Daniel Vettori asks for IPL window in FTP

With the IPL once again putting to test - and with largely one-sided results - the debate of club versus country, Daniel Vettori believes that an official window for the IPL in the sport's annual calendar could settle the argument. One alternative for smaller boards would be to then go down the path that Vettori hopes New Zealand cricket will take when signing in on the Future Tours Programme for the next few years.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo in Delhi, Vettori said the controversies such as Chris Gayle's spat with the West Indies board, and the discussions between the Indian and Sri Lankan boards over the early release of Lankans from the IPL for the England tour, would not arise if the IPL found its way into the international calendar as well.

"For me, there's a simple solution - you create a window for the IPL and all these probems go away, all the discourse and the conversations about it stops instantly," Vettori said. "A number of people have been talking about it for a long, long time. That would be great, otherwise people will continually be put into these situations and it's a tough decision."

A long-standing captain of New Zealand until he stepped down following the World Cup, Vettori leads the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. He pointed out the dilemma faced by international cricketers when having to choose between country and the IPL. "Everyone wants to play for their country," he said. "But if you understand the amount of money that's involved and its pressures, and sometimes the lack of certainty around your place in the team, it can make it [the decision] difficult. Like I said you can take all those things away by creating a small window around the IPL."

Vettori said New Zealanders had "missed big chunks" of the IPL in the first three seasons, because the team at the time was involved in New Zealand Cricket's (NZC) previous FTP commitments, though they had largely been supportive of their players. He said NZC were looking to accommodate the IPL in their plans when the new cycle of the FTP comes around.

"I think New Zealand is going to try in earnest to make sure that it [players missing out on IPL] doesn't happen in the future and we hope so," Vettori said. "We hope that that window is cleared out because the guys enjoy playing here and there's financial security as well, which helps a lot."

West Indies and England have their international calendars directly overlapping with the IPL's March-April schedule, but it is not yet certain whether the other ICC member boards would want to create their own tacit 'windows' when formulating their FTP arrangements in the coming months.

Vettori's position in the IPL is a unique one: he has stepped down from the New Zealand captaincy and retired from Twenty20 Internationals, but in the IPL he is leading a T20 outfit. His decision to quit Twenty20 internationals came from his desire to focus on his Test cricket. "It [retirement from T20Is] may not be a permanent thing," he said. "At this point in time I would prefer to concentrate on Test cricket and be ready for it, we don't actually play a lot of international Twenty20s so I'm not missing out on too much.

"After captaining the team for such a long time, in some ways it is better to let the new captain find his feet without having the ex-captain in his face the whole time," he said. "I think it will be a little bit easier for him coming in." New Zealand are yet to name his successor with the two candidates for the job being Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor. Vettori, however, refrained from naming his choice.

"My opinion is irrelvant because I don't have any say; I'm good friends with both the guys and enjoy their captaincy styles. They're both quite aggressive captains," he said before correcting himself, "Well they've been aggressive vice-captains and I think they'll do a really good job on the field.

"The amount of time that is taken up outside of cricket and the pressures that come from there," Vettori said, would be an "eye-opener" for the new captain. "That is always going to be the hardest thing to deal with, but they are both mature young men. So I think they will be good for New Zealand whoever they choose Ross or Brendon."

Bangalore have won two of their first six matches and Vettori has found the job of leading a team made up of a diverse group of players "probably more of a challenge" than captaining an international team. "In your national team you know everyone well, you know what to expect pretty much in a given situation," he said. "In IPL, you are getting to know the guys all the time, you are learning all the time, as you have never seen some guys play before. You have to find out different things, so it's probably more of a challenge captaining an IPL team than captaining an international team."

On Tuesday, Vettori will lead Bangalore against his old team the Delhi Daredevils, with both teams trying to climb up the points table. Vettori said the IPL remained "fluid" in the sense that "one man on his day" could decide games. "Your whole concept of where you are as a team changes so quickly," Vettori said, referring to the impact of Chris Gayle's century against Kolkata that took Bangalore up from second-last to fifth. "So if we win this next one, I think we are up to second or something like that."

Barring table-toppers like Mumbai Indians, Vettori said it still remained difficult for sides "to get a real grasp of where you are as a team, because the competition is so close". He predicted that as the IPL drew closer to the semi-finals, there was a good chance that there would be "close to seven eight teams with something like seven wins and seven losses, or eight wins and six losses. It's really hard to know where you are." For the next eight hours or so, Vettori and Bangalore would just like to be on top of their game.

