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ECB trials for The Hundred in September will feature experiments with “various elements of the playing conditions”, according to the PCA

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Aug-2018ECB trials for The Hundred in September will feature experiments with “various elements of the playing conditions”, according to the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), which has been helping to coordinate player availability for the test outings at Trent Bridge and Loughborough.Daryl Mitchell, the PCA chairman, has previously warned that the competition won’t succeed if players aren’t on board. The pilot matches are aimed at informing the ECB’s decision-making process and Mitchell indicated feedback may help determine “if the format is workable”.The PCA has been critical of the way the proposed 100-ball format was announced, with minimal consultation, earlier in the year. However, the organisation has now been in contact with players to help facilitate the trials, with a number of details still to be worked out.Plans for the new competition, to begin in 2020, have reportedly involved numerous tweaks to the game, some more outlandish than others. It is thought that 20 five-ball overs is now the preferred format, but little is set in stone beyond the concept of each side facing 100 deliveries.The PCA hopes that representatives from the majority of the 18 counties will be able to take part in the trials, with men’s games being hosted at Trent Bridge on September 16, 17 and 18. Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire have agreed to cancel a 2nd XI fixture in order to provide players.Women’s matches will be played at Loughborough on September 14, 15 and 27.”The trials will provide an opportunity for players to get involved and to experiment various elements of the playing conditions which will be tested before providing feedback to the ECB on if the format is workable,” Mitchell, who plays for Worcestershire, said.”After the proposed 100-ball format was announced in April, consultation with PCA members has been regular, with numerous conversations and meetings between the ECB, PCA and player representatives to discuss playing regulations. All current male players have been contacted today to notify them of the details for the pilot matches with player availability coordinated via the counties and the ECB.”Mitchell said he expected that “three or four XIs” would be selected, in order to “maximise investigations” into the new format, with all of the players involved set to receive match fees.

He wants to emulate his father Abdul Qadir by playing international cricket. Not for Pakistan, the land of his birth, but for Australia

Daniel Brettig26-Sep-2018Though legspinners are famously furtive about revealing their intentions, there is no such secrecy about Usman Qadir’s desire to emulate his father Abdul Qadir by playing international cricket. Not for Pakistan, the land of his birth, but for Australia, the country he has found increasingly receptive to his maturing repertoire of legbreaks, googlies and topspinners.On Wednesday, Usman made his state debut for Western Australia, and made an instant impression by fooling Cameron White in his very first over before going on to returning the notable figures of 3 for 50 in Warriors’ thumping of Victoria at the Junction Oval. It was fitting that Qadir perform so well in Melbourne, given that two decades ago it was for the city’s Carlton Cricket Club that Abdul Qadir claimed a record-equalling 76 wickets in club cricket, beginning a relationship with Australia that has led to his son’s WA sojourn.Having seen the pathway opened up by another legspinner of Pakistani origin – Fawad Ahmed in 2013 – Usman has identified his qualification for a distinguished talent visa and its attendant fast-tracking of Australian citizenship as means by which to be able to play for his adopted country in time for the 2020 World Twenty20 tournament, hosted by Australia. His application would need to be sponsored by Cricket Australia, and his performances would need to have demonstrated exceptional skill that will be of material benefit to Australian cricket.”When I saw Fawad, the government changed the law for him, I am going to apply for a distinguished talent visa and before that I’ve got permanent residency and hopefully I will get citizenship as well in two years’ time,” he said. “My goal is to play for Australia in the 2020 World Twenty20. Hopefully, definitely [I will be eligible].”It’s been six years since Usman, 25, first loomed as a possible Australian representative. Having played for Pakistan at the 2012 Under-19s World Cup in northern Australia, he was encouraged by then South Australia coach Darren Berry to play club cricket for Adelaide, where he performed well and seemed on course to graduate to higher honours.”All the credit goes to him because he’s a great guy, he supported me as well, but at that time they said you can get the nationality next year and you can get the contract as well, and that’s when I said to my dad,” Usman said after the game. “But that time I was very small, I couldn’t have a mature mind, so my dad said ‘you have to come back and play for Pakistan’, so that’s why I flew back to Pakistan.Usman Qadir is congratulated on his Western Australia debut•Getty Images

