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Mumbai

Shreyas Iyer scored 809 runs in 10 matches in the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy at an average of 50.56•PTI

Where they finished last season
Lost to eventual champions Karnataka in the semi-final.Big Picture
Champions. Quarter-finalists. Semi-finalists. Any other team on the domestic circuit would be delighted with such consistency in the last three editions of the Ranji Trophy. Not Mumbai.Having won almost half [40] of the tournament’s 81 editions so far, anything but the title is treated as a failure in Mumbai cricket. As a result, to end a two-season drought, Mumbai have turned to coach Chandrakant Pandit.More than working on the skill sets of Mumbai players, Pandit’s main task is to get them to play as a unit. More than their loss to Jammu & Kashmir or the miraculous qualification for the knockouts or the first-innings collapse in the semi-final, the major talking point of Mumbai’s last season was the infighting within the team. It resulted in Suryakumar Yadav being replaced as captain midway through the season and being reprimanded along with a key pace bowler.The other major challenge to overcome for Mumbai is the lack of a stalwart in dressing room. Abhishek Nayar will be the senior-most player in the change room, which is used to seeing international regulars or domestic stalwarts leading the way.Players to watch
Shreyas Iyer‘s first-class season got off to a fascinating start. For a rookie playing his maiden season, to finish as the seventh-highest run-getter of the tournament was an outstanding feat, and it was followed by an enviable price in the IPL auction. He also featured for India A during their home series against South Africa A but it remains to be seen if Iyer can avoid the second-season blues.Captaincy, albeit of an IPL team, made Rohit Sharma a responsible cricketer, but Suryakumar Yadav appeared to have become complacent on and off the field with the additional responsibility. The talented batsman started the last season as the Mumbai captain and almost lost his place for the zonal Twenty20 tournament on disciplinary grounds. Will he be able to turn the tide?Coaching staff
Chandrakant Pandit has been reappointed coach of Mumbai’s Ranji team after 11 years. Omkar Salvi, elder brother of former India pace bowler Aavishkar Salvi, continues to be the bowling coach, while Ashutosh Nimse will be the physiotherapist.Preparation
A mix of regular and fringe players helped Mumbai win the Buchi Babu tournament, one of the most respected pre-season tournaments. It was followed by a fortnight-long training stint in Hyderabad, where Mumbai played two warm-up games.Team news
Wasim Jaffer has switched to Vidarbha while Sarfaraz Khan has moved to Uttar Pradesh, and Hiken Shah remains suspended by the BCCI. International commitments are likely to keep Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane away from the Mumbai dressing room for the second season in succession. This would mean that the likes of Iyer, Yadav, Siddhesh Lad and Nikhil Patil will have their task cut out. The bowling attack will be bolstered with Dhawal Kulkarni’s availability, at least for the first two games. Zaheer Khan, who missed last season due to an injury, has been left out of the squad for the first two games.Squad
Aditya Tare (capt & wk), Badre Alam, Vishal Dabholkar, Harmeet Singh, Akhil Herwadkar, Shreyas Iyer, Dhawal Kulkarni, Siddhesh Lad, Shrideep Mangela, Abhishek Nayar, Nikhil Patil, Abhishek Raut, Balwinder Sandhu, Shardul Thakur, Suryakumar Yadav.In their own words
“The expectations, like every year, are to win the title. We are not thinking about it at all. Our simple mantra is to work on the process rather than the result. I have been telling the boys not to take the pressure of winning the Ranji Trophy. If we do the right things in the middle, results will naturally follow.”

