Bridgetown (Barbados), May 7 :  Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding believes the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) represents an excellent opportunity for the development of professional cricket in the region.

The 59-year-old, known for his strident criticism of the shortest form of the game, said the CPL was special as it had the potential to give birth to a new generation of professional cricketers in the Caribbean. He has signed on as the ambassador for the development programme, reports CMC.

Mumbai, May 3 : The national cricket selectors are certain to discuss performances in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) while picking the squad for the Champions Trophy here Saturday.

Though the IPL lasts till May 26, the selectors might already have taken down copious notes on players from the 30 probables to fill the handful of vacancies for the tournament to be held in England June 6-23.

Bridgetown (Barbados), May 1 : The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) received a powerful endorsement with the news that former Jamaica prime minister PJ Patterson has agreed to chair the CPL Cricket Committee.

The former Jamaican leader has had a close association with West Indies cricket and was an original member of the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on the sport.

Patterson also chaired Caricom when the agreements to host Cricket World Cup came into being which brought in the Sunset legislation covering many aspects of the event.

Kingston (Jamaica), April 26 : West Indies opening batsman Chris Gayle who scored the fastest century in professional cricket says he is dedicating his history- making feat to fans in the Caribbean.

Gayle established a series of records on his way to an undefeated 175 for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against Pune Warriors in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match Tuesday.

The Jamaican batsman scored the fastest 50 in IPL history, fastest 100 in T20 history and the highest individual score in IPL history.

Kolkata, April 25 - Mumbai Indians regular skipper Ricky Ponting, who has been struggling with the bat, willingly opted out of the team for the crucial tie against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens Wednesday.

"Ponting himself opted to sit out today's (Wednesday) game. We wanted to get our foreign players' combination right, and he volunteered to stay out. It takes a big heart to take such a decision," stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma said at the post match conference.

Bangalore, April 17 - Royal Challengers Bangalore pipped Delhi Daredevils in the Super Over after a tie to record their fourth win in six outings while the visitors slid to their fifth straight defeat in the Pepsi IPL here Tuesday.

Asked to bat first, Daredevils made 152 for five while RCB, cruising at 129 for two at one stage, all but committed hara-kiri as they lost five wickets in a matter of 17 deliveries leaving them to get 12 off the 20th over bowled by Irfan Pathan.

Chennai, April 14 : A last-ball howler by Rudra Pratap Singh gifted Super Kings a tight four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in a thrilling Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium here Saturday night.

Chasing a target of 166, Super Kings needed two runs off the last ball. Celebrations broke out immediately as Ravindra Jadeja (38 not out) edged it straight to third-man, but it was only short-lived as Rudra Pratap had overstepped.

New Delhi, April 12  : The Champions League Twenty20 will return to India for the third time in five years and take place from Sep 17 to Oct 6.

The tournament will follow a similar format to the two previous editions with a Group Stage preceded by a Qualifier. A total of 29 matches will be played in the tournament by the best domestic T20 teams from around the world.

As well as finalising the timing and format, the CLT20 Governing Council has also confirmed the teams that will compete for a total prize money of $6 million.

Port of Spain, April 10 : Cricket legend Brian Lara says his decision in the past to select Darren Sammy as a member of the West Indies team was based more on the player's passion for the game and his dependability than cricketing ability.

Lara has revealed that Sammy was one of the last two players he decided to select in a 14 man squad after ignoring suggestions to pick two other players whom he claimed were ill disciplined.

"I remember picking Darren Sammy; not for his cricketing ability, but for the way he carried about himself," said Lara, the former West Indies captain.

Islamabad, April 6 : The Pakistan Cricket Board has adopted a strategy of preparing bouncy wickets to help its national team prepare for the ICC Champions Trophy in England in June.

According to official sources, the PCB authorities have ordered the preparation of special pitches, matching English conditions, to be used in the training camp to help batsmen who struggle at the bouncy pitches, Xinhua reports.

Kolkata, April 4 - Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir Wednesday credited his bowlers for restricting the Delhi Daredevils to below par score and allowing his team to start the IPL tournament on a winning note.

"It is always great to start the tournament on a winning note and for the first time in two years we have points on the table straight away. We don't want to be in a position where you are desperate for points. It is a good start and I am happy with the performance," said Gambhir.

Kolkata, April 2 : Waving gold and purple flags and banners, frenzied fans of defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders descended onto the Salt Lake stadium here, the inaugural venue of the sixth Indian Premier League, to witness a star-studded spectacle Tuesday.

New Delhi, April 2 : Having finished last in the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Pune Warriors India will be looking to shed their image of whipping boys.

For the last two seasons, Pune Warriors have earned the distinction of being the favourite 'whipping boys'. In their maiden season in 2011, they finished ninth out of 10 teams and last year they finished ninth and last.

Despite having one of the best line-ups, Pune Warriors have been the under-achievers in the last two years.

New Delhi, April 2 : Adam Gilchrist and Darren Lehmann as captain and coach, respectively, of Kings XI Punjab is a big boost for the team's chances in the sixth edition of Indian Premier League. The duo helped the Deccan Chargers win the IPL title in 2009 and Punjab fans will hope they can repeat the feat.

The key foreign players in the franchise are Azhar Mahmood, Dimitri Mascarenhas, David Hussey and Luke Pomersbach, who comes back to Punjab from Royal Challengers Bangalore.

New Delhi, April 2 : Delhi have always had a strong squad in Indian Premier League and have reached the semifinals thrice (2008, 2009, and 2012) -- but on all occasions Delhi Daredevils have faltered in the end and failed to make it to the finals on all three occasions.

Their worst performance was when they finished last in 2011 winning just four of their 14 matches. The only other time they have failed to be in the top four was when they finished fifth in 2010.

New Delhi, April 2 : Despite being one of the top-spenders and having one of the best teams, Mumbai Indians are yet to win the Indian Premier League (IPL).

After two poor seasons in the beginning, the team showed their true skills only in the third edition in 2010 when they reached the final before losing to Chennai Super Kings.

Kolkata, April 1 : As the curtains go up on a mix of cricket and culture at the opening ceremony of the sixth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) Tuesday, fans of cricket and Bollywood lined up at the Salt Lake Stadium's gates since early morning Monday to claim their share of tickets of the inaugural event.

New Delhi, March 30 : Franchises with a strong Sri Lankan presence are slowly building up pressure on the Governing Council of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to shift their play-off and knockout matches out of Chennai.

Four franchises IANS spoke to were confident that the issue would be sorted out by the time the Twenty20 tournament reaches its business end. Their contention is that there should be a level playing field among the contestants when they play in Chennai, which will host 10 matches.

New Delhi, March 28 : India's out-of-form opener Gautam Gambhir was all praise for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Co. for their recent 4-0 whitewash of Australia but said the team's real test will be on overseas tours for them to emerge as a force in world cricket.

The Kolkata Knight Riders captain was dropped for the Australia Test series before being picked for the last Test only to dropped again since he was down with jaundice.

Dubai, March 27 : Consistent performances with the bat have helped India's Cheteshwar Pujara move into the top 10 of the ICC rankings for Test batsmen for the first-time in his career.

Pujara's unbeaten 82 helped India script a six-wicket win in the fourth Test against Australia in New Delhi, thereby registering a historic 4-0 series sweep. As a result, Pujara jumped five places, in the rankings released Wednesday, to a best seventh position with 777 ratings points.

South Africa's Hashim Amla continues to lead the batting table.

Another South African, Dale Steyn, leads the bowlers' table.