“I got named in the Pakistan team and my father was the chief selector at that time and he took my name off because he said ‘everybody is going to say to me that your son is not performing well’, but at that time I got the hat-trick and got seven wickets, and the chairman put my name in the team and he said, ‘no, everybody is going to say that you take your son in the team’.”After that I quit cricket for one-and-a-half-years, and I keep telling him I don’t want to play for Pakistan, I want to go to play in Australia and make my future. He kept telling me, ‘no, you have to play for Pakistan’ but last year he said to me ‘if you want to go you are grown up, you can do whatever you want to do, I’m with you and I’ll support you’.”So it was that two years ago, Usman returned to Australia with the intent to build a new cricket career. At the time, his father suggested that it was fair enough to make the move, having exhausted his options in Pakistan. “I, as a father and a former cricketer, have lost trust in our system to give a fair chance to our players to prove themselves,” Abdul Qadir said in 2016. “I don’t want to see my other son to go down and suffer due to this system which doesn’t respect their legends.”I never went to any selector on behalf of my son and never will. My other sons were also capable enough to represent Pakistan but they didn’t grow, but Usman is very much capable and I know he has potential for top-level cricket. I have allowed Usman to decide about his future. I did hold him back from migrating to Australia in 2013, and asked him to stay in Pakistan. But now after him being ignored for more than three years, I don’t think it’s fair for me to stop him anymore.”Last summer he played for Hawkesbury in Sydney club cricket, scooping 36 wickets in a mere six matches and catching the attention of WA’s then coach Justin Langer in a net session. Langer, of course, is now Australia coach, so it is the commission of his successor Adam Voges to manage Usman’s path. For now, that includes 50-over matches and a Big Bash League contract with the Perth Scorchers; a Sheffield Shield call-up looms next.”There is politics, they’re making their own decisions, they have likes and dislikes and that’s why I don’t like that,” Usman said of his experience in Pakistan. “If I’m performing well you can see, and I did not get any chances to play good cricket. I said to myself that I didn’t want to play in Pakistan anymore, so I moved here.”If I’m performing well, hopefully they give me an opportunity to play four days (Sheffield Shield) as well. I’m living at the moment in Sydney, hopefully I’m going to move to Perth to play in club cricket and performing well there hopefully they give me a chance to perform in four days as well.”

The conditions there are likely to suit the South Africa quick’s style but he was wary of not getting carried away by pace and bounce

Liam Brickhill27-Oct-2018South Africa fast bowler Lungi Ngidi is revelling in the experience of his very first tour of Australia, an “exciting” next step in his international career.The 22-year old is one of six players in South Africa’s limited-overs squad making their debut tours Down Under, and since their arrival a couple of days ago the touring group have been focused on acclimatisation ahead of their warm-up match against a Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra next Wednesday. The ODI series begins at the Optus Stadium in Perth on November 4, and Ngidi said he was looking forward to the occasion.”Clashing with Australia is a good competition,” he said at South Africa’s light practice in Perth on Saturday. “Everyone is competitive, it is good cricket, and everyone loves to watch it. I am expecting nothing less on this tour.”The relationship between the two teams is one of competition,” he said. “We keep it on the field, that is where it stays. There will always be aggression on a cricket field, the fast bowlers are always going to be coming at the batsmen and the batsmen will try to take us (bowlers) down. You have to keep it civil, but very competitive, I feel it is going to be a good challenge in this series.”Ngidi has announced himself as a key strike bowler for South Africa this year, and is their leading wicket-taker in ODIs in 2018 with 22 wickets at 20.45 in 10 matches. Australian conditions are likely to suit Ngidi’s style, but he stressed the need to assess conditions on the day and not get carried away by talk of pace and bounce.”I have seen the wickets here are pretty quick, that is going to be exciting. The main thing is to assess the conditions that you find on the day. I have always been told to never get ahead of myself, on quick wickets you might get too excited and end up bowling short when it is unnecessary. I will try to keep a level head, always hit competitive lengths and keep my aggression. The nets that we’ve been bowling on have been pretty quick. If the wickets are anything like that, it’s going to be an interesting battle. “A spate of injuries have affected South Africa’s plans for this trip, with Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Wiaan Mulder all ruled out, but Ngidi said that there is “a lot of information” being shared by those in his squad who have toured Australia before.”We’ve got some senior players still here. They’re pulling the youngsters on very well. We’re learning as we go along. There’s guys like Quinton de Kock who’ve been here before, so they’re able to help the batsmen along. [Kagiso] Rabada’s also been here, so I’m working in partnership with him. There’s been a lot of information bouncing off of each other. Everyone’s in a good mindset, and they’ve been able to help the younger players fill the shoes that the older players have left behind.”South Africa travel to Canberra on Monday ahead of the tour match against the Prime Minister’s XI next Wednesday.

