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Government body also wants cricket board to make public the forensic report used to sack Thabang Moroe as CEO

Firdose Moonda15-Sep-2020The details of the task team that will look into Cricket South Africa’s administrative and financial affairs remain a mystery despite CSA meeting with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) on Monday evening.The meeting took place four days after SASCOC instructed CSA’s board and executive to stand down after nine months of what SASCOC called “maladministration and malpractice,” which demanded the mother body’s intervention.SASCOC is a legislatively-created body under which all South African sports federations operate. It wrote to the ICC at the weekend to clarify that its involvement in CSA does not constitute government interference.SASCOC has stressed that it hopes to work with CSA’s Members’ Council – the body made up of the 14 provincial presidents which holds the highest decision-making authority in CSA – despite the Members’ Council opting out of a meeting with SASCOC last Friday. Instead, CSA held a joint sitting of the Board and Members’ Council at the weekend and met SASCOC on Monday.CSA called the meeting “a step forward towards a collaborative approach in the interest of good governance and executive operations.” SASCOC was unavailable for comment. Any hope of obtaining further detail was stymied the three representatives from the CSA members’ council were due to address the media on Tuesday but the briefing has been pushed back to Thursday, and is scheduled to be a joint affair with SASCOC.It is still not clear whether the task team will be finalised by then, even though SASCOC told ESPNcricinfo on Friday that they would announce the members of the task team imminently. The task team is crucial because it could decide who is in charge of cricket in South Africa until such time as SASCOC’s inquiry into CSA is complete. SASCOC had initially budgeted a period of one month to complete its investigations.In the meanwhile, CSA’s forensic report, which it used to dismiss former CEO Thabang Moroe, has still not been made fully available to the Members’ Council who saw a high-level summary at the weekend. SASCOC and South Africa’s sports ministry have also demanded to see the report in full, and SASCOC have rejected CSA’s invitation to view the report after signing a non-disclosure agreement, believing the report should be made public.

Nick Selman falls one short of century as Glamorgan withstand Luke Wells five-for

ECB Reporters Network30-May-2019Marnus Labuschagne made a career-best 182 to help Glamorgan maintain their unbeaten record in the Specsavers County Championship as they drew with Sussex at Hove.The Australian reeled off his third Championship century since joining the county at the start of the season as he posted a new county record of 291 for the second wicket with Nick Selman, who was out for 99.After their departures, wickets fell regularly with leg-spinner Luke Wells finishing with a career-best 5 for 63 as Glamorgan were eventually bowled out for 466 just after tea. That left Sussex 27 overs to score 233 at 8.03 runs an over.Sussex had nothing to lose but Phil Salt, the one batsman who could have given them hope of chasing their unlikely target, was caught off the splice when Marchant de Lange dropped short. Wells and Harry Finch took their score to 47 for 1 when the players shook hands on a draw with 14 overs remaining.Glamorgan had begun the final day on 218 for 1 and Labuschagne and Selman quickly passed Glamorgan’s previous second-wicket record of 252, set by Matt Maynard and David Hemp against Northamptonshire in Cardiff in 2002.Labuschagne batted for just under five hours until he got a thin under-edge to wicketkeeper Ben Brown to give Wells his first wicket. He hit 31 fours and faced 244 balls.Selman had played the sheet anchor role to perfection but, within touching distance of his hundred, he was leg before to a full-length delivery just after David Wiese had taken the new ball. Selman, who had carried his bat in Glamorgan’s first innings, batted for 343 minutes, faced 252 balls and hit ten fours.Sussex claimed two more wickets before lunch. Billy Root edged Mir Hamza to slip and Wiese got some extra bounce and Kieran Carlson was caught behind.But any hopes they had of ending Glamorgan’s innings quickly disappeared in a flurry of attacking shots from Dan Douthwaite, who struck ten fours in making 63 off 55 balls, the first 50 coming off just 34 deliveries. He lost David Lloyd when Wells returned to the attack and turned one past his bat but Douthwaite had lodged his Championship best when he edged Wells to Brown.The lead was 182 at that stage but Glamorgan’s last three wickets added a further 50 runs with Tom Cullen finishing unbeaten on 28. Graham Wagg was taken at short fine-leg off a top-edged sweep at Danny Briggs before Wells completed his five-for after tea with de Lange and Timm van der Gugten both lbw playing back.Sussex took 13 points from the match and Glamorgan eight.

