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An ageing team? A crisis on the cards?

Nathan Hauritz

It may have been a popular refrain 12 months ago but predictions of Australia’s impending decline don’t really look like materialising right now.More to the point, the legion of critics who pointed back then to an apparent lack of emerging Australian talent seem to have been decidedly out of order.Tasmania’s Shane Watson is already beginning to take great delight not only in dismantling such theories but also in providing the prospect that Australia may now have the kind of all-round asset it has not possessed in 40 years.New South Wales batsman Michael Clarke, South Australian paceman Paul Rofe and Tasmanian wicketkeeper Sean Clingeleffer are others among a rising crop of youngsters who look destined for outstanding careers.And, given that the most successful off spinner in the country’s international history played his last match a century ago, it might be argued that the rapid development of Queensland’s Nathan Hauritz bears as much significance as any.Having just been included in a senior national squad for the first time in his career, Hauritz is about to embark on a journey that will see him join Watson and another 13 of his countrymen in South Africa and Zimbabwe for impending limited-overs tours.And, while his base of only seven first-class and 16 domestic one-day games may seem a shallow pool of experience upon which to draw, he looks an outstanding selection. For he already carries with him a cool persona, resourceful skills as a lower order batsman, and a repertoire of deliveries that imply that the future of Australian slow bowling might well be in safe hands.Right now, Hauritz offers living cricketing proof that a lot can happen in a short space of time. Quite apart from helping confound those expectations about Australian cricket’s future, he has even surprised himself in bypassing the low-key introduction to elite level cricket that he had expected.”Never in my wildest dreams had I thought about playing for Australia for about the next five years. Just to listen to it all (and) to take in the idea that people are talking about me playing for my country has been great, very exciting,” said Hauritz to CricInfo earlier this season.”But I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. Shane Warne only came on to the scene when he was around 23 and spinners always seem to mature later than other players.””I’m conscious of the fact that Queensland generally hasn’t produced a lot of top-line spin bowlers over the years as well.”Through it all, 20-year-old Hauritz still appears remarkably settled for a young cricketer. Particularly one coming off a stunning domestic limited-overs season that yielded 18 wickets at an average of 21.16 and culminated in a haul of 4/47 in last month’s ING Cup Final.Delightfully, he still regards himself, in his own words, as “a nobody” and as being very much in the midst of a journey of discovery.”In the one-dayers with Queensland, I’ve found my role’s been made fairly realistic for me and therefore reasonably simple to perform so far. I’ve needed to bowl accurately and at the stumps and change the pace. But I haven’t really needed to spin the ball a lot in those games.”My patience still needs to be improved; that’s probably my biggest problem at the moment.”In junior cricket, you tend to look at picking up a wicket every five or ten overs; when you get to this level, you’re up against much better players and they just wait for the bad ball.”Though keen not to overplay his triumphs, Hauritz’s list of accomplishments at junior level offers a powerful indication of what might await. Remarkably, he was a member of state underage sides in every year that followed his 12th birthday and he quickly became a regular in a range of Australian under-17, under-19 and development squads too.He also enjoyed stints as the under-19 captain of both his state and his country, winning the respect and admiration of players, coaches and administrators alike with his acumen as a leader. Any spectator who witnessed the imaginative, attacking declaration that helped land Queensland an unexpected victory in the final of the national under-19 championships in 2000-01 is just as unlikely to have been left with anything but a favourable impression.”Things took off once I made a Queensland under-13 team. The year before, I had an ok year but I didn’t make the side I wanted to make. From then on, I guess it’s kept going and going and going,” he says of the developments that lie behind his graduation to a post at the head of a dynamic new pack of spinners in Australia.”I think it’s really good, really healthy, now that a lot of young spinners from similar age groups are all starting to break through into the first-class scene at around the same time.”Obviously, there’s a lot of focus on Cameron White because he’s a leg spinner from Victoria but there are others like Xavier Doherty and Aaron O’Brien also starting to make their way into teams now.”It’s very exciting for the future of spin bowling in Australia.”Almost from the moment of his domestic debut at this time last year, Hauritz’s approach has been all about building on his early successes. And making a seamless transition between youth and senior ranks in the shift away from the pinnacle of underage cricket toward the mountain that leads to international selection and potential stardom.Also in focus has been the idea of adding a harder and more practical edge to his game. To help him, among other things, more easily find and beat the edge of the bat. Learning to outwit batsmen has been one of the primary areas of concentration; another has been imparting greater turn to his deliveries.”During my junior career, I was never a big spinner of the ball. (Queensland coach) Bennett King said to me ‘listen, it doesn’t matter how accurate you are, you’ve got to be able to spin the ball when you get to the next level’.”So I’ve been doing a lot of work on learning to spin the ball further. As well as keeping it accurate.”This year is when that’s all started to come together for me.”Over recent months, the reward for his toil has been reflected in his rise to the status of a permanent fixture in Queensland’s first eleven. For the last fortnight, he has additionally been the owner of a much-coveted berth among the company of the nation’s very best limited-overs players.Like former state and national underage teammate Watson, the quietly-spoken Hauritz also owes his first appearance in a senior Australian squad to the foresight of his country’s selection panel and its new, unshakable belief in youth.Though the doomsayers’ clarion cries may suggest he doesn’t have it in him to make it to the top, it seems reasonable to assume that his talents will speak even more loudly than is hoped.