West Indies’ hopes of a home final to do an encore of Kolkata 2016 went up in flames less than halfway through their chase

The Report by Shashank Kishore22-Nov-2018Meg Lanning’s side is on a mission to ensure Australia’s 2018 isn’t just remembered for ‘Elite Honesty’ or the Newlands ball-tampering scandal.They vaulted into their fifth final, giving themselves a shot at a fourth title with a performance of a side with a demonstrated history of rising at crunch moments. West Indies’ hopes of a home final to do an encore of Kolkata 2016 went up in flames less than halfway into their chase of 143 on a sluggish surface where taking pace off the ball was vital.Stafanie Taylor’s 16 was the highest score in a sorry batting performance, with the hosts crumbling in the face of sustained pressure exerted with the new ball by Ellyse Perry, who now sits on 99 T20I wickets. Her two wickets in two overs pretty much sealed the game for Australia even before the Powerplay finished.Deandra Dottin was done in by Perry’s sharp inducker that had her chop on to flatten the leg stump, while the second strike of Shemaine Campbelle, who pulled a short delivery straight to Sophie Molineux at square leg in the fifth over, left West Indies trembling at 25 for 3. After that, it all went downhill rather quickly; West Indies paying the price for misreading the pitch and bowling first.That Australia were able to take advantage of this debatable tactical call was down to Alyssa Healy’s brilliance again. Having missed the final group game against India after a concussion scare, she slotted back in at the top of the order and offset any threat West Indies may have posed with her typically robust approach.Her 38-ball 46 gave Australia not just the legs for a big total, but also exhibited a lesson for the other batsmen to emulate. Her batting towered over the rest on the night, and she walked away with her fourth Player-of-the-Match award in the tournament.Healy was superbly complemented by Lanning, a fierce ball-striker herself, with a slightly contrasting approach, but one that worked nonetheless. Where Healy was gung-ho and fearless, Lanning was calculative and industrious. Both batsmen made a conscious effort to score runs off the seam bowlers, perhaps knowing well targeting spin later could prove challenging.West Indies conceded just four boundaries in the first 10 overs, and even manufactured two opportunities off Lanning, who first survived a close stumping chance followed by a run-out – only to be saved by an inch – in the ninth over. Healy’s back-to-back boundaries off legspinner Afy Fletcher in the 12th over marked the start of Australia’s acceleration.This tactic didn’t backfire even though they lost a couple of wickets, and it was largely down to Taylor’s miscalculation. Where spin was key, she persisted with her seamers and paid the price. Dottin, who was seen hobbling, conceded 23 runs in two overs. This included a 17-run penultimate over, where Rachel Haynes picked her for three boundaries, to swing momentum in Australia’s favour.West Indies needed to get themselves ahead of the asking rate in the Powerplay to have any chance, but that was nipped in the bud by Healy, who wasn’t done just yet. Hayley Matthews wandered outside the crease in trying to defend a ball in the second over only to see Healy collect the ball and break the bails to catch her well short.Five balls later, Perry dismissed Dottin to trigger the procession. On a surface where the spinners thrived, Perry delivered two pressure-inducing overs and struck twice. It was all down to Taylor from there on to pull off a coup with a lower order that has been far too inconsistent this tournament. This was a task too steep against a determined side keen to shake-off a minor blip.

Setting aside the ongoing negotiations, the PCB CFO asked the teams to fulfil their outstanding financial obligations, failing which they stand to lose their bank guarantees

