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Rajasthan Royals have signed Owais Shah, the England batsman, as a replacement for their former captain Shane Warne, who retired from all forms of the game during last season’s IPL.Shah, who has been part of the Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils and the now defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala in previous tournaments, was instrumental in the Hobart Hurricane’s run to the semi-finals of the Big Bash League this season. He averaged an impressive 70.50 from eight games, scoring 282 runs at a strike rate of 149.20.”We are delighted to have signed on Owais Shah to play for the Rajasthan Royals,” Raghu Iyer, the chief executive of the Royals, said in a statement. “He is one of the most exciting batsmen in the world and has been particularly outstanding in the shorter forms of the game.” Shah should slot into the middle order, where he could be a replacement for Ross Taylor as the team’s finisher. Taylor was traded to the Delhi Daredevils last month.Shah was originally bought by the Delhi Daredevils for $275,000 in the 2009 player auction but did not get a game. Statistically, his best season came in 2010, after he was traded to the Knight Riders. He averaged 57.50 from five games that year, leading the team in that category. In 2011, he was bought by the Kerala for $200,000 but only played three games, making 26 runs from two innings with a strike-rate of 173.33.He was unsold in the 2012 player auction after the Kochi franchise was terminated by the BCCI and a number of players added to this year’s auction list. Warne captained the Royals for the first four seasons before pulling down the curtain on his IPL career. Rahul Dravid has succeeded him as captain.Edited by Kanishkaa Balachandran

Mohammad Amir, the Pakistan fast bowler, has returned home nearly a month after being released from jail in Dorset, where he had served half of a six-month sentence for his part in a spot-fixing scam.He landed at Lahore’s Alama Iqbal International Airport around 4.45am on Sunday and left through a side exit to evade the media. Amir was accompanied by his solicitor Sajida Malik and was received by his father and his brother. They drove back to his family bungalow in Lahore’s Defence Housing Authority area.”He made a mistake and he admitted it,” Amir’s mentor, Asif Bajwa, told ESPNcricinfo. “He is a strong young boy and knows how to withstand pressure both in cricket and in life, so I believe he definitely will return.”Now what required is his image building. He has already served his term being imprisoned in London. We have hired a solicitor from London who will provide us legal aid and we will decide whether to appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport or not.”Amir and two of his team-mates, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, were sentenced in November 2011 at Southwark Crown Court of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat at gambling after a plot was uncovered in a sting operation to bowl deliberate no-balls in a Test against England in 2010.In February 2011, an ICC tribunal had also banned Amir for five years from playing any level of cricket in the world.The Pakistan board is keen to talk to Amir about his future and Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has hinted that Amir will be welcomed to Pakistan cricket once he served his ban.”Obviously someone has to sit with him and listen to his part of the story,” Wasim Bari, the PCB’s Director of Training and Education, told ESPNcricinfo. “I have no directive about any plan from the PCB for Amir but I read about the chairman’s willingness to allow Amir back once he has served his ban. I don’t know what his plan for the future is but if he needs any rehabilitation we definitely will provide him [with it].”The PCB has not made any official contact with the cricketer since his ban but has kept track of the spot-fixing case. It has said it won’t provide any legal cover to the cricketer but could provide Amir anti-corruption lectures and educational lectures.”Obviously we will be meeting him to find out the root cause of the spot-fixing issue in Pakistan cricket,” PCB chief operating officer, Subhan Ahmad, said. “We will talk to him to find out how and why he got involved in this corruption. Initially he was not very honest with us so we need to ask him questions. We also want to discuss his rehabilitation with him.”Edited by Siddarth Ravindran

