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ScorecardMarcus Trescothick treated the Taunton crowd to an array of attacking strokes as he booked his side a Lord’s final•Getty Images

Marcus Trescothick led Somerset to a crushing 95-run win in a spicy encounter with Essex at Taunton to book his side a place in the Clydesdale Bank 40 final next Saturday at Lord’s.Batting first in front of a passionate and packed home crowd, Trescothick launched the innings with a Man-of-the-Match winning 79 from 62 deliveries and was supported by a muscular 55 from Nick Compton and three bright performances from James Hildreth, Jos Buttler and Arul Suppiah as Somerset’s imposing 312 for 6 proved too much for Essex, despite a brave half-century from captain James Foster.Somerset were clear favourites coming into the game and did not disappoint. While their young and talented line up has challenged for silverware in all three domestic competitions, Essex have been relegated from the First Division of the County Championship and lacked the class to really challenge the home side on the day.The gulf between the sides was all too apparent after David Masters and Tony Palladrino’s first three overs of the day disappeared for 29. The new-ball pair were both trundling in below 80mph and, with the fielding restrictions in place, Trescothick simply helped himself. He unleashed an array of trademark clunking off-drives and displayed some deft class with a couple of fours glided past short third man off the hapless Palladrino.Having raced to 50 from 32 balls he looked set to make plenty more but was undone when a gentle off-cutter from Chris Wright snuck past the outside edge to rattle off stump. The glee on the face of the Essex fielders was surpassed only by their surprise as they hoped to stage a fightback.It proved not to be, however, as from that point on Somerset’s progress was relentless. Hildreth’s prolific season continued with him running Essex ragged in partnership with Compton. He picked off five classy boundaries before spooning Danish Kaneria tamely to cover but the dismissal only heightened the visitor’s pain by bringing Buttler to the crease.Just 20 years old and in his first full season at Somerset, Buttler has saved his most impressive performances for the TV cameras this summer and once again was immediately into his audacious stride. Mirroring his captain’s stillness and clarity at the crease he launched 36 from 21 balls, including a straight six off Ryan ten Doeschate that ended up on the roof of the stand behind the bowler’s head. Somerset looked already to have too many before Arul Suppiah bludgeoned 42 from 23 balls in an innings that included two more enormous sixes off ten Deoschate. The late charge carried Somerset beyond 300 and out of sight.Facing such an imposing total Essex needed a bright start to give them any semblance of hope. Instead they lost Mark Pettini to the first delivery of the innings, chipping a tame leading edge to mid-off off Alfonso Thomas. The innings went from bad to a lot worse in the sixth over as, in the space of two deliveries, Somerset demonstrated the well-honed professionalism that has underlined their whole season.First Trescothick pulled off a blinding, one-handed catch diving to his left at short cover to remove Cook before ten Doeschate was run out next ball, risking a sharp single to Hildreth who swooped low and threw down the stumps in a flash to catch the speedy ten Doeschate short. Essex were reeling three down for 33 and the game looked in danger of slipping away quickly.Grant Flower, in his last appearance for Essex after six seasons at the club tried his best to go out with a bang, smiting five boundaries before becoming the second of three run outs in the innings. Attempting a sharp second to Buttler on the square-leg boundary a rifle throw came in and caught him just short of his ground.A brief revival came in the shape of the bulky Matt Walker and Foster. Suppiah was treated to some of the savage hitting he earlier dished out as Walker thumped a full toss out of the ground over deep square and deposited a length ball miles down the ground as Essex upped the rate. The bowler almost got his own back immediately but the catch Walker offered on the long-on boundary was spilled by Thomas.Thomas then put down another, much tougher chance next ball, diving one-handed to his right at short third man off a top-edged cut from Foster, as the fifth-wicket pair brought up a 50 partnership off 32 deliveries and carried Essex to level par with Somerset by the 20th over. It became third time lucky for Thomas soon after, however, when he snaffled Walker’s powerful sweep off Murali Kartik on the deep square-leg boundary and, tottering at 139 for 5, the game looked up.Foster, though, had other ideas. He thrashed 12 off Kartik in the first over of the batting Powerplay before his adrenalin-fuelled charge was interrupted by a Thomas beamer in the next over. Though the bowler apologised immediately, Foster was furious and ended in up in a bug-eyed exchange with both Thomas and Trescothick.Visibly riding on the drama of the occasion he brought up his fifty, off just 35 balls, by rocketing a drive through cover and when he struck another powerful boundary down the ground off Thomas, Essex might just have dared to dream of pulling off an incredible heist.Instead Thomas had his final revenge as Foster tried one shot too many, trying to clear long-on only to offer Buttler a simple catch on the boundary. Thomas stood triumphant with his arms aloft but he even would concede it was a brilliant innings from Foster. The dismissal signalled the end of Essex’s fight and they crumpled in a heap thereafter.Somerset are still in the Championship title race and as the form side must go into the final at Lord’s against Warwickshire as strong favourites.

