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England have been given yet another injury concern ahead of the World Cup after Eoin Morgan was ruled out of the final one-day international against Australia at Perth with a fractured finger

Andrew McGlashan in Perth05-Feb-2011England have been given yet another injury concern ahead of the World Cup after Eoin Morgan was ruled out of the final one-day international against Australia at Perth with a fractured finger.Morgan first felt pain during the fourth one-day international at Adelaide on January 26 but played the next two matches at Brisbane and Sydney. However, the problem has got worse over the past week and an x-ray confirmed the nature of the injury. He will fly back to the UK and see a specialist before his World Cup future is decided.”Morgan will return to the UK and will see a specialist to determine the full extent of the injury and a treatment and rehabilitation schedule,” an ECB statement said. “A decision about his participation in the World Cup will be made following the specialist’s assessment of the injury.”Although Morgan has had a poor one-day series against Australia, making 106 runs at 17.66, his absence for the World Cup would be a major blow after he established himself as one of the finest finishers in the game since switching his national team from Ireland to England.It also creates the potential of a serious headache for the England selectors with fitness clouds hanging over a host of players. Graeme Swann (back), Tim Bresnan (calf), Ajmal Shahzad (hamstring), Paul Collingwood (back) and Chris Tremlett (side) have all flown home early from Australia and all except Tremlett are in the World Cup squad.Andy Flower said on Friday that Bresnan was the most serious concern and with Morgan’s injury there is a real chance England won’t have 11 fit players available for the warm-up matches against Canada and Pakistan. Swann and Collingwood have been granted paternity leave and won’t arrive until two days before the opening group match against Netherlands on February 22 even if they are passed fit.Before the news of Morgan’s injury was revealed, Andrew Strauss said he was looking forward to having a full-strength team back together after his depleted side was comprehensively beaten by Australia. “The injuries are a bit of a setback, but it looks like the guys are going to be fit for the World Cup so in some ways it might be a blessing in disguise.”Morgan’s absence also means a weakened batting order for the final ODI against Australia with the likelihood that Michael Yardy will have to bat at No. 6 and Luke Wright at seven.

Ambati Rayudu, R Sathish, Dhawal Kulkarni and Siddharth Trivedi, some of the most sought-after uncapped players in the IPL, have decided to stay back with the franchises where they gained prominence

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jan-2011Ambati Rayudu, R Sathish, Dhawal Kulkarni and Siddharth Trivedi, some of the most sought-after uncapped players in the IPL, have decided to stay back with the franchises where they gained prominence. Rayudu, Sathish and Kulkarni will remain with Mumbai Indians while Trivedi has opted to play for Rajasthan Royals, with whom he won the inaugural IPL in 2008.It is understood that four franchises were keen to rope in Kulkarni, who has been with Mumbai from the first year. There were also many takers for the pair of Rayudu and Sathish, both of whom had joined Mumbai last year after cancelling their contracts with the rebel Indian Cricket League in 2009. Both made an instant impact and were vital in Mumbai reaching the finals in the third season.Rayudu impressed with the bat, scoring 246 runs at a strike-rate of 144.71, and carried that form into the Ranji season in which he was Baroda’s top-scorer with 566 runs, including an unbeaten double-century against Orissa. Sathish made a name for himself as a livewire in the field during the third season of the IPL, and averaged 42.57 for Tamil Nadu over the 2010-11 Ranji season.The other players who have also decided to stay with their former teams include left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati of Goa and Tamil Nadu batsman Abhinav Mukund. The pair played for Chennai Super Kings in the previous three years. Interestingly, Chennai was the only team which decided to stick to the winning squad it had built over the three years, fighting hard during the auction to retain most of the original squad. Chennai have also signed Tamil Nadu seamer Yo Mahesh, who was part of Delhi Daredevils’ squad for the first three seasons.In addition to Trivedi the other players Rajasthan retained were Abhishek Raut and Aditya Dole, who played for them last season. But they failed to retain Bengal batsman Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, who signed with Pune Warriors. Jhunjhunwala, another ICL player, had joined Rajasthan for the third season of the IPL, and proved to be an effective batsman and a handy fielder too. Delhi Daredevils lost out on the services of the seasoned allrounder Rajat Bhatia, who moved eastwards to Kolkata Knight Riders.

