Matthew Hayden touched upon a variety of issues ranging from the genesis of the Mongoose, Chennai Super Kings’ plans to turn around their season, and standing outside the crease to Lasith Malinga, in his chat with Cricinfo readers

Cricinfo staff30-Mar-2010As the IPL season heads to the halfway mark, Chennai Super Kings star batsman Matthew Hayden, who participated in an online chat with Cricinfo’s readers, believed that the key to reviving his side’s lukewarm campaign was to get on a winning roll.”I love the Chennai Super Kings and being in Chennai and I still believe we have a good chance to make the semi-finals, but as you know we have to start winning and keep winning,” Hayden said. “Unfortunately we have had a few results which could have easily gone the other way and which would have made a great difference to our season. However I do not like to look backwards and I’m now looking forward with a very positive mind and with a very determined team to deliver the results that we know that we can achieve.”Chennai’s plans of making the semi-finals have hit a rut, with five defeats, including four on the trot, out of seven games. Hayden thinks that the side’s inability to strike a winning combination is to blame, but is confident that they can turn it around. “I think we have been trying to establish in the first half of this tournament what our best side is, it has changed a number of times, with mixed results. This game, coming tomorrow night, is the opportunity to have that decision to find our balance and play the cricket that our talent is capable of,” Hayden said.As expected, a lot of questions were aboutn Hayden’s revolutionary Mongoose bat, which he has used with mixed results in the IPL. “I actually first started toying with the idea before the last World Cup, when I started hitting balls at practice sessions with a baseball bat and was surprised at how well I was hitting them and how far the ball would travel.”It gave me great leverage, as you would have seen already, and there is no question it gives you extra power when you are in an attacking position and wanting to dominate the bowlers,” Hayden said.When asked whether the unusual dimensions of the Mongoose – it has a longer handle and a shorter blade than normal bats – made it difficult to wield, especially while facing short-pitched bowling, Hayden admitted that it took him a while adapting. “It was a bit intimidating at first with the shorter blade. After hitting thousands of balls with it, I was mentally prepared to play with it,” he said.Hayden welcomed the expansion of the IPL and was of the opinion that the inherent tight schedules were not to blame for the high number of player injuries during the tournament.”I’m pleased with the introduction of the two new teams into the IPL for next season and also very happy that Mr Modi has announced there will be no more expansion for many years to come, as I believe that 10 teams is the perfect number. And I also know that if you train and prepare well for the IPL and have a very good support team around you, that injuries can be kept to a minimum, but then again, injuries are a part of the game,” he said.Hayden shed light on his unique tendency of standing well outside the crease to fast bowlers. “Standing out of the crease is a sign of strategy rather than of straight out aggression. For instance, against [Lasith] Malinga, whose execution of the yorker is second to none, I stand two metres out of the crease and the yorker becomes a knee-high full toss. This is a way of changing someone’s game,” Hayden explained.He may have intimidated several bowlers during his time, with his imposing presence and aggressive intent, but Hayden admitted that it was the other way around. “Truth is I was afraid of every bowler, but I soon realised the only thing a bowler could do that could hurt me was the thing that he held in his hand, the cricket ball. Only if I watched it and executed the hundreds of thousands of balls that I have hit over my lifetime could I focus my energy on that,” he said.Hayden singled out Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel, Robin Uthappa and Shikhar Dhawan as the young Indian players to watch out for in the future.

Both sides got mauled in their first Super Eights match, one of them is likely to be out by the time they are through with each other

The Preview by Sidharth Monga08-May-2010

Match Facts

Sunday, May 9, Bridgetown

Start time 0930 (1330 GMT)Chris Gayle hasn’t quite been at his best in this tournament•Getty Images

The Big Picture

One of these teams brings most of the TV revenue. One of them is bringing in the crowds at the actual venues. Both of them got mauled in their first Super Eights match: India by 49 runs, only to be outdone by West Indies, who fell 57 runs short. One of them will be out by the time they are through with each other. Barring, of course, complex and improbable permutations, which are made more complex and improbable thanks to the huge margins of defeats and consequently poor net run-rates.