The allrounder also suffered a bout of gastro that had him well below 100% fitness on day one of the Port Elizabeth Test

Daniel Brettig in Port Elizabeth12-Mar-2018When Mitchell Marsh dropped Aiden Markram at first slip before lunch on day four, it was not only the spillage of Australia’s last chance to win the Port Elizabeth Test, but also the revelation of a groin injury for the allrounder that has the potential to have ruinous consequences for the tourists.Not only is Marsh a vital bowling option for Australia, as proven by his spells of reverse swing in South Africa’s first innings at St George’s Park, he has also been their best-performing batsman, soaking up more balls than any other member of the touring team and going closest of anyone to a century with his 96 in Durban.Even if the 10-day break between the Port Elizabeth and Cape Town matches is enough to have Marsh passed fit for Newlands, it will leave him needing to be carefully managed as a bowling option, lest a worsening of the injury leads him to being ruled out altogether. Given the struggles of various other batsmen on the tour, this is a scenario Steven Smith can not afford.”He’s got a bit of a groin strain so he was struggling to move a little bit,” Smith said. “I was told at the break that he can actually run, so unfortunately he could’ve been out on the field when he was in the slips, but still should’ve taken that catch but everyone drops it every now and again, I’ve been pretty guilty myself in recent times. It’s just one of those things and we’ll move on.”Marsh had entered the Test with a bout of gastro that had him well below 100% fitness on day one. David Saker, Australia’s assistant coach, has said that Marsh’s value to the team went beyond runs and wickets to dressing room presence and burgeoning leadership skills. “On the first day he had some gastro, he obviously wasn’t feeling that good, but once you take the field, when he went out to bat, you’ve just got to get on with it,” Saker said.”It obviously didn’t go the way he wanted, but since that time he’s had some really good contributions, two really important wickets for us and a fantastic batting performance. His form since’s he’s got back in the Australian team has been fantastic for us, he’s not just a batter, he does some bowling for us, he’s a fantastic person in the dressing room for us and a future leader of the team, so there’s more than just the package you see from the outside because inside he’s a very valued member of our team.”While none of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood or Pat Cummins have reported injuries at the end of back-to-back Tests, by the conclusion of the second match they were all down somewhat in pace when compared to Durban, with the lack of snap being capitalised upon by AB de Villiers in particular. This also created a contrast with Kagiso Rabada, who notably beat several players for pace, not least Marsh himself in the first over of the final morning.”I think all the quicks are going really well,” Smith said. “I haven’t heard today, but before today they were all feeling fine, so hopefully with a good 10-day break they can freshen up a little bit and in regards to Mitch Marsh it’s a good break now between now and the next Test match and he’s telling me he’ll be fine but we’ll wait and see how things go.”

Gujarat will have to achieve the highest successful fourth-innings chase in Ranji Trophy history to beat Mumbai in Indore

The Report by Shashank Kishore in Indore13-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:45

