Ken Borland

The Delhi Daredevils, led by their resident wrecking ball Virender Sehwag, cemented their position at the top of the Indian Premier League log as they hammered the Rajasthan Royals by six wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Tuesday.

 – http://www.supersport.com/cricket/indian-premier-league/news/120501/Wreckingball_Sehwag_keeps_DD_on_top

Sehwag put on a phenomenal show as he plundered 73 off 38 balls, cruising to their target of 142 with 28 balls to spare, after the Royals had made a meal of the second half of their innings to finish with a mediocre 141 for six.

Sehwag’s great innings, highlighting not only his power but also his uncanny ability to find the gaps, handed Rajasthan their fourth successive defeat, leaving them languishing in sixth place, while the Daredevils now lead the Kolkata Knight Riders by three points at the top of the standings.

The Delhi captain married brute force with tremendous skill as he dominated a fruitful second-wicket partnership of 96 in 9.5 overs with Kevin Pietersen, who did not need to assert himself too much as he strolled to 36 off 34 balls.

Shane Watson, who was the best of the Rajasthan bowlers with one for 29 in his four overs, removed Pietersen when he had him caught at long-off and even the cheap dismissal of Ross Taylor (6), slicing a pull at a Brad Hogg chinaman, left no doubt as to who the winners would be.

It was Hogg who eventually removed Sehwag, slicing a cut to backward point, ending a top-class innings in a rather soft fashion.

Naman Ojha then hit spinner Ashok Menaria’s first two balls for a four and a six to complete a thorough victory for the IPL pace-setters.

It is said that opening partnerships lay the foundation for the innings, but the Rajasthan Royals totally wasted theirs as they stagnated to 141 for six after winning the toss and electing to bat.

Left-arm spinner Pawan Negi was the hero for the Daredevils with four for 18 in his four overs, but Morne Morkel was equally as brilliant, once again showing his class with one for 23 in four overs.

Opening batsman and captain Rahul Dravid was the top scorer for Rajasthan with a determined 57 off 43 balls, but he will be very disappointed with how the innings faded away after he and Ajinkya Rahane had added 71 for the first wicket in 8.4 overs.

Rahane was once again in sublime form as he powered to 42 off 32 balls, with seven thunderous fours, but the competition’s leading run-scorer was not quite the same batsman after Morkel hit him on the head with a ferocious, quick bouncer in the sixth over.

Rahane was the first victim of the 19-year-old Negi as his reverse-sweep was rather lamely placed straight into the hands of Sehwag at backward point.

Watson, who was in the West Indies with the Australian team just 72 hours previously, heaved Delhi’s other left-arm spinner, Shahbaz Nadeem for six, but was given a rude awakening by Negi, who skidded a delivery through to bowl the all-rounder for eight.

Owais Shah (1) tried to have a dip at impressive fast bowler Umesh Yadav (4-0-28-1) and could only glove a catch to wicketkeeper Ojha, and Negi then cut deep into the Rajasthan lower-order when he removed Brad Hodge (1) and Menaria (2) in his final over.

Dravid completed a well-put-together half-century, off 35 balls, by driving Morkel crisply through extra cover for his seventh four in the 17th over, but it was little consolation as the Royals still finished with a poor total on a good batting pitch.

Dravid departed in Morkel’s next over when he tried to hit the tall fast bowler over the leg-side, but could only edge the ball into his leg, from where it hit the stumps.

South African fans are gleefully anticipating Dale Steyn joining Morne Morkel in the same team for the ICC World T20 later this year after the two fast bowlers produced the outstanding individual performances in last week’s IPL action.

Delhi Daredevils spearhead Morkel is still at the summit of the Purple Cap standings for most wickets with 18 in nine matches, and he produced one of the most brilliant overs in IPL history at the weekend, taking one for three in the 19th over against the Rajasthan Royals.

The Royals needed just 15 runs from two overs, with nine wickets in hand and two set batsmen at the crease before Morkel’s incredible over.

