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Cheteshwar Pujara, the 23-year-old batsman who underwent knee injury in July, has said he has sufficiently recovered to return to competitive cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2011Cheteshwar Pujara, the 23-year-old batsman who underwent knee injury in July, has said he has sufficiently recovered to return to competitive cricket. He is targeting a return to international cricket on India’s tour of Australia in December this year.”I’m quite fit now, I’ve been practising regularly,” Pujara told . “I run well and I’ve no difficulty whatsoever with any of my body movements. I may not play the first couple of Ranji Trophy games [the tournament begins on November 3], but I’m ready for competitive cricket now.”I’m keen, even determined, to get back on track again. I know I’ve to prove my fitness and then to score runs, as in the past. But I see no problem doing both once I start playing cricket. I’m sure of regaining my place in Team India and confident of making it to the Australia tour.”Pujara injured his knee in May while fielding for Royal Challengers Bangalore during the 2011 IPL and had been out of cricket since. During his rehabilitation period after surgery, he had trained under physio Nitin Patel at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. The surgery stalled his bid to secure a spot in India’s Test XI. He had delivered on Test debut against Australia in Bangalore last October, hitting 72 to help India chase down 207 and seal the series 2-0. In the process, he became only the fifth Indian to score a half-century or more in the fourth innings on debut.Pujara is known for his solid, classical technique, and the praise he received as a result had been a motivator, he said. “I feel encouraged when truly great cricketers like Gundappa Viswanath appreciate my technique and performance. This is a big motivation for me. I’m determined to make a comeback.”

Stuart MacGill is seeking an SCG showdown with his old spin rival Shane Warne, hatching a plan to play for the Sydney Sixers in their home match against the Melbourne Stars in the BBL

Daniel Brettig14-Nov-2011Stuart MacGill is seeking an SCG showdown with his old spin rival Shane Warne, hatching a plan to play for the Sydney Sixers in their home match against the Melbourne Stars in this summer’s Twenty20 Big Bash League.ESPNcricinfo understands the Sixers presently plan only to play MacGill in the match against Warne’s Stars, a major box-office draw for the Sixers on December 27, though this may change depending on how his body and bowling develop in coming weeks.The Sixers have two vacant spots remaining in their squad, the other expected to go to an overseas signing.Having retired in the middle of a West Indies tour in 2008, 40-year-old MacGill returned to cricket on the weekend with an appearance for Sydney University in the city’s grade competition.Playing against Fairfield-Liverpool, MacGill returned the figures of 1-26 from four overs, claiming a return catch for his one wicket.The sight of MacGill and Warne taking to the field again as rivals will add another level of drama to the BBL, which is chasing an instant impact with fans and corporate suitors in the first season of the competition.Warne’s signing with the Stars has served to build interest in the Melbourne team but also bolstered membership sales for those scheduled to host the green-clad team in home BBL fixtures.The competition is relying heavily on older names to build initial interest, particularly as it runs head-to-head with Australia’s home Test series against India. In addition to MacGill and Warne, Matthew Hayden (Brisbane Heat) and Brad Hogg (Perth Scorchers) have also emerged from retirement to take part.”It’s got nothing to do with money, if it was about money me coming and playing cricket I’d still be playing in the IPL – I retired from that,” Warne said of his return. “This is something that I’m passionate about, something that I think is unique to Australian cricket, city-based cricket teams are something new and that enticed me.”MacGill’s retirement from cricket was forced primarily by physical ailments, including the ravages of carpal-tunnel syndrome, which robbed the spinner of feeling in his right wrist and fingers. He also suffered from chronic knee trouble, but three years out of the game have allowed for rest and a partial easing of these problems.Since his exit from the game, MacGill has been through several jobs, enjoying success as a wine expert and television host but also making a swift exit from a stint on breakfast radio.

