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SAEED AJMAL PROFILE

2010-04-13T04:04:00.001-07:00

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Saeed Ajmal
Pakistan

Full Name: Saeed Ajmal
Date of Birth: Oct 14, 1977, Faisalabad, Punjab
Major Team: Pakistan, Faisalabad, Islamabad Cricket Association, Khan Research Labs, Water and Power Development Authority
Playing Roll: Bowler
Batting Style: Right
Bowling Style: Right-arm offbreak

Career Statistics

International Debut: 2008

Test Debut: Pakistan v Sri Lanka, 04-Jul-2009

ODI Debut: Pakistan v India, Jul 02, 2008

Twenty20 Debut: Pakistan v Australia, May 07, 2009

Batting and fielding records

	M	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St

Test	6	12	5	29	10	4.14	91	31.87	-	-	3	-	-	-

ODI	26	16	9	92	33	13.14	150	61.33	-	-	7	-	5	-

T20I	16	2	2	1	1*	-	3	33.33	-	-	-	-	3	-

Bowling records

	M	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Eco	SR	4W	5W	10W

Test	6	12	1882	904	23	4/87	5/113	39.30	2.88	81.83	2	-	-

ODI	26	26	1374	941	30	4/33	4/33	31.37	4.11	45.80	1	-	-

T20I	16	16	365	345	25	4/19	4/19	13.80	5.67	14.60	1	-	-

Mohammad Amir (PROFILE)

2010-04-13T03:59:00.000-07:00

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Mohammad Aamer
Pakistan

Full Name: Mohammad Aamer
Date of Birth: Apr 13, 1992, Gujjar Khan, Punjab
Major Team: Pakistan, Federal Areas, Pakistan Under-19s, Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi Rams
Playing Roll: Bowler
Batting Style: Left
Bowling Style: Left-arm fast-medium

Career Statistics

International Debut: 2009

Test Debut: Pakistan v Sri Lanka, 04-Jul-2009

ODI Debut: Pakistan v Sri Lanka, Jul 30, 2009

Twenty20 Debut: Pakistan v England, Jun 07, 2009

Batting and fielding records

	M	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St

Test	9	18	5	190	30*	14.62	656	28.96	-	-	20	1	-	-

ODI	13	9	4	155	73*	31.00	184	84.24	-	1	18	3	6	-

T20I	12	3	0	4	2	1.33	4	100.00	-	-	-	-	2	-

Bowling records

	M	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Eco	SR	4W	5W	10W

Test	9	18	1728	959	21	5/79	6/112	45.67	3.33	82.29	-	1	-

ODI	13	12	616	434	20	4/28	4/28	21.70	4.23	30.80	1	-	-

T20I	12	12	234	288	12	2/21	2/21	24.00	7.38	19.50	-	-	-

SHAHID AFRIDI (PROFILE)

2010-04-13T03:54:00.000-07:00

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Shahid Afridi
Pakistan

Full Name: Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi
Date of Birth: Mar 01, 1980, Khyber Agency
Major Team: Pakistan, Asia XI, Deccan Chargers, Griqualand West, Habib Bank Limited, ICC World XI, Karachi, Leicestershire
Playing Roll: All Rounder
Batting Style: Right
Bowling Style: Right-arm medium, Legbreak googly

Career Statistics

International Debut: 1996

Test Debut: Pakistan v Australia, 22-Oct-1998

ODI Debut: Pakistan v Kenya, Oct 02, 1996

Twenty20 Debut: Pakistan v England, Aug 28, 2006

Batting and fielding records

	M	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St

Test	26	46	1	1683	156	37.40	1954	86.13	5	8	216	50	10	-

ODI	293	275	18	5957	109	23.18	5335	111.66	4	30	549	260	99	-

T20I	28	26	2	499	54*	20.79	337	148.07	-	3	42	18	8	-

Bowling records

	M	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Eco	SR	4W	5W	10W

Test	26	45	3092	1640	47	5/52	5/43	34.89	3.18	65.79	1	1	-

ODI	293	269	12375	9518	275	6/38	6/38	34.61	4.61	45.00	2	3	-

T20I	28	28	645	621	42	4/11	4/11	14.79	5.78	15.36	3	-	-

Twenty20 World Cup

2010-04-13T03:46:00.000-07:00

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Apr-2010
Fri 30 17:00 GMT, 13:00 local	1st Match, Group B - Sri Lanka v New Zealand Providence Stadium, Guyana

