CriCKeT

Back injury - Sreesanth

2009-03-19T02:58:00.000-07:00

Sreesanth fears he has entered the most difficult phase of his career after he was told four days ago by doctors in Sydney that a stress fracture of his lower back had ruled him out of international cricket for the next three months.

The Indian fast bowler, who has not played international cricket for the last 11 months due to various injuries, has been ruled out of the IPL next month and is now almost certain to miss the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in England in June.

"I have never been through anything like this in my life before," Sreesanth said from Sydney. "It's been a year now since I have been hit by a series of injuries and it's just too bizarre. But I don't want to think about anything else just now except to focus on my recovery. Tournaments come and go, and I am not going to sit in a corner and worry about missing them. All I need to focus on is to get fit again."

Sreesanth, who had established himself as one of India's leading strike bowlers within a year of his Test debut in 2006, first suffered a left side strain during the last IPL in May 2008. Subsequently, he developed a second injury that was initially diagnosed as a "stiff back".

He was cleared to play domestic cricket in December, after undergoing a rehabilitation stint at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore, and carried on till the Duleep Trophy final in February - however, he looked far from his best, unable at times to execute his full, natural action or his run-up.

"It was devastating to be told that I had been carrying this injury for almost five months," Sreesanth said. "But in a way, I am happy too that the injury has been diagnosed. There was always this niggling pain down in the back even after I was cleared to play last year. But I was told by experts in India that I was perfectly alright and was just not mentally tough enough to play again. They questioned my mental strength and commitment and even I started doubting myself. But now, I have my answer."

Sreesanth says the first step to recovery happened when he got in touch with Patrick Farhart, the physio of his IPL team (Kings XI Punjab). "He asked me to come to Sydney for assessment and then took me through an exhaustive check-up, including a bone scan and an MRI scan," he said. "Clearly, there was a stress fracture in the lower back (L2). Now I am following Patrick's recovery schedule."

Sreesanth now hopes that his "faith in god" and "amazing support" from friends, including Brett Lee, his IPL bowling partner, will see him through the present crisis. "Lee and Mitchell Johnson are the two guys who have come back from similar injuries and still done extremely well," he said. "So that's an inspiration. Brett has always been a good friend, and he has been particularly helpful here. He has worked out with me, and spoken to me a lot, mostly about keeping the faith and believing in oneself during such situations."

Sreesanth says he has been told that his international career - stuck since last April at 14 Tests and 50 wickets - hinges on how well he manages the recovery, and not how quickly he does it. "That's why I am going to play safe now," he said. "I am not going to rush back like I have done before and spoil it all again. But I will be back because I know my best is yet to come."

Jayawardene quits as Sri Lanka cricket captain

2009-02-11T05:40:00.000-08:00

Mahela Jayawardene on Wednesday decided to step down as Sri Lanka's cricket captain after the upcoming Tests in Pakistan, saying he was doing it "in the best interests" of the team.

"This is something I have been considering for some time as it has been my long-held belief that my successor should have at least 18 months in the job to imprint his vision on the team for the 2011 World Cup," Jayawardene, 31, said in a statement.

Jayawardene's decision to quit came after India completed a 4-1 rout of Sri Lanka in a recent one-day series, although he did not mention this as a factor.

The middle-order batsman, who led Sri Lanka for the first time in April 2004, did not play in Tuesday's Twenty20 international here, which India won by three wickets.

"After much thought, I have concluded that the right time has now come for fresh leadership to takeover," said Jayawardene, who was named the International Cricket Council's captain of the year in 2006.

"It was not an easy decision to make because being the Sri Lanka captain has been the source of enormous pride. I am very grateful to have been granted the honour of leading the team."

Jayawardene however made it clear he was not quitting the team altogether.

"I look forward now to extending my full support to my successor and hope to play a major part in the team's success during coming years as a batsman," he added.

Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Duleep Mendis said Jayawardene's resignation had been accepted, but no decision had been taken on the new captain.

Kumar Sangakkara, the current vice-captain and Jayawardene's close friend, was likely to take over as skipper, local media speculated.

Jayawardene, in an interview with Cricinfo last year, said Sangakkara would make a good captain.

"Kumar is definitely a suitable person to lead Sri Lanka," he said in the interview.

"His knowledge of the game and his approach is brilliant. He has been a brilliant deputy too. We talk a lot about planning and strategising, so there is not much difference in our thinking, which is very important.

"If I suddenly lose the hunger to lead then ideally Kumar should take over."

Jayawardene guided Sri Lanka to the World Cup final in the West Indies in 2007, where they lost to Australia.

He captained Sri Lanka in 26 Tests, winning 15, losing seven with four draws.

In 94 one-day internationals under him, Sri Lanka won 54 and lost 35 while the rest ended in no-results.

The first Test in Pakistan will be played in Karachi from February 21-25, while the second and final match will be played in Lahore from March 1-5.

Jayawardene to quit as Sri Lanka captain

2009-02-11T03:38:00.000-08:00

Mahela Jayawardene is to stand down as Sri Lanka captain after the Pakistan tour. Jayawardene, who has led Sri Lanka since February 2006, announced his decision after a meeting with the national cricket selectors.

He presided over a 4-1 loss to India in a one-day series that ended last week and told selectors the time was right to hand over the captaincy so his successor would have time to prepare the team for the 2011 World Cup.

"In the best interests of the Sri Lanka team, I have decided to stand down as Sri Lanka captain after this Pakistan tour," Jayawardene said. "This is something I have been considering for some time as it has been my long-held belief that my successor should have at least 18 months in the job to imprint his vision on the team for the 2011 World Cup."

He led Sri Lanka in 26 Test matches and 97 one-dayers and was Sri Lanka's most successful captain with a win percentage of 62.50% in Tests and 57% in one-day internationals.

"After much thought, I have concluded that the right time has now come for fresh leadership to take over," he said. "It was not an easy decision to make because being Sri Lanka national captain has been the source of enormous pride. I am very grateful to have been granted the honour of leading the team during the last three years.

"I look forward now to extending my full support to my successor and hope to play a major part in the team's success during the coming years as a batsman," he said.

Sri Lanka play two Tests against Pakistan with the first beginning in Karachi on 21 February. The second is slated to be held in Lahore from 1 March.

India seal dramatic win

2009-02-11T03:33:00.000-08:00

India completed a victorious tour with a three-wicket win against Sri Lanka in a Twenty20 international on Wednesday. Set 172 for victory in 20 overs, India overcame a mid-innings collapse to secure a dramatic win thanks to a brilliant eighth stand between brothers Yusuf and Irfan Pathan. With India slumping to 115 for seven as leg spinner Malinga Bandara claimed 3 for 32, the two Pathan's rescued India with an unbroken 59-run stand in just 25 balls. Irfan Pathan smashed 33 from 16 deliveries with two sixes and Yusuf stroked 22 in 10 balls with two sixes and one four. India, who also won the one-day series 4-1, clinched victory with four balls to spare with Irfan swinging a huge six over mid-wicket. Sri Lanka's stand-in captain Tillakaratne Dilshan top-scored for the hosts with 61 from 47 balls, an innings that included seven fours and one six. Dilshan was provided early support from fellow opener Sanath Jayasuriya, who crashed 33 from just 17 balls with two sixes, helping add 59 for the first wicket in 5.5 overs. Off spinner Yusuf Pathan was India's best bowler, taking two for 23 from four economical overs in the middle of the innings. India started their run chase badly, slumping to 14 for two, but Yuvraj Singh (32) and Suresh Raina (35) regained the initiative with a 67-run stand. Part-time off spinner Jehan Mubarak dragged Sri Lanka back into the game dismissing Yuvraj. Sri Lanka looked to be heading for victory as Jayasuriya bowled a miserly spell, taking 1 for 10 from three overs, as India crashed from 81 for 2 to 115 for 7. However, the Pathan brothers finished off the match with a thrilling partnership.

The Pathan brothers fired India to victory

2009-02-11T03:29:00.000-08:00

India needed 57 runs from 29 deliveries when Irfan Pathan joined his brother Yusuf in the middle. Yusuf, the big hitter who bowls a bit of useful offspin, is not yet a permanent fixture in India's one-day side. Plenty has been said about Irfan - critics cite his ineffective bowling on subcontinent pitches - and it appears he is struggling to identify his predominant vocation.

What followed was stirring stuff. Irfan and Yusuf plundered 59 runs off 25 balls and India posted a rousing three-wicket win with four balls to spare.

Throughout this tour, Muttiah Muralitharan has been taunting Yusuf on and off the field. "Why don't you hit me?" has often been the central jibe. Yusuf reminded him about the IPL final, when he took on Murali but was told that the pitch didn't turn. Tonight, there was no Murali and more importantly, the team situation demanded Yusuf to hit out. And he did.

"The ball had suddenly started to turn and rotating the strike was difficult," Mahendra Singh Dhoni said about the pitch at the R Premadasa Stadium. Yusuf got a little help from Tillakaratne Dilshan who threw the ball to legspinner Malinga Bandara. Cue two sixes and a four in the 16th over, and equation had quickly changed to 40 from 24 balls.

When quizzed about those monster hits at the post-match ceremony, Yusuf said they had all been in his slot. It was as if he had no excuse. He just had to hit the cover off the ball, with no offence to Bandara. As Dhoni said, Yusuf has licence to hit: "We really don't want him to rotate the strike; we want him to look for the big shots."

It wasn't all just brute force, however. Yusuf showed that behind that expressionless exterior, there was a smart brain clicking. After that expensive over from Bandara, Dilshan didn't turn back to spin, and Yusuf coolly picked singles to hand the strike over to his younger brother. Responding to the pressure admirably, Irfan unfurled some gems of his own against Dilhara Fernando and Lasith Malinga. Irfan is a better player of seam bowling and Yusuf can murder spin. It was a perfect tango.

Since the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, Dhoni has looked at Yusuf as a long-term prospect for the No. 7 slot in ODI cricket. "Even if he had not scored in this game," said Dhoni, "we believe in his talent and will give him chances."

In the field, Yusuf had starred with the ball too, chipping in with a tidy four overs for 2 for 23. It wasn't mesmerising bowling - Yusuf's brand of offspin isn't going to inspire a young boy to turn his arm over - but it was effective. As Dhoni said, "He is not a talented bowler in the sense that he doesn't have 100 variations. He will be a tight bowler who can be useful for four to five overs."

Yusuf does indeed fit perfectly into the new Indian way of bowling a slew of slow bowlers in the middle overs between the bowling and batting Powerplays.

If this series has been a show of trust in Yusuf by the captain, this game could be the beginning of Irfan's second innings. His batting was never in doubt; it's his bowling that has to improve, though Dhoni defended his bowler. "It gets difficult for [the] one-change bowler," he said. "The ball doesn't do anything by then on these flat tracks. There is tremendous pressure. You have to take wickets and not give too many runs."

According to Dhoni, a rate of six-an-over for a bowler is reasonable in an age of powerplays. "What Irfan does is add stability when it comes to batting. Without Harbhajan Singh, we have a long tail." On this tour, including this game, Irfan has given away 149 runs from 120 balls at 7.45 runs per over. Clearly, if he has to cement a spot, his bowling will have to improve.

It will be interesting to see how the two brothers go from here. Yusuf will find pressure from Ravindra Jadeja, who is a good batsman and can bowl tidy spin; he was the highest wicket-taker this past Ranji season. Irfan is the preferred allrounder in conditions assisting seam but has been unable to find a regular place otherwise. Both brothers have been working hard in the nets, slogging it out to improve their respective arts. But as Dhoni said, the talent has to be tempered - "International cricket is not just about talent. It's what you do with it."

ICC confirms notification of IPL ban on Asif

2009-02-11T03:25:00.000-08:00

The ICC on Wednesday confirmed that it had been notified of the Indian Premier League drugs tribunal’s decision to impose a one-year ban on Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif for failing a dope test but refused comment, saying it still had to consider the “reasons” for the move.

The 26-year-old was banned for a year on Wednesday, months after testing positive for nandrolone during the IPL semifinals.

“The ICC has yet to consider the written reasons for the decision in the matter and will make no further comment at this stage other than to confirm its expectation that all Member Boards will adopt the ban and as such the player will not be available for official cricket until the ban has been completed,” the governing body said in a statement.

Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat reiterated the ICC’s zero tolerance policy toward dope offenders.

“As an international governing body, the ICC maintains a zero tolerance in the area of doping. We are proud of the fact that we have been testing at our events since 2002 and in that time we are yet to have an adverse analytical finding,” Lorgat said.

New Zealand vs Sri Lanka 1st Test - Christchurch - 1st day

2009-02-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

Upul Tharanga led a charmed life, playing and missing often during his innings of 33
Chris Martin beat the bat a dozen times but was extremely unlucky during the morning session
Shane Bond rattled Sri Lanka with three early wickets

India drop to third in ODI rankings

2009-02-08T06:23:00.000-08:00

India's 68-run defeat to Sri Lanka on Sunday cost them their second place in the latest ICC ODI rankings as they were overtaken by Australia after the World champions pulled off a thrilling win over New Zealand.

India lost two rating points to reduce to 120 while Australia (122) gained one point to their tally to overtake India, who are now back to third place after their brief stay at second spot behind top-ranker South Africa.

If Australia, who are on decline in the last few months, win their next two matches they will be tied at top spot with South Africa, although they will be still second if the rankings are calculated beyond decimal points.

India, who won the series 4-1 against Sri Lanka, will have the chance to regain their best-ever rankings of second spot during their tour of New Zealand, beginning later this month.

England's implosion is one for the books

2009-02-08T06:20:00.000-08:00

West Indies' players celebrating after England's Andrew Strauss was caught out on the fourht of their test match at Sabina Park in Kingston. West Indies won by an innings and 32 runs

England suffered a historic humiliation over the weekend, as it was bowled out for only 51 runs by West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica - a collapse that turned a match that had been well balanced over its first three days into a massacre, with West Indies winning by an innings and 23 runs.

It was the third-lowest completed innings score by England in 880 test matches spread over 132 years. There is a strong case for arguing that it was its worst-ever batting performance.

Its lowest score ever, 45, was against Australia at Sydney in 1887, before touring teams were fully representative. While regarded retrospectively as a full England team, it was in reality a privately organized touring XI, and in any case went on to win the match by 13 runs.

When England was bowled out for 46 by West Indies in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, in 1994, the damage was done by two great fast bowlers, Courtney Walsh and the 6-foot-7 inch, or 2.01-meter, Curtly Ambrose, operating in conditions strongly in their favor.

Saturday was different. Batting was never easy on the first three days, but both teams topped 300 in their first innings. In the first part of the fourth day, Brendan Nash, playing only his third test, extended his innings for West Indies to 55 runs scored over four hours.

Nor is there anything apparently terribly formidable about the West Indies' bowling. Jerome Taylor's career average was nearly 35 runs per test wicket. Fidel Edwards averaged nearly 39. Left-arm spinner Suleiman Benn, playing only his fourth test, was well over 40. Taylor and Edwards were both valued at $150,000 in the Indian Premier League auction of players last week. Two England players, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, were sold for more than ten times that amount.

Yet Taylor produced the most devastating bowling of his career. He took five wickets for 11 runs, bowling Pietersen for one run, to slice through England's top order. At one stage England had lost six wickets for 23 runs and was in danger of setting a new record for the lowest score in test history, the 26 scored by New Zealand against England at Wellington in 1955.

It was saved, at least, from that crowning ignominy by Flintoff, who battled for 24 runs before he was ninth out, bowled by Edwards. Nobody else reached double figures.

The victory gave West Indies a 1-0 lead, with three of a series of four five-day test matches still to come.

England's was the 18th lowest score in test history. Only three lower scores, though, have been made in the past 50 years, a period that has seen three-quarters of all the tests ever played.

It was the lowest since England last visited Kingston in 2004. Then, it was West Indies that collapsed for 47. Fast bowler Steve Harmison, last man out on Saturday evening, produced the spell of his life to take seven wickets for 12 runs.

That rout was part of a run of 13 England victories in 16 matches against West Indies. That spell of West Indian futility is now ended, but it remains to be seen whether it can fully reverse its fortunes.

The victory Saturday gave it a 1-0 lead, with three of a series of four five-day test matches still to come.

West Indies has a habit of producing occasional superb performances - such as a victory over South Africa last year and a world-record run chase against Australia in 2003 - but failing to sustain that form.

There is, though, serious promise in the calmly relaxed captaincy of Chris Gayle (not to mention the sense of responsibility it has induced in his batting), in the obduracy of Nash and in Benn's spin-bowling. Taylor's spell may represent a breakthrough, just as Harmison's did in 2004, signaling a run of form that took the Englishman to the top of the world bowling rankings.

England will certainly consider changes. Batsman Owais Shah must surely get his chance, probably at the expense of Ian Bell. Spinner Monty Panesar failed to get anything like the response extracted from the Kingston pitch by the much less experienced Benn.

At least it has three matches in which to recover. And the next two, in Antigua and Barbados, are on islands where it can expect huge support from travelling England fans.

Sri Lanka win 5th ODI by 68 runs, India win series 4-1

2009-02-08T06:16:00.000-08:00

India's record breaking sequence of nine consecutive ODI triumphs was brought to an end on Sunday by Sri Lanka who salvaged some pride with a consolation 68-run win in the fifth and final one-day Cricket match of the series which has already been clinched by the visitors.

The defeat means that India could not make a clean sweep of the series and had to be content with a 4-1 victory margin.

Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan missed a ton by just three runs and Kumar Sangakkara's hit 84 while spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan regained form just in time to avoid the series whitewash.

Half centuries by Yuvraj Singh (73), debutant Ravindra Jadeja (60 not out) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (53) could not be enough as Indian top order failed to click and the visitors were rolled over with seven balls to spare in chase of Sri Lanka's challenging 320 for eight on a batting track.

The Indians went into the final match without key players like Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and spinner Pragyan Ojha with the team management deciding to try out bench strength.

Yuvraj gave some stability to the run chase after his side was reduced to 85 for four inside the 15th over. India, however, struggled again after some time as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals on a day when nothing went right for them.

A cautious Dhoni and Jadeja only tried to delay the inevitable by putting on 55 runs off 66 balls for the seventh wicket.

Dhoni's effort included two massive sixes and a hit to the fence. He reached his 50 with a towering six. Jadeja's 77-ball knock was aided by four fours.

India round off the tour with a one-off Twenty20 international on February 10 before returning home next day.

The visitors got off to a shaky start with opener Virender Sehwag dismissed cheaply for six by Thilan Thushara on a poor shot after hitting the bowler for a four on the previous ball in the second over.

He was immediately followed by Suresh Raina, who was done in by an impeccable field placing by Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene in the third over and at that stage India were tottering at nine for two wickets in chase of a mammoth target.

The other opener Gautam Gambhir, who made 150 in the previous day-night affair, also buckled under pressure and was out for 13 off Nuwan Kulasekara, who got him caught by wicketkeeper Sangakkara in the ninth over. Rohit Sharma (15) then returned to pavilion in the 15th over.

Harbhajan Singh with uncharacteristic bashfulness, as he celebrates the award

2009-01-27T21:51:00.000-08:00

Cricketer Harbhajan Singh is hardly bashful on the field, but after it was announced recently that he’s bagged the Padma Shri, Bhajji was asked when he might be getting a shrimati as well. And, at that, the cricketer blushed. “Ab wahi ek achievement reh gaya hai. I know the time has come for me to settle down and very soon, I’ll get this responsibility as well,” he says.

Till then, Bhajji’s quite ecstatic about the award. “I’m super thrilled. It is a matter of great honour for my family that the government has chosen me for this award, given that it is one of the foremost awards in the country.” Although the last year was kind of a mixed bag for Bhajji, he says that the award has come at the right time. “This award has been given to me taking into account my contribution to the game over all these years. This has put me in the elite club of all my seniors who got this before me, like Rahul bhai (Dravid), Sachin bhai (Tendulkar) and Anil bhai (Kumble).”

Does he think that it’s come too late in his career, though? He disagrees. “I think it’s never too late. I am satisfied that I was considered worthy of the recognition.” So, is it party time at his home? He laughs, “Not really. We’re a simple family. I’m away for so much of the year, and it is their sacrifices that have allowed me to achieve so much. I will have a quiet dinner with them to celebrate.”

Harbhajan dedicates Padma Shree to father

2009-01-27T21:47:00.000-08:00

Jalandhar, Jan 26: Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh on Monday said he felt "honoured" at being chosen for the Padma Shree Award by the government of India and dedicated it to his late father.

Harbhajan and Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni are the two cricketers who will be conferred with the prestigious award.

"I am glad that I was selected for the prestigious award and it's really an honour for me," the Indian off-spinner, said after unfurling the National Flag at a Republic Day function today.

The offie, who will miss the Sri Lanka tour due to injury, said he is happy to get the award, which also adorns the cupboard of senior pros Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

"I am lucky to get selected for the award, which has already been conferred on great cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid and now I along with MS Dhoni will also get the same," he said.

"I got a call from union sports ministry, day before yesterday about the award, but I did not disclose it to anybody and finally my name was announced yesterday."

Flanked by his mother Avtar Kaur, Harbhajan dedicated the award to his late father, relatives and friends.

Preity Zinta's Kings XI to hold Punjab Cup

2009-01-27T21:46:00.000-08:00

Last year Preity Zinta’s cricket team, Kings XI Punjab, performed well in the Indian Premier League.

Preity now wants to give a chance to budding cricketers to showcase their skills.

Her Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will hold a cricket seminar and tournament in Chandigarh and Mohali. The T-20 tournament will be between the teams of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and J&K.

It will also be a platform for the states to connect with different communities of the nation.

The tournament will be conducted in conjunction with the state associations and in particular the PCA.

KXIP Cup matches will be played in a league format among five teams i.e. two from Punjab and one each from the other three states. Each
team will comprise of 14 players and two officials. A total of 11 matches will be played in the tournament.

"My aim is to promote cricket at the grassroot level and to nurture new talent. I also want everyone involved to have fun," says Preity.

Preity Zinta's grand plans for Kings XI Punjab

2009-01-27T21:43:00.000-08:00

Preity Zinta's IPL cricket team- Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) may not have made it to the finals of the inaugural IPL, but there is no denying the fact that the bubbly actress gave it her all to cheer her boys, right from the word 'go'. Captained by the flamboyant Yuvraj Singh, KXIP made it to the semis which in itself, is no mean feat.

Now before the second edition of the hugely successful IPL kicks off this year, Preity Zinta already has some special plans to further boost her team's prospects. In an attempt to further develop the game of cricket in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and J&K, Preity's KXIP will hold a cricket seminar as well as a coaching camp in Chandigarh. The aim of this camp is to identify, nurture and groom regional talent in pursuit of excellence for the game. Besides providing a suitable platform for budding cricketers, this camp will also help identify brand 'Kings XI Punjab' with fans and the regional community as a whole.

Apart from the coaching camp, 'KXIP Cup', a T-20 tournament among the teams of the four states is also planned to be conducted at Chandigarh and Mohali from 28th Jan to 02nd Feb'09. The tournament will be conducted in conjunction with the state associations and in particular the Punjab Cricket Academy (PCA). The basic aim of the KXIP cup is not only to recognize genuine talent but also recruit them in the KXIP team and also the PCA. This cup will also be a platform for the states to connect with different communities of the nation.

The matches will be played in a league format among five teams i.e. two from Punjab and one each from the other three states (Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir). Every team will comprise of 14 players and two officials. Each team will play the other teams once and the top two teams will qualify for the finals. Hence, a total of 11 matches will be played in the tournament. The matches will be conducted at the PCA Stadium in Mohali and the Cricket Stadium, Sector 16, Chandigarh. The winning team will be given cash prize of Rs.3 lakh while the runner-up team will be given a cash prize of Rs.2 lakh.

Lanka guarded after early shock

2009-01-27T21:41:00.000-08:00

Electing to field first, India got the first breakthrough in the form of Tillakratne Dilshan's wicket as the Lanka opener was caught short of his crease in the Dambulla ODI.

It was an utter mess in the middle. Dilshan played a Zaheer Khan-delivery towards square leg and rushed for a single but Sanath Jayasuriya was not keen and sent his partner back from halfway. Meanwhile Yusuf Pathan collected the ball and knocked the stumps to see Dilshan tread back without scoring.

