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Scorecard
England batsmen Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell were unable to provide a suitablecelebration of a major date in Warwickshire’s history as they went down toNorthamptonshire by five wickets in their final Clydesdale Bank 40 fixture atEdgbaston.One hundred years to the day since clinching their first County Championship -with a win against Northants – they slumped to their fifth defeat in the lastsix matches in a limp defence of last year’s title.Trott was out second ball, leg-before for nought, in the opening over from DaveBurton and the 26-year-old London-born paceman also dismissed Bell for 26 asWarwickshire were bowled out for 145. Even this lightweight target was no gift for Northamptonshire on the pitch that was used for the Friends Life t20 finals day at the weekend, but their much-changed side got home with 52 balls to spare.Alex Wakely (34) and David Willey (23) gave the visitors a strong start butloan signing Chris Wright split the openers before Rikki Clarke drove a hole inthe top order.His fourth ball took the inside edge of Wakely’s bat for a catch behind thewicket and his second over began with an lbw decision against David Sales and acomfortable chance to point from Niall O’Brien.At 65 for four, and with Rob Newton unable to bat after injuring an arm whilefielding, Northamptonshire could easily have caved in but new signing KyleCoetzer and captain Andrew Hall responded with a stand of 58.Although Clarke completed a one-day best return of four for 28 by bowling Hallfor 24, Coetzer finished the job with the highest score of the match, anunbeaten 54 from 64 balls, completed by the winning six off Neil Carter.The entire Warwickshire innings contained only nine fours and one six, whichwas hit over mid-wicket by Ateeq Javid in making a top score of 34. Burton, a journeyman now with his third first-class county, made a spectacular start when Trott and Carter missed straight balls.Bell initially looked a class apart but after picking off four boundaries, healso fell to Burton. His lofted drive looped high over mid-off where Sam Sweeneyran back and held the catch as the ball dropped over his shoulder.Burton had three wickets for 12 runs from his first 26 balls andNorthamptonshire were able to shackle the middle order as the spin pair, TomBrett and Wakely, combined for three wickets and got through their 16 overs for51 runs. Brett, a 21-year-old slow left-armer, had William Porterfield taken at extracover for 30 and all-rounder Hall (two for 14) wrapped up the innings in the39th over by bowling Javid.

Cricket Ireland has appointed Richard Holdsworth as its new performance director. Holdsworth, the current ICC regional development manager for Europe, will replace Mark Garaway, who resigned last month. Holdsworth’s focus will include managing the performances of all the national squads, coaches and managers.”Having worked closely with Cricket Ireland over the past eight years, I am delighted to become part of a very successful Associate member country,” Holdsworth said. “I very much look forward to building further on Cricket Ireland’s successful development of the game, particularly the performance of its international men’s, women’s and youth teams, who I believe have immense talent, fighting spirit and share a great passion for the game.”Holdsworth has a degree in sports studies from the University of Gloucestershire and has been with the ICC since 2003. He is also a Level 3 coach and took up a professional role in 1995 with Gloucestershire, where he spent seven years as development manager. He played for the Gloucestershire second XI from 1989 to 1991 and later with Herefordshire in the Minor Counties from 1991 to 1993.”We are fortunate indeed to retain someone of Richard’s undoubted calibre and great credibility, and it speaks volumes for our progress that we continue to attract the best in the business,” Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland’s chief executive, said. “He has a very strong reputation in the international cricket fraternity, particularly through his role as the head of ICC’s European operation for the last eight years, and who better to take forward the ambitious objectives outlined in the 2009 Holdsworth report into the future of Irish domestic cricket than its author.”