Kevin Pietersen has blamed England’s lack of enthusiam for the IPL on “jealousy,” fuelling the debate over attitudes towards India’s all-consuming Twenty20 tournament. Interest in the IPL remains limited in the UK, with media coverage virtually non-existent and more attention given to the start of the County Championship season.Pietersen, who along with Eoin Morgan is the only current England international in this year’s IPL, believes he knows why. “The IPL is very much struggling to find acceptance back home,” he told reporters in India. “It saddens me because I have had an amazing time at the IPL.”It’s down to a lot of jealousy I think, which is sad. It saddens me, all the negative publicity the IPL gets in the [UK] media, I don’t know why.”Pietersen, like many England players, is unable to take part in England’s own Twenty20 tournament because it clashes with the international schedule but the BCCI have been careful to ensure their top players are available for the IPL.Pietersen’s comments follow a scathing assessment of the effect of IPL in Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack. Wisden’s editor, Lawrence Booth, complained of: “The rise of a Twenty20-based nationalism, the growth of private marketeers and high-level conflicts of interest,” adding: “It is a perfect storm and the global game sits unsteadily in the eye.”While other England players have been released for early season four-day Championship matches, Pietersen’s emphasis is on the Twenty20 game. “Playing another month in the subcontinent honing my skills, training with the spinners and practising, I consider myself so very fortunate,” he said.”I’d love to see more English players available for … well not only available, I would love to see them picked up because I also see some of the games being played at the moment and I just think … man, up here would have been lot better if the Andersons, Bresnans and Boparas were involved in the IPL,” he added in an interview with CNN-IBN. “The guys like Bell, you’ve got world class players who are sitting in England now wanting to play the IPL when you’ve got some second rate Australians getting gigs here.”So for me, it’s sad that I don’t have fellow team-mates playing in the IPL and embarking on a magnificent journey here in the subcontinent and it’ll help English cricket as well.”England fast bowler Stuart Broad pulled out of IPL this week because of injury, while two more members of England’s attack, James Anderson and Graeme Swann, were unsold.

ScorecardWorcestershire carved out an emphatic seven-wicket victory against Essex in their CB40 match at Chelmsford. Replying to a total of 190 for 9, they reached the winning post with 6.1 overs to spare, as Moeen Ali followed up an economical spell of bowling with a magnificent 99 before he was dismissed with the visitors just eight runs from their target.Sharing the batting limelight with him was Vikram Solanki, the pair putting together an opening century partnership without looking in the slightest trouble. Indeed, they looked so comfortable it came as something of a surprise when Solanki was bowled by left-arm spinner Tim Phillips with the total on 104 in the 17th over. Solanki had struck seven fours when he was dismissed three short of his half-century.But Ali went on to underline his class before pulling Alviro Petersen into the hands of Greg Smith at deep midwicket.Earlier, Essex failed to make use of the solid foundations laid by openers Alastair Cook and Mark Pettini. They had put on 84 when, in the 17th over, Cook was run out after being called through for a single. Daryl Mitchell threw down the stumps from midwicket to bring the England opener’s innings of 47 to an end.Pettini went on to make 64 from 76 deliveries with the help of two sixes and two fours, at which point he was caught in the deep attacking off-spinner Ali to leave Essex 143 for 5. But either side of Pettini’s departure, the batsmen struggled to come to terms with some accurate bowling backed up by fine work in the field.David Lucas, James Cameron and Ali each displayed safe hands in the deep as Essex perished in an attempt to break free, with slow left-armer Shaaiq Choudhry being largely responsible for the decline of the innings. Medium-pacer Shantry picked up 2 for 48 in his eight overs, while Choudhry claimed 2 for 37. But it was Ali who proved the most economical, with Pettini’s wicket at a cost of 27 runs from his full allocation.

