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On paper, the opening game in Group C is little more than a battle for bragging rights between two of the tournament’s minnows. Neither Kenya or Canada are expected to progress to the Super Eights, but such is the format of the competition that the winner will only need to beat one of the group’s two big boys – England and New Zealand – to reach the second stage. And anyone who watched most of England’s generally poor one-day performances in Australia will have no doubts that they are there for the taking.Kenya upset the odds to reach the 2003 semi-finals, albeit thanks to New Zealand boycotting their match in Nairobi and a skewed points system, and they harbour ambitions of reaching the second round this time. The four years since the 2003 success have been marked by bitter infighting and virtual cricketing anarchy, but they have got their house in order just in time, and arrived in the Caribbean on the back of victory in the ICC’s World Cricket League.That success featured a resounding win over the Canadians, but this game will be much closer as Canada showed signs of finding form of their own in the tournament. Both teams lean heavily on experienced players with a few promising youngsters thrown into the mix. Over a longer series of games, Kenya would probably come out on top, as they did in a tri-series in Mombasa in January, but this is a one-off and it really is too close to call.Perhaps the most surprising name on the team list will be former West Indies bowler Anderson Cummins, now 40 years old but surprisingly called into the Canadian squad for the Kenyan tour and retained despite some distinctly averages performances. He stands to become only the second player – the first was Kepler Wessels of Australia and then South Africa – to appear for two different countries in the World Cup.While Kenya boast a home-grown side, Canada lean heavily on expats who have qualified for the country under ICC regulations rather than learned their game there. It remains a source of unease among many, but rules are rules and Canada cannot be blamed for making the most of them.Both sides have strong batting line-ups, although Kenya continue to struggle to find a productive opening partnership while Maurice Ouma has failed to establish himself as an international opener despite ample chances to do so. Kenya probably have the better bowling side, and Peter Ongondo is one of the best new-ball bowlers among the Associates.The St Lucia pitch is reported as being hard and even-paced, while there is the chance of some showers during the latter part of the day.

IPL season to begin on April 9

• IPL 9 will start on April 9, six days after the World Twenty20 final in Kolkata, and end on May 26

• Mumbai will host the IPL season-opener and final

• According to BCCI president Shashank Manohar, the player auction will be held in Bangalore on February 6

• He also said the franchises will take part in a two-day workshop in Srinagar, on January 13 and 14