Kishore: A test of nerves for Gujarat

With one day to go in the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 final, this much is clear: Mumbai’s lead is big enough that Gujarat have to achieve the highest successful fourth-innings chase in Ranji Trophy finals history for their first title. Gujarat had a quick start to their chase of 312, ending a long day in the field positively. However, batting out the whole of Saturday could also give them the title by virtue of a first-innings lead.By spreading the fields, bowling wide and saving runs – all within the rules, even if debatable, in the second session after taking four wickets – Gujarat allowed the game to meander until Mumbai had no option but to go for broke and set up a target.What Gujarat did not do within the rules was bowl their overs in time – they bowled 70.1 overs in six full hours, the time which constitutes a full day of 90 overs – which could result in a third over-rate breach for Parthiv Patel, the captain, and his team.Gujarat’s openers, Priyank Panchal and Samit Gohel, played a lot more freely, compared to the first innings, in the 13.2 overs that were possible on the fourth evening before bad light ended play more than an hour after the scheduled close. They overcame a few nervy moments, but drove the side to 47 for no loss at stumps on a surface that didn’t show signs of deteriorating too much.With the cold not lifting until noon despite the presence of bright sunshine on each of the four days, the red soil surface hasn’t broken up as much as Mumbai would have liked. While this could hurt Mumbai considering they have two left-arm spinners, they would believe an incisive burst upfront with the new ball on the final day come boost their quest for a 42nd title.The lead was built largely because of Abhishek Nayar’s industry. On the one hand, he had to farm the strike and ensure he didn’t expose the tail-enders. On the other, he had to also keep an eye on the lead and time remaining to give his side the best possible chance of pulling off a coup. He battled hard for 146 deliveries to make 91 as Mumbai, resuming on 208 for 3 were bowled out for 411 in the final session.Fifty-five of those runs came courtesy five sixes and a four in the final session, a far cry from the post-lunch session that yielded just 67 runs in 30 overs. After the interval, Nayar risked his wicket by taking on the fielders in the deep repeatedly, but the power in his hits was unmistakeable. Vishal Dabholkar helped Nayar put on 44 for the ninth wicket, while Vijay Gohil, who was unbeaten on 0 from seven balls, added 41 for the last wicket before Nayar fell lbw to RP Singh.Chintan Gaja, presented an opportunity only because Jasprit Bumrah was unavailable, walked back with figures of 8 for 167, his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket in third match. The rest of Gujarat’s bowlers largely played supporting roles cast on a day where wicket-taking, for large parts, wasn’t even on their mind.The only time they genuinely came close to making things happen was early in the day. Setting attacking fields worked immediately as Aditya Tare was caught at gully, attempting a cut. Replays suggested it was a tight call, which was eventually deemed no-ball. He was given another reprieve when Panchal put down a regulation catch at gully on 38. Tare’s luck ran out soon after lunch, when he was trapped lbw by left-arm spinner Hardik Patel, but not before he made 69.Suryakumar Yadav ploughed along for 40 deliveries to add four to his overnight score of 45 before being strangled down leg side. With Mumbai’s lead on 226, a lower-order collapse seemed on the cards when Balwinder Sandhu and Shardul Thakur fell trying to hit out. That is when Nayar took charge. He mistimed a few, slogged others, and picked out fielders. But none of it frustrated him, until it got to a point where he simply swung his way out of trouble, ensuring, in the process, that the title could possibly be decided on the final session of the final day.

Nathan Lyon’s reprieve during the Adelaide Test appears to have been in direct contravention of the ICC’s directives for umpires using the DRS

Melinda Farrell and Daniel Brettig30-Nov-20151:08

‘Waiting to hear back from the ICC’ – Hesson

Nathan Lyon’s reprieve during the Adelaide Test appears to have been in direct contravention of the ICC’s directives for umpires using the DRS.In a decision New Zealand have lodged a formal protest against, the third umpire Nigel Llong ruled that Lyon was not out despite Hot Spot showing a mark where the ball had passed the back of the bat, before ballooning off Lyon’s shoulder and into the hands of Kane Williamson at slip.Llong’s deliberations were broadcast live on the Nine Network’s television coverage and, while viewing the Hot Spot vision, he stated three times that he could see a mark. He then told the on-field umpire S Ravi: “There’s a mark on the bat but it could come from anywhere.”ESPNcricinfo has confirmed that umpires make their deliberations under instructions that Real-time Snicko (RTS) is only to be used if Hot Spot does not show a mark.”If the umpire gives it out [and it is reviewed], the third umpire will look at the spin-vision replay to start with, then he’ll go to Hot Spot,” Geoff Allardice, the ICC head of cricket operations, had said when explaining the introduction of RTS in 2013. “If there’s a mark on Hot Spot he’ll go straight to out. That’s his conclusive evidence straight away. The only time Snicko will be used is if there’s no mark on Hot Spot.”Allardice’s quotes, however, did not explain the protocol to be followed in the case of not-out decisions.While RTS was introduced as a virtual insurance policy in cases where Hot Spot does not show a mark on the bat, the technology based on stump mic recordings is not infallible.Since deliveries from spinners are slower, and therefore the impact softer, stump mics have more difficulty picking up faint sounds. This is compounded when a player steps forward and increases the distance between the stump mics and the ball, their body shielding the mic further from any faint noise. In this instance, after passing the bat, the ball went on to hit Lyon’s shoulder. At that point of impact, there was also no spike on snicko.There was no spike on snicko at the point of impact on the shoulder

