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Sri Lanka have named a largely expected 15-man squad for next month’s Champions Trophy. Among the changes are the dropping of legspinner Malinga Bandara and seamers Dilhara Fernando and Isuru Udana from the side that played Pakistan earlier this month. There was no place either for Chaminda Vaas, who retired from Tests but wants to play one-dayers till the 2011 World Cup.Sri Lanka’s fast-bowling department will be led by the in-form pair of Nuwan Kulasekara and Thilan Thushara, and supported by the pace of Lasith Malinga, who was erratic during the recent one-dayers against Pakistan,and Dammika Prasad.Sri Lanka’s concern remains the fragility of their lower middle-order, which caved in with little resistance in the final two games against Pakistan. The selectors have, however, kept their faith in the trio of Chamara Kapugedera, Thilan Samaraweera and Thilina Kandamby.Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dammika Prasad, Lasith Malinga, Thilina Kandamby

Former New Zealand offspinner Chris Kuggeleijn has been appointed coach of the national Under-19 team, taking over from Australian Mark O’Neill.Kuggeleijn, 53, who played two Tests and 16 ODIs in the late 1980s, has set his sights on the Under-19 World Cup to be held in New Zealand next year. “I see my role as helping to develop the potential of New Zealand’s finest young cricketers in their quest to win the Under-19 World Cup here next summer,” he said.”This is a great opportunity to work with the exciting young talent we have at present, I’m really looking forward to coaching in the international arena again.”O’Neill will head back to Sydney where he will look to reactivate his cricket consultancy business. “It’s just time for me to follow some other cricket interests. I also wanted to let NZC know in time so they can get someone to take the under-19 boys to the World Cup,” he said.Kuggeleijn coached Northern Districts from 1996 to 2001, when they won all three major titles on offer. He was named New Zealand Coach of the Year in 1998.After his stint with Northern Districts, Kuggeleijn went on to teach and coach at Hamilton Boys’ High School and won three national secondary schools’ titles in eight years.O’Neill, New Zealand Cricket’s (NZC) specialist batting coach, will return to Australia but will continue to work with New Zealand’s top batsmen on a contract basis.

Former South African fast bowler Allan Donald has said he will help Scotland paceman Calum MacLeod revive his career after the 20-year-old was left out of the national team over concerns about his bowling action.The right-arm fast bowler was reported by Brian Jerling and Enamul Hoque-Moni, the on-field umpires, as well as third umpire Sandy Scotland, after Scotland’s Intercontinental Cup match against Canada in Aberdeen. In their report, the umpires raised concerns over MacLeod’s bowling action and felt it needed to be scrutinised further under the relevant ICC process.Pending the result of the assessment, the bowler can continue to play and bowl in international cricket but runs the risk of being called. But MacLeod was stood down after consultations between Cricket Scotland coaches, the ICC and the umpires.Donald, who is the bowling coach at MacLeod’s county side Warwickshire, is confident that his action can be rectified but thinks he should forget about bowling again competitively for the next few months.MacLeod led the attack for Scotland in last month’s World Twenty20 in England and it was the television coverage which set alarm bells ringing at Edgbaston, where former Scotland allrounder Dougie Brown works closely with MacLeod as academy coach.Donald was optimistic and said: “Calum is a talented cricketer and we think highly of him at Warwickshire, and hopefully it will not take too long to correct this. But it will take a while because we have to remodify a few things in his action.”Until last year there was no problem at all but during the World Twenty20 from a certain camera angle it became obvious to myself and Dougie Brown and head coach Ashley Giles that there might be a problem. We have sat him down and talked to him about it and he has responded well.”I have spoken to a lot of people about this chucking issue and there are many inconsistencies in the process by which they judge if a bowler is throwing or not. Young players get used to doing something day in day out and we have to spot this in a young bowler earlier in their development and sort it out then.”