Teams in transition clash on green top

After lacklustre starts to the tournament, both Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore have taken bold steps to try to improve their fortunes; for each of them, the moves worked in their last games. The newly-prepared green top at the Feroz Shah Kotla allowed Virender Sehwag and David Warner to play their strokes, as the ball came on to the bat, and the Delhi fast bowlers enjoyed the bounce they got from the track.

For Bangalore, the shot in the arm came in the form of new signing Chris Gayle, whose century helped turn around a trend that had seen Bangalore not manage an opening stand of more than seven in their previous four matches.

The switch from the traditional slow-and-low Kotla wicket to a livelier one makes sense for Delhi, since all their foreign players are either Australian or South African - and therefore used to bouncy tracks - while their most-expensive player, Irfan Pathan, is a seamer. Tuesday's match will be a test of whether the win against Kings XI Punjab was a one-off or whether their strategy to pack the side with seamers for home games can be a consistently successful one.

From Bangalore's point of view, they will want to make as much use of their new opening partnership before Tillakaratne Dilshan leaves for England, whichcould be as early as May 10.

Adding further interest is the fact that Bangalore snapped up four of Delhi's foreign stars from last year in the January auction. "Old Delhi v New Delhi," Delhi coach Greg Shipperd dubbed the contest, though with several players changing teams in the rejigging, former team-mates clashing is not uncommon.

Apart from the fluidity of players' loyalties, the other salient feature of the IPL tomorrow's match exposes is its innate forgivingness. In many other sporting leagues Delhi and Bangalore's starts of three losses in their first four games may have seen heads roll at the franchises. But because of the congested nature of the IPL table, both teams find themselves in a position where a single win will put them right back in contention for the knockout stages.

Form guide (most recent first)

Delhi: WLWLL (ninth in points table)
Bangalore: WLLLW (seventh in points table)

Team talk

Bangalore's batting has a settled look, but the problems in the bowling department are perhaps illustrated by the fact that Virat Kohli, who has an IPL bowling average of 93.00, has been one of their more economical options this season. They might want to include an extra seamer to make use of the Kotla pitch, but with Dirk Nannes injured there aren't too many options; both S Aravind and Abhimanyu Mithun have gone for more than 10 an over so far, while Johan van der Wath has gone at 9.87. So they may give left-arm spinner J Syed Mohammad, who impressed in the last game, another go.

Delhi went in with five seamers in their last game, and may stick with that strategy since they don't have any established international spinners in their squad. Ajit Agarkar went for 47 runs in four overs in the last game, but the man who could replace him, Ashok Dinda, hasn't exactly set the tournament on fire either.

In the spotlight

Aaron Finch entered the tournament with a big reputation, after his match-winning innings in a Twenty20 international against England, and his impressive performance for Victoria in the 2011 Big Bash. However, he has struggled on the slow Indian wickets, only managing 47 runs from five innings. The grass cover at the Kotla makes it a more familiar habitat and Tuesday is a chance for Finch to justify his billing.

Bangalore would have been pleased with the 123-run partnership between Gayle and Dilshan against Kolkata Knight Riders, and will now be looking for the middle order to give AB de Villiers some more support.Saurabh Tiwary will be key in achieving that end. He hasn't had the same impact since joining Bangalore as he did for Mumbai Indians last season, and will be looking to turn things around.

Prime numbers

• Out of all the bowlers who have bowled more than five overs in IPL 2011, Bangalore captain Daniel Vettori has the best economy rate. He has gone at 5.75 in 20 overs so far.
• David Warner has got the joint-highest number of half-centuries in this IPL, with three in five innings. He is fourth in the list of leading run-getters.

The chatter

"I prefer it when there is some bounce and carry on the pitch … and I'm definitely in favour of this wicket."
Morne Morkel is excited about the change in the Kotla pitch

"Half of their [Bangalore] side played for Delhi. They were our valued players. We tried to keep them in the auction but at last couldn't afford them."
Greg Shipperd, Delhi's coach, recognises the familiar names in the opposition camp

Gayle had written off IPL 2011 until Bangalore call

Chris Gayle says he had written off IPL 2011 and was getting ready to resume international duties before being dropped from the West Indies team for the series against Pakistan. Gayle spoke to ESPNcricinfo on the eve of his second IPL game for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Delhi Daredevils on Tuesday.