Maharashtra

Maharashtra will be looking at Kedar Jadhav to do the bulk of the run-scoring•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Where they finished last season
Semi-finalists, bowing out against Tamil Nadu on the basis of first-innings leadBig Picture
For a better part of the last decade, Maharashtra had employed the policy of trying and testing youngsters. After trying out far too many, and dumping most of them, from 2005-06 to 2010-11, Maharashtra has emerged as one of the most settled units in the Ranji Trophy. And it has borne results of late, with Maharashtra making it to the final and semi-finals in the last two seasons.If they are to maintain the consistency, their pace quartet will have to work their magic again. Over the last couple of seasons, the BCCI’s policy of preparing seamer-friendly surfaces had worked in their favour, as Samad Fallah, Domnic Joseph and Anupam Sanklecha made the most of conditions, with Shrikant Mundhe playing the back-up seamer’s role to perfection.If the BCCI’s diktat of letting spinners back in the game is followed to the tee, then Maharashtra will have to hope Akshay Darekar can be complemented by either Nikit Dhumal or Chirag Khurana.Players to watch
Allrounders are a rare breed in domestic cricket, but Maharashtra are fortunate to have two. Shrikant Mundhe has emerged as a consistent pace-bowling allrounder who is tailor-made to bat with the tail. Chirag Khurana had a breakthrough season with the bat last year, tallying close to 700 runs to lead his team’s run charts. His offspin bowling also proved to be more than a handful, with him being preferred as the lone spinner in the team.For the first time in four decades, a Maharashtra team will feature an international centurion, thanks to Kedar Jadhav’s hundred in Zimbabwe, and Jadhav will have plenty to prove after a lean 2014-15 against the red ball. If Jadhav can repeat the heroics of 2013-14, where he garnered 1200-plus runs, then Maharashtra’s batting woes will be all but sorted.Coaching staff
Maharashtra have stuck to last year’s coaching staff. Australian David Andrews continues to be the coach with Abhishek Joshi doubling up as physio and trainer.Preparation
After competing in a pre-season tournament in Nagpur in August, rain proved to be a dampener for Maharashtra in a preparatory tournament. Only one round of the eight-team tournament, including three teams of state players, could be played before the weather turned nasty. The selectors then made up for the lost time by hosting a four-day match between Under-23 and Ranji teams.Team news
Vijay Zol is back in the reckoning after missing most of the last season due to a shoulder injury. He will have to fight for his place though with the likes of Nikhil Naik and Jay Pande having impressed with a strong showing in the pre-season outings.SquadRohit Motwani (capt), Harshad Khadiwale, Swapnil Gugale, Kedar Jadhav, Ankit Bawne, Chirag Khurana, Rahul Tripathi, Sangram Atitkar, Naushad Shaikh, Vijay Zol, Akshay Darekar, Shrikant Mundhe, Samad Fallah, Nikit Dhumal, Domnic Joseph, Anupam Sanklecha.

Kieran Devlin has dropped an update on the future of Celtic loanee Cameron Carter-Vickers.

What’s the talk?

In a recent Q&A on The Athletic, the Celtic correspondent suggested that, despite the reported interest of a number of Premier League and Championship sides, Ange Postecoglou’s side do have an option to buy clause written into the 24-year-old’s temporary contract at Parkhead – something which Devlin believes the club wish to activate this summer.

However, the journalist continues to state that the USA international could refuse Celtic’s offer of personal terms in favour of a move elsewhere, with Carter-Vickers being believed to have preferred a switch to Newcastle United last summer.

In response to a question asking for an update on the defender’s situation, Devlin said: “Celtic have first say with their option-to-buy and they definitely want him, but ultimately it’ll be down to the player, I believe.

“Newcastle was his preference in August but their interest wasn’t serious enough, so when Spurs called Celtic and offered them him on deadline day they readily accepted – they’d enquired about a loan with option-to-buy earlier that month but Spurs initially rejected it wanting only a permanent move, but by deadline day they just wanted him out the squad.

“Not sure how that’s changed and wouldn’t want to speculate – whether he now feels at home at Celtic or whether his performances attracting EPL attention will swivel his head.”

Then, in response to a further question asking whether Tottenham Hotspur would legally have to accept an offer from Celtic for the centre-back, the journalist added: “Don’t want to speculate too much as some options-to-buy can have weird clauses, but technically yes. The player himself can spike that though.”

Postecoglou will be sweating

While it is true that Celtic do have what is effectively first refusal on the signing of Carter-Vickers this summer, the news that the player himself could reject a permanent switch to Parkhead in favour of a move to a Premier League side is sure to have both Postecoglou and fans of the club sweating.

Indeed, over his 23 Premiership appearances this season, the £2.7m-rated defender has been in imperious form for the Hoops, helping his side keep 12 clean sheets, scoring two goals and providing one assist, in addition to making an average of 1.2 interceptions, one tackle, 79.4 passes, 4.5 clearances and winning six duels – at a success rate of 69% – per game.

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These metrics have seen the £20k-per-week centre-back average a quite astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.34, ranking the American as the sixth-best player in the top flight of Scottish football.

As such, it is clear for all to see that losing the services of Carter-Vickers next summer would come as a major blow to Postecoglou, who will undoubtedly be hoping that the 24-year-old has been convinced by the project at Celtic Park during his year-long stint in order to put pen to paper on a permanent deal at the end of the season.