The Sanjeev Goenka-owned New Rising consortium and mobile phone manufacturer Intex have won ownership rights of the two new franchises in the IPL. New Rising have picked Pune as their home base, while Intex have opted for Rajkot.New Rising bid Rs minus 16 crore while Intex quoted minus 10 crore in the reverse bidding process through which the new franchises were chosen.In a short media briefing, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla said a total of five bidders had entered the fray to bid for the ownership rights of the two new franchises that would replace Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, who were both suspended for two years by the RM Lodha panel investigation the 2013 IPL corruption scandal. Harsh Goenka’s RPG group, Chennai-based cement major Chettinad Group and Axis Chemicals were the other three bidders.Under reverse bidding investors were encouraged to bid for lower than the base price of Rs 40 crore set by the IPL. This meant the BCCI would pay a maximum of Rs 40 crore from its central revenue pool to the new owner. The investor who bid the lowest price would eventually bag the ownership rights. Having bid in the negative, New Rising will now pay Rs 16 crore while Intex will pay Rs 10 crore to the BCCI per year of their contracts.Goenka has business interests spread across different domains such as power, information technology and media and entertainment. Goenka is also a part of the Kolkata Games and Sports Pvt.Ltd consortium that owns the football franchise Atletico de Kolkata in the Indian Super LeagueThe Delhi-based Intex Technologies specialises in manufacturing smartphones and consumer electronics durables, “I am personally a great sports enthusiast and a cricket lover. We have a great synergy with cricket,” Keshav Bansal, the director of Intex, said. “Nothing bigger than the IPL to connect with the youth, which is our target audience. Gujarat is a great cricket-loving state.”According to BCCI president Shashank Manohar the BCCI stood to earn profits of more than Rs 300 crore with the two new franchises declining to accept money from the central revenue pool.”What we had calculated was that BCCI pays them [franchises] approximate 70 crores first year out of the central revenue and next year it would be 75 crores. So that makes it 145 crore for one team. Now that 145 crore is going to be safe because they are not accepting that central revenue. Plus they are paying us 25 crore so 50 crores [across two years] more. That is the simple calculation,” Manohar said at the media conference.But purely financially this doesn’t seem very beneficial for the new franchisees. They look set to suffer losses and will likely relinquish any goodwill generated through two years of their existence as a team. After the two suspended franchises serve their time, they will come back into the IPL fold. Even if the BCCI raises the number of teams to 10 after two years, the new franchises will have to be won through a fresh auction.Bansal estimated Intex group will have to spend around or more than Rs. 100 crore per year on the players, stadiums, security, logistics, travel, the bid amount etc.Intex bid in minus for Rajkot while their other two bids for Visakhapatnam and Kanpur were in positive. “We knew the competition was going to be intense,” Bansal explained. “So we had a negative bid. We chose Rajkot for a negative bid because Gujarat is a cricket-loving state with a higher spending power. And more importantly Intex is the No. 1 selling Indian handset brand over there.”We just wanted to be associated with cricket. The window happens to be for just two years. After this if the BCCI wants to continue or raise new teams, why not? The first step was to get into this.”Manohar though, made it clear that the new teams can come in only through a fresh bid at the end of the two years, which will mark the end of the original 10-year franchisee agreements.Intex said that even if they got just two years they considered this a good investment and Bansal said he looked at entering the IPL as just an extension of his company’s association with cricket and the BCCI. “You have to see the synergy from the product and the brand,” Bansal said. “We are the official on-air sponsors for 2015. In India cricket is the biggest thing. The idea is to get the best out of that.”Asked whether New Rising was willing to suffer losses and look at entering the IPL as an investment, Subhashish Mitra, the executive director and group company secretary at New Rising, said the owners were looking at serving the sport.”We love the game of cricket. This is our humble way of getting associated under the great banner of BCCI. We will do our humble bit to support the game of the cricket in India. And this is the endeavour which has driven us to this humble initiative. We love the game of cricket as we love the game of football. This is a small gesture from our side to get involved with the great game of cricket.”The next step for both new franchises will be taking part in a player draft on December 15, where both teams will pick five players each from a pool of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals players. Having finished as the lowest bidder, New Rising will get to pick the first player from the 10-player pool. Intex will pick the second player and both teams will alternate thereafter.For the ten Super Kings and Royals players chosen, the BCCI has applied the same money brackets it put in place two years ago when the other six franchises were allowed to retain five players. The first player gets Rs 12.5 crore, the second Rs 9.5 crore, the third Rs 7.5 crore, the fourth Rs 5.5 crore and the fifth Rs 4 crore. An uncapped player stands to earn Rs 4 crore if he is picked. Irrespective of the IPL fee agreed between the franchise and the retained player, a fixed amount will be deducted from the franchise’s salary cap per player retained.Incidentally, at the franchise auction, all five bidders opted for more than one city from the nine available. The four bidders other than Intex all had Pune on their roster. New Rising bid Rs minus 11 crore for Nagpur. Intex also bid for Nagpur and Visakhapatnam, but quoted Rs 10 crore for each of the two cities. Chettinad, meanwhile, quoted Rs 27 crore for both Pune and Chennai. RPG bid Rs 17.88 crore for Pune and Rs 20.88 crore for Rajkot. Intex bid Rs 10 crore for both Kanpur and Visakhapatnam. Axis, meanwhile, quoted Rs 15 crore for both Nagpur and Kanpur and Rs 10 crore for Pune,The bidding process lasted for about an hour and was a two-part exercise: the first half involved determining the mandatory technical eligibility of the five bidders followed by a check on the the financial eligibility of the five bidders.