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said that an online ticket ballot is the best way to deal with the heavy demand for the ruling body’s “flagship event”

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2011Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, shook off the World Cup ticketing fiasco, saying that the ticket ballot which is about to be instituted for the finals and semi-finals was the best way to deal with the heavy demand for the ruling body’s “flagship event”.”It is a much fairer way,” Lorgat said. “It will avoid the kind of physical risks we want to avoid and I am confident that will be a much better system to release tickets.” The lack of a centralised ticketing system in the Indian arm of the three-nation World Cup has exposed two major issues: the lopsided availability of public tickets as well as a delayed distribution system by local associations, which has led to anger from fans and disgruntlement amongst sponsors.Speaking in Bangalore, Lorgat described the police baton-charge on the crowd queuing outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium as, “unfortunate” but that “you have to accept that the rush for tickets is an indication of how popular this game is. Those are scenes we would not like to see, none of us would like to see that. It is also a fact that the local police and the local associations know best how to handle it. It is something we have no control over.”Lorgat said the letter written by the ICC’s legal head David Becker to ICC president Sharad Pawar in his capacity as the chairman of the central co-ordination committee, “was not an issue”. He said he had spoken to Pawar and the tournament director Ratnakar Shetty, several times since the letter became public and was sure the issue would be resolved.”From time to time we turn to the President or in this case the chairman of the central co-ordinating committee, Mr Sharad Pawar, to intervene or to assist us with issues we are having difficulty with. In the past, whether it was issues related to visa or any other, the good offices of Mr Pawar have been very supportive and he has assisted us to sort out those issues. I’m sure that in this instance as well having turned to him for that sort of support, we will get it…
Professor Shetty is entitled to react in the fashion that he did but I have no qualms about that.”He said that contrary to common perception, and the tone of the Becker letter, “there’s no sponsor who wants to walk away. In fact many are wanting to come in. That’s again a reflection of how fortunate we are and the strength of the game, but yes, we do have challenges with managing the requests of sponsors and their needs to receive physical tickets so that they can distribute it further to the public.”Lorgat did point out that the hosts of every ICC event were in charge of the sale of tickets and that the ICC sets and agrees on certain policies with them “well in advance” along with “several commitments” It is a fact of life that we have commitments to the sponsors who support us over a long period in our cycle. It is a fact that local hosts have a commitment whether it is to local organisations, whether it is to clubs, whether through the BCCI.”Lorgat said the diverse distribution of tickets through various means across Indian venues mean that they find their hands of cricket lovers. “What is unfortunate is that there is a few number that go to the public as a general sale, but whether it is through the clubs, through associates, through ICC channels they do arrive at the door of the public.”All through his media conference Lorgat repeated made the claim that the ticketing crisis and the official ticketing website crashing when tickets for the final went on sale, proved the ‘strength of the game’, and that the supply would never be able to catch up with demand. “This is how wonderful the growth in our sport has been. It is a reflection of the popularity of the game. It certainly negates those naysayers about the demise of 50-over cricket; it shows you what the flagship event means. Sure we need to find better ways of being able to distribute tickets, but the reality is if tomorrow [we had] a 100,000-seater, we would still not have enough tickets to satisfy the demand.”When asked when a centralised ticketing system would be put in place by the organisers of the 2015 World Cup, Lorgat said, “If my memory serves me correctly, that’s exactly how the 2015 will work in any event in Australia and New Zealand. These are the reflections we will have to consider and look at improving the mechanisms in future.”With the World Cup being the first use of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) in an ODI, Lorgat said that he thought the “bold decision” had been a good one. The future of UDRS in ODIs, he said, would only be made after a review of the feedback of the World Cup experience at a ICC cricket committee meeting in May. “That expert committee will consider all of the feedback and will decide on the way forward in so far as one-day cricket is concerned.”

Jimmy Kamande has been sacked as Kenya’s captain in the light of the country’s dismal performance at the World Cup.