Scorecard
Floyd Reifer’s 49 gave CCC a fighting chance but it was not enough to deny Guayana their second successive win•Nicholas Reid/West Indies Cricket Board

Guyana had some anxious moments halfway through their chase when they lost three of their senior batsmen in 10 deliveries, but another cameo from Jonathan Foo helped them pick up their second successive win and assured them a spot in the semi-finals. Their bowlers had done the job earlier in the day, keeping Combined Campuses and Colleges to a modest total, with offspinner Lennox Cush taking a hat-trick in the final over.The chase of 143 looked on track despite the loss of Travis Dowlin, Man of the Match in the victory on Friday, in the first over. Ramnaresh Sarwan and Sewnarine Chattergoon didn’t have too much trouble taking Guyana to 57 for 1 after eight overs – the only chance being a reprieve for Chattergoon on 10 when wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton grassed an outside edge.CCC’s fightback started when Sarwan mishit a pull which was snapped by Nekoli Parris at midwicket after juggling it thrice. It was a similar stroke that had ended Sarwan’s innings against Windward Islands as well, and the Guyana captain was livid at losing his wicket. His mood didn’t improve when Narsingh Deonarine sliced a catch to extra cover in the next over. Three balls later, the set batsman, Chattergoon, also fell to an overhead catch by Omar Phillips at backward point.Royston Crandon hit a couple of boundaries but he was soon stumped by Walton, and with Christopher Barnwell making slow progress, the asking rate sneaked up towards 10 with five overs to go. Foo crashed a boundary to extra cover in the 16th over to revive Guyana’s chase, before Barnwell smashed the first ball of the next to the midwicket boundary. Foo rounded off that over with a clean hit towards the sightscreen. Three more fours in the next over, which completed a forgettable debut for Rubel Brathwaite, brought it down to nearly run-a-ball in the final two overs, which was easily picked off with four deliveries to spare.It shouldn’t have been such a convoluted chase after CCC had been kept down to 142. Following a 40-minute delay due to rain, the CCC openers made contrasting starts: Miles Bascombe hammered Cush for 15 in an over including a six over square leg as he raced to 31 off 16, while Romel Currency watchfully made his way to 8 off 13. Currency’s first attempt to clear the infield led to his dismissal in the sixth over, and Bascombe also holed out to midwicket after a quiet two-over spell.From there, the innings revolved around another substantial innings from captain Floyd Reifer, who battled his way to 49 despite a leg injury. A short ball was clubbed over the bowler Crandon’s head, and another was heaved beyond midwicket. As the innings progressed, Reifer found it harder to run between the wickets and started scoring almost exclusively in boundaries. There were four fours in quick succession to push CCC to 123 for 4 after 17 overs. However, just as he set himself up for a final assault, Reifer was run out by a Sarwan direct hit and CCC could only make 19 runs from the final three overs.The last over of the innings, from Cush, started well with a swipe over midwicket for six but the batsmen swung each of the next three deliveries to fielders in the deep to hand Cush a hat-trick, and spark wild celebrations. Guyana and Cush would have expected a simple victory at that stage but their batsmen were made to work hard by a spirited CCC team which for the second game in a row fell just short of victory.

The PCB has ruled out the immediate return of Younis Khan to the Pakistan team because the player and his lawyer made “inappropriate statements”. Younis was not selected for the tour of England despite his indefinite ban being lifted.”Younis and his lawyer have given inappropriate statements,” Butt told reporters after meeting federal sports minister Ijaz Jakhrani. “There is a players’ code of conduct in place and we will not spare anyone who violates the code.”Younis stepped down as captain and player ahead of the tour to New Zealand, which preceded the Australia series, over differences with his team-mates. He missed the Australia Tests, and did not make an impact during the ODIs under Mohammad Yousuf’s leadership. Following the tour, PCB came down strongly on seven national players, including Younis who was banned for creating infighting within the team – an accusation he staunchly refused.The captain Shahid Afridi hoped to have Younis’ services for the Tests at least, but when the team was being picked for the tour, the PCB hadn’t yet given clearance for his selection.Younis however played down the issue with the PCB and said he is ready to play for Pakistan.”I am available to play for Pakistan whenever required,” Younus told a Pakistani television channel in England. “I have no fight with the PCB nor can I think of it. I am a known player because of Pakistan and the PCB.”