However, India too are without their regular opener Virender Sehwag who is out with an injury. His absence gives Rohit Sharma a place in the playing XI. India have gone with three seamers and a spinner Pragyan Ojha.

Both the teams back themselves with series victories. While India had a 5-0 win against England, the Islanders have come off a well earned 2-1 ODI series win against Pakistan.

The two teams have played seven ODIs against each other in the last six months and India clearly dominated the contest. While Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup in Pakistan, India won the bilateral ODI series in Sri Lanka. Dhoni's boys would want to carry on the momentum. Lankans, on the other hand, are eyeing revenge and salvage some pride.

This series holds special importance for Muttiah Muralitharan as the off-spinner is just three wickets short of surpassing former Pakistani paceman Wasim Akram's world record of 502 one-day scalps.

India: MS Dhoni (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (Captain), Tillakratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Kapugedera, Sanath Jayasuriya, Farveez Maharoof, Thilana Kandamby, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni India eye encore, revenge fuels Lanka

2009-01-27T21:39:00.000-08:00

The 3-2 win last year fresh in mind, India will seek to maintain their supremacy while revenge will be on top of Sri Lanka's mind when the neighbours square off in the first ODI of the five-match cricket series in Dambulla on Wednesday (January 28).

Under the charismatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India have been in ominous form in both forms of the game and the 5-0 whitewash against England in the ODI series at home gives a fair indication of the side's might. In contrast, Sri Lanka have not been as convincing.

Under their off-colour skipper Mahela Jayawardene, the islanders struggled against minnows Zimbabwe and lost to Bangladesh in a recent tri-series in Dhaka.

Things looked better in the hastily arranged three-match ODI series in Pakistan where they lost the series opener before eventually clinching the series with back-to-back wins.

Despite holding a slight edge over the hosts, the lone worry for Dhoni remains the spin attack which sports an inexperienced look in the absence of injured off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Hyderabad left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who has played just five ODIs so far, would spearhead the spin attack, while uncapped Saurashtra all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja would also be expected to chip in.

Dhoni himself realises what it means not to have Harbhajan in the ranks but reckons he can always fall back on the part-time options he has in Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh.

"Harbhajan has been our pick of the spinners for some time. Whether you are bowling first or second or bowling in powerplays, he is the person," Dhoni said.

"But we have two spinners in the side, Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja. I think they will try to fill in the space left by Harbhajan's absence. Of course we have part-timers also who have done well. It is an opportunity for both the spinners to prove themselves," he added.

Otherwise, there apparently is no chink in the Indian armour but Dhoni insists it would be fatal to lower the guard, especially playing Sri Lanka at their den.

"It will be a tough series. It is tough to beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka though we had defeated them the last time around," Dhoni said.

For Jayawardene, the key is to stick to the winning ways. "Our strategy will be to try and continue the winning momentum. It is going to be a tough series and we look forward to the challenge," he said.

"We lost the first game against Pakistan. It was really tough for us to come back. We had a chat and we knew exactly what went wrong. Next two games was history," the Lankan skipper said.

Still on paper, the balance looks tilted in India's fovour considering the consistency they have shown in recent past. India have arguably the best opening pair at the moment with the Delhi duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in cracking form.

Despite his age, Sachin Tendulkar remains as hungry for runs as ever, while few can match Yuvraj Singh's striking ability in this format.

Among the youngsters, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma have already proved their credentials while Yusuf Pathan would be there down the order to provide the late charge.

The pace bowling department also has a formidable look about it with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma forming a lethal new ball pair.

Sri Lanka's bowling doesn't look bad either. Nuwan Kulasekara is currently the number two bowler in the ICC ODI rankings while Thilana Kulasekara has been consistently among the wickets.

However, all eyes would be on their spin attack which comprises two of the most exciting turners of the ball of this era. Veteran Muttiah Muralitharan needs three more wickets to overtake Wasim Akram's ODI tally of 502 scalps and that would make him the highest wicket-taker in both forms of the game.

At the other end, Ajantha Mendis would fancy his chances against the same Indian line-up which he wrecked in the Asia Cup final last year.

Squads (From): India: MS Dhoni (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan and Ishant Sharma.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jaywardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilina Kandamby, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thilina Thushara and Angelo Mathews.

Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh speaking exclusively to TIMES NOW

2009-01-27T03:03:00.000-08:00

The Men in Blue are in Sri Lanka to play five one-day internationals and a T20 match. However, Team India will surely miss their star spinner -- Harbhajan Singh, who is out due to a hamstring injury. However, the off-spinner was more than delighted that he was honoured with the Padmashri and expressed his joy in an exclusive interview with TIMES NOW.

The Republic Day was another occasion for Harbhajan SIngh to show his patriotism, but the turbanator had more joy in store as he was awarded the Padmashri. He said, "I was thrilled and very happy to get this award because it a very prestigious kind of award. It a huge achievement for me."

Bhajji also expressed his readiness to put the entire monkeygate sage with Aussie all-rounder Andrew Symonds behind him. He said, "Whatever happened is all over now, so its best that nothing is spoken about it. I am just concentrating on my game to be honest rather than getting into all this drama that has been going on."

Meanwhile, the turbanator also said that he would love to borrow the quality of calmness from the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar to reach his goal. "I think he (Sachin) is a great guy to be with. I have learnt a lot from him. One thing that I would want to take from him would be his calmness. If I get that I am sure that I will get 600-wickets for India."

However, when it comes to dancing, there is just one hero for Bhajji and that would be he himself. He said, "Sreesanth is a good dancer, inclusing Dhoni, Yuvraj and Sachin. We all know to dance when it comes to celebrating happy moments. Whether you know to dance or not, you will feel like dancing. But the best dancer will always go to Harbhajan Singh."

He may be able to sweep any women off her feet with his moves, but the off-spinner is still looking for his lady love. Speaking on his hunt for the perfect partner, Bhajji said, "I don't know who the 'hasina' is but there is a 'khiladi' who is available. You guys can help me find my 'hasina'."

All that one knows is that, irrespective of his on-field dramas, Bhajji is a fierce fighter as well as a lively character off it.

Harbhajan dedicates Padma Shree to father

2009-01-27T03:01:00.000-08:00

Ponting hits out at team for 'coming up a long way short'

2009-01-27T02:58:00.000-08:00

Ricky Ponting was disappointed with Australia's failure to build on 110 for two in the fourth one-day international against South Africa

Australia's captain Ricky Ponting has admitted his side had "come up a long way short" in their eight-wicket defeat to South Africa in Adelaide on Monday and told his players "they must turn things around quickly".

A tight Commonwealth Bank Series was blown apart on Monday with the Proteas bowling the hosts out for 222 and then cruising to victory with 11.5 overs to spare. It has been a disappointing season for the Australians and, although Ponting felt the team had been competitive in the first three games of the series, he said of the defeat: "An eight-wicket loss with 12 overs to go is a big loss in a one-day game. We've come up a long way short on this occasion.

"We've obviously been comprehensively beaten. Once again with our batting we got ourselves into a reasonable position – 110 for two and a few overs later we are 130 for five – and that's been the tale right through this series to date.

"Five overs cost us. From once again getting up near 280 to 300, to struggle to 220 as you saw on a very, very good batting wicket and a very fast outfield. That total was never ever going to be enough if they played well and we didn't take wickets with the new ball."

Australia will now head to Perth to salvage some pride in the final game of the one-day series on Friday and Ponting is hopeful the team can build some confidence and some momentum in preparation for the one-day fixtures against New Zealand.

Australia will also be keen out to hold onto their No1 ranking: if South Africa win the final ODI then they will move to the top of the rankings. "We are going to need to play better than we have over the last couple of weeks if we want to turn our cricket around and we need to do it pretty quickly," added Ponting.

Meanwhile, the all-rounder Andrew Symonds will face a Cricket Australia Code of Conduct hearing over comments made about New Zealand's Brendon McCullum. Symonds told a radio programme he thought McCullum was a "lump of shit" following the Kiwi wicketkeeper-batsman's decision to play for New South Wales in the final of the KFC Big Bash on Saturday.

Cricket Australia has placed Symonds on report for a breach of Code of Behaviour provisions relating to detrimental public comment. "Given the importance of the tribunal hearing, it would be inappropriate to comment on the issue now a report has been made," the acting CA chief executive, Michael Brown, said. "Once the outcome of this hearing is finalised, CA will be in a better position to assess issues relating to Andrew Symonds."

Any suspension would delay Symonds' comeback from injury in the upcoming Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia, which starts on Friday. It would also cast a doubt on his future with the national team given he was suspended for going fishing instead of attending a team meeting in Darwin last year.

Symonds has a long list of disciplinary issues, most notably on the 2005 tour of England where he was dropped before a one-day international against Bangladesh for turning up in an unfit state.

Younis may replace Malik as captain

2009-01-27T02:55:00.000-08:00

Following Pakistan's disastrous ODI series loss to Sri Lanka last week, reports have emerged on Tuesday that Younis Khan has been approached to take over as captain from Shoaib Malik. Cricinfo has learnt that the board chairman Ijaz Butt summoned Younis from a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match for Habib Bank at the Gaddafi Stadium for an emergency meeting that lasted approximately 15 minutes.

Pakistan news channel Geo, quoting unnamed board sources, said the result of the meeting was that Younis had been offered the captaincy and that he had accepted it. A source close to Younis, however, told Cricinfo that he hadn't accepted it yet.

"He has been offered the captaincy, but the important thing for him is that he wants it on his own terms and conditions. As far as I know he hasn't accepted it just yet," the source said. "The offer, like before, comes at a difficult time for Pakistan cricket and that will play a part."

The reference to the past was when Younis was first offered the captaincy after a disastrous 2007 World Cup, when Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down and retired from ODIs. He had been groomed for the role for two years prior to that as vice-captain, and only after he refused was it offered to Malik.

Younis had turned down the captaincy previously as well, in October 2006, when he replaced Inzamam briefly for the Champions Trophy in India. After he announced that he wasn't going to take up the captaincy and walked out of a press conference, he was eventually convinced by a new board chairman to lead the team.

Soon after the meeting on Tuesday, senior board officials and members of the team management as well as the selection committee held a meeting of their own with the chairman. The second meeting was to ostensibly discuss the fallout from the series; Intikhab Alam and team manager Yawar Saeed handed in their report of the series during the meeting.

If the reports are confirmed, it will end an unsettled period of leadership for Malik. Though his ODI results are impressive on the surface, they hide a string of wins against minnows such as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. More crucial to understanding the pressure to remove him at the moment is the statistic against bigger opponents. The Sri Lanka series loss means that Pakistan has now lost series against every major nation they played under Malik: in 2007-08 they lost both the Test and ODI series against South Africa at home and away to India.

There have also been persistent reports of an uneasy relationship with senior players such as Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Akhtar. Yousuf has criticised Malik publicly since he moved to the ICL while Malik openly questioned Shoaib's commitment during the Sri Lanka ODIs, before swiftly backtracking on his remarks.

Champion's timing was impeccable

2009-01-18T08:31:00.000-08:00

Triple figures yet again ... Matthew Hayden celebrates what was possibly a career-saving hundred at The Oval in the fifth Test of the 2005 Ashes series against England. Hayden retired during the week after a stellar career which included 30 centuries

Matthew Hayden is a class act. His brilliant playing career demands such a description. The manner in which he retired confirms it. It's never easy to say "It's over". Particularly when, in your heart, you don't believe it to be true.

His natural instinct would be to fight on and prove people wrong. After all, he spent the first half of his first life doing just the same. There comes a time …

Hayden read the situation perfectly. A bit like the way he used to read Muttiah Muralitharan's "doosra" and nonchalantly sweep it to the square-leg boundary. There was also a time in his career when critics said he couldn't play spin. Nothing a little hard work and dedication couldn't fix. Typically, he became one of the best.

His acceptance of the inevitability of his situation shows a man strong in character and very comfortable in his own skin.

Professional sport is littered with examples of the talented fighter who went one bout too many.

In rugby league we have the philosophy that it's best to go one year too early than one year too late. So many players hang on for too long. They cite a passion for the game as justification to continue. More often it's a fear of the unknown - a life without football - that scares them the most.

The bottom line is even the very best sportsmen wake up one morning and it is gone. I can't explain what it is - but you just can't do what you used to do.

You can't apply yourself as diligently. You keep thinking this match will be the one when you get it all together, but the disappointments keep coming. There are intermittent recoveries; glimpses of your former self. However, consistency eludes you and confidence gets eroded.

Nothing makes sense. You have more knowledge and skill than any time in your career. You're training hard. You feel strong. You've never loved the game as much as you do right now. But … something is missing.

The feet don't move as quickly as they used to. Your reflexes don't react as they should. Your mind wanders at inappropriate times and your once steely concentration is diluted with other distractions.

Your normally aggressive and confident manner is replaced with tinges of apprehension or even fear at the point of impact. There's a negative shadow hovering over your thoughts. You hit and hope. If you're honest, you sometimes feel even the good things you do are actually a bit of a fluke - but you poke your chest out anyway, like you're really in control.

You kid yourself that no one else can see your inner turmoil and anxiety. To the trained observer though, your body language has already given you away.

I'm sure Hayden feels he still had more to offer. I sense his teammates felt the same way too.

With any team sport, leadership and chemistry play as much a part in success as the runs off the bat or catches in the field.

Hayden has stood like a protective colossus over his teammates for so long. He strikes me as the one who gives them confidence when they eye each other in the dressing room before going out to perform. He intimidated opposition attacks, battering them into submission and in so doing, paved the way for others to follow. His teammates wouldn't like to lose such a man.

At a time when the Australian cricket team is undergoing a massive transition in personnel, there was surely a case for perseverance with Hayden. In professional sport though, all jobs in and around the organisation are in jeopardy when the wins dry up.

The success of the Australian cricket team has been fuelled by the ability, passion and competitiveness of people such as Hayden. Plenty have become more valuable in their own right through playing alongside him.

It's somewhat ironic, therefore, the perceived failure of the Aussie boys this summer at the hands of the South Africans has contributed to Hayden's early curtain call.

I'm not so sure our team has failed as badly as people make out. I can see a future here as youngsters earn their stripes and try to live down, rather than live up to, the results of their successful predecessors. Hayden could've assisted their development. I'm old enough to remember the struggles our national team went through during the 60s, 70s and 80s. It made me appreciate the great success our lads have achieved during the past couple of decades.

I've seen it plenty of times in football where a highly successful period in a club's history removes the patience and resolve of an organisation to handle the downturn when the cycle of success turns against them. A few losses plunges them into panic mode and everyone looks for the quick fix to get back on top. Success doesn't work that way.

Anyway, what's done is done.

The point I want to make is that Matthew Hayden has taken his retirement like a man.

Sure, it's a year too early. But the signs were there; and it's best we remember him this way.

I've enjoyed his career so much. Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Steve Waugh, Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Ian Healy, Ricky Ponting; from the outside looking in, my instincts tell me these greats have been the catalyst for the aggressive, consistent and successful period Australian cricket has enjoyed for so long.

To me, these warriors have moulded the personality of the modern-day Australian cricket team. I place Hayden right alongside these great names.

I stand and applaud Hayden for his contributions to Australian cricket and I thank him for the many great summers of entertainment he has provided us cricket fans. He epitomises everything we want an Australian sportsman to be. I can think of no higher accolade.

When Hayden refused Ponting's secret offer

2009-01-18T08:30:00.000-08:00

Sydney (IANS): Australia captain Ricky Ponting in a secret offer wanted to skip Tuesday's Twenty20 match against South Africa to allow Matthew Hayden a testimonial game at the Gabba to celebrate his retirement.

A few hours before Hayden faced the media to announce his retirement, Ponting and a former Test player cropped up the plan to give the 37-year-old the ultimate send-off at his home ground, it was reported by The Daily Telegraph.

Ponting called Hayden around 9 a.m., two hours before the press conference, and told him about the plan. But Hayden politely refused the offer to lead the side.

"Ricky did ring me on the morning of the game. He said 'I'll stand down for you if you want to play one last time'," Hayden was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.

"I was blown away by Ricky's gesture, I said, 'thanks mate, but I can't do it'. I had made my decision. I was retiring in a couple of hours and I didn't want to make the announcement and then go out there and play for Australia. For me it has always been about the team and it would have disrupted them. I was rapt with the lap of honour. It was a great way to say goodbye," he added.

The idea was the brainchild of a former Test star, who did not wish to be named. He said that Ponting was more than happy to make way for Hayden once the idea was raised.

"I said to Ricky, 'how about if you gave Haydos one last game?' Ricky said it would be a great idea, we'll see how we go, but Haydos knocked it on the head. I'm not sure what Cricket Australia would have said because Punter (Ponting) would have had to stand aside," the former Test star was quoted as saying by the daily.

Cricket Australia (CA) would have been required to ratify the plan, but the idea did not reach an official level because Hayden declined Ponting's offer. CA spokesman Phillip Pope said the Hayden cameo would have been difficult to ratify as the veteran opener had formalised his retirement with CA boss James Sutherland.

ICC explains Why Sachin, Lara not Test greats

2009-01-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

New Delhi: Under attack, the International Cricket Council late on Thursday came up with a briefing for its ‘baffling’ all-time Test player rankings which had no place for champion batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara in the top 20 but the game's governing body made it clear that the list did not rank players in terms of true greatness.

A day after the new chart was released, former cricketers expressed surprise at the composition of the list and said it was 'extremely misleading" since many great names did not figure in the top ten positions.

India's former left-arm spinner Maninder Singh went to the extent of calling it a ‘joke’ and said ‘sadistic’ ICC officials should stop coming out with such lists.

"The ICC is in the habit of making a joke of themselves, and this list proves that. Now, how can you explain Tendulkar who has scored over 12,000 Test runs not being in that list? I think these jokers should not be given the pleasure of rating players in this way", Maninder said.

The ICC, on its part, promptly, came out with a clarification saying that the list does not rank players in terms of true greatness and does not give a full picture of a player's level of consistency or longevity in the game.

It said that Matthew Hayden's place higher up the table than Sachin Tendulkar or Brian Lara in the all-time Test and ODI rankings does not necessarily mean that the just-retired Australian is the 10th-best Test batsman or 18th-best ODI batsman in the history of the game.

"The rankings give an indication of how players peaked during their careers but do not give a full picture of those players' level of consistency or longevity in the game", the ICC said in a statement.

Explaining the manner in which the rankings have been decided, the ICC said, "A batsman or a bowler who averages around 700 ratings points for most of his career apart from a purple patch where he shoots up to 900 points before dropping down again may be ranked higher on the all-time ratings.

"But that does not mean he should necessarily be considered to be better than a player who hovered around the 850-point mark for his entire career," it said.

The ICC accepted that the all-time list does not rank players in terms of true greatness.

"For that reason some players, who are considered by most observers of the game to be truly great, such as Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Wally Hammond, Greg Chappell and others, do not feature in the top 20 in the all-time high ratings," the statement said.

Tendulkar was ranked 26th in the Test rankings while Lara was listed three rungs above him.

The ICC urged fans to take a closer look at a player's entire career graph to determine his greatness rather than go by the snapshots, which is what the "best-ever ratings" effectively are.

ICC forced to backtrack on all-time player rankings

2009-01-18T08:23:00.000-08:00

The ICC has been forced to issue a hasty media release after criticism of its rankings following Wednesday's announcement that Matthew Hayden was rated as the 10th-best Test batsmen of all time. One newspaper said that it had been forced into a "damage-limitation exercise" after the top 10 did not feature Sachin Tendulkar, ranked at No. 26.

"This does not necessarily mean he is the 10th-best Test batsman or 18th-best ODI batsman in the history of the game," an ICC spokesman said. "The rankings give an indication of how players peaked during their careers but do not give a full picture of those players' level of consistency or longevity in the game.

"The rankings are a great way to compare the performances of players but the all-time list of highest-rated players does not by itself rank those players in terms of true greatness. For that reason some players, who are considered by most observers of the game to be truly great, such as Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Wally Hammond, Greg Chappell and others, do not feature in the top 20 in the all-time high ratings."

But many remained far from convinced. "I am appalled at the ICC's methods of devising the best batsman and the best bowler," fumed Kapil Dev. "It is all the more disappointing when I see that the names of Gavaskar and Tendulkar do not figure on the top."

India's former left-arm spinner Maninder Singh labelled the rankings a "joke" and said "sadistic" ICC officials should stop coming out with such lists. Even former BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah was moved to describe the rankings system as laughable.

"I don't know if anyone takes this ranking system seriously, it has no bearing on anybody," Shah told the Sydney Morning Herald. "There are so many other companies in India doing these sorts of rankings and the ICC just wants to get some publicity for their own system."

Mumbai sniff 38th Ranji title, UP need 525 to win

2009-01-18T08:22:00.001-08:00

Vinayak Samant (113) slammed his maiden first class century, while team-mate Rohit Sharma (108) struck his second of the match as Mumbai batted Uttar Pradesh out of the final and virtually assured itself of its 38th Ranji Trophy title on Thursday.

Aware that their 157-run first innings lead was enough to win the title in case of a drawn match, Mumbai adopted a safety-first approach and batted on and on till they were all out for 367.

UP would require a miracle of sorts to chase down the mammoth 525-run target with just one day left.

The only sour note in Mumbai's superior display was Sachin Tendulkar's failure in both the innings. The star batsman, who scored a duck in the first innings and was battling a viral fever, batted at number seven in the second essay only to score four runs and fall to Piyush Chawla.

Apart from Samant and Rohit, captain Wasim Jaffer shone for Mumbai with the bat, scoring 85.

Rohit became only the sixth batsman to score two centuries in a Ranji Trophy final.

For UP, Piyush Chawla and Parvinder Singh scalped three wickets apiece.

Resuming on 130 for no loss, Mumbai soon realised that the UP bowlers were not in a mood to throw in the towel.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed Jaffer in the 43rd over just before the opening stand was about to reach the 150-mark and suddenly wicket started tumbling as Mumbai, from 146 for no loss, slumped to 241 for six.

Chawla alone claimed the scalps of Abhishek Nayar (3), Ramesh Powar (0) and Tendulkar to peg Mumbai back before Rohit put his foot down.

Samant survived numerous edges and near-misses but gamely hung on for his maiden century before falling to Parvinder Singh after a 239-ball 113 that included 17 hits to the fence. The middle order collapse apparently had no effect on Rohit who looked in complete control of the proceedings by the time UP took the second new ball.

Unlike the first innings, Rohit was rock solid today. He needed 27 balls to get off the mark but he kicked off in style, hitting Chawla for three consecutive boundaries.

In fact, he never allowed Chawla to settle into any rhythm, often sweeping him to negate his googly.

Even though Mumbai's lead kept swelling, they never really seemed keen on an outright win and batted on and on. Parvinder eventually dropped curtains on Rohit's innings just before Mumbai reached the 350-mark.

Rohit's 146-ball knock was studded with 17 crisp boundaries and a massive six off Praveen Gupta which also brought up his century.

Parvinder was on a hat-trick as he removed Zaheer Khan for a first ball duck but Dhawal Kulkarni (15) denied him the feat.

Chawla finally dropped curtains on Mumbai's second innings by removing Kulkarni.

UP let Mumbai off the hook, says skipper Mohd Kaif

2009-01-18T08:20:00.000-08:00

Hyderabad, Jan 17: Despite having to forego the 38th Ranji Trophy, Uttar Pradesh captain Mohammad Kaif has no complaints from his team and is satisfied with the way his boys performed throughout the season.

“I am very satisfied with the performance of the team. Though we committed some mistakes in Mumbai`s first innings in the final, we managed to bounce back in the match strongly,” Kaif said told reporters.

“Our plans against Mumbai had almost worked out in the first innings, but some mistakes allowed the rivals to post a challenging total for us,” he said, adding, “Despite finishing runners-up last season, we started afresh this season and chalked out plans for every match.”

“We took every match with a different attitude, and I am happy that all the players lived upto the expectations.”

Kaif, however, admitted that injuries to Praveen Kumar and RP Singh at crucial moments in the final match caused maximum damage to UP’s winning prospects.

“RP didn`t bowl in Mumbai`s second innings because of shoulder pain. We can`t blame any particular thing for our defeat in the final, but there were many small things which shattered our chances in the end.”