Andre Fletcher, Johnson Charles and Carlos Brathwaite are the three West Indies capped players to be selected to undergo intensive training at the Sagicor High Performance Centre (SHPC) in Barbados.The one year programme, which starts on June 1, will aim to develop 16 young players mentally, physically and technically, to deal with the demands of international cricket. Seven of those players selected have represented West Indies in the Under-19 category.During their stint the players will be coached by former Middlesex county academy director, Graeme West, who has been appointed as the new head coach. Andre Coley, the former Jamiaca wicketkeeper, who has been with the SHPC since its inauguration in 2010 will be the assistant coach.In 2011, a team from SHPC in West Indies’ domestic one day tournament, where they lost in the semi-finals to Jamaica.This is the second squad of players picked for training at the SHPC. The first group had several players who went on to represent West Indies, including Kieran Powell, Shannon Gabriel and Devon Thomas.The squad: Marlon Barclay (Trinidad & Tobago), Jermaine Blackwood (Jamaica), Carlos Brathwaite (Barbados), Yannic Cariah (Trinidad & Tobago), Johnson Charles (St Lucia), Sheldon Cotterell (Jamaica), Miguel Cummins (Barbados), Jason Dawes (Jamaica), Andre Fletcher (Grenada), Dawnley Grant (St Vincent), Trevon Griffith (Guyana), Kyle Hope (Barbados), Jahmar Hamilton (Anguilla), Keddy Lesporis (St Lucia), Kjorn Ottley (Trinidad & Tobago), Jomel Warrican (Barbados)

A return to one-day internationals for Kevin Pietersen appears unlikely which means his ambitions to play in the World Twenty20 will continue to be scuppered with Andy Flower, the England team director, sticking to his original stance on the issue.Over the week Pietersen has said he wants to play “three or four” more years in all international formats providing a schedule he is happy with can be negotiated with the ECB. Initial meetings have taken place with the board, but they do not want to be in the situation where a senior player is seen to be picking and choosing when he plays on his own accord.Pietersen continues to believe the demands placed on him if he plays all three formats are far too great. However, claims that “I’ve never been looked after” appear a little wide of the mark given the security that comes with central contracts and the support he has had when injured.Pietersen’s retirement from ODIs meant he became ineligible for Twenty20 international selection as the ECB central contracts stipulate players have to be available for both formats. England need to submit a 30-man World Twenty20 squad to the ICC by Wednesday so time is running out for the situation to be resolved in Pietersen’s favour.Flower, a man of principle who counts loyalty as a major factor, does not see a way back for Pietersen. “As things stand at the moment, no, there isn’t,”he told the Mail on Sunday.”The situation is the same as it was when he first approached us. The ECB are determined to protect all three formats of the game and part of that is not setting a precedent of allowing players to retire from one-day cricket alone.”The intent behind it is that we are serving English cricket in its entirety,” Flower added. “We have to take personalities out of the equation. We all are lucky enough to have the choice about what we do. There are many people in this world that aren’t lucky enough to have a choice. Here we’re talking about a sporting situation and we all have our choices. I don’t have to sign a contract with the ECB if I don’t want to.”In the week leading towards the start of a major Test series against South Africa, which will determine the No. 1 ranking, Pietersen’s stance has created a talking point that Flower wishes was not around.”Situations like these make it a little more complicated,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that they can’t work but it does make it a little more complicated. And I tell you one thing, none of us can afford for these types of issues to be distractions.”Geoff Miller, the national selector who is in charge of putting together the preliminary World Twenty20 squad, said if Pietersen was fully committed to 50- and 20-over cricket he would be welcomed back in the team but his name had not been involved in recent selection discussions. “My job is to pick players who are available,” he said.

ScorecardRamnaresh Sarwan hit a brilliant century to steer Leicestershire Foxes to a thrilling last-ball victory against Worcestershire Royals in the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A clash at Grace Road.In a match reduced to 31 overs a side because of a delayed start, Sarwan hit 100 off 85 balls as the Foxes successfully chased down a target of 215 to win by four wickets and climb off the bottom of the table.It was Sarwan’s second century in the competition and the Foxes’ second successive victory. But they also owed much to a seventh-wicket stand of 31 off 28 balls between Rob Taylor and Will Jones, who came together after the Foxes lost three wickets in the 29th over.Sarwan and Ned Eckersley were both bowled by David Lucas and Matt Boyce was run out, leaving the Foxes needing 29 runs off the final two overs.They managed 13 off the penultimate over but still required another 16 off the last from Lucas. But Taylor smashed a waist high no-ball to the boundary off the first delivery and the batsmen then scampered another six runs during the over leaving them with two to win off the final ball, which Taylor cover drove to the boundary to clinch a remarkable victory.Put in to bat after the start had been delayed by 90 minutes, the Royals posted a challenging 217 for six, with Phil Hughes playing the anchor role, scoring 57 off 58 balls and sharing a stand of 77 with his captain, Daryl Mitchell.Moeen Ali and Vikram Solanki gave the Royals a fine start putting on 55 in the first 10 overs, Ali hitting 40 off 35 balls and Solanki 34 off 35. But it was Mitchell who gave the innings real impetus with a knock of 44 off 29 balls.The Royals scored 57 off the last five overs to set the Foxes a tough chase. Taylor was the pick of the home bowlers with two for 26 off six overs.But it was Sarwan who emerged as the Foxes hero with his stunning innings that included two sixes and nine fours, before he was bowled off an outside edge by Lucas.Greg Smith made a vital 34 off 42 balls, and Taylor then blasted a quick-fire 22 at the death to snatch a dramatic victory.

