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West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan is keen to get back into the international fold, now that the impasse between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) seems to be coming to an end.Sarwan, who along with several other prominent names like Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul had boycotted the Bangladesh series at home over pay and contractual disputes, and were overlooked for the subsequent ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa. While they were walloped in the Test and ODI series at home under Floyd Reifer’s captaincy, a first-round exit followed in the Champions Trophy.”For us to get an opportunity to go on the field again is really great,” Sarwan told the . “We miss representing the region. It felt a little bit strange seeing the West Indies playing both against Bangladesh and in the Champions Trophy and I wasn’t there. But we made a decision as a group and had to stand by that decision.”We are very pleased to know that the WICB and WIPA have come to an agreement and are working at a final solution. We hope that things continue and there will be an amicable solution for everyone, so that what happened will never happen again.”Sarwan, 29, who took part in Chris Gayle’s Pro 15/15 celebrity charity match at St Ann Bauxite Oval, teaming up with star athlete Usain Bolt, was also pleasantly surprised with the huge support despite the trying circumstances.”It shows that they still love us and want to see us succeed, no matter what,” Sarwan said. “To represent the West Indies and six million people around the Caribbean is always an honour and to come here and get the response we have been getting despite the circumstances is really a good feeling.”West Indies’ next assignment is in Australia beginning late November, where they will play three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals.

Derbyshire’s pace trio of Tim Groenewald, Ian Hunter and Tom Lungley has signed new contracts for 2010. The three joined Chris Rogers, the club’s Australian captain, in committing their futures to the County Ground.Groenewald, 25, joined Derbyshire from Warwickshire for the 2009 season and topped the county’s first-class bowling averages, taking 34 wickets at 27.08 with a career-best of 6 for 50 against Surrey at Whitgift School – one of two six-wicket hauls.John Morris, head of cricket, said it had been a patient wait for Groenewald, but was delighted that he had shaped up as a key member of the team. “Although he slotted straight in to our one-day team at the start of the season, Tim had to wait patiently before his opportunity came in the first-class arena,” Morris said. “His attitude during that period was excellent and he was clearly focused on forcing his way into the side. Once he achieved that, Tim never looked back and was a whole-hearted performer and a regular source of wickets for the team.”Hunter, 30, played seven first-class matches this season, taking 21 wickets at an average of 28.23. He joined Derbyshire from Durham in 2004 and took five wickets on two occasions but found himself out of the side in the closing stages this season. “Ian deserves his new deal for the way he started the campaign,” Morris said. “He was a reliable source of wickets during the opening weeks of the season while we were setting about proving ourselves as genuine promotion contenders. Hopefully he can recapture that form in 2010.”Lungley, 30, has extended his Derbyshire career into its 11th year. His best performance in 2009 came against Leicestershire – a county Twenty20 Cup best of 5 of 27.”Tom is a valuable member of our bowling staff and I am pleased that he will be around for us again next season,” Morris said.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outAlfonso Thomas played a leading role in Somerset’s last-ball win•Getty Images