ScorecardEssex saw their hopes of taking over as Clydesdale Bank 40 Group C leaders disappear with a dismal batting collapse in a four-wicket defeat by Gloucestershire at Cheltenham.The visitors plummeted to 52 for 7 on a good batting pitch after winning the toss and it took 34 from Graham Napier and a last wicket stand of 80 between Tim Phillips (58 not out) and Chris Wright (42) to see them to 195 all out. James Fuller returned 4 for 33.That recovery was not enough, though, as the Gladiators put the conditions in perspective by reaching 196 for 6 with five overs to spare, Ian Cockbain (48no) and Kevin O’Brien (41) sharing a stand of 97 for the fifth wicket.It was the Eagles’ first defeat in the competition this season and ensured they stayed below group leaders Somerset, who now have two games in hand. For Gloucestershire it was only their third win and they appear to have no chance of reaching the semi-finals.Four of the Essex wickets fell to players still at school as two 17-year-olds, Matthew Taylor (2 for 46) and Craig Miles (2 for 32) both bowled impressively for a young home pace contingent. Taylor, a left-arm seamer yet to make his first-class debut, disposed of opener Mark Pettini for a duck and Wright, while Miles, a tall right-armer with a high action, sent back Ravi Bopara and Jaik Mickleburgh.Fuller, himself only 21, claimed the key wickets of Owais Shah and Ryan ten Doeschate, as well as those of Tom Westley and opener Adam Wheater, who was injured when colliding with the bowler as he skied a catch to O’Brien.Wheater was due to keep wicket in the absence of Essex skipper James Foster with a twisted ankle, but was still dazed when his side took the field, forcing Pettini to don the gloves. Captain Alex Gidman and Chris Dent gave Gloucestershire a positive start to their reply with a stand of 48 in seven overs before Gidman was caught at point off Wright for 26.Bopara produced a good spell to keep Essex in the game, dismissing Kane Williamson and Chris Taylor , and at 84 for 4 the game was in the balance.But Cockbain and O’Brien looked increasingly confident as they tilted the game back Gloucestershire’s way. And by the time O’Brien, who faced just 48 balls, miscued to mid-on to give Bopara a third wicket, only 15 runs were needed.Cockbain’s 61-ball innings included only four boundaries, but was perfectly paced and crucial to his side. Ed Young finished the game with a six off a free hit after Napier had over-stepped for a no-ball.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) of India’s finance ministry has issued a showcause notice to the BCCI and Lalit Modi, the suspended IPL commissioner, as part of its investigation of alleged financial irregularities in the Twenty20 tournament. The case in question involves the alleged illegal transfer of Rs 90 crore ($20 million) to the UK.This is the first showcause notice by the agency in the case after it began investigations in 2010 of various contraventions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). On Thursday, news emerged that Ravi Shastri had been served a summons by the ED in his capacity as a member of the IPL’s Governing Council.The BCCI’s chief administrative officer, Ratnakar Shetty, said it was a routine enquiry by the ED. “These kinds of notices keep coming and we furnish all details,” he was quoted by as saying. “Agencies like the ED and the I-T department have been asking questions and we answer everything. This has been happening for over a year now.” reported that the ED had asked both BCCI and Modi to reply to questions the agency found unanswered during its probe into the alleged transfer of funds to domestic and offshore locations. The notice, it said, could be replied to either in person or by an authorised representative of the BCCI and Modi along with documentary proof.

Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies allrounder, has said he asked for a break for the “remainder of the ODI series” against India because he was “not happy” with his game at the moment. Bravo wanted to use the time off to “refocus, reflect” and return for the Test series starting on June 20. Bravo was granted the break by the WICB, after having played the first two ODIs following a six-game stint in the IPL this year with the Chennai Super Kings.”I’m not happy about the way my cricket is at the moment,” Bravo told Trinidad’s . “I honestly believe I can do a lot better, so I would like to use this time to stay away from the game and refocus, reflect and use this opportunity to get rest and to try and get back my focus again.”Bravo was ruled out of the 2011 World Cup early in the tournament after he injured his knee during the game against South Africa. He played the ODI series against Pakistan before skipping the Tests to play in the IPL. He’s played 10 ODIs this year, averaging 47.71 with the ball for his seven wickets as opposed to a career average of 29.81. With the bat, he’s averaged 24.37 this year with a highest of 40.”Sometimes in international cricket, because of the hectic schedule, it is difficult to catch form in the middle of tournaments and series, so I just asked for a break from the game for the remainder of the ODI series and look to rejoin the team for the beginning of the Test series.”The lack of momentum after returning from injury, Bravo said, was a problem. “At the beginning of the World Cup, I was coming back into my own in the warm-up games. I was feeling like I was getting back into my prime form again. And then in the first game in the World Cup, I twisted my knee and that was a big setback for me.”After spending eight weeks out of the game and re-joining the team for the Pakistan ODI series with just one warm-up game after surgery, I struggled for momentum. At the latter end of the series I started getting my momentum again. Then I went off to the IPL, which was also a hectic time over there.”The need for a break was more for psychological reasons, Bravo said. “Obviously there are some technical aspects you could improve on, but it’s more about regaining the focus and self-belief that I had before. Picking up injuries and being out of the game for so long is always difficult. … It takes time.”Bravo was grateful his request for a break was granted. “I hope people respect my decision. I still have a lot of passion and desire to represent West Indies. In the long run, I believe I will benefit and West Indies cricket will benefit.”

