Cricket: Volts minus Essex star for first qualifier

Ryan ten Doeschate, left and coach Vaughn Johnson of the Otago Volts cricket team training at the...
Ryan ten Doeschate, left and coach Vaughn Johnson of the Otago Volts cricket team training at the University Oval. Photo by Peter McIntosh.

Dutch international Ryan ten Doeschate will miss Otago's opening game in the Champions League tonight but could still play a part in the tournament.

The Essex all-rounder will be released from his county commitments if English international Ravi Bopara is fit to play in Essex's first-class clash against Glamorgan beginning at 9.30pm (New Zealand time).

About an hour later, the Volts will play the Faisalabad Wolves in their opening qualifying match in India.

If ten Doeschate is released, he could board a plane and be in India in time for the Volts' match against the Kandurata Maroons tomorrow night.

It would be a rushed trip and, realistically, he is more likely to be available for Otago's final qualifier against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, on Friday.

But by then, Otago could already be out of the running, if it has lost its first two games.

The other complicating factor is that Bopara was expected to play in the fifth ODI between England and Australia last night.

If he picked up an injury, then ten Doeschate would likely take his place in the Essex line-up and be ruled out for up to another four days.

A crackly phone line made communication difficult with India, where the Volts played a final warm-up match against a local team on Sunday.

All-rounder James Neesham scored 104 from 40 balls but the level of competition was not of a very high standard.

However, Otago's overall preparation has been good.

The team played five warm-up matches in New Zealand before heading to Sri Lanka for another series of warm-up matches in subcontinent conditions.

Despite about a month of uncertainty, the Faisalabad Wolves have been granted visas and have made it to India.

But the team was yesterday forced to shift out of its hotel in Chandigarh to the clubhouse of Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali, after it emerged that their visas were valid only for Mohali.

The Wolves will be just the second Pakistan team to compete in the Champions League and the first in India.

The Sialkot Stallions took part in the 2012 tournament which was staged in South Africa, and a team from Pakistan was invited for the inaugural CLT20 in 2008 but that tournament was canned because of the terror attacks in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan will captain the Sunrisers.

He replaces Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, who opted to play for Kandurata.

The Kandurata Maroons boast a powerful line-up featuring Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne, Ajantha Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara and Rangana Herath and shape as early favourites.

 


Champions League qualifier

Otago Volts v Faisalabad Wolves

Otago: Brendon McCullum (captain), Hamish Rutherford, Neil Broom, Aaron Redmond, Nathan McCullum, James Neesham, Derek de Boorder, Ian Butler, Neil Wagner, Nick Beard, Jacob Duffy, Mark Craig, Michael Bracewell, James McMillan.

Wolves: Misbah-ul-Haq, Asif Ali, Ali Waqas, Khuram Shahzad, Muhammad Salman, Waqas Maqsood, Sami Ullah Kham Niazi, Asad Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Ehsan Adil, Hassan Mahmood, Rana Jahandad Khan, Farrukh Shahzad, Imran Khalid, Ammar Mahmood Khan.

• Live on Sky Sport 3 from 10.20pm


 

 

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