Chennai Super Kings
M.S. Dhoni (captain), M. Hayden, M. Hussey, S. Raina, A. Morkel, S. Badrinath, C. Kapugedara, K.B. Arun Karthik, P. Patel, R. Ashwin, M. Muralitharan, M. Ntini, L. Balaji, M. Gony, S. Tyagi. Coach: S. Fleming.

Nashua Dolphins
Ahmed Amla (Captain), Imraan Khan, Hashim Amla, Jon Kent, Grant Rowley, Martin Bekker, Pierre de Bruyn, Daryn Smit, Johann Louw, Morne van Vuuren, Quinton Friend, Alfonso Thomas, Saidi Mlongo, Yusuf Abdullah and David Miller.

Victorian Bushrangers
Cameron White (captain), Aiden Blizzard, Adam Crosthwaite, Aaron Finch, Shane Harwood, John Hastings, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Andrew McDonald, Clinton McKay, Dirk Nannes, Darren Pattinson, Robert Quiney, Peter Siddle, Matthew Wade.

Western Australian Rambal Warriors
Marcus North (capt.), David Bandy, Arron Crawford, Liam Davis, Brett Dorey, Theo Doropoulos, Ben Edmondson, Aaron Heal, Matt Johnston, Trent Kelly, Steve Magoffin, Shaun Marsh, Luke Pomersbach, Luke Ronchi, Adam Voges.

Group B
Sialkot Stallions
Rajasthan Royals
Western Rambal Warriors
Natal Dolphins.

Middlesex Crusaders will take on Victoria Bushrangers in the opening match of the Champions League T-20 on December 3rd 2008.

Dec 3rd - Middlesex Crusaders vs Victoria Bushrangers in Mumbai
Dec 4th - Sialkot Stallions vs Western Rambal Warriors in Banglore
Dec 4th - Chennai Super Kings vs Victoria Bushrangers in Mumbai
Dec 5th - Middlesex Crusaders vs Pretoria Titans in Chennai
Dec 5th - Rajasthan Royals vs Sialkot Stallions in Mumbai
Dec 6th - Western Australia vs Natal Dolphins in Banglore
Dec 6th - Victoria Bushrangers vs Pretoria Titans in Chennai
Dec 6th - Chennai Super Kings vs Middlesex Crusaders in Chennai
Dec 7th - Natal Dolphins vs Sialkot Stallions in Bangalore
Dec 7th - Rajasthan Royals vs Western Rambal Warriors in Bangalore
Dec 7th - Chennai Super Kings vs Pretoria Titans in Chennai

Dec 8th - Semifinal 1 (Group B First placed team vs Group A Second placed team)
Dec 9th - Semifinal 2 (Group A First placed team vs Group B Second placed team)

Dec 10th - Final (Winner of Semifinal 1 vs Winner of Semifinal 2)

Source: ESPNSTAR

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS: The Super Kings needed fewer than 15 overs to brush aside the Delhi Daredevils in the semi-finals before losing the IPL final on the final ball.
Star player: Mahendra Singh Dhoni - The IPL’s most expensive player averaged over 40 with the bat and took six catches behind the stumps as his team made it to the final.

VICTORIA BUSHRANGERS: The Bushrangers have dominated Twenty20 cricket in Australia winning all three of the domestic tournaments to have been held. During that time they have lost just once, against Western Australia last season, however they earned revenge for that defeat in the final when they defeated the Warriors by 32 runs.
Star player: Brad Hodge - The 33-year-old right-hander is the highest run scorer in the short history of Twenty20 cricket Down Under having scored 476 runs for Victoria.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA WARRIORS: The vast array of batting talent in the Western Australian team endears them to the batsman-friendly version of the game with Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach finishing inside the top-three run scorers in last season’s Twenty20 competition.
Star player: Shaun Marsh - The left-hander has topped the runscorers’ list in both the Australian Twenty20 competition and the Indian Premier League in the past six months.

PRETORIA TITANS: The Pretoria-based side claimed the Pro-20 Series title and the MTN Championship - the premier domestic one-day cricket competition of South Africa - in 2008.
Star player: Dale Steyn - The South Africa paceman had a breakthrough year on the Test scene and has also impressed at the shorter form of the game, recording career-best figures of four for nine in Twenty20 cricket.