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2011Jimmy Kamande has been sacked as Kenya’s captain in the light of the country’s dismal performance at the World Cup.The announcement is the latest move by Cricket Kenya in the aftermath of the tournament and a poor two or three years leading up to it. Eldine Baptiste, the coach, was removed earlier in the week.”Cricket Kenya has taken the decision to stand down Jimmy Kamande as captain as part of the widespread changes we are making during our post World Cup review,” explained the board’s chief executive, Tom Sears.”Given that the national squad don’t have any fixtures until July, when they feature in the African Cricket Association Twenty 20 tournament, and we are in the process of recruiting a new coach and appointing a new selection panel, we will not be announcing a replacement at this stage.”It’s important that when the coach and selectors begin their roles they have a blank sheet of paper to work from. They will have an opportunity to assess all eligible players and identify those they feel have the ability, character and desire to be part of our future plans.”They will also have the mandate to recommend the player they feel will make the best captain, someone who can lead the team by example, contribute significantly and positively on and off the field and restore some pride back into cricket in Kenya.”Kamande only took charge in October 2010 but was unable to reverse a decline in results for a team which had been on the slide for several years. While in the normal course of events he might have been expected to be given a longer stab at the job, there were reports of serious problems within the squad during the tournament and he seems to have paid the price for that as much as on-the-field performances.

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Pune Warriors and Kolkata Knight Riders in Navi Mumbai

The Preview by Nitin Sundar18-May-2011

Match facts

Thursday, May 19, Navi Mumbai
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)This time, he will be up against men wearing this jersey•Indian Premier League

Big Picture

Going into their last two league games, Kolkata Knight Riders’ task is not as clear as they would like it to be: if Kings XI Punjab lose their last game, Kolkata can make the play-offs even if they lose both their matches. If Punjab win, though, Kolkata might need two wins to be assured of a spot in the final four. Sourav Ganguly – the biggest player to emerge from Kolkata and a name that was synonymous with their franchise until the most recent player auction – has a chance to stop them. It happens only in the IPL.Yet, both Ganguly and his team-mates at Pune Warriors will know that they go in as rank outsiders. Kolkata have been consistent through the season, with their big-ticket players pulling their weight at different stages. The domestic Indian players have played their part too, especially Iqbal Abdulla and Manoj Tiwary. Pune, on the other hand, are out of contention after suffering an early-season slump that spanned seven successive losses. Ganguly looked like a batsman who hadn’t held a bat in 12 months in his first outing, and fell for a duck in his second. Does Pune’s campaign have a sting in its tail? Kings XI Punjab will be hoping it does, since a Kolkata defeat will keep their chances alive.

Form guide (most recent first)

Kolkata: LWLWW (fourth in points table)
Pune: LWWLL (ninth in points table)

Team talk

Kolkata have seemed keen to open with Eoin Morgan, though the move has had little success. Morgan is not with the team anymore, and Shakib Al Hasan might be the one coming in for him. Given the lack of muscle in the middle order – excluding Yusuf Pathan – Gautam Gambhir might consider moving himself up the order.Pune will mull over the option of replacing Bhuvneshwar Kumar with Shrikant Wagh, who was impressive at the DY Patil in the initial part of the season. Will Ganguly continue to play at No. 3?Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team Selector.

In the spotlight

Time is running out for Robin Uthappa to deliver returns on the tremendous investment Pune made on him. He has scored 252 runs in 12 innings, but has not produced a single half-century. He has paraded all his shots this season, without displaying the right kind of shot-selection.

Brett Lee has set up a few sparkling mini-battles with Uthappa in the past – a league match in the 2007 CB series, and a 2010 IPL fixture being the most notable. There’s something irresistible about a contest between a fast bowler who likes to bowl straight, and a batsman who likes to hit it back, just as straight. Who will triumph when they clash on Thursday?

Prime numbers

• Kolkata haven’t hit enough sixes this year. Tiwary, with 12, is their leading six-hitter but he is only 14th on the overall list. Yusuf has only managed 11.
• Rahul Sharma is the third-highest wicket-taker this season, with 16 wickets. He has also been the most economical bowler (5.33 per over) among those who have at least six wickets.

The chatter

“We need one win from two games and that’s all I will be telling the team. I’m not obsessed with the points table. Our priority right now is to get the two points on Thursday.”

Scott Styris was star of the show as Essex crushed Gloucestershire by 122 runs in their Friends Life t20 clash at Chelmsford