Victoria’s pursuit of a more youthful playing list has crashed into a significant early hurdle today with talented all-rounder Ben Oliver’s decision to leave the state in search of greater opportunities in Tasmania.Oliver confirmed late this afternoon that he has accepted a two-year deal with the Tigers that will see him renew a longstanding association with former Bushrangers’ assistant and new Tasmanian head coach, Brian McFadyen.”It’s a really exciting opportunity for me,” said Oliver of a shift that will be formalised in around four weeks’ time when he settles in Hobart.”It’s an exciting time for Tasmanian cricket (too); they’ve developed some good young cricketers and I’m delighted to be joining that group, and hopefully helping them to enjoy some success in the future.”Brian (McFadyen) and I have a good relationship and he certainly helped me in my time with the Bushrangers. I’m pretty excited to be able to be working with him again over the next couple of years and learning from him.”It’ll hopefully be really positive for my development … to experience life outside of Victoria will be a very good thing for me.”The onset of osteitis pubis meant that the 22-year-old endured a frustrating 2001-02 season, limiting his time with the Bushrangers to two limited-overs appearances at the beginning of the summer.Prior to that, he had established himself as one of Australia’s most exciting prospects, performing with sufficient distinction to claim the ‘Best New Talent’ award in the Mercantile Mutual Cup competition the previous season.A tall right arm medium pacer and talented right handed batsman, he was also a long-serving member of a succession of state and national underage teams during the formative stages of his career.”He’s a player who’s blessed with an excellent attitude toward the game and, though he’s recently been hampered by injuries a little bit, was really on the verge of making a big mark for himself before that,” said Tasmanian assistant coach, Darrin Ramshaw.”Potentially, he’s a long-term player for us and he’s very capable of producing at both one and four-day level.”He’s got ability with the bat and the ball; he’s very talented in all facets of the game,” he added of a recruiting coup that will allow the Pura Cup runner-up to strengthen an already deep reserve of all-round talent headed by current national representative Shane Watson and former Australian under-19 player Scott Kremerskothen.Reaction was understandably more muted in Melbourne, where Oliver and Andrew McDonald had been targeted as the state’s two leading all-rounders of the next decade.”Ben Oliver is a player with obvious potential. He has his reasons for wishing to move to Tasmania and … it was with great regret that we accepted his resignation,” said Victorian Cricket Association chief executive, Ken Jacobs.Oliver’s move south compounds contract manoeuvring in Victoria that has already stripped Damien Fleming, Colin Miller, John Davison, Peter Roach, Shawn Craig and Peter Harper of their status as required players.

