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Cameron White, Australia’s former Twenty20 captain, will return to Northamptonshire for the Friends Life t20 campaign.Last season White scored 262 runs at 57 in nine matches but he could not help Northamptonshire avoid a dismal campaign where they finished with one win. In the recent Big Bash League for Melbourne Stars he scored 178 runs in eight innings at a strike-rate of 128.05.White has played 38 Twenty20s for Australia although lost the captaincy after the 2011 series in South Africa when the role went to George Bailey.Northamptonshire are still waiting to confirm their overseas player for the County Championship after their initial target, Rory Kleinveldt, fell through and they are now hopeful of signing the New South Wales seamer Trent Copeland.

Abbottabad held on for a draw against Group II leaders Rawalpindi in Swabi, despite having been bowled out in their first innings with a 352-run deficit. Having lead by 493 overnight, Rawalpindi chose to bat on, reaching 289 for 8 before declaring. That left Abbottabad with an unlikely target of 642 for victory but despite slipping to 80 for 5, they were only required to bat for 37 overs to secure the draw.Rawalpindi’s dominance was built on a career-best 183 by Umar Waheed, as they racked up 498 in the first innings. Saad Altaf and Hammad Azam then claimed four wickets apiece as Abbottabad were dismissed for 146 but, rather than enforce the follow-on, Rawalpindi chose to bat again. Umar Amin, Mohammad Nawaz and Adnan Mufti all made half-centuries, while Abbottabad’s Aziz-ur-Rehman picked up five wickets but in the end there was not time to force a result.Neither Bahawalpur or Karachi Whites could force a result in Multan, although the three points collected by Bahawalpur was enough to move them off the bottom of Group II. After making 362, largely thanks to Kamran Hussain’s 139, Bahawalpur secured a slender first-innings lead by dismissing Karachi for 351, wicketkeeper Owais Rehmani making an unbeaten 146.Four wickets for Faraz Ahmed left Bahawalpur’s second innings in trouble at 109 for 6 but Kamran struck his second century of the match, to help haul the total up towards 250. With eight wickets down, Bahawalpur declared to set Karachi 257 to win and although they set off at a decent scoring rate, the chase was called off after 12 overs. The draw meant second-placed Karachi lost ground on Rawalpindi.In Mirpur, Hyderabad condemned Faisalabad to their third defeat in five matches in a low-scoring encounter. Set 210 to win, Faisalabad were five down at the close of day three and could only muster another 32 runs to be dismissed for 122 and lose by 87 runs. Slow left-armer Nauman Ali claimed 4 for 31, while three other bowlers shared six wickets between them.After being asked to bat first, Hyderabad made the highest score of the match, Sharjeel Khan and Lal Kumar making 63 and 64 respectively in a total of 254. Faisalabad then made 187, after being 18 for 4 early on, but they were given a chance by Asad Ali’s 6 for 53 – to go with five wickets in the first innings – as Hyderabad could muster only 142. But that turned out to be more than enough.In Group I, Karachi Blues extended their lead at the top despite failing to chase a target of 86 against Lahore Ravi. The match at the Gaddafi Stadium ended in a draw with Karachi 69 for 5 from 10 overs, as time ran out. Adnan Akmal’s unbeaten 108 in Lahore’s second innings helped his team to 305 all out, with Saadullah Ghauri absent injured, but it was a crucial ninth-wicket partnership of 64 that helped eat up enough time to deny Karachi victory.After Imran Farhat’s century had underpinned Lahore’s 261, Karachi piled on the runs to build a lead of 220. Akbar-ur-Rehman was largely responsible for that advantage, compiling 225 – only his third first-class century and his highest score – but a second-innings half-century from Farhat and Adnan’s rearguard with Asif Ashfaq staved off the possibility of defeat.There was another draw across the city at the Lahore Cricket Association, as Quetta closed on 193 for 3 in pursuit of 270 to beat Sialkot. Again a stubborn lower-order partnership proved pivotal, as Mohammad Ayub (94 not out) added 52 runs with last man Mohammad Abbas. Fifties from Bismillah Khan, Ali Asad and Qaiser Abbas were not enough for Quetta, whose chase was abandoned after 54 overs.Their target to win would have been the highest score of the match, after both teams failed to pass 250 in the first innings. Sialkot took the three points, having made 232 with half-centuries from Faisal Khan and captain Shoaib Malik, as Quetta subsided to 225 after a century opening stand between Bismillah and Mohibullah.These results mean, with the group stage winding down, Karachi Blues, Karachi Whites, Hyderabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore Shalimar have already qualified for the Super Eights stage of the tournament. While only Karachi Blues have confirmed their place in Super Eights from Group I, the results in Group II in the final rounds will have no bearing on who progresses with Rawalpindi, Karachi Whites, Lahore Shalimar and Hyderabad securing all four spots from the group in that order.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSouth Africa’s bowlers were not given much resistance to work against•Gallo Images

