Ravindra Jadeja’s ban from the 2010 season of the IPL on grounds of contractual violations has been upheld

Cricinfo staff27-Mar-2010Ravindra Jadeja’s ban from the 2010 season of the IPL on grounds of contractual violations has been upheld. The decision was taken during a hearing chaired by Arun Jaitley, an eminent lawyer and head of the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association, following representations from the player and the two franchises involved – Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians.The IPL’s governing council had banned Jadeja for one season on instructions from Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president, because he failed to sign the renewal contract with Rajasthan for the ongoing season and attempted to negotiate a new contract with Mumbai. It later agreed to enter an appeal from Jadeja and the two franchises.Jaitley upheld the ban after finding that “the player contrived a situation to his advantage by breaching the player trading rules and not signing his third year contract for IPL 2010 with the Rajasthan Royals”, the league said in a statement.”Thus, Ravindra Jadeja committed a breach on two counts; firstly, by not signing the contract with the Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2010, wherein he wanted to declare himself free from contractual obligations and failed to discharge his obligations under the player trading rules. Secondly, Jadeja’s act of meeting representatives of the Mumbai Indian franchise and sending his contract documents to them for inspection and his own admission that he received documents from Mumbai Indians and used them for representation purposes to the governing council, reveal that he was indeed guilty of breaching the operational rules by approaching another Franchise.”Jaitley also recommended that Mumbai be warned for “having approached a player who was under an obligation to play for another franchise” and said “a more deterrent line of action should be considered” for future offences of this nature.

Cricinfo previews the return match between Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royal Challengers in Nagpur

The Preview by Sriram Veera11-Apr-2010

Match facts

Deccan v Bangalore, Nagpur
Monday, April 12
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Anil Kumble has been magnificent with the ball and has led from the front.•Associated Press

Big Picture

Deccan Chargers refuse to fade away. Just when you thought they were slipping away, they bounced back with a win. Just when you thought they were over-reliant on big names, T Suman led from front. Just when you thought they were really poor while bowling in the end overs, they produced a near-perfect end game against Chennai Super Kings.The clarity over each player’s role, so well defined during last year’s winning campaign, is gradually coming to the fore. Andrew Symonds is the finisher, Rohit Sharma the engine of the batting, Suman provides the momentum and Monish Mishra the much-needed blast at the top.Deccan will hope Adam Gilchrist fires in the upcoming pressure games. It isn’t as if he has looked out of touch, but he has rarely converted any of his starts. The bowling, despite their good showing against Chennai, has not looked completely reliable.Things won’t be as easy against Royal Challengers Bangalore, as was the case with Chennai. Bangalore, too, were appearing to lose the plot after they lost four out of five games, but roared back with a commanding performance against Kolkata Knight Riders.After Rahul Dravid joined the form men with a delightful fifty in that match, Bangalore’s batting looks solid. The bowling has been iffy; they conceded 180-plus totals in the three consecutive games before improving against Kolkata, keeping them to 160. Despite that performance, the bowling will remain a headache and Deccan have the batting firepower, on their day, to take full toll.If Bangalore win on Monday, they will move a step closer to qualifying for the semi-finals with 14 points and two games to play. Deccan are currently placed seventh, and are in a tougher situation with a poor net run-rate of -0.539. If they win, though, they will be level on points with three other teams and climb, depending upon the margin of victory, at least two places up.

Form guide (most recent first)

Bangalore Royal Challengers WLLWL

Deccan Chargers WWLLL

Team talk

Who will partner Jacques Kallis in the opening slot? Sridharan Sriram, who can slip in couple of overs, or will Bangalore return to Manish Pandey?Deccan seem a settled unit, finally, on the batting front, but the bowling remains a problem area. It says a lot about RP Singh’s skills on flat tracks when Symonds looks a much better option to complete the quota of four overs. The bright spot for Deccan in their bowling has been Ryan Harris, who, chosen over Chaminda Vaas, was the Man of the Match in the last game.