Events have conspired against Queensland wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe many times over the course of the last decade. But, with his addition to Australia’s Test and One-Day International squads to tour England, today has become his long overdue day.Seccombe, 29, has a glittering record at interstate level behind him but felt that his hopes of representing Australia had been extinguished after New South Wales gloveman Brad Haddin was twice chosen ahead of him to deputise for Adam Gilchrist in recent months.”This selection is more a surprise than anything. I’m extremely excited about what lies ahead but, at the moment, I’m just totally overwhelmed with the selection and obviously very proud and very honoured,” he said.”There’s always media speculation and a lot of things out of one’s control so I never worry too much (about conjecture over selection decisions). It was an absolute surprise.”In naming their squads early last month, the four-man Australian selection panel had originally elected to leave the onus of wicketkeeping on the three-month tour of England purely to Gilchrist. But this meant that their vice-captain was potentially confronted with the prospect of appearing in at least twenty matches. It also ensured that the Australians were set to defy a longstanding convention of taking at least two recognised wicketkeepers with them on an Ashes visit.According to the panel’s chairman, Trevor Hohns, the reasoning behind that strategy was always likely to come under review and today’s announcement is the result.An outstanding technician behind the stumps and a useful lower order batsman, Seccombe has been an integral member of Queensland teams over recent seasons. His average of close to five dismissals a match (his current tally stands at 339 dismissals from 69 first-class appearances) is easily the most productive of any wicketkeeper in Queensland’s first-class history and he jointly holds the record for the most number of dismissals effected by a wicketkeeper in a single Australian domestic summer. He has also amassed more than 2,000 runs with the bat.But, until the retirement of the former custodian, he was forced to live largely in the shadow of Queensland and Australian icon, Ian Healy. It was not until the 1999-2000 season that he inherited a full-time role at first-class level for the first time and even that elevation did not arrive without the trauma of a broken wrist and a broken collarbone along the way. More recently, even his excellent run of success in domestic cricket did not yield anything beyond two Australia ‘A’ caps by way of higher honours.”The last season or two, I probably thought that was the case,” he said of the assessment that an international call-up might have been set to permanently elude him.But Seccombe has always remained a driven cricketer, nonetheless.”It hasn’t been hard to remain motivated. Obviously, the wicketkeeper’s role is pivotal in a game of cricket but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all the successes Queensland has achieved and that’s been the driving force behind things: because I’ve been a part of such a successful team.”Haddin, a more aggressive batsman and six years Seccombe’s junior, was preferred for a one-day contest against Zimbabwe in January and then covered briefly for an ailing Gilchrist on the national team’s recent visit to India. Seccombe was also narrowly pipped for a similar role to the one for which he has now been chosen when Victoria’s Darren Berry was brought in ahead of him as a late replacement on the 1997 Ashes tour.Like Berry, Seccombe was playing League cricket in England at the time and remains keenly aware of the potentially heavy workload of an Ashes trip.”All the hard yards that I’ve put in and the constant work has paid off to a big degree today. But a lot of hard work is ahead of me from now on. This is definitely not a time to sit back and relax at all; it’s probably a time to go even harder with everything.””Should any sort of opportunity arise (in England), I’ve now got to be ready to take it.”

Saqlain Mushtaq – His off breaks might have done it at Lord’s! Photo © CricInfo

Saqlain, Saqlain and Saqlain…! His name is cropping up like an SOS signal for the Pakistan team.The cricket world and the critics appear to have gone into a fit about Saqlain. Screaming, had he been included at Lord’s the result of the match would’ve been different. How, so ask I?Pakistan conceded 391 in the first innings. This certainly wasn’t a mammoth total then, though it later proved to be more than enough. Let’s assume Saqlain were in the side, according to the wishes of all and sundry, England would perhaps have made 350 ± 10. And I’m sure, the way they played, Pakistan would still have lost, perhaps with a smaller margin. One can quibble that they might have avoided an innings defeat but most likely lost by 9 or 10 wickets.Thus, I question, does a 10-wicket defeat hurt less than an innings defeat? We all know a defeat is after all a defeat; surely, if the losing team hasn’t put up a fight then a loss by even one wicket is just as disgraceful.Now who would’ve made way for Saqlain? In all probability Azhar Mahmood. Looking at the pre-match scene, he was the surprise choice (irrespective of how he fared in the match or what his figures read afterwards). Moreover, this Pakistani all-rounder has never been thought of as a first choice inclusion in a Test side while Abdur Razzaq, his closest rival, is around. Notwithstanding past injuries, Azhar had only appeared in a test match way back in 1999 when Pakistan visited Australia.So, if Saqlain had been there would he have matched Azhar’s miserly figures of 4 for 50 in 26 overs? Highly improbable, when one considers the nature of the pitch at Lord’s and the few overs of insipid spin seen. It simply wasn’t a spinner’s wicket.If Wasim, Waqar and Shoaib didn’t succeed, it does not mean the pitch held nothing for seamers, and instead had ‘everything’ for spinners. If that were the case the hosts would not have gone out without a regular spinner and Gough and Caddick would have been just as ineffective as the Pakistani pacers.I am left wondering at my fellow writers’ ‘bias’ in evaluating things. In assessing England’s innings, most have focused only on the way Pakistan bowled, ignoring the naked truth that England batted brilliantly. They applied themselves to the task and grafted their innings with a lot of maturity – a fact overlooked by almost every other Pakistani batsman. And, did anyone bother to analyse how Saqlain would have countered such brilliance?Now let’s look at it in another way. Pakistan did bat terribly, true! But their performance was not as poor (sic) as the performance of English bowlers and fielders was superb – again an aspect generally ignored by almost everyone. It’s like one’s view about a half a pint in a pint mug – some think of it as half-full but others say it’s half-empty.All this boils down to one thing. Apart from Caddick and Gough’s thunder and lightening and a few complaints about umpiring generosity (without which, the outcome would only have been delayed), the real reason for Pakistan’s humiliation was very fragile batting.I feel no embarrassment in admitting that Pakistanis played club-level cricket. There was no maturity whatsoever in their shot selection, no visible game plan and almost all of them found it hard to negotiate balls pitched on and outside the off stump. Most ended up offering catches behind the stumps, and the English fielders made absolutely no mistake in grateful acceptance.Absolutely no enjoyment for Pakistani fans while their English counterparts, must have relished it and, more so, the England fielders loved the early season catching practice. While Saeed Anwar, Inzamam and Yousuf Youhana fell to poor shot selection, perhaps fair evidence of over-confidence, Saleem Elahi, Azhar Mahmood, and Razzaq simply had no clue to cope with Caddick and Gough’s precision.

