BBC Sport

 

Somerset captain Justin Langer has confirmed that he will not be returning to Taunton next season.

The 38-year-old former Australia opener's decision brings an end to a four-season stint with the county.

"I am very proud of what we have achieved as a team over the last few years," he said.

"While it is tough to let go of my playing ties with Somerset, I feel the time is now right for me to move on to the next phase in my career."

The veteran of 105 Tests has been a key factor in helping Somerset improve from County Championship Division Two also-rans (they finished bottom in 2006) to vying for the top-flight title in the past two seasons.

His last appearances for the county will come at next month's Champions League in India, for which Somerset qualified after reaching the final of this year's Twenty20 Cup.

Langer left the door ajar for a possible move elsewhere, although he admitted he may yet decide to call time on a first-class career that began with Western Australia back in 1991.

"I will take some time out to decide which route I wish to take, either within cricket or in following my other life pursuits," he added.

Langer became Australia's highest run scorer in first-class cricket earlier this summer when he surpassed 28,000 runs. He now has 86 first-class hundreds.

Somerset chief executive Richard Gould said: "JL's contribution as a player and captain will mark him down in club history as one of our most outstanding performers.

"His direction and determination has allowed the club to reinvent itself as one of the top-performing clubs in English cricket."

Somerset's director of cricket Brian Rose added: "I have been privileged over the years to have been involved with many great overseas players at Somerset, including Viv Richards, Greg Chappell and Sunil Gavaskar.

"JL is right up there with them in terms of the progression he has achieved for the club in the last three years."

cricinfo

 

The inaugural Champions League Twenty20 gets underway at Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday with hosts and IPL runners-up Royal Challengers Bangalore taking on Cape Cobras from South Africa. Cricket's first global inter-club tournament, it is the latest twist in a format that is only seven years but has established itself as the game's main money-spinner.

A mix of state, county, regional and franchise teams will battle it out for a US$ 6 million cash prize, with $2.5 million going to the winners. The unpredictability of the format is enhanced by the fact that there is little history between the teams, though many of the players would be familiar to each other as team-mates at some level.

That element of uncertainty was summed up by Herschelle Gibbs, a key player for the Cobras. "We have a good team and a lot of the guys have been around for a while but this is Twenty20 and anything can happen. As I said earlier it is about the team performing well on a given day that wins matches, but I think Royal Challengers will be one of the favourites."

There will certainly be a lot of anticipation in Bangalore, where the game itself is to be preceded by what the organisers claim will be a lavish ceremony featuring legendary Grammy award winner Chaka Khan and British pop star Jamelia. "It has been a while since Royal Challengers have played at home", Anil Kumble, the Bangalore captain, said. "It's almost a year now... more than a year. Everybody is looking forward to that and we will certainly take advantage of home support."

The 23 matches in the 16-day tournament are spread between Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad. The 12 teams have been divided into four groups of three each with IPL runners-up Bangalore grouped with Cape Cobras and Otago, while IPL champions Deccan Chargers are in a pool with Stanford 20/20 winners Trinidad and Tobago and the Somerset, runners-up of England's Twenty20 Cup.

Delhi Daredevils are grouped with Victoria, the runners-up in the Australian domestic competition, and the Sri Lanka champions Wayamba. The other group comprises the Australian title-holders New South Wales, South Africa's Eagles and Sussex, winner of England's Twenty20 Cup.

The top two teams will qualify for the second round where two groups of four each will compete in a round-robin league. The top four teams will make it to the semi-finals, which will be played in New Delhi, on October 21, and Hyderabad, on October 22.

Points earned in the group stage will be carried forward into the league stage based on the result of the match played between the two teams that advance from the same pool. The points, the applicable net run ate and the applicable wickets per balls bowled, from that match only, shall be recorded in the league stage points table. These points will then combine the result of the league stage and the one result carried forward from the group stage. The team with the highest number of points at the end of the league stage will top the table.