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Kumar Sangakkara was unhappy with Sri Lanka’s capitulation to South Africa’s spinners in the quarter-final at the SCG

Andrew Fidel Fernando at the SCG18-Mar-2015Kumar Sangakkara was unhappy with Sri Lanka’s capitulation to South Africa’s spinners in the quarter-final at the SCG. JP Duminy, who picked up a hat-trick, and Imran Tahir, who finished with 4 for 26, ensured the early pressure did not dissipate and helped bowl Sri Lanka out for 133.Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Kyle Abbott had been able to move the ball at pace and unsettle the batsmen, as Sri Lanka reached 47 for 2 in the 15th over when spin was brought on. Only three overs had cost more than five runs until then, and South Africa had bowled four maidens too.Sangakkara, playing what became his final ODI innings, had attempted to hold his end up in the hopes of attacking later on. But he was the ninth man out for 45 off 96 deliveries as Duminy and Tahir were just as good in strangling the runs and forcing batsmen to make mistakes.”The most disappointing thing was that we lost seven wickets to spin when South Africa have a pace-dominant attack,” he said, “But that’s the way quarter-finals go and if you’re not good enough you are disappointed at the end. The wicket probably helped because it was a bit two paced at the start, but we should be disappointed with ourselves the way we played because we just weren’t good enough to get the 250, 260-run score that would have really been difficult to chase on that track.””A lot of people around the world who’ve been watching must be as disappointed as we are. We’ve got to put our hands up and say we weren’t good enough on the day, but the boys tried their best and they can be proud”Along with Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene was also retiring from one-day cricket and unlike the last World T20, they were unable to grab a trophy on their way out.”He’ll be terribly disappointed, but that’s part and parcel of the game. You can’t have everything. There are no fairy-tale endings, you want it to be that good, but if it isn’t, it isn’t. No matter how much you want to win a World Cup or you want to end on a high, if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen and that doesn’t mean you have to walk away disappointed.””The most disappointing thing was that we lost seven wickets to spin when South Africa have a pace-dominant attack”•Getty Images

The Sangakkara-Jayawardene combination has lasted 15 years and the two batsmen have the second-most prolific partnership in ODIs. A part of their success was down to their chemistry.”When I got into the side, Mahela was two years into playing. I think he was the vice-captain of the side and he was already looked up to. For someone so young, he had a lot of respect in the dressing room. When I walked in, we were the same age. We hung out together, went for dinner together and that’s how we became fast friends.”It was great to bat with him because he was always looking to dominate and you could slip under the radar and just coast along. We always knew [how each other plays]. He’d take a back seat and I’d take over sometimes and it’s been an absolute privilege playing with him. Along with Aravinda de Silva, I think Mahela has been an exceptional player for Sri Lanka who’s scored a lot of runs. He’s made a hundred in a lot of victories, and he’s given a lot on and off the field to the country.”There were the odd occasions when the sparks would fly, Sangakkara said, but there would be some satisfaction in stepping away from the game as well. “It was always friendly, there was never any rivalry between the two, other than when we played warm-up games. Then, that was highly competitive.”But also, sometimes there is a bit of relief when your career ends. The high-pressure situations, the warm-ups, the ice baths, the recovery sessions – all of that, all repeated over 16, 17 years can get a bit much.”Sangakkara will continue to play Tests, most likely until August this year, but said that the team would continue to thrive without him, under Angelo Mathews’ leadership. “I definitely think the team is in a better place than when I started. If you take some of the younger players, if I can compare myself to them at the same age, I think these guys are quite a ways ahead of where I was. That’s quite exciting.”There’s no secret to playing good cricket. It’s making the best use of your talent, working as hard as you can in the nets, and then making the right decisions out in the middle. I definitely think Sri Lankan cricket has progressed leaps and bounds, and I have no fear about the future of Sri Lankan cricket. I think our guys will do very, very well.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board has issued show-cause notices to five players, including allrounder and T20 captain Shahid Afridi, for appearing in an advertising commercial without the permission of the board