Jayawardene plays down Mendis hype in Pakistan series

2009-01-18T08:17:00.000-08:00

Sri Lankan spin sensation Ajantha Mendis

Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene Sunday refused to single out spin sensation Ajantha Mendis as the major threat for Pakistan in the one-day series.

The 23-year-old Mendis and his more illustrious partner Muttiah Muralitharan are tipped to hold the aces against the home team in the three-match series which starts here from Tuesday.

But Jayawardene said Mendis doesn't carry extra burden of expectations.

"Mendis hasn't had added pressure and has gone through all the batting line-ups he has come across and is enjoying his challenges," Jayawardene said of his spinner during his arrival press conference.

"Pressure does not effect Mendis. He is a very simple guy he doesn't have to go through such interviews because his knowledge of the English is not that great so he is resting in his room watching movies," said Jayawardene.

Mendis, who made his debut in the West Indies in May last year, became the fastest bowler to get 50 wickets, achieving the total in 19 matches, breaking Indian Ajit Agarkar's record of 23 matches.

Jayawardene said he would not like to put extra pressure on the newcomer.

"He knows what his role is, at the same time there are some really good guys around him giving him advice, especially Murali who is a brilliant role model for Ajantha.

"Murali is somebody who has worked 18 years and come through very well. As long as Ajantha realises that if he can go at the same path as Murali I'm sure we will have a big match winner for us in the next ten years."

Jayawardene refused to agree Sri Lanka are struggling with their overall form after losing to Bangladesh in the last league match and scrapping to a narrow two-wicket win in the final of the tri-series in Dhaka last week.

"I think we've been still winning matches, we haven't lost any, so we just need to continue to do that. I don't think I've seen a team being 5-6 and winning a match," said Jayawardene of his team's slump in the final on Friday.

"That's something special whether it's against Bangladesh or whoever. That shows character to me I think. I'm very proud of the guys, the way we have been playing."

Chasing a modest 153, Sri Lanka lost their first five wickets for a mere six runs -- the lowest total at the fall of five wickets in any one-day international -- before Muralitharan's 16-ball 33 saw them home.

Jayawardene admitted Pakistan are a dangerous team.

"Pakistan is always Pakistan for me. They are a very tough side whether they play regularly or not, so we will have to put up the best effort," said Jayawardene.

The second match is here on Wednesday, while the final match is in Lahore on Saturday.

Jayawardene concerned about ODI batting form

2009-01-18T08:15:00.000-08:00

Captain Mahela Jayawardene said Sunday he was worried about a slump in his batting form in one-day internationals as Sri Lanka arrived for a tour of three ODIs against Pakistan.

Jayawardene has scored 409 runs in the last 18 ODIs over the last seven months, and has not scored a century in the shortened version of the international game in one and a half years.

"It's a concern because as a batsman I need to contribute and that's very important," Jayawardene told reporters. "I haven't been able to get those big runs for the team and that's something on which I'm really working hard on.

"I don't see that I'm like out of form or anything like that because when I play test matches I'm batting really well and getting big runs," said the 31-year-old veteran of 291 ODIs.

Sri Lanka is filling a gap after India canceled its scheduled tour in the wake of Mumbai attacks and will return for two test matches next month after playing five ODIs against India at home.

Bangladesh nearly stunned Sri Lanka in a tri-series final on Friday before Jayawardene's team made a remarkable recovery from being 5-6 to win by two wickets — helped by Muttiah Muralitharan's 33 runs off 16 balls.

"I don't think I've seen a team being 5-6 and winning a match, that's something special whether it's against Bangladesh or whoever," Jayawardene said.

"In cricket there are some periods when you go through bad times and tough times, you just need to pull through and that's what character is all about."

Jayawardene downplayed the role of his two key spin bowlers Muralitharan and new spin sensation Ajantha Mendis in the series against Pakistan.

"There's no focus on my part on those two guys. They are two very good bowlers but at the same time we have got some other really good bowlers who could win matches on their day," he said.

However, Jayawardene predicted a bright future for Mendis, 23, who has taken the quickest 50 wickets in one-day internationals (in 19 matches) — four matches less than India fast bowler Ajit Agarkar.

"He hasn't had any added pressure, he is enjoying his challenges and pressure does not affect him," Jayawardene said. "There are some really good guys around him giving him advice especially Murli (Muralitharan) who is a brilliant role model for Ajantha because he is somebody who has worked 18 years very hard.

"As long as Ajantha realizes that if he can go at the same path as Murli, I'm sure we will have a big match winner for us in the next ten years.

Security concerns among foreign teams meant that Pakistan missed out on home test matches last year, with Australia deciding not to tour in March 2008. The one-day ICC Champions Trophy was also postponed.

Jayawardene said Pakistan had toured Sri Lanka in the past when other teams had refused, and that it was only right for his team to now play in Pakistan.

"I'm not a diplomat, I'm here to play cricket and for us it's all about committing our obligations,"he said. "Obviously Pakistan have done the same with us in the past and it's our duty.

"We came here six months ago (for the Asia Cup) and we had a very great time. Hopefully it's an enjoyable tour for us."

Jayawardene said that Pakistan, which will have the likes of fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar back in the team, was always a formidable opponent.

"For me they are a very tough side whether they play regularly or not," he said. "They have got quite a few individual players who can take the game away from you on a given day so it's going to be a tough series for us."

Karachi will host back to back one-day internationals on Jan. 20 and 21 before Lahore stages the final match on Jan. 24.

Ranji, an uninspiring grind

2009-01-18T07:53:00.000-08:00

MUMBAI: In retrospect, it would be fair to conclude that it wasn’t the Indian Premier League (IPL) or international cricket that sapped India's Premier domestic tournament the Ranji Trophy, of any interest. Instead, it was the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s listless planning that failed to make Ranji matches happening.

While taking nothing away from Mumbai who are celebrating their 38th title win after batting Uttar Pradesh out of the final, it is pertinent to note that the 76 days of cricket the tournament witnessed - for the record played out at 23 different venues across the country - was uninspiring. There were flashes of brilliance though.

Cheteshwar Pujara’s century in the quarter-final at Mumbai, Shivakant Shukla’s 178 in the semi-final at Nagpur, nine seven-wicket hauls including that of Basanth Mohanty in the highly entertaining match between Orissa and Punjab and Ravindra Jadeja’s performances that make him the all-rounder of the year. The rest of the tournament spoke harshly about the fast diminishing standard of India’s domestic circuit. ToI takes a look at what all was appalling.

Flat pitches

The promise of making the 22-yard strip more exciting failed disastrously. The two semi-finals were played at Nagpur and Chennai, respectively. At both venues, tracks remained flat at best, an absolute downer if seen in the backdrop of the neutral venue theory proposed to improve the quality of cricket.

Out of the 56 matches, 29 yielded a result and it should be taken into account that most venues where matches ended in a result, weren’t the leading international stadiums. Instead, lesser known grounds in Valsad, Ratnagiri, Mysore, Bhubhaneshwar, Ghaziabad and Cuttack delivered.

No takers for overseas player

Another BCCI decision which failed was one with respect to introducing one overseas player among the four guest players in each team. The rule dictated that cricketers who have played either 20 ODIs or 10 Test matches can only be invited, which in the end proved to be senseless.

Three associations - Baroda (Dilhara Fernando), Bengal (Muttiah Muralitharan) and Maharashtra (Emanul Haq Jr) - went ahead and signed foreigners out of which only Haq Jr turned up. The rest were either deprived in terms of spending or did not have a choice.

That Muralitharan couldn’t turn up for a single game for Bengal either suggests that Cricket Association of Bengal simply used the off-spinner’s name to publicize their campaign or that the star spinner simply wasn’t available. In any case, the BCCI needs to do a rethink.

Semis of four days makes no sense

The BCCI seems to be struggling to accommodate domestic cricket. If not, there is little reason to believe why the semi-finals were of four days duration and not five. Several players who were a part of the semi-finals admitted to the ToI that ‘‘four-day match doesn’t make any sense’’.

It is understandable, they say, that matches throughout the season are played in four-days format to squeeze in the number of games but ‘‘at least the semi-finals of the tournament need to be for five days, simply because there can be a straight result". True. It makes no sense that the team entering the final does so by way of first innings lead. Five days can ensure a good match.

Poor umpiring

One thing that has unanimously been accepted this season, is that the level of umpiring in the Indian domestic circuit seems to be going from bad to worse. Amesh Saheba’s poor show in the semifinals between Mumbai and Saurashtra and again in the final at Hyderabad was the most glaring example.

Net run-rate rule

The net run-rate rule left players and coaches confused. Teams expressed dismay and surprise over the rule for the final which said if a team’s first innings was left incomplete, the winner would be decided on the run-rate.

‘‘Isn’t it starnge? If we score 700 off 200 overs and then UP are 150 for 9 in 30 overs, they will win. In a four-day or a five-day match, there’s no need to decide the winner on the basis of better run rate,’’ Mumbai skipper Wasim Jaffer said before the match. For the semi-final too, the BCCI guideline that the net run-rate calculated from previous games will decide the winner in a knockout game in case the first innings is not completed, did not go down well.

Neutral venue

Sachin Tendulkar gave his verdict on the neutral venue policy adopted by the BCCI, saying it made no sense. ‘‘You don’t have the atmosphere at a neutral venue. If you play home or away, you have the home crowd rooting for its team while the other side will be up against it. This is a part of the learning process for the young cricketers,’’ Tendulkar said. Despite having neutral venues, the board failed to provide sporting wickets which left the bowlers toiling away in the dust.

Changes on the card in Indian ODI squad for SL

2009-01-18T07:51:00.000-08:00

A jubiliant Indian cricket squad
With quite a few players staking their claim with consistent displays in the Ranji Trophy, the national selectors may opt to make a few changes in the Indian one-day cricket squad for the series against Sri Lanka in Mumbai on Sunday (January 18).

The last ODI that India played was on November 26 at Guwahati against England after which the international cricket calendar involving the team went for a toss in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack that happened the same night.

Quite a few Indian players from the team that featured in the fifth ODI, which also brought down curtains on the series, face the axe following splendid displays by others in the national championship coupled with their own indifferent form.

On top of the list of players who could make way for some new faces are the Pathan brothers from Baroda - Irfan and Yousuf - and Hyderabad left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.

Staking strong claims to make it to the Emerald Island for the best-of-five ODI series and a one-off Twenty20 International are two players from eventual national champions Mumbai - one-down batsman Ajinkya Rahane and medium-pace swing bowler Dhawal Kulkarni.

Rahane amassed over a thousand runs from 10 matches with a fine average of 68 to boot, while Kulkarni emerged the top wicket taker with 42 scalps from nine ties, conceding just under 20 per victim and with four five wickets in-an-innings hauls under his belt.

Both these players have already been part of the India 'A' squad. Pressing hard for a look-in from Saurashtra, who lost to Mumbai in the semi finals, are left handed all rounder Ravindra Jadeja and prolific middle order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara.

Jadeja, who bats in the lower middle order and bowls left-arm spin, accumulated 739 runs in nine ties at an average of 67.18, besides claiming 42 wickets, the same as Kulkarni, at 19.72 per scalp.

He also grabbed four hauls of five or more wickets in an innings, figures that cannot be brushed aside easily by the election committee headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth as they continue their search for a stable and effective all rounder.

Pujara, with over 900 runs with a best of 302 and an average of 82.36 is another in-form player from the state which had produced Ranji and Duleep Sinhjis.

But with Tamil Nadu's S Badrinath already placed in the Rs 40-lakh bracket in the Cricket Board's central contracts and the One-day middle order packed with others such as Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and strong contender Rahane, it remains to be seen whether he gets in.

Comeback man Laxmipathy Balaji is another player who has stormed his way back into the national reckoning with his lion-hearted display after having been out of action over the last two seasons following a stress injury to his back.

The Tamil Nadu pacer grabbed 36 wickets in seven Ranji ties at a meagre 17.5 per victim, including four five wicket in an innings hauls, and to back his claims is his past experience at the international level.

Balaji faces stiff competition from the fit-again S Sreesanth and R P Singh, other than Kulkarni, to join the expected pace bowling combination of Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel.

With Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir present, the selectors have no need to look beyond them for performing the openers' roles. Harbhajan Singh would once again be the man leading the spin attack with Jadeja as his likely support instead of Ojha.

The squad is set to reach Lanka on January 26 to start the series of limited overs internationals arranged as a stand-in for the cancelled trip to Pakistan.

Ganguly to be gifted with 1-kg gold bat

2009-01-16T01:43:00.000-08:00

Kolkata: A one-kilogram gold bat will be gifted to former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly at a Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) felicitation programme on Sunday.

"It will be a totally cricket-centric function. So, there will be no cultural programmes," CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya told reporters here.

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee will be the guest of honour at the function.

Panel discussions by his captains and a 15-minute audio-visual programme on Ganguly's colourful cricketing career would be the other highlights of the event.

The gold bat has Ganguly's cricketing records embossed on it.

Office bearers of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), affiliate units of CAB, its trustee board members and presidents and secretaries of Eastern Zonal units will be present.

Ganguly's family members have also been invited.

ICC comes under attack for all-time rankings

2009-01-16T01:35:00.000-08:00

New Delhi: The ICC on Thursday came under attack for its "baffling" all-time Test player rankings which had no place for champion batsmen like
Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara in the top 20 but the game's governing body made it clear that the list did not rank players in terms of true greatness.

India's former left-arm spinner Maninder Singh went to the extent of calling it a "joke" and said "sadistic" ICC officials should stop coming out with such lists.

"But that does not mean he should necessarily be considered to be better than a player who hovered around the 850-point mark for his entire career," it said.

The ICC accepted that the all-time list does not rank players in terms of true greatness.

Tendulkar was ranked 26th in the Test rankings while Lara was listed three rungs above him.

The ICC urged fans to take a closer look at a player's entire career graph to determine his greatness rather than go by the snapshots, which is what the "best-ever ratings" effectively are.

If a player's career is considered as a mountain, then a single peak would hold worth less than a high, long plateau, the ICC said.

"Hence Tendulkar would be deemed greater than most other players despite having a lower peak. One way of assessing a player would be to calculate his "average rating" over his career though of course this could penalise a player whose long career included a slow start," the ICC said.

Abbas shocked to see Sachin in 26 position

2009-01-16T01:33:00.000-08:00

Lahore: Former Pakistan middle order batsman Zaheer Abbas is surprised that Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar does not figure in the elite list of batsmen released by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Tendulkar was placed 26, ten places below the recently retired Aussie opener Matthew Hayden.

"There is no way you won't have Tendulkar in the list," Abbas was quoted as saying by The News.

The list has also infuriated officials and fans in India. Four leading Test run-scorers of all time Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Steve Waugh and Allan Border could not even manage into the top 20.

Meanwhile, the ICC released a statement yesterday after drawing flak from cricket fans especially in India over the rankings.

"Matthew Hayden's position of 10th and 18th in the all-time Test and ODI rankings for batsmen is an impressive achievement by anyone's standards but this does not necessarily mean he is the 10th best Test batsman or 18th best ODI batsman in the history of the

game," the statement said.

"The rankings give an indication of how players peaked during their careers but do not give a full picture of those players' level of consistency or longevity in the game.

"For example, a batsman or a bowler who averages around 700 ratings points for most of his career apart from a purple patch where he shoots up to 900 points before dropping down again may be ranked higher on the all-time ratings.

"But that does not mean he should necessarily be considered better than a player who hovered around the 850-point mark for his entire career," it added.

Ranji final: Uttar Pradesh 123/4 at lunch

2009-01-16T01:31:00.000-08:00

With Mumbai sniffing victory on the final day of the Ranjiy Trophy final, Uttar Pradesh managed to compile 123/4 at the stroke of lunch break on Friday.

In the process of chasing a huge target of 525 runs, Mohammad Kaif (44) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were (36) at vigil after Uttar Pradesh lost four batsmen in the first session.

Earlier, TM Srivastava and SS Shukla took charge of their second innings.

On the fourth day of the match, Vinayak Samant (113) blasted his maiden first class century, while team-mate Rohit Sharma (108) struck his second of the match as Mumbai virtually assured itself of its 38th Ranji Trophy title on Thursday.

Mumbai's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who was down with viral fever, failed in both the innings. He scored a duck in the first innings and scored only four runs in the second innings in which he batted at number seven.

Triangular Tournament Al Hasan inspires Tigers

2009-01-16T01:16:00.000-08:00

Shakib Al Hasan: Scored a match-winning 92

Bangladesh recorded only their second ODI victory over Sri Lanka with a thrilling five-wicket win at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Shakib Al Hasan scored a sparkling 92 not out as Bangladesh chased down Sri Lanka's total of 147 with all of seven overs in hand.

The match was reduced to 31 overs after heavy fog delayed the start in Mirpur.

But once play got underway, Bangladesh made immediate in-roads in to the Sri Lanka innings.

Mashrafe Mortaza removed opener Upul Tharanga for a duck with the third delivery of the day, while Kumar Sangakkara also fell without scoring in his next over.

Dismissed

Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene steadied the ship with a stand of 71 for the third wicket.

However after Jayawardene was dismissed for 28, the Sri Lankans lost wickets at regular intervals.

Debutant fast bowler Rubel Hossain did the damage by polishing off the tail on his way to figures of 4-33, but it was Mortaza who removed the dangerous Jayasuriya for 54.

Jayasuriya was dropped off Mortaza for 28, but the Bangladesh bowler got his revenge by holding on to a catch off his own bowling.

Despite dismissing Sri Lanka for just 147, the Tigers got off to a terrible start in reply as both openers - Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique - were run out and Mushfiqur Rahim was removed for just one.

However, Mohammad Ashraful and Al Hasan dug in to turn the innings around.

The pair put on 91 runs for the fourth wicket - with Al Hasan providing the lion's share of the runs as Ashraful contributed 26 before he was dismissed by Nuwan Kulasekara.

Al Hasan, though, steered Banglasdesh home with his unbeaten 92 coming off just 69 balls and including 10 fours and two sixes.

Cricket-Sri Lanka lose five wickets for 6 runs in tri-series final

2009-01-16T01:15:00.000-08:00

DHAKA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka lost five wickets for six runs in eight overs in the tri-series one-day international final against Bangladesh on Friday.

After Bangladesh were skittled out for 152, Sri Lanka lost non-striker opener Sanath Jayasuria after the first ball of the over when he was run out. Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Kapugedera and Thilina Thushara then fell in quick succession.

Ganguly to pick IPL babes for Kolkata Knight Riders

2009-01-08T07:35:00.000-08:00

Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, who is popularly known as the Prince of Kolkata, will pick a new cheerleader for his Indian Premier League team, the Kolkata Knight Riders. sourav_ganguly-238x300 Ganguly to pick IPL babes for Kolkata Knight Riders

Ganguly is all set to make his small screen debut in Shahrukh Khan’s show, Knights and Angels. But unlike other cricketers he will not be seen participating, but rather judging the reality show Knights and Angels.
The talent hunt show, which will air on NDTV Imagine, will look for cheerleaders who will cheer for Kolkata Knight Riders in the second edition of the Indian Premier League.

Ganguly has agreed to appear on reality TV show, The Sun reported.

Shahrukh Khan had brought in the much needed glamour quotient to the first edition of the IPL.

King Khan is showing serious interest in television production and Red Chillies Entertainment will produce the show.

Noted choreographer Shiamak Davar will train the girls taking part in the show. L

But cheerleaders and the megabucks Twenty20 tournament have not always mixed well together.

Last year, Dehli Daredevils withdrew their cheerleaders after an outrage from local politicians. And, Deccan Chargers all-rounder Shahid Afridi complained his team’s dancers were an unwanted distraction. (ANI)

Sourav is the God of off-side

2009-01-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

Shatrunjay Gaekwad

He may have been known so far as the son of former Indian opener and coach Anshuman Gaekwad. But now after landing a one-year contract with the Kolkata Knight

Riders (KKR), Shatrunjay Gaekwad is opening a new innings for himself.

In town for the trials for the KKR team, the Baroda batsman is all smiles after getting the contract papers. “It will be an opportunity to share the dressing room with some great players,” he says. Ask Shatrunjay whether the trials were very tough and pat comes the reply, “Not at all. I didn’t have to outplay myself. I’m an attacking batsman who just needed some improvisation. I am keen on playing the T20 format as there are not many opportunities at the domestic level.”

Shatrunjay is also happy to be part of the KKR team for another reason —- his adulation for Sourav Ganguly. There was a time when he carried Dada’s picture in his ‘coffin’. Breaking into a smile, he says, “Yes, I used to. But we no longer use coffins. These days it is the kit bag. I’m a great fan of Sourav. I have interacted with him since the time my father was the coach of the Indian team. And I have got many valuable tips from him.” The fact that both of them are left handed batsmen has probably drawn them closer. Shatrunjay reveals, “I am an off-side player and Sourav is the God of off-side. I idolize him.”

But the association with Dada just doesn’t end there. The 25-year-old, who is also an avid music lover, has another secret to share with us. “Every year I get some gifts from Sourav and I treasure all the gloves, shoes and bats that he has presented me with. I shall never share the gloves with anyone,” says Shatrunjay.

The batsman is also eyeing the KKR team as a springboard to get into Team India. And he is optimistic. “It is a dream to wear the Indian blues,” he says. But isn’t age a factor, considering he is already 25? “Why should it be? My state mate Yusuf Pathan is the biggest example. With just one good T20 season, he was catapulted into the Indian team. So anything can happen,” Shatrunjay sounds ever optimistic.

Talking of his famous surname, he says, “I’m only under pressure when I am with my father. But on the field, there is no pressure. In fact, I draw inspiration from it.” Picking from many of his father’s innings, the innings of 80 odd runs against West Indies is his best. “The innings against the West Indian pace battery surely gives me goosebumps. With broken ribs and bruised ear he braved the onslaught. Even Sunil uncle (Gavaskar) kept shouting that Indians have got kids back home,” shares Shatrunjay. For someone who enjoys music, he is currently on a song.

Australia remain world's best after avoiding whitewash

2009-01-08T07:28:00.001-08:00

Beaten but not bowed: Smith, the South Africa captain, played with an injured hand and although he could not save the final Test, he had already led his side to a series win

Australia salvaged a consolation win against South Africa after dismissing the tourists for 272 with only ten balls remaining on the fifth day to clinch a 103-run victory in the third Test at the SCG.

South Africa entered the final day needing a further 314 runs to pull off an improbable win, and a series clean sweep, having progressed to 62 for one at stumps on day four. But any hope of an unlikely victory disappeared when the tourists lost Neil McKenzie, Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla in the opening session.

Australia removed JP Duminy, Mark Boucher and AB de Villiers in the middle session to take control of proceedings to leave South Africa on 193 for seven at tea. Paul Harris went lbw to Peter Siddle in the sixth over after the resumption to leave the South Africans 202 for eight but Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini held out for over 17 overs, adding another 50 runs before Steyn was removed lbw by Andrew McDonald.

Graeme Smith had not played since retiring hurt with a broken finger and troublesome left elbow in the South African first innings but the skipper returned to courageously bat out the remaining overs with Ntini. But with only ten balls to spare, he was bowled by Mitchell Johnson for three.

Siddle was the pick of the Australian bowlers, taking three wickets for 54, while McDonald returned figures of two for 32.

South Africa had already clinched the three-match series after winning the first two Tests in Perth and Melbourne but Australia's victory meant that they retained their position at the top of the ICC's official Test rankings.

South Africa's braveheart captain Graeme Smith

2009-01-08T07:27:00.000-08:00

Melbourne (PTI): South Africa's braveheart captain Graeme Smith played down his Sydney heroics and left for home to recuperate from a broken finger and a bruised elbow, which jeopardise his prospects of playing in the home series against Australia.

The Sydney Cricket Ground crowd on Wednesday gave a standing ovation to Smith, who removed the cast and defied both injuries to walk out and bat. It not enough in the end as South Africa was eventually bowled out but Smith's brave effort drew praise from all quarters.

The humble Protea captain himself, however, played down the effort. "Opportunities come around to show a little bit of bravery...but in the context of life it was just nice to have that opportunity," Smith said before departing for South Africa.