Greg Shipperd, the Delhi Daredevils coach, has joined the chorus asking for an increase in the number of overseas players in an IPL side’s playing XI. John Buchanan, who oversaw Kolkata Knight Riders’ dismal campaign, had earlier made a similar demand. Currently, teams can have a maximum of four foreign players in the XI and not more than ten of them in the squad.With Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir misfiring for much of the tournament, Delhi have relied on AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan to shore up the batting. Left-arm-spinner Daniel Vettori and Victoria fast bowler Dirk Nannes have been their other regular foreign players. “With the four overseas players rule and us needing to beef up our batting with overseas players there is really often one bowling spot,” Shipperd told the IPL’s official website. “It is difficult and embarrassing for me to go to Glenn McGrath and say ‘Sorry mate we haven’t picked you in the team’.”Delhi have cruised into the semi-finals, finishing on top of the league table, but have not been able to accommodate former Australian great Glenn McGrath and two of their big acquisitions this year, England Twenty20 captain Paul Collingwood and his compatriot Owais Shah, for even one game. Sri Lankan allrounder Farveez Maharoof, a key player from last season’s campaign, only got a look-in towards the latter stages of this tournament.”There are a lot of fabulous players sitting on benches, not playing the game,” Shipperd said. “So I still encourage IPL to think their way through opportunities, if you like to broaden the exposure to those international players, without diluting to any significant degree to the absolute aim of promoting and developing the Indian cricketers.”Shipperd suggested that team be allowed to play an extra overseas player in some games and not across the entire season. “There can be an identified block of games across the tournament where instead of four overseas players, you throw in a fifth as well,” he said. “Whether it is Vettori or McGrath or a player that the competition wants to see and the player wants to play.”However, Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said the rule on foreign players will stay intact for the time being. “We have had quite few requests [to include more overseas players] from the franchises on that,” he said. “For the moment we will have only four overseas players in a playing XI.”

Match facts

May 14, 2009
Start time 12.30 (10.30 GMT, 16.00 IST)

Big Picture

Matthew Hayden has been the battering ram for Chennai Super Kings•Associated Press

Bangalore Royal Challengers’ flagging campaign may have been boosted by the win over Kolkata Knight Riders but their chances of making the semi-finals remain slim. Their remaining three matches are all against tough opposition: Chennai Super Kings, Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils. The main worry for them remains the inconsistent batting, particularly as they cannot expect to continue getting the freebies the generous Kolkata bowlers doled out to them.Their first challenge is to end the winning streak of the Chennai, who after an indifferent start have strung together five successes in a row. To achieve that, they need to find a way to throttle the marauding Chennai top order: Matthew Hayden, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath and MS Dhoni have combined to ensure totals of at least 160 in each of the seven matches they batted first.Dhoni, who was critical of his team’s bowlers earlier in the season, will have little to complain about now. Albie Morkel has been providing breakthroughs in the first over, Muttiah Muralitharan has proven hard to get away and the Indian contingent of L Balaji, Shadab Jakati and Sudeep Tyagi is also firing. A win against Bangalore will push Chennai to the brink of a final four slot – they will remain in second place but will have at least a two-point cushion over the chasing pack.

Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)

Royal Challengers Bangalore – WLLWWAfter two demoralising defeats the win against Kolkata was the boost Bangalore needed. Problems persist though. The batting has been let down by the poor showing of the domestic batsmen with Robin Uthappa and Virat Kohli being particularly disappointing. The bowling at the death was clueless against a resourceful Brendon McCullum and needs improving, especially against a side like Chennai, where it is standing-room only when it comes to savage hitters.Chennai Super Kings – WWWWWWith a form guide that couldn’t get any better, Chennai are bursting with confidence having toppled dangerous opponents like Delhi , Rajasthan Royals and Deccan in their recent matches. The only area of concern during their four-day break would have been the fielding, with several catches going down in every match.