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2014The Pakistan Cricket Board has issued show-cause notices to five players, including allrounder and T20 captain Shahid Afridi, for appearing in an advertising commercial without the permission of the board. Pacers Mohammad Irfan, Anwar Ali, Wahab Riaz and batsman Fawad Alam are the other players to receive notices.The five players recently appeared in an advertisement for one of the sponsors of the recent series’ against Australia and New Zealand in the UAE. The players are believed to have violated the terms of their central contract, which state that they cannot participate in any commercial activity without the prior permission of the board. Players are required to obtain a No-Objection Certificate from the board before undertaking any commercial activities.A PCB spokesperson said the board has asked the players for an explanation and has given them a week to respond, after which it will take a decision on the issue.

Lionel Cann, one of the most experienced Bermuda players, has refused to travel to Uganda next month for the ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament over security concerns following news of a foiled terrorist plot on September 13 in Kampala

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2014Lionel Cann, one of the most experienced Bermuda players, has refused to travel to Uganda next month for the ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament over security concerns following news of a foiled terrorist plot on September 13 in Kampala.”I have already told the Bermuda Cricket Board that I will not be travelling if the tournament remains in Uganda,” Cann was quoted as saying in the . “It’s great to play for my country and I think it’s the biggest honour ever, and something I will never turn down. But, in these circumstances, there is no way that I can go to that country.”At least 11 USA players have already said they are likely to pull out of the tour to Uganda, even as the US Embassy in Kampala issued a 24-hour warning for all American citizens in the African country to stay at home or seek shelter in a safe place.A US Embassy spokesperson said the plot was organised by a terror cell from al-Shabaab, the Somalia-based group behind the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya last year. Nineteen people were arrested by Uganda police over the weekend in Kampala in connection with the terror plot, according to an Associated Press report. A police spokesperson stated that the suspects’ intentions “were very, very clear” in what was the planning of an “imminent” attack.”To see that terrorists have been arrested in the same city where we are going to be playing, obviously that is a major concern to me,” Cann said. “Being a family guy and having children, I will definitely not be travelling to that part of the world to play.”In a letter to all competing teams in the tournament, Tim Anderson, the ICC global development manager, said that the governing body was in touch with authorities in Uganda. “I wish to advise you that ICC’s security advisers are continuing to co-ordinate with various authorities on the ground in Kampala to understand the extent of this incident, and to ascertain the impact it may have on staging the event in Uganda.”