Auckland prevailed over Canterbury in a thrilling high-scoring encounter at the Mainpower Oval in Rangiora, thanks to an unbeaten century from Martin Guptill, who smashed eight sixes in his 120

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jan-2012
Scorecard
Auckland prevailed over Canterbury in a thrilling high-scoring encounter at the Mainpower Oval in Rangiora, thanks to an unbeaten century from Martin Guptill, who smashed eight sixes in his 120. Guptill almost single-handedly guided his team during its chase of 184. Auckland lost two wickets inside the first three overs in the chase but Guptill kept the game on from one end.Though Auckland lost wickets at regular intervals, the batsmen who followed chipped in long enough to support Guptill. Anaru Kitchen, Gareth Hopkins and Colin Munro gave Guptill company in important partnerships, and Ronnie Hira helped finish the game off. With 10 needed off the final over, Auckland managed nine off the first five balls. Hira swung the final delivery, Andrew Ellis, for six to seal victory.Canterbury’s score of 183 centered on three knocks, of 41, 45 and 42 from George Worker, captain Peter Fulton and Dean Brownlie respectively. They were 163 for 9 at one stage after a collapse where they lost 7 for 63, but No.11 Mitchell Claydon took them to 183.

A round-up of the action from the HRV Cup 2011-12 matches

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2012Rapid half-centuries from Azhar Mahmood and Martin Guptill, backed up by a tidy, incisive spell from Ronnie Hira, helped hosts Auckland to a 30-run win against Otago that keeps them safely at the top of the HRV Cup points table. Otago chose to bowl and while Nathan McCullum and Dimitri Mascarenhas produced disciplined spells, the rest of their bowlers were very expensive – Auckland finished with 187 for 2, with Guptill making 65 off 45 and Mahmood providing the late thrust with an unbeaten 79 off49.The Otago batsmen just could not get the required momentum going in the chase. Barring Michael Bates the Auckland bowlers were tight and Hira finished with the pick of the figures: he took 3 for 17 in four, including a double-strike in the eighth over. McCullum and Mascarenhas completed fine all-round showings with rapid cameos towards the end, but the lethargic start meant that was not enough to propel their side home.Rob Nicol picked up four wickets to carve up Wellington’s middle order and help Canterbury to a 61-run win at the Basin Reserve. Wellington chose to field and after solid second-wicket stand between George Worker and Peter Fulton – both players made scores in the 40s – they struck with regularity to keep Canterbury to 151 for 8. Spinner Jeetan Patel, with 3 for 18, was their most effective bowler.However, they fumbled badly in the chase – no batsman other than James Franklin managed to get into double figures, as they folded for 90 in the 17th over. Nicol, the destroyer-in-chief, ran through the middle order and Wellington could not recover, conceding an easy win to Canterbury.

Wade Townsend and Chris Lynn both scored half-centuries on a day of excruciatingly slow progress for Queensland at the Gabba

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2012
ScorecardChris Lynn finished the day on 57•Getty ImagesWade Townsend and Chris Lynn both scored half-centuries on a day of excruciatingly slow progress for Queensland at the Gabba. The Bulls are well clear at the top of the Sheffield Shield table and it appeared they wanted to take no risks against the second-placed Warriors, crawling to 3 for 105 at tea on the first day before they moved along to 7 for 212 at stumps.Lynn was at the crease on 57, having brought up his half-century in the second-last over of the day with a six over long-off from the part-time spin of Adam Voges. It was all the more galling for Voges as he had dropped Lynn in the previous over off Michael Beer. At stumps, Lynn was accompanied by Cameron Boyce, who was on 7.But by picking up four wickets in the final session the Warriors finished the day with some encouraging signs. Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Marsh and Nathan Rimmington each picked up two wickets and Michael Hogan grabbed one, his victim Michael Neser, who chipped in with a handy 38 in the lower order.Townsend made 54 from 190 deliveries and it was slow going during all of the top-order partnerships. Eventually he fell to the bowling of Marsh and the scoring rate picked up slightly, but so did the wicket tally. But with Lynn still in at the close of play, Queensland were hoping to add some handy runs to their total on the second morning.

Ed Cowan and George Bailey have kept Tasmania in the race to make the Sheffield Shield final after they steered the Tigers to victory over Queensland in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2012
ScorecardGeorge Bailey contributed to Tasmania’s success•Getty ImagesEd Cowan and George Bailey have kept Tasmania firmly in the race to make the Sheffield Shield final after they steered the Tigers to victory over Queensland in Hobart. Tasmania were set 161 on the fourth day and they comfortably reached their target with only two wickets down, with Cowan undefeated on 77 and Bailey on 57 when the winning runs came.The Bulls added only 14 runs to their overnight total to be dismissed for 215 when Luke Butterworth claimed his fourth wicket, with Ben Cutting left unbeaten on 66. Despite the early loss of the opener Steve Cazzulino for 9 and the departure of Alex Doolan for 13, Tasmania cruised to victory within 44 overs.Cowan’s work completed a fine match for him after he scored 82 in the first innings, while Bailey showed no ill effects of a quick mid-match trip to Brisbane to cover for the injured Michael Clarke in Australia’s ODI squad. The win pushed Tasmania up to third on the Shield table, only two points behind Queensland and four behind the competition leaders Western Australia.It has been a disappointing fortnight for the Bulls, who were unbeaten in their first six matches of the campaign but have now lost their past two games, to the Warriors and the Tigers. With two rounds left, the top four sides can all still reach the decider, with only New South Wales and South Australia out of the running.