Rudi Koertzen, the South African umpire, has announced his retirement from officiating in international cricket: his last Test will be the Pakistan-Australia fixture at Headingley from July 21 to 25. The ICC have added Marais Erasmus, from South Africa, and Rodney Tucker, from Australia, to the Elite Panel of Umpires for 2010-11 to replace Koertzen and Mark Benson, who stepped down from the panel in February.Koertzen, 61, has officiated in 106 Tests, a record 209 ODIs and 14 Twenty20 internationals. His first international match was the ODI between between South Africa and India in Port Elizabeth on December 9, 1992 and he made his Test debut at the same venue three weeks later.”A distinguished career like Rudi’s presents a benchmark for aspirant umpires,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said. “Rudi is a role model for many of the younger-generation umpires and his distinguished career sets a standard for them to emulate.”He is one of the most respected umpires in the game and has always been confident and self motivated yet humble. It is why he has been comfortably able to embrace the core values of the traditional game with the technological advances in recent times.”Koertzen is currently in Zimbabwe, where he is officiating in the tri-series involving the hosts, India and Sri Lanka. “It has been 18 incredible years for me as an international umpire and I have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it,” he said, reflecting on his career. “I feel humbled to have been trusted with this massive responsibility and awarded this great opportunity to see cricket revolutionise, be actively involved in some of the biggest changes, see some of the iconic players of the modern era and be part of some of the most fascinating matches.”One of the new members of the elitle panel, Tucker, is from New South Wales and Cricket Australia congratulated him on his promotion. “Rod’s rise through the ranks has been meteoric but extremely well-deserved. As the first umpire to progress from CA’s Project Panel to the highest level, his is a great story for Australian cricket,” CA chief James Sutherland said.”Australian umpires now comprise one third of the ICC’s Elite Panel which is a significant achievement and recognition of the quality of our development pathway. CA is enthusiastic about identifying former players to remain in the game post-retirement and we expect Rod will serve as motivation for others to follow a similar path.”The umpires in the Elite Panel for 2010-11 are Billy Bowden, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Asoka de Silva, Billy Doctrove, Marais Erasmus, Ian Gould, Daryl Harper, Tony Hill, Asad Rauf, Simon Taufel, Rodney Tucker.

ScorecardRory Hamilton-Brown ensured no slip-ups for Surrey as they chased down Middlesex’s total with ease•PA Photos

Middlesex’s Adam Gilchrist-inspired resurgence came to an abrupt end as they disappointed a big Lord’s crowd with an abject batting performance against local rivals Surrey.Following Gilchrist’s elevation to captaincy, Middlesex have won three games on the bounce but today it was a captain at the opposite end of his career, 22-year-old Rory Hamilton-Brown, who impressed ending unbeaten on 73 to seal a comfortable nine-wicket victory.For the crowd who arrived at a sun-drenched Lord’s to see one of the season’s marquee fixtures, it was a drab show. Plenty was expected from the big-hitting and big-money Australian duo of Gilchrist and David Warner but the crowd were instead treated to a farcical spectacle where Owais Shah had to decline singles throughout the last five overs in order to protect No. 11 Pedro Collins and see out the 20 overs.Thanks to an array of thoughtless shots from those around him, Shah had little choice. The pitch may have offered some spin but the Middlesex batsmen could only blame themselves as they came and went in a procession.The innings brightly when Warner muscled successive fours and then a six, scattering the crowd in the second tier of the stands at midwicket, off Andre Nel’s first over. But two balls later he was out, miscuing an ugly heave to Andrew Symonds at cover, which set a suicidal tone that Middlesex were unable to escape from.Gilchrist was marooned at the non-strikers end, facing one ball in the first three overs, and watched a skittish innings from Neil Dexter come to a predictable end when an ambitious drive off Chris Tremlett skewed gently to mid off. When he finally did get to face, Gilchrist picked up a length ball on leg stump off Tremlett and deposited it into the midwicket crowds. Two overs later, however, it was all over has he top-edged a sweep down to long on to become the first of four victims for Gareth Batty.Wobbling at 48 for 3, the home side needed a period of quiet consolidation. Instead there were two soft dismissals as Dawid Malan and Scott Newman donated their wickets to Symonds. It left Shah watching the lower order fall and he was unable to either work twos or find the boundary in the closing stages, as the last five overs yielded a paltry 25.Though early wickets may have given Middlesex hope, especially since Surrey’s batting has been insecure all season, they never looked in contention. Gilchrist tried all he could to rouse his men; cajoling, clapping and reprimanding endlessly, but was unable to sprinkle his stardust on any of the bowlers.Instead Hamilton-Brown played an array of crisp drives and pulls, including a six that matched Warner’s for power and distance, rocketing into one of the corporate boxes. Steven Davies offered a glimpse of his good form this season, hitting a front-foot pull through mid on off Collins that was almost reminiscent of the Middlesex captain, before limply chipping Tom Smith’s left-arm spin to cover.With 50 up by the end of the Powerplay, Hamilton-Brown and Mark Ramprakash could afford to knock the ball around quietly. There was a three-over period which cost just 13 when Shaun Udal partnered Smith, but just when Middlesex threatened to build some pressure, Hamilton-Brown broke the shackles with a six that cleared long off.From then on the game was a formality. In a chanceless 96-run stand with Ramprakash, Hamilton-Brown passed fifty off 36 balls and fittingly thumped an extra-cover drive to seal victory with three overs to spare.