Fri 30 21:00 GMT, 17:00 local	2nd Match, Group D - West Indies v Ireland Providence Stadium, Guyana
May-2010
Sat 01 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	3rd Match, Group C - India v Afghanistan Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

Sat 01 17:30 GMT, 13:30 local	4th Match, Group A - Pakistan v Bangladesh Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

Sun 02 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	5th Match, Group C - India v South Africa Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

Sun 02 17:30 GMT, 13:30 local	6th Match, Group A - Pakistan v Australia Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

Mon 03 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	7th Match, Group B - Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka Providence Stadium, Guyana

Mon 03 17:30 GMT, 13:30 local	8th Match, Group D - West Indies v England Providence Stadium, Guyana

Tue 04 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	9th Match, Group B - New Zealand v Zimbabwe Providence Stadium, Guyana

Tue 04 17:30 GMT, 13:30 local	10th Match, Group D - England v Ireland Providence Stadium, Guyana

Wed 05 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	11th Match, Group A - Australia v Bangladesh Kensington Oval, Barbados

Wed 05 17:30 GMT, 13:30 local	11th Match, Group C - South Africa v Afghanistan Kensington Oval, Barbados

Thu 06 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	13th Match - A1 v D2 Kensington Oval, Barbados

Thu 06 17:30 GMT, 13:30 local	14th Match - C1 v B2 Kensington Oval, Barbados

Fri 07 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	15th Match - A2 v C2 Kensington Oval, Barbados

Fri 07 17:30 GMT, 13:30 local	16th Match - B1 v D1 Kensington Oval, Barbados

Sat 08 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	17th Match - C1 v D2 Kensington Oval, Barbados

Sat 08 17:30 GMT, 13:30 local	18th Match - A1 v B2 Kensington Oval, Barbados

Sun 09 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	19th Match - C2 v D1 Kensington Oval, Barbados

Sun 09 17:30 GMT, 13:30 local	20th Match - B1 v A2 Kensington Oval, Barbados

Mon 10 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	21st Match - B2 v D2 Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

Mon 10 17:30 GMT, 13:30 local	22nd Match - A1 v C1 Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

Tue 11 17:00 GMT, 13:00 local	23rd Match - B1 v C2 Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

Tue 11 21:00 GMT, 17:00 local	24th Match - D1 v A2 Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

Thu 13 15:30 GMT, 11:30 local	1st Semi-Final - TBC v TBC Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

Fri 14 15:30 GMT, 11:30 local	2nd Semi-Final - TBC v TBC Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

Sun 16 15:30 GMT, 11:30 local	The Final - TBC v TBC Kensington Oval, Barbados

2010-04-13T03:43:00.001-07:00

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The Twenty20 Champions League is an international Twenty20 cricket competition between clubs from Australia, England, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies. The Twenty20 Champions League is chaired by Lalit Modi, who is the Chairman and Commissioner of the Indian Premier League and Vice-President of the BCCI. The competition was launched in 2008 as a response to the success of national Twenty20 domestic cricket leagues, most notably the Indian Premier League. The first edition was set to take place from late September to early October 2008 in India, after the tournament organisers resolved various teething problems that had put the inaugural tournament under some doubt, but it was later announced that the tournament would be held from December 3 to December 10, 2008.

Indian Premier League (IPL)

2010-04-13T03:38:00.000-07:00

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Launched as well as promoted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Indian Premier League (IPL) made its debut in April 2008. Based on the English Premier League (football) and the National Basketball League (NBA) of the United States, IPL is a professional Twenty20 cricket league. It has been backed by the ICC and has a total of eight teams, with each of them being made up of a minimum of 16 players. The first season of the Indian Premier League was kick-started on 18th April 2008. The season came to an end on 1st June 2008, with Rajasthan Royals being declared as the champions. Just like the football and basketball leagues in America, DLF Indian Premier League has a franchise-system for hiring players as well as for transfers. The franchises are auctioned off, with the highest bidder being the owner of a particular team. Player Auction & ICON Players After the formation of IPL, the first players' auction took place on 20th February 2008. Out of all the Indian players, IPL placed 'icon status' on a select few, namely Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, and Virender Sehwag. Initially, VVS Laxman was also given icon status, but he opted out of it voluntarily. The main reason behind it was provide his team Deccan Chargers) with more money to bid for players. Icon players are not bid upon and play for their home city only. Inaugural Season The inaugural season i.e. the first season of IPL T20 cricket started on 18th April 2008, in Bangalore - the IT Hub of India. In the season, a total of 57 matches were scheduled, spread over 46 days. Of the 59 matches, only 58 were played, one being disrupted by rain. All the eight teams played against each other twice, in a round robin system. After each of the team had played with the seven other teams twice, the top four ranking sides moved to semi-finals. The winners of the two semi-finals played the finals, with its outcome deciding the champions.

Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship Batting Rankings

2010-04-13T03:36:00.001-07:00

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The current top 100 ODI batsmen are listed below, clicking on a player name will take you to their player page.

If you want to find out the ranking of a current player who is not in the top 100 or if you want to chart the rating of a retired player, enter their name into the search box.

(TOP 100 BATSMEN-ODI)

ID	Rat.	Name	Career Best Rating
1	819	M.S. Dhoni	837 v Australia, 31/10/2009
2	811	M.E.K. Hussey	865 v New Zealand, 28/01/2007
3	785	A.B. de Villiers	785 v India, 27/02/2010
4	768	C.H. Gayle	808 v Zimbabwe, 30/11/2003
5	762	S.R. Tendulkar	887 v Zimbabwe, 13/11/1998
6	732	R.T. Ponting	831 v New Zealand, 20/12/2007
7	718	G.C. Smith	785 v India, 25/11/2005
8	713	J.H. Kallis	818 v West Indies, 04/02/2004
9	711	S. Chanderpaul	778 v England, 22/03/2009
10	701	K.C. Sangakkara	755 v Bangladesh, 25/02/2006
11	694	V. Sehwag	787 v New Zealand, 11/01/2003
12	687	T.M. Dilshan	687 v Bangladesh, 04/01/2010
13	682	Yuvraj Singh	786 v West Indies, 26/06/2009
14	680	P.D. Collingwood	691 v Bangladesh, 28/02/2010
15	659	S. Raina	659 v South Africa, 27/02/2010
16	657	H.H. Gibbs	752 v Sri Lanka, 03/03/2003
17	655	Mohammad Yousuf	779 v Zimbabwe, 01/12/2002
18	650	R.L. Taylor	698 v Australia, 10/02/2009
19	648	S.R. Watson	649 v New Zealand, 06/03/2010
19	648	B.B. McCullum	666 v Pakistan, 09/11/2009
21	647	V. Kohli	654 v Bangladesh, 11/01/2010
22	639	M.J. Clarke	751 v Sri Lanka, 22/02/2008
23	632	G. Gambhir	702 v Sri Lanka, 05/02/2009
24	623	C.L. White	645 v Pakistan, 29/01/2010
25	620	Tamim Iqbal	633 v England, 28/02/2010
26	619	H.M. Amla	619 v India, 27/02/2010
27	616	Shoaib Malik	687 v India, 13/02/2006
28	613	K.P. Pietersen	842 v Australia, 08/04/2007
29	607	D.P.M.D. Jayawardena	742 v West Indies, 19/12/2001
30	606	Salman Butt	688 v Sri Lanka, 21/01/2009
30	606	E.J.G. Morgan	606 v Bangladesh, 05/03/2010
32	605	R.N. ten Doeschate	617 v Kenya, 16/02/2010
32	605	R.R. Sarwan	784 v India, 23/05/2006
34	603	S.T. Jayasuriya	841 v Bangladesh, 14/02/2003
35	599	Shakib Al Hasan	639 v Zimbabwe, 29/10/2009
36	591	J.P. Duminy	633 v England, 22/11/2009
37	583	S.B. Styris	665 v England, 28/06/2008
38	578	Umar Akmal	578 v Australia, 31/01/2010
39	573	O.A. Shah	612 v South Africa, 27/09/2009
40	572	Younus Khan	661 v West Indies, 16/11/2008
41	568	B.J. Haddin	622 v Pakistan, 22/04/2009
42	565	Misbah-ul-Haq	597 v Australia, 03/05/2009
43	557	I.R. Bell	693 v India, 27/08/2007
44	552	A. Symonds	778 v India, 14/10/2007
45	544	M.V. Boucher	622 v Scotland, 20/03/2007