In terms of commercial value, India have won. The match begins at the unTwenty20 hour of 9.30am to cater to the huge TV audience in India instead of putting the host team in an afternoon match so that it is more convenient for the people to turn up at the Kensington Oval.This will also be West Indies’ first early-morning start in the tournament, and might take some adjusting. Their fast bowlers won’t mind, though. Kemar Roach and Jerome Taylor would have liked what they saw when Australia bounced India out. They will need all the help from their fielders, though, who were hopeless against Sri Lanka. Even on bouncy tracks, you don’t give Indian batsmen too many chances. Suresh Raina, for example, showed how dangerous he could be when South Africa didn’t quite finish him off after having him in all sorts of trouble in their first-round match.With India’s batting and West Indies’ fielding getting all the flak, their other disciplines can’t get away either. India bowled horribly against Australia, which originally set up the defeat. West Indies were lucky to win against England, and their other two full-innings scores have been 138. One of them against Ireland. There is a whole lot of improvement to be done for both the sides, there is one day to figure it out, and there will be only one live slot available after the match.

Form guide (most recent first)

India LWWWL
West Indies LWWLL

Watch out for…

MS Dhoni doesn’t make too many excuses. He knows he is leading a tired side, and he says so. He knows he is leading a side not equipped to attack short-pitched bowling on a quick track. There is not enough time in Twenty20s to wear an attack down by ducking and swaying, and pulling and hooking is not India’s strongest suit. And Dhoni says so. He knows those facts can’t be changed overnight, and that a way has to be found around them. And when an unconventional route has to be found, Dhoni usually leads the way.


While a plethora of chances was being missed against Sri Lanka, Dwayne Bravo ran from long-on to field a ball at midwicket, swooped on it in front of Wavell Hinds who had just refused to accept a sitter, and let the throw rip, keeping the batsmen down to one. His angry face then told a story. He would go on diving crazily, attempting impossible catches, and his effort was not going to be enough. Not when he hasn’t been quite himself with both bat and ball. But that Bravo energy is exactly what West Indies need now, that desperation to want to do everything. Something to the order of what Bravo did in these two teams’ previous meeting: four wickets and a flamboyant 36-ball 66 with the bat.

Team news

Rohit Sharma, with his lone hand of 79 against Australia, should have assured himself a place. Ravindra Jadeja, on the other hand, went for 38 runs in two overs, missed a catch, and ran himself out by running away from the stumps. Jadeja, when used in the middle overs, has been a valuable left-arm spinner for Dhoni, and it will be interesting to see what effect one horrible day has on his place. India, anyway, played one batsman too many against Australia, so either of the spinning “allrounders”, Yusuf Pathan or Jadeja, could be left out to bring in a specialist bowler. The choice of that specialist bowler should be interesting too: by not picking him on a bouncy track, Dhoni has shown a bit of a lack of confidence in R Vinay Kumar, so Piyush Chawla could be in the fray too. Injured Praveen Kumar’s replacement Umesh Yadav isn’t likely to reach there in time for this game.


India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Yusuf Pathan/Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Piyush Chawla/R Vinay Kumar, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.Even though Jerome Taylor went for 28 in three overs on his comeback, there is no way West Indies are going without two genuine quicks against India. Given Andre Fletcher’s struggles behind the stumps, they could give the specialist keeper, Denesh Ramdin, a game. Wavell Hinds is wasted coming in at No. 8 anyway. And whether Fletcher the batsman is worth a place is open to debate.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Andre Fletcher/Wavell Hinds/Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Sulieman Benn, 10 Jerome Taylor, 11 Kemar Roach.

Pitch and conditions

This is the final day of the Super Eight stage in Barbados before the tournament heads back to St Lucia. There has been good pace, true bounce, and not much sideways movement in the surface. In other words, it has been a pitch that not many will complain about. Another warm day is predicted.