The shoulder injury to Gautam Gambhir had not been playing just on the selectors’ minds when they got together to pick the team for the Test series in the West Indies. Abhinav Mukund was among the frontrunners to replace Gambhir, like he had done last year in the Bangalore Test against Australia, and his call-up in Virender Sehwag’s absence means he is likely to open the innings with his Tamil Nadu team-mate M Vijay in the Caribbean.”There was a lot of talk of me replacing Gambhir, so that played on my mind as well,” Mukund told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve been doing very well in the last two years in domestic cricket, I’m glad the selectors have taken notice of that. My efforts have paid off.”Mukund, 21, made his debut in 2007, and in 40 first-class games, he has averaged 59.41 with 13 centuries, including a triple-ton. He began the 2010-11 domestic season with 161 and 63 in the Irani Cup, finished as Tamil Nadu’s second-highest run scorer in the Ranji Trophy and scored a century in each innings of the Duleep Trophy semi-final for South Zone.Joining Mukund on the tour are his state team-mates, Vijay and S Badrinath. “Vijay and I opened a lot together initially and we understand each other’s game well,” Mukund said. “We share a very good rapport and our past experience in opening together will definitely help us.”Vijay and Mukund amassed 462 for the first wicket in a Ranji Trophy game against Maharashtra in 2008-09 and could well pair up again in the absence of Gambhir and Sehwag. Although Mukund admitted filling the void would be a tough task, he was confident his mental strength would hold him in good stead. “My temperament is my biggest strength,” he said. “I learnt a lot about that from Badri. Even Sachin told me that he constantly keeps working on his game and I’m only starting out in international cricket.”Mukund is part of the Chennai Super Kings squad in the IPL but hasn’t played a game this season. He’s been in the company of several others whose brains he’s been picking through the tournament. “I’ve been spending time with the left-handers in my team, mainly Suresh Raina and Michael Hussey, and their inputs will certainly help.”Mukund, who’s been part of India’s Under-19 team, the A team tour of England and the National Cricket Academy in the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia, won a Border-Gavaskar Scholarship in 2009 and spent five weeks at the Center of Excellence in Brisbane. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo last year Mukund had said: “I learnt how to be self-sufficient in life. The facilities were amazing. It was a good experience batting against the Kookaburra ball, especially against the bowling machine. I also got good exposure against the short ball.”And now, after another successful Ranji season, he’s won the selectors over and is preparing for his first international tour with the national team as its youngest member. “I had been part of the Test squad in Bangalore, it just feels good to be sharing the dressing room with them once again.”Another player who was expecting the call-up for the tour was Parthiv Patel, who will double up as reserve wicketkeeper and reserve opener. He is returning to the Test fold after an absence of three years. “I was expecting it a little bit based on my domestic showing in the last few years,” said Parthiv, who last played in 2008.Parthiv made his debut on the 2002 tour of England but has played only 20 Tests because he found chances hard to come by once MS Dhoni secured his spot as wicketkeeper. He has continued being a strong performer in domestic cricket, scoring 526 runs at an average of 47.81 in the 2008-09 Ranji Trophy and 727 at 66.09 in 2009-10.A century in the Irani Trophy boosted his confidence in 2010-11 after which he scored consecutive fifties while opening in the ODIs against New Zealand. He opened in two ODIs in South Africa as well, scored 49 runs, but worked on his game under coach Gary Kirsten.”If I have learned anything it that I need to focus more and I need to tighten my defence,” Parthiv said. “He [Kirsten] was instrumental in me changing my thoughts with respect to approaching a match. For example in South Africa, he said that the ball moves a lot initially and the essential thing for me to do was to be on top of the ball. These are pretty basic things but the way he told me made a big impression.”I have been working hard on my game and I now believe in my game more. That makes me more confident compared to in the past.”Also making a comeback is Manoj Tiwary, whose only ODI innings in 2008 was terminated early by a crushing Brett Lee yorker. Tiwary, who’s part of the ODI squad for the West Indies tour, was beset by injuries and poor form and has taken a couple of seasons to work himself back in to contention. “I should be honest enough to admit that when I was bowled by a Brett Lee yorker in Brisbane, I wasn’t matured enough. Now I have played three more seasons of first-class cricket,” Tiwary told . “I have done well in IPL against international bowlers. Definitely the confidence level and the self belief has improved.”