46	542	W.U. Tharanga	673 v New Zealand, 28/12/2006
47	539	M.J. Guptill	552 v Bangladesh, 11/02/2010
48	533	A.J. Strauss	709 v Pakistan, 10/12/2005
49	531	Kamran Akmal	556 v New Zealand, 03/11/2009
50	526	Shahid Afridi	667 v India, 02/10/1997
51	524	H. Masakadza	568 v Bangladesh, 31/10/2009
52	519	J.D.P. Oram	584 v Bangladesh, 11/10/2008
53	514	Raqibul Hasan	532 v India, 11/01/2010
54	513	Rizwan Cheema	551 v Kenya, 19/08/2009
55	511	J.R. Hopes	519 v Pakistan, 27/04/2009
56	510	E. Chigumbura	555 v South Africa, 22/08/2007
57	508	B.R.M. Taylor	583 v Bangladesh, 04/08/2006
58	506	S.H.T. Kandamby	542 v India, 14/09/2009
59	502	C.J. Ferguson	610 v England, 12/09/2009
60	497	T.T. Samaraweera	529 v India, 05/01/2010
61	496	Mushfiqur Rahim	496 v England, 05/03/2010
62	495	G.D. Elliott	529 v Pakistan, 03/10/2009
63	494	A. Obanda	494 v Holland, 16/02/2010
64	493	Mohammad Ashraful	538 v Zimbabwe, 09/08/2009
65	490	A. Bagai	490 v Afghanistan, 18/02/2010
66	489	S.E. Marsh	559 v South Africa, 23/01/2009
67	488	L.P.C. Silva	638 v England, 13/10/2007
67	488	S.C. Williams	524 v Bangladesh, 11/08/2009
69	486	R.S. Bopara	518 v Australia, 06/09/2009
70	480	W.T.S. Porterfield	485 v Scotland, 22/08/2009
70	480	A. Flintoff	748 v Sri Lanka, 18/09/2004
72	479	J.D. Ryder	518 v India, 14/03/2009
73	478	T. Taibu	501 v Bangladesh, 26/01/2005
74	477	P.G. Fulton	632 v England, 09/02/2008
75	476	R. Dravid	749 v West Indies, 18/05/2006
76	474	S. Matsikenyeri	497 v South Africa, 08/11/2009
77	471	J.M. How	582 v England, 20/02/2008
78	470	A.N. Cook	487 v New Zealand, 23/02/2008
79	468	Mahmudullah	468 v England, 05/03/2010
80	461	S. Dhaniram	463 v Afghanistan, 16/02/2010
81	460	D.L. Vettori	466 v Australia, 06/03/2010
82	459	K.J. O'Brien	481 v Canada, 06/04/2009
83	458	R.S. Morton	572 v South Africa, 20/01/2008
83	458	M.J. Prior	458 v Bangladesh, 02/03/2010
83	458	S.O. Tikolo	525 v South Africa, 30/09/1999
86	456	G.M. Hamilton	456 v Australia, 28/08/2009
87	455	N.J. O'Brien	462 v Canada, 19/04/2009
88	452	K.K.D. Karthik	454 v South Africa, 24/02/2010
89	443	Naeem Islam	443 v England, 02/03/2010
90	440	Abdul Razzaq	638 v India, 19/03/2004
91	436	C.K. Coventry	480 v Bangladesh, 16/08/2009
92	434	Imrul Kayes	446 v England, 02/03/2010
92	434	C.K. Kapugedera	488 v Zimbabwe, 28/11/2008
94	430	D.J.J. Bravo	493 v England, 28/10/2006
95	424	A.M. Samad	447 v Bermuda, 01/07/2008
95	424	R.G. Sharma	467 v New Zealand, 14/03/2009
97	420	C.O. Obuya	434 v Zimbabwe, 15/10/2009
98	418	T.M. Odoyo	475 v Canada, 18/10/2007
99	416	A.D. Mathews	433 v India, 18/12/2009
99	416	K.A. Pollard	416 v Zimbabwe, 14/03/2010