"It would've been nicer if I lasted 10 balls longer, but it wasn't to be," said Smith, who was the last man out, just 10 balls before the scheduled close. "I'm sure Ricky would have done a similar thing... he's a real competitor and I think Australian people appreciate that," he added.

England axe hanging over coach Moores

2009-01-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

A rift has developed between Peter Moores, left, and England captain Kevin Pietersen.

Hugh Morris, the managing director of the England cricket team, will spend the weekend deciding whether to sack the coach, Peter Moores, and is likely to cancel a holiday scheduled for next week if he fails to reach a conclusion.

Morris must choose due to a rift between the coach and Kevin Pietersen, the captain, who feels that Moores is out of his depth and the relationship between the two is damaged beyond repair.

The decision will be the most difficult of Morris's professional life as Moores is one of his closest friends in the game. The friendship goes back to when they played for the England Schools Under-19 side in 1981. Morris was one of Moores' strongest backers when the former Sussex coach replaced Duncan Fletcher in April 2007.

Giles Clarke, the England and Wales Cricket Board chairman, said yesterday: "All team matters are dealt with by Hugh Morris. There will be a full review of the tour of India, which was a difficult tour in view of what happened before it. I don't believe all this stuff I'm reading about Michael Vaughan."

That was a reference to reports that Pietersen is threatening to quit over Vaughan's exclusion from the England squad to tour West Indies this month. Pietersen did want Vaughan in and Moores did not, but a source close to the ECB said last night: "The Vaughan issue is something of a red herring. The problem goes back further than that."

The crux of the problem is that the England captain is bright enough to realise he is not quite bright enough, at least where the tactical nuances that made Vaughan such a fine captain are concerned.

Pietersen has not been taken by Moores' boot-camp philosophy and, like Vaughan before him, feels that Moores, a county player who never got near Tests, is not up to it. Moores has lost four of his seven Test series and the likes of Monty Panesar have not progressed. Moores, Pietersen and Morris were unavailable for comment.

Andrew Strauss is expected to restore stability and calm to an England cricket team rocked by Kevin Pietersen

2009-01-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

LONDON: Andrew Strauss is expected to restore stability and calm to an England cricket team rocked by Kevin Pietersen's resignation and the sacking of coach Peter Moores, with the ultimate goal of beating Australia in the Ashes.

With England in disarray after losing both Pietersen and Moores on Wednesday, Strauss, who was due to hold a news conference at Lord's later Thursday, is considered a safe choice as captain amid speculation that the team was split over the conflict between the captain and the coach.

"If there is one man who can get the England team to gel and bring the players together after weeks and even months of damaging rumors, it is Andrew Strauss," former captain Michael Vaughan wrote in Thursday's Daily Telegraph. "Such a decent man can bring back maturity and stability to the England team."

Although the England and Wales Cricket Board moved quickly to appoint Strauss as captain for the upcoming tour of the West Indies, it still has to find a coach to replace Moores, who was in charge for 18 months after the 2007 World Cup.

After the tour of the Caribbean, England hosts the West Indies and then takes on its oldest and most competitive opponent Australia in an Ashes series starting July.

The upheaval caused by Wednesday's shock moves will have hindered England's chances of taking the Ashes from Ricky Ponting's team, even though the Australians have lost their last two series against India and South Africa.

Strauss now has the tough job of creating harmony within the team amid speculation that some players were against Pietersen in his conflict with Moores.

"We are pretty shocked. We never really knew things were so bad," batsman Ian Bell told BBC radio on Thursday.

"With captains and coaches, people are going to have their own ideas. There are always going to be conversations where people want their way and others want something slightly different. I was very shocked to see how fast it developed. I am very amazed that both have gone. It is really important now as a team that we get back together and back on track."

Without divulging where he stood on the Pietersen vs. Moores issue, Bell said the players had to support Strauss. He said he was glad to see that Pietersen, the team's star batsman, had confirmed he would continue to play for the team.

"We want to get back on the field as fast as possible and give Straussy as much support as we can," Bell said. "(Pietersen) is the best player in the world. That is something you want in your dressing room. He is a matchwinner who can turn things on their head and he plays well under pressure. Kevin Pietersen makes England a lot better team than we are without him."

Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores rift intensifies for England

2009-01-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

Exit this way: Peter Moores and Kevin Pietersen rift looks set to be decided by ECB

England looked like having to decide between keeping Kevin Pietersen as captain or Peter Moores as coach after the star batsman called for an end to the duo's "unhealthy" relationship.

According to reports, there appeared "little prospect" of the pair working together on the upcoming tour of the West Indies, where England will look to gather momentum ahead of their bid to reclaim the Ashes later this year.

The News of the World said there had been a "complete breakdown in what was an already fraught relationship" while attempts by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) managing director Hugh Morris to broker a peace deal between Pietersen and Moores now had an "impossible" chance of success.

Pietersen, who broke off from a holiday in his native South Africa to hold talks with Morris on Saturday, stopped short of calling for Moores's sacking.

But the 28-year-old said: "This situation is not healthy, we have to make sure it is settled as soon as possible and certainly before we fly off to the West Indies.

"Everybody has to have the same aims and pull in the same direction for the good of the England team."

Contrary to earlier reports, the NoW said the exclusion of former England captain Michael Vaughan from the West Indies squad was not the cause of Pietersen's bust-up with Moores, insisting the pair had already fallen out.

Meanwhile, former England captain David Gower believes Pietersen will win the power struggle.

"It's a bit of a mess but I've got a feeling Kevin Pietersen will get his way," Gower said.

"I think they (the ECB) are going to have to go with their captain because their captain is a mightily important figure in what happens this year and over the next few years.

"I think they are going to have to back their captain."

However, a "dressing-room source" told the newspaper: "There is no way Pietersen and Moores can work together, they're just too far apart.

"The ECB are damned if they do and damned if they don't. If they back KP, then there's massive problems among the backroom staff.

"But if they go with the coach, then the best player becomes disillusioned, they possibly lose a captain and there is a huge fracture."

Pietersen will win power struggle: Gower

2009-01-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

London (PTI): Two former England captains David Gower and Alec Stewart have backed incumbent Kevin Pietersen in his power struggle with coach Peter Moores, saying the South Africa-born dashing batsman is an indispensable figure in the country's cricket.

Miffed at the exclusion of former captain Michael Vaughan for this month's West Indies tour, Pietersen has given the ultimatum to England and Wales Cricket Board to choose between him and Moores.

Gower believes Pietersen would come out on top if the power-brokers are forced to choose between the pair.

"It's a bit of a mess but I've got a feeling Kevin Pietersen will get his way," he told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme.

"Hugh Morris (ECB managing director) has an interesting task on his hands to mediate between the two if he can. I think they are going to have to go with their captain because he is a mightily important figure in what happens this year and over the next few years. He is a fantastic player, and he has the chance to be a good captain. He is still learning that trade, as we know -- he's far from being a great captain yet. I think they are going to have to back their captain."

Stewart believes a fractious relationship could seriously damage the team and said Moores will have to find out a way to work with Pietersen.

"Pietersen is a strong individual who likes to lead from the front and I have no problem with this. Moores must strike a happy medium as to who runs things where and when," Stewart said

"It is vital that a healthy working relationship between these two is in place even if socially they don't mix -- and a united front is paramount so that there is no chance of a split within the camp."

Sachin and Zaheer's presence will boost Mumbai side: Jaffer

2009-01-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

Chennai: Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer feels the presence of Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan will give his side an edge over Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy semi-final that begins here on Sunday.

"It will make a huge difference. We also have other experienced players and most of us had played in the previous final (2006-07). And so, in a match like this, experience will be a crucial factor," said Jaffer.

Coach Pravin Amre, while welcoming Tendulkar and Zaheer back in the team, said: "It is a dream for any coach to have somebody like Tendulkar in the team. His presence is vital for us and also that of Zaheer."

However, a confident Saurashtra who registered a stirring win against Karnataka in the quarter-final, is not unduly worried.

"Obviously, their (Sachin and Zaheer) presence make Mumbai a stronger team. But we will concentrate hard and play our game rather than worry too much about our opponents. We will have to give our 200 percent," said Saurashtra captain Jayadev Shah.

"We all know that Mumbai is a top side. We will definitely put up a fight. We have a young side with quite a few talented players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja, but in the end, it is the team effort that matters," he said.

About the pitch, the Saurashtra skipper said: "A first day pitch anywhere will help the fast bowlers early on, but I think, it might offer some turn from the third day."

Reflecting on his opponents, and especially the league match in which Mumbai were forced to follow on after Saurashtra made 600-plus, Jaffer said the semi-final game was an opportunity to show that the Rajkot match was just a "one off".

"Saurashtra have played seven of their matches at home. This is a chance for us to forget the earlier game and show that it was just a one-off match," Jaffer said.

When asked about Chetehswar Pujara, who has been making waves with big scores for Saurashtra, Jaffer said: "Pujara is in good form and scoring a lot of runs and so, his wicket will be vital for us. But then, we also need to take the top six wickets."

Jaffer makes merry as Saurashtra flounders

2009-01-04T19:19:00.000-08:00

STANDING TALL: Wasim Jaffer assumed centre-stage on a good batting pitch at Chepauk on Sunday with his unbeaten century

Chennai: Mumbai skipper Wasim Jaffer assumed centre-stage on a good batting pitch at Chepauk as his team progressed to a dominant 268 for one on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Saurashtra.

The Sunday began and finished well for Jaffer. He first won the toss and was unbeaten on 162 (275b, 19x4) at stumps. Standing tall to whip the ball past square-leg, the grace and the flow in his batting are unmistakable. Here, footwork combines with dexterous wrists as the gaps are found and pierced.

Jaffer and the young Ajinkya Rahane (52 batting, 154b, 2x4, 1x6) have so far added 177 runs for the second wicket in 55 overs. Jaffer and Rahane also went past 1000 runs each in the Ranji Trophy for the season. This is the first occasion in the competition’s history that two batsmen from one team have achieved the feat in the same season. Rahane also crossed 1000 runs in first class cricket for the season.

Contrasting styles

The two batsmen were a study in contrast. Jaffer eased into his strokes while Rahane struggled with his initial movement and timing. To his credit, Rahane put a price on his wicket as Jaffer collected runs off either foot. Whether creating room with deft footwork for the inside-out drives through the off-side, punching off the back-foot or walking across to force the ball on the leg-side, Jaffer was poised and balanced.

When left-arm paceman Balakrishna Jadeja attempted to frustrate him by bowling a negative line from round-the-wicket, Jaffer stepped down the track to cut down the angle. The experienced opener also used the width of the crease well.

Earlier, Jaffer put on 91 for the first wicket with the bustling wicket-keeper batsman Vinayak Samant.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja largely disappointed; he tended to push his deliveries through rather than flight them. On the odd occasion he gave the ball air, he spun it past the outside edge. But then, Jadeja did not back himself on a big day. Technically, he needs to be bowling from closer to the stumps to spin the ball away. More often than not, Jadeja released from wider points of the crease negating the away spin.

The other left-armer, Rakesh Dhruv, has a lovely, easy action but struggled with his line. He consumed Samant on the sweep though.

The left-arm pace bowling of Jobanputra was steady. Balakrishna Jadeja was no more than pedestrian. The lack of variety in the Saurashtra attack — left-armers operated for most part while sending down pace or spin — hurt the side.

Skipper Jaydev Shah’s field placements did not inspire confidence either. He switched to the defensive mode too quickly and did not have enough men in the single saving positions to build pressure.

Cricket: India vows to bring stars for NZ tour

2009-01-03T07:22:00.001-08:00

Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar could be coming to New Zealand

Those fearing India might leave some of their stars at home when they come to New Zealand in March can breathe a little easier.

The high-profile, big-money Indian Premier League competition starts on April 10, three days after the second and final test against New Zealand concludes at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.

There had been worries forces might conspire to keep key players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and Virendar Sehwag home resting up for the Twenty20 gig.

However, noises out of India in the last day from a couple of important figures, plus the cancelling of India's tour of Pakistan this month, suggest a powerful squad will be named for the two-test, five-ODI tour.

Had the Indian tour to Pakistan gone ahead - India pulled out recently, in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks last month - there might have been a stronger case for allowing some of the big names to put their feet up for a few weeks.

Now that tour won't happen, India's players are having some unexpected time off, increasing the likelihood that the hotshots will all be on the plane to New Zealand.

Then there's the pronouncement of India's chairman of selectors, Kris Srikkanth.

He has identified two targets for India - to be the world's No 1 ODI team by December, and to be the world's No 1 test team by 2010.

"This is the dream of the selection committee and the Indian board," he told the Hindu newspaper.

Srikkanth was optimistic about India's prospects in New Zealand, and pointed to their recent overseas record as support. In the last five years, India have won six away series - although three were against either Bangladesh or Zimbabwe - including Pakistan, the West Indies and England.

"We have been performing consistently well in all conditions. But for the umpiring errors in Sydney [last season] we could have won the series in Australia too.

"Our bowlers I believe have always done well outside India. Now our batting is complementing the bowling."

And Srikkanth singled out experienced No 3 batsman Rahul Dravid as having a key role in New Zealand. Dravid, who averages 52 in tests, had been out of sorts until his century against England at Mohali just before Christmas, but is one of the four batsmen, with the world's greatest test runmaker Tendulkar, the recently-retired Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman, to have formed perhaps cricket's greatest middle-order quartet.

"He's a batsman with over 10,000 runs in test cricket," Srikkanth said. "We have specific plans. During the forthcoming series in New Zealand, a player like Dravid will be very crucial for us.

"There will be bounce and movement for the pacemen there. If India are to progress to the No 1 ranking, it has to beat New Zealand in New Zealand. Dravid will be a key member of the line-up at the No 3 slot."

And throw in the thoughts of match-winning opener Sehwag.

"We have the urge and talent to be the best team for sure," he said. "But our immediate focus is to do well in New Zealand and take things from there."

Cricket-Indian board is almost $25 million down

2009-01-03T07:13:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - India's cricket board has lost almost $25 million from the scrapping of two one-day games against England and the cancellation of the 2008 Champions Trophy and this month's tour to Pakistan.

"The working committee noted there would be a reduction in revenue in the current year to the effect of 1.2 billion rupees ($24.87 million) as a result of the cancellation of two ODIs against England and India's tour to Pakistan," said Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary N. Srinivasan.

"This includes the loss of revenue arising out of the postponement of ICC Champions Trophy 2008," he added in a statement.

"It is to be noted that while there will be a decrease in revenue the BCCI will still have a healthy excess of income over expenditure for the current year."

The Indian government refused permission for the tour to Pakistan due to strained bilateral ties after blaming Islamist militants based in that country for the November attacks which killed 179 people in Mumbai.

India had been scheduled to play three tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 international.

Security concerns also forced the last two games of the home one-day series against England to be scrapped at the end of 2008.

The Champions Trophy has been put back to September 2009 after last year's tournament in Pakistan was postponed due to security concerns.

Clarke rescues Australia after top-order collapse

2009-01-03T07:10:00.000-08:00

Sydney (IANS): Michael Clarke shouldered Australia to 267 for 6 after skipper Ricky Ponting got out to a golden duck and opener Matthew Hayden struggled yet again to come to terms with his batting on day one of the third and last cricket Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney on Saturday.

Clarke was still out there at stumps with a meticulous 73 after the South African pace battery had reduced the hosts to 162 for 5.

Clarke and Brad Haddin (38) then stitched together 75 runs to prevent South Africa from going for the kill. Mitchell Johnson (17) will go out to resume the inning with Clarke on the second day Sunday.

Having already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, South Africa looked determined for a rare whitewash against Australia and a top spot in Test rankings as they took the field after Ponting won his third straight toss.

The hostile pace attack, led by fiery Dale Steyn (2-71), kept the brittle Australian top-order on a tight leash, giving away nothing on a batsman-friendly wicket.

Hayden (31), under pressure to keep his place in the side, batted through the first session, but never looked like getting on top of the bowling. His sledge-hammer strokes have deserted him of late.

Simon Katich, in contrast, looked fluent and attacked the new ball bowlers with flair, racing to 47 off 52 balls. His five sweetly-timed boundaries promised much more from the left-hander but his innings came to an abrupt end as he jabbed at a sharp delivery from Jacques Kallis and the resultant edge went straight to AB de Villiers in the slips.

Ponting, who played a lone hand in a vain attempt to stop the South African from clinching the series in Melbourne, was out inside-edging Morne Morkel to Mark Boucher.

Hayden and Michael Hussey (30) tried to stem the downslide with the latter scoring the bulk of the 46 runs scored during the partnership.

Steyn bowled leaden-footed Hayden, who dragged the ball onto the stumps while going for an expansive drive. His 31 off 78 balls had four fours, mostly driven down the V.

Hussey then offered a simple catch to Kallis at slip off left-arm spinner Paul Harris as Australia slumped to 130 for four.

Debutant Andrew McDonald faced a torrid spell taking some blows on his body. A nasty Morne Morkel bouncer knocked down his helmet, but the Victorian battled it out for 54 balls before nicking an angled Makhaya Nitni delivery behind.

Brad Haddin (38) then joined Clarke and the two attacked the bowlers to break the shackles.

Haddin was particularly aggressive against Harris and dispatched him to the onside for two fours and a six. Clarke got a life when Ntini failed to pluck the ball at mid-off. The vice-captain stepped out often to drive the ball through the covers and hit nine boundaries.

But Steyn got his second wicket as he bowled Haddin. In came a resolute Mitchell Johnson and added 30 runs with Clarke for the unfinished seventh-wicket stand.

Dilshan puts his hand up

2009-01-03T07:05:00.000-08:00

Tillakaratne Dilshan sets off for a run during his sixth Test hundred

Tillakaratne Dilshan's sixth Test hundred rescued Sri Lanka from a potentially embarrassing first day against Bangladesh in the second Test in Chittagong. Bangladesh had continued in much the same spirit of their brave last-innings chase in the first Test and had Sri Lanka reduced to 75 for 4, before Dilshan intervened.

It was some intervention as well, for defying the traditionally dour rearguard, he sped along mostly at over a run a ball, finally ending with a strike-rate just a touch under. And though it was captain Mahela Jayawardene's 100th Test, mostly overlooked was the fact that it was Dilshan's 50th. More than a present for the skipper, it was one for himself.

"It was an opportunity for someone to put a hand up and I am happy to have contributed," Dilshan said. "Every game is important for a Test cricketer. It was also my 50th Test match and very important for me also."

Sri Lanka's troubles had been caused by a slow surface, though Dilshan made it look a lot better as the day wore on. It wasn't chanceless; an innings of that much aggression rarely is but Imrul Kayes' drop at mid-on, when Dilshan was on 78, was a costly one. "That's part of the game. It gives you an opportunity to capitalise and if you get a let off you should then try and make a big score.

"The wicket is very good. It is a good Test wicket but maybe a bit on the slower side."

That chance was one of a few Bangladesh fluffed and it was the one thing they couldn't afford were they not to slip from the heights of the last Test. Enamul Haque jnr, the left-arm-spinner who came in at the expense of the seamer Mahbubul Alam, eventually dismissed Dilshan, but his return to the Test side after nearly a year wasn't a particularly memorable one.

"It [the day] could have been a lot better if we hadn't dropped three catches and missed a stumping chance," Haque said. "Still I think we are in it. The situation I should say is 50-50 after day one and if we can bowl them out early tomorrow and bat well then we should be back in the game. We just need a big effort from the batsmen.

"I think our fielding has improved a lot. Today was one of those days and there are days when we take difficult catches and miss easy ones. I am sure that if you give Imrul ten such catches he'd take each and every one of those. The misses today were just accidents."

At some point tomorrow, Bangladesh will be properly introduced to the threat of Ajantha Mendis, who is back himself in the side after an injury. The pitch will deteriorate as the Test progresses and the combined threat of Muttiah Muralitharan and Mendis, said Dilshan, will be considerable.

"I think it will turn for those two. The bounce could be a bit uneven later on and they [Bangladesh batsmen] haven't played Ajantha much. So I hope both bowlers will do well here," said Dilshan.

3 arrested for threatening Dhoni

2009-01-02T02:19:00.000-08:00

Ranchi, Friday 02 Jan 2009: Jharkhand police have arrested 3 people in connection with the extortion demand of Rs.5 million and the threats to Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s family had received an extortion letter, demanding Rs 50 lakh, from suspected local criminals. Dhoni met police officials Wednesday, handing over the letters and discussing the security of his family members.

The arrested, identified as Ranjit, Sadiq and Parvez, are being interrogated. The police have also questioned Taslim’s family members to know his whereabouts.

Ranchi police are also seeking help of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in the investigations. Security has been tightened and personnel of Special Task Force have been deployed to guard Dhoni’s residence at Mecon Colony here.

Malik will mature and improve as captain: Coach Alam

2009-01-02T02:17:00.000-08:00

Shoaib Malik as captain for another year as he has improved a lot as leader, coach Intikhab Alam said on Friday.

Malik's captaincy tenure ends on December 31 after which the board's governing council would meet in the first week of January to review his performance and decide whether to retain him or appoint another captain.

Malik was made captain after then skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq retired following the World Cup debacle last year and Younis Khan refusing to accept the leadership role.

The board ignored senior players like Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Akhtar while appointing Malik as captain and this has led to an uneasy relationship between him and senior players for the last some months.

But Intikhab said Malik had changed his attitude a great deal and had started showing qualities of a good leader.

"His attitude has changed now. He is cooperative and friendly and communicating well with everyone in the team. I don't think it would be a good idea to change him at this stage. It will not help Pakistan cricket," Intikhab said.

He pointed out that Malik had not only shown good leadership skills recently in Abu Dhabi in the ODI series against the West Indies but has also performed well as captain in domestic cricket.

"The fact that he has led the Sialkot team to domestic Twenty20 title and then the Punjab team to the Pentangular One-day title shows he has improved as a captain and is getting to be a better tactician. The board should continue with him as he will only improve further," the coach said.

"We need continuity. Inzamam was captain for more than three years and results were good. Malik is a good bet for the future. He will mature and improve as captain."

Intikhab to meet players on central contracts

2009-01-02T02:15:00.000-08:00

The PCB has sought to get the players' opinions on the contracts by appointing Intikhab Alam as a negotiator

Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan coach, has been asked by the PCB to get inputs from national team players and draw up recommendations before the board hands out its central contracts for this year. The board also strongly denied reports of the players being unhappy with certain terms in the contracts.

"We have given him (Intikhab) an outline of what we feel should be the terms and conditions of the new contracts and he will add the players' info to these," Salim Altaf, the PCB's chief operating officer, said. "But so far nothing has happened. So there is no question of players being unhappy as yet."

Their had been reports in various sections of the press that senior players were unhappy with terms of the new contracts; captain Shoaib Malik is alleged to have spoken to several senior players in an effort to stop them from signing new contracts and holding out for better terms.

But Altaf rubbished the claims. "The question of players revolting or not being happy with the new terms of the contracts does not arise. Because as yet nothing has been formalised regarding the new terms and conditions of the contracts."

The reports have an interesting context in that they come at a time when talk of forming a players' association has been mooted for the first time in many years. Pakistan has never had a players' association of any credible standing, though Asif Iqbal, former captain, and some players in the late 70s did try to set one up. In recent months, both Malik and vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq have spoken of the need to set one up in Pakistan.

But Altaf acknowledged that the financial crunch the board is facing will force it to rationalise the benefits given to cricketers. "There is a suggestion that while special bonuses for individual performances be cut, the match fees of players be increased specially for Test matches to balance things.

"But the players have to understand we are facing a financial crunch and we are taking measures in the board administration and expenses also to rationalise things," he said.

The central contracts for 2008 have already expired, on the last day of the year, and the new ones, with a tenure of one year, will be announced only after receiving the approval of the board's general council meeting later this month.

Smith to head home early

2009-01-02T02:12:00.000-08:00

South Africa have confirmed that captain Graeme Smith will return home early from the tour of Australia to get treatment on his chronic elbow injury.

The left-handed opener is still set to lead his country in the third and final Test of the series in Sydney on Friday, which is live on Sky Sports.

However he will miss the two Twenty20 internationals and five match one-day series which follow, spinner Johan Botha captaining the side in his absence.

The decision for Smith to leave has been taken to try and get him fit for the return series against the Australians on home soil in February.