It is early days for New Zealand in South Africa, but in the opening Twenty20 at Kingsmead there was a gulf between the teams that does not bode well for the tour. New Zealand crumbled for 86, only just avoiding a new record low in the format, before the home side cantered to their target with more than seven overs to spare.A callow batting order, with much resting on new captain Brendon McCullum, was always likely to struggle, especially after just one warm-up match to prepare but it was still a hugely disappointing effort. South Africa, though, under a new captain and coach, looked primed for the home season with their only sour note when debutant Chris Morris picked up a leg injury.It was obvious that Ross Taylor’s absence would leave a vast hole and Martin Guptill was also ruled out of this match with a stomach bug, but the top order did not give itself much of a chance on a slightly two-paced surface. The batsmen paid the price for too much aggression too early, perhaps in an eagerness to exploit the Powerplay. Doug Bracewell, at No. 9, made an unbeaten 21 to at least lift them over the 80 they made against Pakistan in 2010.Rory Kleinveldt struck with his first ball with one that bounced a touch more against Rob Nicol to give Quinton de Kock, the debutant wicketkeeper, his first catch. De Kock, who turned 20 earlier this week, was one of seven new caps (three for South Africa, four for New Zealand) handed out between the teams for this match as the sides looked to start afresh after a poor World Twenty20.Dale Steyn had Peter Fulton caught at mid-on before Kleinveldt claimed the key wicket of McCullum who top-edged a hook and was well caught by Steyn running backwards from short fine-leg. After the six-over Powerplay, New Zealand were already tottering at 27 for 3 and it didn’t get better although James Franklin may have received a harsh decision with suggestions the ball brushed his arm when attempting to hook.Morris, another of the debutants, claimed his first international scalp when Corey Anderson, also in his first match, clubbed to mid-off and later added Colin Munro who at least had shown some decent shot-selection before slogging across the line. However, Morris could not complete his allocation after suffering what appeared to be a muscle strain with two balls remaining. Last week he was ruled out of the domestic one-day final with a quad injury so questions will be asked about whether he was ready for this match.Between Morris’s two wickets spin also made a mark as Robin Peterson gained from the slightly tricky nature of the surface. However, it was nowhere near as tough as the scoreline suggested. With New Zealand left to try and bat out the overs – which they failed to do – Peterson was able to collect South Africa’s most economical figures in Twenty20 (2 for 8).South Africa’s chase did not start smoothly when the under-pressure Richard Levi edged Mitchell McClenaghan, a left-arm seamer to add to the plethora of that style New Zealand can call on, to first slip but captain Faf du Plessis and Henry Davids, making his debut at the age of 32, were soon into their stride.Davids was off the mark with a ungainly hack which he edged past leg stump but also sliced a six over deep point while du Plessis drove beautifully through the off side. De Kock, who has come into the international amid much hype, began in eye-catching style by lofting his third ball straight down the ground and showed a touch of class through the off side.To compound New Zealand’s problems some of their ground fielding would have shamed a club side. It really was a horrid evening for them. Twenty20 was meant to be a format where they might, just, have pushed South Africa but on this evidence that theory appears far-fetched.

