Wayamba confident ahead of Champions League

Siddarth Ravindran

August 25, 2010

Comments: 47 | Text size: A | A

	Jeevantha Kulatunga's opening combination with Mahela Jayawardene was instrumental in Wayamba winning their domestic T20 tournament. © Cricinfo Ltd Enlarge
Related Links News : Guyana aim for Champions League glory Players/Officials: Mahela Jayawardene | Jeevantha Kulatunga Series/Tournaments: Champions League Twenty20 Teams: Sri Lanka

Wayamba, the Sri Lankan domestic Twenty20 champions, are one of the low-profile teams heading for the Champions League, but could surprise some of their more famous competitors with a squad containing 11 players who have international caps. They exited in the first round of the Champions League last year but the biggest name in their line-up, Mahela Jayawardene, said that experience will help Wayamba put up a better show in South Africa next month.

"Last year was a bit of an eye-opener for us, participating in that kind of an event," Jayawardene said at a press conference where the team's new shirt was unveiled. "We had quite a few players who hadn't played against international teams. It was a great opportunity for them. We realise where we went wrong; most of our guys now have much more experience playing T20 cricket, playing domestically as well."

Wayamba played both their matches in 2009 on a difficult Feroz Shah Kotla pitch, losing to the Delhi Daredevils and beating one of the favourites, Victoria, before bowing out on net run-rate. Their captain, 29-year-old Jehan Mubarak, was also confident the lessons learnt in India last year, and Wayamba's thorough preparation for this campaign, will yield results.

"We are much more prepared than we were last year, we have had the experience of playing in a previous Champions League," Mubarak said. "Our preparation has been quite extensive this year; we have been practising for at least three months. We have the talent and experience among us to deliver the goods."

In the domestic competition, Wayamba steamrolled their way to the title, winning every game, most of them by big margins. Asked about his team's strengths, he mentioned the opening combination of Jayawardene and 36-year-old Jeevantha Kulatunga, who was Player of the Tournament. "We won most of our games quite easily, lot of that due to Mahela and Jeevantha who gave us brilliant opening stands right throughout the tournament," Mubarak said. "But apart from that there's the bowling and the fielding, the combined team effort and the unity with which we played."

Another of Wayamba's strengths is their spin department, spearheaded by left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis, who could fluster the many batsmen in the Champions League who have never faced him. "It is very tempting [to play both spinners], depends in addition to the conditions on the opposition as well, how well they play spin," Mubarak said. "It is early summer in South Africa, pitches might be on the slow side, might take a bit of turn."

The team have a couple of warm-up matches, against Royal Challengers Bangalore and local side Titans, who did not qualify for the tournament, to get used to the South African conditions. Jayawardene said holding the Champions League in different countries will help increase the number of cricket fans around the world. "Taking the Champions League across makes sense, you create a new audience," he said. "We saw the second IPL, when we played in South Africa, the fan base there surprised everyone, taking it across the cricket playing countries would create a different brand itself and a new fan following as well."

Wayamba's first game is against South Africa's Warriors on September 11. The other teams in their group are IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, Big Bash winners Victoria and New Zealand's Central Districts.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

Champions League Twenty20 2010

Shane Bond in coaching role for Central Districts

Cricinfo staff

August 31, 2010

Text size: A | A

	Shane Bond will be heading to South Africa with Central Districts © Getty Images Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Shane Bond Series/Tournaments: Champions League Twenty20 Teams: New Zealand

Shane Bond, the former New Zealand fast bowler, has been appointed assistant coach of Central Districts for the Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa. He will be deputising for coach Alan Hunt and will be in charge of the team's pace attack.

"I love cricket and I love being involved in the game. I think I've got a bit to offer," Bond told the Dominion Post. "I've set some targets that I'd like to coach at a higher level. This is a nice opportunity to cut my teeth and then see what happens. I'm hoping to make a good impression."

Bond played 18 Tests, taking 87 wickets at an impressive average of 22.09. He also represented New Zealand in 82 ODIs and played for Canterbury in the domestic circuit. He announced his retirement from international cricket in May this year after having stepped out of the Test format in December 2009.

Central Districts, led by batsman Jamie How, will be without the services of some of their senior players for the tournament. Ross Taylor will be representing Royal Challengers Bangalore, allrounder Jacob Oram has been ruled out due to an injured knee and Graham Napier has a stress facture of the back. However, they boast a strong pace attack including Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne and Ben Wheeler. A fourth seamer, Bevan Small, will miss the tournament due to an injury.

"CD are lucky to have four of the best young bowlers in the country. They're all very talented and it's quite exciting to be working alongside those guys. Milne and McClenaghan get it through at around 140kmh."

Central Districts qualified for the Champions League by beating Auckland in the final of New Zealand's domestic Twenty20 tournament in January this year. Despite their depleted line-up, Bond was optimistic. "We've got some inexperience but that's one thing that you fly under the radar."

Champions League Twenty20 2010

Champions League Twenty20 has challenges - Sundar Raman

Cricinfo staff

August 31, 2010

Comments: 16 | Post yours as Ajay Chaudhary | Text size: A | A

	Lack of team recognition is a problem the tournament organisers are working towards fixing © Global Cricket Ventures-BCCI Enlarge
Related Links Series/Tournaments: Champions League Twenty20 Teams: Chennai Super Kings | India | Mumbai Indians | Royal Challengers Bangalore | South Africa

The 2010 Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa will be a success but there are challenges to building its popularity, the tournament's CEO Sundar Raman has said.

Last year's tournament drew low television ratings and relatively sparse crowds in India, the world's largest cricket market, for matches not involving IPL sides. Raman admitted the lack of team recognition is a problem and one the tournament committee is working hard to fix.