ScorecardEd Joyce marked his first match as official captain with a fine hundred•Getty Images

To watch Ed Joyce batting over the past two days has been to watch a cricketer playing on a more elevated level to everyone else. Where others have failed to contend with the steep bounce, he has dropped the ball off the face of his bat to his feet. Where lesser batsmen have groped outside off stump against movement, he has picked out the cover boundary. Unlike another celebrated left hander in action, the captain of South Africa, he does not go in for ugly shots.The upshot was a delightful century, the 28th of his first-class career and an innings in magnitude as well as elegance beyond the compass of all other batsmen in this contest. Joyce is leading Sussex for the first time as their official captain and it could just be, as he approaches his 34th birthday, that his batting will flower as a result. It is too late for him to play Test cricket – he is fully committed to Ireland – but the wonder is why he did not do so in the past.When Joyce times the ball as sweetly as this – one straight drive for four off Gareth Andrew stood out in particular – it is hard to imagine that his fellow Irishman Eoin Morgan, who has played Test cricket, is a better batsman. This has not been a straightforward pitch to bat on, as Worcestershire’s total of 162 on the first day would suggest. There has been lift and movement, perhaps a little less pronounced on this, the second day, but there has been Alan Richardson, that consummate old pro, to combat.After Sussex resumed their first innings, Richardson soon bowled Chris Nash and had Luke Wells taken at second slip. Interestingly enough, as with Steve Magoffin on the first day, he bowled exclusively up the slope. The difficulties inherent in contending with the bounce were sharply illustrated when Murray Goodwin, not a tall man, pushed forward to Jack Shantry and was hit painfully on a hand. He was out almost immediately afterwards, not fully forward.Mike Yardy batted for a while with unfettered aggression, having dispensed with the cares of captaincy. He pulled Richard Jones for six onto the top of the media stand (which in contrast to the sleek appearance of the ground has some strange weeds growing on its roof) and it was something of a surprise when he nibbled outside off stump at Richardson and was taken at the wicket, having made 33.Joyce continued to bat at his own pace, unflustered by becoming becalmed on 98 shortly before tea, the same score for which he was out in the last match against Nottinghamshire. A full toss from Moeen Ali encouraged him to sweep, a shot he plays well, and it took him to his second century of the season. He had found by now an attack-minded partner in Luke Wright, who in due course became only the second batsman in this match to reach a half century.Joyce had faced, in all, 260 balls and had hit 12 fours when Richardson, who took the new ball in the final session, had him leg before. Wright, who was out not long afterwards, struck eight fours and a six in his innings of 78. Useful additional runs, maybe quite sufficient, were collected before the close.