Best chance

"We have decided to send Graeme (Smith) home after (the) Sydney (Test) to give him the best chance of getting ready for the home series," South Africa coach Mickey Arthur said.

"He will have the blood injection as soon as he gets back and we think that by following this course of action as soon as possible after Sydney, we will give him the best possibility opportunity of being fit for the home series.

"He is four or five cortizone injections down the line. We thought the cortizone was going to work but that is not going to be the case.

"He goes through a huge amount of discomfort and it seems to get a lot worse when he reaches 40 or 50. It almost gets to a point when he can't grip the bat with his top hand any more.

"He is desperate to play at Sydney and make it a great match for the team and for South Africa. He has a very high pain threshold."

Smith has been in superb form with the bat in the Tests, hitting a hundred and two half-centuries to help the Proteas take an unassailable 2-0 lead.

South Africa have announced that Neil McKenzie will remain with the squad, adding some experience to a one-day side coach Arthur admits is still very much a work in progress.

Opportunities

"It does give us an opportunity with our ODI side," he said. "As I have always said, our one-day side is still a work in progress, it is still a young side, and we are giving an opportunity to some younger guys to stake a claim.

"We are looking to build our one-day side over the next two years which obviously culminates in the next World Cup on the sub-continent in 2011.

"So it will be a slightly younger one-day side. Johan Botha will take over as captain and we will keep another wise head in the dressing room in the form of Neil McKenzie. He will stay as cover in the batting department and we think that is the best route to go.

"It is unfortunate to lose your captain but we need to give him the best opportunity to be ready for the Test series in South Africa."

South Africa name unchanged side

2009-01-02T02:10:00.000-08:00

South Africa have resisted the temptation to rush vice-captain Ashwell Prince back into their starting XI for the third Test against Australia, which gets under way at the SCG on Saturday.

Prince was ruled out of the Perth Test last month with a damaged thumb.

He also missed the historic victory at the MCG and selectors have kept faith with Prince's replacement JP Duminy, who has made the most of his opportunities in the opening two Tests of the series, hitting a match-defining 166 in Melbourne having already made a half-century in Perth.

Skipper Graeme Smith confirmed his deputy is still suffering the effects of the injury that kept him out of the opening two Tests.

"Ashwell wasn't considered on Thursday," said Smith. "In his training he still had quite a bit of pain in his thumb, so we've gone in with the same team."

Smith also confirmed he will play in Sydney despite a troublesome elbow injury.

"Obviously it's getting worse and worse the more you use it and the more you play," he added.

"I just feel that I can hopefully push it out one more game. It's been such a terrific year and series that I would like to finish it on a high with the boys and hopefully play some good cricket in the next five days and then do whatever I can to make sure that I'm strong and ready for the home series."

Meanwhile, New South Wales pace bowler Doug Bollinger and Victoria all-rounder Andrew McDonald have been drafted into the Australia side.

Bollinger edged out Ben Hilfenhaus to replace Brett Lee, while McDonald comes in at the expense of injured all-rounder Andrew Symonds.

Doug Bollinger, Andrew McDonald to make Test debuts

2009-01-02T02:07:00.000-08:00

Debut at home ... Doug Bollinger

Pace bowler Doug Bollinger has been named to make his Test debut on his home ground when Australia play South Africa in the third Test at the SCG starting tomorrow.

All-rounder Andrew McDonald will be the other player putting on the famous baggy green cap for the first time while Tasmanian quick Ben Hilfenhaus will carry the drinks for the hosts again.

Captain Ricky Ponting said Bollinger and McDonald would come in for injured pair Brett Lee and Andrew Symonds and the decision between Bollinger and Hilfenhaus came down largely to the game's location.

"That's probably a lot to do with his overall skills at the SCG," Ponting said.

"He knows the conditions very well and will hopefully swing the new ball and late in the innings as well."

Australia are trying to avoid their first series whitewash in more than a century after the Proteas secured the series win with victories in Perth and Melbourne.

South Africa unchanged

South Africa will take an unchanged side into the Test after Ashwell Prince failed a fitness test on his injured thumb.

Captain Graeme Smith will play despite a painful elbow injury that will require a blood-injection procedure from his arm into his elbow tendon following the match.

Smith is desperate to score a 3-0 series sweep over Australia to hand the Proteas the top ranking in Test cricket, snatching the crown from Ricky Ponting's men.

"We are announcing an unchanged eleven for this Test match. Ashwell Prince wasn't considered," Smith said today.

"Yesterday in his training he still had quite a bit of pain in his thumb."

The decision means Jean-Paul Duminy retains his place in the middle order after scoring an unbeaten 50 in the Perth Test and a magnificent 166 in the Melbourne Test in his debut as Prince's replacement.

Smith will skip this month's one-day series in Australia to rest and recover in time for the home Test series against Australia starting on February 26.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew McDonald, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger, Ben Hilfenhaus (12th man).

Excited Bollinger wants to keep it simple

2009-01-02T02:03:00.000-08:00

Ricky Ponting is flanked by Australia's two debutants

Doug Bollinger is the sort of bowler that could quickly develop into an Australian cult figure. He is fast, swings the new and old ball and takes wickets regularly, especially at the SCG. It was those traits that earned him a spot ahead of Ben Hilfenhaus for the third Test, but he also brings colourful off-field characteristics.

A year ago he was bald, but now has locks as lush as the outfield, and he speaks with the honesty of a guy who grew up in western Sydney. After hearing about his recall to the squad this week he said he would give 150,000% for his country; he was told on Friday morning he would become Australia's 405th Test player.

When asked whether he would rest well the night before the game he said: "I hope I sleep well, I'll just try and take it as another cricket game, basically. If I think about it too much I'll go insane." Are you nervous? "Yeah."

In the past 14 months Bollinger has taken five five-wicket hauls at the SCG, including 6 for 47 in his last match here against South Australia. A Sheffield Shield season of 45 wickets at 15.44 in 2007-08 won him tours to West Indies and India, but he had to wait for an opportunity after slipping behind Peter Siddle, who he will share the new ball with.

"I'm just going to go out there and just do what I've been doing for New South Wales and try swinging the ball," he said. "Just try to intimidate batsmen and just try and be competitive. I'd just like to compete and do well, I'm not out there to make friends."

Graeme Smith and the South Africans do not know much about Bollinger, but they are learning quickly about his quirks. "Any guy who is going to try 150,000% in this game is someone we're going to have to respect," Smith said teasingly. The tourists have traded jokes about Bollinger's hair on the team bus, but say they won't use them on the field.

While Bollinger spoke off the cuff, Andrew McDonald, the other debutant, was more cautious. McDonald's long-term options are less certain - he comes behind Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson on the allrounders' list - and he was not sure that he would be batting six.

Jacques Kallis is the player McDonald has looked up to most during his career, but he was reluctant to describe the balance between his batting and bowling qualities. "I'll let you guys make up your own minds," he said. "I'm not going to put myself in any category." He bats at five or six for Victoria and chips in with regular overs.

Highest Run scorer in the Test Cricket - First Cricketer to pass 12000 run in the Test Cricket

2009-01-02T02:00:00.000-08:00

Records Held by Sachin Tendulkar
1. Highest Run scorer in the ODI
2. Most number of hundreds in the ODI 41
3. Most number of nineties in the ODI
4. Most number of man of the matches(56) in the ODI's
5. Most number of man of the series(14) in ODI's
6. Best average for man of the matches in ODI's
7. First Cricketer to pass 10000 run in the ODI
8. First Cricketer to pass 15000 run in the ODI
9. He is the highest run scorer in the world cup (1,796 at an average of 59..87 as on 20 March 2007)
10. Most number of the man of the matches in the world cup
11. Most number of runs 1996 world cup 523 runs in the 1996 Cricket World Cup at an average of 87..16
12. Most number of runs in the 2003 world cup 673 runs in 2003 Cricket World Cup, highest by any player in a single Cricket World Cup
13. He was Player of the World Cup Tournament in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
14. Most number of Fifties in ODI's 87
15. Appeared in Most Number of ODI's 407
16. He is the only player to be in top 10 ICC ranking for 10 years.
17. Most number of 100's in test's 38
18. He is one of the three batsmen to surpass 11,000 runs in Test cricket, and the first Indian to do so
19. He is thus far the only cricketer to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest sporting honor
20. In 2003, Wisden rated Tendulkar as d No. 1 and Richards at No. 2 in all time Greatest ODI player
21. In 2002, Wisden rated him as the second greatest Test batsman after Sir Donald Bradman.
22. he was involved in unbroken 664-run partnership in a Harris Shield game in 1988 with friend and team mate Vinod Kambli,
23. Tendulkar is the only player to score a century in all three of his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debuts
24. In 1992, at the age of 19, Tendulkar became the first overseas born player to represent Yorkshire
25. Tendulkar has been granted the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Padma Shri by Indian government. He is the only Indian cricketer to get all of them.
26. Tendulkar has scored over 1000 runs in a calendar year in ODI's 7 times
27. Tendulkar has scored 1894 runs in calendar year in ODI's most by any batsman
28. He is the highest earning cricketer in the world
29. He has the least percentage of the man of the matches awards won when team looses a match.. Out of his 56 man of the match awards only 5 times India has lost.
30. Tendulkar most number man of match awards(10) against Australia
31. In August of 2003, Sachin Tendulkar was voted as the "Greatest Sportsman" of the country in the sport personalities category in the Best of India poll conducted by Zee News.
32. In November 2006, Time magazine named Tendulkar as one of the Asian Heroes.
33. In December 2006, he was named "Sports person of the Year
34. The current India Poised campaign run by The Times of India has nominated him as the Face of New India next to the likes of Amartya Sen and Mahatma Gandhi among others.
35. Tendulkar was the first batsman in history to score over 50 centuries in international cricket
36. Tendulkar was the first batsman in history to score over 75 centuries in international cricket:79 centuries
37. Has the most overall runs in cricket, (ODIs+Tests+ Twenty20s) , as of 30 June 2007 he had accumulated almost 26,000 runs overall.
38. Is second on the most number of runs in test cricket just after Brian Lara
39. Sachin Tendulkar with Sourav Ganguly hold the world record for the maximum number of runs scored by the opening partnership. They have put together 6,271 runs in 128 matches
40. The 20 century partnerships for opening pair with Sourav Ganguly is a world record
41. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid hold the world record for the highest partnership in ODI matches when they scored 331 runs against New Zealand in 1999
42. Sachin Tendulkar has been involved in six 200 run partnerships in ODI matches - a record that he shares with Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid
43. Most Centuries in a calendar year: 9 ODI centuries in 1998
44. Only player to have over 100 innings of 50+ runs (41 Centuries and 87 Fifties)(as of 18th Nov, 2007)
45. the only player ever to cross the 13,000-14,000 and 15,000 run marks IN ODI.
46. Highest individual score among Indian batsmen (186* against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999).
47. The score of 186* is listed the fifth highest score recorded in ODI matches
48. Tendulkar has scored over 1000 ODI runs against all major Cricketing nations.
49. Sachin was the fastest to reach 10,000 runs taking 259 innings and has the highest batting average among batsmen with over 10,000 ODI runs
50. Most number of Stadium Appearances: 90 different Grounds
51. Consecutive ODI Appearances: 185
52. On his debut, Sachin Tendulkar was the second youngest debutant in the world
53. When Tendulkar scored his maiden century in 1990, he was the second youngest to score a century
54. Tendulkar's record of five test centuries before he turned 20 is a current world record
55. Tendulkar holds the current record (217 against NZ in 1999/00 Season) for the highest score in Test cricket by an Indian when captaining the side
56. Tendulkar has scored centuries against all test playing nations.[7] He was the third batman to achieve the distinction after Steve Waugh and Gary Kirsten
57. Tendulkar has 4 seasons in test cricket with 1000 or more runs - 2002 (1392 runs), 1999 (1088 runs), 2001 (1003 runs) and 1997 (1000 runs).[6] Gavaskar is the only other Indian with four seasons of 1000+ runs
58. He is second most number of seasons with over 1000 runs in world.
59. On 3 January 2007 Sachin Tendulkar (5751) edged past Brian Lara's (5736) world record of runs scored in Tests away from home
60. Tendulkar and Brian Lara are the fastest to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket history. Both of them achieved this in 195 innings
61. Second Indian after Sunil Gavaskar to make over 10,000 runs in Test matches
62. Became the first Indian to surpass the 11,000 Test run mark and the third International player behind Allan Border and Brian Lara.
63. Tendulkar is fourth on the list of players with most Test caps. Steve Waugh (168 Tests), Allan Border (158 Tests), Shane Warne (145 Tests) have appeared in more games than Tendulkar
64. Tendulkar has played the most number of Test Matches(144) for India (Kapil Dev is second with 131 Test appearances) .
65. First to 25,000 international runs
66. Tendulkar's 25,016 runs in international cricket include 14,537 runs in ODI's, 10,469 Tests runs and 10 runs in the lone Twenty20 that India has played.
67. On December 10, 2005, Tendulkar made his 35th century in Tests at Delhi against Sri Lanka. He surpassed Sunil Gavaskar's record of 34 centuries to become the man with the most number of hundreds in Test cricket.
68. Tendulkar is the only player who has 150 wkts and more than 15000 runs in ODI
69. Tendulkar is the only player who has 40 wkts and more than 11000 runs in Tests
70. Only batsman to have 100 hundreds in the first class cricket

Tendulkar in Mumbai team after 23 months

2008-12-30T22:09:00.000-08:00

Mumbai: As expected Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan have been named in the 15 member Mumbai team for the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Saurashtra to be played at Chennai from January 4 to 7.

Tendulkar had made his last match for Mumbai memorable by scoring a century in the national championship final against Bengal at the Wankhede Stadium in February 2007.

The match against Saurashtra would be his 36th for Mumbai.

Zaheer Khan’s only match for Mumbai was in the same final and he took nine wickets. Previously he had played 20 Ranji matches for Baroda.

The team: Wasim Jaffer (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Vinayak Samant (wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Amol Muzumdar, Rohit Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Sahil Kukreja, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ramesh Powar, Sairaj Bahutule, Ankit Chavan, Usman Malvi. — Special Correspondent

Maximum security for Dhoni after extortion letter

2008-12-30T22:07:00.000-08:00

Jharkhand has provided the highest "Z category" security cover to Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni following the receipt of a letter by his family that threatened that they would be harmed if the skipper fails to pay Rs.5 million to a gangster, police said on Wednesday.

"Dhoni has been provided Z category security," said police spokesperson S.N. Pradhan.

The cricketer, who earlier had "Y category" security cover - the second most stringent category - is now being guarded by 45 security personnel. He arrived here Tuesday.

According to police officials, Dhoni's family received the extortion letter Monday. The letter, allegedly sent by gangster Taslim, who claims to be a close associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, stated that the Indian skipper's family will face dire consequences if he does not pay Rs.5 million.

The family handed over the letter to police here Tuesday night. Soon after, Dhoni's security was beefed up.

Police have also launched an investigation to trace the person who sent the letter.

When Dhoni was last in Ranchi, he was not happy with his constricting security cover and travelled from his home to the airport without any bodyguards.

However, with renewed concern about his security, Dhoni has applied for a prohibited bore (PB) arms licence. He has a non-PB licence already.

According to sources close to his family, Dhoni plans to buy a 9 mm pistol after obtaining the licence. The PB licence is issued only in special circumstances by the central home ministry.

South African pair top the charts

2008-12-30T22:05:00.000-08:00

Year to remember ... Graeme Smith hits out against Australia

South African stars Graeme Smith and Dale Steyn will soon focus on overtaking Australia as the world's No.1 Test cricket side, but they can also reflect on 2008 as a stand-out year individually.

The Proteas can attribute much of their success this year - 11 wins, two draws and two losses from 15 Tests, and series wins in England and Australia - to Smith's magnificent batting and Steyn's brilliant fast bowling.

On top of his improved captaincy, Smith scored 1,656 runs at an average of 72, and his tally was the third-highest in a calendar year in the game's history, only behind the 1,788 runs Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf amassed in 2006 and the 1,710 the West Indies' Viv Richards tallied in 1976.

Smith's year included six centuries and scores of 48, 108, 62 and 75 in the first two Tests against Australia, a country he had previously struggled against, with only one half-century from eight matches before this series.

Steyn was the man of the match in the second Test at the MCG for his bowling and batting heroics, and his 10-wicket haul gave him 74 scalps for the year, at an average of 20.01 runs apiece.

That figure represents almost half of the paceman's career total - he made his Test debut in 2004 - and he took five five-wicket hauls for the year, in just 13 matches.

Steyn's year-best figure was the equal ninth-highest in history.

South Africa's batting strength was underlined by the presence of Hashim Amla (4th, 1,161 runs), Neil McKenzie (7th, 1,071) and AB de Villiers (10th, 1,061) in the top 10 leading run-scorers.

Captain Ricky Ponting was again Australia's highest run-scorer, with the year's third highest tally of 1,182 at 47.28, a figure inflated by his double of 101 and 99 at the MCG.

This year was the fifth time Ponting had scored more than 1,000 runs in a calendar year.

Michael Clarke, with 1,063 runs in equal-eighth spot, was the only other Australian batsman to register in the top 10.

Left-arm paceman Mitchell Johnson was Australia's leading wicket-taker, and second overall, with 63 scalps at 29.01.

Leading run-scorers and wicket-takers in Test cricket in 2008.

MOST RUNS

1,656 - Graeme Smith (RSA) 15 matches, average 72.00
1,462 - Virender Sehwag (Ind) 14 matches, average 56.23
1,182 - Ricky Ponting (Aust) 14 matches, average 47.28
1,162 - Hashim Amla (RSA) 15 matches, average 52.77
1,134 - Gautam Gambhir (Ind) 8 matches, average 70.87
1,086 - VVS Laxman (Ind) 15 matches, average 47.21
1,073 - Neil McKenzie (RSA) 14 matches, average 53.65
1,063 - Michael Clarke (Aust) 13 matches, average 50.61
1,063 - Sachin Tendulkar (Ind) 13 matches, average 48.31
1,061 - AB de Villiers (RSA) 15 matches, average 58.94

MOST WICKETS

74 - Dale Steyn (RSA) 13 matches, average 20.01
63 - Mitchell Johnson (Aust) 14 matches, average 29.01
63 - Harbhajan Singh (Ind) 13 matches, average 31.53
57 - Brett Lee (Aust) 14 matches, average 33.05
54 - Daniel Vettori (NZ) 14 matches, average 26.12
54 - Makhaya Ntini (RSA) 15 matches, average 28.46
47 - Ryan Sidebottom (Eng) 8 matches, average 20.25
46 - Jimmy Anderson (Eng) 11 matches, average 29.84
43 - Morne Morkel (RSA) 13 matches, average 32.16
42 - Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) 6* matches, average 23.71
* currently playing a Test against Bangladesh

Miandad to get diplomatic passport for easy travel to China

2008-12-28T21:02:00.000-08:00

Karachi: To facilitate his travel to China as a cricket ambassador, Pakistan Interior Ministry has decided to issue a blue diplomatic passport to newly-appointed - Cricket Board Director-General Javed Miandad.

The Chinese authorities are keen that Miandad start working on a program to establish good infrastructure for the sport in China and to start grooming their players," the official said.

"Miandad is a big name and respected figure in Pakistan and his role as cricket ambassador to China will help further cement ties between both the countries," he said.

Meanwhile, Miandad said he was extremely happy to get this honour and sincerely believed China had the potential to become a force in international cricket in the coming years.

"They are a organised and disciplined nation. It will be easier for them to start improving once they are given proper guidelines, training and infrastructure for cricket."

The former Pakistan captain conceded that the issuance of a blue diplomatic passport will also help him in travelling to other countries to convince them that Pakistan is a safe place for international sporting events.

"The Cricket Board will shortly start an aggressive campaign and lobbying to deal with the issue of some teams refusing to tour Pakistan because of security concerns.

"In current situation we also need to start working on inviting alternate teams for series because we need to keep the sport alive in the country," he said.

Miandad says no to night Test

2008-12-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

Karachi (PTI): Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad on Sunday scoffed at Cricket Australia's plans to host a day-night Test against Pakistan in Adelaide in November next year.

"No we will not go with this idea as we don't support attempts to spoil the traditional nature of Test matches, which are still the heart and soul of cricket," Miandad told PTI.

According to a report in Sunday Telegraph, CA will soon seek International Cricket Council's approval for holding the match that will have a 1400 hrs (local time) start.

"Test cricket is our premium form of the game so why (not) play it at a time when most people can watch it? There's no doubt it will happen -- people can go after work and it's a cooler time of the day for spectators," CA chief executive James Sutherland was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

"The Olympics, the NRL and the AFL. Much of it is played at night because it's a more convenient time for viewers and fans," Sutherland had said. But Miandad sees problems galore to be faced by teams while playing under artificial and natural light.

"You can't expect teams to keep on adjusting to natural and artificial light over a period of five days. Having night matches for 50 overs and 20 overs is fine but I would advise the Australians not to tinker with the spirit of Test cricket," he said.

"Plans to have Test cricket under lights would not work. Neither will we support any such move," said Miandad, who has played top-level cricket for more than 20 years.

Warning the cricket boards to be careful with their efforts to further commercialise the game, he said, "We should not get too greedy. Having Twenty20 cricket is OK and it is a money spinner but please don't try to spoil the fun and competitive nature of Test cricket," he said.

Jaffer and Rohit help Mumbai dominate

2008-12-28T20:51:00.000-08:00

Wasim Jaffer scored his third century of the tournament to help Mumbai build a sizeable lead against Himachal Pradesh

Wasim Jaffer scored his third century of the competition, and added 113 for the fourth wicket with Rohit Sharma to put Mumbai in a dominant position against Himachal Pradesh on the second day in Ahmedabad. Vishal Bhatia, the left-arm spinner, took three wickets, but was unable to prevent the Mumbai batsmen from scoring over four an over, and building significant partnerships.

The Mumbai openers, Jaffer and Vinayak Samant, put on a half-century stand before Jitender Mehta, the medium-pacer, had Samant caught for 20. Ajinkya Rahane, the tournament's top-scorer, started from where he left off against Punjab, scoring a run-a-ball 35. Rahane and Amol Muzumdar fell within 27 runs of each other, but Jaffer, joined by Rohit, crushed any hopes HP entertained about running through the Mumbai batting line-up. Jaffer's innings was laced with 14 boundaries, and his stand with Rohit, who hit eight fours and three sixes, took Mumbai past HP's total

Jaffer fell for 108, caught by Ashok Thakur off Bhatia, but Rohit continued to build the lead, and was ably supported by Abhishek Nayar, with whom he added 80. Both, however, departed in quick succession, but Ajit Agarkar and Sairaj Bahutule, who have proved capable batsmen, put on an unbeaten 56 for the seventh wicket amid some sloppy bowling by HP, who conceded 37 extras.

Though he got to three figures, Jaffer was slightly disappointed by his dismisssal. "It was a bad shot. I would have scored much more than what I have got today. The wicket has become batsmen friendly," he told DNA.

Mumbai prolong HP agony

2008-12-28T20:44:00.000-08:00

AHMEDABAD: Mumbai seamers bowled their hearts out but luck eluded them as Himachal Pradesh made merry on the third day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal played here at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera.

On Sunday, butterfingered Mumbai fielders dropped as many as four catches. At stumps on the penultimate day, Himachal Pradesh in their second innings had garnered 200 for five, needing 45 more to make Wasim Jaffer and Co. bat again.

Dhaval Kulkarni, Mumbai’s leading wicket-taker this season, induced a nick from Sangram Singh, but Amol Muzumdar dropped a catch in the first slip.

The former Ranji champions got the first break when Vinayak Samant made no mistake and gracefully accepted Bhavin Thakkar’s catch off Ajit Agarkar. Thakkar made 4.

Jaffer tried to cash on the opportunity and deployed an attacking field. But Vinit Indulkar, who joined Sangram in the middle, had different ideas. They began the rescue act without taking any risks.

They were equally supported by the sloppy Mumbaikars.

Indulkar was dropped twice off pacer Abhishek Nayar. Sairaj Bahutule and Samant were the culprits.

The second-wicket partnership that garnered 57 runs was finally broken when offie Ramesh Powar got rid off Indulkar (24). Next man in Mukesh Sharma (8) didn’t last long.

