Unfair treatment for Benn

ANYONE who has followed Sulieman Benn’s career, not least those who play against him in Barbados club cricket, know that the beanpole left-arm spinner is no saint.

There are previous convictions on his disciplinary record at West Indies and club level to reveal his feisty nature on the field.

But the International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Chris Broad, the former England opening batsman, needs to explain why he chose to hand Benn a more stringent penalty under the code of conduct, suspending him for the next two One-day Internationals, than Australians Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson, who were fined for their on-field altercation during the third Test in Perth but can continue playing.

Benn, supported by team manager Joel Garner and captain Chris Gayle, pleaded not guilty at a hearing with Broad. The Australians pleaded guilty, pre-empting a hearing.

The code of conduct penalises players for ’conducting themselves in any way that is not in accordance with the spirit of the game’.

Surely all three were involved in the relevant incident. As Tony Greig, the former England captain, now television commentator, stated afterwards ’a blanket should be thrown over all three, with the same penalty’.

An ICC statement quoted Broad as saying: ’The decision to find Sulieman guilty of a Level 2 offence is indicative of the fact that conduct contrary to the spirit of the game is completely unacceptable. I hope he has learnt his lesson and will be careful in the future.’

Yet no similar comments were directed at Haddin and Johnson.

Indeed, Broad rebuked Haddin for provoking Benn but warned only the West Indian that if he transgressed again within a year his charge could be upgraded to level three.

The West Indies management in Australia has stated that, while it will not appeal Broad’s decision, it will send a letter of protest to the ICC over the disparity.

Broad has previously suspended Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir for a Test for elbowing Australian bowler Shane Watson who was fined ten per cent of his match fee for ’inappropriate verbal engagement with an opposing player’ in the incident.

Yesterday Broad again had to deal with Watson on the fourth day of the final Test against the West Indies in Perth.

This time he fined him 15 per cent of his match fee for the same offence, not showing due respect for the opponent, by running down the pitch and screaming at West Indies captain Chris Gayle after dismissing him.

Broad’s euphemistic comment for the snarling Australian was that ’Shane is a very energetic and enthusiastic bowler but on this occasion he has gone too far’.

But not far enough for a suspension which, seemingly, doesn’t apply to Australians.

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Lee powers NSW to Airtel CL T20 title

New South Wales were crowned the inaugural Airtel CL T20 winners after they snapped Trinidad & Tobago's fairytale campaign with a 41-run victory.

In a high-voltage summit clash in Hyderabad on Friday night, New South Wales had the last laugh with Brett Lee as their star performer.

In the title showdown featuring top two teams of the tournament, it was a battle between Caribbean flair and Australian profressionalism.

Put into bat, NSW fumbled and faltered in their innings to slump to 83 for six in the 12th over before finding a messiah in Lee, whose whirlwind 48 off 31 balls, along with Steven Smith's 33, guided them to 159 for nine.

Trinidad & Tobago's chase never gathered momentun and Kieron Pollard's (26 off 15 balls) last ditch attempt was not enough as the Caribbeans side folded for 118 in 15.5 overs.

After his batting heroics, Lee (2/10) was in the thick of action again, claiming two quick wickets to reduce T&T to 21 for three in the first eventful 14 balls.
Lee's second delivery castled the scoreless Wiliam Perkins and the blond pacer returned to catch Lendl Simmons off his own bowling in the next over.

In between, Adrian Barath hit Steve Smith's first three balls for successive fours followed it with a six before returning caught behind off the last delivery.

For T&T, crisis further compounded as Dwayne Bravo (17), and captain Darren Ganga (19) and Denesh Ramadin (16) fell when the team needed them most.

Pollard (26) tried to replicate the form he had shown in the league match against NSW but Nathan Hauritz had other ideas and for T&T, the match was over when Pollard fell in the 15th over.

Earlier, NSW discovered a batting hero in Brett Lee whose stunning 48, along with Steven Smith's 33, took the Australians past the 150-mark after they had slumped to 83 for six inside 12 overs.

Put into bat, NSW never really got going with Ravi Rampaul (3/20) and Dwayne Bravo (2/27) polishing the top order before some poor shot selections did the middle order in.

