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In a must-win situation Sunrisers Hyderabad registered yet another win at their home ground, this time against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, and became the fourth team to qualify for the playoffs in their first season under new ownership. Shikhar Dhawan, the opening batsman, told the IPL site that it was “amazing to see our name in the top four”, after not many had given the team a chance.Kris Srikkanth, Sunrisers’ mentor, was also overjoyed with the result and compared the team’s successful league-stage run to that of the Indian team during the 1983 World Cup.”My memories went down to the 1983 World Cup,” Srikkanth told the site. “Nobody gave us a chance in the World Cup that year, but we qualified and won at the end of the day. The feeling today is quite similar as no one gave the Sunrisers a chance in the tournament, and today we have qualified for the playoffs.”Chasing 131, Dhawan set up the platform with an 89-run opening partnership with Parthiv Patel, before the team slumped to 112 for 5 in the 18th over. But Darren Sammy shrugged the team’s nervousness aside with two consecutive sixes in the penultimate over to spark wild celebrations.”I feel it was a great opening partnership between me and Parthiv,” Dhawan said. “We got off to a good start and did the job for our team. Also, hats off to Darren Sammy who held his nerve to finish the game for us.”Once again Sunrisers’ bowlers didn’t allow a visiting team to go past 130 (as has been the case in all games except in the one against Chennai Super Kings), despite the absence of Ishant Sharma, who missed out due to illness. His replacement, Anand Rajan, gave away 22 runs in his four overs and picked up a wicket to maintain the team’s strong showing in the field.”We have a lethal bowling attack with Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma adding firepower in the beginning and at the death; and we have quality spinners like Amit Mishra and Karan Sharma who thrive in pairs in the mid-innings,” Dhawan said. “We have a similar logic with respect to our batting too.”Sunrisers will now face Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator, which is to be played in Delhi on Wednesday.

Ryan ten Doeschate, playing his first game of the IPL season, changed the course of Kolkata Knight Riders’ game against Pune Warriors, according to his captain Gautam Gambhir. Ten Doeschate, the Netherlands allrounder, arrived at the crease at 75 for 3 in the 12th over and hit 31 off 21 deliveries to lift Knight Riders to 152 for 6 on a difficult Pune pitch.”Ryan was the man who changed the course of the tie,” Gambhir said. “Before he came to bat, we were expecting to score around 130 runs. Playing his first match, Ryan did a wonderful job in the death overs. He is the real hero.”It was only the fifth win in 13 games for Knight Riders, the defending champions. Ten Doeschate had to sit out their campaign so far, but did not feel after his performance that he was the missing link in the line-up. “No, I wouldn’t say that,” ten Doeschate told the IPL website. “There are obviously a lot of good international players here. Like when I come in, a quality player like Ryan McLaren has to sit out. So you have got to wait your turn. And that is probably one of the toughest things you have to do, as you have got to stay fresh and stay ready. That is the hard part about being in a group of eight or nine good overseas guys like in KKR.”While Gambhir was “happy and relieved” with the win, he said Knight Riders were capable of doing much better. Ten Doeschate agreed with his captain. “I don’t think we have done particularly badly this year,” ten Doeschate said. “I just don’t think we have won crucial moments of the game. However, we have certainly channeled the pressure of being defending champions into a way that would work out for us this year.”Gambhir again backed his misfiring batsman Yusuf Pathan, who had another failure, making 3 off 6 after coming in at 90 for 4 in the 15th over. “It is disappointing that Yusuf is not getting runs,” Gambhir said. “I believe he is more disappointed than all of us. After all, he is an impact player. I am sure he will return to form in the coming matches of the tournament.”Warriors captain Aaron Finch said his batsmen were “really disappointing” after they were dismissed for 106, with only Angelo Mathews and Robin Uthappa managing double-digit scores. “150 was a difficult score to chase on this wicket and we had not batted very intelligently either,” Finch said. “We knew that Sunil Narine was going to bowl a few overs towards the end of the innings. And so we needed to cash in on the first six overs and put up as many runs as possible and get ahead in the run-rate. I believe we should have applied ourselves a bit more. We have really let ourselves down.”