ODI Batsman.....ICC Player Rankings..

2010-04-13T03:34:00.000-07:00

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ODI-BATSMAN

ICC Player Rankings
Rank	Name	Country	Rating
1	M.S. Dhoni	IND	819
2	M.E.K. Hussey	AUS	811
3	A.B. de Villiers	SA	785
4	C.H. Gayle	WI	768
5	S.R. Tendulkar	IND	762
6	R.T. Ponting	AUS	732
7	G.C. Smith	SA	718
8	J.H. Kallis	SA	713
9	S. Chanderpaul	WI	711
10	K.C. Sangakkara	SL	701

Test Bowlers...ICC player rankings...

2010-04-13T03:29:00.000-07:00

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Test bowlers

ICC Player Rankings
Rank	Name	Country	Rating
1	J.H. Kallis	SA	442
2	D.L. Vettori	NZ	393
3	Shakib Al Hasan	BAN	355
4	G.P. Swann	ENG	315
5	M.G. Johnson	AUS	281
6	D.J.J. Bravo	WI	272
7	C.H. Gayle	WI	248
8	S.C.J. Broad	ENG	245
9	V. Sehwag	IND	198

Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship Batting Rankings

2010-04-13T03:26:00.000-07:00

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The current top 100 Test batsmen are listed below, clicking on a player name will take you to their player page.

