Ntini, Morkel impress Arthur

Calcutta: Delighted with the performances of Makhaya Ntini and Albie Morkel in the IPL, South Africa coach Mickey Arthur felt it’s the biggest plus ahead of the tour of England, says A Staff Reporter.

“Makhaya bowled absolutely brilliantly in both the semi-final and the final and, of course, he also took a hattrick earlier in the tournament. He was bowling consistently in the 140kmph range and he made very effective use of the short-pitched delivery.

Bearing in mind that England have two left-handed opening batsmen in Andrew Strauss and Alistair Cook, it was good to see the left-handers he bowled to in the IPL struggling against him.

Arthur added that Morkel was clearly gaining in confidence with every performance at this level. “There is no doubt that he is going to nail down the No. 7 position in the ODI squad which is a very important role now that Shaun Pollock has retired.”

“Makhaya also fielded extremely well with important run outs in both the semi-final and final.”

DareDevils to tour England

New Delhi: They may not have reached the final of the IPL but the Delhi DareDevils are surely going places and the Virender Sehwag-led outfit is all set to play matches in Dubai and England.

Sehwag revealed plans were afoot for playing a few Twenty20 matches abroad. “It’s still in the planning stage but we would probably play some matches in Dubai and England,” Sehwag said.

Incidentally, Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne had earlier revealed plans for the IPL winners to play a handful friendly matches in Victoria, Australia. Two other IPL teams — Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab — also have similar plans, yet to be made public.

No decision

Kapurthala: Punjab government has not taken any decision to recover an amount of Rs 1.8 crore from the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) for providing police security during seven IPL matches at the Mohali Stadium, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal said

He said so far no decision had been taken on the matter of recovery of money from PCA for providing security during the matches.

Khatra has asked the government to recover an amount of Rs 1.8 crore from the sponsors for providing security during the IPL matches.