Umar Farooq29-Nov-2018PSL franchises have been asked by the PCB to clear all outstanding dues by next week, despite ongoing negotiations between them to re-look at the financial model underpinning the league.The PCB’s chief finance officer Badar Manzoor Khan has asked in an email seen by ESPNcricinfo that all the teams pay up by December 3, failing which the board reserves the right to encash the franchises’ bank guarantees.The move has angered franchises who, in their recent meeting with the PCB in Islamabad, had formed a three-member committee to revisit the revenue-share model on which the PSL was founded, including an effort to gain tax breaks from the government. The email asking for payment has come even as the committee works towards a resolution.One of the primary bones of contention is the franchise fee they pay every year, mainly because those payments are required to be made in US dollars. The value of the rupee, fairly stable against the dollar over the first three years of the PSL at around PKR 105 per dollar, has gone to PKR 134 now.Though all the teams signed a ten-year contract in November 2015, according to which they were liable to pay in US dollars, the franchises want to peg the rate to 2015 standards or pay in Pakistani rupees at the same rate when the contracts were signed. None of the franchises have broken even so far, crippled they feel, by the exchange rate as well as the taxes they are having to pay.The first set of commercial and sponsorship rights deals the PSL signed when it launched have now ended, and with enhanced deals now being inked in, as well as the scare caused by Multan Sultans’ financial meltdown, the remaining five have sensed this is the time to push for a greater slice of the revenue pool. The current financial model adopted by the PCB in 2016 offers equal shares from a central revenue pool to all franchises, despite the difference in franchise fees.After Multan Sultans’ ouster, the PCB is yet to invite a tender to bring in an owner for the sixth side, but various investors in Pakistan including Ali Tareen – the son of Jahangir Khan Tareen, a key figure in the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party – and Aqeel Karim Dhedhi, a prominent businessman, are among those to have shown their interest. The sixth team is presently being regulated by the PCB on its own and with the tender, the board will transfer the ownership to the buyers, allowing them to choose the name of the city.

Ponting’s lessons from a decade ago helped Finch make headway in his battle to prove himself as a Test opener in home conditions

Daniel Brettig in Perth14-Dec-20181:53

Kartik: Finch needed this innings to resurrect his Test career

Ricky Ponting’s hard-earned lessons from a series of epic jousts with Ishant Sharma a decade ago have helped Aaron Finch to make headway in his battle to prove himself as a Test match opening batsman in Australian conditions.Few have forgotten Ishant’s famous nine-over spell at the WACA in January 2008, where he tied Ponting in knots with a series of prancing inswingers before dismissing him on the way to India’s victory. Later that year he dismissed Ponting three innings in a row to help secure Anil Kumble’s team a series win at home, leaving Ponting to remark how difficult and different a challenge the then teenaged Ishant posed to him.ALSO READ: Australia call in Ponting for test of fundamentalsTen years on, Ponting was a notable presence for Australian training on match eve in Perth, acting on observations he had shared with the coach Justin Langer in the aftermath of their opening defeat to India in Adelaide. For Finch, who had been dismissed by Ishant in the first innings of the series and then struggled against him in the second, the advice allowed him to scrap to a half-century, albeit less fluently than his opening partner Marcus Harris.”It was really good because it was so simple,” Finch said of Ponting’s counsel. “It was basically around covering my off stump and lining up slightly different my alignment, where I want to hit the ball, with the ball swinging back in obviously.”Ishant troubled him a little bit at the start of his career in Australia, troubled Punter [Ponting], moving the ball back in I think, so it was good to have someone to chat to who’s had to work through that and alignment and things like that. It wasn’t anything I went out in the game with as such, it was more just moving my guard slightly further over.”Watching how Finch started his innings as part of a stand that would grow to be worth 112 vital runs, Ponting said he had been able to see how Finch had to find a way to play straighter and not get caught with his head tilting too far to the off side when Ishant moved the ball back in to him.”I know what Aaron Finch is going through because those were the things I battled through at times in my career as well,” Ponting said on Seven during the lunch break. “With balance and maybe getting my head too far towards mid-off rather than going straight down the wicket. I spoke with Justin after the game in Adelaide and he invited me down yesterday. I must admit I’m always a little uncomfortable doing it, but as long as the players are open to it and I can go and feel like I can help out I certainly will.”It’s been a good start from Finchy today, he does get a little bit lazy, you can see his front foot planting towards cover at the back end of that [first] session, he needs to open up his front foot a little bit, look to access the ball to be able to hit down the ground to mid on, but so far it’s been a good start, some promising signs.”Reflecting on a lively Perth pitch, which offered pace, bounce, lateral and vertical movement across the day, never more so than when Jasprit Bumrah was armed with the second new ball, Finch reckoned that Australia were now in a position to dictate terms. This was particularly so due to the fact that cracks in the pitch are set to open up and add still further to the variation.”It’s going to be one of those games that’ll be a real grind for both sides,” Finch said. “The position we’re in we would have taken at the start of the day, no doubt, especially winning the toss and batting.”When the ball starts seaming off good parts of the wicket and quite dramatically at times, I think that’s when you know you need to tighten up but you have to also be in a position to cash in on some balls that you can hit, otherwise you get stuck on the crease, stuck in two minds and end up letting the wicket get you out without the wicket doing anything. So you have to be really proactive and take that out of play as much as you can.”