Trent Bridge, the venue for the first Test, is rightly being considered India’s biggest test, but the challenge lies in the quality of the bowling and overhead conditions, according to Steve Birks, the man in charge of the pitch. With four days to go, the pitch does not look green or menacing from a distance. However, if you look at it up close, it is covered with eight to nine millimetres of straw-coloured grass, which is not live but can provide seamers assistance.”The grass is dry, and we have been pushing it in every day,” Birks said. “We have been watering around the edges. We don’t want teams bowled out for 180.”Stuart Broad’s grumblings about the pitches provided for the Sri Lanka series have had no impact on the preparation of this surface, Birks said. “You can’t try to keep too many people happy,” Birks said. “Bowlers want one thing. Batsmen want one thing. If you can just do your best, it is up to them to perform.”One of Broad’s concerns – the poor carry at Lord’s and Headingley – is not expected to resurface. “We are trying to get a bit of carry,” Birks said, knocking the surface to demonstrate how hard it is underneath the brown grass. “If we get carry we are happy. There should be good carry. Four days to go, it is hard. Really hard.”Coming to their backyard, James Anderson and Broad should not need to worry too much: they take wickets in their sleep at Trent Bridge. Anderson has struck 49 times for 17 runs apiece, and Broad has 21 wickets at 23.The length of the grass on the pitch is crucial. In 2011, Birks was quoted in magazine as saying: “When we won the Championship, we were cutting the wickets at 7mm and last year we flattened them out a bit more at 5mm. I don’t want to pre-empt what Mick Newell [the Nottinghamshire coach] has to say but I’ve a feeling we might be changing that next season.”How much shorter are we going to go from the current length? “We have got 8mm at the moment,” Birks said. “Monday-Tuesday, we will trim it to down to maybe 6, and then have a look at that [and see] if we need to go lower. Looking dry. Nice straw-coloured look to it.”That sounds somewhere between angel and monster.Birks might say he does not want teams getting bowled out for 180, but that has been the general trend at Trent Bridge. When India came here in 2011, both first innings ended pretty early before the pitch settled down. The same happened in the thrilling Ashes Test last year, when England’s first innings lasted 59 overs, and Australia’s 65. And yet we had a match that was alive on the final afternoon. In the last first-class match at Trent Bridge, Somerset were bowled out for 168 on the first day, but the next two innings were 461 and 402.All signs point to putting teams in, but Birks thinks it looks like a bat-first pitch. “Looking at the surface, it has looked like a decent bat-first wicket,” he said, “but then we have bowled first some days and we have got teams out easy. It all depends on the bowlers and the overhead conditions.”The week before the Test has been dry, allowing smooth preparation, but the next few days have rain forecast. It rained all of Friday night too, which could help the pitch retain some moisture and even provide a tinge of green.The flattening out of the surface in later stages of matches has been consistent with the changing nature of all the pitches in England. The new drainage system has made sure the moisture disappears much faster than before. Trent Bridge, though, has retained help for seamers. “We did struggle with it for the first two years but then most of us got used to it,” Birks said. “We try to leave a fraction more moisture in it. We water the ends a lot more, leading up to the game.”

There was a time when Tim Bresnan was considered a lucky mascot for England. He tasted victory in each of his first 13 Tests – a record only bettered by Adam Gilchrist – and picked up a winner’s medal at his first major tournament when England won the 2010 World T20 in the Caribbean.The last couple of years have not been quite so rosy, as injuries interrupted his progression and then England entered a tailspin almost as soon as they touched down in Australia. He began that tour recovering from a back injury, missing the first two Tests, but alongside Stuart Broad he has been practically everywhere with England across three continents over the last five months.Reliable as Yorkshire tea, Bresnan is still one of the players England can wheel out to provide some pithy wisdom when the chips are down. They have endured a horrendous run, losing 17 matches out of 21 in all formats, but Bresnan is the sort of man who can say England believe they can win three in a row if they need to at the World T20 and sound like he means it.”We’re still confident,” he said. “Things haven’t gone our way over the last few months but we still believe we’re playing good cricket, turning out good performances. But stringing together everything at the same time is a problem for us. If we can find that spark and everything clicks, we can beat anyone in the world.””A couple of lads have been having good games, but you need three or four players to influence games and get you the win. We haven’t really been able to do that.”England’s next game is against Sri Lanka, who have won two from two and are one of the favourites for the title. There were some encouraging signs against New Zealand before rain – fractionally after the thunder and lightning – saw England end up on the wrong side of the Duckworth-Lewis equation again. The squad have been playing together for the last month, having toured the West Indies in preparation for the tournament, and Bresnan thinks they are not far from clicking.”It’s more of a mindset is T20. We certainly have the power players, we have everything in the armoury to win games of cricket,” Bresnan said. “We just can’t put our finger on why we’ve not been able to piece together a good performance.”We’ve been playing six weeks of T20. It’s been good, we’ve gelled as a team. I think we’re still confident in the dressing-room despite not winning many games. I think we all realise we need that win to kick us off – and we’ll be off and running.”Much has been made of England’s regeneration and Bresnan put as positive a spin as possible on their travails over the winter. “They say winning hides a multitude of sins and it can do that in your own performance as well as the team’s. It’s only when you lose, that’s only when you analyse in-depth stuff that has actually gone wrong or stuff that might have been going wrong for a while.”Questions have been asked of England’s skills in this format, which appear to have slipped as players from other countries hone their abilities in the more high-octane franchise leagues around the globe. Their somewhat frantic attempts to clear the ropes in the opening game against New Zealand were a partial success, with England recording the highest T20 score on the ground, but it still lacked one batsman stamping an indelible mark with a sizeable innings.”I don’t think that is the case,” Bresnan said, when asked if England were falling behind. “I still believe we’re doing the right things. We’re always analysing the footage of the good sides and seeing what the other lads are doing. It’s not necessarily trying to emulate them, it’s trying to put our own twist on a winning formula. We’re looking to do that over the course of the next three games.”Although the bowlers did not get much of an outing on Saturday, they will be under just as much scrutiny as the batsmen against Sri Lanka. A video compilation called ‘When Yorkers Go Wrong’ is surely waiting to be compiled and uploaded to YouTube but Bresnan is confident the delivery can be an important tool for England, even if bowlers are often accused of forgetting how to bowl them.”Yorker is the ball if you can get it right. As we’ve seen if you get it wrong it can disappear or go for an inside edge for four,” he said. “You have to practice but it is more mental than anything. It is a difficult ball to bowl when the pressure is on. You’re aiming at a four-inch square in front of the stumps and it’s not very easy to hit. I feel as though it is one of my biggest weapons and the more I can get it right, the more successful we will be.”