"It was to be international cricket for me. Had I been picked, that would have been what I would have done," Gayle said. "I didn't have any thoughts about IPL4. I had written off IPL4, rather I was looking forward to its next year. I should have been there (in the West Indies) playing with the national team, but I am here. It is unfortunate but that is how it is."

Gayle said he had never expected to be in this part of the world at this time. The offer to play for Bangalore came "out of the blue at 3 am. After a party." Gayle's IPL arrival was emphatic, with an unbeaten centurythat set up Bangalore's win against Kolkata Knight Riders after they had gone four matches without a victory. Gayle hammered 102 in 55 balls against his old franchise, leading Bangalore to a nine-wicket win.

He came in to bat at Eden Gardens after having spent the better part of a month without a hit in the nets, working entirely, he said, on physical strength work to recover from an abdominal strain. "An opportunity presented itself, so I am here now to actually do what I can. I have got a good welcome from each and everyone, the players, the owners, and management staff." The abdominal strain? Gayle replied to the question with another one, "What did it look like during the match? That's what it is like now."

In the January IPL auction, Gayle had remained unsold. "It was surprising to be honest when no one took up the bid but based on my knowledge, they said we (West Indies) have a window where we have international cricket at that particular time. So I guess that was the reason, unless there are other things that I don't know about."

Gayle said he did have complaints against the West Indies Cricket Board that had not communicated with him before dropping him for the first two ODIs of the Pakistan series. "I was injured and no one bothered ... haven't I done enough (for the West Indies)? I have given my all and if that is not enough, what is? They left me to fend on my own and I have complaints."

He has followed the progress of West Indies against Pakistan by reading the scores, rather than watching the first of the five ODIs on TV. His interaction with his teammates has been through Blackberry messaging. "I say hi to the guys now and then and wish them well."

Gayle earlier also became one of three West Indian players who did not sign their WICB contracts, becoming freelance players in the several Twenty20 leagues around the world. "I had already pointed out my reasons (for not signing the contract). I thought the contract had too many restrictions and I explained to them (the board) and I explained to the public why I had not signed."

The decision by Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga to retire from Test cricket and choose the shorter format of the game, Gayle said, had little to do with his own situation. "Malinga and I are not in the same boat - so I don't know what's happening with Malinga." The issues of club versus country, he said, could be easily sorted in most cases through communication. "It's simple, they (boards) just have to work it out as much as possible with the individual and see how best we can all co-operate. At the end of the day everyone can be happy and then we can actually move on and we wouldn't have anything dramatic like this."

A window for the IPL would be the next step to avoid what Gayle called cricket's "confusion" between a lucrative Twenty20 league and international commitments. "You have a window for the IPL just like you have a World Cup window. I'm sure there wouldn't be any fuss. That's something they need to take seriously. I'm sure cricket can actually move ahead and everyone will be happy."

Gayle had earlier said that the WICB had left him with no choice. At the moment though, all he wanted to do was, "win the IPL, be on a winning team. That would be the ultimate at this point in time. To lift the IPL trophy and see what it's like."

Pakistan beat West Indies by eight wickets

GROS ISLET: Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, and Mohammad Hafeez all coasted to half-centuries as Pakistan clinched a comfortable eight-wicket win over West Indies in the first one-day international on Saturday.

Misbah hit the top score of an unbeaten 73 from 90 deliveries, and Shafiq supported with 61 not out from 76 balls, after man-of-the-match Hafeez gave the Pakistanis a flying start with 54 from 45 balls in their successful chase of 222 for victory.

Shafiq ushered Pakistan over the finish line with 51 balls remaining when he edged a slog at a delivery from Kemar Roach to third man for a single.

The result gave Pakistanis a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, which continues on Monday at the same Beausejour ground.

Wayward bowling from the visitors in the closing overs had let West Indies finish with 221 for six from their 50 overs.

Wahab Riaz was the most successful bowler with two for 62 from 10 overs, but he and fellow left-arm fast-medium bowler Junaid Khan let their side down.

Pakistan's spin bowling triumvirate of Saeed Ajmal, Hafeez and captain Shahid Afridi tied the West Indies batsmen down in the middle overs in particular.

