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Rajasthan Royals batsman Brad Hodge will not be fit for the Champions League T20 final on Sunday, the Royals coach Paddy Upton has told ESPNcricinfo

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2013Rajasthan Royals batsman Brad Hodge will not be fit for the Champions League T20 final on Sunday, the Royals coach Paddy Upton has told ESPNcricinfo. Hodge had injured his knee during the semi-final against Chennai Super Kings last evening in Jaipur. He has had scans on his knee, the results of which are awaited.Hodge had collided with Shane Watson, whose head hit Hodge’s knee, at point during the final over of Chennai Super Kings’ chase and had to go off the field. Shaun Tait, the Australian fast bowler, is the only overseas player available on the Royals bench.Losing Hodge is a blow to Royals’ chances of winning their maiden Champions League title. Batting at No. 6 in the role of a finisher, Hodge has scored 109 runs in three innings – two not-outs – at a strike rate of 198. His unbeaten 52 off 23 balls against Otago was instrumental in Royals securing a home semi-final, which they won by 14 runs.

Essex came crashing down to earth after a run of four consecutive Yorkshire Bank 40 victories as Derbyshire romped to a 63-run win with 41 balls to spare in a record-breaking Group B match at Leek.

09-Jun-2013
ScorecardShivnarine Chanderpaul provided a solid foundation for Derbyshire•Getty ImagesEssex came crashing down to earth after a run of four consecutive YorkshireBank 40 victories as Derbyshire romped to a 63-run win with 41 balls to spare ina record-breaking Group B match at Leek.Derbyshire’s total of 321 for 5 was their best ever in a 40-over game and wasthe highest score Essex had conceded in one-day cricket.Shivnarine Chanderpaul made an unbeaten 85, Wes Durston hammered 71 from 46balls and 21-year-old Staffordshire-born allrounder Alex Hughes made his firstsenior half century with 59 not out from 36 balls.Mark Pettini replied with 88 from 68 balls but Essex came up well short whenthey were bowled out for 258 in a game which contained 20 sixes with Hughestaking 3 for 56.Derbyshire’s batsmen turned up the heat in the Staffordshire sunshine from thestart with Chesney Hughes hitting the opening three deliveries from TimPhillips for four. Although David Masters trapped him lbw in the third over, Durston drove theseamer for two sixes and pulled Sajid Mahmood for another six as he raced to a34 ball fifty which also contained seven fours.The 100 came up in the 12th over and, although Durston was bowled trying topull Mahmood, Chanderpaul and Wayne Madsen kept Derbyshire on course for a bigtotal by adding 78 in 10 overs.Chanderpaul straight drove Phillips for six and pulled a Tom Westley full tossfor another and although Madsen got a leading edge to mid-off after a run a ball33, Hughes launched an explosive assault on the Essex bowlers in the last 10overs.He pulled and drove Masters for two sixes and two fours in an over which cost21 on his way to a 32 ball half-century and he ended the innings by drivingGraham Napier over long-off and into the trees for his third six.It left Napier with bruised figures of 1 for 76 from eight overs, his mostexpensive for Essex, five days after his 7 for 32 and four wickets in fourballs against Surrey.It was an impressive display of controlled hitting from Hughes whose stand withChanderpaul was worth 102 in 10 overs and left Essex chasing a formidable target,even on a small ground. Hamish Rutherford launched the chase by driving Durston for six but the New Zealand opener was caught behind trying to cut Mark Turner and Westley chipped the paceman to midwicket in his next over.Pettini was dropped by wicketkeeper Richard Johnson on 18 and he and OwaisShah took the score to 101 before Tim Groenewald had Shah lbw for 24 in the 15thover.He struck an even bigger blow in his next over when Ryan ten Doeschate playedacross the line and was lbw for 6 and when James Foster was caught a long leg,Essex were 130 for 5.Napier threatened to turn the game with four sixes in his 16 ball 38 until hecarved Mark Footitt to mid-off and after, Pettini drove Alex Hughes to mid-off as well,it was left to Phillips to strike some defiant blows before Hughes rounded off amemorable day by claiming the last wicket.