Saqlain Mushtaq – A handy lower order batsman Photo © AFP

Saqlain fans add he would have proved handy in the lower order but this is a silly argument when one thinks and realizes that to rely on a few late runs after the top had been decimated could have changed the result. Admittedly, his record bears evidence to some good rearguard innings, like his recent maiden century at Christchurch. I’d only say if one has to judge someone on his past record, then what about Inzamam and Saeed’s 45 plus averages in test cricket.Despite all my nationalism, reading the writing on the wall does not allow for a beautiful fantasy: Saqlain batting seven or eight down and hitting centuries in both innings, saving Pakistan!

The last time Kolkata Knight Riders were in South Africa was during their disastrous IPL 2009 campaign when they finished at the bottom of the table. Since then, they went for a multi-million dollar overhaul and changed the entire machinery starting with their captain. Out went an old, weary and confused lot and in came a leaner, more efficient and cohesive Knight Riders version 2 and the change had an immediate effect.The Champions League will be a different beast though. Knight Riders have the tough task of leading the IPL flag in markedly different conditions. The other challenge for the team will be to hit the ground running in the two-week long tournament, as their won’t be many chances to make a comeback after a bad start.So, to avoid all that good work between 2009 and this trip, Knight Riders will need their leading lights to show the way. That includes the captain Gautam Gambhir, Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee and Sunil Narine, who played a key role in his team’s IPL triumph, and the only remnant of the 2009 trip, Brendon McCullum.Though Gambhir was the chief aggressor and one of the leading run-getters in IPL this year – he scored 590 runs at a strike rate of 143.55 – his current form could be a concern. Therefore, the responsibility of leading a talented, but young, batting brigade will rest on McCullum and Kallis. The South African pitches will also suit their games.Knight Riders’ bowling fortunes will still largely depend on Narine – the second highest wicket-taker in IPL 2012. But their support cast was impressive as well. L Balaji’s performance this year didn’t escape the eyes of the national team selectors, while Rajat Bhatia’s canny medium-pace fetched him 13 wickets. The team also includes two of the world’s best allrounders in Kallis and Shakib Al Hasan.The tournament is also an opportunity for some Indian players – like Manoj Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan – to impress the new national selection panel. Tiwary has waited for a year with his foot in the door and a good showing in South Africa could add weight to his CV. For Yusuf, a performance true to his reputation could bring him back in the reckoning for an India limited-overs spot.

How they qualified

Knight Riders are the current IPL champions. After coming second to Delhi Daredevils in the league stage by one point, Knight Riders beat Daredevils in the first playoff to qualify for their maiden final, in Chennai. There, they beat Super Kings by five wickets.

Key Player

Gautam Gambhir has instilled aggression into the team with his captaincy. His batting has reaped the benefit of his approach, as he rose from being an accumulator to destroyer. In this year’s IPL, Gambhir scored six half-centuries, slammed 17 sixes and collected 64 boundaries – well ahead of the next batsman in the team. Some of these runs came on the slow Kolkata track on which others found it hard to get going. Despite his recent form in international cricket, his resilience will still hold the key for Knight Riders.

Surprise package

Just when Chennai Super Kings had thought they were on track for another IPL title, Manvinder Bisla proved to be the jack-in-the-box with a brutal and nerveless 48-ball 89 that won the Knight Riders their first IPL title. That innings represented 42% of Bisla’s batting contribution in the tournament, but it also showcased his talent as he easily outscored Kallis at the other end.

Weakness

Gambhir was inspiring with his batting earlier this year and fortunate to have ideal bowlers for the tired, slow and low pitches in India. However, all those plans will need a rejig on fresher pitches that retain some moisture. Gambhir, the captain, could be susceptible to the bounce himself and the movement, and his failure could drag the team along.