New Zealand’s coach Mike Hesson made his feelings clear with a sarcastic response to a question about Llong’s ruling.”It was excellent, wasn’t it?” he said. “I think everyone at the ground saw what unfolded, and I think it has been spoken about a lot. We’ve certainly made a representation to the ICC, and at present we’re still awaiting an acceptable response. I’ll let you know when I hear it.”If Lyon had been given out, Australia would have been 9 for 118 in the first innings with only the injured Mitchell Starc left to bat. Some may point to the fact New Zealand could still have secured victory with a tighter bowling performance after the Lyon ruling, or by avoiding their first-innings batting collapse, but there is no doubt the decision changed the course of the match.”I guess we’ll never know,” Hesson said. “The game carried on and took a number of other twists and turns after that, so it’s something that I can’t answer. But it certainly had an impact.”Hesson said he has no issue with the technology used in the DRS, but New Zealand clearly believe Llong did not follow the correct procedure in using the information available to make his ruling.”There is a process that needs to be followed within these decisions, and we need to make sure that process was followed correctly,” Hesson said. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the technology at all.”The decision descended from controversy to farce when Llong asked to see the ball tracker, to check for an lbw. By this stage, nearly four and-a-half minutes had elapsed and, as Llong had not previously asked to use the Eagle Eye ball tracker, a scramble among technology operators led to the wrong replay being show, which Llong did not seem to notice. The ball tracker showed a replay in which Lyon swept and the ball went to the leg side off the pad.ICC chief executive David Richardson has indicated in the past that specialist third umpires may be required to implement the DRS more effectively, but even he seemed unsure about the process Llong was required to follow when asked about the incident on the final day of the Test.”No issues (with the process). I was watching it on television when it happened and I think the process was ok,” Richardson told . “Umpiring decisions are mostly up to the umpire’s judgement and you can’t be guaranteed which way it’s going to go in individual instances.”I was interested in a poll Channel Nine ran just after, asking ‘would you have given it out or not out?’ It was pretty much 50-50 the response so it was an extremely difficult decision.”The entire incident suggests that officials, commentators and fans alike require a greater understanding of the correct procedures and the technologies involved, and that umpires need more direct communication with the people who design and operate them.That this all played out live, with Llong’s audio available to viewers, may help in speedier improvements to the DRS system. It may not help New Zealand now. But it would be progress.

Ireland have named an unchanged 14-man squad to take on Pakistan in two ODIs at the end of the month

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2013

Ireland squad to play Pakistan

William Porterfield (captain), Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Ed Joyce, John Mooney*, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, James Shannon, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Andrew White, Gary Wilson.
*Mooney is suspended for the first match on May 23.

Ireland have named an unchanged 14-man squad to take on Pakistan in two ODIs at the end of the month. John Mooney is included, despite being unavailable for the first match after being suspended over a tweet about the death of Baroness Thatcher.William Porterfield will lead the side, who beat UAE in both their World Cup qualifiers in March, and Ireland’s coach, Phil Simmons, is eyeing an upset against Pakistan, who are touring in preparation for the Champions Trophy in England.”We’ve always got a chance in our conditions,” Simmons said. “We’ve turned in some strong performances in recent years especially against England and Australia and lost matches we should have won. We’re getting stronger all the time and we’ll be well prepared and try to put them under pressure from the start.”There’s a great atmosphere at Clontarf with the Irish fans behind us, and with a full house expected for both games, I’m hoping they can get us over the line against Pakistan. It’s certain to be a great carnival of cricket over the two days. We know how important it is to keep the momentum going with Irish cricket and we’ll be looking for headline victories in our marquee games this year.”Both ODIs, which will take place on May 23 and 26, are close to being sold out. Ireland have been keen to play more cricket against Full Members and Simmons said his players were looking forward to another opportunity to cause a surprise against the nation they memorably beat at the 2007 World Cup.”There’s no doubt we’re going to be up against it in both games, but that’s what we want,” Simmons said. “We’re crying out for this type of challenge and it’s fantastic that we’ve got these two ODI’s against one of the games superpowers.”