ScorecardMichael Hogan’s three wickets helped fire out Lancashire•Getty Images

The annual consensus about Division Two of the County Championship is that it is composed of four or five teams capable of winning promotion and a similar number who make up the numbers. Glamorgan are frequently placed in the second group and most pre-season tipsters identified Lancashire as an outfit likely to be bidding for a swift return to Division One.Such predictions were made to look rather daft for much of this blissful spring day at Rhos-on-Sea, where the May blossom on the tiered embankment, the smiles on the faces of the club officials and the quality of the bowling more than made up for scoreboard malfunctions and technical glitches.And by the end of May 1, traditionally a socialist holiday, it was the Glamorgan workers who could look back on their labours with just slightly greater pleasure. Having striven hard to bowl Lancashire out for 123, they were handily placed on 110 for 4, a deficit of 13 runs.It is nothing like a winning position, but for Mark Wallace and his players it will do very nicely, despite the late departure of Marcus North, lbw on the front foot to Jimmy Anderson for 22 immediately after he had been switched to the Penrhyn Avenue End of this proud, well-appointed ground. That left Anderson with 3 for 28 from 15 overs, figures to reassure Andy Flower that his spearhead is near his finest fettle. If he hits his straps on Thursday, Glamorgan’s advantage could be slender or nothing at all.”May called to the year to come dancing” wrote the poet and Anglican priest R S Thomas, a resident of the Lleyn peninsula, in Runes, and it was Glamorgan’s bowlers who showed the slickest moves having lost the toss on the first morning of this match.Lancashire’s travails began as early as the second delivery of the day when Paul Horton left a ball from Michael Hogan which clipped his off stump. This misjudgement rather set the tone for an innings conspicuous for its absence of solidity or control. Glamorgan’s bowlers, by contrast, always seemed to know their business: it was to stick to the game’s timeless verities and let any early moisture or movement from a well-grassed pitch confound the batsmen.It worked. The rangy Hogan followed up the wicket of Horton with the scalp of Karl Brown who played a copybook front foot drive but neglected to hit the ball with the bat, something of a weakness, he will probably admit. Luke Procter and Ashwell Prince then added 40 in 15 overs but this brief period of reconstruction was followed by major subsidence as both batsmen fell lbw, Procter to Jim Allenby for 26, Prince to Mike Reed for 19, in the space of seven balls. When Steven Croft slapped a short ball from Reed high but within reach of the leaping Murray Goodwin at midwicket, Lancashire were 66 for 5 and the travelling supporters were well into their pre-prandial grumbling.Things descended from the poor to the abysmal in the hour after lunch as Glen Chapple’s side lost 4 for 7 in 27 balls. Allenby deserves plenty of credit for the delivery which moved off the pitch to claim Katich’s wicket but other batsmen – Cross and Chapple maybe – were complicit in their own downfalls. A last wicket partnership of 20 between Anderson and Simon Kerrigan took the total to 123 but no one was claiming that this was anything like adequate. The attraction then lay in seeing what Anderson et al would make of the same pitch and the same atmospheric conditions.At first they made not too much of them. True, Ben Wright gloved a vicious lifter from Anderson to Cross just after tea and Stewart Walters lost his off stump, but there was never the sense of incipient crisis that had existed in the Lancashire innings. The determined Will Bragg and the more expansive Marcus North had taken the score to 82 before Bragg, aiming to play to leg, was lbw to Simon Kerrigan’s fourth ball. That brought Murray Goodwin to the crease and his battle with Anderson on the second morning may do much to determine the architecture of this engrossing contest.

Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka’s chairman of selectors, has justified the selection of a minister’s son in the national squad for the one-off Twenty20 against Bangladesh, after his panel attracted sharp criticism in some parts of the local media. Allrounder Ramith Rambukwella, is the son of media and information minister Keheliya Rambukwella.”Ramith is a left-hand batsman who bowls right arm offspin, who can clear the boundaries and can hit hard,” Jayasuriya said. “He’s someone who can play Twenty20 cricket in the middle order, and you need players like that in this format. We’re bringing him on as a batting allrounder who can bowl offspin.”Rambukwella, 21, has played club cricket since 2011, but has hit only two half-centuries in 28 innings, across all formats. He has scored 135 runs at an average of 16.87 in List A games and 122 at 17.42 in T20s. He has been more successful with the ball, having taken 10 wickets at an average of 23.60 in List A and eight wickets in T20s at an economy-rate of 7.28. He developed his reputation for big hitting during a successful school cricket career, during which he played for Royal College in Colombo.”We don’t just bring in players who perform, we also bring in players with talent,” Jayasuriya said. “There are plenty of players who haven’t performed that well in club matches, but have played well in internationals. I’ve seen a lot of players like that.”I’m not saying you can get picked even if you don’t bat well in domestic cricket, I’m saying if you are talented, or you’ve made runs in the past, we will give those players an opportunity. We will consider any player. They don’t just have to be under 23, even 28 to 30-year olds are considered, and we will try to take those players to the place they need to go.”The selection committee has chosen large squads against Bangladesh, despite the relatively short series, and Jayasuriya said this was done deliberately. The selectors initially picked 22 players for the two-Test series, before trimming the squad to 16 four days before the first Test, and the team for the lone Twenty20 will also be picked from a 16-man squad, which includes five uncapped young players.”Because it’s Bangladesh, we wanted to give the youngsters a chance,” Jayasuriya said. “In the 50-over squad also we picked 16 players. The reason for that is we wanted players who we have identified as talents to experience being in the national team and become familiar with the system. It can take some getting used to otherwise. In an overseas tour, we can’t have a 16-man squad because it’s too expensive, but since it’s a local tour, we thought we would give players that opportunity.”Jayasuriya also suggested that Sachithra Senanayake would be given an extended run in the side, after having been named in the ODI squad for the first time since being dropped in mid-2012. “I think we need to give Sachithra an opportunity in T20s, because he hasn’t had those kinds of opportunities. That’s why we’ve got him in the one-day squad and now we have him in the T20 squad. “

Brett Lee, the former Australia quick, will double up as the fast-bowling spearhead-cum-bowling mentor for Kolkata Knight Riders for the forthcoming IPL season. Lee was happy to pick up the additional duties after Wasim Akram, bowling consultant at the franchise, decided to take a break this year.According to Venky Mysore, the Knight Riders CEO, once Akram opted out, the franchise deliberated about whether to go for a new consultant or look for inside help. Mysore said the team management felt Lee was easily best suited for the mentor’s job based on his vast experience as a quality international fast bowler. “It is about him taking more leadership role than anything dramatically different. He said he was honoured to take up that role,” Mysore said.The additional responsibility will not in any way have an impact on Lee’s availability during the tournament and Mysore said that Lee would continue to be one of the frontline fast bowlers for the Knight Riders.The IPL season begins on April 3 with the Knight Riders taking on Delhi Daredevils at Eden Gardens.