Stats and trivia

• Against Australia, when Harbhajan Singh became the second man in the Indian line-up to reach double figures, they escaped equalling the dubious record of 10 batsmen failing to reach a score of 10 in an innings. India hold the current record, jointly with Bermuda, West Indies and Ireland.
• Yuvraj Singh jointly holds the record for most sixes in Twenty20 internationals, 38. Chris Gayle, at No. 5 on the list, has hit 27.
  

  Quotes

  “If somebody bowls 150kph short stuff then you have to be really good at pulling which isn’t our natural strength. Most players from India are very good at cutting the ball, but only a few are good pullers against the new ball.”
  
  MS Dhoni, India’s captain, is not hiding behind excuses
  
  
  “It is must-win for both teams and it should be a good game. We are still confident we can win the two games and move onto the semi-final.”
  
  Chris Gayle, West Indies’ captain, has not lost hope

Younis Khan’s request to have his appeal against the indefinite ban imposed on him by the PCB heard in presence of the media has been turned down by the arbitrator hearing the appeals , former high court judge, Irfan Qadir

Cricinfo staff29-May-2010Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan’s request to have his appeal against the
indefinite ban imposed on him by the PCB heard in presence of the media has been turned down by the arbitrator hearing the appeals, former high court judge, Irfan Qadir. Younis’ hearing will now resume on June 5.On a day when Qadir decided to overturn the one-year ban on Pakistan allrounder Shoaib
Malik, Younis’ lawyer Ahmed Qayyum demanded that his client’s hearing be
conducted in front of journalists. Qadir denied the request and was willing to announce his verdict on Younis’ appeal, but the lawyer refused to hear a decision “behind closed doors”.”The judge told me he would hold my hearing in camera and didn’t allow the media representatives Younis wants to attend his hearings,” Qayyum was quoted as saying by PTI. “Before the hearings I requested the judge
to allow the media reps in but was told this was not possible as it was a confidential hearing. I was indirectly also told that the judge wanted to give a ruling on Younis Khan’s ban immediately behind closed doors but I refused.”Younis has been picked in Pakistan’s preliminary squad of 35 for the Asia Cup and the tour of England. He was banned indefinitely by the PCB along with Mohammad Yousuf in
the aftermath of a winless tour of Australia for reasons of indiscipline, but his being considered for Pakistan’s upcoming international assignments could be an indication that the PCB is willing to leave a door open for a
possible return.The reason for demanding a hearing in the presence of the media, Qayyum said, was to get the board to highlight the evidence based on which it
decided to impose the ban. “Now they are saying it is not a ban and the Chairman of the board can include him (Younis) anytime in the team. But my client is adamant that he wants his case to be heard openly because he has done nothing wrong,” Qayyum said. “My client wants the truth to come out and
my client wants the board to show the evidence on basis of which they banned him.”Qadir said the board had explained its position on the issue, as a result of which he was ready to “wrap up” the pending appeals. “I wanted to give a
ruling on Younis Khan’s appeal but his lawyer said he wanted more time to talk to his client,” Qadir told reporters. “I want to wrap up these appeals because the board has made its stance clear to me now.”

Kieron Pollard singlehandedly took Somerset to a five-wicket win over Middlesex at Lord’s with the sort of power-hitting that has made him one of the most prized freelancers in Twenty20 cricket

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill at Lord's09-Jun-2010
Scorecard
After a stuttering start, Somerset were powered to a five-wicket win almost singlehandedly by Kieron Pollard•Getty Images