Shane Watson has bowled 71 first-class overs in the past year. Peter Siddle delivered nearly that many in the Adelaide Test alone. Watson has bowled with the red ball in only one match this summer – the Sheffield Shield game in which he broke down after four overs. Since the start of last season, he has sent down fewer first-class deliveries than Simon Katich. And yet Australia will rely heavily on Watson to ease the workload of the frontline fast men when the Perth Test starts on Friday.It is easy to forget how little long-form cricket Watson has played in recent times. His presence around the squad, and his omnipresence in Twenty20s and one-dayers around the world never keep him away from a headline or a highlights package. But the decider against South Africa at the WACA will be Watson’s first Test on home soil since the disastrous 2010-11 Ashes campaign. How his body will cope remains to be seen, but he is confident that his most recent calf injury is behind him.”Over the last week I’ve been gradually building up my running and my bowling,” Watson said in Perth on Wednesday. “I bowled six overs in the nets yesterday before we left in Adelaide so I’m certainly going to be up to bowling as many overs as Michael [Clarke] wants and probably the normal sort of workload really that I bowl in a Test match. Things have progressed really well over the past week so I’m ready to go.”He needs to be. The heavy burden shouldered by Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus in Adelaide, where the loss of James Pattinson early in the match left Australia one bowler short, will make Clarke reluctant to ask too much of them, given the short break between games. Put simply, it is unlikely the Australians will have the luxury of easing Watson back in with one or two overs here or there, and despite his serious lack of red-ball bowling over the past year, he believes he is up to it.”I understand that could be a possibility and at the moment that’s the biggest challenge for Ben and Peter for their mammoth effort in second innings to be able to freshen up as quick as they can,” he said. “I do understand there will be a possibility of me bowling as many overs as I need to, to be able to help the team hopefully win. But in the end my body is on the condition to be able to do it, so I’m certainly fresh over the past couple of weeks compared to some of the other guys that have been out there.”Fresh is one way of putting it. But the line between being fresh and underdone can be a thin one. That’s something Watson has come to learn the hard way over the course of his career. Rushing back too soon from injury has cost Watson in the past, and he has had more time than most players to ponder the best balance for his game. Typically, bowling has caused or exacerbated his many injuries, even though his batting at the top of the order is his primary role within Australia’s Test side.The Adelaide Test marked an unwanted milestone for Watson: it was the 50th Test he had missed since his debut in 2005. Although he might have been left out of some of the early matches for reasons of form or team balance, the vast majority of his absences have been due to injury, and the numbers are staggering when compared with his batting team-mate Michael Hussey, who also debuted in 2005 and has played 75 Tests without missing one.But despite the frequency with which he has been sidelined, Watson remains unwilling to consider himself a specialist batsman. In his own mind, he remains an allrounder, and it would take a drastic course of events for him to change his thinking – more drastic, that is, than missing more Tests than he plays.”Not unless something goes very horribly wrong, I wouldn’t want to give up on bowling,” he said. “One part I love of the game – I know it puts more pressure on my body to be able to play consistently but it’s something I just love so much and have loved doing since I was an allrounder since I was a young kid. The ultimate enjoyment for me is to play as an allrounder. Mentally the injury setbacks are frustrating at times, but it doesn’t take away the love of being able to contribute with bat and ball.”

Cricket South Africa have agreed to a request from the Sri Lanka board and postponed their Test series scheduled for next year until the middle of 2015. Jacques Faul, CSA’s acting chief executive, said the change would give South Africa’s players an opportunity for rest after the Champions Trophy, which takes place in England next June.Sri Lanka Cricket had asked for the three home Tests, due to have been played at some point in July and August 2013, to be moved in order to accommodate a one-day tri-series featuring West Indies and India. The rearrangement also averts South Africa’s visit from clashing with the Sri Lanka Premier League, which is likely to begin in early August.CSA said it was still committed to playing five ODIs and three T20 internationals in Sri Lanka next year, as mandated by the Future Tours Programme (FTP). The Tests have now been put back until June 2015.”We have acceded to the request for two reasons,” Faul said. “In the first place we have a very good relationship with Sri Lanka Cricket and we have done our best to assist them. In the second place it actually works out quite well for the Proteas in handling their workload effectively.”Had we proceeded with the Test series in Sri Lanka next year it would have meant that the Proteas would have played 11 Test matches between July 2013 and March 2014. In addition they would have had no break between the start of the ICC Champions Trophy [in June 2013] and the end of the ICC World T20 in Bangladesh in April, 2014. The rescheduling of the Test series means that the Proteas will now have a three-week break between the Champions Trophy and the limited-overs series in Sri Lanka.””The matter has been discussed with the Proteas team management as well and it has been agreed that this is the best way forward both for CSA and Sri Lanka Cricket. The Proteas will now undertake their Test tour of Sri Lanka in June 2015, before they move on to Bangladesh in July as part of the ICC Future Tours Programme.”I would like to stress that there was never ever any question of the Test series against Sri Lanka not happening. The status of Test cricket is paramount as far as we are concerned. We retain the same number of Tests as far as the FTP is concerned until 2019-2020.”The agreement means that after completing their tour of Australia, which includes three Tests, Sri Lanka have only four Test matches – two against Bangladesh and two against Zimbabwe – slated between January and December next year. A two-Test series against West Indies that would have potentially clashed with the 2013 IPL was scrapped last month.