But the two Pakistani left-arm pacers did not have the same control over the home team's batsmen and Darren Bravo hit 67 from 109 balls to lead the way for West Indies.

"I was very happy when West Indies won the toss and chose to bat because I thought the pitch would help our spinners," said Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi.

"I think our spinners have been doing a great job for us in the last few months, and they again set things up for us.

"The way the openers Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad played was also good to see, and then the partnership between Misbah and Asad brought us home. It was good cricket all around for us."

Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad then gave the visitors a blistering start in an opening stand of 68 before Devendra Bishoo snared both of them in the space of 25 balls to end with two for 48 from his 10 overs.

Shehzad moving down the pitch was stumped for 22 in the 13th over off the leg-spinner, and Hafeez, whose 50 came from 48 balls, was caught at short mid-wicket in the 17th over off the same bowler.

Misbah joined Shafiq and they marched Pakistan to victory with an unbroken, third-wicket stand of 134, a record for any wicket on the ground.

Misbah reached his 50 from 63 balls with a pull to deep square leg for a single off Sammy in the 35th over, and Shafiq arrived at his landmark from 66 balls with an upper-cut to third man for four off Dwayne Bravo in the 39th over.

"We put ourselves in a hole when we were batting, and the spinners were bowling, so we really have to come better in the next game," said West Indies captain Darren Sammy whose team also lost to Pakistan in last month's World Cup quarter-finals.

"I was surprised to see the pitch offer so much turn and bounce, but I will back our guys. We will put in the hard work at practice and come back.

Pakistan lose T20I by 7 runs against West Indies

GROS ISLET, Saint Lucia: Pakistan lost the only Twenty20 International by seven runs in an exciting finish here at the Beausejour Stadium on Thursday.

Chasing a modest target of 151 runs, they made 143 runs for nine wickets in the first ever T20I between the two countries.

For Pakistan, no batsman except Umar Akmal (41) and Asad Shafiq (25) could resist against accurate bowling by the West Indians as leg-break bowler Devendra Bishoo claimed four wickets for 17 runs and fast-medium bowler Ravi Rampaul took three for 31.

West Indies picked a youthful team for the one-off game and the upcoming ODI series, having dropped experienced batsmen Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

One of the young faces, opening batsman Lendl Simmons got West Indies off to a great start with a lively 65 off 44 balls and left-hander Darren Bravo struck 42 off 33 as the Caribbean side brought up their 100 in the 13th over.

But, as so often, Darren Sammy's side failed to build on their good foundation and ended up falling short of a really strong total, with just two other players making double figures.

Pakistan lost both their openers, Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez, early but Umar Akmal's 41 from 60 balls put them in with a chance.

Bishoo, who caught the eye of West Indies selectors with his performances in regional Twenty20 cricket, then showed his value in the shortest form of the game with some astute bowling.

The vital breakthrough came when Sammmy made a fine catch at extra-cover off Bishoo, to dismiss skipper Shahid Afridi (12) and break up what was a potentially match winning partnership.

Sammy then ran out Mohammand Salman and when Marlon Samuels caught Umar at deep midwicket off Ravi Rampaul, Pakistan were in trouble at 109-7.
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But some loose bowling and some spirited resistance from Saeed Ajmal (21 not out) at the end gave the tourists a glimmer of hope and the last pair needed 14 from the final over.

Jamaican all-rounder Andre Russell kept his composure, after a no-ball with his first delivery of the over, and the West Indies had cause for celebration at the start of their home campaigns which also includes two Tests with Pakistan in May and three against India in June.

'My self-confidence helped me' - Bishoo

Legspinner Devendra Bishoo, whose Man-of-the-Match performance helped West Indies win the one-off Twenty20 against Pakistan in St Lucia, has said his increasing "self-confidence" played a big role in the development of his bowling.

Devendra Bishoo produced a match-winning performance in his first international game at home

"My self-confidence helped me a lot from World Cup up to now," Bishoo said. "This is just the starting point of my career and I am enjoying my cricket. Everybody is a normal cricketer and that's the way I go about thinking about it. I just back myself and do whatever I do best."

Bishoo picked up four wickets, including that of Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, and conceded only 17 off his four overs. He said he had focussed containing the batsmen. "We set a target of 151, which we could have worked with, and capitalised on it. When I came on to bowl, I just tried to contain the batsmen. I varied my pace as much as possible and it worked out.

