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The Champions League 2012 will be held between October 9 and 28 this year in South Africa and will be preceded by a six-team qualifying stage, as was held last year. However, unlike last year, the fourth IPL team has got direct entry to the main tournament (In 2011, Kolkata Knight Riders, who had finished fourth that IPL season, had to compete in the qualifiers). The six teams to play in the qualifying stage this year are Pakistan’s Sialkot Stallions, New Zealand’s Auckland Aces, Trinidad and Tobago from West Indies, one team from Sri Lanka and two from England.The top two teams from the qualifiers will join eight others in the main round, according to a tweet by Sundar Raman, a member of the CLT20 technical committee.The eight sides gaining direct entry to the main round of the CLT20 are the top four IPL teams (Mumbai Indians, who are also the CLT20 defending champions, current IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils), Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers (from Australia’s Big Bash League) and Titans and Lions (South Africa).Cape Town, Johannesburg, Centurion and Durban have been named as venues for the tournament, though the dates and venues for the qualifiers, as well as the schedule, are yet to be released.The inaugural edition of the CLT20 – a tournament organised by the boards of India, Australia and South Africa – in 2009 had 12 teams while the 2010 version had 10. Last year, three teams from the qualifying stage made it to the main round, which included seven others.

ScorecardMoin Ashraf was the star of the show as Yorkshire claimed their second Friends Life t20 victory against a Derbyshire side who lost for the first time in the North Group.Ashraf, the 20-year-old pace bowler, took 4 for 18 in a 41-run victory under the Derby floodlights after Gary Ballance had launched a late onslaught with an unbeaten 47 off 35 balls to lift Yorkshire to 150 for 5.Former Yorkshire spinner David Wainwright had bowled superbly to take 2 for 14 but Ballance struck three sixes as 32 came from the last two overs and the Falcons crumbled to 109 with Rich Pyrah claiming three for 21.After the teams observed a minute’s silence in memory of Surrey batsman Tom Maynard, Yorkshire’s innings started well, stalling briefly when Wainwright came into the attack before finishing with a flourish as Ballance finally found his range to take the total past 150.Although Phil Jacques went cheaply, Andrew Gale was looking dangerous until Wainwright removed his former skipper with his second ball when the opener got under a drive and was caught at deep mid off for 39 off 26 balls.Wainwright landed another body blow two balls later when he found some sharp turn to have South African batsman David Miller caught at slip and Yorkshire’s scoring rate dipped dramatically with only 39 coming from eight overs.Joe Root was caught behind for 36 trying to reverse sweep Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and when Pyrah was bowled off his pads, the visitors were 107 for 5 in the 17th over. Ballance had struggled to get the ball away but after swinging Rana for the first six of the innings, he pulled Mark Turner for two more as 17 came off the penultimate over.Rana bowled Ballance with a no-ball that gave Yorkshire a free hit from the final delivery and Ballance took advantage by hitting his third four to give his side a competitive total.Derbyshire’s chase was starting to gain momentum when Mitchell Starc removed his fellow Australian Usman Khawaja when a top-edged pull ended in the gloves of Gerard Brophy and Ashraf trapped Wes Durston lbw in the next over.Ashraf then bowled Wayne Madsen with another straight and full ball and the force was with Yorkshire when a drive was deflected into the stumps to run out Dan Redfern.With the asking rate climbing to above nine an over, Ross Whiteley was bowled swinging wildly at Pyrah who yorked Chesney Hughes and had Tom Poynton caught at long off before Ashraf cleaned up the tail.