Previously

Deccan 3, Bangalore 2
In the previous game between the teams, Suman played a responsible hand to steer Deccan to a seven-wicket win at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

In the spotlight

Anil Kumble has been a treat to watch. The two-fingered googlies have worked like a charm and he has shown mastery in varying his pace. He has never been shy to take on the toughest batsmen and continues to be Bangalore’s best bowler.Andrew Symonds may not have been at his brutal best, be but he is playing his role to perfection. In the last few games, he has showcased his great skill of knowing exactly when to play the big shot and has backed his instincts.

Prime numbers

• With 61 fours, Jacques Kallis is way ahead of Andrew Symonds (27 fours), the nearest competitor from the opposition. With 21 sixes, Robin Uthappa has six more than Adam Gilchrist, the man with the most sixes for Deccan.
• Uthappa’s 179.74 is the best strike-rate among those who have scored 200 or more in this IPL.
• Both Vinay Kumar (4 for 40) and Anil Kumble (3 for 9) feature in the list of the top five bowling figures in an innings. There is no one from Deccan in the top ten..

The chatter

“We’re still in the mix now. We are improving our performances though I wouldn’t say we are at our best. If we can secure some wins by not playing at our best, it’s a good sign.”
“The balance and depth of our side can be judged by the fact that someone like Kevin Pietersen has to sit out. But that’s how it is. You can only play four foreigners and rightly so. This is the Indian Premier League.

In his email to the BCCI, the English County Board Chairman, Giles Clarke, outlined the details of Lalit Modi’s alleged plan to set up a parallel league in England.

Cricinfo staff07-May-2010In his email to the BCCI, the English County Board Chairman, Giles Clarke, outlined the details of Lalit Modi’s alleged plan to set up a parallel league in England. The details of the plan, as reported in the , are:The ten existing Indian franchises would have the first right to buy the new franchises in England at an auction. Each franchise would need to strike a 50% partnership with a UK-based stakeholder to give the team a local presence. If any of the existing franchises chose not to bid for a team, the losing bidders from the Indian auctions would have the second right to bid. After that, the auction will be thrown open to all interested bidders.The counties would get 20% of the revenues while the franchises would get 80%.All franchise fees are payable to the BCCI, out of which 20% may be paid to the clubs.Each county would be guaranteed a payout between $3 – $5 million a year, along with a staging fee of $1.5 millionThe player regulations would be the same as they are in the IPL – 10 overseas players per team, with no more than four in the playing 11.The mail also spelt out potential courses of action should the national boards oppose the new league:Players could be induced to revolt against the national boards, given their desire to capitalise on their earning power. It cites MS Dhoni as an example of some earning several times more than his BCCI salary from his IPL contract and spin-offs.Alternatively, franchisees could buy out players who are prevented from playing in the league by their national boards and create their own cricket structure, thereby shifting the power structure of cricket.Finally, Modi suggests such a development is inevitable even without the co-operation of the ICC, as players would rather play for money than their national or state / country sides. The smaller nations could be compensated for the loss of revenue from international games to allow the growth of the Twenty20 version.”ODIs have reached a saturation point and though unlikely to disappear, cannot grow any further. Tests are almost redundant and only T20 has growth value.”This would practically mean just a handful of nations playing international cricket and their players spending the rest of their time playing the IPL and its UK version, while the smaller countries sit idle and don’t get to play any games.”

India’s challenging tour of Zimbabwe has ended on a positive note with a 2-0 cleansweep of the Twenty20s and their captain Suresh Raina was relieved man after the second-string side failed to make the finals of the tri-series

Cricinfo staff13-Jun-2010India’s challenging tour of Zimbabwe has ended on a positive note with a 2-0 sweep of the Twenty20s and their captain Suresh Raina was relieved with the result after the second-string side had failed to make the finals of the tri-series. With several senior players resting, India were exposed by Zimbabwe in both their ODIs but hit back in the Twenty20s, which ended in a seven-wicket win at the Harare Sports Club.”We didn’t do well in the one-day series, but we came back really strongly, and I hope we will do well in the Asia Cup,” Raina said. “The guys played really well here and we did a fantastic job in the last two games.”Although India didn’t perform to expectations, Raina said a few players had a lot to gain, including Rohit Sharma who scored back-to-back centuries in the tri-series. Virat Kohli was the second-highest run scorer for India in the tri-series with 168 runs, including two fifties. The inexperienced seam attack struggled in the one-dayers but came back well in the Twenty20 games.”It was good to see the players do well, especially Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and also the bowling department,” Raina said. “They have done really well in this tournament.”Raina also credited coach Gary Kirsten for his work behind the scenes in India’s revival. “By the grace of God it’s been a great two weeks so far for us, and especially for our coach Gary Kirsten. He worked really hard for us. That’s what he believes in.”Raina will hand back the captaincy to MS Dhoni when the team heads to Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup, starting on June 15 in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. He said he was looking forward to the tournament, which will feature India’s full-strength squad minus Sachin Tendulkar, who opted out.”A lot of hard work is also required for the Asia Cup, and I too have to put in a lot more hard work and discipline into my batting,” Raina said.