Gary Kirsten, the South Africa coach, will leave the England tour a couple of days early and miss the final Twenty20 international at Edgbaston to spend some time with his family before the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.Russell Domingo, the assistant coach, will take charge of the squad for the last match of the tour. South Africa remain 1-0 up after the washout at Old Trafford and it had been a long-term part of the planning that Kirsten would spend a few extra days at home.”I have made a decision to go home and to see my family, that is something that has always been part of my thinking when I took up this job,” he said. “I think it will be good for the team, just to have me out of the space for a little bit and to see how the ship runs. I’m looking forward to seeing how that unfolds.”South Africa have a warm-up match in Sri Lanka on September 17 before their first group match three days later against Zimbabwe. Following the tournament South Africa will return home for a short period before leaving for their tour of Australia, which includes three Tests from early November to early December, before a full home season with visits from New Zealand and Pakistan. Other than missing part of the Australia Test in Cape Town last year when his wife had a baby, Kirsten has been ever-present since taking the job in June 2011.Regardless of the outcome of the final Twenty20 this will go down as a hugely successful tour for Kirsten after South Africa secured the Test series 2-0 to go to No. 1 in the world. A more inexperienced team then fought back to level the one-day contests at 2-2, although that meant losing the top ranking they had gained earlier in the series. If it had not rained in Manchester on Monday, they were favourites to take theTwenty20 series there.Kirsten is not the only coach who has taken time away from his team recently. England have used a similar approach with Andy Flower, with him missing the final one-day international against Trent Bridge – a match where England were heavily beaten. Last year he also sat out the ODI against Ireland, in Dublin, and on both occasions Richard Halsall, the fielding coach, took charge.There is also a strong likelihood that Flower will be given another, more extended break, from his role at some point over the next six months, part of an acknowledgement that it is not only the players that need their workloads managed.