Back spasms have forced Lasith Malinga, the Mumbai Indians fast bowler, to return to Sri Lanka for treatment, and he could miss up to two weeks of the IPL as a result. Malinga last played for Mumbai Indians against Rajasthan Royals on April 11 and missed the match against Delhi Daredevils on April 16.”He is undergoing treatment [in Sri Lanka],” Nishantha Ranatunga, the secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket, told ESPNcricinfo. However, Ranatunga was not certain how long Malinga would be out and said the fast bowler would have to be evaluated by the Sri Lanka team’s physio. It is understood that Malinga is planning to return by April 25 and targeting full fitness for the match against Delhi Daredevils on April 27.Malinga has reportedly not been training since the game against Royals and flew back to Sri Lanka on the morning of April 16. The team spokesperson said that Malinga “required rest and it made sense to send him back home”, but they were hopeful he would return in a few days.The loss of Malinga weakens the attack of Mumbai Indians, who have made an inconsistent start to the tournament and currently sit in sixth place in the points table, having won three of their five games. Malinga is the leading wicket-taker in the IPL and has been in good form again this season, taking nine wickets from four games at an economy-rate of 4.54.Injuries have been a problem for Malinga in recent years. A knee injury he picked up during Sri Lanka’s Australia tour in 2007 threatened to cut short his career and in April, 2011, he retired from Tests in order to spare his knee further damage.

Dr. Willie Basson, the Cricket South Africa acting president, has said that the “complex process” of controlling the damage to the board’s reputation will be a priority in light of the bonus controversy which has already led to the suspension of chief executive Gerald Majola.Majola was suspended after the CSA board of directors met on Saturday to discuss the findings of a government inquiry into the payment of unauthorised bonuses related to the 2009 IPL. Basson said that the board would deal with the impact of the decisions taken on Saturday at its next meeting on March 30.Basson also said that the government inquiry chaired by retired High Court judge Chris Nicholson would have a big influence on sports administration in South Africa. “The importance of the Nicholson report and the watershed impact it is going to have not only on cricket but on all sport federations in the country cannot be ignored.”In addition, the complex process of damage control of CSA’s reputation and image on the basis of systematic and on-going communication with stakeholders will be important focus areas.”Basson admitted that the image of the game in the country had been adversely affected but expressed confidence that the system was strong enough to deal with the issues. “CSA is under no illusion that cricket is beleaguered and that its image and reputation have been dented over an extended period of time. However, the inherent robustness of the system, the strength of its regional structures in place together with the quality of its human resource base has proven over many years that the capacity to deal with problems exists.”The process will require cool heads, a high level of professionalism, above-average teamwork and a systematic approach to resolve the burning issues facing the organisation while at the same time laying the foundation for a ‘reinvented’ cricket system.”Let us not forget that in the not too distant [past] cricket was consistently judged as the most professionally run sports organisation in the country. I am confident that the current board will rise to the occasion and demonstrate their inherent professionalism and all-round ability to stabilise the situation and to pilot the ship forward into calmer waters as a cohesive unit.”Basson said that transformation was also a priority area for the board and that a fund to support transformation initiatives at provincial level had been established. “CSA is well positioned to deal with this challenge as the Board has recently in-principle approved a model that will be considered by the Transformation Committee tomorrow for immediate implementation. The model is based on CSA’s experiences over a long period and in-depth research over the past year.”Basson, who took over as acting president after AK Khan’s resignation, said that his purpose was to bridge the disparity between professionalism on the field and off it in cricket. “A personal motivation for my decision to become involved is a long-standing concern for the large gap between the level of professionalism, dedication and motivation of the ‘on-the field’ activities as opposed to the ‘off-the field’ activities of sports organisations. From a cricketing perspective this obvious weakness has to be aggressively addressed. The time has come for those responsible for guiding and executing ‘off-the-field’ activities to have better game plans executed more effectively and efficiently”.