Left-arm spinner has been fielded only thrice by Melbourne Stars in the ongoing BBL season

Alex Malcolm08-Feb-2019Former Australia Test spinner and Melbourne Stars veteran Michael Beer has announced his retirement from Big Bash League cricket.Beer, 34, played in all eight seasons of the BBL, turning out in 60 matches overall. He played the first three seasons with Perth Scorchers, where he was part of two final losses, and was also part of the team in the Champions League.He then moved home to Melbourne to join the Stars in the 2014-15 season. Beer played in a final with the Stars in 2016, and was very successful as a bowler in the Powerplays, not always an easy task for a spinner.Beer, however, only managed three games this season.”When I first came to the Stars I probably wasn’t enjoying my cricket as much, but the Stars made cricket fun for me again,” Beer said. “I’d really like to thank the players and coaches I’ve been fortunate to work with over the years at the Stars, as well as the club staff and the board for all the support and opportunities they’ve given me and my career both on and off the field.ALSO READ: Brendon McCullum calls time on his Big Bash career“I’d also like to thank the WACA [Western Australia Cricket Association], Perth Scorchers and Cricket Victoria for my time with them, I’ve been lucky to learn so much from each team I’ve played with.”I’m very excited about the next phase of my life, spending time with my family and putting more focus into my coaching. I still really enjoy being around the game and look forward to building on some of the coaching opportunities I’ve had this year.”Beer finished with 42 BBL wickets at an excellent economy rate of 6.70 and strike rate of 29.50.Stars coach Stephen Fleming called Beer an integral part of the Stars set-up since moving over from the Scorchers.”Michael Beer has played a pivotal role at the Stars, contributing consistently with the ball and a key to our spin strategy for many years,” Fleming said. “We want to thank him, not just for the brilliant job he’s done on-field, but his all-round service to the club.”Over the past 12 months he has developed as a mentor for our younger players, and particularly our bowlers, in both the men’s and women’s teams and I can see great potential for him to continue with that in the future.”Beer has also played two Test matches for Australia, one against England during the 2010-11 Ashes and then in Port of Spain in 2012, for three wickets.

Disruption in flight services around Lahore following the tensions between Pakistan and India is the primary reason for the change

Umar Farooq in Dubai03-Mar-2019The three Pakistan Super League 2019 matches scheduled to be held in Lahore have been moved to Karachi following the recent political and military tensions between Pakistan and India, which had resulted in much of Pakistan’s airspace being closed.

Revised schedule

Saturday, 9 March – Lahore Qalandars v Islamabad United (7pm PST)
Sunday, 10 March – Karachi Kings v Quetta Gladiators (7pm PST)
Monday, 11 March – Lahore Qalandars v Multan Sultans (2pm PST); Karachi Kings v Peshawar Zalmi (7pm PST)
Wednesday, 13 March – Qualifier (1 v 2; 7pm PST)
Thursday, 14 March – Eliminator 1 (3 v 4; 7pm PST)
Friday, 15 March – Eliminator 2 (7pm PST)
Sunday, 17 March – Final (7pm PST)

The last four days have seen more than 400 flights have been affected. Lahore – bordering India from the north – had had its flight operations suspended initially; there has been partial resumption since Sunday morning. Pakistan’s newspaper has reported that flight operations in Lahore are expected to resume completely by March 8 at 11:59pm (GMT). Operations in Karachi, however, had resumed on March 1 with all international flights operating normally.Logistical arrangements from the point of view of the production team were also a reason for the swap – keeping the Pakistan leg of the competition confined to one city was a more attractive option. Trans-Blitz Group, which took over after IMG-Reliance pulled out, had comprised largely of the same staff as the previous producers, including Indian nationals working as freelancers based in the UAE. There is still uncertainty over who among them will travel to Pakistan in the event that visa problems prevent or hinder Indian nationals from travelling to Pakistan.ALSO READ: Before and after Lahore 2009: Pakistan’s cricket in numbers“This has been a difficult and tough decision, which has been taken following discussion and consultation with all the franchisees and service providers to ensure certainty and clarity on the event as well as delivery of the remaining matches as per the PCB’s own very high standards,” Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, said in a statement.”Due to the recent and prevailing uncertainty, we felt it critical to make a decisive decision at this juncture. Ensuring all matches are played in Pakistan falls in line with our vision to take all eight matches of the HBL PSL 2019 matches to the people of Pakistan. We had considered the option of shifting the dates of the eight matches in Pakistan, but because the Pakistan cricket team has to leave for the UAE on 19 March for the ODI series against Australia, this was not possible. We also looked at swapping matches between Lahore and Karachi, but paucity of time would have rendered this option unworkable.PCB chairman Ehsan Mani speaks at the PSL 2019 draft•Getty Images/AFP