In other news: Ange must brutally axe £21.5k-p/w Celtic flop, he’s no longer “up there with the best”

Scorecard

Stuart Law celebrates after Chennai Superstars completed a four-wicket win over Chandigarh Lions © Cricinfo Ltd

Ian Harvey played anchor for nearly the entire innings as Chennai Superstars chased down 147 with one ball to spare against Chandigarh Lions in Panchkula.Harvey top scored with 48 and batted till the 18th over, but it was the team effort of the Superstars that saw them through in a thrilling run-chase, the highest in the tournament so far. The scores of the other batsmen read 12, 18, 17, 17, 13, 1, 11, with 10 extras, as the required run-rate never climbed over nine an over.Chris Cairns bagged three wickets for 17 from his four overs, but the other bowlers failed to sustain the pressure, with Cairns’ New Zealand Daryl Tuffey compatriot conceding 40 from his four.Earlier,Chandigarh Lions, who opted to bat, were all out for 146, but completed their alloted 20 overs. After losing two early wickets, Tejinder Pal Singh and Manish Sharma put on a 70-run stand for the third wicket, before a 16-ball 27 from Chetan Sharma boosted them to 146. However, it wasn’t to be enough on the day.

Captain Piyush Chawla and medium pacer Abu Nechim shared eight wickets to bundle out New Zealand for 147 and power India to a comprehensive victory by an innings and 50 runs in the first four-day Under-19 match at Lincoln today.Legspinner Chawla followed up his century in the first innings with a haul of 5 for 19 while Nechim took 3 for 55 in the New Zealand second innings.For New Zealand there was nothing of note except a knock of 42 by Michael Taiaroa in the second innings. New Zealand trailed India by 197 runs in the first innings and were forced to follow on.Earlier, India had declared their first innings on 499 for 8 after being put in to bat with Ravi Teja, Virat Kohli and Chawla slamming centuries to which New Zealand replied with 302. Medium pacer Ishant Sharma took 5 for 55.India lead the three-match series 1-0. The second four-day match is at Carisbrook, Dunedin from January 27 and the final match is from February 2 to 5 at Lincoln.

Bob Woolmer was impressed with Mohammad Asif. ‘He was excellent, he really bowled very well. He kept a tight line to Sehwag and was very unlucky not to get Rahul Dravid’ © AFP

Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the bowling attack on the second afternoon of the second Test against India. With Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman at the crease, India eventually ended the day on 110 for 1 but Pakistan will be happy with the wicket of Virender Sehwag, who has haunted and taunted their bowling in equal measure in this series and a generally tidy performance.”I thought we were quite disciplined and bowled well against their batsmen in the right areas. We bowled really well to Sehwag in particular and got the length and line right this time, especially Shoaib who beat him a couple of times with superb deliveries,” Woolmer told Cricinfo. Mohammad Asif, who bowled 11 mostly tight and often probing overs in his second Test appearance, came in for special praise.”He was excellent, he really bowled very well. He kept a tight line to Sehwag and was very unlucky not to get Rahul Dravid (an edge fell just short of Kamran Akmal). That would have been a huge wicket. Danish’s leg-before appeal against Laxman was also very close, one of those that could go either way. But I am happy with their performance.”Asif’s solitary Test appearance came against Australia at Sydney a little over a year ago, and in conceding 88 runs from 18 overs, it wasn’t a particularly fruitful one. Since then, however, he has become, in Woolmer’s own words, one of the most improved bowlers in Pakistan, tweaking his action a little and gaining a little extra pace.After taking ten wickets in a warm-up game against England in October last year, he came very close to being picked for the subsequent Test series, eventually missing out on a place in the final XI. He made his ODI debut against them in December and it turned out to be a more impressive one. One day after his 23rd birthday, he took the wicket of Marcus Trescothick with his third ball and ended with 2 for 14 off seven overs.Woolmer was also happy with Abdul Razzaq’s contribution thus far. Razzaq picked up the vital wicket of Sehwag with a ball that bounced a little more than expected; bowling from the Pavilion End, Razzaq exploited some uneven bounce in a seven-over spell occasionally troubling both Dravid and Laxman. Razzaq was surprisingly included in the side at the expense of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan but the decision resulted from a combination of a shoulder injury to Rana and the belief that the pitch might be better suited to Razzaq’s bowling.