MatériaMais Notícias

É normal haver um clima de tensão antes de uma partida decisiva. Para o Botafogo, a coisa não é diferente. Antes dos jogadores entrarem no gramado do Maracanã para enfrentar o Fluminense, no último sábado, pelo Brasileirão, Eduardo Barroca e Rodrigo Pimpão tomaram à frente e fizeram a questão de motivar os jogadores minutos antes do apito inicial. O Alvinegro venceu o duelo por 1 a 0, com gol de Alex Santana.

Em vídeo divulgado pela “Botafogo TV”, o canal do Alvinegro no Youtube, é possível ver Eduardo Barroca que não trocaria nenhum jogador do clube de General Severiano por algum atleta da equipe comandada por Fernando Diniz.

– Se nesse momento eu pudesse trocar alguém daqui por alguém de lá (Fluminense), eu não trocava ninguém, eu apostava em vocês. É gostoso demais viver a semana de vitória, é gostoso demais olhar um para o outro e ver que a vitória está no nosso ambiente. Vocês estão trabalhando muito bem. Faz junto, comemora junto, dá carrinho junto, disputa um pelo outro, é clássico – afirmou o treinador.

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Rodrigo Pimpão, por sua vez, pediu que os jogadores tivessem vontade de ganhar. De acordo com o atacante, o melhor fator para um atleta em ter uma semana de treinos após a conquista de um resultado positivo e que o time precisa se ambientar em criar um ambiente de vitórias.

– Ninguém pode querer mais que a gente. Nós treinamos muito bem essa semana, temos que colocar em prática o que a gente trabalhou, vamos demonstrar o melhor que a gente vem fazendo. Olha a alegria que é a semana inteira de trabalho com vitória, vamos nos acostumar a ganhar. Olha para o companheiro no dia seguinte e falar que fizemos o dever bem feito – exclamou.

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يواصل حكام الدوري المصري بالدرجة الثانية والثالثة، سعيهم لإنهاء أزمتهم مع مسؤولي اتحاد الكرة بشأن تأخر المستحقات المالية.

وعلم “بطولات”، أنه في ظل سعي حكام الدرجات الأدنى للحصول على مستحقاتهم المتأخرة، تتجه النية حاليًا لمطالبة حكام الدوري الممتاز بالتضامن معهم في شكواهم.