“I can’t believe I have done that,” said an ecstatic Alfonso Thomas, who hit two boundaries in the last three deliveries of a thriller to steal and seal victory for Somerset. In a rollercoaster of a match, Somerset just about managed to hold their nerves courtesy a 50-run partnership for the eighth wicket between Thomas and James Hildreth to get past the line off the last ball of the match. The equation came down to five runs from three balls with one wicket left when Thomas sliced a full toss from Scott Styris – who had taken two wickets in the final over – to the deep point boundary before bringing up the win with another carve over point.It was a strange but extremely interesting chase, and one that seemed to derail at various points as wickets fell at regular intervals. Crucially, Somerset managed to find the odd big hit that always kept them in the hunt. Rain intervened for a while, forcing the captains to regularly check the Duckworth-Lewis equation, and the drama increased when Fidel Edwards was prevented from completing his last two overs after he slipped in two beamers.When the seventh wicket fell, Somerset still needed 55 from 37 balls but Thomas and Hildrith biffed a few boundaries against the spinners, who had done so well till then to get Deccan ahead, to get the equation down to 31 from 24. Deccan attacked with their seamers and Hildrith and Thomas started dealing in singles to slowly push Somerset ahead. The equation came down to nine from 10 balls after Thomas paddle-swept RP Singh over the short fine-leg fielder. When a yorker ran for three leg byes it seemed the game was over but there was one final twist left in this enthralling game.With five needed from the last over, Styris bowled Hildreth first ball and then removed Max Waller off the third, but crucially for Somerset, Thomas had crossed over. And he finished the game in style.Somerset did well in the end to get past the line but one sensed a bit of nerves in their approach to the chase especially after the raucous home crowd got into the game. Marcus Trescothick, playing his first game out of England in a while, fell after offering a fleeting glimpse of his talent with two crunchy upper cuts but some of the shots that followed his exit were almost needless: Zander de Bruyn attempted a thrash over covers and edged behind, Craig Kieswetter holed out to long-on, Peter Trego swung to deep midwicket, and even Justin Langer swatted a full delivery from well outside off to mid-on.Not that they could have done it in singles but the run rate was never so daunting that they had to go for desperate hits. Once the top order fell, the bottom half swung their bat but lost wickets regularly till Thomas and Hildreth chose to stamp their presence in the game. The platform was laid earlier by their bowlers, with Thomas playing his part with an economical spell. VVS Laxman starred for Deccan with an uncharacteristic knock but they lost the plot in the middle and needed Venugopal Rao to push them just past 150.You don’t use adjectives like hammer and clobber to describe shots from Laxman but tonight he almost batted with a touch of violence. He charged down the track to the seamers, cleared the front foot and heaved across the line, moved outside leg and flat-batted length deliveries back past the startled bowlers and even tried an ugly hoick across the line.That last shot captured his mood perfectly: Laxman edged a hoick to the fine-leg boundary and sported a lovely sheepish smile. It was exactly the sentiment that many of the viewers would have felt while watching this uncharacteristic innings. We might never know whether it was merely Laxman adjusting his game to this format after his county stint or whether it was about proving a point for being stripped of his IPL captaincy and dropped from many games in the last IPL. Whatever the intent was, it suited Deccan tonight as they got off to a racy start, but they were let down by the other batsmen.Adam Gilchrist unfurled a few big hits but top-edged a pull shot and Andrew Symonds holed out to long-on. Laxman too slowed down a touch before he fell, going for yet another heave across the line and the scoring almost came to a pause as Trego starred with his economical medium pace and de Bruyn too did his bit to apply the squeeze.Deccan crawled from 86 for 3 in 10 overs to 99 for 4 from 15 overs as Rohit Sharma and Styris tried to rebuild the innings all over again but both fell in quick succession and Deccan was restricted to a below-par score on a batting surface. None of the IPL teams have won a game so far in the Champions League Twenty20 and Somerset made sure the script didn’t change tonight.

Former England one-day allrounder Alex Wharf has announced his retirement at the age of 34 after failing to overcome a long-standing knee injury.Wharf, a medium-pace bowler and lower middle-order batsman, started out at Yorkshire before moving to Nottinghamshire and then Glamorgan, making the first of his 13 ODI appearances in 2004, and winning the Man-of-the-Match award for his 3 for 30 on debut against India. He played in the ICC Champions Trophy final against West Indies before toured Zimbabwe and South Africa that winter, but soon faded from the scene.”It’s always disappointing when long and distinguished careers prematurely come to an end through injury but Alex can be very proud of all that he has achieved particularly here at Glamorgan where he has been a consistent player over the last ten years,” Matthew Maynard, Glamorgan’s director of cricket, said.”It’s hard to retire from a sport that you love and has been your life for such a long period,” Wharf admitted. “However, my on-going knee problem has led me to make the difficult decision of early retirement.”He scored 19 runs and took 18 wickets for England, while in 121 first-class appearances he made 3570 runs at 23.03 and took 293 wickets at 37.34. In List A games he scored 1711 runs and took 192 wickets.