Down the order, Steven Smith, however, refused to throw in the towel and Lee then came up with a 31-ball blitzkrieg, studded with four fours and five sixes, before falling in the last ball of the innings.

David Warner and Phil Hughes have been key to New South Wales' success in the tournament so far but the left-handed opening pair, for once, proved they too had feet of clay.

Rampaul cleaned up Hughes (3) with the first delivery of his second over and then Bravo combined with an airborne Dave Mohammad to cut short Warner's (19) stay just when the stocky left-hander had started looking his ominous self.

Both the in-form NSW openers back in the hut inside five overs with the score reading a mere 32, this was clearly not the best of starts for the Australian side.

Simon Katich (16) decided to punish Bravo, hitting him for two sixes -- one miscued shot soared over long-on ropes and another effortless pull cleared fine leg -- in the same over before the pacer returned to settle score.

Three balls later, Moises Henriques (4) joined his captain in the hut, holing out in the deep off Kieron Pollard, and NSW were clearly in a hole at 49 for four.

Dave Mohammad removed Ben Rohrer (16) with his first delivery and Rampaul returned to disturb Daniel Smith's timbers in the next over before Lee joined Smith in the middle to steady the ship.

Even after Smith returned, there was no containing Lee who swung his bat to good effect to help the side cross the 150-mark that had looked a distant dream at one stage.

Teams:
New South Wales: PJ Hughes, DA Warner, DLR Smith†, MC Henriques, SM Katich, BJ Rohrer, SPD Smith, B Lee, NM Hauritz, SR Clark, DE Bollinger.

Trinidad & Tobago: A Barath, WKD Perkins, LMP Simmons, D Ganga, DJ Bravo, KA Pollard, D Ramdin†, S Ganga, ND Stewart, D Mohammed, R Rampaul.

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Daren Ganga targets final glory

T&T captain Daren Ganga demanded his players remain focused for one more game after their victory in the semi-finals of the Airtel CLT20 in Hyderabad.

Ganga's side won by seven wickets and will now face New South Wales Blues in tomorrow's final at the same venue.

"We are very happy to get to the final and tomorrow's game is another important one," said Ganga, who steered his side to victory with an unbroken stand of 93 with Dwayne Bravo (58) for the fourth wicket.

"We are not just content with this win and tonight we will be pretty chilled out.

"We had set ourselves goals and we have won five games, five virtual finals. We have got one more to go and once we successfully complete that, then the carnival will start.

"At the toss I believed it would be easy enough for us to chase a target of 170-180.

"We were quite comfortable with that because we knew the nature of this surface.

"The guys did a fantastic job to pull the Cape Cobras back and restrict them to 175.

"We always knew we had the game under control and once we batted well at the top, it was quite easy for Dwayne (Bravo) and myself.

"We had the confidence and we also had the cushion of guys in good form, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin and Navin Stewart, to come after us.

"It gave us a lot of confidence to play freely and in the end we prevailed."

The Cobras turned in an uncharacteristically shoddy performance in the field, with Lendl Simmons being dropped twice and Bravo dropped on 17.

Cobras captain Andrew Puttick said his team had succumbed to the pressure.

"It would have been a lot closer had we taken those chances," he admitted.

"It's disappointing to go out in this fashion, but T&T were a little bit better than us today and they handled the pressure a lot better.

"We were pretty happy with that score and I think we should have made it a lot more difficult for them.

"We have had a great time in this competition and have learnt a lot from it, pitting our skills against players from all around the world.

"From a players' point of view this tournament has been very good and we hope to come back and go one better next year."

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Bravo helps T&T book final place

Trinidad and Tobago beat the Cape Cobras by seven wickets to enter into the final of the Airtel Champions League T20.

An unbeaten half-century from Dwayne Bravo overshadowed an all-round performance from JP Duminy as Trinidad and Tobago beat the Cape Cobras in the second semi-final in Hyderabad.

Duminy anchored the Cobras' innings with another unflappable performance, his 61 from 40 deliveries after Herschelle Gibbs' scintillating 42 from 27 balls at the top the order helping the South African side to 175 for five.

