Gayle joins calls for IPL window

West Indies captain Chris Gayle has joined a growing band of international cricketers calling for a permanent window for the Indian Premier League.

Gayle leads the West Indians' defence of the Wisden Trophy at Lord's this week, having only been in the country since Tuesday morning due to commitments with Kolkata Knight Riders.

"There should be a window for the IPL where all players should be available, so that everybody can get the chance to be amongst and play against the best," said Gayle. "Make it just like a World Cup event, so that everybody gets a fair share of it."

Both the 29-year-old and Fidel Edwards were participating in the second season of the IPL as were England trio Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara, all of whom were back on these shores by last Friday.

Next year's IPL has been shifted to start in March, which will at least avoid a clash with the English domestic season, and staging it in a slot away from international scheduling appears to be the only way to preserve the pre-eminence of Test cricket.

Gayle was originally scheduled to join up with his colleagues over the weekend but requested to play another match for Kolkata Knight Riders, which meant he did not report to the team hotel until 48 hours before the start of Wednesday's first npower Test.

"We all knew this situation would happen. Basically it was a tour which was slid in," said Gayle, referring to the fact West Indies are deputising for Sri Lanka, who could not guarantee a full-strength side.

"We were all due at the IPL, so with it coming upon us we discussed the situation with the board members and they gave us permission to be back at a certain, particular time.

"It is nothing new, so people should not be surprised. No one is bigger than the game, so I asked for permission to come back a day later."

[the article was orginally published at http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jNQcT4KzGGIYJvBLWKYZjWZWu8uA]

Andrew Strauss challenges IPL batsmen to rise to Test challenge

Andrew Strauss has challenged his IPL batsmen to prove they can switch from sloggers into battle-hardened Test men in the blink of an eye.

England's mammoth summer of cricket begins today at Lord's, and captain Strauss has his fingers crossed that Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, and Ravi Bopara can forget the IPL extravwithout aganza and remember what it takes to score a Test ton.

All three have only just returned from a stint in South Africa at the transplanted IPL and will try to prove that a lack of preparation and game time in English conditions won't get in the way of Test success.

"For the guys who've come in from the IPL to Test cricket their mindset the key," said Strauss, who is seeking payback against the West Indies after the series defeat in the Caribbean this winter.

"If they get that right then they'll perform well and at the moment it seems like they're in a good place.

"For the Twenty20 World Cup it was fantastic they were there, but for this Test series, it's important they put all that to the back of their minds and concentrate on what they are good at, Test cricket-wise.

"But they are all good experienced players and there is no reason why they can't do that. You don't want Test cricket to be devalued in any way, shape or form.

"There's a line there, and we certainly wouldn't want our players to be arriving two days before a Test."

Strauss was clearly giving West Indies captain Chris Gayle a nudge in the ribs for his 11th-hour arrival in England for the tour having stayed at the IPL to play in an extra match.

Gayle pitched up at Lord's on Monday having landed that morning to enjoy a blearyeyed net session which he claims did just the trick to get him ready for today's game.

Traditionalists will suggest his claims are nothing more than bravado, yet should he turn on the style at Lord's, then it will go a long way to prove the modern cricketer can have his cake and eat it.

Gayle said: "I'm good and I feel ready to go. Practising the day I got back wasn't difficult because you set your mind to do these things and it was good to have a hit and get a feel of everything so that I'll be ready for the game."

For Strauss the challenge this week is to bring an end to a rotten run of 14 series a win in the first Test match, and whether his men have been to the IPL or not he is demanding a ferocious start.

New head coach Andy Flower admitted in the Caribbean that it was a statistic that bothered him and he would be out to do things differently as a result.

The suggestion is that England players have been too relaxed before. Not this time if Strauss and Flower have anything to do with it.

Strauss added: "It is something we're mindful of and any thoughts of easing into the Test match summer, have to be avoided at all costs.

"A lot of that depends on our mindset and how we arrive at the ground in the morning and we want to put that record straight.

"We had good chats with the players and it looks like most of the guys have hit the ground running this season."

[the article was originally published at http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/2009/05/06/fired-up-or-burned-out-115875-21335716]

Pietersen happy to leave on a high

Durban (PTI): Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Kevin Pietersen, who played his last game of this IPL on Wednesday, said it was a great feeling to sign off with a victory and hoped his side can carry forward the momentum in the remainder of the tournament.