Steven Smith’s state captain Simon Katich is confident the legspinning allrounder will be ready for Test cricket if he gets his opportunity at Lord’s against Pakistan next month

Brydon Coverdale25-Jun-2010Steven Smith’s state captain Simon Katich is confident the legspinning allrounder will be ready for Test cricket if he gets his opportunity at Lord’s against Pakistan next month. Nathan Hauritz has been forced home from Australia’s tour with a foot injury and is unlikely to be fit for the Tests, which leaves Smith as the sole spinner in the squad.The Australian selectors are understandably excited by Smith, who at 21 already has four first-class centuries to his name, is a miraculous fielder and an improving bowler. The major question-mark over Smith as a potential Test player is the quality of his legspin, which has brought him 26 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 48.84.They are hardly the sort of figures that will strike fear into Test batsmen. But Katich, who will be one of Smith’s Test team-mates if he is handed a baggy green at Lord’s, said Smith had taken major steps in his bowling last summer and his season-ending effort for New South Wales of 7 for 64 against South Australia at the SCG was a terrific sign.”He blew us all away with the way he knocked South Australia over on one afternoon of cricket,” Katich, who is in England playing for Lancashire, told Cricinfo. “At one stage they were cruising at 2 for 180 and then in an hour’s time they were all out and we’d finished the season.”It was phenomenal bowling and the way he was getting his wickets was great – big spinning legspinners caught and slip and bat pad and bowled – genuine wickets, not through bad shots or anything. He just went through them with great bowling. That was exciting to see him make a statement.”That display alone meant Smith had already bettered the first-class bowling best of Cameron White, to whom he is often compared as a useful legspinner and powerful batsman. White was chosen as a bowler in all four Tests on Australia’s tour of India in 2008, yet in 108 first-class appearances he has only ever taken two five-wicket hauls.Smith has spoken about the value of his one-on-one training with Shane Warne during the Australian summer, when he was first called in to the Test squad as cover. Since then he has firmly established himself in Australia’s Twenty20 squad and over the next few weeks has the chance to make his name as a one-day and Test player.”There’s been a lot of talk about who’s going to be the next big thing spinning-wise in Australia,” Katich said. “That’s a lot of pressure for the young guys coming through. The way he progressed through the summer, when he was in and around the Test squad at various stages and spent time with Warney … his bowling went to another level after those sessions.”He’s a confident player and he’s prepared to listen and learn. He’s got a very bright future in front of him. Whether he gets an opportunity or not [in the Tests] we’ll wait and see, but if the wickets are dry and they spin, then he could come into calculations. There’s no doubt that he’s gaining confidence being in and around the Australian setup. You can see his improvement all the time.”If Smith does make his debut next month, he will be the eighth spinner Australia have tried in Tests since the retirement of Warne just over three years ago. Of those, Brad Hogg and Stuart MacGill have retired, Beau Casson is struggling for a place with New South Wales, Jason Krejza has fallen away for Tasmania, Bryce McGain is performing solidly but is 38, and White rarely bowls for Victoria.