AB de Villiers has, for the first time, admitted being overburdened by his roles as a batsman, wicket-keeper and part of South Africa’s leadership core. His acknowledgment comes after a policy change to the limited-overs squads which has seen the gloves taken away from de Villiers to allow him to focus on captaincy.”I have always felt a bit rushed trying to captain the side and keep wicket,” de Villiers said ahead of the first ODI against New Zealand in Paarl. “I will probably stand at mid-off and be able to communicate with my bowlers a lot better as well as get a better perspective of the game.”De Villiers latest statement contrasts with his assessment of his own handling of the triple task the last time South Africa played limited-overs cricket, at the World Twenty20 in September. De Villiers required three weeks rest after the tournament after he aggravated his chronic back condition during the tour of England and the ICC event.Despite the recurrence of the injury, de Villiers insisted he was not paying the price for taking on too much. “I don’t believe there is too much on my plate; I really enjoy the captaincy and batting and keeping. It’s what I am going to do,” he said, while even going as far as to say he would continue in all three roles irrespective of the effect it had. “If I miss out on a year of my career, so be it.”Since that tournament, de Villiers has played five Test matches for South Africa and one domestic 50-over match. De Villiers complained of a tired body after turning out for his franchise, the Titans in the one-day cup playoff. He scored a hundred in a losing cause that day but was so worn out from the cumulative effects of that match after a Test series that he to be rested from the three-match T20 series against New Zealand, a request which was granted.In that time, de Villiers also “changed his mind,” according to convenor of selectors Andrew Hudson about ‘keeping at Test level. When de Villiers was required to take over from Mark Boucher in and emergency situation in England, he was reluctant to become the permanent wicket-keeper. During the third Test against Australia in Perth in early December, Hudson spoke to de Villiers again and he asked if he could continue in the role. The selection panel and team management agreed.But de Villiers ‘keeping at Test level has widespread implications beginning with his own batting. Crouching behind the stumps for extended periods seemed to hinder de Villiers ability to bat with freedom, which South Africa needs him to do. As yet, that theory has not been completely disproved. The 169 he blazed at the WACA came after he was in the field for three overs more than an ODI. Even against New Zealand, where he scored two half-centuries, periods on the park were minimal thanks to the visitor’s short batting time.It has been enough to convince the powers that be, though and de Villiers will continue as Test wicket-keeper but in order do that, he has had to give up the gloves in shorter formats. Quinton de Kock did the job in the T20s and will do in the ODIs, to allow de Villiers time to develop his leadership style, 18 months after taking over the job.De Kock’s selection is also a means to ensure de Villiers’ back can be rested, although how much it will be questionable. Gary Kirsten revealed yesterday that de Villiers finds keeping in 50-overs “more intense,” than in a Test. Previously de Villiers went on record saying he found it harder on his body to be in the outfield – where he will now prowl – than to keep wicket.After the three ODIs, it may be clearer which discipline takes greater toll on de Villiers because his back can be compared to the way it felt after the World T20. Should de Villiers first guess be correct and he comes out worse, he may have to consider ‘keeping again which will require another rethink of South Africa’s limited-overs policy. Should he cope well with fielding again, it could open up another option for South Africa at Test level, the specialist wicket-keeper, should they require it.As a result, the debate over South Africa’s wicket-keeping options is far from closed. Life after Boucher was always going to be uncertain because of the poor planning that preceded it. Even as Boucher’s form dipped, no clear attempts were made to identify or groom a successor.At that time, de Villiers himself distanced himself from wicket-keeping permanently as he confirmed his career goal was simply to become the best batsman in the world. Recently, he has spoken of his desire to improve his wicket-keeping, to captain the side as best he can and to contribute with the bat.To change one’s mind or expand one’s goals is only natural, for the administrators to accommodate that if it works with their team plans is also understandable but it all points to an obvious question that must be asked soon: when does too much room for individual flexibility cause too much disruption to the team’s needs?

Barisal Burners

Chris Gayle’s absence will hurt Barisal Burners•BPL T20

Barisal Burners would hope they retain the luck they enjoyed in the inaugural season of BPL. They head into this year’s tournament without last year’s big force – Chris Gayle – and would have to bank on some of the effective players they have retained. The local talent, like last season, would have to shine through to enable them to progress to the semi-finals.Barisal, during the auctions, seemed intent to retain their foreign players; Brad Hodge, Phil Mustard and Kabir Ali were all retained. They would, however, miss the services of Ahmed Shehzad, their top run-getter last year, and Yasir Arafat, their top wicket-taker. Spinners Saeed Ajmal and Sunil Narine, two of their key players, may only play for a week due to international commitments, but allrounder Azhar Mahmood is likely to be available for the whole season.Among the local players, Mominul Haque is out from the side, but the likes of Alok Kapali, Elias Sunny and Shabbir Rahman are vital additions. All three are allrounders of varying abilities, but the acquirement of Sunny could be profitable, if he displays any of his form from the previous season.Key player Brad Hodge made 346 runs for Barisal last year at a strike rate of over 130. He led the team last year, and was famously checking into a flight when he was called up by the management at the last minute to play a semi-final nobody expected Barisal to play.Major team changesThe biggest game-changer of the BPL is out, and that doesn’t bode well for Barisal. The absence of Chris Gayle is a huge blow. Although he was only available for five matches last season, he hammered two centuries and Barisal took an early lead in the competition.To mitigate Gayle’s absence, the Barisal management chose the globe-trotting Azhar Mahmood. The allrounder played for Dhaka Gladiators last season and will be expected to have a major say, particularly with the bat, as it is likely that he will have to bat up the order in this team.Below the radarSabbir Rahman is a lower middle-order hitter who bowls useful legspin, and possesses talent, according to local coaches. Apart from playing a vital role in Bangladesh’s Asian Games’ gold medal-winning game, however, Sabbir hasn’t shown what he is capable of. He will be expected to hit the ball a long way and field well, but it would be a great loss to the man and the team if his bowling is underused.Last year’s performanceRunners-up.