"For us it is very important that people know the teams," Raman said in an interview with Sportz Power, a website that covers the business of sport in India. "South Africa is going to be different because they are used to a club culture. Now we are starting with an advantage because they know the two South African teams and they know the three IPL teams, so recognition is not 3 on 12 [last year] but it's 5 on 10. So that's a big advantage for us."

At the same time, Raman said that in any global tournament, be it the cricket or football World Cups, there will be teams that are unfamiliar to a particular country's fans. "Here you have three teams to follow, and not one team to follow. That is the big advantage [for Indian fans]."

Still, despite the club culture in South Africa, ticket sales have been mixed to this point. Raman expected Durban and Port Elizabeth to have full houses but said there were concerns about Centurion, which doesn't have a home team in the tournament, and Johannesburg, which does not feature either an Indian or a South African team.

"See CL T20 we have to be clear is not going to get international visitors, rather it's going to develop the local market. That's the big challenge for us and I think that's what we should start focusing on rather than trying to get the world to descend on South Africa."

The other important change this year, Raman said, is to let the quality of cricket be its own advertisement instead of diluting it with Bollywood-style entertainment. The tournament was conceived as a global event, so what entertainment there will be is aimed at a global audience, which is why Enrique Iglesias was chosen to sing the theme song.

"It has to have relevance," Raman said. "Someone like Enrique cuts across genres and brings in a new set of audiences. Our belief has always been that T20 is a great platform to get new audiences into the game. For us this is a big advantage. Bringing in Enrique, taking the tournament to South Africa, adds more fans."

The tournament, which begins on September 10, is being aggressively promoted around the world. In India, ESPN Star Sports (ESS), which owns the broadcast rights, has signed Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan as the event's brand ambassador and has been running a string of ads featuring the actor and players such as Sourav Ganguly and Andrew Symonds. The three IPL teams - Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians - are also running their own marketing campaigns to drum up excitement among their fans.

"Each of the sub-licensees of ESPN Star Sports are promoting it in a big way," Raman said. "Eurosport is broadcasting in 13 languages, then they have ESPN broadcasting in the Caribbean market. It's a big investment that all of us have made in this. Australia is doing some serious promotion through publicity and on-air promotions. So the tournament is being promoted pretty heavily through our broadcasters."

The end result is an event Raman believes will appeal to the viewer in India and the spectator in South Africa. "I am more confident than I was last year because I have seen what the product was last year. I believe that not only will it be a huge success in India but it will be far more well received in India. You have to acknowledge India is the market where there are sizeable TV audiences and South Africa is where the stadium audiences are."

Sehwag quits as Daredevils captain

Virender Sehwag has stepped down as captain of Delhi Daredevils, the franchise said on Monday. Sehwag is coming out of a shoulder injury and said he wanted to focus on his batting. Gautam Gambhir will lead Delhi in next month's Champions League Twenty20, and is expected to remain captain in next year's IPL, with wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik as his deputy.

"I would like to thank GMR [the franchise owners] for their understanding in accepting my request to step down," Sehwag said. "Personally, I would like to concentrate on my own batting and contribute to the team."

Sehwag, 30, said he had full faith in Gambhir, who had captained the side during the second edition of the IPL and had also been a Ranji Trophy-winning captain for Delhi. "Gautam did a great job of captaining Delhi and also during IPL 2 in South Africa this year," Sehwag said. "He has shown very good leadership skills and will bring fresh energy into the Delhi Daredevils."

Gambhir, on his part, said he would draw from his experience of leading Delhi on the domestic circuit. "I am delighted at my selection as captain of Delhi Daredevils and I am committed to deliver my best," Gambhir said. "I have led Delhi in the past and it was an enriching experience. Hopefully, I can put into practice all that I have learnt.

"I have always looked up to Viru [Sehwag]. He has been a guide and friend for me. It is always difficult to fit into the shoes of someone as illustrious as him. I can always turn to him for any advice, as also to the other seniors in the team. We have had great camaraderie in the side and this will help us reach greater heights."

'I don't want to be captain' - Sehwag

	'I want that I should continue to score runs and keep winning matches for the team' © AFP
Related Links Players/Officials: Virender Sehwag Series/Tournaments: Champions League Twenty20 Teams: Delhi Daredevils | India

Indian batsman Virender Sehwag has said he doesn't want to lead the team and suggested that a new face be given the vice-captain's responsibility, so that he can be groomed to take over the reins after captain MS Dhoni.

"I don't want to be a captain, I have already told selectors about it. I have said that a new player should be made vice-captain and be groomed to be a captain," Sehwag told Indian news channel News24. "I want that I should continue to score runs and keep winning matches for the team."

Sehwag, 30, was appointed vice-captain in October 2005, with Rahul Dravid replacing Sourav Ganguly as captain. A dip in Sehwag's form in 2006-07 resulted in VVS Laxman assuming the vice-captaincy responsibilities in Tests, albeit for a brief period. Sachin Tendulkar was appointed deputy for the 2007 World Cup before the position went to Dhoni soon after.

And it was only when Dhoni became captain in all three formats, the last being for Tests after Anil Kumble's retirement in November last year, that Sehwag regained the vice-captaincy. But a shoulder injury for Sehwag in the lead-up to the World Twenty20 in June this year resulted in the deputy's position going to Yuvraj Singh. However, Sehwag hoped to regain his fitness completely before turning out for the Delhi Daredevils in the Champions League, beginning on October 8.

Sehwag also considered Ganguly as the best leader he had played under. "Sourav Ganguly has been the best captain India ever had," Sehwag said. "Sourav took over as captain of the India cricket team when it was going through a very bad patch. The Indian team was struggling to put come out of the match-fixing scandal. He had a responsibility to put together a new team and he did a splendid job."