Sean Ervine claimed four wickets for 12 runs as Hampshire skittled Gloucestershire for their lowest Twenty20 Cup score in a one-sided game at Bristol

19-Jun-2010

ScorecardSean Ervine claimed four wickets for 12 runs as Hampshire skittled Gloucestershire for their lowest Twenty20 Cup score in a one-sided game at Bristol.The Gladiators were shot out for just 68 in 17.5 overs after winning the toss, with only two players reaching double figures. Dominic Cork took 2 for 9 and Chris Wood 2 for 12.That total was never likely to prove a problem for the Royals, who skated to victory by seven wickets with a massive 12.3 overs to spare. James Vince top-scored with 26, while man-of-the-match Ervine finished unbeaten on 14.Hampshire had gone into the game bottom of the South Division, but their third win in the competition lifted them above their hapless opponents. Gloucestershire never recovered from being reduced to 11 for three as Will Porterfield sacrificed his wicket to a needless run out and Wood dismissed Hamish Marshall and James Franklin in the same over.Ervine then destroyed the middle order, sending back Chris Taylor, Alex Gidman, Steve Snell and Kadeer Ali for a combined total of 24 runs. Vince took two good boundary catches at midwicket as Hampshire backed up their bowlers with some sharp fielding.Jon Lewis top-scored with 19 and hit the only six of the innings in a rare moment of defiance. But Cork returned to polish off the tail and it was a sorry procession for the home side, who have now lost five of their seven Friends Provident t20 games.Hampshire openers Michael Lumb and Jimmy Adams had no intention of hanging around and took 17 off the first two overs of the powerplay. It looked a pretty good batting pitch, which made Gloucestershire’s failings all the more inexcusable. But Kirby struck twice in the third over as Lumb pulled a catch to Vikram Banerjee at fine leg and Adams edged a catch to Porterfield at second slip.Home supporters had precious little else to cheer as Ervine and Vince continued to be positive in seeing Hampshire to a facile victory. They added 47 in less than five overs before Vince was bowled by Banerjee with the match already won.

Six months after their disastrous tour of Australia, Pakistan have a chance to redeem themselves against Ricky Ponting’s men.

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale at Lord's12-Jul-2010

Match Facts

Tuesday, July 13, Lord’s

Start time 10:30am (0930 GMT)Can Shahid Afridi inspire Pakistan to something special at Lord’s?•Associated Press

The Big Picture

Six months after their disastrous tour of Australia, Pakistan have a chance to redeem themselves against Ricky Ponting’s men. Things are a little different for Pakistan now: Shahid Afridi is in charge, Mohammad Yousuf is gone and the series is being played on neutral territory at Lord’s and Headingley. Pakistan’s batting looks thin, with Umar Akmal the only man in the top six who averages over 40, but their strong attack might thrive in the English conditions. There should be swing for Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer and Umar Gul, but in order to snap Australia’s winning streak of 12 consecutive Tests against Pakistan, the bowlers will need support.Australia’s stretch of victories against Pakistan goes all the way back to Brisbane in November 1999. It’s a joint record winning run for any nation over any other nation, equalling the 12-game streak Sri Lanka currently hold over Bangladesh, and victory at Lord’s will give Australia the outright all-time high. Not since November 1995 at the SCG have Pakistan beaten Australia in a Test, and although Afridi might provide them with a spark, the Australians remain strong favourites.Australia will have two debutants, the wicketkeeper Tim Paine and the legspinning allrounder Steven Smith, but the core of their side remains the same. As much as the Australians will talk of being focused on this series, each of their four Tests between now and November also provides them with a chance to fine-tune their Ashes preparations. One move they will make in this series is Michael Clarke up to the No. 4 position, which reflects his importance as the team’s leading run scorer over the past year, while Michael Hussey will drop down to No. 5.Then there’s also the chance to play a Test at Lord’s, which is an opportunity that usually comes around only once every four years. Clarke is the only man from either side with his name on the honour board at Lord’s and this might be the final chance for Ponting to earn such a place in history. On the eve of the match he didn’t close the door on the possibility of being back for the 2013 Ashes, but nor did he rule out this being his last Lord’s Test. “It would be nice to have been up there in an Ashes Test match,” Ponting said of the honour board. “That might happen – we’ll wait and see what happens there.”