It looked as if Himachal would collapse on the third day. But vice captain Paras Dogra stuck to his task.

Meanwhile, Sangram Singh completed his half century when he hit his seventh boundary of the innings.

Jaffer brought Agarkar in the last hour. Bowling with subtle variations, the lanky seamer trapped Sangram in front halting the 69-run stand between him and Dogra.

Agarkar should have had dismissed Dogra but Samant once again disappointed by putting one down on his leg side. Dogra was on 47.

I am playing in Ranji at team’s request: Dravid

2008-12-28T20:41:00.000-08:00

Rahul Dravid said on Thursday that he decided to play for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy’s quarter-final against Saurashtra in Mumbai on the request of the state side and not from a personal point of view.
The batting great has come out of a pronounced run-slump in Tests with a century in the first innings in Mohali before coming Mumbai for the four-day on Friday.

“I was requested by the boys to play in this match. I am not playing from a personal point of view. It’s a important game and it’s good to be back playing for Karnataka,” Dravid said after a practice session at the Brabourne Stadium.

“We have a young side. I don’t know all of them very well, having not played with them for long. But hopefully we can put up a good performance,” said the former India skipper, who had played two matches earlier for Karnataka in the league phase of the tournament.

Dravid said the prolonged break from the international cricket grind for the Indian players would see them taking part in domestic cricket which, he felt, would be a good preparation for the battles lying ahead.

“The break from international cricket after the cancellation of the Pakistan tour (in wake last month’s terror strike in Mumbai) has given us an opportunity to play in domestic cricket though not all of us would be playing.”

“The Duleep Trophy (that follows) would also be a good preparation for the season ahead,” he said.

Dravid hits half century

2008-12-28T20:40:00.000-08:00

MUMBAI: The penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal between Karnataka and Saurashtra was eventful with Rahul Dravid making a half century, Sandeep Jobanputra taking five wickets and Ravindra Jadeja scalping four and 14 wickets falling in all.

At the Brabourne Stadium, after bowling out Saurashtra for 189, Karnataka were dismissed for 208 in their second innings. This left Saurashtra with a target of 325 with 93 overs in which to get the runs. At stumps they needed another 315 runs. However, they had lost two wickets.

Resuming at 180-8, Saurashtra were bundled out in 12 balls. Thereafter, it was Karnataka’s turn to pile on as many runs as possible and make Saurashtra bat on a Day Four wicket, which is sure to assist the seamers in the first session and spinners later on.

But in the process of setting a difficult target, Karnataka went off the rails. Karnataka had a horrible start losing three of their frontline batsmen - KB Pawan (0), captain Robin Uthappa (5) and CM Gautam (26) - with only 43 runs on the board.

Dravid then put all his powers of concentration to good use to stem the rot with a sedate but fluent 52.

Brief scores: Karnataka 305 & 208 (Dravid 52, Akhil 56; Jobanputra 5-54, Jadeja 4-58) vs Saurashtra 189 & 10-2 (Chauhan 6*; Vinay Kumar 2-1)

Hayden fails, Australia struggles

2008-12-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

South Africa celebrates the dismissal of Matthew Hayden.

Scoreboard at tea on the fourth day of the second Test between Australia and South Africa at Melbourne Cricket Ground today.

Australia 1st innings 394
South Africa 1st innings 459

Australia 2nd Innings Mins Balls 4s 6s

M HAYDEN c Duminy b Steyn 23 47 28 3 0

S KATICH c Boucher b Steyn 15 56 40 2 0

R PONTING not out 87 184 138 7 0

M HUSSEY c Amla b Morkel 2 13 8 0 0

M CLARKE c McKenzie b Steyn 29 101 79 4 0

A SYMONDS c Kallis b Steyn 0 2 5 0 0

B HADDIN c Kallis b Ntini 10 31 35 0 1

B LEE b Kallis 8 20
Sundries (3lb 3nb) 6

Seven wickets for 180

Fall: 37 (Hayden), 40 (Katich), 49 (Hussey), 145 (Clarke), 145 (Symonds), 165 (Haddin), 180 (Lee).

Bowling: D Steyn 14-3-46-4 (1nb), M Ntini 12-1-24-1, M Morkel 11-2-35-1 (2nb), P Harris 13-0-30-0, J Kallis 8.3-1-42-1.

Batting time: 234 mins. Overs: 58.3.

Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK), Billy Doctrove (WIN).

Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI).

Third Umpire: Bruce Oxenford (AUS).

AUSTRALIA's hopes of keeping the series alive and Matthew Hayden's fading career took another hit when South Africa instigated a dramatic top order collapse on the fourth morning of the Boxing Day Test.

But it was the controversial dismissal of Michael Hussey that caused Australia most heartache.

Towering paceman Morne Morkel produced a nasty bouncer that reared up off the pitch and appeared to strike Hussey on the helmet, before ballooning up to Hashim Amla at mid-wicket.

The stony look on the faces of Hussey and his batting partner Ricky Ponting told the story after the West Australian batsman was given out for 2 by umpire Aleem Dar despite the ball missing both his bat and gloves.

The poor decision added to the catalogue of disasters for Australia and Hussey in this Test. Hussey made a duck in the first innings and on Sunday panicked underneath a high catch that was lost in the sun.

After Australia resumed at 0-4, still 61 runs behind South Africa following the day three heroics of JP Duminy and the Proteas tail, Hayden made an encouraging start, playing a nice drive before he popped a simple catch up to short extra cover for 23.

Australia lost three wickets before wiping out the deficit, after Simon Katich was caught behind chasing a wide ball off Dale Steyn, who has seven wickets for the match.

After a frenetic start to the session, Ponting and his deputy Michael Clarke restored some calm and guided Australia to 3-86 at lunch.

Foot injury forces Lee to miss action for 6 weeks

2008-12-28T20:27:00.000-08:00

Australian pacer Brett Lee
Australian pace spearhead Brett Lee's struggling career received yet another blow after he was ruled out of cricketing action for six weeks due to a foot stress injury. Lee will miss not only this week's Sydney Test against South Africa but also next month's one-day series against the same opponents.

The 32-year-old right-arm pacer, who is struggling to regain his form, may have to wear a custom-made boot to rest the left-foot and he is also in doubt for the away Test series against South Africa starting February. Lee, however, was optimistic that he would be back to the team soon.

"These things happen for a reason. I am going to use this period out of the game constructively and make sure I get my body back to peak fitness," Lee was quoted by 'The Daily Telegraph'.

Australia team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris confirmed last night that Lee would miss the Sydney Test and be out of cricket for nearly four to six weeks.

"It's not far off being a stress fracture. At the moment the crack is not there but it is not far away. We organised a scan which showed he has got a stress reaction in one of the bones of his foot. When we got here today he couldn't run and it was very painful," he said.

Tendulkars enjoy a quiet holiday in Mussoorie

2008-12-27T02:22:00.000-08:00

MUSSOORIE: Tourists here for Christmas holidays were in for a surprise when they saw `Master Blaster' Sachin Tendulkar and his family strolling down the Mall road. The Tendulkars have been at this hill station since Christmas eve to spend a quiet vacation and enjoy "quality time'' with each other.

The family will be here till New Year celebrations with their friend, well-known hotelier Sanjay Narang at the latter's `Brothvel Cottage' in Sisters' Bazaar in Landour.

Walking leisurely around the hill town, playing cricket with his children in the "Char Dukaan'' area of Landour, is what Sachin likes to do. While stressing that he needs his "privacy'', the cricketer was not averse to an informal interaction with the media. He said he had come back to Mussoorie as he loved the place and its weather when he visited it last time.

"It gives me a chance to spend time with my family amid peaceful and picturesque surroundings,'' he said.

"We are in a relaxed frame of mind as the children are on a vacation and the cricket season has wrapped up,'' said Sachin. And no, he had no plans yet to retire from one-day cricket. "I will play till I feel like.''

He said he agreed with and respected the government's decision on cancelling the cricketers' tour to Pakistan. He said he was deeply saddened by the Mumbai terror attacks.

Since their arrival, the Tendulkars have visited Woodstock School. Morning walks in the Landour Cantonment area, strolling through Sisters' Bazaar and Kulri, the Tendulkars and their friends have brightened the New Year season in this hill station, which had been witnessing a dull time over the past few weeks. Tourists, who met the Tendulkar family and took autographs, said it was a wonderful Christmas and New Year's gift for them.

Sri Lanka given go ahead for tour

2008-12-27T02:16:00.000-08:00

Mahela Jayawardene and his Sri Lanka team are currently in Bangladesh

Sri Lanka will tour Pakistan next month after being granted permission by the Sri Lankan government.

The Sri Lanka tour replaces a visit by India, who cancelled their series following the Mumbai terror attacks.

The tour will go ahead following discussions between Sri Lanka's foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama and president Mahinda Rajapakse.

The Sri Lanka foreign ministry said sport was "a good way of enhancing friendship and mutual goodwill".

Last week, Sri Lanka Cricket, the sport's governing body which was dissolved on Tuesday by the government, said they had agreed to take India's place.

The tour will run from 20 January to 25 February 2009, with Test matches planned for Karachi, Lahore and Multan, while Karachi is also set to host two one-day internationals.

The remaining ODIs are likely to be played in Lahore.

India pulled out of their tour on advice from their government following November's terror attacks in Mumbai.

Siddle puts Aussies firmly on top

2008-12-27T02:06:00.000-08:00

Peter Siddle had a dramatic impact at the top of the South African innings

Australia had a near-perfect second day in the Melbourne Test to gain a clear ascendancy over South Africa.

After losing in Perth, and reaching a precarious 280-6 on day one on a true wicket at the MCG, they ended up with 394 and then had South Africa 198-7.

Local paceman Peter Siddle took 3-24 and only the prolific Graeme Smith (62) resisted for any length of time.

Australia's Michael Clarke had earlier finished with a fine 88 not out, with Dale Steyn picking up 5-87 in 29 overs.

Siddle, a 24-year-old Victorian, bowled 13 high-quality overs in front of an enthusiastic home crowd, and his contribution was as important as the runs of Clarke and Ricky Ponting - who scored a vital 101 on the first day.

Steyn gained three breakthroughs before lunch but by the end of the day the 114 runs Clarke had helped garner from Australia's lower order in that session was the most important early development.

From there they controlled the South Africans in a style reminiscent of the days of Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne.

Smith followed his 108 in Perth with a committed 62 - in a calendar year that has netted him nearly 1,600 runs already - but lost his wicket weakly when driving at a wide half-volley and edging behind.

The dismissal forced South Africa to survival mode and left JP Duminy - who reached a calm 34 at the close - to protect the lower order.

Clarke (36 not out) was batting with Brett Lee when the day began - and Australia were positive from the word go.

Lee carved five boundaries in his 21 before driving at Steyn and nicking to slip before Mitchell Johnson edged onto his stumps.

All the time, Clarke was seeing the ball well, scampering ones and twos and adding in the odd boundary as he added a further 26 for the ninth wicket with Nathan Hauritz and 42 for the 10th with Siddle.

He perhaps deserved a century but was left stranded when Siddle was finally dismissed by Jacques Kallis.

The home side had seized the momentum and were not about to give it back.

Using the lunch break as a vehicle to plot their assault on South Africa's batsmen, they gained the first wicket when out-of-form opener Neil McKenzie was beaten for pace and bowled by Siddle with the 10th delivery of the innings.

Hashim Amla contributed just 19 before spearing Johnson straight to Andrew Symonds at gully and an ominous 63-run stand between Smith and Kallis was ended on the stroke of tea.

This was a particularly weak dismissal for South Africa at a crucial stage, Kallis sweeping at the off-spin of Hauritz and getting the shot all wrong to give a simple catch to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.

Four further wickets fell in the final session. First Smith, perhaps affected by his elbow problems, stretched out to play at a wide one and paid the penalty.

He will attempt to battle through this Test and the probable decider in Sydney before assessing the injury, but currently requires regular painkilling injections. One-day specialist Vaughn van Jaarsveld has been added to the Test squad to cover for Smith and Ashwell Prince (broken thumb).

Once Smith had departed, AB de Villiers limped to a nervous seven before Siddle nipped one back to bowl him, and Mark Boucher then presented Hauritz with another soft wicket.

Morne Morkel did well to hit 21 but when Johnson bowled him six overs from the finish South Africa had still not saved the follow-on.

Though Duminy did eventually help them creep past the milestone of 195, Australia are red-hot favourites to level the series now.

Ricky Ponting century covers for Australia's failings

2008-12-27T01:55:00.000-08:00

Captain's knock: Ricky Ponting's century held together the Australian innings on day one of the second Test at the MCG

Australia captain Ricky Ponting scored a superb Boxing Day century at the MCG, but South Africa continue to make the running in this riveting series

Pilloried in the Australian media for his captaincy at Perth, Ricky Ponting responded with a feisty, angst-fuelled century. It was a thunderous innings, studded with booming drives, and for most of the afternoon he seemed to have the South Africans at his mercy. But when he fell, his team began to crumble. Australia were a shaky 280 for six by the close.

Increasingly grim-faced and gimlet-eyed, Ponting is starting to resemble another captain who led from the front - that 1980s icon Allan Border. The founder of Australia's recent dynasty, Border began his 10-year reign with a scrappy sort of side: a mixture of naïve newcomers and ageing has-beens, who could not even be relied upon to beat the Poms. Ponting now finds himself in a similar boat, and is even beginning to wear Border's familiar put-upon look, if not the trademark moustache.

Australia do still have plenty of talent in the ranks. Their recent discoveries include Mitchell Johnson, arguably the fastest bowler in the world, as well as the clean-hitting batsman-wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. But there are also some major structural problems to be addressed. As with so many struggling teams, the senior players are not pulling their weight, which makes it so much harder for the juniors to establish themselves.

Here at the MCG, the cracks began showing within half-an-hour of the start. Matthew Hayden, Australia's one-time enforcer, scooped the first half-volley he received to backward point. It was a shot of a man who is uncomfortable with his own game. Now, if Hayden does not produce in the second innings, he will leave the selectors facing a difficult decision. Do they stick by him for the Sydney Test, in the knowledge that he is a virtual passenger at present? Or do they bring a distinguished career to a close?

Ponting took over from his old friend and ally, and looked almost as uncomfortable early on. On 24, he could not decide whether or not to play at a widish ball from Dale Steyn, with the end result that he steered it to third slip. The ball seemed to travel in slow motion - too slow, Ponting later suggested, for Neil McKenzie, who made a mess of a simple chance. It was the first catch that has gone down in the series, and it turned out to be an expensive one.

Freed up by his reprieve, Ponting went on the rampage when the teams emerged after lunch. As the adrenaline surged, his personal run-rate immediately ratcheted up from just over 2.5 to a little over six. A glorious punch down the ground from the first ball after the interval was followed by a driving masterclass - three boundaries in three balls from Makhaya Ntini - as the ball was dispatched to all points of the compass. A 60,000-strong crowd rose to salute his second century on Boxing Day, the blue-riband occasion of the Australian sporting calendar. Both have come against South Africa.

Ponting's mastery was in sharp contrast to the struggles of his team-mates. Simon Katich ground his way to 54 before missing a straight one. Mike Hussey, whose statistics are becoming less Bradmanesque by the minute, was caught in an agony of indecision by a ball from Steyn, and flicked a thin edge through to the wicketkeeper. After successive scores of 0, 10 and 0, the man known as Mr Cricket is in danger of becoming Mr Nick-it.

Ponting fought on until just before the tea-break, when he pushed forward to Paul Harris's surprisingly effective left-arm spin and was held at short-leg. The final session was left to Michael Clarke, whose 36 not out occupied the best part of four hours, and a couple of contrastingly breezy cameos from Haddin and Andrew Symonds. South Africa were the happier team by the close.

Cricket-Shakib claims five wickets to dismiss Sri Lanka for 293

2008-12-27T01:54:00.001-08:00

DHAKA, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Shakib Al Hasan completed his fourth five-wicket haul in five matches to help Bangladesh dismiss Sri Lanka for 293 runs on the stroke of lunch on the second day of the first test on Saturday.

Resuming on their overnight score of 172-6, Thilan Samaraweera led a lower-order recovery for the visitors with 90 off 141 balls before Bangladesh struck back to restrict Sri Lanka to less than 300 first innings runs.

Samaraweera, who reached his 16th test half-century by pushing a full length Mehrab Hossain delivery to the cover area for a single, shared 99 runs with Chaminda Vaas for the seventh wicket as Sri Lanka grew in confidence.

However, the second new ball helped Bangladesh gain their first success of the morning after the duo had batted brilliantly and the rest of the tail succumbed rather quickly.

Vaas edged Mashrafe Mortaza to wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim on 37 before Shakib trapped Dammika Parasad lbw for three to leave the visitors on 285-8.

Rangana Herath was then run out for one before Shakib had Samaraweera caught by Zunaed Siddique in the next over to close out the innings and return figures of 5-70. (Reporting by Azad Majumder; Editing by John O'Brien)

Sri Lanka rip through Bangladesh top order

2008-12-27T01:40:00.000-08:00

Sri Lanka bowlers Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan took two wickets apiece to leave hosts Bangladesh struggling on 95 for four at tea on the second day of the first test on Saturday.

Live Scoring

Replying to Sri Lanka's first innings total of 293, Bangladesh made a confident start with the opening stand of 44 before Muralitharan made the vital breakthrough with his second delivery of the match.

Tamim Iqbal was caught at forward short-leg by Malinda Warnapura for 17 before Vaas had Imrul Kayes caught behind after the 21-year-old opener had made a test-best 33.

Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful became Vaas's 350th test victim when the left-arm paceman had him caught by a diving Tillakaratne Dilshan at cover to make it 90-3.

Six overs later, Muralitharan heaped more misery on the hosts shortly before the interval when he bowled Zunaed Siddique for 29.

Earlier, Shakib Al Hasan completed his fourth five-wicket haul in five matches to help Bangladesh dismiss Sri Lanka for less than 300.

Resuming on their overnight score of 172-6, Thilan Samaraweera led a lower-order recovery for the visitors with 90 off 141 balls before Bangladesh struck back on the stroke of lunch.

Samaraweera, who reached his 16th test half-century by pushing a full length Mehrab Hossain delivery to the cover area for a single, shared 99 runs with Vaas for the seventh wicket as Sri Lanka grew in confidence.

However, the second new ball helped Bangladesh gain their first success of the morning after the duo had batted brilliantly and the rest of the tail succumbed rather quickly.

Vaas edged Mashrafe Mortaza to wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim on 37 before Shakib trapped Dammika Parasad lbw for three to leave the visitors on 285-8.

Rangana Herath was then run out for one before Shakib had Samaraweera caught by Siddique in the next over to close out the innings and return figures of 5-70.

- Day 1 report

Teams:

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Rajin Saleh, Mehrab Hossain jnr, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Mahbubul Alam

Sri Lanka: BSM Warnapura, MG Vandort, KC Sangakkara (wk), DPMD Jayawardene (capt), HAPW Jayawardene, TM Dilshan, TT Samaraweera, KMDN Kulasekara, WPUJC Vaas, KTGD Prasad, M Muralitharan

Pak to field strong team against Sri Lanka

2008-12-20T06:45:00.000-08:00

Karachi: Chief selector of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Abdul Qadir, has said that Pakistan will be raising a strong team against Sri Lanka for the upcoming series.

"We are aiming to raise a strong team for the series against Sri Lanka," Qadir said.

He said that his prime motive is to improve Pakistan’s Test ranking and use the series as a launchpad for the same.

"Our aim is to help Pakistan gain a place among the top-two ranked (Test) teams in the world and want to start taking steps towards that direction with this series," the News quoted Qadir, as saying.

Pakistan is currently languishing on the sixth spot in the ICC Test rankings.

Qadir offered all help to coach Intikhab Alam inorder to improve harmony in the Pakistan dressing room, which has been in the news recently for all wrong reasons.

"We can sit down with the players and give them pep talks because team spirit is really very important to ensure best possible results," he said.

However, Qadir admitted that the gap created by the absence of some star performers such as Mohammad Yousuf and Mohammad Asif will be hard to fill.

"Yousuf’s exit has left a big hole in our middle-order and it’s very important that we find a good replacement," he said.

Almost 20 Pakistani cricketers including Yousuf have been banned by PCB to play for the national team after they joined the breakaway Indian Cricket league (ICL).

Despite lacking several star players in the team lineup, Qadir hoped that Pakistan will give a tough time to the Lankans in the series.

"There will be no excuses," he said adding "I mean we have to give our best no matter what the circumstances are," said Qadir.

India Tests platform for IPL: Harmison

2008-12-20T06:43:00.000-08:00

London: England may be struggling in India but pacer Steve Harmison admitted the Test series gave them the perfect platform to impress the franchise owners for mega-buck deals to play in the Indian Premier League.

"It's like the X Factor. You come out here and if you do well you have a chance of playing in the IPL and I think everyone would be interested," he said.

"It is an exciting form of the game and the atmosphere for one-day games in India is tremendous so I can imagine it will be the same for Twenty20 and that is the sort of buzz you play the game for," said Harmison who sat out of the on-going second Test giving way for Stuart Broad.

The likes of captain Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff could attract big bucks in the IPL market for the second season in April-May next year though there has been issues regarding their availability for a full tournament.

Their decision to return for the Test series following the Mumbai terror attacks has also won them many admirers in India.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has said it has no objection to its cricketers playing in the IPL although the exact dates of their availability is still being thrashed out.

"It is still a way off but every chance you get to impress you want to take," Harmison was quoted as saying by Mirror newspaper.

The IPL franchises are now ready for players' auction on February 6 after the new rules for next year's tournament upped the number of international players allowed per squad from eight to 10.

The franchises will also have a fresh USD two million to bid for new players in the auction.

Smith ton keeps South Africa in the hunt

2008-12-20T06:41:00.000-08:00

Perth: Skipper Graeme Smith led South Africa's fightback with a courageous century on Saturday to keep his team in the hunt for a record chase of 414 on the final day of the first Test against Australia here.

South Africa were 227 for three at stumps with Jacques Kallis (33) and AB de Villiers (11) at the crease after Smith knocked off 108 runs. South Africa need 187 runs on the final day for the second-biggest successful chase in history.

Earlier, Australia, resuming at 228 for seven, were all out for 319 with Brad Haddin scoring 94 and shepherding the tail to set a tough chase for the visitors. Jason Krezja (32) and Mitchell Johsnon (21) did the support job.

South Africa started on a shaky note as Niel Mckenzie departed, edging a Johnson delivery behind the stumps, with 19 runs on the board. But Smith and Hashim Amla (53) build on the platform with a partnership of 153 runs.

Smith showed intent as he played with his customary flamboyance to take the attack to the fire-spitting Australian pacers. The left-hander stroked 13 fours in 147-balls.

Amla at the other end played with patience allowing his captain to force the pace. His 112-ball knock had six fours.

Smith scored his 18th hundred, his first against Australia. He reached his hundred with consecutive cuts for four off Johnson.

Australia were rattled by the partnership as both the batsmen complemented each other beautifully to deny them any chance. But Smith and Mckenzie fell within a space of seven runs.

Johnson got the breakthrough as he trapped Smith lbw to complete his 10 for the match following his first innings eight wickets.

Brett Lee removed Amla caught behind before Kallis and de Villiers saw to it there is no more casualty for the day.

Dravid 'relieved' after regaining form

2008-12-20T06:39:00.000-08:00

Mohali: Breathing easy after a career reviving ton, Rahul Dravid on Saturday said that the century he scored against England here would rank among the most significant knocks of his career.

"It's a quite significant knock, considering the form I was in coming into the match. It's one of the most significant hundreds I scored and I now just hope we go on to win this match," a visibly relieved Dravid told reporters here.

Dravid snapped a long string of poor shows with a knock of 136 and the right-hander said he felt relieved to get a huge monkey off his back.

"I'm definitely relieved and it's nice to be contributing again. It has been a tough year for me, nothing has been easy. It's nice to make important contributions," said the former captain who ran into a bad patch soon after the home series against South Africa.

True to his nature, Dravid's was a muted celebration as he just raised the bat and shook hands with Gautam Gambhir. He didn't even take off the helmet.

