All posts by h716a5.icu

Stuart Broad has expressed his confidence that he will be fit for the first Test of the Investec Ashes series which starts in front of his home crowd at Trent Bridge on Wednesday.

George Dobell04-Jul-2013Stuart Broad has expressed his confidence that he will be fit for the first Test of the Investec Ashes series which starts in front of his home crowd at Trent Bridge on Wednesday.Broad was forced to miss England’s warm-up game against Essex at Chelmsford after sustaining an injury to his right shoulder while diving to regain his ground while batting in the final of the ICCChampions Trophy.He subsequently had a cortisone injection on Monday in an aim to ease the inflammation and pain and returned to some gentle bowling on Wednesday.”I couldn’t be more confident that I will be 100% right,” Broad said. “If the series started today I’d be ready to go. It only really hurt when I got to the top of my bowling action and that was where the swelling was. So I had an anti-inflammatory injection to get rid of the swelling.”How it pulled up two days after the injection was the major part and that was yesterday. I managed to bat and bowl and do some running without any pain, so I am very confident I’ll be fine for TrentBridge.”Broad missed three Tests of the victorious 2010-11 Ashes series after sustaining a side injury and the second half of the successful Test series in India before Christmas due to a heel injury. If fit, he is almost certain to share the new ball for England with James Anderson.

Barbados won the Regional Four-Day competition for the first time since its inception, and finally broke the dominant hold that Jamaica has had on the competition

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2013
ScorecardKirk Edward and Everton Weekes at the trophy presentation•WICB Media Photo/Randy BrooksBarbados registered their first first-class triumph in six seasons, winning by an innings and 22 runs against Trinidad & Tobago despite a fighting 140 from Lendl Simmons while his team was following on. That also meant that for the first time in six years, the competition has not been won by Jamaica, who lost out to T&T in the semi-finals this season.T&T, coming into the third – and eventually final – day on 140 for 4, were only able to add 30 runs before Denesh Ramdin fell for 18. Lendl Simmons and Ramdhin had put on 83 runs for the fifth wicket, in an effort to reduce the deficit after T&T’s first innings flop for 110.The wicket of Simmons followed soon after with the score on 195. Simmons, who had been batting on 111 overnight, was caught-behind off the bowling of Jonathan Carter. Miguel Cummins and Javon Searles then took out the remaining batsmen. They ultimately fell 23 runs short of making Barbados bat again.Kraigg Brathwaite of Barbados ended up the second-highest run scorer in the competition with 577 runs in eight matches, while their offspinner Ashley Nurse finished third-highest wicket taker with 45 wickets in eight.Hendy Springer, the Barbados coach, was delighted with his team’s performance. “It feels great to win a trophy, after the kind of start we had to the season [Barbados began with a loss to Jamaica], and to look around and see some of the young players improve, which is the definition of success for me.”We had guys that were willing or fight, willing to prove their worth and that was important. Players have come with higher skill levels than the ones we had this season, but the fight that they showed day in, day out was what made the difference.This team is different to others that I have coached over the years since it does not include a number of players that have represented West Indies at the higher levels. When I first started coaching Barbados back in December 2000, we had players like Roland Holder, Philo Wallace, Sherwin Campbell, Hendy Bryan, Adrian Griffith, Floyd Reifer to name a few – a number of players that had represented West Indies and it was much different then. This season we had more first-class players than West Indies players, and it was good to see those players come to the fore as well.”T&T captain Denesh Ramdin was disappointed with his side’s batting, and hoped to rectify this performance for the future. “It was an up and down season and we had to keep chopping and changing players, some going and some coming, and we never got that balance right in our batting department. We were always struggling to put 200 runs on the board but our bowlers had done it throughout the season for us. This is one of the few times we have gotten over 220 runs for the season. It is something we have to think about and we have to go back to the drawing board.”The top five or six batters need to come to the party. They didn’t come consistently as we wanted them to in this tournament. Well played to Lendl Simmons for getting a hundred this game, but having to come from 260 behind was a hard task to overcome.”I believe it is a mindset that the players have to change. We have to learn to stand up and bat longer. Players are sometimes playing too many shots and not batting as long as they should. To get hundreds, you need to bat at least two and a half sessions and we find guys are trying to get the runs all in one session. Hopefully, they can all learn from this experience and learn as fast as possible. Next year will be right around the corner and we will need to bounce back strongly.”