New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond has said that a series of glucose injections into his fragile back has helped revive his international prospects. Bond will be in Chennai as part of the New Zealand A team for the annual Buchi Babu All-India invitation tournament from August 16 to 29.Bond, who has suffered repeated stress fractures to the back, has been receiving courses of prolotherapy to ease the soreness in his lower back. Bond has already been named in New Zealand’s ODI squad for Sri Lanka next month, marking an international recall after nearly two years.”It’s been the best thing I’ve ever had for it,” Bond told the before the team’s departure for India. “It relaxes the back, loosens it up and makes a massive difference. I’ve got a few screws and wires in there and it can make the back pretty tight but this just frees it up.”Bond said he had heard about the injections performed by Dr John Lyftogt last season. “It can be quite painful initially but then settles down,” he said.Bond returns to Chennai, where his performances in the same tournament eight years ago caught the eye of the national selectors. A series of injuries and more recently his participation in the unsanctioned ICL threatened to derail his career. Having quit the league, he had made himself available for national selection.He said he was happy New Zealand didn’t fast-track him into the Test squad in Sri Lanka. “I think I’ve got the better end of the deal,” he said.New Zealand will play their first two-day game on August 16 against Andhra Cricket Association XI.

Simon Jones faces an uncertain future as he tries to recover from his latest knee injury after Worcestershire announced they would not be offering him a new contract.Jones has been ruled out for the season and was in the final year of his New Road deal, but had said he would like to remain with Worcestershire. However, the club have decided they can’t commit to such an injury-prone cricketer and it remains to be seen how many other counties are interested.”This has been a difficult decision but is in the best interests of the club going forward,” said director of cricket Steve Rhodes. “We all admire the effort that Simon has put in to regain full fitness and we know he is determined to be fit for the 2010 season.”However we are not in the position to offer him a new contract going forward so he is free to talk to any other County about his future. We want to thank Simon for his contribution to the club’s success in 2008 and we really do hope that he can win his fitness battle and resume his career.”For a period last season it appeared Jones might have turned the corner following a struggle to regain fitness since the 2005 Ashes. He claimed 42 wickets at 18.02 and was named in England’s preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy. However, his season ended prematurely with another injury and the 2009 campaign never got started.

A wash-out in the second one-dayer in Amstelveen gave hosts Netherlands the short series over Canada. Netherlands won the first game by 50 runs – despite a brilliant 94 from Canada’s Rizwan Cheema – and the second one-dayer, which was to have been played back-to-back, couldn’t even get off the ground.Canada will finish their European tour with their second Intercontinental Cup match between July 15 and 18.

Ricky Ponting has demanded his bowlers fix the no-ball problem that hampered them in the tour opener so it doesn’t cost them in next week’s first Ashes Test. The attack registered 38 of the extras in the warm-up against Sussex and while Ponting was sympathetic to their concerns, he does not want a repeat.”It probably worried the bowling group more than it worried me,” Ponting said. “There were a number of reasons why it happened. There was a slope from one end and the fact that guys were striving for that little bit extra because there are spots up for grabs, that had a little bit to dowith it.”That many no-balls in a game is not acceptable and is something we’ll be looking to improve in this game. We are probably lucky that we didn’t take any wickets off them. Obviously in Test matches you can’t afford to do that.”The Australians started the four-day tour match against the England Lions in Worcester on Wednesday ahead of the first Test in Cardiff on July 8. Brett Lee was the main culprit in Hove, delivering 14 no-balls, and the bowlers have been told not to over-step at training, a policy which has been enforced more strictly under the coach Tim Nielsen’s watch.”We do keep a very close eye on them,” Ponting said. “It’s very rare that we don’t have someone standing there as an umpire, letting them know. Trust me, if they’re that far over [he puts his hands out to measure about two feet] at training it feels they are right on top of you in the nets.It’s hard enough as it is bowling off 20 yards instead of 22.”Australia’s training has increased in intensity since the 2005 defeat. “I pretty much demanded that from the guys,” Ponting said. “That was one area coming home in 2005 that we felt wasn’t as good as it could have been, but when we were away and in the middle of it all everything felt like it was good.”The side’s fielding set-up has also been altered on this trip, with Michael Clarke due to replace the retired Matthew Hayden at first slip. Marcus North has spent time there during his limited appearances, but Nielsen has decided Clarke is the long-term option in the crucial position.”Michael has caught a lot at third slip in the past, he’s a natural catcher at slip and we think he’s the best man for the job there,” Nielsen told Cricket Australia TV. Ponting is unmoved in the reshuffle while Phillip Hughes will stand at third and Michael Hussey remains in the gully.The move means Clarke’s strong left arm throwing and outstanding ground fielding will be missing from the offside. “We certainly feel as though we’re losing some of our speed, agility and throwing power in the ring at cover,” Nielsen said. “But looking at how most dismissals take place, especially early on in the innings with the new ball, there were so many catches behind the wicket that the decision was made that we need our best catchers there.”