Kieron Pollard singlehandedly took Somerset to a five-wicket win over Middlesex at Lord’s with the sort of power-hitting that has made him one of the most prized freelancers in Twenty20 cricket. A characteristically enterprising unbeaten 48 from Eoin Morgan had lifted Middlesex to 155 for 6, and the home side then had Somerset in trouble at 31 for 4 in the sixth over in reply, but Pollard slammed seven fours and seven sixes to guide the visitors to what was eventually an easy win. Just as in their game against Sussex last week, Middlesex had bossed the Powerplay overs but – again, just as happened last week – they then lost their grip on the game and never recovered it.Middlesex, uncertain after their mixed performance with the bat, suddenly began to show some hustle in the field when Craig Kieswetter, looking to dominate early on, flashed across the line at a full one from Tim Murtagh and top-edged to send the ball rocketing straight upwards, Gilchrist setting himself underneath the steepling chance. Gareth Berg also ran in with verve, beating the bat on more than one occasion and giving away just two singles in his first over.Marcus Trescothick settled the visitors’ early nerves with a seemingly effortless biff over long-off, but disaster struck soon after as a mix-up between Trescothick and James Hildreth saw the Somerset captain run out for 20. Jos Buttler’s dismissal – bowled by Pedro Collins as he shuffled too far to the off side and the bowler speared in a leg-stump yorker – brought Pollard, Somerset’s big name signing, to the crease.Murtagh almost had a second wicket when Hildreth drove too early at a ball pitched up to him to send back a sharp return catch which the bowler, tumbling over in his follow-through, couldn’t quite hold on to. Middlesex didn’t have to wait long to make amends, however, as Hildreth cut Murtagh straight to Tom Smith at point. Again, the chance was juggled, but this time it stuck.At the end of the Powerplay, Somerset were struggling at 31 for 4 and Shaun Udal brought himself on, and after a couple of nervy defensive prods Pollard chipped him just over the leaping straight midwicket fielder. Another uppish flick that sped past the same fielder and just five runs from his first over convinced Udal that spin from both ends was the way to go, but Pollard responded to Smith’s introduction at the Media Centre end with a monstrous strike that sailed over long-off and an imperious loft over cover that never got more than four metres off the ground but sailed easily over the boundary.With Pollard now in full flow, Udal was despatched for the biggest six of the day – straight over long-on and crashing into the pavilion wall near to the Middlesex changing rooms – and a cutter from Berg was flicked into the grand stand for another maximum.Barely 15 minutes had passed since Pollard had lumbered slowly to the crease with his side in a spot of bother, and yet now victory seemed almost academic for Somerset. Six No. 5, off Neil Dexter, went straight into the Somerset dugout, and No. 6 – a colossal thump to wide long-on – brought up his half-century.It could have ended there, as a botched call for a single lead to a mid-pitch meeting between the two batsmen, but, sensing that his team could not lose so long as Pollard remained at the wicket, Peter Trego sacrificed himself and was run out.Then came a flurry of fours as Pollard clipped Collins firmly behind square on the leg side and then scythed Berg for three more boundaries – aerial, but bouncing short of the rope – in an arc between wide long on and deep cover. The target had been reduced to 24 from 30, with Zander de Bruyn trundling along quite happily at better than a-run-a-ball at the other end but quite anonymous amid the carnage.Pollard swatted a seventh sixth off an attempted bouncer from Murtagh to take Somerset to the brink, and then sealed the result with a powerful paddle-pull that bisected fine leg and deep square leg. Unbelievably, considering the position they had been in, Somerset won with more than two overs to spare and Pollard, unsurprisingly, was named Man of the Match.Pollard showed his worth in Twenty20 cricket at this level with the ball too, picking up three wickets as Middlesex struggled to build any momentum in their innings until Morgan’s arrival at the crease. Coming in at 68 for 3 after a second failure with the bat for Adam Gilchrist – whose Middlesex record now stands at two runs from 11 deliveries for twice out – and two briefly threatening innings from Scott Newman and Neil Dexter, Morgan started slowly, running singles hard and looking to place the ball in the gap.But after Owais Shah’s dismissal – swishing Pollard straight to Alfonso Thomas at deep midwicket – Morgan unleashed his full repertoire of shots. He really got going with the shot of Middlesex’s innings – an utterly confident loft over cover and into the lower tier of the Tavern stand – and followed that up with an intelligent tickle to fine leg from a Murali Kartik free hit.After testing Udal’s fitness with three twos in a row in the final over, Morgan pulled off an extraordinary reverse-sweep off Thomas – who bowled at sharp pace throughout – to move into the 40s. A full toss chipped out to cover brought yet another two, a flowing clip through square leg brought him four more from the final delivery, and in all 16 had come from the final over. It looked like Middlesex had a competitive total, but Pollard made sure they were nowhere close.