Match facts

September 11, 2012
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)Will the rain play spoilsport to much-anticipated comebacks once again?•Associated Press

Big Picture

A phrase that has found its way into cricket jargon of late is “controlling the controllables”. One thing neither team, the fans or the organisers have been able to control is the rain. It has been an unwelcome visitor is all three matches on the tour so far, more so in Visakhapatnam, where thousands made their way to witness the city’s first Twenty20 international and Yuvraj Singh’s comeback from cancer. Southern India has been hit by showers over the last few weeks, and the venue for the final T20, Chennai, has had its share of rain too. The weather has reduced the Twenty20 series to a one-match shoot-out. Both teams will agree that even a completed T20, without interruptions, won’t count as sufficient match practice ahead of the World T20. Much then would depend on the two warm-up games in Sri Lanka before the big event.One player who will be itching to get out there is Yuvraj. Ideally, he would like to stage his comeback in India and, possibly, put an end to all murmurs regarding his match fitness. Spare a thought for the Twenty20 specialists who have flown in from New Zealand for what is effectively a one-match series. Daniel Vettori, for all his experience, needs match time to ease himself back in from a groin injury. New Zealand would want to play their best side, but that would mean their relatively inexperienced players, like Ronnie Hira and Adam Milne, may not be guaranteed a spot. India have tried out three different opening combinations in their last three T20 matches, with Ajinkya Rahane and Robin Uthappa partnering Gautam Gambhir in two of those games. They are expected to go with their regular pair of Gambhir and Virender Sehwag here, and both are struggling for consistency.

Form guide (Completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand LLLLW
India WLWLL

Watch out for

He may have slipped slightly as a wicket-taker in Tests, but Daniel Vettori has plenty to offer in T20s as a containing bowler, as his economy rate of 5.36 in 28 T20s indicates. With Jacob Oram, who kept batsmen quiet in the SLPL with an economy rate of 3.82, Vettori will be called on to squeeze the runs.R Ashwin tormented New Zealand with 18 wickets in two Tests, and those who have faced him in the IPL will be aware of his skills in the shortest format. In 23 matches for Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Ashwin has 27 wickets, the second-highest wicket-taker for the franchise at the ground over three seasons.

Team news

L Balaji showed up for the pre-match press conference, but was non-committal over the team combination or whether he would play.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashok DindaNew Zealand did not drop any hints regarding their playing XI either.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Ross Taylor (capt), 4 Kane Williamson, 5 Rob Nicol, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Daniel Vettori, 8 James Franklin, 9 Doug Bracewell, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Kyle Mills

Pitch and conditions

There have been showers in Chennai late in the evenings. India managed to practice, but it reportedly rained after 4pm on the eve of the game. The forecast is for cloudy weather on match day.

Stats and trivia

• The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai will be hosting its first Twenty20 international.
• Chennai had its share of high-scoring games during the 2012 IPL, with a season run-rate of 8.01. Super Kings’ 222 for 5 against Delhi Daredevils in Chennai was the highest team score for the tournament.
• In the 2012 IPL, spinners accounted for 33 wickets in Chennai, second only behind Eden Gardens (34).
  

  Quotes

  “We’re quite strong in the spin department, as well, in the current T20 setup. If you look at the experience we have got and the destructiveness we have with bat and ball, it [the shorter format of the game] does suit us.”

  “The long lay-off did not rust my skills in any way. It has been a competitive three years in the IPL and Ranji Trophy, as well as some other first-class matches.”

ScorecardShane Watson’s one over overshadowed most of the others bowled during the day•Getty Images

Shane Watson’s calf injury scare overshadowed an indifferent performance by a star-studded New South Wales side as Queensland edged towards an outright victory in the Sheffield Shield match in Brisbane.Giving up first innings points as the Bulls pushed to 256 in reply to 184, the Blues faded to 5 for 121 by the close only 49 runs in credit with only the wicketkeeper Peter Nevill left among the recognised batsmen. Watson left the field and the ground for scans on a sore left calf, and may not bat in the second innings.Queensland’s first innings was sustained by a trio of useful innings by Usman Khawaja, Joe Burns and the wicketkeeper Chris Hartley, allowing the hosts to build a lead of 72.The Blues made a promising start to their second knock, rolling swiftly along to parity before David Warner exited for a flashy 39. Wickets fell regularly from that point however, the Australian captain Michael Clarke making only 28 before pushing at Cameron Gannon and edging behind.