Mumbai Indians have added five uncapped players to their squad for the 2012 IPL, including Jharkhand medium pacer Rahul Shukla, Mumbai (Ranji) batsman Sushant Marathe, Vidarbha batsman Apoorv Wankhade, Mumbai allrounder Sujit Nayak and Uttar Pradesh Under-19 allrounder Kuldeep Yadav.Shukla returns to Mumbai Indians after being part of the squad for IPL 2010, while the other four have been picked up by the franchise for the first time. Shukla, 21, has taken seven wickets at 15.71 from four Twenty20 games, with an economy rate of 7.17.At 26, Marathe is the oldest of the five and was part of the Kochi Tuskers squad in 2011. He topped the batting averages for Mumbai during the qualifying stage of India’s domestic Twenty20 tournament last October, averaging 69.66 with a strike-rate of 148.09 from four games while opening the batting.Wankhade was the second-highest run-getter for Vidarbha in the CK Nayudu Under-22 tournament, scoring 466 runs at an average of 51.77 in six games. A statement from Mumbai Indians said the 19-year old “had impressed with his batting technique, ability to score big and quick runs and as an agile fielder.”The 22-year-old Nayak has represented Mumbai in the CK Nayudu tournament for three years and can bowl left-arm spin as well. Yadav also bowls left-arm spin and at 18, is the youngest of the five. In the semi-final of the Cooch Behar trophy, Yadav made a half-century and took six wickets against Mumbai.Mumbai Indians have been one of the busier IPL teams in the offseason. They added Dinesh Karthik and Pragyan Ojha in the transfer window before buying Herschelle Gibbs, Mitchell Johnson, Robin Peterson, RP Singh and Thisara Perera in the IPL auction earlier this month.

England itinerary

• Monday April 2 – Arrive in Australia

• Thursday April 5 – Australia v England

• Saturday April 7 – England v New Zealand

• Monday April 9 – England v India

• Friday April 13 – Semi-finals

• Sunday April 15 – Final & third-place play-off

Kent’s Adam Ball will lead England Under-19s in their quadrangular ODI series in Australia in April, as part of the team’s preparations for this summer’s Under-19 World Cup. England have named a 15-man squad to take on hosts Australia, India and New Zealand on the two-week tour.The party features 13 members of the squad that recently visited Bangladesh for a seven-match one-day series, which they lost 5-2. Essex bowler Reece Topley and Leicestershire batsman Shiv Thakor are the two players added to the group.England Development Programme head coach Tim Boon said: “This tournament will be a fantastic opportunity for all the players to gain experience of Australian conditions and test themselves against quality opposition ahead of the ICC’s Under 19 World Cup – which will also be held in Australia later this summer.”England U-19 squad: Adam Ball (capt, Kent), Mo Abid (Lancashire), Shozair Ali (Warwickshire), Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent), Ben Foakes (Essex), Brett Hutton (Nottinghamshire), Aneesh Kapil (Worcestershire), Sam Kelsall (Nottinghamshire), Jack Leaning (Yorkshire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Jamie Overton (Somerset), Rammy Singh (Durham), Shiv Thakor (Leicestershire), Reece Topley (Essex), Sam Wood (Nottinghamshire)