The world champions of the Twenty20 format made an emphatic statement against their fellow finalists from 2007, brushing aside Pakistan by nine wickets at The Oval. In an ominous sign for the competition, India were not at their strongest – Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan are still carrying shoulder injuries – yet still produced an imperious performance before a raucous south London crowd.Rohit Sharma slotted so seamlessly into the opener’s role that India might be tempted to continue with him at the top even when Sehwag returns to the side. Rohit had success opening against New Zealand as well, smacking 36 off 20 balls, and on Wednseday he managed one better, staying the distance with a match-winning 53-ball 80.Rohit has taken to the role of opener with relish, however the captain, MS Dhoni, remained non-committal as to whether he would be retained at the top of the order when Sehwag makes his return.”Frankly speaking I don’t know [whether Sehwag will bat in the middle],” Dhoni said. “I think it’s always better to have a problem of plenty than having nobody to fill in the space. It’s good to have Rohit Sharma in form. As of now I don’t know what will happen when it comes to the batting order.”Rohit was a key member in Deccan Chargers’ triumphant IPL campaign, and was one of that tournament’s most consistent performers. But unlike in England, where he is being relied upon to lead the Indian innings, Rohit earned the reputation as one of the IPL’s better finishers, coming in at No. 5 for Deccan to accelerate scoring rates and polish off a run-chases. His versatility was on show on Wednesday, displaying both poise and power as he pierced gaps in the infield while seldom risking the airborne route.”We discussed it with him [Rohit] during the practice sessions and he was quite keen,” Dhoni said of the decision to elevate Rohit in the batting order. “When you ask a guy, you always watch for his response, how quick it is and whether he has thought twice about it or not. Rohit was very keen on opening and with Viru [Sehwag] injured, he was the best option available. Rohit always has time, even when he plays quickest bowlers he has got the time and talent. Gary also played a part in the decision.”Rohit’s innings, and Gambhir’s supporting half-century, denied the match of an exciting finish that would have done justice to the feverish atmosphere at The Oval. The ICC wanted everyone to ‘Catch the Spirit’ and it was impossible not to. Celebrations were adrenalin-filled and every ball – be it dot, six or out – was cheered by an emotionally-charged full house, evenly divided in support between the teams. This was more than a warm-up game.The players felt the same way, with India shelving all thoughts of experimentation. Dhoni said the bowlers had attempted a back-of-a-length approach in the previous game but merely tried to stick to basics today. “We were not experimenting,” Dhoni said. “An India-Pakistan game, even though it’s a warm-up, is a tough game to play. We were looking to do the basics, bowl yorkers.”One bowler who wasn’t looking to bowl yorkers was Ishant Sharma, and he turned the game India’s way. Pakistan had raced to 45 after four overs when Ishant came on and completed a rare double-wicket maiden, which included a run-out, to wrestle back the momentum. Ishant bowled the fifth, 14th and 17th overs and finished with 3 for 11. Dhoni said that he was looking to use Ishant during the middle overs, when he could bowl to his strengths.”It’s about how you want to use him. More often than not he has been used with the new ball while the field restrictions are on and later on in the slog,” Dhoni said. “I feel it’s important to use him in the middle overs when batsmen are not really looking to go after the bowlers, so he doesn’t have to bowl those yorkers. He can then bowl to his strengths; he’s the kind of bowler who likes to hit the deck hard.”Twenty20 victory margins are rarely more emphatic than nine wickets and 18 balls to spare and Dhoni said that it would be “tough to replicate the performance”. Perhaps it was fitting, though, for he felt that today’s crowd at The Oval would also be the best the tournament gets.