Australia’s players will be consulted as Cricket Australia prepares to determine the exact format for split-innings one-day matches

Cricinfo staff18-Jun-2010Australia’s international and domestic players will be consulted as Cricket Australia prepares to determine the exact format for split-innings one-day matches. The board last week approved the new format for the FR Cup domestic competition, which will occur in the second half of the tournament in 2010-11, but has not finalised the specific alterations.James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive, said the players would review the customer research on the issue and provide practical feedback on competing over split innings. “Cricket lovers say that ODI cricket captures the broadest interest of the three formats, and it is supported with strong passion,” Sutherland said. “But it is a game that needs better positioning and a format review if it is to remain popular in the long-term.”The switch in thinking is being monitored by the ICC while former one-day experts such as Dean Jones and Simon O’Donnell have welcomed the move. Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association will speak to players over the next fortnight and their thoughts will be combined with those of broadcast and commercial partners before the new look is finalised.”The idea of split innings was popular with fans and we are keen at this stage to look at a 10-wicket-a-side, split-innings concept,” Sutherland said. “We accept that we need to listen to what the public wants but we also need to be sure that ideas are practical, and most important, are acceptable to world cricket and capable in the long-term of being considered for international cricket.”

Kamran Akmal dropped a sitter, missed out on a stumping and another crucial catch of Eoin Morgan which landed only a few inches from his gloves in England’s first innings

Nagraj Gollapudi at Trent Bridge01-Aug-2010Kamran Akmal dropped a sitter, missed out on a stumping and another crucial catch of Eoin Morgan which landed only a few inches from his gloves in England’s first innings. Over the past couple of days both Salman Butt and Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s captain-coach pair, have stressed that if those chances were held Trent Bridge could’ve been an altogether different story.Kamran’s abject glovework drew widespread criticism from cricket pundits including Michael Holding and Nasser Husaain, to name just two, who felt the biggest repercussion was the confidence of Pakistan’s fast bowlers would be hurt if Kamran failed to improve. There have also been suggestions that Kamran be dropped and Pakistan groom a youngster, with Zulqarnain Haider the backup keeper in the squad.Yet Butt feels there is hope for Kamran. “It has just been one game,” Butt said. “This happened to him in Australia as well after that he has done well.” Kamran had a dreadful Test at the SCG in January, where he put down four catches in the second innings and missed a run-out as Pakistan gave up what looked like certain victory.He was dropped for the final Test of that series in Hobart, but his replacement, Sarfraz Ahmed, has not made the squad for this series. Butt was also not convinced that choosing a new gloveman would remedy the situation, and he felt it would be a short-sighted approach to axe the vice-captain.”If we’ve lost the game and he has made a mistake against a good side in difficult conditions you don’t ask the youngster to come in and bear the follies of somebody else,” Butt said. “He has to come up and show his character and make a strong comeback. And we believe he will because he has been a great player.”He also reminded the critics about Kamran’s explosive batting in the lower order, which if it clicks has proved decisive. “The guy has six Test hundreds against the world’s best sides and every time he scores runs Pakistan wins or draws the game,” Butt said. “So you can’t take the credit away from the man.”However, his record against the better Test sides of the past few years is poor, and against Australia in particular he has struggled with an average of 15.57 in seven Tests. Kamran’s past 12 months with the bat have been disappointing, as he has averaged 26.53 and has not made a half-century in his past 10 innings.

Jacob Oram is set to miss the remainder of the Sri Lanka tri-series due to a recurring patella tendon injury in the knee that is affecting his ability to bowl