Adrian Barath (29) and William Perkins (20) then gave T&T's chase a solid start, while Bravo (58 off 34) and Darren Ganga (44 off 31) put on 93 in an unbroken stand for the fourth wicket as the Caribbean outfit secured their place in the final.
They will take on New South Wales Blues in the final at the same venue on Friday.

Gibbs, who had managed only one run from three previous matches, lost opening partner Andrew Puttick cheaply after a tentative start.

Off-spinner Sherwin Ganga and Ravi Rampaul had conceded only four singles each from their first overs, but Gibbs quickly exploded into action.

The South African opener turned on the aggression in the fourth over, hammering Dwayne Bravo for four boundaries as the Cobras managed 54 from their powerplay.

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Gibbs' innings came to an end when he was bowled by Kieron Pollard and the Cobras briefly looked in danger of collapsing when Henry Davids was brilliantly caught by Dave Mohammad off his own bowling.

Duminy steadied the ship, complementing the big-hitting Rory Kleinveldt (21) in a 34-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Kleinveldt was the second of Lendl Simmons' victims but Duminy accelerated fluently, as the Cobras raced past 150.

Bravo was clobbered for more runs in his third over - the penultimate of the innings which yielded 20 - but the innings finished in an anti-climax of sorts with Rampaul sending down an excellent final over, conceding only two.

Charl Langeveldt, back after suffering a shoulder injury in the Cobras' first match, had begun with a tight first over, but Barath and Perkins launched the chase by ripping into Monde Zondeki.

The seam bowler conceded 30 from his first two overs and, although Perkins was run out, T&T made 57 from their first six overs.

Duminy and Justin Ontong pulled things back with their spin, both bowlers striking in their first over.

The dismissals brought Darren Ganga and Bravo together and the two steadily rebuilt.

T&T needed 61 from 36 and Bravo, who was dropped on 17 by Ontong, launched into an array of strokes to reduce the requirement to 18 from the last three overs.

Bravo reached his half-century with a boundary off Langeveldt and brought up victory with another boundary off Kleinveldt in the final over.

Teams:

Cape Cobras: AG Puttick*, HH Gibbs, H Davids, JP Duminy, JL Ontong, VD Philander, RCC Canning†, RK Kleinveldt, CW Henderson, M Zondeki, CK Langeveldt.

Trinidad & Tobago: A Barath, WKD Perkins, LMP Simmons, D Ganga*, DJ Bravo, KA Pollard, D Ramdin†, S Ganga, ND Stewart, D Mohammed, R Rampaul.

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Trinidad unity is a lesson for Caribbean - Ganga

Daren Ganga, the captain of the Trinidad & Tobago side that has remained unbeaten throughout an impressive Champions League campaign, believes that the unity and team spirit shown by his island nation must serve as a warning to the warring factions within West Indies cricket. Unless the players and administrators can resolve their differences, Ganga believes it is "inevitable" that the region's individual countries will seek to go it alone in the future.

Ganga, who stood in as West Indies captain on their tour of England in 2007 only to be dumped from the squad before the end of the summer, has encountered at first-hand the politics and factionalism that mar the region's cricket at international level. But such concerns could not be further from the thoughts of the band of brothers who have progressed to the semi-finals of the Champions League with a succession of never-say-die performances.

"The passion and the efforts that the guys have shown on the field of play have got us through to the semi-finals," Ganga told Cricinfo's Switch Hit podcast. "A lot of people never really expected us to go so far in the competition, but if you look at the framework of our cricket and of our club, and of all the other teams that have competed, one thing going for us is our national pride and patriotism.

"That is a hallmark of this team, being able to separate themselves, and realise they are not just representing the 11 players on the field or the 20 guys that are travelling, but all the rest of the people back in Trinidad, and by extension the wider Caribbean."

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when Trinidadian cricket was synonymous with one Brian Charles Lara, arguably the greatest batsman of all time, but a man to whom a team ethos did not come naturally. In recent years, however, Trinidad have swept the board domestically, across three formats, and they also trounced Middlesex in last year's Stanford Super Series in Antigua. With a pool of talented players such as Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, the Bravo brothers and Ravi Rampaul, the days of relying on a single star performer are long gone.