DOLPHINS: The Dolphins finished second in the Pro-20 Series after winning four of their six matches. The Natal-based team lost by 18 runs in the final against the Titans in April, failing to chase down a victoty target of 153 for six.
Star player: Pierre de Bruyn - The wicketkeeper-batsman was the Dolphins leading runscorer in last season’s Por-20 Series scoring 152 runs at an average of 50.6.

MIDDLESEX: Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. n 2008, Middlesex won the Twenty20 Cup, beating Kent in the final, and earning trips to both the Twenty20 Champions League in India and the Stanford Series in Antigua.

SIALKOT STALLIONS: The Sialkot cricket team in Pakistan is also known as the Sialkot Stallions. Its home ground is Jinnah Stadium Sialkot. It plays in first-class domestic competitions. It was national champion in 2005-2006 and won Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Championship (Golden League) . It was runnerup in 2006-2007. Sialkot Stallions also won ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007. Noted players in recent years include Imran Nazir, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Asif.

Dedicated slot
Indian Premier League to have a dedicated slot in ICC calendar so that the world’s best cricketers are available

Additional Franchises
There should be additional two more franchises which would take the total to 10. If all the international players are available then they need to be accommodated also.

5 International players per team
International players per team should be increased to 5 from the current limit of 4. This would give some flexibility for the teams to varied combination of batsmen and bowlers for a match. 5 International and 6 Indian players should be a good combination. Also it would enable all the international players to get a chance.

Best of three finals
Best of three finals between the top two teams of the league instead of the semi-finals and one finals.

Rest of the razzmatazz of cheer leaders, bollwood, music, fun, fireworks included in the IPL 2009 season.

Any other wish list you have? Do share…

1. Shane Warne
2. MS Dhoni
3. Shaun Pollock

Your say?

[poll=14]

Most Sixes in an innings
Bredon McCullum for Knight Riders - 13 sixes against Royal Challengers

Most Wickets (Purple cap holder)
Sohail Tanvir for Rajasthan Royals - 21 wickets in 10 matches with economy rate of 6.08

Most Runs (Orange cap holder
Shaun Marsh for Kings XI Punjab - 593 runs in 10 matches, Strike rate: 139.85, Avg: 74.12

Highest Individual score
Brendon McCullum for Kolkata Knight Riders - 158 runs in 73 balls with 13 sixes and 10 fours

Most Catches
Roubin Uthappa for Mumbai Indians - 14 catches in 14 matches

Best bowling figure
Sohail Tanvir for Rajasthan Royals - 6 for 14 in 4 overs, Economy: 3.50

Highest Batting Average
Luke Pomersbach for Kings XI Punjab - 152 avg in 5 matches

Mukesh Ambani, Mumbai Indians, Paid: $111.9 million
Vijay Mallya, Royal Challengers Bangalore,Paid: $111.6 million
T. Venkattram Reddy, Deccan Chargers, Paid: $107.01 million
N. Srinivasan, Chennai Super Kings, Paid: $91 million
G.M. Rao, Delhi Daredevils, Paid: $84 million
Preity Zinta, Kings XI Punjab, Paid: $76 million
Shah Rukh Khan, Kolkata Knight Riders, Paid: $75.09 million
Manoj Badale, Rajasthan Royals, Paid: $67 million

Only Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals seem to make profit of 11 and 5 crores respectively. Top loss making franchises are Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers with 43 and 18 crores respectively. In summary franchises who have spent less on the franchise has made profit and who have made high investment are clocking loses.

http://businesstoday.digitaltoday.in/will-crickets-new-czars-make-money-3.html

Few reasons why one is looking forward to everyday Cricket

1. My city team is playing
2. I want to see the captaincy played out between Yuvi and Dhoni, Ganguly and Dravid etc
3. Just want to see Gilly thrashing the cherry
4. Two strong teams are playing
5. Underdogs Rajasthan Royals are playing. They are the real team to watch for…
6. Waiting for Viru to blast
7. Hayden, Symo in tremendous form
8. Great youngsters in Rajasthan Royals

This is just a glimpse of innumerable reasons why one is looking forward for everyday cricket. Wonder what would happen after the Grand Finale of the IPL on June 1st!

Lehmann is already talking about the second season and expects it to bigger and better. So would be many English players. Until 2009, lets look forward to everyday Cricket!

Your thoughts?

Personally speaking, I am participating in a couple of them. I am sure lot many of you will also be playing. Just want to take a poll on which do you feel is the best of the lot.

[poll=11]