Dhaka Gladiators

Tillakaratne Dilshan will replace Imran Nazir to fill in the opener’s slot•AFP

The Dhaka Gladiators won the title last season owing to their star power, which they would bank on this season too. They have filled up their squad with some big local and foreign players.The local strength is led by Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza, followed by Mohammad Ashraful, Anamul Haque and the in-form left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib. It will be crucial for these local players to perform, particularly for Shakib, who will be returning to competitive cricket after suffering a shin injury and missing the ODI series against West Indies. Mashrafe has been named captain and will be expected to last the length of the tournament, though he would also have to take the full load as the team is thin on pace-bowling options.The international stars Shahid Afridi, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Owais Shah and Luke Wright will be in charge of providing the thrust.Key playerShakib Al Hasan remains the top billing in this tournament and the race to get him in the side had six out of seven teams tied in a deadlock during the auction. Dhaka won the race by quoting more money, and they would be expecting him to fire with bat and ball. Shakib didn’t have a particularly great time for Khulna last season, except for the semi-final in which he managed to turn everyone’s attention away from the knockouts controversy with his sublime hitting that almost took his side to the final.Major team changesImran Nazir has moved to Chittagong Kings this season. It will be a blow for Dhaka who will be without their best batsman from last season.Tillakaratne Dilshan will have to fill in Nazir’s opening slot, and that is an effective replacement. Dilshan will also bowl darts with the new ball, his brand of spin that will be highly effective in this format and on these wickets.Below the radarSoumya Sarkar came into prominence with a double-century in a regional Under-19 tournament. Though the score came against lowly Qatar, the left-hand batsman is one to look out for. He has opened the batting regularly with Tamim Iqbal last season for Victoria Sporting Club in the Dhaka Premier League, and will be expected to take a step up in this tournament.Last year’s performanceChampions.

Chittagong Kings

Aftab Ahmed, who hasn’t lived up to his potential so far, could be a key player in the Chittagong line-up•ICL

Chittagong Kings would hope luck doesn’t desert them, unlike last season, when they were denied a place in the semi-finals at the last moment by the organisers, amid confusion. They have planned well this time, and have a team with many big hitters, but again, would be best advised not to include too many Twenty20 specialists in their line-up like last season.Some of the smart picks have been Dwayne Bravo, Ravi Bopara, Ryan ten Doeschate, Jacob Oram and Brendan Taylor. Imran Nazir and Wahab Riaz – pending availability – will also be major contributors as will be Jason Roy, the talented English batsman, and their last season’s surprise package, Kevon Cooper.Mahmudullah, Enamul Haque jnr and Aftab Ahmed are important local players, but Chittagong will need contributions from Rubel Hossain, Marshall Ayub and Arafat Sunny if they are to have all-round balance.Key playerMahmudullah has always been an underrated player for the national side, but the 2012-13 season has been different for the allrounder. He has played in the Sri Lanka Premier League, withstood a barrage from West Indies’ fast bowlers, and played an important role in Bangladesh’s ODI series win over them. He is set to lead Chittagong in this tournament again, and his role in picking the right men would be important.Major team changesAlthough he played just two matches, the absence of Tamim Iqbal from the Chittagong line-up will be a tough one to fill. The inclusion of Ravi Bopara will give them batting strength, something that went missing for most of the tournament last year, mainly due to Tamim’s absence.Below the radarAftab Ahmed has been away from attention for far too long, particularly for a talented batsman. He played meekly for Dhaka Gladiators last season, and will have a grand stage to bring out his audacious shots. He would hope that his timid nature is not a hindrance.Last year’s performanceFifth.