WV Raman, the former India opener, has been appointed assistant coach of Kings XI Punjab

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Mar-2013WV Raman, the former India opener, has been appointed assistant coach of Kings XI Punjab. This will be Raman’s first assignment in the IPL, and he will work with head coach Darren Lehmann, who oversaw the now defunct Deccan Chargers last season.Raman, who played 11 Tests and 27 ODIs for India, has plenty of domestic coaching experience, having been in charge of Tamil Nadu for four years and is currently the coach of Bengal.”We are pleased to have WV Raman as the assistant coach of our team for IPL 2013,” Kings XI Punjab’s COO Arvinder Singh said. “Given his vast experience as an ex-Indian player and his coaching stints over the years, I am certain that he shall bring another dimension to our coaching staff and help our players perform to the best of their abilities.”Raman said he looked forward to his new assignment. “Kings XI Punjab has the right mix of experienced as well as young players supported by a world class coaching staff and I shall do my best to get the best out of the players.”

An unruffled knock of 171 from Stafanie Taylor helped West Indies Women crush Sri Lanka Women by 209 runs in a Group A match at the MIG Ground in Mumbai.

The Report by Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai03-Feb-2013
ScorecardThe West Indies-Sri Lanka game turned out to be not much of a contest•MIG ClubA flamboyant knock of 171 from opener Stafanie Taylor helped West Indies Women crush Sri Lanka Women by 209 runs in a Group A match at the MIG Ground in Mumbai. Taylor’s hundred and a powerful, 20-ball 50 from Deandra Dottin took West Indies to 368 for 8, their highest ODI score. In reply, Sri Lanka were dismissed for 159 runs with ten overs to spare, giving the West Indies their first win of the tournament.Taylor, who was named the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2012 and the Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2011, also broke her own record for the highest individual score by a West Indian batsman in women’s cricket, surpassing her innings of 147 against Netherlands in 2010.West Indies got off to a flying start after Sri Lanka chose to field. Kycia Knight and Taylor scored 19 runs in the first two overs, helped partly by some wayward bowling from Sri Lanka. Taylor was the more subdued of the duo in the early overs, as Knight went after the bowling, especially medium-pacer Sripali Weerakkody who conceded 25 runs in her first three overs.By the time spin was introduced, Taylor was well-settled and, in spite of losing Kycia and Shemaine Campbelle quickly, kept the momentum going. She used her feet well against the spinners, coming down the track or stepping on the backfoot to cut through the offside. The right-hand batsman brought up her 50 with a lofted drive over mid-off and, when the scoring rate slipped a little, hit a six over long-on. Her partnership of 110 runs with the other Knight sister, Kyshona, steadied the West Indies innings. Taylor toyed with the Sri Lankan attack, scoring a flurry of fours and sixes before she brought up her fourth ODI hundred off 97 balls.It was a run-out which broke the partnership as Kyshona was dismissed for 44 by a direct hit from Deepika Ranasangika on the first ball of the 34th over bowled by Eshani Kaushalya. The run-out didn’t fluster Taylor, who dispatched the next two deliveries for fours. New batsman Deandra Dottin lived up to her reputation of a hard-hitting batsman coming into this World Cup, clobbering a huge six over long-on, off her first ball. Kaushalya was struck for 16 runs in that over.Dottin was in her element when the Powerplay began in the 36th over. She struck two fours and a six and followed that up with two consecutive fours in the next over, struck so hard that she had to change her bat. Sri Lanka were sloppy, missing two run-out chances of Taylor in the 38th over, even as the overthrows and wides they bowled cost them 14 runs. With the opposition running out of bowling options, Dottin struck two more sixes to add to their agony, one of these almost landing in the balcony of a neighbouring residential building.When Sherina Ravikumar eventually dismissed Dottin, the pair had put on an astounding 90 runs in almost six overs, of which 71 came in the powerplay overs. West Indies lost a couple of quick wickets after Dottin’s exit before Taylor was joined by captain Merissa Aguilleira. The duo punished the Lankan bowlers a little more, striking a 55-run partnership in just 28 balls. Taylor was eventually dismissed for 171, and her knock included 18 fours and two sixes. Aguilleira scored an unbeaten 47 as West Indies reached a daunting score of 368.Needing more than seven runs an over, the Sri Lankan innings quickly fell into disarray. The opening partnership lasted just 25 balls and with the West Indies bowlers holding a steady line outside the off stump, the pressure kept mounting. Left-arm seamer Shanel Daley struck twice in her first spell, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 51 for 3 in the 12th over. Prasadani Weerakkody anchored the innings with a patient knock of 22, but found herself running out of partners. Legspinner Shaquana Quintyne ended her stay at the crease with a brilliant catch off her own bowling. She picked up two more wickets to finish with figures of 3 for 32. Offspinner Anisa Mohammed stifled the batsmen with her flight, enhanced by her high-arm action, conceding only 10 runs in 5.2 overs and picking up one wicket.The seventh-wicket partnership between Dilani Manodara and Deepika Rasangika was worth 37 runs but, by then, Sri Lanka were almost out of the contest. Rasangika’s 25-ball 28 only delayed the inevitable and Sri Lanka held on for another ten overs before West Indies prevailed.