In the third last over of the day, Munaf Patel dug in a short one to Misbah-ul-Haq, saw him pull fiercely towards short midwicket, watched Harbhajan Singh stretch his arms out wide, saw him grass the chance, and kicked the ground in anguish. Watching from mid-on, Anil Kumble turned heavenwards. On most days it might have been Kumble doing the kicking.Cricket teams take a bit of time adjusting to their new leader, finding their way before settling into a rhythm. India, especially with the Test and one-day leadership now split, might take a bit longer than the rest. But going by their start to the Test series, a day that they bossed for large parts, it would appear the Kumble work ethic has caught on well and early. India’s first day of the series was played out under Kumble’s giant shadow.On a flat pitch that didn’t offer much seam movement, India persevered. With typical Kumble-esque persistence the four-man attack made the most of their resources, stuck to the basics, utilised the early swing and induced errors. A part-timer, Sourav Ganguly, exceeded expectations and a possible weak link, Munaf, charged in with fire. There weren’t any magic balls, no banana-swingers that swung from leg to off, but just good old line and length. Cricketers love to harp on about the “right areas”. This was the day when they really found them.There were some symbolic passages too. Just like Kumble has experienced through his career, India’s bowlers struggled to extract lbw decisions from umpires. Appeal after appeal was met with a negative response with a few close shouts going Pakistan’s way. And just as Kumble has struggled to get rid of the opposition’s tail of late, the rest of the bowlers had a tough time dislodging them too.Munaf, for the first time in more than a year, showed he could be quick and disciplined at the same time. He burst on to the scene as an erratic fast bowler, tried to convert himself into an accurate medium-pacer and ended up as a confused bundle of nerves. Gettingthrough a day even seemed a bridge too far. This was a Munaf transformed: managing to consistently clock 135kph and generating movement off an unresponsive pitch (one that Ganguly later termed “only down, not up and down”). He bowled the most – 20.4 overs – and his only wicket, that of Shoaib Malik, was through the ball of the day.Zaheer Khan backed him up efficiently but it was Ganguly, maintaining a robotic length, that had most surprised. Rarely has he bowled 12 overs on the first day of a Test and probably never done so in such a metronomic fashion. He entered the Test with his spot under a bit of scrutiny, what with Yuvraj Singh making waves in the one-dayers, but blossomed in a department where, as he candidly confessed, “there is no pressure”.”There was a swing,” he said when asked if it was his best spell, “but I was happy I could hit the right areas. The conditions helped early on.” Was he, India’s most successful captain, impressed with Kumble’s first day at the office? “Fantastic,” he beamed, “he even gave me 12 overs.”Kumble, like he often has, ran the risk of being unnoticed – despite being the most successful bowler, he sent Ganguly for the post-match press conference. All his three wickets were with quick, straighter deliveries and he profited from a pitch where the ball died on the batsmen. When he castled Kamran Akmal his wicket-tally at the Feroz Shah Kotla went up to 50. The number may just get a marginal mention but India refused to forget the Kumble-way through the day.