"In the years gone by, we've created an environment where competition is healthy," said Ganga. "We have guys on the side who want to be part of the action, and when they get their opportunity they come to the fore and deliver. That is the best position to be in, and as captain of the team I am very happy with the way things have gone. We have not had a smooth run [through this competition], there have been challenges along the way, but you have to make the right decisions."

Making the right decisions is a knack that the administrators of West Indies cricket seem to have mislaid long ago, but Ganga believes that, at a time when the regional side has been crippled by pay disputes and strike action, there are valuable lessons to be learnt in the cohesion shown by his Trinidad squad.

"There are a whole lot of different philosophies and schools of thought about our team compared to the current West Indies team," he said. "But ask any champion team, and they'll say that having the right chemistry - a togetherness and a team spirit - is essential for any sort of success. If you have a situation where everything is surrounding one or two individuals, you never get the sort of output that you want as a team, and that is one of the things we inculcate as a team.

"No one individual is bigger than the team, and to be successful it's not going to take the efforts of two or three individuals, it's going to take the efforts of all 15 guys here, plus our technical staff," he added. "That's been ingrained, and all the guys understand that this is the approach that will bring us success."

From Dwayne Bravo's nerveless final over against Deccan Chargers, to Pollard's sensational 18-ball fifty against New South Wales, Trinidad's players have come up with performances that would have graced any international fixture. Which begs the question, would the island be able to hold its own as a bona fide full-member country? Ganga has no wish to incite a revolution, but he is nevertheless realistic about the state of the game within the region.

"West Indies cricket has a great legacy," he said, "and there's a great amount of pride and respect for it, because of what our great teams have accomplished in decades gone by. I am not one to jump on a bandwagon and say Trinidad & Tobago should go on its own, but there has to be some involvement on the part of all stakeholders to protect West Indies cricket. It has to be invested in, in the right manner, and some firm decisions need to be taken about moving our cricket forward.

"And those are issues that need to be addressed now," he added, "because I tell you, if that doesn't happen, it is inevitable that countries may go separately. That is a fact because West Indies cricket cannot continue to have the turmoil that it is in right now. I think it's very important for that to be seen. Looking down the road, if decisions are not made sooner than later, that may be the only direction that territorial boards have left to take."

Ganga, however, was careful not to get carried away by a version of the game that has not won the approval of all cricket-lovers. "A lot of people don't have a lot of respect for Twenty20 cricket and they are right in their approach to some extent," he said. "If you are looking at a nation competing, it's not just about assessing the performance from a Twenty20 perspective. A lot of countries in the world have a bigger population than the Caribbean, and more finances, and still they struggle at Test cricket. I'm not one to advocate going on your own. It's important to set things in perspective, to look exactly at where our cricket is at this time, and what needs to be done to start turning things around."

It is a measure of the incompetence of the various Caribbean boards that Ganga believes that the involvement of disgraced billionaire, Sir Allen Stanford, is still the best thing to happen to cricket in the region for years. Trinidad have certainly benefited from his largesse. They won his US$1million jackpot in 2008 after finishing as runners-up to Guyana in the original Stanford 20/20 in 2006, and went on to supplement that windfall with a further US$280,000 in last year's one-off victory against Middlesex. Regardless of the subsequent revelations about the man, Ganga still believes he and his ilk owe Stanford a debt of gratitude.

"We must thank Sir Allen for his introduction of Twenty20 cricket in the Caribbean, it has caught on and I'm sure it will continue to inspire a new generation of West Indian cricketers," said Ganga. "There's a whole lot of positives that he brought to the region, but then now when you reflect on the situation, you see all the different negatives that his actions have cost. We are not the ones to judge, but what I can say from a cricketing point of view is that we the players have benefited a lot, and I can surely say the WICB and all the territorial boards have benefited a lot in terms of infrastructure and facilities.

"He made a huge investment in WI cricket for years, and the dividends of that are showing now, and will continue for a couple more years. It's important for someone in the Caribbean to identify the huge and positive investment he made in West Indies cricket, and it is important for someone now to take up that slack now."

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Dave Mohammed's 'shoe phone'

The most interesting part of Mohammed's celebrations is the one where he does the shoe phone.