Sri Lanka may be forced to field their fourth wicketkeeper of the tour in the second ODI in Adelaide on Sunday, after Dinesh Chandimal hurt his hamstring during the loss to Australia in Melbourne

Brydon Coverdale at the MCG11-Jan-2013Sri Lanka may be forced to field their fourth wicketkeeper of the tour in the second ODI in Adelaide on Sunday, after Dinesh Chandimal hurt his hamstring during the loss to Australia in Melbourne. The uncapped gloveman Kushal Perera is part of the one-day squad and could make his debut on Sunday, depending on how Chandimal recovers during the short break between games.Chandimal top-scored for Sri Lanka with 73 in their unsuccessful chase at the MCG, and although he was able to run between the wickets, he was clearly hampered by his hamstring during the innings. Perera, 22, is the second leading run-getter in Sri Lanka’s domestic one-day competition this season, with 376 runs at 62.66 for Colts, and Jayawardene said he would be ready for international cricket if called upon.”Chandi has hurt his hamstring and the physio will assess him,” Jayawardene said. “He did run, he wasn’t that bad. So we just need to monitor him and see how he is going to come up tomorrow morning and how bad it is. Luckily we have got another reserve wicketkeeper on tour. Hopefully it’s not too bad. We’ll see how it goes. The next match is going to come up pretty soon for us on Sunday, and then we have got a break. We will assess it.”Kushal is a pretty decent batsman. He’s been very consistent in one-day cricket for us in domestic cricket. He has been part of our A team for the last couple of years, and he is a pretty decent wicketkeeper as well. We knew that when Sanga went down we needed to have that backup for Chandi, so he is a good all-round package for us to have as an extra batsman or as a wicketkeeper-batsman.”Sri Lanka have had awful luck with their wicketkeepers during this trip. Prasanna Jayawardene, the first-choice Test gloveman, suffered a fractured thumb while batting in the second Test at the MCG, and Kumar Sangakkara took over the wicketkeeping duties during the game. However, Sangakkara also broke his hand while batting late in that same match, and Chandimal had to take the gloves for the third Test in Sydney.The injury to Chandimal was just another disappointment for Sri Lanka on a day that brought a 107-run defeat at the hands of George Bailey’s inexperienced Australia side. Bailey and the debutant Phillip Hughes put together a 140-run partnership that was the key for Australia, and Jayawardene said his men had “lost the plot” at times as they tried to break that stand.”We did try a lot of things, we did put a little bit of pressure on,” Jayawardene said. “But at times we lost the plot. We didn’t build pressure enough, there were a lot of four balls from a couple of our bowlers in those middle overs. We didn’t create enough pressure on those two guys and they batted really well. It’s just one of those days.”

Centuries by Chris Gayle and Kieran Powell, who put on 254 for the first wicket, put West Indies on the path to securing a sizeable first-innings lead, but a few late strikes after tea gave New Zealand an opening

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran27-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKieran Powell’s 134 was his maiden Test century•DigicelCricket.com/Brooks LaTouche PhotographyCenturies by Chris Gayle and Kieran Powell, who put on 254 for the first wicket, put West Indies on the path to securing a sizeable first-innings lead, but a few late strikes after tea gave New Zealand an opening. Gayle and Powell extended the hosts’ dominance by batting out the morning session, but the other top-order batsmen couldn’t quite carry on after making starts. Assad Fudadin and Narsingh Deonarine made patient half-centuries to ensure West Indies didn’t capitulate after the start provided by the openers and, by stumps, their team still held the upper hand, leading by 91.New Zealand created opportunities with the swing on offer with the new ball, but once the batsmen had seen off that period, the visitors were left waiting for mistakes. New Zealand were hurt by the fact that their best and most experienced bowler, Daniel Vettori, couldn’t pick up a wicket. Kane Williamson bowled 20 overs, the most he has ever bowled in a Test, and picked up two.Gayle carried on from where he left off, piloting the innings. Given his stupendous limited-overs form, a Test century was there for the taking against a bowling attack low on confidence and form. Gayle started the day with a flat six over long-off off Vettori to take him to the nineties. Keen to reach his landmark in style he pulled a short delivery by Chris Martin and just about cleared the rope to get from 97 to 103. Gayle punched the air and acknowledged his 14th Test century, one that will be talked about for long, given it came after an exile of one-and-a-half years.New Zealand relied on Neil Wagner’s reverse swing to possibly sneak in a wicket or two with the old ball. With the ball swinging in sharply towards the pads, a silly mid-on and short midwicket was placed for the checked drive. It didn’t change New Zealand’s luck as Powell managed to chip it over midwicket and keep out the fuller deliveries. One one occasion, Gayle miscued an on-drive and yet managed to beat mid-on comfortably. It was that sort of morning for New Zealand.Smart stats

