ECB Qualification Period Longer

ECB extend qualification period

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KP Fires Daredevil Ton in Delhi

A masterful century from Kevin Pietersen ensured that the Delhi Daredevils kept their winning run going. They registered a five-wicket win over the winless Deccan Chargers at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. 

Chasing 158 to win, the Daredevils lost opener Naman Ojha (1) in the very first over. 19-year-oldVeer Pratap Singh got the better of the right-hander. DD skipper Virender Sehwag (7) was the next to go as he nicked one straight into first slip’s welcoming hands off a Dale Steyn delivery. The Chargers were rampant in the early overs, and it only got better for the winless visitors. 

Mahela Jayawardene (6) couldn’t quite get his innings going as Daniel Christian got the Sri Lankan veteran to mistime one straight to Kumar Sangakkara at wide mid-off. Ross Taylor’s 13-run stint in the middle was abruptly halted by a direct hit from Shikhar Dhawan. 

At 65 for four, the Daredevils were desperately searching for some inspiration. And it came in the form of Kevin Pietersen. The dashing right-hander was the lone man standing between victory and defeat for the Chargers; and Bharat Chipli was eventually made to rue dropping Pietersen on seven. The aggressive Englishman’s brilliant 103* along with Yogesh Nagar’s 23* ensured that the Daredevils won with five wickets in hand. 

Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara’s luck with the coin continued as he won the toss and elected to bat. But unfortunately, the Sri Lankan’s good fortune didn’t extend to the game. The left-hander edged a Morne Morkel delivery straight up in the air to leave the Chargers on 10 for one in the third over. But fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan continued his good form with the bat to blunt the home side’s bowling attack. Parthiv Patel too exuded confidence as his quick fire 45 helped the Chargers grab the early advantage. 

Dhawan’s (44) confidence got the better of him after he tried an audacious reverse sweep only to be caught plumb in front off a Shahbaz Nadeem delivery. The young left-arm spinner was at it again after he dismissed Parthiv, who found the fielder at deep square-leg. JP Duminy (4) couldn’t continue his good form as he eased one into the short mid-wicket fielder’s hands to give Nadeem his third wicket. The Daredevils slowly got back in the contest with those quick wickets and some good bowling from Morne Morkel. Bharat Chipli was the last man standing; his 17-ball 25* pushed the Chargers to a reasonable 157 for eight in 20 overs.

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Botham Backs England

Sir Ian Botham is backing England to stay at the top of the Test rankings for the foreseeable future.

Botham, England's leading Test wicket-taker, says the team will reassert themselves following the 3-0 loss to Pakistan and a 1-1 draw with Sri Lanka.

"This winter is part of the learning curve," said Botham. "You can go in at number one and get a little blase.

"But they are still number one and I think they are going to stay at number one for quite a while now."

England clung on to their number one spot by beating Sri Lanka in Colombo, to claim their only Test victory at the end of a difficult winter against subcontinental sides.

Andrew Strauss's men face the West Indies in a three-Test home series from 17 May, before a potential showdown for the number one spot with South Africa in July and August.

Botham blames an underperforming batting line-up for some poor winter results, but believes the side have now turned a corner.

"The bowlers were magnificent throughout and it has to be said the batsmen just didn't turn up," added Botham.

"Why that is, I haven't got a clue - and I don't think they know.

"England are a good team. I don't know what went wrong in the first part of the winter.

"If you put your guard down, someone will bite you on the bum but I think England will come good again now."

Botham, speaking at the conclusion of the Birmingham-Clent Hills leg of his latest walk across Britain in aid of raising funds and awareness of leukaemia, also defended Strauss from criticism over his batting performances and captaincy.

He said: "You are always going to get over-the-top stuff. You get that with certain elements of the media.

"It's like Kevin Pietersen. Two or three weeks ago some people wanted Kevin Pietersen out. What planet are these people on?

"Strauss is good enough to carry on for another couple of years. He deserves to."
England's Test SummerMay 17-21: West Indies (Lord's)
May 25-29: West Indies (Trent Bridge)
June 7-11: West Indies (Edgbaston)
July 19-23: South Africa (Oval)
Aug 2-6: South Africa (Headingley)
Aug 16-20: South Africa (Lord's)




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Daredevil Pietersen Drives Delhi

Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils won one-sided games in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.

Pace bowler Lakshimpathy Balaji's haul of 4-18 helped Kolkata score a 42-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, their first win of the tournament.

Meanwhile, England batsman Kevin Pietersen smashed a quick 43 not out to guide Delhi to an eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings at the Ferozeshah Kotla in New Delhi.

Kolkata scored 8-165 and restricted Bangalore to 9-123, South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis coming up with a fine double of 22 and 2-7 with the ball.

Captain Gautam Gambhir (64) and Manvinder Bisla (46) were the other main performers apart from Balaji.

For Delhi, a spate of run outs helped restrict Chennai to 8-110, Delhi scoring 2-111 in only 13.2 overs.