The truth about sport is that it is played as much in the mind as it is on the field. For South Africa’s cricket team it is sometimes played entirely in the mind. During their tour of New Zealand, South Africa will not only face a test of skill but also one of temperament, against an opponent known for shrewdness, particularly at mind games.”There’s always a little bit of this and that when we play New Zealand, especially the last time we met in the World Cup,” AB de Villiers, South Africa’s ODI and Twenty20 captain, said on arrival in Wellington. “They won that game and we have a lot to prove in this series. I’m sure the game will be played very hard on the field but we are friends with most of the guys off the field.”In that World Cup quarter-final in Mirpur, New Zealand exerted tremendous pressure on South Africa, who were chasing a target of 222. There was a flashpoint after AB de Villiers was run out and several New Zealand players exchanged words with the other batsman Faf du Plessis. South Africa’s chase unraveled and they collapsed for 172, when they had been 108 for 2 at one stage.de Villiers said South Africa had “moved on” from that defeat and that this tour was not a revenge mission. “Obviously it hurt but we have new goals now and a lot to look forward to. We are a new unit with fresh faces. We play a different kind of cricket to what we have in the last few years. Mentally, we will have to be tested to see how strong we are.”Gary Kirsten, who became South Africa’s coach only after the World Cup, preferred to focus on the cricket and not on verbal duels. “I don’t think we are going to think too much about what New Zealand are doing. If we play really good cricket in terms of our skills and don’t say anything, we will win more games than we will lose,” Kirsten said. “If New Zealand feel that they want to get verbal with us, that’s their business. The side that plays better cricket is going to win.”Both South Africa and New Zealand have momentum going into the series. South Africa beat Sri Lanka at home, and New Zealand just thrashed Zimbabwe in all formats. Despite the quality of New Zealand’s opposition, de Villiers said they made a strong statement of intent. “I won’t say it gave them a false sense of confidence because they really played well,” de Villiers said. “But still, I’d like to say we are a better unit than Zimbabwe. We should be more competitive and we are going to go out there to win games.”Since de Villiers became the limited-overs captain, South Africa have been more aggressive and creative than before. “I like to try things. I like to be attacking. I am really enjoying it so far but I have only captained five games, so a lot to learn,” de Villiers said. “I enjoy playing around with bowlers, with field placings as well. I like to stay one step ahead of the batters, to try and think what they are thinking about. I also like to think what I would find uncomfortable at the wicket, but it doesn’t always pay off.”New Zealand is the first of three overseas tours for South Africa and a 3-0 victory in the Tests will earn them the No. 1 ranking. Kirsten said the management team had worked with the players to contextualise the New Zealand series. “We’ve got long-term plans and this is just another tour which is part of the process,” he said. “We believe we have to put performances together in different parts of the world and this is an important tour for us in terms of what we want to achieve in the long term.”The tour comprises three T20s, three ODIs and three Tests. They start their visit with a T20 against Christchurch as part of the Earthquake Relief Campaign on Wednesday. The first international T20 is in Wellington on February 17.

The fast bowler Ryan Harris has been cleared to play for the Brisbane Heat in Tuesday’s Twenty20 Big Bash League match against the Melbourne Stars as he aims to prove his fitness for the Boxing Day Test. Harris, 32, has spent the past five weeks recovering from a hip injury that ruled him out of the second Test of Australia’s tour of South Africa.The uncertainty over how his body would handle five days of cricket is likely to discourage Australia’s selectors from risking Harris in the Melbourne Test against India. However, Harris wants to give himself every chance of playing, having missed Australia’s past three Tests, which gave the young fast men James Pattinson and Pat Cummins an opportunity to shine.Cummins has been ruled out of the summer due to a heel injury, and Pattinson and Peter Siddle are expected to share the new ball against India. The third seamer’s position is less clear after the left-armer Mitchell Starc struggled to grab his chances during the New Zealand series, and while Harris is a proven Test performer, his body is notoriously fragile.He has been named to play for the Heat in Tuesday’s match at the Gabba, after completing a pair of club T20 matches in Brisbane’s grade competition at the weekend. Harris took 1 for 22 and 1 for 17 in the two outings, as well as snapping up a sharp catch and effecting a run-out from the infield, but it would be a major gamble for Australia to choose him for a Test with such little preparation.Cricket Australia’s team performance manager, Pat Howard, said earlier this month that rushing Harris back would not be in the long-term interests of the side. Before he suffered his hip injury during the Cape Town Test, Harris battled a hamstring strain that kept him out of the third Test against Sri Lanka, and he also has to manage a degenerative right knee.Last summer, he was struck down by an ankle injury that required surgery and kept him from completing the Ashes series. Since his debut early last year, Harris has played only eight of a possible 18 Tests, but his record of 35 wickets at an average of 21.37 shows that when fit he is a key part of Australia’s side.With no Sheffield Shield cricket scheduled until after the end of the Test series against India, Harris will need to make his case for a recall via the Big Bash League and club cricket.