Watch out for

Ross Taylor: The relentless power-hitting during his onslaught against Kolkata was the breath of fresh air Bangalore needed, given that their line-up is packed with orthodox batsmen not renowned for clearing the boundary. Bangalore’s progress in the tournament depends on how well Taylor fares against better attacks in the remaining games.Albie Morkel: Regarded by some as the leading Twenty20 allrounder in the world, he has been adequate with the ball but hasn’t found top gear yet with the bat. He had wowed the Chennai crowd with several hits clearing the roof of the Chepauk stadium last season and a return to form will strengthen an already fearsome line-up.

Team news

The big score continues to elude Jesse Ryder, but his frugal medium-pace bowling and the solid opening stand with Jacques Kallis against Kolkata should provide him another opportunity. B Akhil could make way for Praveen Kumar which will also give the side more batting depth.Royal Challengers Bangalore (probable) 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Jacques Kallis, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Rahul Dravid, 5 Ross Taylor, 6 Virat Kohli/Rajesh Bishnoi, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 R Vinay Kumar, 10 Anil Kumble (capt), 11 KP Appanna/ Bhuvneshwar KumarChennai are unlikely to make changes to a combination that served them well against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday.Chennai Super Kings (probable) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 S Badrinath, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Albie Morkel, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Sudeep Tyagi, 9 Shadab Jakati, 10 L Balaji, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Head-to-head record

Chennai outclassed Bangalore when the two sides met earlier this season in Port Elizabeth, thumping them by 92 runs, the largest margin of victory in the tournament so far. The teams split their two contests last year: Bangalore caving in spectacularly at the Chinnaswamy Stadium to lose by 13 runs, Chennai returning the favour at Chepauk to go down by 14 runs.

Shane Warne, the captain of Rajasthan Royals, is likely to miss his team’s next match, against Mumbai Indians on Thursday, due a hamstring injury he suffered during Monday’s game against Deccan Chargers.Darren Berry, the Rajasthan coach, confirmed the injury but wasn’t sure how many games Warne would miss. “He slightly stretched his hamstring in the field yesterday and we are waiting for the diagnosis today,” he told Cricinfo. “It is only minor. At this stage we think he may miss one match but we are hoping that’s the only game he misses. That’s still to be determined and when the physio treats him today we’ll have a better indication.”If he has miraculous treatment in the next three days we will have him for the Mumbai Indians game but we don’t know that yet.”A statement from the team management on Tuesday said Warne was currently working with the team doctor and more information would be available in the next 24 hours.Graeme Smith, who is the senior-most player in the side after Warne and has led South Africa for six years, is likely to replace him as captain. “The logical choice is Graeme Smith, given that he is an international captain,” Berry said.Warne has been Rajasthan’s leading wicket-taker with 11 from 10 matches at 26.27. The team is currently placed fourth on the points table, having played one more game than their nearest rivals, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians, who play each other today.Looking ahead to the rest of the tournament, Berry said the batsmen would have to step up if the team is to repeat the success from last season. “The main concern is we haven’t been able to find consistent form with the bat,” Berry said. “Our batting has very been spasmodic apart from Smith and [Naman] Ojha’s fantastic 100-run partnership which set up the win against Punjab.””We may have to win three out of three depending on how the other results go. It is in our hands now. One thing I’ve recognised about this team is that we have done well in pressure matches. We can’t have another game like last night’s performance against Deccan Chargers. The boys were all disappointed, so we made a commitment after the game that we will focus on game by game again. We are back in Durban where we did well in our last game there. Jeremy Snape, the team psychologist, and myself are working with the boys to get their confidence back and lead them towards the semi-finals.”Berry admitted that the team had been considerably weakened by the absence of Shane Watson, who has a groin injury and has been asked to rest by Cricket Australia before the World Twenty20, and Sohail Tanvir. “We had made our plans involving Watson so it was a significant blow to those plans and team make-up. I wasn’t surprised by Cricket Australia’s decision as I didn’t think for one minute they were going to let him come with the groin injury with the Twenty20 World Cup coming up it. But without him and Sohail Tanvir, the bowler of the IPL last year, we have actually done really well to be still there in the competition even if we have been inconsistent.”The team’s problems have been further compounded by the loss of two of their fast bowlers – Kamran Khan and Amit Singh – because of suspect actions. “Actually, Kamran hurt his knee, which has put him out for six weeks,” Berry said. “Yes, his action was questioned and we are seeking some assistance on the matter. He was not reported. The technical committee wanted to have a close look at his action.”With Amit Singh it has been identified that his slower ball is under question. A professional biomechanist and former South African bowling coach Vincent Barnes are working on Amit.”