03-Jun-2011
ScorecardScott Styris was star of the show as Essex crushed Gloucestershire by 122 runs in their Friends Life t20 clash at Chelmsford.He struck an unbeaten 39 from just 17 deliveries to lead his side to a formidable total of 204 for 4. Then he underlined his all-round qualities by picking up 3 for 12 as the visitors were bowled out for a miserable 82 in 13.3 overs.Styris and Ryan ten Doeschate put together an unbroken partnership of 71 in five overs at the end of the Essex innings. Styris struck four successive sixes off left-arm seamer David Payne, while ten Doeschate joined in the fun with 32 from 16 balls as he helped himself to four fours and a six.Their efforts followed a partnership of 85 for the fifth wicket in nine overs between Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah. Bopara fell one short of a half-century, his runs arriving from 36 deliveries, while Shah’s 40 came from 30 balls before both were dismissed in the same over by left-arm spinner Ed Young.It all proved too much for Gloucestershire. They seemed to be still shellshocked by the late onslaught from Styris and ten Doeschate when they embarked upon their reply. Their first three batsmen failed to trouble the scores, New Zealander Tim Southee removing Alex Gidman and Chris Taylor with successive balls in his first over.Then Graham Napier bowled Hamish Marshall to leave the visitors 4 for 3, all of those runs coming in extras. From that moment onwards, the best the visitors could hope for was some semblance of respectability.But even that was to prove beyond them as the Essex bowlers, backed up by some fine fielding, turned the screw. Two more wickets fell before the 50 was raised, in the ninth over.Kane Williamson hauled out on the midwicket boundary to Bopara to provide Chris Wright with success before left-arm spinner Tim Phillips bowled Kevin O’Brien. Phillips then breached the defence of Will Gidman immediately afterwards, and the innings went from bad to worse as Essex went on their destructive course.Styris was to pick up two wickets in an over, and fittingly, it was he who brought the match to an end when he had Richard Coughtrie caught by Matt Walker. It left Gloucestershire suffering their second heavy defeat in as many days, following on from their eight-wicket thrashing at the hands of Surrey.For Essex, it was their first victory of the campaign, after their defeat 24 hours earlier against Sussex.

England’s run of six successive victories came to an end as they were blown away by Australia, who coasted to victory with seven wickets and 90 balls to spare after bundling England out for 168 at Lord’s

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2011
ScorecardJessica Cameron celebrates removing Sarah Taylor as England’s top-order were flattened by Australia•Getty Images

England’s run of six successive wins came to an end as they were blown away by Australia, who coasted to victory with seven wickets and 90 balls to spare after bundling England out for 168 at Lord’s. With both teams assured of places in the quadrangular final at Wormsley on Thursday the match had nothing more than bragging rights at stake but Australia will take heart from piercing England’s bubble.In a dominating performance Shelley Nitschke, Meg Lanning and Alex Blackwell led the chase but the bulk of the work was done by the bowlers, who made Charlotte Edwards’ decision to bat first backfire horribly. Edwards and Danielle Wyatt were pinned back by accurate new-ball bowling and England had just 18 on the board when Edwards was dismissed for 2, from 27 balls, in the eighth over.Laura Marsh fell one over later for 3 and Wyatt and Claire Taylor fell in the 11th and 12th overs to leave England floundering at 26 for 4. Clea Smith and Sarah Coyte shared the four wickets evenly and England were unable to rally. Lydia Greenway continued her good form, making 34 and sharing partnerships of 28 with Sarah Taylor and 42 with Arran Brindle, but wickets kept falling. When Heather Knight was out for 13 England were 127 for 8 and 150 looked a luxury but Holly Colvin (29) and Danielle Hazell (19) carried them over the mark.A target of 168 was always going to be difficult to defend and Nitschke and Lanning did the key job of preventing the early wickets England needed to get back in the game. Instead they solidly built an opening stand of 54 that shut the home side out. Lanning was the more positive of the two, striking nine boundaries in her 40-ball 43 while Nitschke dropped anchor.Leah Poulton fell to Wyatt for a duck but Blackwell rushed the chase to its conclusion with eight boundaries in her half-century. Nitschke was run out after reaching her fifty but by that stage Australia were as good as home. It was England’s first loss of the international summer, but all will be forgotten if they win the decider.

A round up of the third day of matches of the European Championship Division One Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-2011
Group AItaly’s Andy Northcote had an impressive day•ICC/Cricket Europe