It is never wise to pronounce judgment on the performance of one batting line-up, however dismal, until their opponents have responded. Yet Worcestershire’s dismissal for 130, giving them an advantage of 12, made Nottinghamshire’s paltry effort look no be

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge05-Apr-2012
ScorecardRichard Jones was the chief beneficiary of Notts’ poor shot selection, picking up 6 for 32•Getty Images

It is never wise to pronounce judgment on the performance of one batting line-up, however dismal, until their opponents have responded. Yet Worcestershire’s dismissal for 130, giving them an advantage of 12, made Nottinghamshire’s paltry effort look no better.Poor returns from their top order undermined them almost at every turn last year, undoing their hopes of defending the County Championship title they had won in 2010, which left their supporters disappointed even if it confirmed to others that their victory had somewhat overstated their quality.The winter arrivals of Michael Lumb, experienced and yet still hungry, and the prodigiously talented James Taylor, captain of the England Lions, were supposed to put that right and in time they might. Yet evidence of that was not obviously visible after Worcestershire won the toss and put them in, the loss of opener Alex Hales to the fourth ball of the day setting in train an array of poorly judged strokes, interspersed with a few decent balls, that led them to a total only one run better than their worst of 2011.It was not what Chris Read, the Nottinghamshire captain, had in mind when he boldly announced that he had the best Nottinghamshire batting line-up since 2005, when they won the title under the leadership of Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, and three batsmen — Jason Gallian, David Hussey and Darren Bicknell — each scored more than 1100 runs.Conditions were plainly not easy. Yet on a cloudy, chilly morning that had been preceded by two days of rain, nobody can have expected anything different and in the event Lumb and Taylor were merely new names in an otherwise entirely familiar script.In defence of Lumb, whose last memory of Trent Bridge was a double hundred here for Hampshire in 2009 (albeit August), the ball that undid him was not at all bad, David Lucas, the Worcestershire debutant who began his career here, drawing him forward to defend against a ball that left him very late.But Taylor, perhaps, might consider on reflection that he could have been more patient. Arriving at 17 for 2, he dispatched his sixth ball to the fence past point but, trying the same shot again, could only find the fielder there two balls later.Taylor was one of six victims for Richard Jones, at 26 the junior member of Worcestershire’s seam attack. The tireless Alan Richardson, who will be 37 next month, may have lost one fellow warhorse with the retirement of Matt Mason but 33-year-old Lucas is another who thrives on cold April mornings.Jones was the chief beneficiary of Nottinghamshire’s carelessness, finishing with 6 for 32.Nottinghamshire’s embarrassment could have been deeper. Neil Edwards, given the nod to open ahead of Karl Turner, was unlucky, well forward when victim of an lbw decision that would probably not have been given only a short time ago, but otherwise only Paul Franks, with 16 seasons’ experience of playing on these wickets, emerged from the wreckage with his head held high, finishing unbeaten on 51.It was an opportunity for Worcestershire, who lost their first six matches last year, to register some early defiance after again being installed as relegation favourites. Yet their batting proved scarcely less fragile, even if, in their case, the wickets were more down to good bowling.The Australian Michael Klinger, shaped up neatly for a while on debut, suggesting he might provide an innings to stand out. But he fell for 29 and Worcestershire seldom looked good thereafter for anything more than a slender lead as Ben Phillips, who struggled to make an impact last season, justified his selection for the place made available by the injury to Darren Pattinson by taking his first three Championship wickets for Nottinghamshire.