Ian Bell has admitted trying “a bit too hard” to prove himself in India after his heavily-criticised first-ball dismissal in the opening Test in Ahmedabad but insists he will not stop trying to attack spin bowlers in the future.Bell lofted his first ball from Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm spinner, straight to Sachin Tendulkar at mid-off the delivery after Kevin Pietersen had been dismissed and it left England in tatters at 69 for 5 replying to India’s 521 for 8 dec. He played more sensibly in the second innings, reaching 22 before being trapped lbw by Umesh Yadav, but his record in India now stands at an average of 18.36 from six Tests.”Lately I have been trying a bit too hard to show everyone I can score in India,” Bell said in his newspaper column. “I need to relax and trust my defence and know that if I spend time at the crease it will happen. I still have a lot of confidence about playing in the subcontinent, I have scored runs against Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka but India is the one place that I have not scored big and I know that is missing from my batting CV.”Maybe from previous tours to the subcontinent I was thinking to myself that I wanted to be positive and not sit back and be passive. I know I have to get the balance right. It was a bit adventurous for a first ball but if you look back over my last 30 to 40 Tests, you’ll see the amount of times that I have got off and running against spinners like that. I am not going to put the shot away but I will reassess when I use it next time.”Bell is missing the second Test, in Mumbai, having flown home to be with his newly born son, Joseph, after learning he was a father while sat at the airport. Knowing that the birth was imminent made for a tricky build-up to the series for him.”The first month in India was a weird time, I had things in the back of my mind but I was just trying to concentrate on my cricket,” he said. “I didn’t feel like I was in the best form, I wasn’t batting as well as I would’ve liked. I don’t know if that was down to everything going on, sometimes it just happens like that.”Bell now faces the situation of watching Jonny Bairstow have a chance in the No. 5 position as he spends a few days on nappy-changing duty before returning to India for the third Test in Kolkata. However, despite handing over his England place he does not have any regrets about the trip home.”On the cricketing side it’s a difficult decision to give someone an opportunity to take your place but I wanted to be here for my family and it is the best thing I have ever done and that will never change.”

The BCCI is looking to establish a “prime season” for the Indian cricket team at home much like it is in England and Australia, thus reducing the team’s touring commitments in the winter.BCCI president N Srinivasan said: “We are starting to look at and define our prime season, and during your prime season you should be playing at home.” Speaking exclusively to ESPNcricinfo, Srinivasan said formalising the Indian season would mean a structured calendar of teams touring India. “We want to have possibly one or two visiting teams during our domestic season, starting in September all the way up to March, and we’ll see the extent to which we don’t tour outside. Given the FTP that is there, we are going to see how we can adjust.”Domestic cricket would also be rescheduled to make home Tests the centre piece of the season, and encourage more international players to take part in the Ranji Trophy. Srinivasan said: “This year we also encouraged our big players and stars to play domestic cricket. This is a change from the last several years.” The Ranji format has been changed to three groups of nine teams each, the BCCI had been told by first-class players, that they wanted to play more cricket.The BCCI’s measures over the last few years, Srinivasan said, had sought to improve the quality of cricket particularly of the longer form of the game. “That is where the emphasis is. An uncapped player who has not played for India cannot play in the IPL unless he plays 60% of the Ranji Trophy games. So in more ways than one, we are pushing a player to the longer version.”In a wide-ranging interview, which will appear in full on ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday, Srinivasan spoke about issues concerning Indian cricket, the BCCI’s financial power in world cricket, its refusal to accept the mandatory application of the umpire’s Decision Review System (DRS), and the IPL’s growing influence on players all over the world and the longer form of the game.Srinivasan denied that the BCCI had taken an ‘obstructionist’ approach to the DRS. “We have not taken an obstructionist policy. We don’t believe in it, so after discussion members have agreed it should be bilateral. I don’t want to dictate to other people… our position has been clear from start. We don’t believe the technology is good enough.”He said the ICC’s statement that the DRS technology had “improved further” was in a way “acceptance that it was not good enough then” referring to the India tour of England last year. “But it was touted as being good at that point in time. Our problem is that when they say it is all right, then they say it’ll get better tomorrow, or an improved version now. So we concede the fact that there was less than adequate perfection. Which is our point, if you want to use technology it must be perfect.”Srinivasan also said that restricting the DRS to two referrals was in some ways a contradiction in itself. “If you don’t have faith in the umpire, which itself is a contradiction as in cricket the umpire’s verdict is final, if a player shows dissent you fine him. But now you’re saying that I have two attempts to question your decision. So the reconciliation between that is difficult. So if you take it to the end point of it, then you have two lampposts with coloured lights red, yellow and green, you don’t need an umpire at all, as you refer every decision, so let an automatic reply come from there after a review and you say red or green.”India’s unwillingness to use the DRS means that there are two officiating systems at work in world cricket, to which Srinivasan said: “It doesn’t bother me at all because, apart from all this, there is a cost to DRS and there are only one or two people involved. It’s a monopoly-area situation, which I am not going in to here. It doesn’t bother me if two other countries use DRS, they are happy, that’s okay.”The ICC he said had the right to use DRS in its own events, but the BCCI was very clear in its stand on its usage in any bilateral series featuring India. “We are clear in our mind, but I hope, slowly, people will see our point of view.”The IPL, the BCCI’s “showcase event” did not, he said, have a negative bearing on international cricket and the BCCI’s refusal to ask for a window for the event, was based on the acceptance of the overseas players’ packed international calendars. “The IPL management, the BCCI, franchise owners are aware that all the players won’t be available all the time, and we’ve sort of settled down with that.”The IPL he said was not putting “a strain” on other boards. The event’s popularity amongst overseas players were a reflection that, “it’s a free world. People and players make their choices and we can’t compel a person… I don’t think that it is all-consuming.” While the IPL attracts cricketers from all over the world, he said, “there are only so many players who can play in the IPL, because we have a cap on the number of players in the team. And from what I have seen, players may not be happy to sit out as we have a cap on foreign players. So squad size and the number of franchises have a limiting effect.”The BCCI he said was aware that there was “no real window” available on the international calendar for the IPL. “The BCCI has recognised that today you have ten Full Members, they play each other home and away once in four years. The number of ICC events has increased from ten years ago, so there’s a lot of clutter. So the BCCI accepts the fact that there is no real window and that whoever is available plays.”The BCCI’s reputation as a bully on the ICC board he said, was “not fair” – and denied that other boards would be wary of going against the BCCI’s wishes. “That is not a fact. In the ICC all members are sovereign. The ten full members are sovereign.”Despite India’s 8-0 defeats in England and Australia, Srinivasan said it was not fair to say that India got exposed when travelling abroad. “It’s not that we get exposed when we go abroad. Every country is used to its own conditions, whether it is England, South Africa, Australia, so they tend to play better in home conditions, which is what we also do.”He said the media in the other teams did not end up “berating their players for not doing well [abroad]” and that there had to be an acceptance and recognition of the “advantage of home conditions… So I don’t think we should run down our players by saying we did not do well abroad. Other teams don’t do well when they come to India. In the past, we have had teams that have done well both here and abroad, when players were possibly younger.”