ESPNcricinfo previews the second T20 international between England and New Zealand

The Preview by Alan Gardner26-Jun-2013Match factsJune 27, The Oval
Start time 6.30pm (1730 GMT)Never mind Kevin Pietersen, what might sort of carnage might Hamish Rutherford unleash?•AFPBig PictureKevin Pietersen was in the England dressing room on Tuesday evening and, all being well, he will return to don their flashy new red pyjamas and take to the field for the second T20 international against New Zealand on Thursday. In between he netted with his team-mates (and was excited enough to tweet about it) and although his contribution will be largely meaningless in the broader sweep of an Ashes summer, particularly after his strutting, unbeaten 177 for Surrey at the weekend, the sight of him in an England shirt for the first time since March will settle a few nerves.The question of who makes room for him was settled after Eoin Morgan was ruled out of the match with a minor hand injury. Before Morgan’s enforced absence, any of the batsmen would have been unfortunate to be dropped after all impressed as England narrowly failed to pull off their highest successful run chase in T20s.Morgan, who will now be replaced by James Tredwell as captain, joked after the first match that it would be Pietersen’s job to come in and win the second T20 and that would probably fit the bill for a partisan Surrey crowd, as well as England’s limited-overs coach, Ashley Giles. With Pietersen in the XI, England will also be able to rival New Zealand and Brendon McCullum for IPL glamour, in another sell-out match that comes a day after the launch of the domestic FLt20 in slightly more muted circumstances.For New Zealand, there is the opportunity for another series victory in England’s backyard after their ODI reverse. Over 15 contests in all three formats since early February, New Zealand have won five (three ODIs, two T20s) to England’s seven (two Tests, three ODIs, two T20s) and no neutral onlooker would begrudge McCullum’s team making it 6-7 after nearly five months of cricket in which the difference between the two countries has consistently belied the gap in the rankings.Form guide (most recent first)England LWLWW
New Zealand WLWLL
In the spotlightFrom an England perspective, the spotlight is unlikely to stray from Pietersen for long but should a few photons be going spare they wouldn’t be wasted on Ben Stokes. The Durham allrounder made his first England appearance in two summers on Tuesday; his bowling stood up better than several of his more senior colleagues and although he couldn’t quite secure victory with the bat he showed his power with one towering six.Tom Latham was given an opportunity with bat and gloves and, one missed stumping apart, gave a good account of himself. His merry hitting helped sustain the momentum of New Zealand’s innings, he took a superb diving catch to dismiss Luke Wright, England’s top-scorer, and then managed to run out Jos Buttler at a crucial stage (possibly with the aid of a little luck). With BJ Watling’s injury and uncertainty surrounding Luke Ronchi, Latham has the chance to further his claims.Team newsChris Woakes’ evening ended after around ten minutes in the first T20 – his one over costing 19 runs – he might have made way for Pietersen’s return but may have earned a reprieve after Morgan’s hand injury.England 1 Michael Lumb, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Luke Wright, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ravi Bopara, 6 Chris Woakes, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Ben Stokes, 9 James Tredwell (capt), 10 Jade Dernbach, 11 Boyd RankinMcCullum suggested that Guptill would struggle to be fit for the second game and if New Zealand decide against risking further damage to his hamstring, James Franklin will get another chance as a pinch-hitting opener. Kyle Mills and Doug Bracewell are the other fast-bowling options in the squad.New Zealand 1 Hamish Rutherford, 2 James Franklin, 3 Brendon McCullum (capt, wk), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham, 6 Colin Munro, 7 Corey Anderson, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Ian Butler, 10 Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Ronnie HiraPitch and conditionsThe pitch, situated towards the south-west side of the square, was exceptionally quick and bouncy, with one short boundary that both teams targeted to good effect. Morgan felt New Zealand’s 201 for 4 was ten runs below par, though a chance of rain on Thursday might dampen the prospects for a repeat.Stats and trivia New Zealand’s win was only their third over England in ten T20s – and their first in this country.
Since returning to England’s T20 side last year, Luke Wright has scored 346 runs at 31.45 and taken 10 wickets at 18.10. Before that, he averaged 15.43 with the bat and 36.50 with the ball.
Hamish Rutherford’s 62 at The Oval was his first international half-century since making 171 on Test debut in March.
Quotes”It’s very small margins especially in Twenty20 on a very good wicket. One blow and we would have won the game.”
“He got out first ball – that can happen.”
June 27, 11.45pm GMT – This article was updated with the news that Eoin Morgan had been ruled out of the match with a hand injury.