Cricinfo staff25-Aug-2010Jacob Oram is set to miss the remainder of the tri-series in Sri Lanka due to the recurrence of a tendon injury in the knee that has affected his bowling. Oram had received intensive treatment to get through the series but the injury has not responded and he is headed home for further assessment.New Zealand coach Mark Greatbatch said the injury’s severity was not yet clear. “Jake had done everything possible to try and get ready for the remaining matches in the tri-series but had insufficient time to get fully fit. At this stage it is unclear how severe the injury is and he will return to New Zealand for further assessment and rehabilitation.”Oram’s injury has also put in doubt his participation for Central Districts in September’s Champions League. “Jacob’s knee has been troublesome for some time. He’s been having niggles on and off with it for a reasonable period of time,” said Alan Hunt, the Central Districts coach.”It has clearly flared up again in the last couple of days in Sri Lanka and they’ve tried to treat it there without any success. No doubt they’ve done everything they can to improve the situation but found they’d better get him back here for a medical opinion and some rehabilitation, thinking long-term towards the World Cup in February and March,” he said.Oram’s career has been blighted by injuries, forcing an early retirement from Test cricket in October 2009. His participation in the shorter formats has remained sporadic, and he was forced to miss this year’s IPL before returning to the national side for the World Twenty20. He bowled in two of New Zealand’s first three league games in Sri Lanka before the latest flare-up.

Durham’s Neil Killeen was denied victory in his final match before retirement as Kent defended a modest total of 144

Cricinfo staff04-Sep-2010
Scorecard
Durham’s Neil Killeen was denied victory in his final match before retirement as Kent defended a modest total of 144 to win their Clydesdale Bank 40 match at Chester-le-Street.
Killeen, bowing out after 16 years, took 3 for 24 as the visitors were bowled out in the final over of the first innings but their bowlers ensured they had plenty as they secured a 31-run win.While Killeen was ending his career, Kent fielded two debutants in Paul Muchall and Adam Ball. Muchall had the pleasure of removing his brother, Gordon, in a four-over spell of 1 for 34, while 17-year-old Ball bowled Phil Mustard with his fifth ball and should have had another wicket in his second over. Geraint Jones, diving to his right, was unable to hang on to an inside edge by left-hander Ben Harmison, who went on to score 34.The only batsman to improve on that in a low-scoring affair was Joe Denly, who made 71 in Kent’s total of 144. With neither side able to qualify for the semi-finals, Durham brought in 34-year-old Killeen for only his third one-day game this year.Kent, meanwhile, rested Simon Cook, Matt Coles and Azhar Mahmood ahead of their crucial championship relegation battle at home to Hampshire on Tuesday. Robert Key chose to bat and seemed to be already on the way home when he went down the pitch in the second over and was bowled by Chris Rushworth.Jones did likewise and edged to the wicketkeeper, and when Martin van Jaarsveld edged a good ball from Mitch Claydon to second slip the trio of top-order batsmen had mustered one run between them.Denly proved that batting was not as difficult as the scores suggested as he made 28 of the first 30 runs off the bat before throttling back in an attempt to make sure Kent batted through their overs. They were all out with five balls unused and the second highest scorer was Muchall with 22. He was run out in the 38th over when Malinga Bandara declined to respond to his call for a run to short fine leg.Muchall senior drove his brother to the cover boundary, but then chased a wider ball and sliced a catch to third man to begin Durham’s slide. They had no answer to the spin of James Tredwell, who took 4 for 20, and Bandara, who had 2 for 23.

Mark Butcher insists Kevin Pietersen has no long-term future at Surrey after joining the county on loan for the rest of the season

Cricinfo staff03-Sep-2010Mark Butcher insists Kevin Pietersen has no long-term future at Surrey after joining the county on loan for the rest of the season earlier this week.Pietersen was dropped by England for the upcoming Twenty20 and ODI series against Pakistan after struggling for form in the Test matches this summer and told to rediscover his form in county cricket. It was an ignominious end to a season that started so promisingly when Pietersen was named Player of the Tournament in England’s successful World Twenty20 campaign in the Caribbean.Since the World Twenty20 he has made just 232 runs in nine Test innings and though he was initially unhappy to be dropped by England, Pietersen now insists he’s looking forward to getting some time in the middle for Surrey.Yet Butcher, who captained Surrey last year, believes the county do not want Pietersen permanently and thinks the player will struggle to find any county that does next season.”It’s just a loan,” Butcher told TalkSport. “Surrey are very much keen to get it out there that the ECB asked them to take Kevin Pietersen and that they didn’t instigate the move. They are essentially doing the ECB a favour in taking him, so where that leaves KP when he is looking for a county next year I don’t know. It’s a difficult situation for him, everybody gets dropped at some point and it’s how you react to that.”Pietersen began his career in England at Nottinghamshire, before leaving in controversial circumstances, with the club captain Jason Gallian dumping Pietersen’s kitbag over the pavilion balcony at Trent Bridge. He left for Hampshire after the 2004 season but since making his England debut in July 2005, Pietersen has featured in a solitary county four-day fixture for the club and he revealed half way through this season that he intends to leave Hampshire and find a county closer to his London home.Hampshire duly decided they would not require his services which left him unable to go back to county cricket to find form when his performances for England dipped.”Being an England contracted player whatever contract he signs with a county is held in abeyance, until such a time as he loses that contract,” said Butcher. “The ECB pay him, counties do not, so it is not a money issue it’s a Kevin Pietersen thing unfortunately.”