Bluffmaster
Virender Sehwag is not the man you want fielding at leg slip if you are a batsman or a fielder. Especially when Harbhajan is bowling from round the stumps, and turning it in. After catching Ross Taylor on the half-volley, he threw the ball way up in the air. MS Dhoni, who hadn’t turned back in time, actually thought Sehwag had caught it. As did the crowd.A few overs later, Sehwag caught Taylor off the thigh pad, and threw the ball up again. He didn’t throw it too high this time. No one was fooled.The juggler
If you don’t succeed at first, try again. Tim Southee showed the adage works when he caught Harbhajan. Southee ran in from long-leg to reach under the top edge comfortably, and then let it pop out of his hands. As he stumbled and fell, he stretched his left hand for the rebound. The ball then hit his chest and he held the ball against his neck.We’ve been expecting you, No. 182
Rahul Dravid equalled the world record for most catches in Hamilton, but spent two days in Napier and one innings in Wellington without taking another catch that would make the record his own. Today though, he came up with a gem that befitted the world record, diving to his left at third slip, and cupping the catch cleanly. Not known to show too much emotion, Dravid just kissed the ball and returned it to the umpire. No. 183 arrived soon afterwards.Taylor can wait
In the first innings, Taylor declared himself out even though the replays, the snickometer, and the HotSpot didn’t detect an edge. “I felt an edge,” Taylor had said. Today, though, after hitting it to Gautam Gambhir at forward short leg, Taylor waited midway on his walk back to the dressing room. And he was proved right, with replays unable to prove conclusively that the ball had not touched the grass before reaching Gambhir’s hands. Taylor is not always in a hurry to walk.On collision course
Ishant Sharma is not used to fielding in the circle, and it must be for a reason. When James Franklin played Harbhajan Singh between point and cover, both Ishant and Yuvraj Singh ran towards the ball, without calling. They bumped into each other, and then kept looking at each other for about 10-15 seconds. Fortunately they hadn’t been haring after it and hence no damage was done.

New South Wales 0 for 49 trail Western Australia 210 (Heal 66, Cockley 4-37) by 161 runs
Scorecard
Points table

New South Wales started well in their bid to avoid finishing the season with the wooden spoon after Burt Cockley’s early burst helped them knock over Western Australia for 210. By stumps the Blues, who are four points behind the Warriors, had cut 49 from their initial target, with Ed Cowan on 28 and Greg Mail 18 not out.Aaron Heal’s 66 added some respectability to the Warriors’ total after they joined the day of batting difficulties in all three games. They dropped to 7 for 85 after Cockley stormed through the line-up with 4 for 37.The openers Luke Towers and Liam Davis went to catches to the wicketkeeper Daniel Smith and the Warriors were 3 for 36 when Wes Robinson was run out. David Bandy, Luke Pomersbach and Adam Voges joined the procession, which ended when Heal and Josh Mangan combined after Michael Johnson departed. They put on 90 for the eighth wicket until Heal was dismissed by Nathan Bracken.Mangan earned 38 and Brett Dorey picked up 21 to extend the total further. A week after being stopped from bowling for two high full-toss, Beau Casson gained some confidence with 2 for 65.