Defeating Pakistan by 77 runs Sri Lanka emerged as the legitimate winners of the ARY Gold Cup. The way they toyed with Pakistan in the grand final was a treat to watch and exciting too. Sri Lanka’s triumph can be called a victory of `fielding and determination’, the most important elements in the game of cricket. Pakistan’s miserable fielding and distressing catch droppings that allowed Sri Lanka to pile up a mammoth 297 runs. In contrast, Sri Lanka’s marvelous fielding and flawless catching brought them to the victory stand.In hindsight, had the Pakistan fielders held their catches the situation may well have been different. With a lesser quantum of pressure Pakistan would have batted with more confidence to achieve the target. Though Saeed Anwar displayed the courage of a lion to fight the lone battle, the target was rather too tall to achieve without equal support from the other end. He was out after scoring a defiant 62 and his departure signaled the end of any hopes of Pakistan’s survival.One must give Sri Lanka the credit it deserves for such a fabulous victory. Putting defeats in the league matches behind them, they rejuvenated to face a high riding Pakistan outfit, eventually defeating them in all departments of the game.Winning the toss could be a good omen for Sri Lanka because the Pakistan team was not good at chasing the target. Pakistan got the 1st break through when opener Romesh Kaluwitharana was run out with the total at 8. Waqar Younis and Abdur Razzaq bowled well to restrict the score to 33 after 10 overs.During the next 5 the batsmen broke the cordon by hitting a few fours. Jayasuriya delighted the over-flowing crowd by punishing Razzaq for two mighty sixes in one over. The rate of scoring jumped, with 15 overs yielding 64 runs and Jayasuriya and Atapattu were now in full flow.Pakistan suffered the 1st blow when Waqar Younis dropped Jayasuriya, trying a flying shot to the boundary. He survived a 2nd chance when keeper Humayun Farhat failed to hold a flick. Jayasuriya hoisted his 50 with 3 sixes, while 100 of the innings came in 23 overs.After playing a fabulous innings of 70 Jayasuriya finally offered an easy catch to Inzamam off Shoaib Malik and Sri Lanka were 122 for 2. Having scored 47 runs, his highest of the tournament, Marvan Atapattu tried a reverse sweep but was dropped. After completing his 50 a little later, he again skied a ball, which Inzamam failed to hold. With such liberal dropping of catches it did not look to be Pakistan’s day.Taking full advantage of Pakistan’s poor fielding Atapattu and Jayawardene were on the rampage scoring runs on almost every ball. They hit a flurry of fours, sixes and even reverse sweeps. In the rush of things Jayawardene was dropped by Saqlain taking the tally of dropped catches to 6. Pakistan’s fielding was simply atrocious.To the joy of a very enthusiastic crowd, the tempo of the game kept rising, 64 runs coming off 6 overs and the 200 of the innings in the 41st over. Pakistan bowlers and fielders who had been under severe punishment from the batsmen got a sigh of relief when Atapattu was run out after scoring a stormy 89 and Sri Lanka was 233 for 3.When Sri Lanka reached 245 in 46 overs, runs started coming at jet speed. After smashing Waqar Younis for two mighty sixes, Jayawardene made his way out after scoring an invaluable 67. The gamble of bringing in off spinner Saqlain Mushtaq paid off when he made short work of Jayawardene and Chaminda Vaas in one over, bringing down Sri Lanka to 276 for 6 but with a late flurry by Zoysa, Sri Lanka reached a massive 297 for 7. With a 3 wickets haul Saqlain was the leading bowler.Facing the mountain like target, Pakistan lost openers Shahid Afridi and Imran Nazir for only 13 runs in a desperate and panicky start, going for runs. Humayun Farhat was sent to stem the rot. Guided by Saeed Anwar he did a wonderful job of holding the other end and scoring runs at a brisk pace.After playing an excellent innings of 39 Humayun fell victim of a superb catch taken by Muralitharan at point. Pakistan lost the 3rd wicket at 86 scored in 10 overs. Saeed Anwar was still holding the fort with 27. Inzamam did not stay for long and Younis Khan joined him in the pavilion a little later. Abdur Razzaq came and went rendering Pakistan to a hopeless 108 for 6.Succumbing Sri Lanka’s marvelous fielding and sensational catching ability Pakistan was in serious trouble. While Saeed Anwar held his ground with courage the procession continued from the other end. In a late partnership with Shoaib Malik he took the total to 159 in 22 overs.Fighting a lone battle Saeed hoisted his 39th 50 in one-day cricket but departed after scoring a valiant 62, rewarding Jayasuriya with his 200th wicket in one-day matches. Down to 159 for 7, Pakistan had a lot of overs in the kitty but no match winners left among the tail-enders.Although Shoaib Malik scored a defiant 44 while Waqar contributed 20. Pakistan was all out for 220. Sri Lanka won the final of the ARY Gold Cup by 77 runs. Chaminda Vaas was the highest wicket taker with 3 victims.Man of the Match was Marvan Atapattu and of the Series was Inzamam-ul-Haq.