Sitting with former India captain Sunil Gavaskar and watching a Caribbean team play is always an enjoyable experience. The master technician of the 1970s and 1980s loves Trinidad and Tobago. He is much loved in those islands and naturally loves their style of play.

So when you have a typical Caribbean celebration with their bouncing laughter and the high-fives you are bound to have some kind of reaction from the maestro.

Gavaskar's object of attention at Bangalore's M Chinnaswamy Stadium, when Somerset struggled against Trinidad spinners was Dave Mohammed. A chinaman bowler, Mohammed is at the heart of any celebration that Trinidad has at the fall of a wicket. He has some quirky ways of celebrating and in one of those he turns an alligator. He rolls over like an alligator and can sting like one. Another antic has him rolls over and tap himself four times all over the body so as to signify that he is yet to get over the fall of wicket.

Confused?
The shoe phone is part of celebrations in the Caribbean where the spinners revel when they get a batsman out stumped.

In the Caribbean if a spinner flights and invites the batsman to step out of the crease and gets him out stumped, it is a huge moment to celebrate. The spinner removes his shoe, behaves as if he is dialing a phone and talking. It is their way of asking who called outside the crease,'' explains team manager Colin Borde.
No wonder then Mohammed is one of the real characters of the game from the Caribbean.

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Pollard stuns Blues into submission

Kieron Pollard blasted a sensational 54 off just 18 balls to help Trinidad and Tobago snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against New South Wales Blues.

Pollard struck five fours and as many sixes to single-handedly drag out Trinidad & Tobago from the claws of defeat and seal the win with nine balls to spare.

Apart from Pollard, captain Darren Ganga (32 off 26), Darren Bravo (27 off 24) and Dinesh Ramdin (23 off 13) also shone with bat before the trio fell prey to unnecessary run outs.

For NSW, Brett Lee, Moises Henriques and Doug Bollinger picked up a wicket each.

Earlier, Philip Hughes (83 off 64) and David Warner (63 off 41) made merry against an inexperienced Trinidad & Tobago attack as the duo raised 121 runs for the opening wicket attack to help New South Wales post a mammoth 170 for four.

Dwayne Bravo was the most successful bowler for Trinidad with figures of three for 31, while left-arm chinaman bowler Dave Mohammed took one wicket, giving away 26 runs.

Chasing an imposing 171 for victory, Trinidad & Tobago lost their way after the early burst of William Perkins.

Perkins (16 off 13) showed early promise hitting two boundaries and a six but his over-aggression led to his downfall, caught by Nathan Hauritz off Lee.

Trinidad & Tobago dug a hole for themselves losing two more quick wickets in the form of Lendl Simmons and dangerman Dwayne Bravo.

Simmons was caught in front of the wicket by Bollinger, while Bravo was held at fine-leg by Bollinger off Henriques.

However, Ganga and Darren Bravo were in no mood to give up without a fight as the duo put on 47 runs for the fifth.

Hauritz came for some beating at the hands of the duo as both Ganga and Darren Bravo hit the off-spinner for a six each to give some momentum to the Trinidad & Tobago run chase.

Just when Ganga and Darren Bravo started to accelerate the innings, both the batsmen fell to unnecessary run outs.

But wicketkeeper Dinesh Ramdin and Pollard had other plans as they welcomed Steven Smith with a 15-run over to keep alive the chase.

With Ramdin running himself out, Pollard took the onus on his shoulders and completely changed the complexion of the match in one over.

He demolished Henriques for two back-to-back fours and then followed it up with three sixes to pile up massive 27 runs of the 17th over and reduce the equation for his side.

Needing 16 off 12 balls, Simon Katich made a blunder by handing the ball to Henriques as Pollard clobbered the pacer for a four, two sixes to finish off the match in style.

Earlier, opting to bat Warner and Hughes gave a rollicking start to the NSW innings, scoring 24 runs in the first two overs.

Both the left-handers were in a murderous mood from the word go as they clobbered Ravi Rampaul for three boundaries to pile up 14 runs in the opening over.

Sensing the ease with which the NSW openers were negotiating the pacers, Ganga introduced his brother Sherwin Ganga into the attack in the third over and the off-spinner did justice to his skipper's call, giving away just 17 runs in his four overs.