Match facts

May 7, 2009
Start time 16.30 local, (14:30 GMT)

Big Picture

MS Dhoni’s Chennai will need to rein in Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh in their attempt to move further up the points table•AFP

Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab have both recovered well after indifferent starts to the tournament and the outcome of their clash will yet again have a significant impact on what has become an intensely fluid points table. Chennai, though, have fewer worries.Chennai, by way of three consecutive wins, have jumped to second spot but will be keen to consolidate their position against a team they are facing for the first time this season. Each of those wins have come after batting first, with their bowlers stepping up to successfully defend competitive scores. Two players have stood out: Suresh Raina has been consistent with scores of 98, 32 and 32 in his last three appearances, and the left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati has proved a revelation spinning his team to victory with four-wicket hauls against Delhi Daredevils and Deccan Chargers. And with their new opening combination of M Vijay and Matthew Hayden coming good in their previous game, Chennai, as a result of their impressive run, have the edge going into Thursday.Punjab suffered a big setback against Rajasthan Royals, and it was a timely disappointment, as their bowlers, who had been their main strength through the tournament, let them down at a crucial phase where the difference between teams in the points table is diminishing with every game. Yusuf Abdulla, the second-highest wicket taker in the competition, was carted around the park, Irfan Pathan went for ten an over, and Sreesanth made an inauspicious debut this season, bleeding too many runs at the death including 23 in an over. Given the equally worrying problems with their batting, especially at the top of the order, Punjab will be presumably down on confidence, but they’ll know that a win in the upcoming game will propel them to the top three, above Chennai.

Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)

Chennai Super Kings: WWWLL
Apart from Raina and Jakati, Chennai’s form has also been boosted by important contributions from their captain MS Dhoni, who made a quickfire 58 against Deccan, and impressive spells from Muttiah Muralitharan, Albie Morkel, L Balaji, and Sudeep Tyagi, who has been economical in each of the last three games.Kings XI Punjab: LWLWW
Punjab appeared to have tackled the problems with their top-order by inducting Sunny Sohal, but his first-ball dismissal against Rajasthan meant the woes had resurfaced. Karan Goel was given another go, after being left out against Kolkata Knight Riders, but he squandered that opportunity. Yuvraj Singh made the mistake of coming too low down the order, and needs to push himself up, especially after having scored a half-century in his first stint as opener this season.

Watch out for

Chennai’s batsmen against pace: Pace has been Punjab’s main bowling weapon, and though they’ll be demoralised by the treatment they received at the hands of Rajasthan’s batsmen, they haven’t yet been exposed to Hayden, Vijay and Raina. Regaining their confidence against a formidable batting line-up will be a challenge and makes for compelling viewing.

Team news

Sreesanth was included in place of Vikramjeet Malik, and ended up with miserable figures. However, he started well, and damaged his stats in the penultimate over of Rajasthan’s innings. He could be given another go, but the prospects for Goel’s selection don’t look encouraging. He threw away his wicket, playing a mindless waft, and Punjab may look to Sahil Kukreja or Ravikant Shukla to fill in. Simon Katich has had three games, but Luke Pomersbach has had none. His impressive strike rate of 144.77 may just merit a look-in.Punjab: (probable) 1 Sunny Sohal, 2 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 3 Simon Katich/Luke Pomersbach, 4 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Irfan Pathan, 7 Ravikant Shukla, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Sreesanth, 10 Ramesh Powar, 11 Yusuf Abdulla.Chennai could retain the same team which won them their previous two games. Parthiv Patel was replaced by M Vijay as opener, and he and Hayden have added 36 and 61 for the first wicket in quick time in the last two matches. Given the team’s strong line-up, and a balanced bowling attack, it is unlikely there’ll be any tinkering.Chennai: (probable) 1 M Vijay, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Albie Morkel, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 S Badrinath, 8 Sudeep Tyagi, 9 Shadab Jakati, 10 L Balaji, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Stats and trivia

Head-to-head record

Chennai were the victors in all their games against Punjab last season. The first of those games was a high-scoring one, with both teams surpassing 200, but it was a merciless 116 from Michael Hussey that helped Chennai home by 33 runs. The second game was more competitive, but an inspired spell by L Balaji, who took 5 for 24, shut Punjab out by 18 runs.The semi-final between the two teams was one-sided, with Raina and Parthiv Patel striking half-centuries to hand Chennai a nine-wicket win.