Shahriar Nafees, the Bangladesh batsman, has said his side can take positives out of Monday’s match at the Shere Bangla Stadium, despite their crushing loss to Australia. He said Shane Watson’s storming knock of 185 off 96 balls, during which he broke the record for the most number of sixes in a one-day innings with 15, was a “once-in-a-lifetime” performance, and Bangladesh’s score would have been competitive had they not caught Watson on “his day.”Rather than wallow in the wreckage left by Watson, Nafees said it was better for his side to think about the lower-order rearguard that lifted them from 88 for 5 to 229-7, a total that at the change of innings appeared reasonably competitive. Nafees had played his role in getting Bangladesh to a decent score; he held firm through a top order collapse and got 56. The score may have been harder to chase had it not been for Watson’s belligerence, and Nafees reminded his team-mates of that ahead of the final match of the series on Wednesday.”I think we made a decent score on this wicket and we are used to defending this type of score,” he said. “I think Watson’s innings was a rare innings, a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”Seeing the way he played, I think 300-350 wouldn’t have been enough. But it is definitely disappointing for us. Any defeat is demoralising. But I think if you tell Watson to play this sort of an innings tomorrow, he won’t be able to do it.”It was his day and if you have noticed, I think seven of his sixes were mishits. But all credit goes to him, what an outstanding innings. What we can take from this game is that we recovered well with the bat after a bad start. After losing three wickets we had partnerships and that’s a positive. Putting up a total that can be defended is always something we talk about in the dressing room.”It would be best if we don’t think about this Watson innings and instead think about continuing our batting positives.”Also absolved from guilt in Nafees’ mind is the Bangladesh spin attack, usually far more constricting on a turning surface than they were made to look by Watson.”In the recent past, our left-arm spin-based bowling attack has been useful. If you leave aside Zimbabwe, when New Zealand were here, this attack did very well.””In the last game, apart from the last Powerplay, the spinners did a decent job. If someone plays this sort of an innings, any bowling attack would have badly struggled.”The physical contrast between the stout Watson and the lithe Bangladesh players being stark, left Nafees estimating his own six count in a similar situation. “I think he hit 15 sixes because he’s stronger than our batsmen,” Nafees said. “If I was there in his place, maybe I would have hit 10 boundaries and three sixes. This is the difference.”

Match facts

Friday, April 22, Kolkata
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Yusuf Pathan has been bowling well. Now for some sixes…•AFP

Big picture

The date is April 22, it is a Friday, and the match is the 24th out of the 74 in this year’s IPL. One team will be wearing purple, the other gold and red. The team from Karnataka has used two Karnataka players so far, the number is same for the team from Bengal. To state the obvious, the teams will want to win to improve their chances of making it to the qualifiers. If the match is one-sided, well, there will always be cheerleaders dancing to Bollywood songs and some Black Eyed Peas being played on the PA system at the Eden Gardens.The people that represented the said teams in previous seasons faced each other six times, and shared the spoils. These, though, are completely different people, and will bring nothing forward from those matches. Kolkata Knight Riders have six points from five matches, and Royal Challengers Bangalore have three from five. So if Bangalore wins, it ought to be considered an upset of sorts.