Sushil Nadkarni toured Australia with India Under-19s in 1994-95. Now with his adopted country, USA, he hopes to prove why he was once considered among India’s bright talents

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2012The World T20 Qualifier is a path to fulfilling potential for USA’s Sushil Nadkarni. He toured Australia with India Under-19s in 1994-95 and averaged 30. Now with his new adopted country, Nadkarni hopes to prove why he was once considered among India’s bright talents.Together with making the most of his own ability, Nadkarni, 35, has the task of leading a young USA as they attempt to qualify for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September.”Leading team USA is an honour for me personally and I want to lead from the front,” Nadkarni said. “We are representing thousands of cricketers in the USA and the expectations are pretty high from the stakeholders out here. The average age of the team is about 27 years so a lot of responsibility will sit with the senior players. Everyone is excited to be a part of this high profile tournament.”USA had to qualify just to reach the qualifying tournament, which begins on March 13 in the UAE. But Nadkarni thinks that if his side can overturn the rankings, the impact for cricket in the USA could be significant.”Qualification to the World T20 would be a historic achievement and a dream come true for the entire nation. Much as Major League Soccer went to the next level when the USA soccer team made the World Cup, the same will happen with cricket in the country.”USA will play three practice matches in Dubai before their campaign begins against Uganda in Sharjah. They are drawn with Ireland, Kenya, Scotland, Namibia, Oman and Italy in group B.

A round-up of the One Day National Cup Division Two matches

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2012Group AHalf-centuries by Ali Khan and Yasir Arafat helped Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) beat Lahore Lions by six wickets at LCCA Ground. The Lions chose to bat first but could muster only 212 for 7, led by Fahad-ul-Haq’s 90. He hit eight fours in his knock, off 124 balls. KRL didn’t get off to the best of starts, losing their first three with 37 on board. After Bazid Khan’s departure, KRL were at 95 for 4, but didn’t lose any further wickets as Arafat and Khan added an unbeaten 118 to seal the game. Khan remained unbeaten on 87 while captain Arafat managed to reach his fifty as well.KRL will meet Lahore Eagles in the semi-finals.United Bank Limited (UBL) beat hosts Peshawar Panthers by four wickets in a low-scoring match at Arbab Niaz Stadium. A combined bowling effort by UBL kept the Panthers to a modest 159. Mohammad Rizwan was the top scorer with 36. Rumman Raees, the left-arm seamer, and the spinners Misbah Khan and Kashif Bhatti shared eight wickets between them to round off the innings in the 42nd over. UBL got off to a shaky start, losing two with just three on board, but Tahir Mughal’s 67 ensured they were out of danger.UBL will meet Quetta Bears in the semis.Group BNasir Awais, the Hyderabad Hawks offspinner, finished with astonishing figures of 5 for 10 off 4.2 overs to send Karachi Zebras crashing to 86 in Hyderabad. The Hawks knocked off the runs but lost five wickets in the process. Only four Zebras batsmen passed double figures as Awais ran through the lower order to round off the innings before the 30th over. The Zebras must have sensed their chances of a surprise win when they had the Hawks in trouble at 28 for 4, but Rizwan Ahmed remained unbeaten on 31 to steer the team home.Fifties by Usman Salahuddin and Adnan Raza helped Lahore Eagles to a five-wicket win over Quetta Bears at National Stadium. Taimur Khan hit 64 at No.6 to help the Bears recover from a poor start at 33 for 4. Taimur hit eight fours in his knock but the Bears could only manage a modest 207. Mohammad Saad hit 49 to give the Eagles a good foundation. Salahuddin made 66 while Raza made an unbeaten 62 to see the team through and seal their semi-final spot.