The 254-run stand between Chris Gayle and Kieran Powell is the fifth 250-plus stand for the opening wicket for West Indies. Four of the five have come in home Tests with the only away one coming against New Zealand.

The partnership between Gayle and Powell is also the third-highest opening stand against New Zealand and the second-highest for West Indies.

West Indies’ total of 442 is presently their fifth-highest against New Zealand in Tests since 1990. Their highest in the period remains the 660 in Wellington in 1995.

The total of 442 is the second-highest at North Sound after Australia’s 479 in 2008. However, the number of overs in the innings (138) is the highest in a single innings at the venue.

This is only the eighth time that both West Indies openers have scored hundreds in the same innings. The last time this happened was also against New Zealand in Hamilton in 1999.

Powell’s century is his first in Tests. He has now scored 489 runs in 18 innings at 27.16 with one century and two fifties.

With his 150, Gayle moved joint-third with Viv Richards and Everton Weekes on the list of West Indian batsmen with the most scores of 150 or more. Brian Lara heads the list with 19 such scores.

The patient Powell couldn’t resist a slash over gully that brought up the double-century opening stand, the ninth in West Indies history. It was also the highest partnership for any wicket by West Indies since December 2010, when Gayle last played a Test. It only underlined Gayle’s impact and how much his team missed him.Gayle offered his second chance of the innings when the ball turned, kissed the glove and lobbed to first slip where Ross Taylor fluffed a straightforward take. New Zealand didn’t get too many chances coming their way, and they will wonder what could have been had they halted Gayle on 36 yesterday.Gayle added only four to his score after lunch when he tried to clear Williamson over long-off but was caught well in front of the rope. Powell got to his maiden Test century with a flourish just as Gayle had done earlier, hittiing a boundary. There were two fielders placed in the deep on the on side and he managed to place it between them with a strong pull off Wagner. It was the first time in 13 years that both West Indies openers had hit centuries in an innings, the last pair being Sherwin Campbell and Adrian Griffith in Hamilton in 1999.The new ball, taken after 83 overs with West Indies at 269 for 1, posed questions straightaway as Doug Bracewell teased the left-handers with his inswing. There were a couple of marginal lbw shouts against Powell and Fudadin, but the ball looked to be missing the leg stump. The left-handed pair looked more comfortable with the ball swinging away as they fetched boundaries through the off side.Powell looked good to carry on to a big hundred when he took on Wagner for three consecutive fours through the off side, including a scoop over mid-off. However, he fell off the fourth, chasing a delivery well wide of the off stump and feathering an edge to the keeper to give a pumped-up Wagner his first Test wicket. Marlon Samuels survived a testing first delivery, deflected down the leg side, and a run-out. Samuels failed to carry on after making a start, inside-edging Martin to his leg stump. Martin struck again in the first ball of his next over when he had Shivnarine Chanderpaul gloving a snorter to Kruger van Wyk. It was his sixth first-ball duck and the third time he failed to score against New Zealand.The double-strike suddenly put West Indies on the back foot, but Deonarine and Fudadin did well to weather the storm. Fudadin played shots on both sides of the wicket and picked up seven boundaries, but, like Gayle, perished while going for the big hit. Denesh Ramdin chopped a short delivery onto his stumps shortly before close, joining the list of those who threw their wickets away.Deonarine played a couple of adventurous strokes, including a straight six off Wagner as he neared his fifty. As a statement of intent, he swung the last ball of the day for a boundary. New Zealand did well to script a comeback in the final session, but another tough day awaits.