"All wickets are big wickets. I always back myself to do well against the batsmen I come up against. When I came on to bowl I knew the team needed a good performance. I just tried to use my variations and changes of pace."

Bishoo, who was playing his first international match at home, said he now hoped to go on and become a "great cricketer for West Indies."

"This is a great feeling," he said. "It was good to play the way we did and give the supporters something to celebrate. It worked out well today and we are looking forward to the ODI series"

Afridi said the inability of Pakistan's batsmen to string partnerships together contributed to the defeat in a game he believed his team should have won. Their highest partnership was 29 as compared to the 99-run partnership between Darren Bravo and Lendl Simmons for West Indies' second wicket.

"I think the pitch was good for batsmen, and I don't know why we missed this opportunity to win this match," Afridi said. "We are not building any partnerships. This is what has been missing for us for a few months. Bishoo bowled really well, and all of their bowlers delivered in the right areas."

The first ODI of the five-match series will be played in St Lucia on April 23.

'We played as hard as we could' - Wright

John Wright: "I'm all for player power, particularly if it's on the field"

New Zealand coach John Wright has said his team was past its barren run preceding the World Cup, and its semi-final showing had proved that, "we can beat anyone". In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Wright said the World Cup had helped both the morale and the belief of a team that last year had a 14-match ODI streak without a win. New Zealand was the only team from outside the subcontinent to make it to the World Cup semi-finals, ahead of four-time champions Australia and in-form South Africa.

"Losing the semi-final was bitterly disappointing but I hope the team has learnt," Wright said. "I think it has grown. What's important is that we just played as hard as we could with what we had, with the resources we had."

Wright took charge of the team two months before the World Cup, and oversaw Test and ODI series losses against Pakistan before the turnaround. He said his happiest time at the World Cup was "seeing a team start to believe in themselves and in each other. The fight they showed tells you the team can get better. We have the opportunities at this stage to get better."

Speaking last week, before the appointment of John Buchanan as New Zealand's Director of Cricket, Wright did not comment on his choice for the captaincy, or whether he has been given a say in selection matters. "The sooner all this is sorted the better, so the team can move forward and plan for the cricket ahead," Wright said, about the upcoming overhaul of the selection panel. New Zealand will travel to Australia and host South Africa next season, in addition to series against Zimbabwe and West Indies in early 2012.

Wright's two-year stint as the NZC's high performance manager has brought him in contact with the next generation of New Zealand cricketers. "We have got maybe five or six kids that really show a lot of potential," he said. "I have been really impressed with some of the talent I have seen in the last couple of years in under-17 and under-19 tournaments. I know that as long as we can put a playing programme in place that challenges the guys coming through and bridges the gap between first-class and international cricket, the ones that really want to make it, we could hopefully hold our own."

Among New Zealand's next generation, Wright pointed out that Kane Williamson had become part of the set-up and that seamer Adam Milne had also broken into the senior side. Wright said that, "as long as the administration makes the right cricketing decisions," there was no reason for New Zealand to worry about the public turning away from cricket. He believed the advent of the IPL, and pay packets of a scale beyond New Zealand cricket's capacity, could stimulate interest in the game.

Wright said creating competitive playing opportunities for New Zealand's next line should be a key focus area going forward. "One of the things I learnt in India is that you are so dependent on the bit that goes on underneath the national team ... In India, regular A-team touring made a lot of difference. It creates heat on the incumbents, which is good because you don't want comfort zones. Then again, the selection has to be very accurate and ruthless and you have to have succession planning."

Wright didn't believe too many cricketing countries got their succession systems quite right. "You have to be thinking a year ahead at least, that doesn't mean you're changing the team now but you know you have to. You can't stand still."

Until December, when his tenure began, NZC's distancing from Wright bordered on the inexplicable. It was commonly blamed on the influence exerted by the players' association over decision-making until the results started to go completely pear-shaped. When asked for his views on New Zealand's player power, Wright's reply was deadpan. "I'm all for player power, particularly if it's on the field," he said.

Wright said he had enjoyed working with Daniel Vettori, who at one stage, was both captain and selector. "Dan's been great to work with and we have got to know each other," he said. "Dan tried to lead with performance on the field and he achieved that."