Form guide

Australia WWWWW
Pakistan LLLDW

Watch out for…

There is much excitement about Australia’s debutant Steven Smith, although nobody quite knows what to expect from him. Smith is being played as the primary spinner but Ponting thinks he has a lot of work to do in that aspect of his game. On the other hand, Pakistan have had a habit in recent years of gifting wickets to Australian spinners. Smith will also be one of the strongest No. 8 batsmen Australia have had in recent memory.Shahid Afridi hasn’t played a Test in four years, but as the new captain he will be the pulse of the Pakistan team. He brings energy to any match he plays and Ponting is keen to nullify his influence as quickly as possible. Ponting believes the younger Pakistan players will run off Afridi’s spark but as the No. 6 batsman, second spinner and general in the field, he will have quite a workload.Steve Smith will make his Test debut and give Australia great batting depth•Getty Images

Team news

There is no doubt over the make-up of Australia’s XI and only a last-minute injury will allow Usman Khawaja, Steve O’Keefe or Peter George to win a baggy green. There will be three changes from the team that Pakistan met in Hobart, with Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz and Peter Siddle all out through injury. Ben Hilfenhaus is making his comeback from a long-term bout of knee tendonitis and should be useful in the swinging conditions. It is a side that bats deep; Mitchell Johnson at No. 9 is a luxury and Smith at No. 8 has four first-class centuries to his name.Australia 1 Shane Watson, 2 Simon Katich, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Marcus North, 7 Tim Paine (wk), 8 Steven Smith, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Ben Hilfenhaus, 11 Doug Bollinger.Pakistan’s top order remains something of a mystery, with Umar Amin, Azhar Ali, Yasir Hameed and Shoaib Malik potentially vying for two spots. There was talk that Pakistan were keen to try out some new faces, which would open the door for Amin and Azhar to make their Test debuts. From the side that lost in Hobart, Khurram Manzoor, Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammad Yousuf are gone, with Afridi recalled and Kamran Akmal back in favour with the gloves.Pakistan (possible) 1 Imran Farhat, 2 Salman Butt, 3 Umar Amin, 4 Azhar Ali, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shahid Afridi (capt), 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Mohammad Aamer, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Danish Kaneria, 11 Mohammad Asif.

Pitch and conditions

The famous slope at Lord’s can make things difficult for bowlers to adjust their lines, and if there is cloud around expect the ball to swing early. The pitch was under cover on the day before the Test, with the possibility of rain, and showers were also on the cards for Tuesday.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan have not beaten Australia in a Test since November 1995
• This is the first neutral Test in England since 1912
• Ricky Ponting’s record at Lord’s is poor – he has 109 runs at 18.16 with a highest score of 42. It is his worst average at any venue where he has played at least three Tests
  

  Quotes

  “The communication problem is not there any more now. We are all sitting together and talking to each other. If they have problems, they are coming to me or the coach and sharing their problems”
  Shahid Afridi on the increased unity within his team”He’s probably got to bat at six in their side, so if we get some early wickets and get him in there against the newer ball and our quicks are still nice and fresh I think we’ll test him out.”
  Ricky Ponting on Afridi

Mazhar Majeed, the man at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal, has been released on bail without charge by Scotland Yard but will be questioned further at a later date

Cricinfo staff30-Aug-2010Mazhar Majeed, the man at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal, has been released on bail without charge by Scotland Yard but will be questioned further at a later date. Majeed was caught on camera by claiming to have bribed Pakistan bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif to bowl no-balls at previously agreed moments during the Lord’s Test. He was arrested on Saturday, following the expose that claimed he was paid £150,000 to arrange a fix with the Pakistan team, but was bailed on Sunday evening.”He is obliged to return for further questioning at a specified date,” a Scotland Yard spokesman told Cricinfo. However, he refused to confirm what date that would be.Sharad Pawar, the ICC president, said the game’s governing body would wait for the police report on the issue before deciding on a course of action.”Until and unless the British authorities complete the investigation, which we hope will be done in two-three days, and establish there is prima facie case, it is difficult for the PCB to take appropriate action,” Pawar said after a teleconference with ICC officials, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and ECB chairman Giles Clarke. “ICC is waiting for the British police to complete investigation. ACSU is also looking into the details. It is also preparing a report in two to three days. The report by British Police and ACSU will give us a proper picture.”Pawar said it was the desire of the ICC, PCB and ECB that Pakistan’s tour of England should continue. “We discussed in depth the Pakistani players’ issue. One thing is that the British Police have not completed their investigation,” he added. “Neither any player has been arrested. As per our information, PCB president is preparing a confidential report which will be submitted to the president and prime minster. He wants guidance from the country’s leadership.”Many boards have already reacted, some of them airing concerns over the fate of planned series against Pakistan. New Zealand Cricket appealed for a swift resolution to the issue to avoid any fallout on Pakistan’s year-end tour of the country . “Justice needs to be done, but also swiftly to stop this dragging on,” New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan told . “It’s very important that we have their best team and that we prepare as well as possible for the World Cup which immediately follows the tour.”Pakistan will play three Twenty20 matches, two Tests and six one-day internationals against New Zealand between December 26 and early February. Before that, Pakistan are set to host South Africa in the UAE for two Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20, but Cricket South Africa has said the series will go ahead as planned.”The tour of Pakistan is part of the ICC Future Tours’ program, which we have to honour, unless instructed otherwise by the ICC,” Gerald Majola, CSA’s CEO, said. “As such, the tour will go ahead as planned.”The BCCI said the matter was for the PCB and ICC to handle. “The BCCI has got nothing to do with it,” its media and finance committee chairman Rajiv Shukla said. “Even if some Indian bookies are involved, the Indian police will look into the matter.”Yawar Saeed, the touring side’s manager denied that the allegations proved that Pakistan cricket was institutionally corrupt. “I would not like to say that. Yes, one has heard and one has read [the allegations], but I would not like to go that far,” said Saeed, insisting that the tour itinerary would continue as planned.