Hopes that Zimbabwe’s remaining striking players might soon return to the fold appear to be stalling, according to a report in the local Independent newspaper.The stumbling block appears to be the rebels’ demands over the selection process, although other sticking points are said to include their demands for three-year contracts. Few countries give such long-term commitments and it is hard to see Zimbabwe Cricket doing so if that is what it is being asked to do.At the moment the rebel players are in ongoing talks with a committee under the leadership of Addington Chinake. Only when this committee presents its findings will the full board discuss the matter.But one of the rebels told The Independent that some of the reported conditions had never been raised. "It’s mischievous for anyone to claim that we have demanded tax-free salaries and three-year contracts," he said. "So far our discussions with the committee have been promising, though I’m bound not to say much."What appears to be factual is the stalemate over the choice of selectors. The rebels have demanded all along that the national selection panel should be made up of people with first-class cricket experience, or at least a good level coaching qualification. Crucially, that would rule out Max Ebrahim, currently the senior selector, as he has no such background."All we want are selectors with a cricketing background like in any other country," the player told the newspaper. "We’re hopeful everything will work out well because we hear [Peter] Chingoka has been really good and has already tasked a constitutional committee to review the whole selection policy. If Zimbabwe Cricket does not accede to our proposals, that’s it. No rebel will return."

The final schedule for England’s tour of Sri Lanka later this year has been confirmed after slight changes by the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka.The BCCSL is determined to take cricket away from Colombo to more far-flung areas, where larger crowds can be expected, and has now scheduled the first one-day international at Dambulla, and the second Test at Kandy rather than the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.England will play a total of three ODIs before a three-match Test series, which will start at the picturesque Galle International Stadium on the south coast.Schedule:November 13: arrive in Colombo
November 15: v Sri Lanka A, Moratuwa (previously Colombo)
November 18: v Sri Lanka, first one-day international, Dambulla (previously Colombo)
November 21: v Sri Lanka, second one-day international (day/night), Colombo
November 23: v Sri Lanka, third one-day international (day/night), Colombo
November 26-28: v Sri Lanka A, Colombo
December 2-6: v Sri Lanka, first Test, Galle
December 10-14: v Sri Lanka, second Test, Kandy (previously Colombo)
December 18-22: v Sri Lanka, third Test, Colombo
December 23: depart for England

As metaphors go, they were pretty telling.In perfect sunshine at the ‘Gabba at the start of the second day of this tour match between Queensland and New Zealand, Nathan Astle (223) continued his near-remorseless assault on the home team’s bowlers.Yet, as a chain of storm clouds began to brew at the end of a steamy afternoon, so the murky problem that continues to plague the tourists reared its ugly head again.Astle remained a tower of strength in the morning session, not only outlasting Adam Parore (30) and Glen Sulzberger (0) at the other end but alsorearranging several individual and collective milestones.He steadily pushed his score into unchartered territory, rendering Martin Crowe’s hand of 188 in 1985-86 (previously the highest score by aNew Zealander at the ‘Gabba) the first major landmark to be overhauled.Astle’s domination of the attack had already extended into a seventh hour by the time that he then moved past both his own previous first-class best of191 and 6000 first-class runs in total.Just for good measure, he quickly proceeded to square cut the 333rd delivery of his innings, an off cutter from Michael Kasprowicz (0/118), to the point boundary to reach his first-ever double century at this level as well.But, where Astle’s voracious run scoring had given the Kiwis a position of early ascendancy, the tourists’ total of 9/444 – reached before amid-afternoon declaration – soon began to be placed in better context.Admittedly, there remained little on offer for bowlers in the pitch. But the sternest examination of the New Zealanders’ readiness for next week’sFirst Test against Australia was always likely to arrive when their attack swung into action. The Kiwis have so far been unable to take ten wickets inan innings at any stage of the tour and, in coming face-to-face with a talented batting line-up, the early results of this battle were not encouragingeither.Queensland openers Matthew Hayden (56*) and Jimmy Maher (47) were not discernibly bothered by anything offered to them in a 64-runassociation that spanned either side of the tea break, both defending and attacking with minimal risk.Maher, in particular, slaughtered loose deliveries. And such commodities seemed to be in ever-increasing supply once the shine started to disappearfrom the new ball. There was a classic cover drive at Chris Cairns (0/23); a thunderous hook and off drive at Chris Martin (0/35), and severalsuperb straight drives from the bowling of Shayne O’Connor (0/28).Even across an increasingly damp outfield, many of Hayden’s drives also showed few signs of slowing in their passage to the boundary.When Maher ultimately gifted away his wicket – charging, driving and missing as he attempted to smear a delivery from Sulzberger (1/52) to theboundary for the third time in the spinner’s opening over – it resembled something of an act of mercy.Martin Love (33*) quickly took up the slack upon replacing his teammate at the crease, albeit that his elegant approach was briefly curtailed by aflurry of rain that forced a five minute recess in the action.Matthew Bell had missed a tough, low chance at point as Maher (on 32) drove uppishly, and a shy at the stumps of the scurrying Love (on 13) flewwide when a minute window of a run out opportunity existed.Otherwise, there was not a single semblance of alarm for the batsmen. And even Astle couldn’t intervene this time, forced off the field as he was because of a minor groin strain.The Queenslanders still require a further 155 runs to avoid the follow-on when they resume in the morning. But either they would have to bat verypoorly, or New Zealand’s attack would have to produce a major reversal of form, to make the prospect of successive Queensland innings a reality.