Ryan McLaren has much to do if he is to secure a place in the South African team for the Champions Trophy

Firdose Moonda08-Mar-2013Barring a few minor tweaks, the squad Gary Kirsten has for the current series against Pakistan is the one that will represent South Africa in the Champions Trophy in June. As a result, almost everyone in that unit knows they are not playing for their place but to enhance their skills and accumulate match practice. Almost.Ryan McLaren is one of those who is not.As the current first-choice allrounder, McLaren is likely to compete with Jacques Kallis for a spot in a major tournament XI and it does not take a rocket scientist to know who will win that battle. It puts McLaren in a tricky position because, although it may not be as harsh as him clinging on by his fingernails, it could get there.Kallis does not play bilateral one-day series anymore as part of his management programme. Kirsten said after 18 years of service that is a more than acceptable concession. But Kallis wants an ICC medal as much as the next South African cricketer, so management remain “in negotiation” with him for the Champions Trophy and the World Cup.Whether he will be at either of those events will depend on his fitness after the IPL and his own willingness. If he makes himself available and his body agrees, Kallis will definitely be part of the squad. McLaren will not be discarded completely but he may be an understudy. He remains the ODI all-rounder and all indications are that he will be given a fair run.Like Robin Peterson did when he was offered an extended rope, McLaren will have to do something with that to keep ahead of the likes of Chris Morris, who is emerging as another option at bay. Currently, one of the only things to choose between them is experience and McLaren’s is more valuable in time than numbers.His international record reads like that of a bit-part all-rounder. Ideally, he would like his batting and bowling statistics swapped around. In 16 matches over the last four years, McLaren averages 10.66 with willow and 32.52 with leather. His most memorable performance was probably only one moment long – the one in which he hit James Franklin for six off the last ball to win the third ODI against New Zealand in January in a series that South Africa had already lost.Domestically, McLaren has enjoyed far greater success. In 132 List A matches, he has scored eight half-centuries and averages 32.57. He has taken 157 wickets at 27.56 and is known for his dependability above everything.Noble a quality as that is, it is also forgettable because it is overshadowed by exciting talents who produce dramatic performances. McLaren knows that he has to come with a few of those in this series. “We know that when we go to the Champions Trophy, we will try and take the strongest squad available so there are a few guys in this team that want to try and cement a place in the side and put their hand up to make sure they go along,” he said, distancing himself from the obviousness of who those players are.Batting at No.7 and bowling behind the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Kyle Abbott may not give McLaren much opportunity but there will be a role for him to play. South Africa’s middle order is notoriously soft and often leaves it to the end for something to happen. A quickfire 15 or 20 runs are not immediately classed as valuable but when they prove the difference between two sides, they are exactly that.To that end, McLaren has been preparing for ways to break free with the bat, especially against the Pakistan attack. “Their strength is in their spinners and our preparation has been specifically focused on how we are going to play their spinners,” he said.In the bowling department, South Africa have lacked at the death but also appear to freeze when confronted with a batsman who has had the confidence to take control. Martin Guptill in the festive Twenty20 against New Zealand and Kane Williamson in the ODI series which followed are classic examples, as is Mohammad Hafeez’s 86 in the Centurion T20.For much of Hafeez’s innings it looked as though the better he got, the more South Africa’s bowlers allowed themselves to shrink away. No-one could come up with the breakthrough and it took a bizarre of hit wicket to end his knock. Guptill and Williamson were both unbeaten because South Africa could not apply sufficient pressure.McLaren said there has been much introspection from the attack in the aftermath. “There has been reflection. As bowlers, we got together and had a chat about what we learnt and what we felt we could improve on. It’s an on-going process, every game is about building for the Champions Trophy.” And for McLaren, it will be about ensuring he is part of the group that travels there.