الإعلان عن اتفاقية جديدة لاستضافة “السوبر المصري للأبطال” في الإمارات.. وطريقة اختيار الفرق

ويرى الحكام أن في حالة تضامن زملائهم بالدوري الممتاز معهم، سواء من خلال مشاركة المنشورات عبر منصات التواصل الاجتماعي التي يعبرون فيها عن غضبهم من تجاهل اتحاد الكرة لمستحقاتهم أو التواصل مباشرة مع مسؤولي الجبلاية، فسيكون ذلك في صالحهم ووسيلة ضغط على اتحاد الكرة لصرف المستحقات.

يذكر، أن حكام الدوري المصري بالدرجة الثانية والثالثة، لم يحصلوا على مستحقاتهم منذ أشهر كثيرة، وتجمهر معظمهم أمام اتحاد الكرة في أكثر من مناسبة للتعبير عن غضبهم بشأن تأخير المستحقات.

Ben Brown’s unbeaten 78 held up Yorkshire after the visiting seam attack had made good use of winning the tossing and bowling first

Paul Edwards at Hove11-Sep-2013
ScorecardBen Brown’s innings saved Sussex from complete disaster•Getty ImagesThere was a curious atmosphere of immediacy and timelessness at Hove on the first day of this game: immediacy because Yorkshire now lie second in the Division One table and clearly need a win this week; timelessness because this is the penultimate first-class match of the season at this ground and the pull of Hove’s rich history and famously varied architecture is made even more powerful by the arrival of autumn.The contrast remained in one’s mind throughout the day. Yorkshire’s attack mastered the conditions in the late morning and one was reminded that a brisk, skittish breeze and the ground’s slope to the sea were problems over which bowlers like Maurice Tate and Tony Buss also triumphed. Their successes, though, did not take Sussex to the title; that moment in time did not arrive until 2003. Yorkshire, meanwhile, had won their first County Championship in 1893 and hope to celebrate their sesquicentennial anniversary with their 31st outright crown.By close of play, Andrew Gale’s men had made good progress towards winning this game. An attack which, in professional parlance, is “always at you” had limited Sussex to 276 for 9, a very decent effort on a flat pitch. Weather permitting, Yorkshire’s powerful batting line-up will hope to build a significant first-innings lead on the next two days of this game.The main obstacle towards Yorkshire claiming an even more decisive advantage came in the shape of Ben Brown, whose sparkling 93 had been a highlight of his side’s innings win at Headingley back in April. Here, Brown combined with Steve Magoffin to add 74 runs for the eighth wicket, as Adam Lyth’s failure to take a straightforward slip catch off Steve Patterson’s bowling when the Sussex wicketkeeper-batsman had 14 to his name assumed greater importance with every over that passed.After a first hour of play in which the conditions had caused Gale’s attack to struggle, Yorkshire ended the morning session in a dominant position with Sussex on 117 for 5. That was remarkable given that the home side were 58 for 1 after 14.3 overs with both Chris Nash and Michael Yardy going well. But Liam Plunkett, the third bowler to be tried from the troublesome Sea End in the first hour, produced the ball of the day to account for Nash, who could be forgiven for not being able to cope with the movement and lift the former Durham seamer generated.From that point on Sussex’s batsmen contributed a little to their side’s demise, Yardy chopping a ball from Plunkett on to the stumps and Ed Joyce being bowled behind his legs by Sidebottom for just 3. Rory Hamilton-Brown, his attacking shots invariably more impressive than his defensive efforts, then whacked Kane Williamson’s gentle and deceptive offspin for two leg-side sixes before the last ball of the same over defeated him with oh-so-gentle turn.Conditions eased a little for bowling in the afternoon. The wind dropped, the atmosphere became a little heavier and the Yorkshire attack bowled rather straighter. Patterson tore out Matt Prior’s off pole two overs after the resumption, with a ball that defeated what looked a copybook forward defensive shot. Sussex debutant Ashar Zaidi, a well-travelled league professional who scored 192 not out and took six wickets for Sussex’s second team against Durham just last week, batted coolly, albeit for just 17, before being pinned on the crease by Sidebottom.That left the home side on 164 for 7 but Lyth’s lapse at slip and the good sense shown by Brown and Magoffin shifted the balance of the day quite markedly, as the weather closed in and September’s less-benevolent aspect enveloped the ground. Brown looked a good player in making 78 not out while Magoffin exhibited admirable good sense: if the ball was pitched up, he drove it; if it was short, he kept it out.Only when the Australian seamer chased a wide-ish one from Sidebottom two overs after tea did his technique let him down. By then, though, he had made 25 and helped to change the complexion of the day’s cricket. The last significant action took place in gathering gloom, when James Anyon was bowled by Williamson. Mark Benson and Steve O’Shaughnessy took the players off soon afterwards. We shall see how good Sussex’s eventual total is over the next couple of days, hoping the forecast rain escapes this tiny portion of the coast. For it can be on such matters of meteorology that titles are decided.