However, his good work was undone by Darren Bravo at the other end as Hughes struck him for two fours in the same over through midwicket to take NSW to 50 for no loss at the end of the powerplay.

The Caribbean side's problem was further compounded by their bowlers' inability to pick up wickets as Hughes and Warner piled up 71 runs at the halfway mark of their innings.

With wickets in hand, Warner cut loose in the 12th over and hit leg-spinner Samuel Badree for three sixes and a four to notch up his fifty in just 31 balls.

In search of quick runs, Warner's explosive innings, which included five fours and three huge sixes, finally came to an end when Dwayne Bravo caught him off Dave Mohammed.

It could have been double delight for Mohammed had the bowler managed to latch on to the straight forward chance of Hughes in the very next delivery.

The Caribbean side finally got something to cheer about in the final over as Dwayne Bravo scalped Henriques (17 off 10) and Hughes with back-to-back deliveries and then Ben Rohrer in the final ball of the innings.

Hughes was going great guns with 11 fours and a six before he was caught by Pollard off Bravo.

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IPL champions Chargers crash out

Reigning IPL champions the Deccan Chargers were sent crashing out of the Airtel CL T20 after they suffered a three-run defeat to Trinidad & Tobago.

West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was the hero for Caribbean nation following a match-winning final over when he claimed two wickets and conceded just four runs to ensure his side would take a perfect record into the second round.

Trinidad & Tobago's victory also means Somerset progress from the group, just a day after their English counterparts Sussex were sent home.

Justin Langer's Sabres had beaten the Chargers in their opening match, but lost to T&T which means they would carry no points into the second round.

T&T opener William Perkins smashed 38 off 32 balls at the top of the order to give his side a solid start against a wayward new-ball attack and number seven batsman Kieron Pollard made 31 from 14 balls to help his side post 149 for seven.

Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist then struck a blistering 51 off 36 balls, while Venugopal Rao made 30 lower down the order, but the Chargers lost wickets regularly to bow out.

Frontline bowlers Fidel Edwards - who was taken out of the attack in the previous match against Somerset for bowling beamers - and RP Singh struggled for their line early as the hosts leaked runs.

Edwards found some consistency to trap his West Indies team-mate Lendl Simmons (seven) in front, but Singh could not find his groove.

The left-arm seamer sent down three front-foot no-balls and a wide in his second over in which he conceded 15 and Perkins, who had cashed in on two boundaries off Edwards' first over, helped his side off to a flying start.

Gilchrist brought on Tirumalasetti Suman inside the powerplay and the part-time spinner struck with his fourth delivery when he held onto a return catch from Darren Bravo (14).

Skipper Darren Ganga was run out in the same over by Andrew Symonds, who then sent down an excellent first over as the Chargers regained the initiative by restricting T&T to 53 for three at the end of the powerplay.

But Pollard smacked four sixes and a boundary in a 14-delivery 31 to lift T&T's faltering innings.

The Chargers' reply stuttered at the start as VVS Laxman (four), top scorer against the Somerset, number three Abhinav Kumar (one) and his replacement Symonds (two) were sent back cheaply.

Gilchrist, who had begun his onslaught with a six over third man and a four to the fine-leg boundary, eased the Chargers back into contention with 55-run stand with Rohit Sharma (25) for the fourth wicket, but the game swung T&T's way when both batsmen fell in the space of three deliveries.

The Chargers had needed another 64 runs from 47 deliveries at that stage and Rao and Scott Styris put on 39 for the sixth wicket, leaving the home side needing 20 from the last three overs, but Styris (14) was run out and Rao fell shortly later as the chase faltered.

Teams:

Deccan Chargers: VVS Laxman, AC Gilchrist, TL Suman, A Symonds, RG Sharma, SB Styris, Y Venugopal Rao, Abhinav Kumar, PP Ojha, RP Singh, FH Edwards.

Trinidad & Tobago: LMP Simmons, WKD Perkins, DJ Bravo, D Ganga, DM Bravo, KA Pollard, D Ramdin†, S Ganga, D Mohammed, R Rampaul, S Badree.

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