Defending champions Australia will take on England at Townsville’s Tony Ireland Stadium on Saturday to kickstart the latest edition of the Under-19 World Cup, in Queensland. On the same day, two-time former champions Pakistan play Afghanistan at John Blanck Oval on the Sunshine Coast, while Bangladesh and Sri Lanka face each other at Townsville’s Endeavour Park. At the Allan Border Field in Brisbane, Zimbabwe play Papua New Guinea.The biennial competition features 16 teams, including the 10 Full Members of the ICC and six qualifiers (Afghanistan, Ireland, Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Scotland). The teams are divided into four groups of four each, with the top two from each group qualifying for the quarter-finals. The bottom two from each group will compete in the Plate Championship. The grand final will be played at Tony Ireland Stadium on August 26.Australia captain William Bosisto said his side cannot expect an easy journey, despite playing at home. Australia have won the tournament a record three times. “I wouldn’t necessarily say that Australia is a firm favourite in any way,” Bosisto said. “I think we see ourselves as having a very good chance to win the title, and hopefully we can do everything in our power to do that. But I know there will be many strong sides from the subcontinent, and obviously England, so we know there is a lot of tough competition out there.”England last won the title in 1998, under Owais Shah, and the captain Adam Ball said consistency is the key.”It is definitely time for England to add to that previous success,” Ball said. “It will be very tough for us to repeat that but I feel the team has what it takes to do so. I think Australia have to be one of the favourites as they are playing in their own country and have won the tournament several times before. I also think that Pakistan will be a very hard team to beat even in conditions that may not favour them.”Pakistan captain Babar Azam said his team’s chances will depend on how soon they adapt to the conditions.”I think we are one of the tournament favourites as we bat deep, have a couple of good allrounders and also possess a few quality fast bowlers and spinners in the side,” Azam said. “Moreover, our recent performance at the international level is encouraging so I think our team could be termed as favourites alongside some other teams. However, it will all depend on how quickly we adjust to the conditions in Australia. We all know that pitches and outfields in Australia are very hard and there is extra bounce on the pitches.”South Africa have never won the tournament, though they came close in 2008 in Malaysia, finishing as the runners-up. They open their campaign on Sunday, against Bangladesh.”This squad has been on a two-year progression plan for this event,” the captain Chad Bowes said. “We have arrived in Australia to play good, solid cricket and we believe that we have the potential to be the first South Africa side to win the U-19 World Cup.”