Under Pietersen, Royal Challengers started their IPL campaign on a fairytale note, beating defending champions Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural match of the high-profile event.

Thereafter, the Bangalore outfit lost four successive games only to return to winning ways defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets.

"Yeah I'm very happy. Came and won the first game, didn't go quite as planned in the middle but to go back now winning the last game feels great. Hopefully, the boys will carry forward from here and use the momentum for the rest of the tournament," said Pietersen, who will return home to join the national team for the Test series against the West Indies starting next week at Lord's.

"But in this form of the game, still there is lot of work to do. We just need to play as well as we can," he added.

[the article was originally published at http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/007200904292201.htm]

IPL-II has warmed up nicely

The IPL-II has now warmed up nicely. At least six of the eight teams could have a real shot at the title and this implies suspense which is essential to any good sporting event.

The laggards are Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore and unfortunately, both only have tougher days ahead.

Knight Riders would lose Chris Gayle on his national duty and that means the face of the team’s batting is gone.

Brendon McCullum hasn’t been the same free-spirited batsman since being the captain but then he is always looking over the shoulder to see how many hands are up for the challenge in his absence.
Inspirational leadership

Lightweight batting needs inspirational leadership, such as Shane Warne provides to his team regularly.

In bowling too, a lot has come to rest on Ishant Sharma who hasn’t been his normal self. There are tough days ahead for KKR.

Royal Challengers is licking its own wounds. Kevin Pietersen is criticised for its ills and that is understandable since he is the most expensive buy of the tournament.

Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis are alright but they need a Hulk Hogan of a striker in their ranks.

Of the rest, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Dardevils and Deccan Chargers inspire confidence.

All these four teams have an allround balance and that matters. Names such Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbahjan Singh, Suresh Raina, M.S. Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Pragyan Ojha figure in these teams and that is virtually India’s ODI line-up!

These men are worth their weight in gold.

Even their foreign buys are incredible: Sanath Jayasuriya and Lasith Malinga for Mumbai; Matthew Hayden and Muttiah Muralitharan for Chennai; A.B. de Villiers and Daniel Vettori for Delhi and Adam Gilchrist and Fidel Edwards for Hyderabad have been awesome.

All these teams have solid opening bowlers and batsmen and that tell us something about successful teams in this format.

With Andrew Symonds joining the Chargers ranks soon it will be one team to keep an eye on.
Dark horses

Punjab and Jaipur ought to be the dark horses. Punjab, for it has such incredible batting talent as well as two new ball bowlers who can take the best by surprise.

Yusuf Abdulla has no international reputation but try telling this to his domestic opponents in South Africa and they would vouch he is the best going around in T20 circuit.

Irfan Pathan doesn’t inspire fear but unfailingly picks up important wickets.

As for Jaipur, never write it off. It has this uncanny ability to throw up stars out of nowhere. Kamran Khan can be the fizz of this tournament.

The team will only look up when Graeme Smith starts flexing his muscles.

[the article was originally published at http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/26/stories/2009042651161800.htm]

Flintoff dismisses IPL fitness fears

Andrew Flintoff does not believe playing in the Indian Premier League will have a detrimental effect on his performances for England because of the amount of cricket he has missed in the last year.

The 31-year-old has had several niggling injuries, the latest of which was a hip problem that ruled him out of the final Test and first two one-day internationals in the West Indies.

It has been suggested Flintoff should be wrapped in cotton wool ahead of the Ashes this summer, but the all-rounder told Radio Five Live's Sportsweek: "I don't know about that. I have missed so much cricket through injury that I don't want to miss any more."

He added: "I've not played a lot of Twenty20 cricket and I'd like to play more. I'm not saying the money is not very appealing, but there's a lot more to it.

"I spent several weeks working very hard at my fitness when I came back from the West Indies and, hopefully, that will stand me in good stead come the summer."

Other England players, notably Kevin Pietersen, have said the rigours of a long winter away have taken their toll, and Graeme Swann even likened the events of the last few months to an episode of Eastenders.

Flintoff's Caribbean tour may have been interrupted by injury but he was involved in the debates following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and he insists missing home is normal.

"It's been a tough winter all round," he said. "Going to India before Christmas with everything that happened, and coming home and going back, was testing for everyone.

"There have been lots of things going on. These are long tours. We are proud to play for England but people have got things at home as well and families who you desperately miss when you're away. When you come to the end of a trip, of course people are looking forward to getting home and seeing people you haven't seen for a long time."

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