Kent’s Friends Life t20 hopes ended as they suffered two calamitous run-outs during a 23-run home defeat to Essex under lights in Canterbury

06-Jul-2012
ScorecardKent’s Friends Life t20 hopes ended as they suffered two calamitous run-outs during a 23-run home defeat to Essex under lights in Canterbury. The Spitfires’ fifth defeat of the campaign confirmed the exit of the 2007 champions but Essex, with five wins and 10 points, could still qualify by beating Hampshire in Sunday’s final round of South Group games.Sam Northeast and Darren Stevens were run out in embarrassing fashion in the space of three balls as Kent made an appalling start in pursuit of their 150-run victory target.The hosts lost opener Sam Billings to former Kent seamer David Masters 27 balls into the response and then, with only 21 on the board after the Powerplay overs, Rob Key attempted to accelerate with an ambitious clip to leg only to play around one from James Franklin.Although Essex used six bowlers in the opening 10 overs of the reply, Kent’s top order were seemingly unable to master any of them and limped to the mid-point of their innings on a paltry 42 for 2. They suffered a setback soon after when Northeast, having been dropped at deep midwicket by Tim Phillips, clashed with third-wicket partner Stevens when crossing for a second run and was run out by the return throw by Phillips.Stevens endured a similar fate one run and two balls later when, in calling for a single to cover, he was sent back by Azhar Mahmood and run out by Reece Topley’s throw.Mahmood had only 11 to his name when he perished in attempting a late cutagainst Masters, while Alex Blake slogged a brace of sixes in his cameo 16, but fell when aiming another maximum against Topley and Kent’s chances of reaching the last eight effectively went with him.Having been invited to bat, Essex lost New Zealand allrounder Franklin without scoring after he steered the second ball of the night from Mark Davies into the hands of Key at short midwicket.Former Eagles’ captain Mark Pettini then combined with Greg Smith to add anenterprising 98 in 12 overs for the second wicket, with Pettini the mainaggressor. The diminutive right-hander took 15 from one over of spin by Adam Riley, including a brace of sixes, the second of which landed in the top tier of the Frank Woolley Stand.Pettini scampered to a 36-ball 50 but, with 99 on the board, Smith departed to a catch at deep mid-off against Stevens before Pettini, having been sent back when wanting a single to short leg, fell to a run out from Key’s throw.Stevens struck again by having Ryan ten Doeschate stumped without scoring and, with the overs fast running out, visiting captain James Foster attempted to clear the ropes only to pick out long-on and give Stevens excellent figures of 3 for 13. Owais Shah clipped a last over six against Azhar Mahmood, however, and Essex were comfortably able to defend their total.

Deccan Chargers coach Darren Lehmann has said his side “bowled poorly and fielded diabolically” against Rajasthan Royals

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2012A visibly annoyed Deccan Chargers coach Darren Lehmann has come down heavily on his side after their five-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday. Lehmann said the Chargers “bowled poorly and fielded diabolically” while defending 196 in a final-over defeat.”We fielded like an Under-14s side,” Lehmann said. “They are professional cricketers they should be able to catch. They should be able to stop the ball going through their legs.”The Chargers dropped three catches in the field, with Anand Rajan grassing Royals opener and the tournament’s highest run-getter Ajinkya Rahane in the fifth over, then Dale Steyn dropping Owais Shah in the 15thover, and Bharat Chipli spilling Johan Botha in the 18th over.The Chargers are yet to register a win in the IPL this season, and their coach said, that the team has to work hard if they want to succeed in the tournament. “For us it’s a disappointing start, considering we played really well against Mumbai [Indians] and should have won that game, so we have a bit of work to do,” Lehmann said. “Our [team] meetings are a waste of time at the moment because the players aren’t listening.”Deccan’s fielding compounded their problems against the Royals, but their bowlers too were expensive. Dale Steyn, Daniel Christian and Anand Rajan all went for over ten runs an over. “It should have been 2-1, we should have beaten Mumbai [on April 9] and Rajasthan today, but we bowled really badly with the new ball. Steyn also did not bowl well,” Lehmann said. “When you get nearly 200 in a Twenty20 game, you shouldn’t lose a game.”Deccan Chargers will play Delhi Daredevils in their next match on April 19.

Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar, with the help of a large dose of luck, put on the highest stand for the first wicket to crush Rajasthan Royals

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran20-May-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar set up a ten-wicket victory•AFPMumbai Indians tried out their eighth different opening combination for the season and it clicked – Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar, with the help of a large dose of luck, put on the highest stand for the first wicket in the tournament to crush Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur.At the halfway stage of this inconsequential match, the omens were good for Royals. Since Shane Watson’s arrival, Royals’ form has closely mirrored his batting form. Each time Watson has fired Royals have won, and every failure with the bat has led to defeat. He top scored with 45, lifting the Royals to 162. They have never lost a home game when they have scored more than 160.All that was brushed aside, as Smith and Tendulkar set up only the fifth ten-wicket victory in IPL history. It looked like a completely one-sided encounter but the opening pair had plenty of close calls.Smith was beaten plenty of times early on and his swipes repeatedly landed in non-man’s land. There were several clear-cut chances as well – Ajit Chandila shelled a caught-and-bowled chance, Dishant Yagnik couldn’t collect cleanly after Smith was beaten by a Brad Hogg wrong ‘un, Siddharth Trivdedi caught him off a no-ball, and Tait couldn’t even get his hands on a top-edge skier.Tendulkar, too, wasn’t at his elegant best; he was put down by Watson at midwicket, and then a paddle-sweep was top-edged over the keeper and slip, and wasn’t exactly comfortable through much of the innings.In between, there were some clean hits as well from the openers. Tendulkar got going with a front-foot cover drive off Tait, and Smith repeatedly played the short-arm pull behind square leg for boundaries. The match really began to slip away from Royals in the 11th over, when Smith clubbed Chandila for consecutive sixes to take Mumbai Indians close to their first century opening stand of the season.A couple of overs later, Chandila let a ball through his hands to concede a boundary, leaving Rahul Dravid shaking his head. Besides the poor fielding, the bowling also gave away too many free runs – 15 wides and a no-ball sliced 10% from the target.If it ended badly for Royals, it hadn’t begun well either. Mumbai fast bowler Dhawal Kulkarni, playing his first match of the season, cut short what could be Dravid’s final competitive innings. Kulkarni also added the scalp of Ajinkya Rahane, Royals’ most prolific scorer this season, later in the Powerplay.Once again it seemed Royals were looking to Watson for acceleration. He wasn’t timing it as well as he would have liked, but the burden wasn’t entirely on him as Stuart Binny chipped in with a free-swinging 30. The innings got a jumpstart when Binny caned Harbhajan Singh for 22 runs in the 10th over, slog-sweeping him over square leg for six, and also picking off three fours in the over. Watson joined the fun as he connected well on his third swipe at Smith, sending the ball for six over his favourite deep midwicket region.Binny was then run-out through an athletic bit of footwork from Kieron Pollard in his follow-through, and a couple of overs later Watson miscued a heave off Pollard, leading to a loss of momentum. Owais Shah and Ashok Menaria, though, capitalised on some indisciplined bowling from Mumbai Indians to take Royals to what seemed a competitive total.It didn’t prove near enough as Mumbai Indians went into the playoffs with a extra shot of confidence. The questions for them will be about their combination after a couple of their experiments worked. Do they stick with the same openers or revert to Tendulkar-Gibbs? Also, does Kulkarni deserve another chance or should they go back to the experience of Munaf Patel.

Somerset have signed former West Indies captain Chris Gayle for this year’s Friends Life t20 campaign

George Dobell12-Jan-2012Somerset have signed former West Indies captain Chris Gayle for this year’s Friends Life t20 campaign.Gayle had been in talks with Middlesex but the county decided to pursue their interest in an overseas fast bowler instead.Gayle, 32, has an exceptional T20 record. Not only has he made the highest score in international T20 cricket, 117 against South Africa in September 2007, but he is also the only man to have made five T20 centuries. He also shares the record for the quickest international T20 hundred with Brendon McCullum. Both men reached the landmark in just 50 balls.Gayle will replace Kieron Pollard as one of Somerset’s overseas players. Pollard is expected to be on international duty on West Indies tour of England but Gayle, having fallen out with the West Indies board, is unlikely to be selected. He will strengthen an already daunting Somerset batting line-up that also includes Craig Kieswetter, Marcus Trescothick, Peter Trego, Roelof van der Merwe and James Hildreth.Gayle will hope to take Somerset one better in the Flt20. They have been losing finalists in the last three seasons.”I am delighted to be heading to Somerset this summer,” said Gayle. “They are a great club and hopefully I can make a key contribution to their T20 campaign this year.”Somerset director of cricket Brian Rose added: “Chris is a tremendously exciting player and one of the people who would get into any World T20 XI.”He is a tremendous all-rounder; his batting is outstanding, he bowls and can open the attack with his off-spinners and he is also a brilliant fielder, so we are absolutely delighted.”