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, has said indiscipline, a lack of mental strength and demoralising tactics by the then coach Intikhab Alam were responsible for Pakistan’s poor show on the tour of Australia. Afridi – whose statements were revealed on the leaked video of the PCB committee hearings – was questioned about the possibility of match-fixing during that winless tour but he denied knowing any player who deliberately under-performed.When asked if the defeats against Australia were deliberate, and if there was a specific member of the team who lost the match intentionally, Afridi said: “If you watch all the matches we have played recently, we have not been beaten in the matches, we have given away those matches. I think the reason is that we are not mentally strong. We had decided in our heads that we cannot beat Australia even before the match had started.”I have heard from others that such things (deliberately losing) exist but I do not know of any such player myself.”Afridi was also asked if the players were playing for themselves, and he replied: “As far as the fielding is concerned, we do very well in the practice sessions but we have a few players who perform well with the bat and then do not concentrate while fielding. They stand near the boundary, sign autographs and talk to girls. I have my eye on a few such players.”Afridi also complained of not being told in advance of his being made captain during the ODI series against Australia. Mohammad Yousuf had led Pakistan in the first four games and Afridi filled in for the last one. “I told our coach Intikhab Alam very clearly to tell me well in advance if I were to captain the team in the ODIs against Australia,” he said. “But I was still made the captain only 40 minutes before the match.”The coach was blamed for contributing to the team’s demoralisation, as Intikhab was shown to have placed little confidence in his team. “Even as I prepared to go for the toss, undue pressure was put on me to win the toss,” Afridi said. “And I was told we will win the match only if we win the toss. I told Alam, he should not demoralise the players. I am sure comments like those can be avoided.”Yawar Saeed [the manager] is a disciplinarian and we need to ensure people like him enforce strict discipline in the team. No one should be spared.”He also called on the selection committee to appoint captains for longer tenures, of at least a year. “Also, the selection committee needs to give the captain of the team a longer run. Whoever is made captain should be allowed a stint for at least a year.”

Luke Evans, Northamptonshire’s on-loan seamer has been recalled to his main county Durham, two weeks into a 28-day spell on loan.Evans was called back to the north east by Geoff Cook, the Durham coach, after making two Championship appearances for Northants. During his time at Northants, the 22-year-old seamer took five wickets including a best of 3-53 against Gloucestershire.In the meantime Durham have been struck by injuries to key pacemen Steve Harmison and Graham Onions. In their absence Durham have failed to be the potent force of the last two seasons, and watched Yorkshire rack up 610 for 6 in their recent Championship match at Headingley.Evans said he enjoyed his time with Northants but is looking forward to performing for his home county. “The lads have been fantastic and it’s been really easy to fit in here. The environment has been superb. Although my time here has been brief, I’ve learnt a lot. I’m a bit shocked at what’s happening. Plans have changed very quickly. Maybe one day I can return and do a job for Northants, but for now I have to focus on Durham.””When I first came down, I was aware that Northants was a great club. There is a good connection between Durham and Northants and I hope my time here has helped strengthen that relationship.”

Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, has said the potential return of home Ashes series to the listed-event status, which would mean they have to be shown on free-to-air TV, would be “catastrophic” for the ECB’s funding.Since the prospect of the Ashes returning to the “crown jewels” category became realistic the ECB have made plenty of noise about the impact it would have on their finances and the knock-on effect to the game at all levels, but especially grassroots funding. The ECB have forecast a loss of £137.4 million for the period 2014-17 if the change goes ahead despite improved exposure by cricket being back in free-to-air TV.The government’s decision may now be delayed until after the general election, but the counties have spent the off season campaigning against any such move for a fear of the money they would lose and now Morris, one of the top men at ECB, has added his voice.”It is a big debate. The impact that it would potentially have is pretty catastrophic, there is no doubt about that,” he told reporters in Dhaka. “Catastrophic in terms of the amount of revenue we would lose that could be invested back into the game at grass roots level or into the women’s game. It would potentially not be at the level we are at currently.”The focus of our investment has been in getting people playing the game and the impact this might have in terms of lack of investment into clubs, schools programmes and coaches would be very significant.”The ECB have recently submitted their review – compiled at hefty expense – to the Department of Culture Media and Sport in an effort to prevent any change in the listings. “The ECB has been advised that there is a risk that a decision to list the home Ashes Test match series might cause pay-TV broadcasters to walk away from all or some of our broadcast rights,” a statement said.”The ecology of the international game of cricket, already under strain as a consequence of the rise to prominence of Twenty20 cricket, and specifically the ability of governing bodies to properly ensure the continued primacy of Test match cricket could also be harmed, probably irreparably.”The ECB has informed the government that it is not inconceivable that the funding shortfalls created by listing would precipitate a mass exodus of players from the international game and their contracts with national cricket boards, to play instead in tournaments designed specifically to appeal to pay-TV broadcasters.”There is a certain irony, then, that Morris’ main reason for being in Dhaka, as England complete their tour with the second Test, is to try and iron out difficulties in the latest batch of central contracts which remain unsigned even though they were awarded on October 1 last year.It is the second time in two years that there has been an impasse – last year it revolved around IPL clauses, but this time that isn’t believed to me a major sticking point – and Morris wants the problems sorted as soon as possible. “It isn’t ideal,” he said. “We don’t want to be in this situation again. We have got a group of players who are very proud to play for England and are committed to the cause.”However, while they are committed to playing for England it is appearing increasingly unlikely that many will be released for domestic Twenty20 duty this coming summer. That is despite there being a two-week window between international commitments – following the two Test series against Bangladesh and before the one-day series against Australia in June – where they could take part in the revamped Friends Provident Twenty20.Steve Elworthy, the new head of marketing and communications at the ECB, visited the squad in Bangladesh recently to try and convince Andy Flower, the head coach, how important it was to have leading England players on show domestically. But Morris reiterated the demands of the international schedule mean rest periods are precious.”Clearly the bottom line is that we have to manage the workload of our players,” he said. “It’s great that we have a launch of that competition, but there is an enormous amount of cricket being played internationally now, which has been reflected in some of the selection decisions for this tour.”

Dinesh Karthik, who led South Zone in the finals of the Duleep Trophy, has retained the leadership responsibility of the South squad for the Deodhar Trophy. Alfred Absolem and KB Pawan are the most notable absentees from the Duleep Trophy side. The squad includes 15 members and six stand-bys.Squad: Dinesh Karthik (capt and wk), Srikkanth Anirudha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Subramaniam Badrinath, Saurabh Bandekar, Arun Karthik, Abhimanyu Mithun, Pragyan Ojha, Manish Pandey, Sreesanth, Robin Uthappa, Padmanabhan Prasanth, Ganesh Satish, Murali Vijay and Vinay KumarStand-bys: KP Appanna, Chandrasekar Ganapathy, Muralidharen Gautam (wk), Abhinav Mukund, Udit Patel and Ambati Rayudu

Match facts

Monday, March 15
Start time 2000 (1430GMT)Delhi Daredevils had to fight for victory against Punjab, but it’ll take some effort to beat them (file photo)•Associated Press