Michael Clarke is confident Shane Watson will play the Boxing Day Test despite the allrounder suffering a calf injury in addition to his existing hamstring tear. And Clarke believes that even if Watson cannot bowl, there should be a place in the side for him as a batsman only.Watson was ruled out of the New Zealand series due to the hamstring problem, which he suffered while bowling during Australia’s win in Johannesburg last month. It has now emerged that Watson has also acquired what Clarke described as “a light calf strain”.”It’s probably put him a couple of days behind [in his rehabilitation] but we’re still confident he’ll be right for the Boxing Day Test match,” Clarke said in Hobart, as Australia prepared for the second Test against New Zealand.Australia are not only missing Watson’s experience at the top of the order but also his valuable swing bowling. At the Gabba, Australia had to rely on the gentle medium-pace of Michael Hussey and in Hobart that will again be the case after the allrounder Daniel Christian was left out of the side.Clarke said even if Watson was unable to bowl in the Boxing Day Test, which is two and a half weeks away, Australia would be likely to bring Watson, the vice-captain, back in for his batting alone.”I think that needs to be discussed with the selectors,” Clarke said. “I think his batting is still a very big part of our team, especially if he’s opening the batting – up the top of the order he’s been pretty consistent for us. If he’s just batting I can certainly still see him in our team but best-case scenario I would love him to be able to bowl as well because he’s had a lot of success with the ball, especially of late.”Watson was Australia’s best bowler in the Cape Town Test, where his fuller lengths and ability to curve the ball in the air was the key reason South Africa were skittled for 96. Australia’s bowling injury list is already worryingly long, with Pat Cummins unlikely to play a Test this summer, Ryan Harris recovering from a hip problem and Ben Cutting out until January with a side strain.

Group A

Sanjay Bangar and Krishnakant Upadhyay skittled Uttar Pradesh out for a shocking 79 – the eighth lowest score in Ranji history – to put Railways in charge at the Mohan Meakins Cricket Stadium in Ghaziabad. No. 4 batsman Prashant Gupta top-scored with 30, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar managed 14, but no other batsman reached double-figures in UP’s abject effort.The story of the day was the performance of Upadhyay, a former Uttar Pradesh Under-22 player who moved to Delhi once he failed to secure a berth in the senior squad. Even with Railways, he did not feature in their first three matches this season. But, against Punjab in the previous round, he picked up a match haul of ten wickets. And on Wednesday, on a seaming pitch, he rocked the UP batting to finish with 4 for 37, while Bangar cleaned up the tail to grab 5 for 20 – the eighth five-for of his career.Tanmay Srivastava endured a horror day, following up his first-innings effort of 2 with a second-innings duck as UP were forced to follow on, Upadhyay removing him both times. It capped a memorable day for the seamer, who started his handiwork with the bat in the morning, making an unbeaten 31 from No. 10 to steer Railways to 374.”Uttar Pradesh is one of the big teams in domestic cricket and able to do well against them is special. I played Under-22 cricket for UP but wasn’t picked for the senior team. I am really happy I did well against them,” Upadhyay said, summing up his day.Mayank Sidhana and Amitoze Singh cracked maiden centuries on the second day to take the ton-count to four, as Punjab continued to boss Rajasthan at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The defending champions continued to have a poor season, with the frailties of their bowling line-up exposed yet again in the Elite League. Karan Goel first indulged himself to move from the overnight 116 to 167 before falling to part-timer Vineet Saxena. Uday Kaul and Mandeep Singh fluffed the chance to capitalise on a flat track as Punjab slipped to 401 for 5, but Sidhana and Amitoze were about to shut the door on Rajasthan. The pair made their tons in contrasting styles, with Amitoze slamming 103 off just 97 balls – his first ton in his fifth first-class innings, to go along with three fifties in his debut season. Sidhana was more conventional, consuming 198 balls for 122, though he struck 17 fours and a six to match Amitoze’s boundary count. Punjab declared three short of 600, and nipped out Saxena’s wicket cheaply to leave Rajasthan facing a difficult third day.Aakash Chopra was lucky to get away when he was dropped by Mandeep Singh at second slip, depriving Manpreet Gony of a wicket in his first over. Punjab are optimistic of snatching a second outright vicory of the season. “There is no reason why I should be pessimistic even after we scored 597,” Punjab coach Vikram Rathour said.Karnataka found their voice on the second day at the East Coast Railway Sports Association in Bhubaneshwar, as they reduced Orissa to 211 for 7 in reply to their 278. Karnataka lost CM Gautam for 63 in the day’s first over, throwing a spanner in their works as they looked for 300. Basant Mohanty and Biplab Samantray finished with three wickets apiece, while Sunil Raju steered Karnataka to their final score. Orissa made a solid start, with the openers adding 55, before Stuart Binny and Santhebennur Akshay sliced through the top order. Samantray resisted with 65, but wickets fell in a clutch around him. Abhilash Mallick and Govind Podder were on the throes of building a resistance, when the former became Binny’s third victim. Podder remained unbeaten on 34, and will need to carry on for his side to get the lead. His 97-run combine for the fifth wicket, the highest in the match so far, with Abhilash Mallick has kept Orissa in the contest. With the second new ball due in four overs, a well-fought game can still be expected.Mumbai were made to toil for the second day running by Saurashtra in Rajkot. For more on that match, click here.