If you want to find out the ranking of a current player who is not in the top 100 or if you want to chart the rating of a retired player, enter their name into the search box.

(TOP 100 BATSMAN-TEST)

ID	Rat.	Name	Career Best Rating
1	863	V. Sehwag	863 v South Africa, 14/02/2010
2	842	H.M. Amla	842 v India, 14/02/2010
3	836	D.P.M.D. Jayawardena	883 v India, 20/11/2009
4	835	K.C. Sangakkara	938 v England, 01/12/2007
5	834	M.J. Clarke	855 v England, 09/08/2009
6	824	G. Gambhir	886 v Sri Lanka, 24/11/2009
7	805	S.R. Tendulkar	898 v Zimbabwe, 21/02/2002
8	790	J.H. Kallis	935 v New Zealand, 18/11/2007
9	786	G.C. Smith	843 v England, 14/01/2010
10	766	R.L. Taylor	775 v Pakistan, 03/12/2009
11	765	S. Chanderpaul	901 v New Zealand, 19/12/2008
12	761	Mohammad Yousuf	933 v West Indies, 27/11/2006
13	760	S.M. Katich	760 v New Zealand, 27/03/2010
14	754	Younus Khan	880 v Sri Lanka, 21/02/2009
15	748	V.V.S. Laxman	753 v Australia, 02/01/2004
16	745	R.T. Ponting	942 v England, 01/12/2006
17	713	R. Dravid	892 v Pakistan, 16/03/2005
18	707	T.T. Samaraweera	747 v India, 24/11/2009
19	699	A.B. de Villiers	745 v England, 16/12/2009
20	693	A.N. Cook	711 v Sri Lanka, 18/12/2007
21	688	C.H. Gayle	704 v England, 13/02/2009
22	687	M.E.K. Hussey	921 v West Indies, 23/05/2008
23	680	K.P. Pietersen	909 v West Indies, 28/05/2007
24	675	T.M. Dilshan	700 v India, 20/11/2009
25	673	A.J. Strauss	769 v South Africa, 13/01/2005
26	669	P.D. Collingwood	730 v Australia, 01/12/2006
27	662	M.S. Dhoni	662 v South Africa, 14/02/2010
28	660	R.R. Sarwan	767 v England, 26/02/2009
29	647	I.R. Bell	704 v South Africa, 10/07/2008
30	646	D.L. Vettori	672 v Pakistan, 11/12/2009
31	609	Umar Akmal	647 v Australia, 03/01/2010
32	608	Tamim Iqbal	608 v England, 20/03/2010
33	607	A.G. Prince	756 v Pakistan, 11/01/2007
34	603	B.B. McCullum	612 v Australia, 19/03/2010
35	590	S.R. Watson	621 v Pakistan, 03/01/2010
36	576	B.J. Haddin	637 v West Indies, 16/12/2009
37	564	Shakib Al Hasan	564 v England, 20/03/2010
37	564	Mushfiqur Rahim	584 v England, 12/03/2010
39	563	Kamran Akmal	614 v Sri Lanka, 21/02/2009
40	555	M.V. Boucher	566 v England, 14/08/2003
41	550	P.J. Hughes	599 v England, 16/07/2009
42	548	M.J. North	610 v England, 09/08/2009
43	547	Salman Butt	547 v Australia, 14/01/2010
44	538	A. Symonds	718 v West Indies, 30/05/2008
45	535	M.J. Prior	589 v Australia, 09/08/2009
46	530	J.D. Ryder	607 v India, 26/03/2009
47	527	Imran Farhat	575 v South Africa, 11/01/2007
48	509	B.P. Nash	509 v Australia, 16/12/2009
49	504	D.J.J. Bravo	579 v England, 15/06/2007
50	501	N.D. McKenzie	642 v England, 30/07/2008
51	499	Shoaib Malik	547 v Sri Lanka, 20/07/2009
52	483	Misbah-ul-Haq	610 v Sri Lanka, 21/02/2009
53	465	Yuvraj Singh	506 v Pakistan, 29/01/2006
54	464	J.D.P. Oram	606 v Australia, 18/11/2004
55	457	P.A. Jaques	631 v India, 02/01/2008
56	453	M.J. Guptill	453 v Australia, 27/03/2010
57	443	Junaid Siddique	443 v England, 20/03/2010
57	443	Mahmudullah	445 v New Zealand, 15/02/2010
59	441	H.A.P.W. Jayawardene	441 v India, 02/12/2009
60	431	T.M. Dowlin	431 v Australia, 16/12/2009
61	425	I.J.L. Trott	495 v South Africa, 03/01/2010
62	408	Shahriar Nafees	479 v South Africa, 29/02/2008
63	401	G.P. Swann	418 v South Africa, 14/01/2010
64	396	A.N. Petersen	396 v India, 14/02/2010
65	391	B.S.M. Warnapura	518 v India, 08/08/2008
66	388	D.E. Bernard	400 v Bangladesh, 20/07/2009
67	384	S.C.J. Broad	450 v Australia, 20/08/2009
68	383	D. Ramdin	437 v England, 17/05/2007
69	382	T.G McIntosh	405 v Australia, 19/03/2010
70	381	Faisal Iqbal	387 v Australia, 26/12/2009
71	379	N.T. Paranavitana	379 v India, 02/12/2009
72	370	Mohammad Ashraful	491 v Sri Lanka, 03/07/2007
73	366	D.S. Smith	407 v Australia, 03/11/2005
74	364	A.D. Mathews	364 v India, 02/12/2009
75	356	M.G. Johnson	477 v England, 16/07/2009
76	352	D.R. Flynn	432 v India, 18/03/2009
77	351	Fawad Alam	445 v Sri Lanka, 12/07/2009
77	351	C.K. Kapugedera	367 v Bangladesh, 03/01/2009
79	350	B.J. Hodge	518 v South Africa, 16/12/2005
80	345	R.S. Bopara	444 v West Indies, 14/05/2009
81	344	J.P. Duminy	466 v Australia, 06/03/2009
82	337	Rajin Saleh	475 v Sri Lanka, 25/06/2007
82	337	N. Deonarine	337 v Australia, 16/12/2009
84	335	J.M. How	443 v England, 05/06/2008
84	335	A. Barath	434 v Australia, 26/11/2009
86	334	M.G. Vandort	460 v England, 09/12/2007
87	328	J.A. Morkel	348 v Australia, 19/03/2009
88	323	Khurram Manzoor	323 v Australia, 14/01/2010
89	319	M.S. Sinclair	649 v Pakistan, 15/03/2001
90	311	O. Phillips	360 v Bangladesh, 09/07/2009
91	310	T.R. Ambrose	381 v New Zealand, 13/03/2008
92	303	K.K.D. Karthik	461 v England, 09/08/2007
93	302	N.M. Hauritz	302 v New Zealand, 27/03/2010
94	299	M.J. Vijay	376 v Sri Lanka, 02/12/2009
95	292	R.S. Morton	359 v Australia, 23/05/2008
96	291	Aftab Ahmed	335 v South Africa, 29/02/2008
97	279	T.T. Bresnan	279 v Bangladesh, 20/03/2010
98	277	Harbhajan Singh	290 v New Zealand, 03/04/2009
99	270	J.E.C. Franklin	314 v Sri Lanka, 15/12/2006
100	261	R. McLaren	266 v England, 14/01/2010