ScorecardTim Ambrose was at the crease when rain and bad light brought an early finish•Getty Images

Warwickshire remain favourites to win the 2012 County Championship despite putting in one of their least-impressive performances of the summer. Having left themselves an enormous task by taking 91 overs to bowl out Middlesex at a cost of 412 runs, the likelihood of their chasing down 367 from 83 overs to win always seemed remote. Yet they cannot have imagined they would struggle to secure a draw.In the end they probably had the weather to thank for sparing them a defeat. Five down when rain in mid-afternoon caused a loss of 16 overs, they were 152 for 7 when bad light 20 minutes into the final hour ended the match, with a minimum of 8.2 overs still to be bowled.Nonetheless, thanks to rain denying Sussex a win at Taunton, Warwickshire increase their lead from 11 points to 12. They have three matches to play, second-placed Sussex have two. Nottinghamshire, in third place and also with three matches left, are a further 15 points behind. They are at Edgbaston next week for a match that could be the title decider.Although Boyd Rankin and Chris Wright took five wickets each in the second innings – sharing 15 in the match – the Warwickshire bowling lacked discipline overall, with too many boundaries conceded and a high count in no-balls. The batting was not particularly impressive, either, with a couple of exceptions. Afterwards, director of cricket, Ashley Giles, conceded that his players might have lost a little intensity, perhaps thinking the job was already done.”We have slightly lost focus and for us we were a bit ragged,” Giles said. “We lost our discipline a bit with the ball. There were too many boundaries and no-balls crept in.”With the bat we were 223 for three in the first innings and then lost five wickets in an afternoon session. What we have done well this year is that someone has come and seen the new ball off, we have consolidated and gone again.”We didn’t do that and that was a bit of sloppiness. We need to re-focus on the day-to-day stuff because I think our eyes moved too far towards the middle of September rather than what is happening now. Middlesex played very well and will feel hard done by but perhaps we have played well often enough this season to have earned that bit of luck.”That was by far our worst week in the Championship this season but somehow we have got through it and actually stretched our lead slightly. We need to play better than that if we are to win the title but we have dodged a bullet and I think we will be all right now.”Resuming on 351 for 5, Middlesex were already 305 in front but at that stage were more interested in insuring themselves against defeat and batted on. If they had a declaration in mind, it probably would have come with another 50 or so added but in allowing the innings to follow its natural course they reached that point anyway, more or less.The new ball was available and Warwickshire took it immediately. They had success in the second over with it when Wright had Dawid Malan caught behind for 140, three short of his career best. But another half-a-dozen expensive overs passed before Steven Crook was caught behind edging a pull shot. He and Gareth Berg put on 42 in that time but the last four Middlesex wickets went in consecutive overs. Berg’s 73 contained 10 boundaries, which was an accurate reflection of how often Middlesex were offered scoring opportunities.Warwickshire probably never seriously entertained pursuing their target and after losing both openers inside the first six overs were certainly not interested. Ian Westwood, after his first-innings century, perished for a duck, caught well by Adam Rossington, diving low to his left behind the stumps. Varun Chopra simply played a poor shot, top-edging a pull that looped easily to mid-on.William Porterfield and Darren Maddy, who have struggled for runs all season, did themselves no favours as Giles weighs up his options for next week. Porterfield propped forward to the first ball bowled by Ravi Patel, the young left-arm spinner, missed it and was stumped. Maddy was leg-before wicket playing across a straight one from Berg.Rikki Clarke, only half-forward, was lbw to Toby Roland-Jones and at 86 for 5 Warwickshire were in such trouble that they were grateful for once that the showers threatened in the weather forecast duly turned up.When they had passed, there were still 36 overs left in the day, more than enough time, it seemed, for Middlesex to give themselves an unexpected boost if the pattern continued.By then the light was poor and the umpires made it clear that Middlesex would have to use only their slow bowlers if they wanted to stay on the field. In the event, Patel bowled with a good deal more confidence than he had in the first innings and claimed a significant wicket when Jim Troughton, who was by then Warwickshire’s best hope for a steady hand, was surprised by a ball that bounced and turned and gloved a catch that Rossington took on the leg side.Tim Ambrose defied the pain of a sore knuckle that had required a precautionary trip to the X-ray department earlier in the day but Ian Blackwell increased the tension when he carelessly drove one straight back to Patel, after which Warwickshire greeted a further deterioration in the light with some relief.