Norway overcame Croatia in a tight chase in Port Soif. The Norway bowlers had done well to restrict Croatia to 105 for 4, opener Paul Vujnovich making 48. Norway were in trouble in their reply, struggling at 27 for 3 at one stage, but Shahbazz Butt’s patient 22 (off 45 balls) and Iftikhar Hussain’s aggressive, unbeaten 56, which included five fours and two sixes, took Norway to victory with five balls to spare.Italy cruised to an eight-wicket win over Gibraltar in St Peter Port. Andy Northcote starred in an all-round effort, taking 4 for 14, backed up by seamer Alauddin’s three-for, and making an unbeaten 37 in the chase. His bowling exploits restricted Gibraltar to 81, and his knock steered Italy to victory with more than 10 overs to spare.Austria sealed a tight eight-run win over Guernsey in Castel. Opener Aman Deep’s knock of 40 and Imran Asif’s unbeaten 20, despite a poor effort from the rest of the middle and lower orders, took Austria to a competitive 130. In their response, Guernsey appeared to be progressing smoothly, with Jeremy Frith (39) and GH Smit taking their team to 104 for 3. However, things went awry when they tried to step up the pace, and some quick wickets towards the end meant Guernsey could only manage 122. Lakmal Kasturiarachchige was impressive for Austria, making 25 and taking two wickets.Austria were no match for Norway in St Peter Port, however. The Norway bowling attack comprising Waheed Aamir, Waseem Gill, Shahbaz Butt, Shahid Ahmed and Babar Shahzad skittled out Austria for 64. Only two Austrian batsmen reached double-figures. In their response, nine overs were all it took Norway to complete the win.A combined batting effort helped Gibraltar beat Croatia by seven wickets in Castel. Seamer Ross Harkins bowled economically, conceding just 17 in his four overs and taking two wickets, to keep Croatia to 120. Opener Paul Vujnovich made 34, but his performance was bettered in the Gibraltar reply. Opener David Coram made a run-a-ball 36, adding 41 for the second wicket with Mark Bacarese. Those who followed chipped in with useful knocks to win with an over to spare.Guernsey thumped Italy by 38 runs in Port Soif to take the top spot in the Group A rankings. Opener Tim Ravenscroft smashed 70 in 37 balls, hitting nine fours and three sixes, and was supported by captain Stuart Le Prevost in a quickfire 41-run stand. Le Provost made 45 and thanks to some attacking batting down the order, Guernsey were able to surge to 188. Italy opener Andy Northcote made 53 in the chase but amid lack of support from the rest, his team could only rack up 150. Ravenscroft starred with the ball as well, taking 3 for 22.Group BFrance were bowled out for 39 in their eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Denmark in Grainville. Legspinner Bobby Chawla grabbed 4 for 15 while Adnan Musharif top scored for France with 24. In their response, Denmark needed just 6.5 overs to complete the chase.Captain Asif Khan and Imran Chaudhry struck half-centuries to help Germany chase down a target of 139 set by Israel in St Clement. The pair came together at 31 for 3 when Israel, led by Eleizar Samson’s triple-strike, had the upper hand. Khan made an unbeaten 59, while Chaudhry was the more attacking of the two, striking two fours and three sixes in his 60 not out. The win was sealed with 3.1 overs to spare. For Israel, opener Daniel Hyman top-scored with 51 but the knock was in vain.Jersey comfortably upstaged Belgium in St. Martin, winning by eight wickets. Seamer Anthony Hawkins-Kay grabbed 3 for 19 in a collective bowling display to bowl out Belgium for 85. Opener Edward Farley led the way in the chase, making an unbeaten 36, as Jersey sealed the win in the 12th over.Belgium put up a better fight against Germany, but fell short by five runs in St Clement. Though some of their batsmen got starts – Jamie Farmiloe and Shaival Mehta made 31 – they were not able to push on. Syed Shah grabbed three wickets and despite a couple of cameos down the order, Belgium were bowled out in the final over. For Germany, opener Dilshan Rajudeen made 58 and there were useful contributions from the rest to set up a match-winning score.France prevailed in a low-scoring encounter against Israel in St. Saviour. Seamers David Massil and Samson had done well, taking three wickets to bowl out France for 112. Opener Abdul Rehman Quereshi top-scored with 35 and there was limited support from the rest. But the leg-spin of Zika Ali proved too much for Israel: he grabbed 4 for 18, while Quereshi conceded just 12 runs in his four overs and grabbed a wicket. The highest score in the Israel innings was 14, and they folded for 80.Denmark knocked down Jersey by 58 runs in St. Martin. Half-centuries from opener Freddie Klokker and captain Michael Pederson helped Denmark post an imposing 168. Chawla starred again with the ball, taking three wickets as Jersey were kept to 110 for 9 in the chase. Both teams find themselves at the top of the Group B rankings, though Denmark are ahead with a higher net run-rate.