Test Batsman.. ICC Player ratings ...Top 10

2010-04-13T03:23:00.000-07:00

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Test Batsman

ICC Player Rankings
Rank	Name	Country	Rating
1	V. Sehwag	IND	863
2	H.M. Amla	SA	842
3	D.P.M.D. Jayawardena	SL	836
4	K.C. Sangakkara	SL	835
5	M.J. Clarke	AUS	834
6	G. Gambhir	IND	824
7	S.R. Tendulkar	IND	805
8	J.H. Kallis	SA	790
9	G.C. Smith	SA	786
10	R.L. Taylor	NZ	766

ICC T20 Championship As on : 28-Feb-2010

2010-04-13T03:22:00.000-07:00

S#	Team	Rating

1.	Pakistan	101

2.	Sri Lanka	94

3.	South Africa	93

4.	England	88

5.	India	87

6.	West Indies	84

7.	New Zealand	57

8.	Australia	48

9.	Bangladesh	38

10.	Zimbabwe	35

11.	Netherlands	2

12.	Ireland	0

ICC ODI Championship As on : 15-Mar-2010

2010-04-13T03:21:00.000-07:00

S#	Team	Matches	Points	Rating

1.	Australia	53	7051	133

2.	India	49	5982	122

3.	South Africa	29	3401	117

4.	New Zealand	33	3773	114

5.	England	36	3945	110

6.	Sri Lanka	40	4336	108

7.	Pakistan	33	3420	104

8.	West Indies	30	2158	72

9.	Bangladesh	38	1987	52

10.	Zimbabwe	37	1011	27

11.	Ireland	6	152	25

12.	Kenya	14	28	2

ICC Test Championship As on : 31-Mar-2010

2010-04-13T03:19:00.000-07:00

S#	Team	Matches	Points	Rating

1.	India	38	4719	124

2.	South Africa	38	4572	120

3.	Australia	42	4979	119

4.	Sri Lanka	31	3624	115

5.	England	47	5063	108

6.	Pakistan	25	2008	80

7.	New Zealand	33	2632	80

8.	West Indies	29	2224	77

9.	Bangladesh	26	270	11

West Indies vs South Africa

2010-04-13T03:11:00.000-07:00

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May-2010
Wed 19 18:00 GMT, 14:00 local	Twenty20 - West Indies v South Africa Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad

Sat 22 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	1st ODI - West Indies v South Africa Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad

Mon 24 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	2nd ODI - West Indies v South Africa Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad

Thu 27 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	3rd ODI - West Indies v South Africa Windsor Park, Dominica

Sun 30 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	4th ODI - West Indies v South Africa Windsor Park, Dominica
Jun-2010
Wed 02 13:30 GMT, 09:30 local	5th ODI - West Indies v South Africa Sabina Park, Jamaica

Thu 10 - Mon 14 15:00 GMT, 10:00 local	1st Test - West Indies v South Africa Sabina Park, Jamaica

Fri 18 - Tue 22 14:00 GMT, 10:00 local	2nd Test - West Indies v South Africa Warner Park, St Kitts

Sat 26 - Wed 30 14:00 GMT, 10:00 local	3rd Test - West Indies v South Africa Kensington Oval, Barbados

West Indies v Ireland

2010-04-13T03:10:00.000-07:00

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Thu 15
14:30 GMT, 09:30 local Only ODI - West Indies v Ireland

West Indies v Canada

2010-04-13T03:09:00.000-07:00

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Apr-2010
Tue 13 14:30 GMT, 09:30 local	Only ODI - West Indies v Canada

Settlement in Shoaib Malik case

2010-04-09T04:26:00.001-07:00

The controversy surrounding Shoaib Malik, the former Pakistan captain, appears to have moved a step closer to resolution on Wednesday with the announcement that he had filed for divorce from Ayesha Siddiqui, whom he had married seven years ago, and her family saying they would withdraw a police complaint filed against him.

This paves the way for Malik to go ahead with his marriage to Sania Mirza, the Indian tennis player, in Hyderabad next week.

The announcement - which followed five days of negotiations - was made at a press conference at Ayesha's house and attended by representatives of the Mirza and Siddiqui families, though the three principals were absent. Shafi, Sania's uncle, said the complaint against Malik would be withdrawn - an application has already been filed with the police - and in turn he would pay Ayesha maintenance under Islamic law.

"I am very happy about it", Ayesha's mother said. "All community leaders have come to him (Shoaib) to do the settlement and he has done it. Finally justice has been done to my daughter."

On Monday, Hyderabad police said they had registered a complaint of cheating, harassment and intimidation filed by Ayesha against Malik.

Malik admitted, at a public appearance the same day, that he had married Ayesha but claimed it was done on the phone, he had never met his wife and that the photographs sent to him did not match the person who later claimed to be his wife.

Naved-ul-Hasan files appeal against PCB ban

2010-04-09T04:25:00.000-07:00

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the Pakistan allrounder, has filed an appeal against the one-year ban from the national team, and the Rs. 2 million fine imposed on him by the PCB.

Naved is the third player after the Akmal brothers - Kamran and Umar - to file an appeal, following the punishments meted out by the board following Pakistan's disastrous tour of Australia.

"What I was told by the cricket board was that my performance in the Twenty20 match against Australia was not up to the mark," Naved told reporters. "I don't think it is such a big crime and I hope I will get justice. Performing well in all the matches is not in the hands of a player."

Naved scored one run off nine balls and played out a maiden over from Mitchell Johnson in the closing stages of that match, as Pakistan fell short by two runs.

Naved's appeal will be scrutinized by the three-member appellate tribunal appointed by the PCB, which comprises two retired supreme court judges, Munir Sheikh and Jamshed Ali Shah, and former high court judge Irfan Qadir. PCB has set Apr. 16 as the deadline for all the players to file appeals.