The Daredevils eventually snatched an astonishing victory by just one run and have extended their lead on top of the IPL log to three points over the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Morkel finished with one for 26 against Rajasthan, and also bowled superbly against the Mumbai Indians, with one for 21 in four overs, to rebound from a slightly-expensive return of one for 34 against the Pune Warriors.

The tall fast bowler’s wickets have come at a rate of one every 11.6 deliveries, which is the fifth-best strike-rate in this year’s IPL.

The Deccan Chargers have won just one of their eight matches to prop up the table, but it has not been due to any lack of performance on behalf of Steyn, who has taken 11 wickets at an economy rate of 5.66.

His exceptional two for 10 in four overs against the Mumbai Indians at the weekend will probably remain the best bowling performance of the season, but it was sadly in a losing cause as the Chargers were defending just 100.

South Africa’s leading batsman in the competition, Faf du Plessis, played just one game last week, scoring 29 off 20 balls for the Chennai Super Kings against the Kings XI Punjab to take his runs tally to 331, the fourth highest.

Titans teammate AB de Villiers played one of the most stunning innings of the season when he plundered 59 not out off just 23 balls for the Royal Challengers Bangalore against the Rajasthan Royals, but South Africa’s limited-overs captain was out for a first-ball duck in his next innings, caught off Jacques Kallis as the Challengers lost their crunch game against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

The Knight Riders had their match against the lowly Deccan Chargers washed out, but scored an emphatic 47-run win over Bangalore, with Kallis being one of their heroes as he scored 41 off 27 balls and then claimed the key wickets of De Villiers and Virat Kohli to finish with two for 31 in his four overs.

JP Duminy is playing alongside Steyn for the last-placed Chargers and now boasts the highest batting average (129.00) in the competition after innings of 26 not out and 25 not out, both off 24 deliveries, last week.

Robin Peterson announced his talents to the world with strong displays with both bat and ball following his belated inclusion in the Mumbai Indians team.

In an effort that was reminiscent of his crucial innings against India during the World Cup, the left-hander blasted 16 not out off seven balls to help Mumbai come back from the dead and snatch victory against the Kings XI Punjab, and then claimed three for 37 as they conceded 207-5 against the Delhi Daredevils.

The Pune Warriors finally included Alfonso Thomas in their line-up and they were glad they did as he bowled six overs for 41 runs in his two matches, while the Chennai Super Kings must be relieved Albie Morkel is back from South Africa after attending Louis Vorster’s funeral as the allrounder took three for 29 against the Kings XI.

David Miller must have earned himself more starting time for the Kings XI as he scored 34 not out off 17 balls and 19 off 15 in his two innings last week, while paceman Rusty Theron will be hoping for more action after taking two for 37 for the Chargers against Pune in his one appearance.

Richard Levi will be desperate for runs after he was bowled first ball by a fast Steyn in-swinger in his only innings, leaving him with just 83 runs in six innings.

Marchant de Lange (KKR), Gulam Bodi (DD), Roelof van der Merwe (DD), Kyle Abbott (KXIP), Herschelle Gibbs (MI), Davy Jacobs (MI), Wayne Parnell (PW), Johan Botha (RR), Charl Langeveldt (RCB) and Rilee Rossouw (RCB) will all be kicking their heels in frustration after not seeing any action in the last week.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/indian-premier-league/news/120430/Steyn_Morkel_produce_brilliant_displays

Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula announced on Thursday that he was happy with Cricket South Africa and their efforts in the whole process of implementing the Nicholson Commission’s recommendations.

Judge Chris Nicholson, who was appointed by Mbalula in October, recommended in March that CSA chief executive Gerald Majola be suspended, that irregular bonus payments be recovered and that a steering committee to restructure the board and their governance processes be appointed.

“We’re satisfied that CSA are implementing the Nicholson recommendations,” Mbalula said in Sandton on Thursday. “The board accepts they could have played a better role at the time they were called to do so, but there has been no resistance in going through this process and we are satisfied that we have done our duty.”

The CSA board were called to Sandton to report back to Mbalula on their progress and it was noticeable that a much better vibe existed amongst their members and they even went into a huddle, team-style, to consider the final statement released jointly by CSA and the sports ministry.