Group B

The Motibagh Stadium in Vadodara witnessed a day of swinging fortunes as Baroda snatched the first-innings lead despite succumbing for a mere 203 early on the second day against Gujarat. Resuming at 192 for 7, Baroda’s tail had no answer to opening bowler Ishwar Choudhary, who picked up all the three remaining wickets to finish with a five-for. Baroda’s bowlers, however, came out undeterred to roll their opponents over for 169. Priyank Panchal and Pratharesh Parmar were the only batsmen to go past 30, as Sankalp Vohra and Firdaush Baksh made rapid incisions. Vohra finished with figures of 4 for 24 to give his side the lead, before Baroda’s openers survived seven watchful overs to ensure they held all the aces at stumps. Their chances of making the quarter-finals remain alive.Tamil Nadu continued their resurgence from the first day to finish with 391, before reducing Bengal to 84 for 2 at Eden Gardens. K Vasudevadas and Ramaswamy Prasanna extended their association to 160, before Prasanna fell in the 14th over of the day’s play, for 67. Vasudevadas was lucky on 74 when he was dropped by wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami off the bowling of Sourav Ganguly. He went on to complete his second first-class century before falling to Ranadeb Bose.TN captain L Balaji continued Bengal’s torment with a dogged, unbeaten 49, and the tail rallied around him to ensure 77 runs were scored after Vasudevadas’ exit. Bengal then made careful progress in their first innings, but lost Arindam Das and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala along the way. Trailing by 308 runs, Bengal are one batsman short with Rahul Banerjee, yet to take field, after he got hit on his abdomen, fielding close to the bat. The morning session would be crucial going by the first two days: seven of the twelve wickets have fallen in the first two hours of play.Delhi snatched a two-run first-innings lead against Madhya Pradesh, and went on to extend the advantage to 240, with three second wickets remaining, as the Group B fixture at the Emerald High School Ground in Indore headed for an early finish. Twenty-seven wickets have fallen over two days, but Delhi assumed complete control on the manic second day. Resuming at 86 for 6, MP were on course for the lead thanks to a 43-run seventh-wicket stand between Amit Sharma and Jalaj Saxena. New-ball operator Parvinder Awana revived Delhi by trapping Saxena in front for a 29-ball 31, with MP still 29 runs adrift. Awana backed that up by running out TP Sudhindra before Ashish Nehra removed Sharma with MP still 15 behind. The last pair inched within striking distance, but Awana removed No. 11 Asif Ali for a nine-ball duck to stop MP just short. Sudhindra then made early inroads for MP to suggest the second innings would be as bowler-dominated as the first, but Mithun Manhas resisted with a stroke-filled 97 off 134 balls that took the game away. Yogesh Nagar contributed a stodgy, unbeaten 35, and will look to extend the lead on the third day. MP are currently third in the table with eight points, two behind toppers Delhi, but have a game in hand.