Andy Flower has praised the “resolve and resilience” of his team after England’s narrow victory in the first Investec Ashes Test at Trent Bridge

George Dobell15-Jul-2013Andy Flower has praised the “resolve and resilience” of his team after England’s narrow victory in the first Investec Ashes Test at Trent Bridge.Flower, the England team director, also defended the DRS despite some controversial dismissals during the Test and expressed the belief that such an entertaining start to the series would prove beneficial to the game as a whole.”It was a sensational game,” Flower said. “I’m very proud of our team, obviously, for the resolve and the resilience they showed. They held their nerves under pressure. It was a tense game for five days. It’s obviously great to come out on top and we can go to Lord’s with real confidence. But I must say both teams provided an outstanding game of Test match cricket.”We’re in the business of winning, so to win is outstanding. They can take a lot of confidence from the way they held themselves, especially as our lead was whittled away. They were good in breaks, they were good in the middle.”Alastair Cook led them well; he showed his strength and calmness as a captain again, not to mention his catching ability. Jimmy Anderson, particularly, with the ball showed again his skill and class. I must also make mention of Ian Bell’s innings. He obviously showed real skill, but also, I think more importantly, a real determination and courage out there in the middle to bat like he did.”It’s not only meaningful for the players. We had full crowds here every day and I’m sure they’ll be like that through the rest of the series. For those people to create such a great atmosphere for the competitors to play in, but also for everyone on TV and radio hearing what was an amazing game of cricket and a special atmosphere, it’s really great for the game of cricket that we have games of this type.”While there were some issues with umpiring decisions during the game – Flower approached the match referee, Ranjan Madugalle, for clarification of ICC protocols after Aleem Dar’s not out decision for an leg before appeal against Jonathan Trott was overruled by the TV umpire, Marais Erasmus, despite a user error denying him use of the side-on Hot Spot image – Flower defended the system and insisted it helped the officials “get more decisions right than wrong.””I think that using the review system is the correct way for international cricket to go, because we get more decisions right using it,” Flower said. “I think that’s very simple and very clear. The protocol for making those decisions must be adhered to. Of course, we will never get everything right but at least using the system we get more decisions right than wrong.”Flower also defended Stuart Broad, who chose not to walk despite a thick edge that the umpire Aleem Dar did not see. “Stuart Broad, like every other batsman in international cricket, has the right to wait for the umpire to make his decision,” Flower said. “The umpire’s job is to make those decisions.”Accepting that the first Test would have drained the players of both sides, Flower expressed his confidence in the “fitness” and “resilience” of his players and his belief that those qualities would serve them well with the scheduling of back-to-back Tests allowing them little time to rest and recover from their exertions.”It was a Test match full of tension, but it was great fun to be involved in as well. I think the players from both sides will reflect on a sensational match to have been involved in, but yes, it will have taken something out of all the players involved. That’s why our guys work so hard on their fitness and they are mentally resilient – they have shown that. Over a number of our Test match campaigns, they have come out on top because of that resilience and I expect them to show that resilience at Lord’s in the second Test.”What I must say is we never for a moment thought that this match or the series would be a walkover. I know we hear the odd thing in the media predicting some funny results, but we always knew this would be a tough battle. This is a really good example of a tough battle and I’m sure it will be a tough fight for the remainder of the series.”