Mickey Arthur, South Africa’s coach, has filed a counter-charge against board president Norman Arendse after a heated exchange between the two and in response to disciplinary charges filed against him with regard to a selection dispute over the squad for the tour to Bangladesh.”Yes, there is animosity between us,” Arthur told . “I told him he was power-crazy and egotistical but I never swore at him.”I’ve taken him on about this team. The transformation policy that Arendse wants to be applied does not exist. He is out of bounds. I told him he was not a selector and should keep his nose out of team selections. I can say now that he regularly sends back teams,” Arthur said, while not elaborating when such incidents took place.”Unfortunately I felt I had no choice but to do likewise [file a counter-charge],” Arthur told Reuters. “The president accused me of all sorts of things apart from failing, or even refusing to implement CSA’s (Cricket South Africa’s) transformation policies. That is simply untrue.”Arthur’s comments come in the wake of his argument with Arendse in a second teleconference yesterday to sort out the team’s selection. Arendse, in the first discussion on Tuesday, reportedly refused to approve the the squad chosen by the six-man selection committee, of which Arthur is a member, as it contained less than seven coloured players.”What’s his problem? We have a good, established team and with the exception of one match we have fielded four black players in every Test this season,” said Arthur. “I don’t know where he gets the idea that there should be seven black players in the touring team.”Arendse alleged that Arthur had behaved in a “disrespectful” and “abusive” manner in the meeting, and had laid disciplinary charges against him and indicated that CSA policy about team selection was not followed. “If a coach says, ‘There’s no transformation policy’ [among selectors], if he says, ‘Sorry, I’m not prepared to implement CSA’s policies’, then his position is untenable.”Arthur, however, had a different take on it. “The president’s implication would appear to be that I prefer to select white players over black players, which is deeply insulting and hurtful,” he said. “[Coloured players like] Hashim Amla, Charl Langeveldt and JP Duminy have all established themselves in the national squad in my time as coach while Ashwell Prince became the country’s first black captain.”Arthur also said he had received an “insulting” email from Arendse, over which he had obtained legal advice.Meanwhile, Gerald Majola, the CSA chief executive, said the dispute between the two would be handled internally as per the board’s human resources procedures. “CSA has formal HR procedures, and this matter will be dealt with in this forum and a statement will be issued at the appropriate time.”It is regretted that these disputes have been aired in the public domain, particularly on the eve of an important touring season for the Proteas.”

Former West Indies batsman Desmond Haynes wants a regional cricket academy to be set up in order to get West Indies cricket back up the ladder.Speaking at the “Rebuilding West Indies Glory” Sports Desk Symposium in St Anne’s, Haynes said, “Too much money is being spent by the West Indies Cricket Board by bringing in these coaches from outside, when we in the Caribbean can do a better job. If I had to make a choice, I don’t think I would appoint a coach of the West Indies team.”Let me tell you, as a former player, that when you reach the West Indies senior-team level, it is very hard to change a player. I think that the WICB should concentrate on cricket at the youth level and mould these players into winners.”I am saying that a cricket academy in the West Indies is very crucial to our success. The former great players might not want to travel with the team day in and day out but they may want to still assist the players. Remember, these guys have families and they would have travelled a lot during their playing days. Now they may not want to continue that but more importantly, I think that they will be better served at the academy than being around the Test team for just a few days before a match.”Haynes, 52, believes former players can add value to an academy by conducting clinics. “What can be done is that the WICB sets up an academy and allows former players to come in and host clinics in the different disciplines. This would work well and will be of tremendous help to the young players.””With the technology available to us right now, the coaches can sit at the academy and view videos of the players during their net sessions and matches and make recommendations to them. You don’t have to be on the spot to make a change.”Haynes added that a number of mini-academies should be set up in each territory for the younger players before they move on to the major academy.Deryck Murray, the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board and former West Indies wicketkeeper, believes the only way West Indies cricket can move forward is for officials to stop fooling themselves into believing that the team is in a rebuilding phase.Speaking at the same symposium, Murray said, “If we win a Test match in 2008 and people say that we have started the rebuilding process, then this is a disgrace to all the players who have worn the maroon cap before. We have a world record for a team in the rebuilding phase. We have been rebuilding for 15 years and the process still continues. The only time we would rebuild West Indies cricket is when we stop fooling ourselves and start doing the things that would take our cricket back up the ladder.”Another foolish thing some people say is that we would be back to winning ways because we have players with talent. Well, I have news for them, and that is, every country has talent and this means nothing if the talent is not turned into progress.”We in the Caribbean are always looking for the easy way out and this is doing us no good. What is needed at this time is for fans in the Caribbean to pressurise all stakeholders to ensure that they do the right things to initiate the rebuilding process.”Murray said the only way West Indies could start winning again was for the players to instill a measure of pride in their cricket.