“It is unfortunate that the headquarters of Pakistan cricket will be unable to host the PSL matches in 2019 due to no fault of the PCB, but this is a small sacrifice for a bigger and larger national cause.”Over the last few days, India and Pakistan have exchanged hostilities, which even led to the BCCI writing to the ICC requesting that Pakistan be kept out of the World Cup in England later this year, a request the ICC turned down last week.The military tensions at the border had cast doubts over the PSL’s Pakistan leg altogether. The UAE leg of the tournament is set to finish on March 5, after which the action will shift to Pakistan on March 9 – not March 7 as originally planned – with Lahore and Karachi originally slated to host three and five games respectively. Now, the entire Pakistan leg will take place at National Stadium in Karachi.Keeping in mind the uncertainty, Mani had earlier this week called a press conference in Dubai with bosses of most of the PSL franchises to reaffirm the board’s commitment to hosting the last few matches of the PSL in Pakistan.A few of the overseas players are understood to have raised concerns over growing tensions in Pakistan, but all franchises have said they have the consent of their players. ESPNcricinfo understands that Quetta Gladiators opener Shane Watson didn’t make a commitment to go to Pakistan from the very beginning. Karachi Kings’ Aaron Summers, another Australian player, is most likely to travel, while one of the biggest names in the tournament, former South Africa batsman AB de Villiers, had made a commitment to play in two matches in Lahore.”We have spoken with the franchisees, who have backed this decision and have reinforced that all their foreign players will feature in the last eight matches of what has been an outstanding and highly competitive tournament that has been thoroughly enjoyed by the fans and the players,” Mani said.”The PCB appreciates and applauds the support of the franchisees as well as the players, who understand that the evolving situation has forced us to make these amendments to the event schedule.”The PCB has confirmed that everyone who has purchased tickets for the Lahore games will be refunded.

Royals will need to pull a rabbit out of their hat to stall Mumbai in the first day-night game at the Wankhede this season

The Preview by Annesha Ghosh12-Apr-20195:21

Tait: I’d bring Ashton Turner in, leave Steven Smith out

Big picture

Heading into their first face-off in IPL 2019, Mumbai Indians’ 10 wins to Rajasthan Royals’ eight in tournament head-to-heads speak little of the two sides’ contrasting runs this season. A faithful picture of their fortunes, though, reflects in their edge-of-the-seat final-ball finishes – both at home – in their most-recent outings. With an equanimous approach to a steep chase, Mumbai snared their third straight win, whereas Royals, consistently inconsistent across disciplines and clutch phases in all of their five defeats in six games, couldn’t defend 18 off the last over a contentious overturning of a no-ball.Royals had made three changes to their playing XI on Thursday against Chennai Super Kings in a bid to lift themselves from the seventh spot. Jaydev Unadkat picked Faf du Plessis to help stifle the visiting team 24 for 4 in the Powerplay and 19-year-old wristspinner Riyan Parag struck an enterprising 14-ball 16 to go with his wicketless three overs on IPL debut. A fit-again Sanju Samson, meanwhile, struck an elegant four off the first ball he faced only to be dismissed for a second straight single-digit score after that sizzling century in the opening week.Jofra Archer and Ajinkya Rahane celebrate a wicket•BCCI