England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has been rested for the remainder of the one-day series against Australia and will be replaced by Jonny Bairstow for the final three matches.Although Buttler’s glovework has continued to improve his batting has faded in the second part of the season against Australia. He made just 122 runs at 15.25 in the Ashes and fell for a third-ball duck at Lord’s on Saturday, lbw to Glenn Maxwell. That followed a score of 4 at the Ageas Bowl when he drove loosely to mid-off.Being England’s wicketkeeper across all three formats since the middle of last year, when he was promoted to the Test side following Matt Prior’s ultimately career-ending injury against India, has meant Buttler has had an extensive workload.He missed the last one-day international against New Zealand and the T20 earlier this season, having sustained a finger injury, but has played 43 internationals since making his Test debut against India, at the Ageas Bowl, last July. Only Joe Root, with 44 appearances, has played more for England during that period and he has been granted a rest since the end of the Ashes.Between the end of the Ashes and the start of the limited-overs leg against Australia Buttler appeared in the NatWest Blast finals day for Lancashire having also played the quarter-final between the fourth and fifth Tests. Barely 12 hours after picking up the trophy at Edgbaston, as Lancashire overcame Northamptonshire in the final, he was at a training session in Cardiff ahead of the T20 international.Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, said: “While we initially felt Jos would have enough left in the tank for this ODI series, it has become clear in the last couple of days that he will benefit from a break from cricket ahead of the winter tours. We know that for players involved in all formats finding periods throughout the year when they can rest is key and Jos has had a heavy workload throughout 2015.”Resting  players provide opportunities for others in the international arena and Jonny Bairstow now has a chance to build on the one day form he showed at the end of the New Zealand series earlier this summer.”Bairstow was unlucky to be omitted from the original one-day squad having made a matchwinning, unbeaten 83 against New Zealand, at Chester-le-Street, in June on his recall. He was then also recalled to the Test team during the Ashes at the expense of Yorkshire team-mate Gary Ballance although did not completely convince at No.5.England already had Sam Billings, the Kent wicketkeeper-batsman, in the squad but do not yet view him as an option for the gloves and have left him out of the first two matches against Australia after he played the series against New Zealand and the T20 against Australia as a batsman.While Bairstow’s call-up to replace Buttler means at least one change to the England side for the third match at Old Trafford on Tuesday they will have to consider further alternative options as they try to keep the series alive having gone 2-0 down at Lord’s.David Willey and Reece Topley, the left-armers, will come into the equation to provide the bowling attack with some variety.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is looking for his side to spoil Southampton’s party on Saturday when the pair meet at St Mary’s.

Both sides are closing in on the coveted 40-point mark and a win for the south-coast club, who have beaten both Chelsea and Liverpool in their last two home matches, would see them reach that point ahead of the Hammers.

The draw at Liverpool last weekend means a win for the Boleyn club would see them reach the 40-point mark.

Allardyce told the official club website: “They will be full of confidence. The fans will be expecting to beat us, there’s no doubt about that, after they’ve just beaten Liverpool and Chelsea at home.

“I think we’ll just be the next step on the ladder for them to beat. I thought the Liverpool fans probably thought they were turning up and going to beat us last week, so we’ll hopefully spoil Southampton’s party as well.”

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