdog status because there is no pressure on us. We wanted to enjoy and we did it. But I don't call ourselves underdogs, it is the media which has given us the name.
"But whether we play against Tendulkar or any other player we will play with the same intensity."
Like Duminy, Petersen also said he would have preferred to chase if he had won the toss.
"We obviously wanted to bowl first because our strength is batting and we also prefer to chase. But after we were sent into bat, our only target was to get a good score, something around 170. But 186 was a winning total on this wicket," he said.
He also credited his bowlers for restricting the Mumbai Indians to 177 for six in their alloted 20 overs.
"On paper Mumbai Indians are definitely stronger than us but our bowlers came through beautifully in the end," Petersen said.
Super Kings, super show; Stags who?
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has a love affair with South Africa. This is where he started Team India's resurrection in September 2007 after the team had earlier in the year been knocked out of the World Cup in the Caribbean. And he wasn't going to let the Stags disturb that equation.
Just as expected, the Super Kings gave the Stags some cricketing lessons. For better or for worse, the IPL every year brings an ensemble of mercenaries playing for their outfits, who are often challenged by a group of domestic players who are used to playing with each other right through the year and therefore are thought to gel better as a unit.
But of course gelling as a unit is never enough to win a game and the Super Kings yet again showed just why they are amongst the top two teams in the Champions League to stake a claim to the title.
Everything went according to plan for the Super Kings, who won the toss and elected to bat. Even though the exaggerated nip and bounce did them in initially, they are a team too full of talent and experience to be rattled by these early reverses. S Badrinath led a brilliant counter-attack and was ably supported by Srikkanth Anirudh and Albie Morkel as the Chennai team lifted themselves to 151, with 107 runs coming off the last 10 overs.
The three treated the Stags' bowlers with utter disdain and sent their fielders on a leather hunt. And once the score was up, Chennai's specialist bowlers - Doug Bollinger, Muttiah Muralitharan, R Ashwin, L Balaji and Morkel did the job with ease. MSD's captaincy was spot on. He stuck with his bowlers, gave them the field they wanted and didn't experiment for the heck of it.
The skipper didn't come out to bat because of a flu, and the rapid pace at which his bowlers cleaned up the Stags was probably a result of his directive that they must finish the game before the effect of his dose of medicine goes away. And what a taste of medicine did they give to the Stags!
We had said a day ahead of the game that the Stags will think themselves lucky if they could walk off the field with just their heads held high. Too bad, Jamie 'who' How and his men ran into MSD's demolition team!
Badri was impressive, so were bowlers: Dhoni
Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was all praise for Subramaniam Badrinath for his superb unbeaten 52 which set up his side's victory over Central Districts in Champions League Twenty20 match here on Saturday.
"We lost early wickets and that put us under pressure. But Badrinath and Anirudha batted really well. These are the conditions where technique does matter. If those who have good technique perform up the order it is easier for those who have lesser technique to slog later," Dhoni said.
"Badri has a good technique and so good to see him perform," said Dhoni after CSK's 57-run win over Central Districts.
Dhoni also have words of praise for the bowlers. "All the bowlers bowled well. Balaji bowled well to pick up three wickets. The two spinners were superb as conditions here were not that well assisting them," he said.
"Muttiah Muralitharan is a great bowler and it is great to have him in the team. He just varied his deliveries and the same was in case of R Ashwin also," he added.
He said CSK will have to win two more matches out of remaining three to make sure they qualify for the semifinals.
"Well of course it is really good to start such a tournament with a big win. It is important to get momentum when you start off with a win. We want to win all the remaining three matches but at least we have to win two," he added.
Central Districts captain Jamie How rued his side's batting failure.
"To restrict Chennai to 150, I thought the boys bowled really well. The bowling and fielding were the positives, but we didn't really turn up with the bat. We will be looking to bounce back against Victoria," How said.
Man-of-the-match Badrinath, whose counterattacking 52 from 42 balls was mainly responsible for taking CSK to 151 for four after being 48 for three at halfway mark, was happy that he could come out good in difficult condition.
"I am really happy with the innings. To be able to see the team through to the end. It wasn't easy to start off with, but once I got in I made sure I made it count. Totally different conditions to what we get in India, so really happy that I could do well here.
Chennai maul Stags by 57 runs
Chennai Super Kings stamped their authority on the Champions League at the St. George's Park on Saturday when they romped home by 57 runs against the champions from New Zealand, Central Stags, thanks to S Badrinath's 52 and the Chennai bowlers who bundled out Stags for just 94.
The day began on a sorry note for CSK after MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to take first strike. Mathew Hayden began his second Champions League stint with a golden duck against the Central Stags when his first-ball aggressive intent landed straight into the hands of deep square leg.
Things got worse when Hayden's wicket in the first over was followed by Suresh Raina's in the second, leaving Chennai reeling at 5/2.
A partnership of sorts ensued between Murali Vijay and S Badrinath but could go only as far as 35 runs, when a snorter took an edge off Vijay's bat straight into the slip fielder's hands.
Chennai innings, though, found an unlikely hero in Anirudh Srikkanth who took off like a man on mission and even rubbed off his aggressive intent onto Badrinath.
Boundaries started flowing and soon transformed into sixes and the Chennai innings moved from stable to a healthy state. A 50-run partnership turned into 73 but that's when Srikkanth's 29-ball cameo of 42 runs came to a standstill, with an attempted slash over point taking his bat's edge en route to the wicketkeeper.
In came big-hitting local sensation Albie Morkel, but he could only partially succeed in doing what's always expected off him: hit it hard and long. Credit for that must be given to the Stag's bowlers who held their nerves and kept varying their pace.
The last two overs didn't bring the desired runs but just enough to help Badrinath reach 52. And with Albie Morkel's small cameo of 26 off 15 balls, CSK notched up a challenging 151 runs.
Now it was up to the Murali-led CSK spinners and Bollinger to bowl their heart out and defend a total that Stags must have felt was gettable.
Dhoni's comrades beganDhoni's comrades began in the best possible manner by keeping a tight leash on the proceedings, subsequently resulting in wickets.
While Morkel and Balaji took care of Ingram (6) and Worker (4) respectively, Murali and Ashwin's introduction struck Stags like lightning.
The highest Test wicket-taker took care of Mathew Sinclair (10) and Noema Barnett (0) in his first over while Ashwin foxed Jamie How (13).
That left Stags reeling at 44/6, which was followed by a 38-run face-saving partnership but once that was over, the remaining batsmen fell like ninepins and the Stags got bowled out for a paltry 94, giving CSK a comfortable 57-run victory.
With this MS Dhoni - who was not at his 100 per cent due to a mild flu - has made a strong statement that his team means nothing but business in the Champions League.