Asked if that was to hide his emotion or to make any statement, Dravid said, "I didn't try to make any statements. I was definitely happy and relieved. I guess I'm a bit old and wise, I don't jump around even when I'm excited. It was a combination of both relief and joy."

Dravid also took the opportunity to thank people who didn't lose trust in his ability. "I was surprised that so many people wanted me to do well. I mean if there was any positive out of the phase, this was it."

"It's during this time that you realise that so many people want you to do well. Some of the people didn't need to do that but still they supported me. I felt as if so many people have gone through the journey with me," he said.

Looking back at his bad patch, Dravid said it was only natural that lack of runs would invite criticism.

"It was only natural that there would be scrutiny and speculation. To be honest, I didn't have a great year and didn't score too many runs. It's only natural that people would speculate and raise questions about me. It was very tough time personally," he said.

Dravid, however, insisted there was no self-doubt at any stage. "In the last few months, including the series against Australia, I felt I was playing well, though I don't have the runs to prove that. There are certain ways I judge that like the way I bat in the nets, my position while batting, direction I play the ball in."

"Team-mates, (coach) Gary (Kirsten) and other people said everything was right about my batting. I too knew that in my gut but only the runs were not coming," he said.

"I knew it was just a matter of going out and spending some time. I knew I will turn around and it has happened," he said, heaving a sigh of relief.

Dravid said he looked at videos of some of his previous knocks and recreated the emotions. "I tried everything. Looked at a video of some of the good knocks and recreated the emotions.

"But in the last two series, I only enjoyed my sessions in the nets and tried to be as uncomplicated as possible. I decided to trust my instinct and just watch the ball," he said.

Talking about this knock, Dravid admitted it was not a flawless innings but crucial nonetheless. "As the innings went on, I grew in confidence and my feet started moving. I also could pick the ball better. It was a good testing spell by the English bowlers and we were lucky to come through that."

"Yesterday, Gautam (Gambhir) played a very good knock. He took the pressure off me by scoring at a quick rate and rotating the strike. I hope our (314-run) stand is potentially match-winning. We have set the platform to push for a win," he said.

India out for 453 despite Dravid, Gambhir tons

2008-12-20T06:36:00.000-08:00

Mohali: In sudden turn of events, England managed to put breaks on Indian domination on the second day of the second Test match by taking quick wickets to restrict the hosts to a mere 453 in their first innings here on Saturday.

It was Graeme Swann who brought England right back into the match with three quick wickets, leaving it to India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (6) and Yuvraj Singh (12) to battle it out in the middle at tea break.

But local lad Yuvraj departed soon after the start of the final session of play. He was picked up by Monty Panesar for 27.

In contrast, at lunch, India were sitting comfortably on 302-1 with Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid, both playing steady innings each. But just after the break, Swann struck back to return Gambhir for a well-made 179 to be caught by Alastair Cook, hence bringing an end to a mammoth 314-run partnership between him and Dravid.

He followed it up with wicket of Dravid just four overs later, who departed in a similar fashion, trying to go after the bowler but could not clear Monty Panesar at mid-off.

Swann then made it three in a row by sending back Sachin Tendulkar for 11, while Andrew Flintoff also joined the party by trapping Laxman in front for a duck.

But much to the relief of the home crowd Cook dropped Yuvraj.

Earlier, Gambhir completed 1000 runs in a calendar year, but it was the former India captain who stole the show with his 26th Test hundred.

After resuming at the overnight score of 179-1, the duo adopted a cautious approach in the morning as the ball did seam and swing but they successfully saw off the first session of the day without losing a single wicket.

Gambhir, who cracked his third century in four matches on Friday, began the proceedings straight with a boundary and played a sensible innings. Dravid, meanwhile made a confident start after getting the monkey off his back yesterday with his first half-century in nine innings.

After staying on a bit in the nervous 90's Dravid tucked James Anderson off his pads to bring up his milestone that took him 260 balls to get there. But he finally managed to silence his critics as his last ton came versus South Africa in Chennai in March this year.

But for England bowlers the first session turned out to be a tough one as their hopes of getting early breakthroughs to get back into the match did not work out in a match that started 30 minutes ahead of scheduled time to compensate the time lost on Friday.

The match started late on Friday due fog in the morning and was called off early due to bad light, cutting short 18-overs of the first day.

Sachin Tendulkar (11) had scored his 12,000th Test run at the same ground against Australia in October but he let down his fans on this occasion. Tendulkar attempted a paddle shot but completely missed the line and umpire Daryl Harper had no doubt that the Swann delivery would have hit the stumps.

Bowling without luck so far, Flintoff decided to join the party and the talismanic Englishman trapped VVS Laxman with one that jagged back as India, from the comfort of a commanding 320 for one, suddenly slumped to 339 for five.

Laxman had a 24-ball struggle at the end of which the stylish right-hander departed with a duck against his name.

The Indian crisis would have compounded but butter-finger Cook spilled a pretty regulation catch at gully after Yuvraj Singh (27), then at eight, had played Flintoff away from his body.

Not that Yuvraj could make the most of the opportunity. The left-hander had blasted three fours and a huge six off Swann when he fell to a soft caught-behind dismissal that gave Panesar his first wicket of the match.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (29) hit Anderson for two boundaries before perishing in the same over. At the other end, a nonchalant Harbhajan Singh swung his bat at everything before falling to Panesar after a 21-ball 24.

Flintoff removed Zaheer Khan (7) and Amit Mishra (23) to drop curtains on the Indian innings.

England still in with a chance: Swann

2008-12-20T06:33:00.000-08:00

Mohali: Restricting India to 453 is a job well done and Kevin Pietersen and his men are now very much back in the final Test, asserts England off-spinner Graeme Swann.

With centurions Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid, partners in a record 314-run second-wicket stand, cruising merrily after lunch, Swann triggered a top-order collapse with a three-wicket burst, claiming both the overnight batsmen and Sachin Tendulkar.

And with India eventually being bowled out for 453, Swann believes England stood a chance to win the game and level the two-match series which they trail 0-1.

"(Restricting them to) 450, we did very well to keep ourselves in the game. A score around 500-550 and we were out of it. There are three days of cricket to go and if we can get a very big total over the next two days and get any sort of lead, anything's possible on the last day," Swann asserted.

"Especially after what we saw in Chennai," said the Englishman, still nursing the defeat.

"At lunch time, they were 302 for one and we didn't no where the next wicket will come from. Luckily we have a light-hearted dressing room and we were laughing at the face of adversity. The two wickets after lunch got us back in the match. We were very happy with the hour and got us into a position where it can affect the result of the game," he said.

The onus, he said, was now on the batsmen to negate the threat of India's two-pronged spin attack comprising Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra.

"The wicket was very flat there today. (Andrew) Flintoff was phenomenal with the pace he got out of the wicket, frightening the way he was getting it through," said Swann.

"It would be good for batting the next two days. How we negate their spinners will be important for us," Swann said.

On his scalps, Swann said though he cherished all three wickets, Tendulkar's was definitely the special one.

"Still early in Test career and so many good Indian players. No doubt who the number one player in the team was. It was nice to get him out today," the Nottinghamshire spinner said.

Like in Chennai, Swann completely outshone England's frontline spinner Monty Panesar here but still seemed to have enough respect for his spin colleague.

"I don't know about closing the gap. I have only played two games. Each series I go into all I can think of is if I can get a game and then if I can play the next series. There is a Caribbean tour coming along and I'll be delighted if I play in it.

"Monty is a class bowler, if I can have anything like the success he has had I will be very lucky," he added.

Swann admitted failure to stop India chasing down 387 in the Chennai Test still rankled him.

"Me and Monty were expected to win the game in Chennai. In the end, we were outplayed by a genius on the day... Monty's is a class act and we have talked about how we are going to take wickets in this game and bowling today he has showed he is still bowling well," he said.

On this match, Swann said Gambhir and Dravid, especially the latter, did a great job for India.

"It's a very good pitch. Once you get a partnership, it's is important to get going and get a very big one. Gambhir and Dravid did so well. Dravid was exceptional, he was under so much pressure from the whole of India, but didn't offer us any chance and played really well," Swann said.

After India were bowled out, England openers Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss came out to bat but retreated back into the pavilion once the umpires offered them the light.

Incidentally, the sun soon came out and there was confusion whether play would resume. Swann said he understood the crowd's confusion but ICC rules leave no such provision.

"One of the rules of the game is that if you come off in extra time you cannot go back. It's disappointing for the crowd but you need to have rules and draw the line somewhere," he added.

One of the most significant tons I have scored: Dravid

2008-12-20T06:30:00.000-08:00

Mohali (PTI): Breathing easy after a career reviving ton, Rahul Dravid on Saturday said that the century he scored against England here would rank among the most significant knocks of his career.

"Its a quite significant knock, considering the form I was in coming into the match. Its one of the most significant hundreds I scored and I now just hope we go on to win this match," a visibly relieved Dravid told reporters here.

Dravid snapped the long string of poor shows with a knock of 136 and the right-hander said he felt relieved to get a huge monkey off his back.

"Im definitely relieved and its nice to be contributing again. It has been a tough year for me, nothing has been easy. Its nice to make important contributions," said the former captain who ran into a bad patch soon after the home series against South Africa.

True to his nature, Dravids was a muted celebration as he just raised the bat and shook hands with Gautam Gambhir. He didnt even take off the helmet.

Asked if that was to hide his emotion or to make any statement, Dravid said, "I didnt try to make any statement. I was definitely happy and relieved. I guess Im bit old and wise, I dont jump around even when Im excited. It was a combination of both relief and joy."

No need to change our approach: Pietersen

2008-12-19T05:38:00.000-08:00

Kevin Pietersen does not believe his batting colleagues were negative in their approach in the epic Chennai Test and insists the visitors need not change their game in the final Test against India either.

"In Chennai, we got into a good position to win the match and India eventually chased down a score which created a great history. I don't think we need to change much," Pietersen told reporters ahead of the second Test starting on Friday.

"In Chennai, we played fantastic cricket for three and half days. The fourth and fifth days were not our days and unfortunately we lost. But we played fantastic cricket there and I don't think there is any reason to change our approach," he explained.

Incidentally, England batting coach and former Zimbabwe batsman Andy Flower was among those who believed England lost the momentum in Chennai because of their slow batting there. Pietersen, meanwhile, kept the cards close to his chest and decided not to announce the playing XI for the final match of the series.

"We have not decided the side, sorry. There are a few things we are looking into and a final decision would be taken only tomorrow," he said.

The England management is mulling replacing out-of-form Ian Bell with Owais Shah while seamer Stuart Broad is fit to play, at the cost of either Steve Harmison or James Anderson both of whom had an average outing in Chennai.

Pietersen said more than replacing off-colour players, he was looking into the whole picture. "It's pretty much full work and we are looking at the whole thing. There are guys who have come on this trip who are raring to go and wanting to play and it's just about making a decision on who the best team is to try and win a Test match and try and play positive cricket," he said.

Pietersen admitted Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma troubled them in Chennai with their grasp of reverse swing and felt England too needed to get it going if they are to win the Test here and level the series.

"I definitely think it's going to be crucial and so we would try to get some reverse swing here. Unfortunately, we didn't get much of it in Chennai, which nullified a few things in bits and pieces. The surface is brazen here and we are looking to get some reverse swing going," he said.

According to him, the defeat in Chennai has left England with the lone option of winning the match here and level the series, which they are quite capable of.

"It's simple now. We have to get hard here. In Chennai, we won 70 per cent of the Test. Though we lost the match, the boys can be proud of how they performed. After losing Stanford Super Series and then the 5-0 defeat in the ODI series (against India), to come so close before losing the match in Chennai was a brilliant show," he said.

Against a star-studded Indian batting order, job, however, would not be easy, admitted Pietersen.

"It's a pretty good batting lineup. If we get rid of Gautam (Gambhir), and then (Virender) Sehwag, you have Rahul Dravid and then freak of a bloke at number four (Sachin Tendulkar). It gets to number 5,6,7...

"I don't think the Sehwag-Gambhir pair as the biggest hurdle for us, there are quite a few. But of course Sehwag's wicket is crucial. He plays a different expansive game and it would be a tough task for our bowlers," he said.

Pietersen said he has sought tips from a few former captains and would like to put them to use whenever required. "It's going to be tough but I have got some advice from some of the former captains and you take them with you when going gets tough," he said.

Among others, Pietersen had a lengthy discussion with Mike Brearley in the flight from Chennai to Chandigarh.

Statistical highlights: 2nd Test, Day 1

2008-12-19T05:37:00.000-08:00

Statistical highlights on the opening day of the second Test between India and England on Friday.

Rahul Dravid's ninth Test fifty against England is his 54th overall. Friday's innings is his first half-century after eight innings.

Dravid's tally of 54 half-centuries is exceeded only by Australia's Allan Border (63).

Gautam Gambhir's outstanding knock of 106 not out off 229 balls is his first hundred against England -- his fourth in Test Cricket. He has posted three hundreds in India and the remaining one on foreign soil.

Gambhir has taken his run-aggregate this year to 964 in eight Tests at an average of 68.85, including three hundreds and five fifties.

Gambhir has registered two successive centuries at Mohali. In his previous innings against Australia at this venue, he had made 104 in 2008-09.

When his score reached 20 during his innings of 65 not out, Dravid became the first batsman to make 8,000 runs at No.3 position -- 8045 in 167 innings at an average of 53.99.

Gambhir and Dravid were associated in a stand of 173 runs (unfinished) for the second wicket -- India's highest for the said wicket at Mohali, eclipsing the 105 (undefeated) between Virender Sehwag and Dravid against England in 2005-06. The aforesaid stand is India's highest for any wicket against England at Mohali, surpassing the 136 between Deep Dasgupta and Rahul Dravid for the third wicket in 2001-02.

The previous best stand for the second wicket at Mohali was 151 between Mark Richardson and Scott Styris for New Zealand in 2003-04.

Experimentation key to regain form: Anand to Dravid

2008-12-19T05:34:00.000-08:00

World chess champion Viswanathan Anand on Friday felt out-of-form Rahul Dravid ought to experiment with his technique to regain lost touch.

Anand said he had first hand experience of losing form and overcoming it in his initial days and could empathise with the former India captain.

The chess ace said he was shocked to discover that he just could not strike form in the 2000 Dortmund tournament after a successful run that year.

"Once I started doing badly I thought of drawing my remaining games," Anand said, hinting that the defensive strategy did not work.

"What I did after Dortmund was that I kept on experimenting for 7-8 months. In that period also I could not really recover as I was experimenting only randomly. It was just very difficult. (But) perhaps that will help him recover faster," he said in reply to a query.

Anand, who recently defeated Russia's Vladimir Kramnik to retain his World Championship title in Bonn, Germany, was visiting the capital for the first time after his extraordinary feat of winning the honour in all three formats of game -- knock-out, round-robin and matchplay.

Anand, requested to say a few words about former cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, playing the last first-class game, said, "It must be funny to know this is your last match. (Garry) Kasparov had said the same thing. The rest of the world would be looking back but you have to sit and play or stand and play in his (Ganguly's) case," he said.

"It's an end to a wonderful career, which he could justifiably be proud of," Anand added.

On his interaction with current India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Chennai during the felicitation ceremony organised by the All India Chess Federation, Anand said he perceived the cricketer as very "warm" and "playful".

Anand was presented a diamond ring by Dhoni on behalf of the AICF.

"It was a brief meeting. But I think he was very playful. Before he presented the ring to me he said 'I hope Bhabhi (Aruna) will allow me to present you this ring'.

"He came across as a very warm person," he added.

Asked what he told Dhoni, the World Champion in Twenty20 cricket, Anand said, "just two words -- 'Good Luck'. Because it was a very brief interaction".

This ton better than the one against Oz: Gambhir

2008-12-19T05:32:00.000-08:00

Last time he scored a century here, India beat world champions Australia but considering the circumstances, Gautam Gambhir ranks todays century against England higher than the one he scored against Ricky Pontings men in October.

"This is a special century because the ball was doing quite a bit in the morning and we were six for one at that stage," said the Delhi batsman, who remained unbeaten on 106 after the opening day's play in the second Test against England.

A gifted strokeplayer, Gambhir proved he has a mature head over his shoulders as the 27-year-old batsman curbed his natural game and joined hands with Rahul Dravid to steady the ship after Sehwag's early exit.

"It was special because England came hard on us. Trailing the series 1-0, they had nothing to lose here. Against Australia, I did get a century in the second innings and we won but the century today is crucial because of the conditions," said Gambhir who slammed 104 against Australia in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy here in October.

"After we won the Chennai Test, their morale was really low, especially coming after their 5-0 defeat in the ODI series. We knew they would come hard against us here because its there last chance to level the series. But I think we have done a good job and need to capitalise on it tomorrow," he said.

On the ongoing Test, Gambhir said the team would stay focus and positive to ensure their second win in the series.

"We should have a positive mindset. We are 1-0 up in the series but that should not lead to a defensive mindset. The next four days, we need to think how we can win the match and nothing else. We need to win and become the number two ranked team in the world," he said.

During his innings, Gambhir was particularly harsh on England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar but the batsman said the England player didn't bowl too badly. Rather, he said, the Indian batsmen had devised the way to counter the spinner.

"I think he bowled pretty well but our batsmen handled him well too. Its never easy for a spinner to succeed against India. In Chennai, we negotiated him well and that gave us the confidence here," he said.

Asked if replacing Steve Harmison with Stuart Broad took some sting out of the English attack, Gambhir felt otherwise.

"I think Broad bowled really well and hit the good areas. Remember, he is the lone wicket taker of the day. He had done well in the ODI series also and we knew once he is fit (from a hamstring injury), he would be back in the side," Gambhir said.

Tendulkar is egoless, gracious god : British media

2008-12-19T05:31:00.001-08:00

Sachin Tendulkar is god to billion Indians but he is a "gracious god" who lifts his people out of the pit of despair in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks, a leading British newspaper said, paying tribute to the champion batsman who has "not a scrap of ego".

Tendulkar offered balm to a country which was devastated by terror attacks in its finacial capital yet he remained a modest god, according to a write-up in 'Daily Telegraph'

"He (Tendulkar) is an unlikely-looking god. He stands there in the middle dwarfed by the gigantic Andrew Flintoff and the strapping Yuvraj Singh, a boy-like figure with a cherubic face whose Michelin man-style pads come half way up his thigh," Simon Hughes wrote.

"The poor Indian lifts his hands to Sachin Tendulkar in supplication; Give us respite, a sense of liberation; lift us up from the dark pit of our lives to well-lit places of the imagination with your skill-wrought perfection. He has not a scrap of ego. He is a gracious god. We will never see his like again".

The writer said that Tendulkar never shirked his enormous responsibility and spent considerable time preparing for a game.

"Tendulkar never shirks this enormous responsibility. He spends almost every waking hour seeking that perfection, practising, planning, preparing. He rings his brother, the man who knows his game best, every day, talking bowlers and bat angles and shot selection. He looks at the pitch and contemplates how he will make runs on it. He is thankful of his talent and dutifully delivers it to his public, the majority of whom have nothing," Hughes wrote.

A self-effacing man who keeps his emotions private, Tendulkar's inner urge to express the hurt caused to him by the audacious terror attack at the city he was born and brought up led him to dedicate his century in Chennai to the people of Mumbai and India, but he admits it was not his nature to play the role of a statesman too often.

"Sometimes I do it, but it is not my way," Tendulkar was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

"Tendulkar lives in Bandra, in the north of Mumbai, Bollywoodville. But he often goes south to Colaba with family and friends, to eat in the Taj Mahal Palace hotel or the Oberoi.

"The Mumbai attacks were close to home and affected him deeply. The England players remarked on his extra patience and intensity at the crease. This time he was doubly determined to lift his people out of their pit," the article said.

Tendulkar wields a heavy bat unusual for his small frame, but he says he would not be the same batsman without his willow.

"I like a bow in it. I can't bat with anything else. I would not feel right at the crease," the master batsman said.

Gambhir, Dravid grind England on Day 1

2008-12-19T05:25:00.000-08:00

Under the poor light conditions in Mohali, India batsmen Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid combined for the second wicket and had an unbeaten 173-run stand to take India's score to 179/1 at the close of first day's play at the PCA Stadium. A delayed start and early close saw the loss of 18 overs as 72 overs were bowled out of the required 90 overs.

Electing to bat first, India got early blow in the form of opener Virender Sehwag's wicket. The Indian opener, who was the architect of India's epic win in Chennai, failed to give India a good start and departed for a naught.

England pacer Stuart Broad, who came in place of Steve Harmison, pitched one outside the off-stump. Sehwag played it on the drive but an outside edge saw keeper Matt Prior take a comfortable catch behind the wicket.

Sehwag's dismissal saw an out-of-form Rahul Dravid in action in the third over. India's no. 3 batsman, who's had a dismal run this year, looked a bit shaky in the beginning. But he slowly gained ground and took a sigh of relief with a composed half-century that was his first in the last nine innings.

Dravid, who averages 28 this year in comparison to his career average of 52, gave a much needed boost to his average and most importantly his confidence when he struck 54th Test fifty, his ninth against England.

In-form Indian opener Gambhir, however, continued with his purple catch and slammed the fourth Test hundred, his first against England. This was also his second consecutive century at the PCA Stadium. He had made 104 runs against Australia in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

India: MS Dhoni (Captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma.

England: Kevin Pietersen (Captain), Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann.

Australia v South Africa, 1st Test, Perth, 2nd day

2008-12-18T03:05:00.000-08:00

There were a few nerves from South African fans at the WACA when Graeme Smith's
elbow required treatment from the physio Shane Jabaar

Trusting one umpire …
Jason Krejza must have wished the referral system was being used in this series when he struck Graeme Smith on the pad in his first over. Krejza was coming around the wicket to the left-hander and Smith missed a ball that went straight on with the arm. Despite a loud shout from the Australians, Aleem Dar turned the decision down and it was a fair call as there was enough doubt, even though replays suggested it may have hit the top of the stumps. But it had a distinctly familiar look to the first decision that was overturned in the current New Zealand-West Indies series, when Chris Gayle rapped Daniel Flynn on the pads and referred the not-out call to the third umpire, who advised the standing official that it was out.

… and correcting another
Critics of the referral system have argued that it leaves the on-field umpires with little to do but count the balls and if that is the case, Dar and Asoka De Silva might want to brush up on their maths. On the first day Dar called a five-ball over from Dale Steyn before correcting his error and making Steyn bowl the last delivery. Today it was De Silva's turn. Peter Siddle had sent down five balls when De Silva called over and immediately the phone in the scorers' box rang. It was the TV official Paul Reiffel confirming the count. He relayed the information to De Silva, by then at square leg for the next over, who asked Siddle to send down a sixth ball. It was an exhausting delivery - most of the players were in position for the next over when the decision was rectified.

Pen mightier than the needle
Graeme Smith has had problems with his right elbow since August, when he cut short his tour of England to rest the troublesome joint. There were therefore a few nerves from South African fans at the WACA when the same elbow required treatment from the physio Shane Jabaar during Smith's innings of 48. Jabaar appeared to be pumping some sort of device into Smith's elbow and there was confusion as to whether it was a pain-killing injection. But the apparatus is known as the pain-gone pen and sends an electronic impulse into the bloodstream that wakes up the body's own pain-relieving properties. A South African team spokesman said Smith felt a jarring in the joint after a Peter Siddle delivery hit the splice of the bat. No further treatment was required and Smith went on to add 28 to his score after the incident.

Clarke gets the thumbs up
A cracked thumb forced Ashwell Prince out of the Test and Australia had a similar concern over one of their key batsmen when Michael Clarke headed off to hospital at lunch to have an x-ray on his right thumb. Clarke had suffered the problem when he was fielding in the cordon and dived to stop a low edge from Neil McKenzie. The 12th man Shane Watson occupied Clarke's spot at third slip for much of the second session but the news was good for Australia - Clarke's x-rays revealed no fracture and he was back in a catching position before tea.

VVS flashbacks
Australia have been tormented by VVS Laxman over the years and they were given a vision of a similar batsman who could well trouble them in the future. Hashim Amla is arguably the most improved Test batsman over the past year and he looked set for a big score with his wristy work at the WACA. One flick over midwicket for four off Peter Siddle was particularly impressive and the Australians were slightly concerned when he raced to an attractive 47 from 67 balls. Fortunately for Ricky Ponting's men, Krejza made the breakthrough when he drifted a superb offspinner through the gate. Still, it was a promising start in Amla's first international of any sort against Australia.