ScorecardGraeme White claimed his first five-wicket haul in Twenty20•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire secured home advantage for their quarter-final in the Friends Life t20 after a thumping victory over Lancashire facilitated by a typically spectacular 82 by Alex Hales and a career-best performance by their left-arm spinner, Graeme White, who will look back on 2013 as the year he helped two counties through to the last eight.White’s 5 for 22 eclipsed the 4 for 14 he achieved earlier in this year’s competition, while he was on loan at Northamptonshire, who themselves booked a quarter-final place by beating Glamorgan in Cardiff on Friday.He made three appearances for the Steelbacks during his month at Wantage Road, a move primarily designed to give him more opportunities in first-class cricket after failing to find a place in the Notts team. His parent club gave the go-ahead for him to play Twenty20 as well because they could not guarantee him a place.But after watching his four-wicket performance against Gloucestershire in Northants’ opening game, Notts found room for White on his return to Trent Bridge and he has rewarded them with 10 wickets in six matches.”Trying to break into the Notts team has been hard work because we have a strong squad but all I can do is try to get wickets when I play, whether it is in the first team, the second team or on loan,” White said. “I was pleased to go back to Northants to get some first-team cricket but I don’t know whether anything more will come of that. I’m looking forward to playing for Notts in the quarter-final, if selected.”Twenty20 is a format that suits me and it just seems to have clicked for me this year, when maybe I’ve got a bit more experience, a bit more nous about knowing what the batsmen are trying to do. There is a niche in this format for slow bowlers and long may that continue.”Hales’s 82 – following the 38-ball 62 that clinched his side’s place in the quarter-finals with victory over Yorkshire on Friday – came off 52 deliveries as he and Michael Lumb gave the home side an explosive start after Lancashire captain Glen Chapple had won the toss and opted to bowl first.The pair blitzed 59 from 29 balls before Lumb was caught at mid-on from the last ball of the power play overs. Hales had an escape on 20 when Mitchell McClenaghan put down a chance at mid-on off Tom Smith and went on to play some outrageous shots, including three sixes in a row off the unfortunate Smith, who gained a small measure of revenge when he eventually ran Hales out with a direct hit from midwicket.So dominant was the tall right-hander, who has an impressive record of 18 half-centuries in 80 Twenty20 innings, that the first 50 runs of his 63-run stand with Samit Patel came off 19 balls, with Patel contributing 2.”It has been a difficult season for me in red-ball cricket – I just keep finding different ways to get out,” Hales said. “But my technique is different for Twenty20 and I am able to put that to the back of my mind in these games. But hopefully I can take this form back into Championship cricket. My natural game is to try to get on top of the bowlers and if I can combine that with picking better options then hopefully it can come off.”Canny batting from Chris Read and Riki Wessels meant Lancashire would have to exceed their highest score batting second in Twenty20 by five runs to secure victory – and a home quarter-final for themselves – and they made the worst possible start when Stephen Moore chipped the first ball of their reply back to Patel, who would extend his haul in the competition to 14 by taking 3 for 34.Smith and Croft hinted that Lancashire might be capable of getting close to their target with a third-wicket stand of 33, but once Smith had fallen to a brilliant boundary catch by Steven Mullaney at long-off and Croft was leg-before Lancashire were beginning to look out of it.When White claimed his third wicket in the space of nine deliveries as Simon Katich popped up a tame caught-and-bowled off a leading edge, they certainly were, although Lancashire had the consolation of knowing that they are already through to the last eight.After pulling in more than 10,000 for Friday night’s win over Yorkshire and 8,000 plus for this match, Notts can anticipate another bumper turnout for their quarter-final in addition to the £150,000 windfall generated by five full houses at the first Ashes Test; 2013 is turning into a golden summer for Notts, at least in financial terms.The glow will be brighter still if there is a trophy to go with it, which is why there will be a heavy weight of expectation on the shoulders of Mick Newell’s team when they reconvene here in just over a week’s time. It will be their fourth consecutive quarter-final in a competition in which they have reached Finals Day only twice.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Ishant Sharma exploited the steep bounce and seam movement well•AFP