Team talk

Bangalore have bought the services of Chris Gayle, and will hope to unleash him on his former team at his former home ground. Expect a few other changes from them to keep the balance of the four overseas players intact.
Kolkata wouldn’t want to panic and change a solid combination after their defeat to Kochi Tuskers Kerala.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Daniel Vettori will like to bowl at the Eden Gardens if the pitch is anything like it was during the game between Kolkata and Kochi. And as captain and lead spinner, he will want to lead by example and fashion a turnaround for Bangalore.
Yusuf Pathan, a major signing for Kolkata this year, has added superb value with the ball, going at 5.76 an over and leading the wickets chart for Kolkata. But he will want similar impact with bat after having scored just 41 in three innings so far.

Prime numbers

• Daniel Vettori’s 5.43 is the third-best economy-rate this season for bowlers who have bowled at least ten overs. Yusuf’s 5.76 is the fifth-best.
• Jacques Kallis is in the hunt for the orange cap, placed behind Paul Valthaty, Sachin Tendulkar and Brendon McCullum on the top run-getters table.

The chatter

“It was just one bad day. We have had three wins in a row. We have a lot of positives to take from them.”

With England having kept their World Cup hopes alive after their 18-run victory against West Indies they need to decide on a replacement for Ajmal Shahzad who has been ruled out with a hamstring strain.Shahzad picked up the problem, a recurrence of an injury he suffered in Australia, between playing Bangladesh, where he took 3 for 43, and the West Indies match and missed the final group game in Chennai. A spokesman said Shahzad “will return to the UK for further assessment” but the management were waiting on the West Indies result before considering their options.A defeat would have sent England home and, although they still need results to go their way, it’s likely another player will now be flown out. The likeliest replacement is Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire seamer, who made his international debut in Australia and impressed in both the Twenty20s and ODIs. In the first T20 at Adelaide he held his nerve to hit the winning runs then, in the fifth ODI at Brisbane, he took 6 for 49 which are the second best figures by an England bowler in one-dayers.In recent weeks he has been on the Lions tour of West Indies playing the regional four-day tournament and took a hat-trick against Guyana at Providence. Another option could be Adil Rashid, the Yorkshire legspinner, but with James Tredwell having come into the side with 4 for 48 against West Indies England will probably feel their spin options are covered.Shahzad becomes the third England player to be sent home from the World Cup following Kevin Pietersen (hernia) and Stuart Broad (side) back to the UK. Eoin Morgan was initially ruled out of the tournament, but then replaced Pietersen having recovered from his broken finger.

ScorecardGeorge Bailey made 107, but it wasn’t enough for Tasmania•Getty Images

Glenn Maxwell blasted the fastest half-century in Australia’s domestic one-day history to give Victoria a remarkable one-wicket win after Tasmania seemed certain of victory. Centuries to Mark Cosgrove and George Bailey drove the Tigers to 6 for 258, and when Maxwell came in with the score at 6 for 157 with less than 10 overs remaining, Victoria appeared sunk.But Maxwell, whose previous best score for the Bushrangers was 33, singlehandedly smashed his side back into the contest with a 19-ball half-century, that beat a 20-year-old record set by David Hookes for South Australia back in 1990-91. Hookes’ fifty had come off 21 deliveries, and Maxwell beat it by jamming a Ben Hilfenhaus yorker away to square leg for two.Eventually Maxwell fell for 61 from 27 balls, when he slammed Hilfenhaus to the midwicket boundary and was taken by Bailey, but by then Victoria needed only 18 off 11, though with only one wicket in hand. Some clever batting by Peter Siddle, who reverse-paddled Hilfenhaus for four, meant Victoria needed seven from the last over, bowled by Brendan Drew.Siddle and Jon Holland dealt in singles until they needed one from the final delivery, which Siddle (25 not out), pushed successfully behind point. It was a disappointing way to end the match for Tasmania’s captain Bailey, who had made his third one-day century and together with Cosgrove set up what should have been a local triumph.Cosgrove made 120 and Bailey scored 107, but the only reward for Tasmania was the single point for being ahead at the halfway mark. The opener Matthew Wade made 67 to keep Victoria in the hunt, before Maxwell’s heroics paid off.