Sussex face the possibility of censure or even a points deduction from theECB after 19 wickets fell on the first day of their second division matchagainst Northamptonshire at Eastbourne.A statement is expected this morning after deliberations between pitchinspector Mike Denness, who was at the Saffrons all day, and the umpiresover a well grassed, but dry surface.Bowlers on both sides benefitted from ideal conditions for swing bowlingwith Sussex’s James Kirtley passing 50 wickets for the season when heclaimed a season’s best 6-41 as the second division leaders were bowled outfor 110.New ball partner Jason Lewry supported him with 3-38 with only Russell Warren, who made 151 when the teams met a week ago, top-scoring with a gritty 29 off 81 balls.Sussex’s batsmen found the going just as tough when they replied and only asuperb innings from skipper Chris Adams prevented them conceding a firstinnings deficit.They were struggling on 83-6 after tea, but Adams put on 55 for the next twowickets with Nick Wilton and Kirtley as he reached his sixth half-century ofthe season. Adams finished unbeaten on 82, made off 135 balls with 13 boundaries, with Sussex 151-9, a lead of 41.Principal support came from Tony Cottey, who made 17 in a fourth wicketstand of 43, and wicketkeeper Nick Wilton (14).

With the Twenty20 World Cup round the corner, Ricky Ponting has offered a tempered endorsement of cricket’s newest format, saying while the money generated from this format is beneficial to the game, there is a danger of overkill affecting the players.”I’ve never been a big fan of Twenty20 cricket, but I gather that there’s a lot of interest and money in this version of the game,” Ponting said, “and we need money for the growth and development of the game. That said, the international calendar is packed these days and on top of that Twenty20 cricket won’t do much for the players.” He was in Bangalore as part of a sponsored event for school children.The Twenty20 World Cup will be held in September in South Africa, and Ponting’s Australia will be heavily favoured to add to the one-day championship they retained in April. The shortest format of the game has gained popularity since its international debut in 2004-05, when New Zealand hosted Australia. That win included, Australia have won three of the five Twenty20s they’ve played.With a fairly lukewarm reaction to the recent Afro-Asia Cup, critics have been quick to say that there’s little to separate such games and the hundreds of charity, exhibition and benefit games that are played around the world. Ponting didn’t pick sides in the debate but agreed that perhaps the scheduling of such events should be revisited.”They have all got their place, I suppose,” he said. “I was having a chat with Rahul Dravid recently and he told me that this probably wasn’t the best time to organise such a series. It’s the off-season for some teams and the weather’s pretty hot. Even the scheduling of India’s tour to Bangladesh wasn’t the best; you had a Test match washed out there. We in Australia are following the policy of rotation and resting the players to save them from fatigue and burnout.”It was more than rotation and rest, of course, that helped Australia to their third consecutive World Cup title in the Caribbean. Australia had lost five one-day internationals in a row leading into the tournament but turned things around when it came to the crunch. Ponting credited this to a strong core group and belief.”It was important that I sat down with all the players and had a discussion with them,” Ponting said. “In New Zealand, we played good cricket despite the fact that we were missing five or six of our main players. And in the World Cup our confidence got going after some good results in the initial games, especially after we notched up that victory in the big game against South Africa.”The team is now in the hands of Tim Nielsen, who succeeded John Buchanan as coach. “He’s a respected man”, Ponting said of Nielsen, “and he’s done some very good work down at the Commonwealth Bank Centre of Excellence at Brisbane. The players and I are excited to work with him. It should be a good relationship.”Ponting was in Bangalore as a guest of ING-Vysya to provide tips to 350 schoolchildren. He arrived on the dais to thunderous applause from the children, clad in white, and a few doting mothers. After fielding a volley of questions from the enthusiastic emcee – including a ‘rapid-fire’ round where he was as quick with his witty responses as he is on the pull – and the media, Ponting spent close to two hours with the children in the nets and off the ground. Ponting batted against them, turned his arm over a couple times and the children were seen listening in rapt attention to his batting tips.Talking of these aspirants, Ponting said: “They are the stars of tomorrow and I’m happy to see love for cricket among these children.”

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