The only glitches in India’s march into the final were two sets of pitch invaders running on to the field on two separate occasions. On a Cardiff surface with a lot of moisture, the ball seamed, bounced steeply and turned appreciably, and the Indian bowlers were all over Sri Lanka after winning the toss. In the afternoon, the Indian openers continued their run of impressive stands, adding 77 through some luck and some attractive shots, and India cruised home with 15 overs to spare.It would have reminded India of their first day of international cricket in South Africa on the 2010-11 tour, when they were inserted on a pitch that had absorbed a lot of rain and were bowled out for 136. Watching the first innings of this match, it seemed Sri Lanka had done well to not be rolled over for 136 themselves. The conditions were so juicy India’s three frontline quicks bowled the first 22 overs – even MS Dhoni had a bowl later – and India either beat the bat or hit edge on 68 occasions.The Sri Lankan batsmen couldn’t be blamed much, except for probably Kusal Perera. They had to dig in hard just to survive. They strived to – Kumar Sangakkara had left alone 12 out of his first 32 balls – but eventually the ball with your name arrived. However, what really foiled Sri Lanka’s plans was the assistance the pitch provided to spin, which they hadn’t budgeted for when they were batting out the quicks like it was a Test. The quicks went for 98 for four wickets in their 30 overs; the spinners took four wickets for 81 in their 20.The pitch might have been great help, but India exploited the toss advantage with impressive accuracy. The first extra came in the 20th over. Angelo Mathews, among others, fought the conditions, but like others he too fell the moment he became adventurous.It didn’t help that Sri Lanka had lost Dinesh Chandimal to injury before the match began and Tillakaratne Dilshan retired hurt in the fifth over. Kusal showed again that his game is not suited for these conditions as he followed a full and wide delivery to edge it for Suresh Raina to take one of his three catches at second slip. It was the seventh time in 12 matches that Buvneshwar Kumar had taken a wicket in his first spell, including five openers dismissed in single figures.Then Dilshan seemed to have pulled his calf while trying to keep out a sharply swinging delivery. He tried to bat on, but with the new no-runner regulations he had to leave the field. Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne began to play it like the first morning of a Test, and justifiably so.India kept the pressure up with Bhuvneshwar bowling a nine-over spell, and Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma getting appreciable movement every time they landed the ball on the seam. Ishant got the ball to stick into the pitch and steep tennis-ball bounce too.Sangakkara began to take the odd risk at the end of the 13th over, but when he charged at Bhuvneshwar and square-drove him for the first boundary since the fourth over, the score had reached only 32. Around this time, Ishant was beginning to get balls to misbehave a lot. The batsmen had to start playing at balls sooner or later, and when they did it didn’t bring good news.The combination of that bounce and seam movement finally accounted for Thirimanne, who followed a short-of-a-length delivery and fended in front of his chest. Sangakkara provided a replay in case you had missed it. Raina had taken all three, and the score now was 41 for 3 after 18 overs. It was so inviting that when Dhoni finally took off a seamer after 22 overs, he gave up the pads and began to bowl the 24th over.During their 78-run stand in 18.1 overs, Mahela Jayawardene and Mathews successfully reviewed an lbw call each, and seemed to have put Sri Lanka back on track. With the ball turning thanks to the moisture, their plans unravelled. Jayawardene was bowled by a Jadeja skidder, and the batting Powerplay’s analysis read 5-2-12-1.Everyone who tried big hits in the remaining overs fell to the tricks of the pitch. Dilshan came back to bat for the last two overs. Sri Lanka, though, could manage just the 54 in the last 10. About an hour later, by when the Indian openers had seen off the Nuwan Kulasekara threat, it almost seemed the pitch had lost all its moisture. Shikhar Dhawan continued to drive and cut fearlessly, Rohit Sharma continued to provide the starts, and Virat Kohli added a fifty to four centuries in his last seven matches against Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka didn’t help themselves. They used Lasith Malinga – their best hope despite his poor record against India – only for three overs at the top and then when India had chugged along to 93 for 1. They dropped Dhawan thrice, first when he was on 18. India were not complaining, though.

Sri Lanka’s sports ministry has backtracked on the sports minister’s comments about the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL), and has assured that the tournament will go ahead as scheduled. Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage had told a local newspaper that “the tournament is in trouble” because the franchise owners were pulling out, but a ministry release issued on Tuesday refuted those claims.”At no stage have the franchises refused or stated their inability to participate in the forthcoming SLPL 2013,” the release said. “The Ministry of Sports wishes to confirm that Sri Lanka Cricket will conduct the SLPL on the scheduled dates, from August 10 to September 07, 2013.”The seven SLPL franchises were not sold outright but were leased for a seven-year period by SLC. Both the minister and SLPL tournament director Ajit Jayasekara confirmed that the franchises asked for an extension of the lease period in order to recover their costs, and the ministry today said the requested extension was for a whopping eight additional years, which would take the total lease period to 15 years. Sri Lanka’s attorney general is currently being consulted on whether that request can and should be accommodated.At present, each franchise pays an average of $4.3 million per year for their team to compete, and this figure does not include operational costs. Significant losses were understood to have been sustained by every franchise during the first SLPL, but the tournament had been pitched to them as a long-term investment, according to SLPL promotional partners Somerset Entertainment Ventures.The inaugural tournament had been a minor financial boon for SLC, as the board attempts to recover from heavy debts incurred before the 2011 World Cup. Neither the sports ministry, nor Jayasekara specified what action the franchises might take if SLC did not acquiesce to their extension request.