S Badrinath walked into a tricky situation, took charge of the chase without playing a single ugly shot, and finessed Chennai Super Kings to No. 2 in the IPL table with an easy win, though the game ended in the final over

The Bulletin by Nitin Sundar27-Apr-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBatting in the IPL can be a thing of beauty•AFP

Who said there is no room for a purist in the IPL? S Badrinath walked into a tricky situation, took ownership of the chase of 142 without playing a single ugly shot, and finessed Chennai Super Kings to No. 2 in the IPL table. His effort came after Chennai’s seamers made exemplary use of the extra bounce on the DY Patil strip to restrict Pune Warriors to an under-par score, despite a well-paced 62 from Yuvraj Singh.Badrinath’s virtuoso effort made the total seem woefully inadequate though Chennai dawdled listlessly until he came in. Badrinath isn’t your typical IPL hero. His upright stance, clean feet movement, classical backlift and high-elbow follow-through are all made for Test cricket. Yet, he has managed to find a niche for himself in Chennai’s muscular top order. Today he unfurled an IPL innings of rare beauty: there were no cross-batted slogs, no cheeky lap-scoops to deliveries landed outside off, and not once was he caught napping on the front foot to a short ball.Chennai are not fond of chasing, and today it was evident why. M Vijay and Michael Hussey began too cautiously and the result was 14 dot-balls in the first four overs. Hussey then heaved Murali Kartik to midwicket where Manish Pandey took a tumbling catch. Badrinath earned a promotion ahead of the out-of-form Suresh Raina, and the swap helped both batsmen.Chennai had crawled to 39 for 1 in eight overs when Badrinath decided to counter-punch. He trotted out to Kartik and launched him for four through long-off. Kartik tossed the next ball further up, and Badrinath carved him inside-out for a six. Badrinath came out again later in the over, hoodwinking Kartik into dropping short, and then glided him to third man. The over went for 16, and in next over, Badrinath opened up the off side again, lofting Yuvraj for six more. Seventy-seven required off 60, and Chennai did not look back from there.Rahul Sharma thought he had got Badrinath to edge the first ball of the 11th behind, but the umpire gave it not out and replays were inconclusive. Vijay managed to swipe Jesse Ryder over midwicket but his scratchy innings ended in typical fashion when he holed out against a slow legcutter. Badrinath carried on as if nothing had happened, angling near-yorkers to third man and drilling half-volleys to the straight boundary. Suresh Raina ended the contest in the 18th over, muscling Jerome Taylor for sixes over long-off.In reality, Pune lost the match in the first half itself. Ryder fell top-edging an effort ball from Doug Bollinger that rose quickly from short of a length. Mohnish Mishra perished to the pull as well, not bothering to adjust to the length after plonking his front foot forward. Nuwan Kulasekara then dismissed Mithun Manhas with a trademark inducker that squeezed between bat and pad to disturb the leg bail. Manish Pandey departed to a replay of Mishra’s brain-fade, cross-batting Tim Southee off the front foot straight to mid-on, as Pune stumbled to 41 for 4.Yuvraj survived a loose flail at a Kulasekara offcutter first ball. He thumped the next delivery, one of the few over-pitched by Kulasekara, through cover. Thereafter he settled in carefully, and set himself for a late assault. Meanwhile, Robin Uthappa tried to dominate spin, and managed to cart R Ashwin for sixes before falling to his carom ball for the second time in three days. Yuvraj opened up after Uthappa’s fall, lifting Ashwin with the angle over midwicket before launching Doug Bollinger straight for the shot of the afternoon. He slammed Tim Southee for two sixes in the last over as Pune finished their innings with a flourish. Their last five overs yielded 50, but it was not good enough. What Pune missed was a batsman with the technical excellence and mental fortitude of Badrinath to support Yuvraj.