Yorkshire put themselves right back into the race for the County Championship title with a deserved five-wicket victory over leaders Nottinghamshire

09-Sep-2010
ScorecardJonathan Bairstow cracked an aggressive, unbeaten 63, hitting the winning runs as Yorkshire got home by five wickets•Getty Images

Yorkshire put themselves right back into the race for the County Championship title with a deserved five-wicket victory over leaders Nottinghamshire. After bowling the hosts out for 413 in their second innings, with Ajmal Shahzad picking up four wickets to take his match haul to eight for 121, Yorkshire raced to their victory target of 209 inside 43 overs thanks to a sparkling unbeaten 63 from Jonathan Bairstow.There was a brief scare when they lost their top four in the space of six overs, but Bairstow put on 97 in 15 overs for the fifth wicket with Gerard Brophy (41), before taking a single to square leg to complete the win. The victory meant Yorkshire climbed to within seven points of Notts going into the final round of matches.Notts began the day 152 ahead on 357 for 6, realistically needing another 100 runs to stand a chance of an unlikely win after being bowled out for just 59 in their first innings. Nightwatchman Darren Pattinson advanced the score to 373 before misjudging the line of a delivery from Steven Patterson to be plumb lbw shouldering arms for 27, and Notts then saw the last three wickets fall in 12 balls.Steven Mullaney was bowled by Patterson with one that kept low, skipper Chris Read castled for 47 by an offcutter from Shahzad and last man Luke Fletcher deceived by a slower ball from the England seamer to also be bowled. Notts desperately needed early wickets to put any pressure on the visitors but instead openers Adam Lyth and Jacques Rudolph put on 65 in the 12 overs before lunch to deflate the hopes of the home fans.Pattinson briefly provided some inspiration either side of a half-hour rain break, Rudolph edging to gully and Anthony McGrath gloving a vicious throat ball to Read behind the stumps. The Australian quick then had Lyth caught at first slip for three wickets in three consecutive overs and when Andre Adams bowled Andrew Gale through the gate, Notts again had a sniff.But Bairstow and Brophy took advantage of the attacking field to charge towards the finish, Brophy falling with 17 needed to an edge to slip off Adams, before Bairstow finished things off in the company of Adil Rashid. Notts now travel to Old Trafford knowing a 22-point victory will guarantee them the title, having gained more wins over the season than either of their rivals, while Yorkshire must take maximum points from their home tie with Kent and rely on both Notts and Somerset dropping points.

Wet conditions meant New Zealand got no practice ahead of their five-match ODI series in Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2010Wet conditions meant New Zealand got no match practice ahead of their five-match ODI series in Bangladesh. Rain had washed out the first warm-up game on Friday and persistent showers prevented any possibility of the second practice match, scheduled for Sunday between a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI and the visitors. The five ODIs, the first of which is scheduled for October 5, will be held at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.