Big Picture

The two teams playing the first ever IPL match in Ahmedabad present a bit of a contrast. The Rajasthan Royals, even though they were champions in 2008, are perennial underdogs and seem comfortable playing that role. They’re the team most fans love to support after their own. They possess the tournament’s fastest bowler and perhaps its most destructive batsman but, a few overseas players apart, also a bunch of boys who aren’t individually threatening. Their captain, formerly the world’s greatest legspinner, is now a glamorous poker player, an expert at staying in fashion and the team’s chief inspiration. He spearheads Rajasthan’s PR on Twitter, engaging in entertaining and sometimes frivolous banter with his mates, and he’s fashioned a team in his own image, one that in his own words “plays to entertain”.There aren’t any Delhi Daredevils on Twitter, unless they’ve been hiding in obscurity, apart from Wayne Parnell. Their players aren’t darlings of the media, their owner is in infrastructure not Bollywood, and their captain, who’s got into trouble more than once for his on-field temper, is sullen compared to his larger-than-life counterpart. Delhi have few frills and a low-key media presence. They are the team that shows up to get the job done, clinically, and the one most opponents will be a little intimidated by, even if they won’t admit it. They have their best foreign players available for the whole tournament, their top five in the batting order is unmatched, and their Indian contingent is among the strongest. No matter who they play and where, Delhi are usually favourites.These two teams, with their different styles, will clash for the first time at Motera, a 48,000 seater, one of four new venues this season. Both contested closely-fought opening games on Saturday: Delhi won theirs in Mohali, Rajasthan fell agonisingly short in a mammoth chase against Mumbai. One loss doesn’t ruin a season, but a second in a row will be a little harder to come back from.

Team talk

Graeme Smith, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shaun Tait and Shane Warne were the four overseas players Rajasthan fielded against Mumbai. Given that their top order struggled, they might consider replacing Mascarenhas and bringing in Damien Martyn or Michael Lumb to bolster the batting. Tait, though he leaked 11.50 runs an over, is likely to play to counter Delhi’s powerful top order. Munaf Patel, who was ill ahead of the first game, could also come into the XI if fit. Warne had said they “don’t want to change anything in the middle [order] as [Abhishek] Jhunjhunwala and [Paras] Dogra batted beautifully.” But with Rajasthan, you never can tell.Delhi had to do without Ashish Nehra’s services against Punjab because of an injury. He could return in place of either Pradeep Sangwan or Yo Mahesh if fit. Another option, which will strengthen a formidable batting line-up, would be for Nehra to replace Farveez Maharoof, who took 2 for 37, while David Warner comes in as the fourth overseas player, instead of Mithun Manhas. That would be unfortunate for Manhas, who made a crucial 31 against Punjab, but a top order comprising Sehwag, Gambhir, Warner, de Villiers and Dilshan, with Karthik to follow, seems too good to pass on. Parnell has joined the Delhi squad after completing domestic duties in South Africa but is unlikely to play.

Previously…

The first contest between these two sides in 2008 was a no-contest, with Delhi cruising to a nine-wicket win with 29 balls to spare. The clash in Jaipur was much closer – Rajasthan won in the last over with three wickets in hand. Rajasthan won the first game between the sides in 2009 by five wickets, but lost the second by 14 runs.

In the spotlight

Yusuf Pathan: His 37-ball century, the fastest in the IPL and second quickest overall, was the sole reason Rajasthan got anywhere close to Mumbai’s 212. On flat pitches and small grounds, Yusuf is a brutal batsman and Rajasthan’s strategy in previous tournaments has been to build a platform for him to launch an assault from, whether chasing or batting first. He wasn’t attacked with any bouncers during his blitz, which was surprising considering he has struggled against the short ball. A cheap dismissal will severely dent Rajasthan’s chances of challenging Delhi’s batting line-up. Expect Nannes to dig them in tomorrow.Tait v Nannes: Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes are specialist Twenty20 fast bowlers for Australia. Tait sent down thunderbolts nearing 160kmh during the summer, intimidating international batsmen into dismissals, while Nannes maintained his accurate lines and lengths at around 150kmh. In combination, they were a potent force but tomorrow they will be opponents with the responsibility of making inroads into other’s top order. Nannes was exceptional against Punjab but Tait was poor at Brabourne. Another failure tomorrow could result in Rajasthan chasing leather.

Prime numbers

• Yusuf went from 15 off 14 balls to 69 off 25 against Mumbai by hitting 11 consecutive balls for 6,6,6,6,4,4,6,4,4,4 and 4.
• Nannes’ first spell Punjab was 2-0-3-0 with ten dot balls. His spell at the death was 2-0-9-2.

Chatter

“Over the 30-odd games we have played if you look at our numbers we probably are the worst in the first six overs. If you take the top three of Graeme Smith, Swapnil Asnodkar and Shane Watson that first year compared to last year (there is a ) 900 runs difference (of their aggregate score).”