Mbalula said there was no need for the CSA board to resign.

“The CSA board of directors will remain in place until the next annual meeting at the end of September because it is in the best interests of stability and taking the game forward for all stakeholders.

“It’s just a few months to go for this board and then they can get a fresh mandate. We wanted to address the issues and bring stability to cricket. If we had asked the board to resign, then certain things would not have been done; they’ve put the process in motion,” Mbalula said.

But, in another blow to Majola, Mbalula stressed that it was imperative CSA recover all irregular bonus payments made to top management.

“It is a very clear Nicholson recommendation that unlawful bonuses be recovered from top management. Certain people were entitled to bonuses, but if these were outside the ambit of the law and were not properly declared, then it will be taken up.

“A civil process will be launched by CSA and it will be included in the disciplinary commission against Majola. The Hawks [South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation] have also been to CSA and are in the process of their investigation. They’re on top of it, but we don’t know the outcome yet. We have to respect the process because it’s not up to us to arrest people. It was a smooth operation, not done Hollywood style, because that way things get done properly,” Mbalula said.

The disciplinary enquiry is set to be completed by May 31 and John Myburgh SC is the independent chairman appointed by the Bar Council, which is also going to be approached to appoint a prosecutor.

Goverment is now also going to be involved in the restructuring of CSA, with Sports and Recreation SA representatives, as well as from Sascoc, being added to the steering committee.

The important issue of transformation has also been added to the steering committee’s terms of reference, including a financial model that will result in funds being made available for transformation. That transformation fund will be launched at the CSA chief executives’ committee meeting on May 8.

The final report of the steering committee will be submitted to the minister for his approval, followed by consultation with the provinces and then the national indaba on sport.

“The first steps in restoring public confidence and that of the sponsors and other stakeholders have been taken,” Mbalula said.

The noose tightened on suspended Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive officer Gerald Majola on Thursday as sports minister Fikile Mbalula announced he was facing both a criminal investigation as well as a civil claim for the repayment of illegal bonuses paid to him by the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Mbalula met with CSA in Johannesburg on Thursday to discuss the further implementation of the recommendations of the Nicholson Committee of Enquiry, which he appointed in October, into allegations of irregular bonus payments and poor corporate governance against Majola.

Judge Chris Nicholson announced on March 13 that Majola had “surreptitiously” received 1.8 million rand (174,000 euro) in unauthorised bonuses from the IPL, as well as irregular travel expenses, in contravention of the Companies Act.
Nicholson recommended that Majola be suspended, the bonus money be recovered and that CSA undergo restructuring of their board and governance processes.

Majola was suspended by the CSA board on March 17, with Jacques Faul appointed as the acting CEO and Willie Basson as acting president.

“We’re satisfied that CSA are implementing the Nicholson recommendations,” Mbalula told a news conference on Thursday. “But the recovery of bonuses was also a very clear recommendation and a civil process will be launched by CSA and included in the disciplinary commission against Majola.

“The Hawks [South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation] have also been to CSA and are in the process of their investigation. They’re on top of it, but we don’t know the outcome yet. We have to respect the process because it’s not up to us to arrest people. It was a smooth operation, not done Hollywood style, because that way things get done properly,” Mbalula said.

Mbalula said that for the sake of “stability”, the CSA board of directors would remain in place until the next annual meeting in September.

“It’s just a few months to go for this board and then they can get a fresh mandate. We wanted to address the issues and bring stability to cricket. If we had asked the board to resign, then certain things would not have been done; they’ve put the process in motion,” Mbalula said.

CSA had also agreed to launch a special fund for transformation on May 8, while the steering committee in charge of restructuring their board would now include representatives from the department of sport and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc).

The chairman of the disciplinary enquiry into Majola has been appointed by the Bar Council and will be John Myburgh SC, while CSA will now approach the Bar to appoint the prosecutor. Mbalula said the deadline for “the completion of the disciplinary procedure is May 31”.

“The board accepts they could have played a better role at the time they were called to do so, but there has been no resistance in going through this process and we are satisfied that we have done our duty,” the sport minister said.