In a yawn-inducing crawl, Deccan Chargers meandered to 82, the lowest total of the season, and Royal Challengers Bangalore knocked it off without much fuss to book their spot in the next Champions League

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera24-Apr-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Anirudh Singh made nearly half of Deccan’s runs•Indian Premier League

In a yawn-inducing crawl, Deccan Chargers meandered to 82, the lowest total of the season, and Royal Challengers Bangalore knocked it off without much fuss to book their spot in the next Champions League.Not many people bothered to turn up for the game, nine Deccan batsmen scored less than five runs and a dull, almost anaesthetic, atmosphere prevailed through their innings. Adam Gilchrist’s early dismissal set the tone for the innings: It was a slow gentle full toss from Anil Kumble and while it was in its trajectory you felt it was going to be smashed for a six but Gilchrist contrived to hit it to deep backward square-leg where Jacques Kallis took a neat catch.It was that kind of a dull and dreary night. Perhaps the loss in semi-final had sapped Deccan, perhaps it was just one of those nights when nothing went right for them and it made for almost painful watching experience.Bangalore ticked off all the boxes that were required of them: Kumble showed his intent by opening against Gilchrist, Praveen Kumar mixed his cutters with slower ones in a tight spell, and Dale Steyn, though not as pacy as he has been in this tournament so far, was accurate to keep the batsmen in check. Monish Mishra played all around a straight delivery from Praveen to be trapped in front and Rohit Sharma threw his wicket away with a lame pull shot to mid-on.Much depended on Andrew Symonds at that stage and he even got a reprieve when Steyn ran in too much at fine-leg to drop a catch but he fell on the very next delivery. He backed away to try force Steyn through the off side but edged it behind to the keeper to leave Deccan struggling at 27 for 4 in 6.1 overs. And it soon turned to 35 for 5 when a clueless Dwayne Smith had his Richard Blakey moment against Kumble: It was a slider that came in from just outside off but Smith stabbed at thin air and looked slightly sheepish when he lost his off stump.It was only due to Anirudh Singh, one of many changes in the Deccan set-up for this game, that Deccan avoided complete embarrassment. He probably would pick a sliced square-drive over backward point off Steyn as his top shot though a thumping drive over covers off a slower one from the same bowler too caught the eye. There was even a six against Nayan Doshi, who made an impressive IPL debut, but Anirudh mainly dealt in nudged singles. When he fell in the 16th over, bowled by Kallis, Deccan lost their only hope of reaching 100.Rahul Dravid and Kallis ensured Bangalore got off to a solid start and once they achieved it, it was always going be a just a stroll in the park for them. Though Kallis fell in the eight over, Dravid guided Bangalore through in the company of Kevin Pietersen.

According to its head of recruiting, the Saudi Pro League will look to sign players "of the highest level" in upcoming transfer windows.

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Saudi chief talks about transfer plansExpects less movement in winter windowLooking to make additions to summer signingsWHAT HAPPENED?

According to FIFA, Saudi Arabian clubs invested £701 million on foreign talent acquisition in the summer. If Saudi teams' offers for Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe had been approved, that amount may have been far higher. The Player Acquisition Centre for Excellence (PACE) and director of football for the Saudi league, Michael Emenalo, acknowledged that the league had "competed aggressively" during the summer transfer window and that the emphasis was now on high-calibre additions to the summer signings.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

As the January transfer window approaches, Saudi teams have already been linked with moves for Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho of Manchester United. Champions Al-Ittihad are also anticipated to make another attempt at acquiring Mohamed Salah, having had their September £150 million bid for the Liverpool forward rejected.

WHAT MICHAEL EMENALO SAID

"I’m hoping (the January transfer window) is not very busy, because I think the job that was done has been quite interesting and aggressive, and most of the clubs, I believe, have what they need,” the former Chelsea technical director told the SPL. "And hopefully the attention will now turn to work within the training facilities to improve these players and to allow the time to adapt and perform.

"Now, whatever additional improvement that we need to do for any club, with time on our hands and preparation, we believe will be additions of the highest level. We will continue to support and to see every opportunity we have to bring more talented individuals that want to come to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is open for business."

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR SAUDI PRO LEAGUE?

As Emenalo reiterated, it is now unlikely that the league will attract any top talents in the winter transfer window but will keep looking to make additions to improve the quality of the league.