Allan Donald, the Pune Warriors coach, has said that his players were “scared” after the thunderous assault from Chris Gayle, which set up an enormous 130-run victory for Royal Challengers Bangalore

Nagraj Gollapudi24-Apr-2013Allan Donald, the Pune Warriors coach, has said that his players were “scared” after the thunderous assault from Chris Gayle, which set up an enormous 130-run victory for Royal Challengers Bangalore. A day after the demoralising defeat, Donald admitted that he feared the “mental damage” the innings might have caused his players and said his biggest challenge was to keep them positive for the remaining eight matches.”We came across a bloke yesterday who was just devastating,” Donald told ESPNcricinfo in Bangalore. “I have never seen hitting like that in all my life. To see our guys getting pummeled like that was unbelievable. When I walked out for the first strategy break, I just saw people scared, really scared. I just mentioned to the players that if we don’t pull this back here, he is going to take us down big time, which he did.”Donald realised that the bowlers were clueless and if he did not deliver a stern message, Gayle could play havoc, which he eventually did with ease. “When I looked at their faces and no one said a word, the only way for me was to be very firm in my message; we had to find a way,” he said. “We also discussed in the meeting on the morning of the match that we had to bowl out batsmen who were not going to give up their wicket. We needed someone to stand up and do something special and stop the flow of runs.”As a response Donald observed blank faces. By the second timeout, in the 16th over, Gayle had doubled the team score, taking it past 200 and Donald was frustrated. “To me that plan was about how we were going to limit the damage in the next four overs. The plan was to go full into his pads and also vary the pace,” Donald said.The mental scarring Gayle has inflicted on his players has left the coach worried. “How much damage has this done to us mentally? My job becomes even harder now and I have to make sure these guys are ready against another team that is struggling (Delhi Daredevils) on a ground we have never played (Raipur),” he said. “This group now needs to rally together.”Barring the pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-0-23-0) and Luke Wright (4-0-26-1), at the start and end of the Royal Challengers’ innings, Gayle attacked the rest mercilessly. Donald was not shy to take the blame. He said the bowlers lacked consistency and the team was one experienced strike bowler short.”We haven’t been brilliant,” he said. “We have been okay in certain games and really off the boil in the others. And that is one area where we have let ourselves down. We do not have an attack that is express pace; we don’t have a Dale Styen or a Shuan Tait, though, we have fair bit of class in Kumar and Ashok Dinda.”At the same time, Donald pointed out, Gayle was unstoppable and intimidated the bowlers. “There were times during that knock where he just went ballistic, and then he took a little timeout and then he went again,” Donald said with a chuckle.After the match, he asked Gayle, “Why us?” Gayle said he was in the mood. “He has just said that is the best he has ever hit the ball in his life,” Donald said.

I can’t find a solution as to why we are not responding. I cannot fault the squad that we have got this year. Is it the failures of the last two years that is playing on everyone’s minds or the losing streak that we are on at the moment? Is it affecting everybody?Allan Donald

After their confident victory against Chennai Super Kings, Warriors let the following two matches slip out of their hands against Sunrisers Hyderabad at home and then in Mohali against Kings XI Punjab. The erratic form has left even Donald confused.”I can’t find a solution as to why we are not responding,” he said. “I cannot fault the squad that we have got this year. Is it the failures of the last two years that is playing on everyone’s minds or the losing streak that we are on at the moment? Is it affecting everybody?”The failure of marquee players has made matters worse for Donald. Yuvraj Singh, Ross Taylor, Angelo Matthews and Robin Uthappa have not played any innings of impact. Acting captain Aaron Finch has been the only batsman to score a half-century, striking up three fifties in six games.”The whole team has been hot and cold,” Donald said, expressing his frustration. “If you look at Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, they win the RCB games. The same goes for teams like Super Kings.”The absence of a stable captain at Warriors has been a point of fierce debate. The first-choice captains – Mathews and Ross Taylor – have been battling for form, forcing the team management to appoint Finch, who has led in the Big Bash, as a stand-in leader. “We never had a captain in three years leading us solidly,” Donald said.In their debut season in 2011, Warriors finished eighth out of nine teams in the season. Last year, they slid to the last position. This season they are ahead of last-placed Daredevils. According to Donald, there is no place to hide for Warriors. “We can’t fault our preparations or our planning and strategies, we have been on the money,” he said. “We just haven’t been unable to put it together on the field. There are no excuses, there are no explanations and we have got to turn it around.”

