CricketViewer.com

Pakistan will announce a captain for the World Twenty20 in the next couple of days, as speculation grows over the identity of the man in the wake of meetings the board chairman Ijaz Butt is said to have had with a number of players.

On Friday, the selection committee had taken the unusual step of naming a 15-man squad for the defense of the world title without appointing a captain, and over the weekend Butt is reported to have met four candidates: Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq and Salman Butt.

The second-fastest Twenty20 hundred, a 37-ball assault from Yusuf Pathan, as delicate as it was brutal, wasn’t enough on a day in which precious little was contributed by the other Rajasthan Royals players. Despite Mumbai Indians piling on their biggest score in the IPL, it required special death bowling from Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga to deny Rajasthan 19 runs in the last two overs.

Yusuf’s onslaught came after Mumbai’s youngsters Ambati Rayudu, considered unlucky to have not played for India yet, and Saurabh Tiwary powered the home side to what seemed a massive total, but it turned out to be one that just about dodged the Yusuf-shaped bullet.

Tim Southee and Shane Bond ensured New Zealand’s series finished on a high but with the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy already conceded, it was only a consolation victory for the hosts over Australia. The 51-run triumph might at least give New Zealand some spark heading in to the Test series, which begins up the road at the Basin Reserve on Friday, and it left the ODI scoreline at 3-2.

In his first match as IPL captain, Gautam Gambhir followed up inspired moves in the field with an old-fashioned innings full of sensible strokeplay and saved a glittering batting line-up the blushes in a straightforward chase of 143 on a flat pitch. It was thanks to disconcerting bowling from Dirk Nannes and timely big wickets for Farveez Maharoof that Delhi were chasing a paltry total, but Gambhir had to counter the regularly falling wickets and rising required rate to take his team home.

West Indies overcame a testing bowling display from Zimbabwe to scale down 142 and seal their first ODI series win in nine attempts. Narsingh Deonarine scored a fortunate 32 to thwart a Zimbabwean comeback following an aggressive start led by Chris Gayle, and backed up an impressive effort with the ball from Dwayne Bravo and Ravi Rampaul that had limited the visitors to a paltry score.

West Indies recovered from dispiriting defeats in the Twenty20 international and the first ODI to win three consecutive games and take an unassailable 3-1 lead, marking a positive, though unconvincing, start to a fresh phase under the supervision of newly-appointed coach Ottis Gibson.

Over the weekend Michael Clarke will provide more proof that he has the attributes to be Australia’s next Test captain. During the past five days Clarke has been everywhere but with his team. Instead his relationship with his fiancée Lara Bingle forced him home to Sydney, where every facial expression is being interpreted by gossip columnists and sports followers.

The liaison has been on and off more than a thigh pad according to the rumours, but what matters to Clarke and his cricket is when he gets to New Zealand. By making it there in time for next Friday’s opening Test in Wellington he will re-affirm his credentials to be Ricky Ponting’s eventual replacement. If a 28-year-old vice-captain can tidy up this sort of mess he can deal with anything that happens in the game.

Match facts
Friday March 12, 2010
Start time 9.30am (03.30GMT)
Big Picture

It’s been so far, so good for England in Bangladesh, albeit with the occasional fright along the way in the one-day series and a troublesome list of injuries to their quick bowlers. Even though their strike power has been reduced they should still have too much class for the home side over this short series, but it’s unlikely that success will come in the form of three-day thrashings.

A day after carrying out the most comprehensive player cull in Pakistan cricket in recent memory, the PCB remains tight-lipped about the nature of charges laid against senior players and the procedure followed in punishing them.

Seven senior players were punished by the board following an inquiry committee report into a disastrous tour of Australia. Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik were handed bans, while the Akmal brothers and Shahid Afridi were handed fines.

Match facts
Friday March 12, 2010
Start time 9.30am (13.30GMT)

Big Picture
The fourth game gives West Indies the chance to wrap up the series after their resounding 141-run win on Wednesday, which represented a palpable shift in momentum between the two sides. Importantly for the home side, the win was built upon a solid team effort, lead by Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s patient fifty and Darren Sammy’s superb use of the conditions, as Zimbabwe unravelled completely after a promising start to their chase.

The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy has remained in Australian hands after Ricky Ponting and Cameron White led their team to a six-wicket win that secured the series 3-1. Rain played some part in the outcome but it was mostly New Zealand’s watered-down batting display that left their fans feeling gloomy and consigned Saturday’s fifth match in Wellington to dead-rubber status.

The hosts had only themselves to blame for failing to bat out their overs and after rain reduced the target from 239 off 50 overs to 200 from 34 overs, Australia found their way home with 17 balls to spare. Cameron White and Michael Hussey completed the chase, which was set up by Ponting and Shane Watson, and despite a couple of quick wickets in the middle from Daniel Vettori the visitors were on track for most of the evening.