Match facts

April 17, 2013
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Pune Warriors will hope for another Steven Smith special•BCCI

Big Picture

Pune Warriors against Sunrisers Hyderabad might not be one of the most high-profile matches of the IPL, but both teams have played better than expected already in this competition. While Sunrisers have already recorded wins against Royal Challengers Bangalore (holding their own in a Super Over) and (a much-fancied but underperforming) Delhi Daredevils, Warriors pulled off a huge upset on Monday, beating Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk.The biggest plus for Warriors is that, ever since they broke their 11-game losing streak with a seven-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals on April 11, their batting has managed to put together moderate totals at least. After being bowled out for 104 and 99, they’ve scored over 140 in their next three games. There is still a lot of work to do though; against Super Kings, they looked on target for a lot more than the 159 they ended with, but the middle order, bar Steven Smith, could not build on Aaron Finch’s blitz at the top. Sunrisers will draw confidence from the fact that one of Warriors’ batting flops came against them: when the teams met three days into the tournament, Sunrisers managed to defend 126 at Uppal, with Amit Mishra causing trouble with turn and loop, and Dale Steyn making short work of the lower order.Both teams have decisions to make about their playing XIs. Warriors’ Yuvraj Singh had to sit out of the Super Kings match due to a recurrence of a back problem, and will not be fit in time for Wednesday’s match either. Full-time captain Angelo Mathews – who had to sit out in Chennai due to the ban on Sri Lankan players there – should return, but with Finch, Smith and Mitchell Marsh all doing well, it could be at the expense of stand-in leader Ross Taylor. Warriors must be mulling whether they want to disturb their winning combination at all. Sunrisers have the option of playing the West Indies captain, allrounder Darren Sammy, who arrived from the Caribbean a couple of days ago after the birth of his daughter. However, with Kumar Sangakkara and Dale Steyn being sure starters, they would have to pick between Thisara Perera and Cameron White if they want to play him.

Players to watch

Apart from taking that spectacular boundary catch against Kolkata Knight Riders last season, Steven Smith was one of Warriors’ few bright sparks, scoring 362 runs at 40.22 in an otherwise forgetful 2012. After being made to sit out Warriors’ first four games this season, he produced what turned out to be the match-winning innings against Super Kings. After Warriors had inexplicably slowed down after Finch’s assault, Smith provided the final surge: his unbeaten 39 came off 16, going after Dirk Nannes and Dwayne Bravo. The shot of the game was a reverse-flick for six over third man. If Warriors are to improve on their record this season, Smith will have to play another central role in their campaign.Compared to some other teams in the tournament, Sunrisers have quite a solid bowling line-up: Steyn, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra … The same cannot be said of their batting. There’s Kumar Sangakkara and Cameron White, with Parthiv Patel playing the supporting role, but not much else – at least on paper. Hanuma Vihari, Akshath Reddy, Ravi Teja and the other local batsmen, while they have had their moments, are yet to contribute defining innings. At some point, Sunrisers will need them to play a winning hand and it is left to be seen whether they can step up.

Stats and Trivia

• Parthiv Patel needs one more run to get to a 1000 IPL runs. His runs have been spread across stints with Chennai Super Kings, Kochi Tuskers, Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
• In Warriors’ previous game, against Mumbai Indians, Ashok Dinda went at 15.75 runs an over – that equaled the record for the most expensive spell in IPL cricket, alongside Varun Aaron’s in the second qualifier in 2012

Quotes

“They can make the last four. They have some big hitters in Uthappa, Finch, Taylor, Smith and Marsh, who can win on their own.”
“Yuvraj is not going to be playing in the next game but hopefully he is ready for the game after that. Obviously he is a big part of our team and it affects the balance of our team when Yuvi doesn’t play.”