The South African batsmen only faced 22 overs on the second day of their tour match against Kent, as wet weather caused an early end to play

Firdose Moonda at Canterbury14-Jul-2012
Scorecard The South African batsmen only faced 22 overs on the second day of their tour match against Kent, as wet weather caused an early end to play. Hashim Amla anchored the tourists for the second time on their tour of England – having also done the job in Taunton. Charlie Shreck, Ivan Thomas and Simon Cook kept the batsmen under pressure with discipline and the aid of helpful bowling conditions with cloudy skies and high humidity.Amla and Alviro Petersen resumed after a 15-minute delay for a wet outfield and Amla was immediately among the runs as he opened the scoring with a crunching drive through the covers off the back foot. It was a false dawn of sorts, because the pair were forced to retreat into defensive mode as the Kent bowlers gave away little.Matt Coles, who has represented England Lions this season, bowled first change and was the most generous of the seamers. Amla steered his first delivery down to third man for four and cashed in on some of the short deliveries. Simon Cook, who replaced Shreck, was more difficult to negotiate. He found the most movement through the air and caused problems from the outset.Cook got a ball to move away from Petersen in his first over and the edge fell short of second slip then had an appeal for lbw off the next delivery. However, in his second over he found success when another lbw shout against Petersen was upheld although the batsman appeared to think he was outside the line of offstump. Petersen’s dismissal meant that South Africa’s openers face entering the first Test without much time in the middle.Jacques Kallis also had a few nervous moments on arrival when he inside edged Coles for four off the second ball he faced. But he did not long to settle and soon revealed the classic drive before heavy showers brought lunch earlier than scheduled. They continued after the break and with puddles gathering on the edge of the covers play was called off. The third day’s action will start at 10:30.

Alastair Cook will turn his attention to being involved in deciding the future of Kevin Pietersen over the coming days after his international season drew to a close

Andrew McGlashan06-Sep-2012Alastair Cook will turn his attention to being involved in deciding the future of Kevin Pietersen over the coming days after his international season drew to a close with the final ODI against South Africa.At the moment, Cook is still due to play for Essex in their final Championship match of the summer against Yorkshire but, for the next month, hands the captaincy of England over to Stuart Broad for the Twenty20 series against South Africa followed by the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.Before that tournament starts it is expected that England will announce their Test squad for the series against India, which starts in mid-November, rather than wait until the team returns from Sri Lanka. The most pressing issue for Cook is the situation involving Pietersen and whether he will be welcomed back into the fold after his very public issues over the summer.Pietersen is believed to have already met with Andy Flower, the team director, to start the process of trying to solve the stand-off with further talks expected to be held shortly, which is when Cook, who replaced Andrew Strauss as Test captain last week, is likely to become involved.”I haven’t really been thinking about it too much, with the one-day series on,” Cook said after the final ODI at Trent Bridge. “Over the next couple of weeks, it’s certainly an issue which we as the ECB will have to get resolved. It is a situation which does need to get resolved. There is stuff which needs to be talked about behind closed doors. That will happen.”Flower took a break for the deciding one-day international and is due to link back up with squad ahead of the first Twenty20 international in Durham on Friday. With Cook not involved in the T20I set-up, and the final round of Championship matches taking place next week, there is precious little time for everyone to get round a table together with Pietersen before England fly out to Sri Lanka next Thursday.Although Pietersen is the dominant subject in the current discussions he will not be the only issue Cook and Flower will need to ponder ahead of the daunting prospect of four Tests in six weeks in India, although Cook is fairly sure what form he wants the squad to take. “I’m pretty clear,” he said. “Over the next few days we have to sit down.”Jonathan Trott is expected to be fit despite being diagnosed with a broken finger in his right hand, which has ruled him out for three to four weeks. However, another issue confronting Cook, Flower and the selectors is the likely absence of Ian Bell from the Mumbai Test, with his wife due to give birth.That is in addition to having to fill the vacancy at the top of the order left by Strauss’ retirement. A number of players have been mentioned – Nick Compton, Michael Carberry and Joe Root most strongly – plus the option of moving either Trott or Bell up the order.Jonny Bairstow can expect to be included after his successful return to the team while James Taylor, who made his debut at Headingley, will also be in the mix for a middle-order spot. Ravi Bopara, though, could well find his awful one-day series with the bat against South Africa has put paid to his Test aspirations, although having an Essex team-mate as captain could yet prove useful.