The preview of the game between Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils in Pune

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya23-Apr-2012Match factsTuesday, April 24, Delhi
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Sourav Ganguly’s all-round performance was the highlight of Pune Warriors’ previous clash with Delhi Daredevils•Associated PressBig picturePune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils have had a good look at each other, having played a high-octane game on Saturday. Warriors came back from two straight losses to post what was in the end a comfortable victory, led passionately by Sourav Ganguly. Daredevils, the team to beat so far this season, were in the game when Virender Sehwag and Kevin Pietersen set the Kotla alight during five overs of ruthless domination in a big chase, but were shut out once they fell.Barring Deccan Chargers, the tournament is wide open as the teams head towards the half-way stage of their campaigns, and a defeat for Daredevils will spice things up further. Can they level scores with Warriors, who are playing at home, where they won two out of two?Form guideDelhi Daredevils: LWWWLPune Warriors: WLLWLPlayers to watchAlfonso Thomas came in for Marlon Samuels in Warriors’ previous game and bagged 3 for 22. He was the joint leading wicket-taker for Titans, the winners of South Africa’s MiWay T20 competition, and is the second-highest wicket-taker in the T20 format. He was accurate against Daredevils both early on and during his return spell, and Warriors have good reason to retain him for Tuesday.Morne Morkel is the highest wicket-taker this season but was smacked around by Warriors, going for 50 in three overs, albeit taking three wickets. He was at the receiving end of an early assault from Jesse Ryder, who began fortuitously, edging to third man and fine leg for boundaries, but dealt with him more convincingly thereafter. Morkel has a score to settle.Stats and triviaTaking the first six overs of an innings into account, Warriors scored 316 runs off 252 balls in seven games, going at 7.52 an over. This is, at the time of writing, the second-highest in terms of runs scored and third-highest in terms of run-rates for a team this IPL – Rajasthan Royals top the list for runs (329) and Deccan Chargers (7.86) for run-rates.In Twenty20 cricket, Thomas is third on the list of bowlers who have bowled batsmen the most times. He’s had 54 bowled dismissals in 135 matches. Lasith Malinga heads the list with 70 in 101 games and Dirk Nannes is next with 68 in 142. In the IPL, Malinga again tops the list with 38 in 25. Irfan Pathan is next with 19 in 15.Quotes”Ultimately, we have to see the team balance and right now, his performance behind the stumps has been satisfying. We don’t have many options because we didn’t take part in the auction.”

Chris Gayle, the West Indies batsman, has emphasised the need for a good start for his team in the upcoming five-match ODI series against New Zealand starting in Jamaica

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2012Chris Gayle, the West Indies batsman, has emphasised the need for his team to start the upcoming five-match ODI series against New Zealand on a winning note. West Indies are fresh from a Twenty20 series win over New Zealand in Florida, with Gayle in impressive form, having struck three half-centuries since his return to the side.”The start to this series is very important,” Gayle said on the eve of the first ODI in Jamaica. “From a personal point of view, I want to do well in my home town. I will just look at it as another game. I will look to give the team a good start, look to see what the bowlers are doing, and once I get set, look to capitalise and make it count.”Gayle admitted he’d been relatively slow to start an innings before going on to dominate, something he also experienced in the IPL. “I don’t know why that has been happening. If I get a bad ball early, that can give me the momentum to be more attacking. If that doesn’t happen, you had to adapt to the situation, get the feel and know what the ball is doing. Sometimes as a batsman, things go your way from ball one.”The track at Sabina Park, Gayle said, promised a lot of runs. “The pitch looks good … [it] should be a very good track for batting. I believe there could be some assistance for the fast bowlers early on as well and at some stage you could expect the spinners to come into play. I have played here many times and I’m accustomed to the conditions so we know what to expect.”The last time I walked off Sabina Park I was raising my bat after I got 165 for Jamaica against Windward Islands. That people of Jamaica have not had cricket at Sabina for a while so it is good to have cricket come back to Jamaica. I would love to get a hundred here and raise my bat again.”West Indies were beaten in their previous ODI series, against England, and Darren Sammy, their captain, said there were areas, even in the T20 wins against New Zealand, his team had to improve in. “We’re looking for consistency,” Sammy said. “For the past few series we haven’t started well. In the first game, we bowled a few boundary balls. We started off the overs well, and eased off the pressure in the fifth and sixth balls.”