England’s bowlers took only two South Africa wickets in the first Test at The Oval but their captain, Andrew Strauss, backed them to take ten times as many in each of the final two Tests at Headingley and Lord’s to win the series and retain their No. 1 Test ranking.England’s place as the top-ranked Test team in the world could not look more precarious after South Africa pulled off victory by an innings and 12 runs in an extended afternoon session to go 1-0 up in the series – a win described by former England captain, Nasser Hussain, on Sky TV as “an annihilation”.England were bowled out a second time for 240, with fast bowler Dale Steyn finishing with 5 for 56 and the legspinner Imran Tahir 3 for 63. It was England’s first defeat by an innings at home since they lost to Australia at Headingley in 2009 – and Leeds is next up.But Strauss said: “We have an outstanding bowling attack. You have to give South Africa credit for how they batted but I still back our bowling attack’s ability to take 20 wickets on most Test match surfaces.”Our bowling attack has huge reserves of confidence. They have taken 20 wickets pretty much every time they have played for the last two years and this game doesn’t change that for me.”England were kept in the field for nearly thirteen-and-a-half hours and two key members of the attack had needed injections before the game to ensure their fitness, but Strauss suggested their gruelling experience had left no long-term side-effects.”They are all fine,” he said. “They are a bit weary having spent two days in the field, but there are no causes for alarm at this stage.”England’s bowlers went straight from a five-match one-day series against Australia to the Test series, but Strauss refused to accept that as an excuse for a defeat that has caused reverberations around the cricketing world.”Our preparation was fine,” he said. “No excuses. We have to win the next two games. I believe we can do that. I didn’t think our bowlers bowled that badly, but we didn’t get the ball swinging conventionally or reverse.”You have to give credit to the South African batsmen. They got in and they went big. South Africa played some outstanding cricket and deserved to get on top of us. The concentration they showed with the bat was outstanding. There is a lot of frustration but there are lessons to be learned and we will learn them.”Strauss conceded that England, having lost four wickets on the fourth evening, were up against it on the final morning as a large fifth-day crowd packed into The Oval hoping to witness a great escape.”The odds were always against us having lost four wickets last night,” he said. “The wicket was still pretty flat and we are frustrated that we didn’t make it harder for them in those conditions. I suppose South Africa had a bit of a psychological advantage with us having been in the field for a period of time. We did not react well enough to that and that leaves a sour taste in the mouth.”England now have some difficult decisions ahead of the second Test. Ravi Bopara, whose Test batting place has never been secure, will again come under scrutiny after a double failure at The Oval and there will be calls for Steven Finn to add some aggression to the pace attack. The approach of this England set-up would make it a major surprise if they made more than one change.Strauss also had an answer for those wondering just how highly this defeat ranked on the scale of England disasters. “I don’t sit there ranking defeats,” he said.

Bangladesh started the tournament with a win on Saturday but could not back it up on Sunday, beaten comprehensively by South Africa at Allan Border Field in Brisbane. Quinton de Kock showed why he has already made a name for himself at first-class level for Gauteng, striking 95 at better than a run a ball after the South Africans were sent in by Bangladesh. Theunis de Bruyn also made a valuable contribution of 63 and by the time their partnership was broken, South Africa were 170 for 3. The rest of the South Africans chipped in and took the total on to 294 for 8, despite three wickets each for the spinners Noor Hossain and Nasum Ahmed.The chase began poorly for Bangladesh as Corné Dry removed both openers within the first four overs. Only three batsmen passed 20 in the Bangladesh innings and after a 58-run third-wicket stand between Nurul Hasan (27) and the captain Anamal Haque (39), both of whom fell to Vincent Moore, there was little else for Bangladesh to celebrate. Al-Amin made 33 but wickets kept falling and Bangladesh were dismissed for 161 in the 35th over, leaving them on the wrong end of a 133-run defeat.There was more bad news for Bangladesh when the batsman Asif Ahmed was reprimanded for showing dissent at the umpire’s decision.England sealed a comfortable seven-wicket win over Ireland at Endeavour Park after bowling out the opposition for just 109. Left-arm seamer Reece Topley was among the wickets again, picking up three for 14 in a nine-over spell that included four maidens. Ireland, after being put in, began slowly and slowed down further as they lost wickets regularly. Only three of their batsmen managed to reach double-figures, with a highest of 28 from Tyrone Kane. Andy McBrine made 16 and captain George Dockrell contributed 26. Each of England’s six bowlers was economical and five among them bagged at least a wicket each.England lost their openers early in the chase but were steadied by a 32-run stand between Ben Foakes and Craig Overton. Foakes fell with the score on 54, but Overton, joined by Aneesh Kapil who made an unbeaten 32, helped see his team through as the game was sealed in the 37th over. The win was England’s first in this competition, having been beaten by Australia on the opening day.New Zealand began their World Cup campaign with a win over Scotland at the John Blanck Oval, set up by a century from Will Young and a collective bowling effort. Asked to bat, New Zealand were given a solid platform thanks to an 88-run third-wicket stand between Young (115) and Robert O’Donnell who made a half-century. Young scored better than run a ball and smashed five fours and three sixes in his knock. New Zealand were 179 for 3 at one stage but slipped to 247 for 9. Ruaidhri Smith picked up three wickets.Scotland punched above their weight in the chase and were in a good position at 86 for 2 in the 19th over. They were then reduced to 110 for 5 but a half-century from Freddie Coleman and his 57-run stand with Henry Edwards gave his team some hope. But both were dismissed in the same over by medium-pacer Connor Neynens, who finished with 3 for 24 in ten overs. Legspinner Ish Sodhi also picked up three wickets and Scotland were bowled out for 208.