The eight cricketers who refused contracts offered by Cricket Kenya now face a bleak future

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2011The eight cricketers who refused contracts offered by Cricket Kenya now face a bleak future in the game after the board refused to meet with them, and then their local franchises unanimously decided not to pick them again this season.ESPNcricinfo found out that while the group publicly objected to new-style contracts, they were also trying to force the board to reinstate several of those dumped after the shambolic World Cup earlier this year. They objected to the new deals which partially depended on their on-field performances, and when it became clear the board would not back down, they changed their demands to that of wanting more pay.But while in the past such tactics usually resulted in a climb-down by the board, this time the nine were outflanked. When the players refused to meet with board officials last weekend and then staged a last-minute boycott of the national league matches, the board offered contracts to up-and-coming players instead.Faced with that, it seems the players subsequently offered to meet with the board, but that was declined.”We decided that there wasn’t any point in meeting the players,” a board official told ESPNcricinfo. “The franchise teams have unanimously decided to suspend the players for the rest of the new competitions for this year which will deprive them of earnings and, as the national squad will be picked on the basis of performances in these events, it will be a difficult few months for these players as a result of their actions.”The hard-line stand will be welcomed by those who have felt the players have had too much power for several years, although the local media, who have backed them almost unquestioningly, are unlikely to be as supportive.The eight are Alex Obanda, Shem Ngoche, James Ngoche, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Elijah Otieno, Maurice Ouma, Nelson Odhiambo, Alfred Luseno

ESPNcricinfo previews the CLT20 match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Somerset

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran02-Oct-2011

Match facts

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Somerset, October 3, Bangalore
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Can Jos Buttler and Somerset end Royal Challengers Bangalore’s chances?•Getty Images

Big Picture

Two weeks into the Champions League T20, Royal Challengers Bangalore are the only team without a point. Their net run-rate is so poor that even two wins in their remaining games may not be enough for them to progress. To make things worse, rain is forecast for Monday. Two matches have already been abandoned in Bangalore, and another one will end Royal Challengers’ qualification hopes.The problem for Royal Challengers has been the bowling – they lost both matches despite scoring around 170. One man in the spotlight will be Dirk Nannes, the senior fast bowler in the absence of the injured Zaheer Khan. Nannes has been wicketless in both games, going for 71 runs in his seven overs. He will be expected to provide better support to Daniel Vettori.Somerset, on the other hand, are the only unbeaten team in the competition. Even if Monday’s game is rained out, they still retain a good chance of making the semi-finals. They haven’t been in the middle for more than a week, since the victory over Kolkata Knight Riders on September 25. Since then, they have been bolstered by the arrival of Craig Kieswetter and Jos Buttler.

Watch out for …

Virat Kohli was the only player the Royal Challengers retained before this year’s IPL auction. He repaid his franchise’s faith by piling up 557 runs in the IPL season, second best in the league behind team-mate Chris Gayle. Kohli has also grown into a senior position in the side, frequently advising the captain and helping out with field placements. Kohli had talked about the increased responsibility on him to deliver in the middle order after the injury to AB de Villiers. Following his duck against Kolkata Knight Riders, he will want to make amends.Jos Buttler missed out on England’s limited-overs trip to India later this month, but he was outstanding for Somerset this season. One of the highlights was a 72-ball 86 in the CB40 final that nearly ended Somerset’s run of second-place finishes on the county circuit. He missed the initial part of the CLT20 because of his international commitments and this will be his first chance to show Indian audiences his talent.

Team news

Somerset went with a spin-heavy XI for the washed-out game against South Australia, selecting as many as four slow bowlers. Unless the track at the Chinnaswamy Stadium is dramatically different, they will stick to the same side.Royal Challengers’ bowling has been poor so far, but they don’t have too many options to change the line-up. Abhimanyu Mithun was dropped after an expensive opening match, while his replacement Raju Bhatkal finished with 2-0-20-0 in the second game. Johan van der Wath, who has been drafted in to replace the injured AB de Villiers, could slot in lower down the order to bolster both the bowling and batting. Asad Pathan is another option, or they might draft in Arun Karthik to free Dilshan from keeping duties and use him as an offspinner.

Stats and trivia

• Royal Challengers and New South Wales are the only teams whose batsmen haven’t made a half-century in the tournament.
• Nannes and Dwayne Bravo are the only two players to have represented three different teams in the first three seasons of the CLT20.

Quotes

“When I saw that boundary in Bangalore I thought of becoming a batsman.”

“I think we still have a good chance. Our team has a lot of confidence and we hope to beat Somerset.”