Chesney Hughes struck a steady 81 to guide his side to 213, a total that his team, led by Anthony Martin’s hat-trick, defended by four runs in a thrilling semi-final clash against Windward Islands

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2010
ScorecardAnthony Martin’s hat-trick reduced Windward Islands to 174 for 9, but their last-wicket pair took the game down to the wire•WindiesCricket.com

Leeward Islands’ opener Chesney Hughes struck a steady 81 to guide his side to 213, a total that his team, led by legspinner Anthony Martin’s hat-trick, defended by four runs in a thrilling semi-final clash against Windward Islands at Sabina Park. Windward had their moments, with their captain Darren Sammy, who was recently handed leadership of the West Indies side, snaring four wickets to lead a clinical bowling performance. Lyndon James then struck 64 to anchor their stop-start chase, but it was not enough to take Windward into the final.Leeward began well after winning the toss, with Montcin Hodge raising 44 off 57 balls with Hughes for the first wicket before Sammy made his first breach. Hodge’s dismissal sparked a mini-collapse as Leeward lost their next three batsmen for a combined contribution of seven runs. Offspinner Liam Sebastien trapped Javier Liburd in front before Sammy had Gavin Williams lbw first ball. When Omari Banks nicked Sammy behind, also for a duck, Leeward were stuttering at 80 for 4.Hughes, who had batted through the crisis, settled down to repair the innings along with his captain Wilden Cornwall. The pair adopted a cautious approach in their 76-run stand that spanned 103 balls. Hughes struck seven fours in his innings that came off 105 balls before being dismissed by offspinner Shane Shillingford in the middle of a miserly spell. Cornwall departed soon after, having contributed 38 off 57 balls, but the tail ensured Leeward crossed 200. Justin Athanaze stood out with 22 off 21 balls as Windward wrapped the innings in 49 overs.Their batsmen had given Leeward a chance, and by the end of the first over of the chase, Lionel Baker had put them firmly on top. Opener Devon Smith and No. 3 Andre Fletcher fell for ducks to leave Windward reeling at 1 for 2. Keddy Lesporis and Johnson Charles arrested the slide, adding 59 for the third wicket in 17.1 overs. Athanaze removed Lesporis for 22, and one run later Charles was run-out, giving Leeward the upper hand once again. Sammy attempted to inject some urgency, but after hitting a four and a six, he succumbed to Jacques Taylor as Windward slumped to 85 for 5 in the 25th over.Martin had settled into a stifling spell by now, and controlled the middle overs as Lyndon James tried to revive the innings along with the lower order. Sebastien contributed 24 off 47 balls and helped James add 80 in 18.2 overs, but Sebastien’s fall in the 44th over evened the game once again. James was bowled by Martin with 40 required off 33 balls, and Leewards were on the threshold of the final when Shillingford and Mervin Matthew fell off the next two deliveries. Windward’s last pair was not going to go down without a fight though.Gary Mathurin struck 19 off 18 balls, while No. 11 Nelon Pascal hit 18 off 16 in a heart-stopping 35-run stand. The pair, however, ran out of overs as Leeward edged home. In the final, they will meet the winner of the second semi-final to be played today, between Barbados and Jamaica.