Sri Lanka Cricket has auctioned the seven Sri Lanka Premier League teams for an average price of $4.3 million, an SLC official has said. However, the names of the successful bidders, along with their respective teams, will only be announced once they have been approved by SLC’s executive committee.The prices of the franchises represent a substantial increase over the cost of teams in the Bangladesh Premier League, where six teams were sold for $6.49 million, with none of them going for much more than the base price of $1 million. However, the figures still pale in comparison to the IPL, which had its first eight teams bring in $723 million.One crucial difference between the SLPL and the IPL is that the teams have only been leased for an initial period of seven years and not sold outright. At the end of the period, the franchisees will need to sign a fresh agreement but will have the first right of refusal. The reserve price for the franchises had been set at $3 million.In order to determine the teams, the franchises will take part in the player draft, to be held on July 5 and 6. A lottery will be held to determine the order in which players are picked. SLC will determine the value of the contract for each player in advance and the franchises will be made aware of the cost of the player. The players are likely to be drafted in two groups – the first consisting of players from Sri Lanka and the second all the foreign players. The draft is being seen as the best way to ensure that players are evenly distributed among the teams, making it a level playing field.The SLPL was supposed to kick off last year. However, the Sri Lankan board was forced to postpone the tournament after the BCCI refused to allow its players to participate at the last minute, causing a delay in the naming of the final composition of the teams and affecting overall preparations for the event. In addition, SLC’s interim committee that signed the deal was subsequently replaced and there was criticism of some of the clauses in the contract with Somerset Entertainment Ventures by the parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE). A new contract was subsequently signed earlier this year.The SLPL starts on August 10, with the final to be held on August 31. There will be 24 games in total, split between Colombo and Pallekele.

Match facts

Sunday, May 20, 2012
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Sachin Tendulkar has had a modest run this season by his standards•AFP

Big Picture

With Delhi Daredevils crushing Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians are into the playoffs, rendering the 72nd and final league game of IPL 2012 inconsequential. Rajasthan Royals are already knocked out, while Mumbai Indians’ focus will be on the eliminator and whether they will play Royal Challengers Bangalore or Chennai Super Kings.Mumbai Indians and Royals met in the closing stages of last season, with Shane Watson’s 3 for 19 and unbeaten 89 off 47 balls delivering a 10-wicket win. It was also Shane Warne’s final IPL game and his side gave him a rousing send-off with the victory. It may or may not be Rahul Dravid’s final IPL game tomorrow. After a tame loss to Deccan Chargers finished their playoff hopes, can Royals end their season with a win?Mumbai Indians are also coming off a big loss to Kolkata Knight Riders, and could do with a win going into the eliminator.

Form guide

Rajasthan Royals: LWLWW (most recent first)
Mumbai Indians : LWWLW

Players to watch

After the defeat to Chargers, Rahul Dravid reflected on what he said had been an emotional two months for him in this IPL. This has been by far his most productive IPL season, with 457 runs. He might be back next year, he might not be. Tomorrow will his last innings, for quite some time at least.The other great, Sachin Tendulkar, has had a modest run this season by his standards, averaging 25.50 from 11 innings with just one half-century. Like all batsmen have this season, he struggled to pick Sunil Narine on Wednesday, eventually getting bowled trying to cut a big offbreak. Expect an even more determined Tendulkar tomorrow.

Stats and trivia

• Royals still have a strong home record with 19 wins from 28 games, second only to Chennai Super Kings
• This is Rohit Sharma’s best IPL in terms of runs – 419 so far – but in terms of strike-rate, 2008 was his best year. His 404 runs from that edition came at 147.98 against 129.72 this season
  

  Quotes

  “We accept that we haven’t played the way we wanted to play. People say we haven’t played to our potential, [but] still we are at No.3 [in the points table]. So, if we as a team can play to our potential, I am sure we are going to do well.”