Ross Taylor has said he was surprised by the timing of his losing the New Zealand captaincy but not by the decision itself, declaring he felt he never had the support of the coach Mike Hesson

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2012Ross Taylor has said he was surprised by the timing of his losing the New Zealand captaincy but not by the decision itself, declaring he felt he never had the support of the coach Mike Hesson. Taylor, who on Friday was replaced as leader by Brendon McCullum, was told after the ODI series in Sri Lanka that there would be a change of captaincy after the end of the Sri Lanka tour.On Friday, Hesson stressed that what he meant at that meeting, which was also attended by assistant coach Bob Carter and team manager Mike Sandle, was that there would be a change to the limited-overs captaincy, not the Test leadership. However, Taylor said he had been told his captaincy was not good enough and it felt clear to him that Hesson and the team management did not want him in charge at all.”They told me I wasn’t good enough as a captain, wasn’t good enough for this team,” Taylor told the . “To hear I wasn’t good enough was disappointing. It was interesting … I was offered the Test captaincy a couple of weeks [after the Sri Lanka meeting], when it was clear to me from conversations, they didn’t want me at all.”Taylor said he was not surprised by the course of events after Hesson took over from John Wright as head coach in July. “It wasn’t huge shock,” Taylor said. “Hesson never supported me through the whole time I’d been captain, but I was surprised by the timing.”Since taking on the captaincy full-time last year, Taylor led New Zealand to four Test wins from 13 matches, including rare victories in Australia and Sri Lanka, two wins from eight ODIs, and four victories from nine Twenty20 internationals. He conceded that he was still developing as a captain but said he had learnt a lot under Wright’s coaching.”I know I had areas to work on,” Taylor said. “I was far from the finished product, but I lacked a lot of support from the management in a lot of areas, which was disappointing. Under Wrighty I was learning a lot; under Hesson, the relationship was pretty poor. I didn’t think he supported me in that role.”After declining the Test captaincy this week, Taylor declared that he offered his full support to his replacement McCullum, but intended to take a break from the game. Taylor said he did not believe he could put in a complete effort under the circumstances and would return when the time was right.”It’s still fresh and raw,” Taylor said. “It’s been a pretty difficult five months for me. It’s a chance to get away from it, spend some time with the family and have a Christmas. I don’t believe I can give 100% to the game at this time. Cricket is my life and my passion. I love the game and I love playing for my country. But taking a break is the right thing for me right now.”

Namibia eased to an eight-wicket win over Canada in Windhoek after the visitors were bowled out in their second innings for 213 on the fourth morning

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2012
ScorecardNamibia eased to an eight-wicket win over Canada in Windhoek after the visitors were bowled out in their second innings for 213 on the fourth morning. Starting the day on 167 for 7, Canada’s hopes were on Zeeshan Siddiqi, who was unbeaten on 45. While Siddiqi carried on to 73, Christi Viljoen polished off the tail to finish with career-best figures of 7 for 61. Namibia were set a target of 114. Ewald Steenkamp led with a breezy half-century in an opening stand of 86 with Pikky Ya France as Namibia motored to victory in the 26th over. Sarel Burger’s 135 in the first innings, which gave Namibia a lead of 100, proved crucial, as did his four wickets in Canada’s first innings.

Roy Dias, the former Sri Lanka batsman, has confirmed he will take over as Oman’s coach

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2011Roy Dias, the former Sri Lanka batsman, has confirmed he will take over as Oman’s coach. Dias, who played 20 Tests and 58 ODIs in the eighties, has plenty of experience supervising upcoming nations, having spent the past decade in charge of the Nepal team.”I am eagerly waiting to take charge of the Oman national team. The exact terms [of the agreement with Oman Cricket] are being worked out. But as of now, my immediate assignment is to get the team ready for the ACC Twenty20 Cup, which will be played in Nepal in December,” Dias told . “Once I take charge, I would like to get the boys to undergo a proper camp in Nepal in the build-up to the ACC tournament.”Oman won the ACC Twenty20 Cup in 2007, and progressed enough to make it to the qualifying tournament for the 2011 World Cup. However, they fared poorly in that event, finishing 11th to be relegated to the third division of the ICC’s World Cricket League.Dias, 58, said he was familiar with Oman cricket since he had watched the team in various competitions during his time as Nepal coach. “Coaching in Nepal is quite different from coaching in Oman, I am well aware of it. But I will focus on the system that I work in – training the national team while working on building a solid supply line.”I focus a lot on junior cricket, that’s where you get good cricketers from, who you can groom. I tried this method in Nepal. I focused on age-group cricket, and over the years the country began shining in tournaments.”Oman Cricket is expected to formally announce Dias’ appointment next month.