AB online
Iain O'Brien raised his profile during the Australia-New Zealand series by writing a daily blog and now it's AB de Villiers' turn, whose own website abdevilliers.com features a tour diary that is updated every day. He's even so intent on drawing in readers that he has the address printed on his bat. The early entries don't quite go into as much detail as O'Brien's musings but it's an interesting continuation in the trend of Test players recording their thoughts for all to see.

Fastest of the fast
The match was hyped for its quick bowling potential and the South African attack was the centre of much attention in the lead-up, with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel identified as two super-fast men who could thrive on the WACA pitch. But in the end, neither breached the 150kph mark on the opening day and it was Mitchell Johnson who won the initial battle for the quickest delivery. In Johnson's second over he became the first man for the match to nudge past 150kph although he did have the advantage of bowling on the second day - the WACA pitch generally quickens up as the match wears on.

Bengal plays Goa in Ganguly’s swansong

2008-12-18T03:04:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: Sourav Ganguly’s final appearance in first-class cricket would be the highlight of the Bengal-Goa Ranji Trophy plate league match at the Karnail Singh Stadium here.

A huge media turn out at the venue on the eve of the semifinal fixture indicated the significance of Ganguly’s presence in a match that would decide which of the two teams qualifies for the Elite grade next season.

Goa has never travelled thus far and a victory would mean making history for the underdog. But Bengal has much at stake.

“I had agreed to play this match to help Bengal qualify for the elite group. I vividly remember my debut season (1989-90) and have some fond memories of domestic cricket. It has been a long journey,” said Ganguly.

The teams (from): Bengal: Laxmi Ratan Shukla (captain), Sourav Ganguly, Rohan Banerjee, Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Avik Chowdhury, Ashok Dinda, Ritam Kundu, Sourav Sarkar, Dibyendu Chakraborty, Ranadeb Bose, Anustup Majumdar, Iresh Saxena, Avik Mullick and Soham Ghosh.

Goa: Swapnil Asnodkar (captain), Aditya Angle, J. Arunkumar, Saurabh Bandekar, Robin D’Souza, Shadab Jakati, Sagun Kamat, Advait Katkar, Ryan Ninan, Ajay Ratra, Santosh Shinde, Rohit Asnodkar, Harshad Gadekar, Ambey Parvatkar, Ankit Desai and Ryan D’Souza. — Special Correspondent

Sourav presence bolsters Bengal

2008-12-18T03:01:00.000-08:00

In-form Ashok Dinda will lead Bengal attack

New Delhi: The Karnail Singh Stadium, nestling near the busy New Delhi railway station in the heart of the nation’s capital, is not the kind of sports venue that is likely to figure among the local fans’ favourites but that can change over the next four days with a lot of cricket lovers making a beeline for this quaint ground.

And one man can take the blame for that: the charismatic former India skipper Sourav Ganguly. He will be playing his farewell first class game, the Ranji Trophy Plate Division semi-final for Bengal against Goa. His 42nd Ranji Trophy appearance will signal the end of a great first-class career that began in March 1990.

A couple of pounds heavier than when he left the international stage at the end of India’s 2-0 victory over Australia in Nagpur last month, Sourav showed enthusiasm and commitment to be at the nets within minutes of checking in to the team hotel on Wednesday morning. The focus will be on how he motivates himself to deliver another memorable performance.

The left-handed batsman showed no signs of nerves or emotions that you would associate with farewell games. On the contrary, he was relaxed and waved off any suggestions of any pressure, making it clear that his hunger to remain competitive and perform well was not dimmed.

Interestingly, Bengal coach Utpal Chatterjee believes Sourav’s presence alone can make a difference. “The youngsters in our team are all enthused by his presence and I am sure the opposition with feel daunted by Sourav’s presence. And, if he fails, Goa is likely to be lulled into complacency,” he said.

Bengal sure have a bunch that look good to make it past Goa. Wriddhiman Saha and Manoj Tiwary have been among the runs while Ranadeb Bose and Ashok Dinda have been the key wicket-takers for Bengal and are expected to lead the attack again. With advisor Mohinder Amarnath joining the squad, the team know that they will have to work hard to gain a place in the Elite Division quarter finals.

Bengal and Goa have never played each other, not only in the Ranji Trophy, but also in any form of senior cricket.

The Karnail Singh Stadium track is the kind that can throw up a result for the team who are ready to work hard and make fewer mistakes than their opposition. On their home ground, Railways played out a draw against Baroda, beat Andhra but just about held off Uttar Pradesh’s charge for a win.

Sourav squatted with the rest of his mates along with the coaching staff for a team meeting under what can be described as more harsh than the winter sun expected in Delhi in the third week of December. For someone who had always used the Ranji Trophy as a platform for larger feats, he will be quite unfamiliar to the task of playing a first class game with no pressure at all.

Having been docked a point for fielding four professionals (instead of the permitted three) in a game against Kerala, Goa just about made it to the semi-finals, thanks to Jammu and Kashmir’s upset win against fancied Haryana last week. But that does not mean that Bengal will view Goa lightly.

Teams

Bengal (likely): Avik Chowdhury, Wriddhiman Saha, Sourav Ganguly, Manoj Tiwary, Laxmi Ratan Shukla (captain), Ritam Kundu/Iresh Saxena, Dibyendu Chakraborty, Ashok Dinda, Sourav Sarkar, Ranadeb Bose, Anustup Majumder.

Goa (from): Swapnil Asnodkar (captain), Sagun Kamat, Aditya Angle, Rohit Asnodkar, Ajay Ratra (wicket-keeper), Advait Katkar, Shadab Jakati, Saurabh Bandekar, Arney Parvelkar, Robin D’Souza, Harshad Gadekar, Aniket Desai, Ryan D’Souza, Ryan Ninan, Santosh Shinde and Sherbahadur Yadav.

Ganguly gears up for his last Ranji tie

2008-12-18T02:59:00.000-08:00

New Delhi, Dec. 17: Sourav Ganguly is gearing up for one last challenge on the cricket field. The former India captain, who retired from international cricket last month, will be out in the middle Thursday in a bid to take Bengal to the Super Division in the Ranji Trophy.
If Bengal manage to win their semi-final match against Goa then they are back again in the Super Division. For Ganguly a win will be a fitting farewell from his home team as he has decided not to play any more first-class games even if Bengal qualifies for Super Division.
The grass on the Karnail Singh Stadium pitch here is likely to inspire Bengal to take three pacers in the final eleven. Though the team will be announced before the match, Divyendu Chakraborty will retain his place. Either of Anustup Majumder or Rohan Banerjee will give way to Sourav who is set to bat at number five.
On the eve of the match, the 36-year-old became nostalgic and remembered his first-class debut 18 years ago. As a 17-year-old he came in as a replacement for his elder brother Snehasish against a formidable Delhi attack in the Ranji Trophy final in 1990 at the Eden Garden. Ganguly made just 22 runs as Bengal went on to win the trophy for the first time since 1939.
"I still remember my first Ranji match. It was tough as Delhi had the best bowling attack," recalled Ganguly on the eve of the match.
"Since then I have been playing for Bengal and also led them. Domestic cricket is very important for any international player. This is an important match for Bengal. Good to play cricket again," he added.
The day Ganguly retired from international cricket he said he was open to help his team. On a request from the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), he is here to play.
CAB's chairman of selectors Mr Sambaran Banerjee, who is touring with the team, also recalled the spring on 1990 when Ganguly came out to play under him in the all important Ranji final. "He was 17 that time and in very matured way he handled the formidable Delhi bowling led by Manoj Prabhakar. Sourav made just 22 but left an indelible mark as then chief national selector Raj Singh Dungarpur came down during the lunch to enquire about this new boy. And now rest is history," he said.
Banerjee is now banking on Ganguly's experience to help Bengal claw back into the elite group. "This is like final for us so his presence will matter a lot for the team. Though he won't be leading the side his experience will be of great help. He is a born leader," Banerjee said. All the bowlers, be it the experienced Ranadeb Bose or the young Ashok Dinda, everyone was eager to bowl at Ganguly who himself looked keen in the nets. For Ganguly it was like any other day in office. "I train with these boys during the off days. So it is nothing unusual for me."
Asked whether in-form Yuvraj Singh is his worthy replacement, Ganguly said: "After Gavaskar, Mohinder, Vengsarkar went, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid replaced them. So when we go there must be some replacement. He (Yuvraj) is a talented player and has established himself in ODIs and trying to do now in the Tests."

UPDATE 2-India calls off Pakistan cricket tour

2008-12-18T02:57:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI, Dec 18 (Reuters) - India has called off its planned cricket tour of Pakistan next year amid simmering tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours over last month's Mumbai attacks, an official said on Thursday.

"The proposed tour of the Indian cricket team to Pakistan stands cancelled," Rajeev Shukla, a senior official from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, told reporters outside India's parliament.

India has blamed Islamist militants based in Pakistan for last month's attacks in India's financial heart which killed at least 179 people.

The Jan. 13-Feb. 19 tour was to have involved three tests, five one-day games and a Twenty20 international, but required government approval.

"Taking into account the recent developments as well as the overall circumstances prevailing at present, it is not considered feasible to ask government permission for the proposed tour," Shukla said.

Political commentators said the decision would further harm relations between India and Pakistan, which are both passionate about cricket.

"India is reducing its contact with Pakistan and the cricket tour had to be the first casualty," political analyst Amulya Ganguli told Reuters. "There is no immediate chance of any improvement of relations between the two countries now."

Others thought the tour should have gone ahead.

"I wish the tour had gone ahead as it could have generated some goodwill at a time when it is needed the most," said political commentator Kuldip Nayar.

U.S. and British officials have joined New Delhi in calling on Pakistan to do more to stamp out militant groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, which they blame for the Mumbai attacks, from operating on its soil.

They have also urged restraint from India in its response to the attack and offered help in investigations as well as in the fight against militancy in both countries, which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.

India ponder Dravid batting spot for second England test I

2008-12-18T02:55:00.000-08:00

MOHALI, India (Reuters) - India may drop number three batsman Rahul Dravid down the order to help him regain form in the second test against England starting on Friday, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said.

India, who clinched a sensational six-wicket win over England in the first test in Chennai, have no other concerns as they go into the final test.

Dravid, 35, was dismissed for three and four in Chennai where India achieved a 387-run fourth innings target, the fourth most successful run chase in tests.

The Karnataka batsman's international future could hinge on his performance in Mohali, having averaged a measly 17 in the preceding 2-0 home series win over top-ranked Australia.

Dhoni scotched speculation over Dravid's future.

"I think it is a matter of time, once he passes that 30-run mark the confidence would start," he told reporters on Thursday. "That initial period, he is not able to pass that. But we have confidence in him, he will get runs at some time."

However, the team management are yet to decide whether to ask him to bat down the order.

"It looks easy ... shifting Rahul to number five and VVS (Vangipurappu Laxman) to number three, but imagine Laxman gets a good ball and gets out. There is already pressure on Dravid and all of a sudden there are three wickets down.

"Batting at number three it is only one down on the board, it gives him the freedom to play his natural game."

Unconfirmed media reports said Dravid planned to bat with a squash ball in his glove for better grip, like Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist did when he hit a match-winning century in last year's World Cup final.

Dhoni felt the grassy pitch may not help new ball bowlers despite hopes for swing movement in the winter.

"It is deceptive, certainly on the slower side."

India beat Australia by 320 runs in Mohali in October for their biggest test win in terms of runs after pacemen Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma reverse-swung the ball and spinners Harbhajan Singh and debutant Amit Mishra shared 12 wickets.

India can move to second spot in test rankings if they clinch the series, although South Africa would regain the place if they triumph in the current series in Australia.

"Ranking really doesn't bother us," Dhoni said. "If we play consistently, it will automatically go up."

India ponder Dravid batting spot for second England test

2008-12-18T02:53:00.000-08:00

Rahul Dravid walks back towards the pavilion after his dismissal on the final day of their first test cricket match against England in Chennai in this December 15, 2008

India to stick with Dravid at number three

2008-12-18T02:51:00.000-08:00

India are expected to resist the temptation to drop struggling batsman Rahul Dravid down the order as they attempt to seal a series victory over England in the final Test.

India's former captain has scored only two half-centuries in his last 19 Test innings and although he was retained in the top bracket of India's central contracts for the next year, his future at the top level remains in doubt.

"VVS (Laxman) could bat at No 3 and Dravid could come down to No 5, but there is always a chance that if VVS gets a good ball and goes early then we could be three down and that would put extra pressure on Rahul," explained captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. "We are not worried about Rahul's form. No-one can question his talent - he just needs to get past the 30-run mark and get a start."

India are expected to name an unchanged line-up at a ground where they trounced Australia by 320 runs in the second Test in October and where leg-spinner Amit Mishra claimed seven wickets on his debut.

Police drew up a map to seal routes leading up to PCA Stadium

2008-12-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

MOHALI: After teams India and England arrived to never-before-seen security arrangments in Chandigarh on Tuesday, the Mohali Police drew up a map to seal routes leading up to PCA Stadium where the cricketers got down to practise on Wednesday.

To restrict vehicular traffic on these roads from 7 am to 7 pm during the second Test beginning December 19, the traffic department has chalked out alternative routes. The road passing in front of the stadium and other links from Chandigarh will be closed and only special-permit vehicles will be allowed to pass through.

Mohali's link with Chandigarh will be blocked at Silvi Park roundabout near PCA and traffic going towards the stadium will be diverted at traffic lights in front of Punjab State Education Board office, Phase VIII and Sector 49-50 roundabout (towards Chandigarh.)

Traffic towards the stadium from the direction of NIPER will be blocked at NIPER chowk. While special passes have been issued to local residents to ply on these roads, Mohali SP Varinder Pal Singh said, "We have issued passes so that people dont face inconvenience. Our teams are distributing passes to people at their doorstep. Signboards giving directions have been put up at various diversion points to guide commuters on suitable alternative routes they can take during match hours."

Meanwhile, parking areas have also been defined from where spectators will enter the stadium. People can park their vehicles inside the sports complex (opposite the stadium), market area of Phase X, park opposite hotel Majestic, near octroi post at Guru Nanak Chowk and parks behind PCA and near PSEB office.

"Parking passes will be given along with entry passes and vehicles can be parked only at the allotted area," said cops.

For parking vehicles during the match, GMADA has also designated certain areas in the city as parking lots that are located in front of PCA and along the dividing roads of sectors 64-49, 63-68, 67-68, 63-64, in front of Silver Oaks hospital, behind city park in Sector 58 and in front of Sector 63 nursery.

'People are enjoying cricket again' - Tendulkar

2008-12-16T06:50:00.001-08:00

India v England, 1st Test, Chennai, 5th day

Sachin Tendulkar: "I've scored a 100 in the second innings, but to actually win a match, play the winning shot, that was something I wanted to do" © Getty Images

Lou Reed's A Perfect Day could have been playing in the background as Yuvraj Singh faced the cameras. "My dream has come true," he said with the expression of a man who's come home and found Audrey Hepburn sitting on his couch. "I have won a Test for India with Tendulkar." His Test credentials may have been queried by some down the years, but the role he played in this once-in-a-lifetime victory should never be underestimated. More than a generation ago, Mohinder Amarnath batted 440 minutes for his 85 as India pulled off a 403-run heist atPort of Spain. Yuvraj spent less than half that time at the crease, but his unbeaten 85 will be cherished just as much in the years to come.

By the end, it was obvious he would leave the winning runs to Tendulkar. "This is something I wanted to do," Tendulkar said afterwards, a broad smile lighting up his face. "I've scored a hundred in the second innings, but to actually win a match, play the winning shot, that was something I wanted to do. This makes it really really special." Inevitably, many of the questions he fielded were about Mumbai, his home city, the scene of terrorist attacks that have caused so much anguish and rage in India over the past few weeks. In the aftermath of that, Tendulkar appeared in a commercial which had the line: "I play for India, now more than ever". It was a point he stressed again once the euphoria of victory had faded a little.

"From my point of view, I look at it as an attack on India, and it should hurt every Indian, not only people from Mumbai," he said. "I would like to dedicate this hundred to all those people who have gone through such terrible times.

"In no way am I trying to say that this will make everyone forget what happened in Mumbai. But I'd like to thank England for coming back to play Test cricket. We've witnessed a wonderful match. People are again enjoying cricket the way it's meant to be.

"What happened in Mumbai was extremely unfortunate and I don't think by India winning or my scoring hundreds, people who have lost their dear and loved ones would feel better. It's a terrible loss and our hearts are with them. All I can say is that in whatever way we can contribute to make them feel better, we'll make that effort."

He said that he had never contemplated not playing, though such an incident so close to home had obviously left its mark on the psyche. "From my daughter's school, there were a couple of parents who lost their lives unfortunately. Otherwise, no one that I knew.

"I told Yuvi when he played a shot off Monty [Panesar] that landed between short midwicket and long-on: 'Wait till the last run is scored. We need to make sure that both of us complete the runs'" © AFP

"I was confident that our security would make us feel secure," he said. "They've done a fantastic job and because of that, people have been able to witness such a match."

There were a couple of personal demons to slay too. A little less than a decade ago, he couldn't take the final step as Pakistan prevailed in the tensest of finishes. Later, he admitted that the events of that afternoon had been on his mind as India edged ever closer. "I told Yuvi when he played a shot off Monty [Panesar] that landed between short midwicket and long-on: 'Wait till the last run is scored. We need to make sure that both of us complete the runs'. On a track like this, when you lose a wicket, it can become hard for the new batsman. The odd ball will keep a bit low or kick up and you can lose two or three quick wickets. Better to finish the job ourselves.

"The disappointments are there and they will be there. What you can make sure is that you don't repeat the same thing in the future. I feel extremely happy and proud that I have been able to achieve something very special."

The partnership with Yuvraj was worth 163 at a shade under four an over, and there were still a staggering 20.3 overs left in the day when victory was clinched. No praise was too high for Yuvraj though, after all his naturally flamboyant approach, tinged with the needed circumspection, allowed Tendulkar to work the ball around at his own pace. "To Yuvraj, I said: 'Don't be tense'. People have been talking about whether Yuvraj is a Test player or not and I think that is just a loose statement. He is a terrific player who has got important runs and three Test hundreds.

"Anyone can have a bad phase but that doesn't mean he is not capable of scoring runs at Test level. I'm glad that he came up with such an innings, where people are made to rethink their opinions."

As magnificent as the decisive partnership was, Tendulkar was in no doubt as to the identity of the fire-starter. "We are quite used to that," he said with a grin, when asked about Virender Sehwag's dazzling 83. "You kind of expect something which is not expected. When Viru is batting, it's always entertaining and full of Surprises.

"People have been talking about whether Yuvraj is a Test player or not and I think that is just a loose statement. He is a terrific player who has got important runs and three Test hundreds" © Getty Images

"He set it up brilliantly. How many players in the world can do that? Without any doubt, it was Viru's contribution that mattered. Very few people in the world can do what he does and we're extremely happy that he plays for India."

This was the first time since December 2005 that India have won back-to-back Tests, and Tendulkar was certain that confidence would be even higher when the team got to Mohali, scene of a 320-run thrashing of Australia in October.

"It's extremely important to continue with this momentum," he said. "From the start of the Australian series, all the boys have played some fantastic cricket and it's important to continue. At no stage did we feel that this was beyond our reach. We always felt that if we played to our potential we would be able to overhaul this target.

"Now that we have done it, we will have hope in the dressing room even if we are faced with a big target in the future. That hope is very important in cricket."

There were words of comfort too for Rahul Dravid, who has persevered by his side for more than a decade. "The bad patch that Rahul is going through happens to everybody," he said. "It's nothing to worry about. He is not just a good player, he's a great player. These cycles happen in a career. I don't think Rahul's form or what people are saying is a worry for all of us. He will definitely score runs."

"You've made me think again," he said with a laugh when asked what his thought process had been after he walked to the middle. "I don't know exactly what I think about. I was just telling myself that I was going to watch the ball as closely as possible and keep my mind free. If your mind is free, then the rest will happen.

"If your mind is preoccupied, the bat flow is not going to happen. I just kept my mind free and reacted to whatever was coming at me."

So, where does this 103 with an asterisk on top figure in the Tendulkar pantheon? "I would rate this hundred as one of the best for sure," he said. "The win makes it even more special. I would put this one right up there given the circumstances and the surface, the weather and the target. We were able to overcome all the obstacles. I would rate it as one of the top ones."

"I just think Sachin played a super super knock today," said Pietersen. "Just like the man he is." Millions of Indians, who have taken KP and his team to their hearts in the past week certainly won't quibble with that assessment.

IPL transfer window postponed by a week

2008-12-15T18:40:00.000-08:00

The IPL transfer window, which was scheduled to begin on December 15, has been postponed by a week after the Mumbai terrorist attacks disrupted preparations for the event. Senior IPL officials will meet franchise representatives in Mumbai on December 15 and 16 to formalise the rules for the transfers which will now take place from December 22 to January 22.

The terror strikes in Mumbai on November 26 forced organisers to postpone the Champions Twenty20 League that was to kick off on December 3, with Mumbai as one of the three venues.

Many key Indian IPL officials were involved in organising the Champions League and the tournament's postponement affected the IPL's transfer window as well. "The attacks delayed a week of preparation for both the franchisees and us," an IPL official told Cricinfo.

With the Champions League pushed back by a year, it is the second season of the IPL that will decide which Indian teams participate in international Twenty20 tournament. The second season of the IPL will be held between April 10 and May 29, 2009.

Just cannot keep Sehwag down

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Virender Sehwag is all smiles after inspiring India to an incredible win.
Mixed emotions: Even as Kevin Pietersen looks dejected.

NEW DELHI: He bats not to save, but to win matches. He makes stroke-play such a joyful vocation, with all the finesse that comes most effortlessly.

Purists were the first to question his elevation to the Test team. They argued he had little footwork, no patience and too many shots in his armoury.

But Virender Sehwag chose to make his presence felt with some astounding batting and changed the principles of opening the innings, leaving the pioneer of aggression at the top, Sanath Jayasuriya, far behind.

Not changed much

He insists he has not changed much from the time he took guard for the first time in a Test match. “I play the same cricket that I did 10 years ago. Today, I am batting the same way I was when I lost my Test place,” he said at the end of an innings that he confessed would always remain close to his heart.

Sehwag must excel when stroking making is an invitation to trouble. As indeed it was at the Chepauk when he carted the English attack in his customary style.

“I just played my natural game. I played six or seven cut shots, my favourite, because the ball was coming on nicely,” remembers Sehwag. The ‘cut’ has been his Achilles Heel.

That he set the tone for a wonderful victory is now documented for posterity.

As is his sensational innings, a fourth day classic on a difficult pitch. The ball did jump and turn but failed to deter Sehwag’s intentions. He was aggressive all through the innings and was obviously batting to a plan.

The new ball had to be hit and that is precisely what Sehwag did. He has never believed in this theory that an opener’s primary job is to wear off the shine of the ball.

He lets his bat to that job and it is a delight to watch the ball fly at an alarming pace off his willow. He makes the best of fielders and the meanest of bowlers look helpless.

He insists he has become patient. The opposition would disagree vehemently though. “I have become patient and am careful about my shot selection,” he says humbly; this from a man who knocks 83 off 68 balls with four sixes and 11 fours in a Test innings on the fourth evening of the match.

Range

Sehwag’s range of shots is no longer restricted to off side. He now explores the leg side with amazing disdain for the line and length of the ball.

The ‘corridor ball’ does not exist for this adventurous batsman; neither does the ‘perfume ball’ curtail his exuberance at the crease.

“I fear none,” he emphasizes. His Test average of 51.85 confirms his claims.

In this hour of glory, Sehwag pays glowing tribute to coach Gary Kirsten. “He is one of the best I have seen. He has supported me hugely and helped me raise my self-belief.

He helped me change my mindset. He told me he can’t teach me how to bat but can assure me my place in the side. He gave me space to shine and made sure that I did not feel insecure. Thanks Gary,” acknowledges Sehwag.