Royals’ woes, however, run deeper than Samson’s underwhelming comeback. Form and fluency – and captaincy – appear to be at odds with Ajinkya Rahane; Steven Smith’s odd, underarm throws in the field bear the same touch of uncertainty as his batting form. And Ben Stokes’ oddity as a superlative allrounder and a deliverer of unforgettable last overs have swayed between scratchy middle-order runs, a jaw-dropping stunner at point and… wait for it… failing to defend a sizeable number of runs in deciding over of the game. If Royals could take heart from anything, though, it should be the all-round returns of Jofra Archer and legspinner Shreyas Gopal.Mumbai’s comeback from their eight-wicket thrashing at the hands of Kings XI Punjab, meanwhile, has been as emphatic as their game-changer Kieron Pollard’s debut as IPL captain. Standing in for the injured Rohit Sharma, Pollard stood out with his astute calls on the field on Thursday as he did with his blistering 83 that muted Kings XI’s 197 defence. With a chase as resounding as that under Mumbai’s belt, Royals will need to pull a rabbit out of their hat to stall Mumbai in the first day-night game at the Wankhede this season.

In the news

Rohit batted at the Wankhede nets on Friday and is set to return to captaining the side, after sitting out his first IPL game since 2008, with a muscle spasm in his right leg on Wednesday. This would necessitate Siddesh Lad make his way out two nights after his IPL debut. Expect Pollard to bat at No. 4 for a second straight match.
Giving Ashton Turner a game in favour of an out-of-sorts Steven Smith or a misfiring Ben Stokes could be that much warranted – albeit somewhat belated – throw of the dice that could help Royals get their campaign back on track.

Form Guide (most recent match first)

Mumbai Indians: beat KXIP by three wickets, beat SRH by 40 runs, beat CSK by 37 runs
Rajasthan Royals: lost to CSK by four wickets, lost to KKR by eight wickets, beat RCB by seven wickets

Likely XIs

Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock, 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Kieron Pollard, 5 Ishan Kishan, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Alzarri Joseph, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Jason BehrendorffRajasthan Royals: 1 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Steven Smith/ Ashton Turner, 5 Rahul Tripathi, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jofra Archer, 8 Shreyas Gopal, 9 Riyan Parag, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Dhawal KulkarniHardik Pandya made crucial breakthroughs•BCCI

Strategy punt

• Mumbai’s top three – Rohit, Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav – have been dismissed a whopping 15 times while attempting to play the pull shot since IPL 2018. Take note, Jofra Archer, Dhawal Kulkarni, and Jaydev Unadkat.
• Archer could well be the answer to keeping in check the in-form troika of Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. In a combined seven innings, Archer has dismissed them once each, just for just 21 runs off 29 balls.
• At 30.3, Hardik Pandya currently boasts a personal-best average in an IPL season. But finding an alternative to the 25-year-old as a death-bowling option could hold Mumbai in good stead given his economy of 15.2 in the last five overs as compared to 9.6 and 6.3 in the Powerplay and the middle phase.

Stats that matter

• With Saturday’s match, Mumbai are set to become the first team in T20 cricket to play 200 matches.
• Records galore await Rohit, who is set to captain Mumbai for the 100th time. He is also one hit shy of 100 sixes for Mumbai as captain, and is 59 and 87 runs short of reaching 3500 runs in IPL for Mumbai and 8000 runs overall in T20s respectively.
• In the Royals’ camp, one strike will take Unadkat to the milestone of 150 T20 wickets, while Stokes needs two sixes to round out 100 in the format.
• Royals have the worst death-overs economy this season, conceding 11.5 runs per and for a meagre 1.6 wickets – the least among all teams.

The fast bowler took out a specialist insurance for his IPL 2018 deal but then missed the tournament because of an injury

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-2019Mitchell Starc is taking legal action against an insurance company in an attempt to recoup A$ 1.53 million of his IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders, which he was unable to take up last year due to injury. reported that paperwork has been lodged with the Victorian County Court against a syndicate of Lloyds of London, after Starc took a specialist insurance for his IPL deal, which was worth A$ 1.8 million, but was then told he was not eligible for a payout after missing the 2018 edition of the tournament.Starc was injured during the Test series against South Africa, which preceded the IPL – and became best-remembered for the ball-tampering scandal – after picking up a stress fracture in his right leg which began in Port Elizabeth before worsening in Cape Town. He was ruled out of the final Test in Johannesburg.”The parties have exchanged correspondence about the plaintiff’s claim which culminated in a final response from the defendant’s representative in the form of an email sent on 22 November 2018,” the writ said. “That email confirmed the defendant’s contention that the plaintiff is not entitled to the total disablement benefit.”