Windward Islands seized control of their contest in St. Lucia, bowling out Leeward Islands out for a paltry 75. Fast bowlers Darren Sammy and Deighton Butler took three wickets each, and legspinner Shane Shillingford, proved the most effective with 3 for 15, as only one Leewards batsman, Shane Jeffers, managed to reach double figures. In response, Windward, after struggling at one point at 95 for 5, recovered to 218 for 7, with Donwell Hector spearheading their innings with an unbeaten 67. Test prospect Lionel Baker took 5 for 67, but Windward had gained a potentially decisive first innings lead of 143 at stumps.Leeward opted to bat first but got off to a poor start as Sammy and Butler ran through the top-order. Former internationals Runako Morton and Omari Banks scored only six runs between them as the Leewards batsmen only managed a highest stand of 26, for the eighth wicket. Shillingford wrapped up the innings with two wickets at the end, and extras – eight in all – was the second-highest score in the innings.Baker took the first four wickets to fall in the Windward reply, but Sammy and captain Raul Lewis contributed valuable 30-plus scores to rally around Hector and lead the recovery. Shillingford fell for 19 just before stumps to give Baker his fifth wicket, but Windwards were well and truly on top having to overhaul a poor first-innings score.Ryan Hinds and Jason Haynes helped Barbados dominate a rain-hit first day against Guyana at Windward Park. They added 196 for the second wicket and led Barbados to a healthy 298 for 4 at stumps. The innings was hampered by a three-wicket burst in the final session for just 12 runs, but Haynes and Dwayne Smith added an unbeaten 90 for the fifth wicket to steady the hosts.Asked to bat, Barbados started poorly, losing opener Rashidi Boucher to Brandon Bess for a duck. However, Hinds was in great form, staking a claim for a place in the Test side with 134, laced with 21 fours and a six, and he was well supported by Haynes, who was unbeaten on a patient 222-ball 89. The introduction of spin broke their stand: Royston Crandon bowled Hinds to trigger a middle-order collapse. But Smith played aggressively, striking five fours and a six in his 64-ball innings to put the match back in Barbados’ control.The game was evenly poised in St.Augustine after Trinidad and Tobago restricted Combined Campuses and Colleges to 269 for 8 on the first day.Fast bowlers Atiba Allert and Richard Kelly – who took two wickets each – provided T&T with early breakthroughs, limiting the hosts to 53 for 3. However, CCC recovered to 153 for 3, after Nekoli Paris and Floyd Reifer, who top-scored with 82, added 100. Reifer struck eight fours and two sixes in his innings, and was well supported by Parris, who made a patient 58. However, another collapse followed, this time with introduction of Samuel Badree’s leg spin, and CCC lost four wickets for 18. Lower-order batsmen Ryan Austin and Kavesh Kantasingh took their team through to stumps with an unbeaten 40-run stand, but CCC will be ruing wasting a good position.

ScorecardEngland Under-19s finally broke their duck against South Africa Under-19s, against whom they recorded their highest score of the tour – 273 for 9 – to beat the hosts by the convincing margin of 55 runs in the third ODI in Paarl. Christopher Wood, though expensive, starred with 3 for 46 following fifties from James Taylor and Hamza Riazuddin.England won the toss and almost immediately lost Sam Northeast, caught behind off Reece Williams, but Riazuddin and Taylor quickly asserted their authority in a second-wicket stand worth 84. The runs came quickly, too, as South Africa’s seamers struggled to tie down the England batsmen.Riazuddin fell shortly after notching his fifty, but there was another strong partnership between Taylor and Josh Cobb worth 108. When Cobb was dismissed for 49 off Stephan Smith, England were well-placed at 199 for 3, but Obus Pienaar continued his good form to cut through England’s middle and lower-orders, ending with 4 for 61.South Africa, comfortable winners in the first two ODIs, began their chase poorly when they lost Jonathan Vandiar and Graham van Buuren early on. Andrea Agathagelou did his best to stablise a wobbling ship but he was the fifth man to fall for 68 as Liam Dawson and Scott Borthwick struck with spin.Smith and Mangaliso Mosehle, the wicketkeeper, put on South Africa’s biggest partnership of 60 in 10 overs, but England’s fielders were on their toes; their bowlers disciplined and accurate, as South Africa were dismissed for 218.