Meanwhile, Shoaib Malik, who is in India for his planned wedding, sent a legal notice to the PCB but he is also likely to be asked to lodge a formal appeal. Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi have previously sent letters to the PCB inquiring about their punishments but have been told by the board to lodge formal appeals. "All the penalised cricketers have already been informed in detail under which rules and laws they were penalised. Now they can appeal against the punishments, in the way to challenge the verdicts and pray to waive it," PCB's legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi told Dawn.

Mumbai a win away from semi-finals

2010-04-09T04:24:00.000-07:00

The fortunes of these two teams could not be any different. With 14 points on the board, Mumbai Indians need just one more win from their five remaining matches to progress to the semi-finals. Kings XI Punjab, at the bottom of the points table, are all but out of contention for a final-four spot.

With all their departments firing - that collapse against Chennai was an aberration - and comfortably perched at the top of the table, Mumbai have no real concerns. A win against Punjab will guarantee a spot in the final four and with it an opportunity to give some of their players a rest from the remaining league games. Three of those are against teams in the top four, as well as a resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders, so sealing vital points against Punjab is imperative.

For a team that is yet to prove it can compete against the top sides, three of Punjab's remaining games are against the most formidable outfits of the tournament - Mumbai, Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings. Punjab have been the worst fielding side, the batting has been inconsistent, and their problems have been exacerbated by the failure of their bowlers, who have taken just four wickets in the last two matches. Despite trying several combinations, Punjab's woes have continued and their only incentive to win is to boost their chances of avoiding the wooden spoon.

Form guide (most recent first)

Kings XI Punjab LWLLL

Mumbai Indians LWWWW

Team talk

With R Sathish having little impact, his omission could be one of the changes in Mumbai's XI. The man to step in could be Abhishek Nayar or Aditya Tare, the team's primary wicketkeeper. Ambati Rayudu, in that role, has had trouble keeping to genuine fast bowlers. Zaheer Khan, who was rested against Chennai as a precautionary measure because of a swollen knee, is likely to return, as is Sachin Tendulkar, who suffered from dehydration in Chennai.

Punjab have been chopping and changing their XI regularly but the results haven't been significant. Juan Theron and Sreesanth were drafted back in for the last game but both bled runs, so Brett Lee could get another look-in despite his inability to manage a wicket in three games. Shaun Marsh is fit for selection and he could replace Ravi Bopara.

Previously�

Punjab 3 Mumbai 2

In 2008, Punjab won the first ever encounter between the two teams by 66 runs and then clinched a thriller =[0in Mumbai by one run. In their first meeting last year , in Durban, Yusuf Abdulla helped Punjab win a last-over thriller. Mumbai then fought back with an easy eight-wicket win in Centurion. In 2010, Mumbai won a close match at home.

In the spotlight

Sachin Tendulkar has spoilt the Mumbai crowd with his spectacular batting and the PCA Stadium will expect nothing else. His team has no more home games, so continuing his form is key to Mumbai sealing a semi-final berth.

Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard: The West Indian stars were disasters with the bat during the loss against Chennai when a lot was expected of them. Bravo is a floater in the batting line-up but so far it seems he's in the team primarily for his bowling. Pollard's place in the line-up also hasn't been settled but there's a concern he's being kept too low down. Against a side completely shorn of confidence, it may not be a bad idea to push this pair up and get their mojo going.

Piyush Chawla: Just why he has been picked to go to the West Indies as part of India's World Twenty20 squad is lost on many, because Chawla only has five wickets from ten games as compared to the 14 Delhi's Amit Mishra has from as many outings at a far better economy and strike-rate. Chawla came in for heavy praise after the first IPL from Kumar Sangakkara but this season he's not even been remotely dangerous.

Prime Numbers

* The fact that Irfan Pathan (204) has outscored both Kumar Sangakkara (183) and Yuvraj Singh (198) this season highlights their lack of contributions to the team.

* Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga are all tied on 11 wickets - leaving them joint No. 4 on the list of highest wicket-takers.

Symonds and Suman keep Deccan alive

2010-04-09T04:22:00.000-07:00

It was just another day at the office for Deccan Chargers until T Suman became their first Indian domestic cricketer to perform, guiding an improbable chase and keeping his team alive in the tournament. Good start with the ball, falling apart at the end - it was a familiar script until Suman wrote new lines, scoring 78 off 57 from No 3. Andrew Symonds, who had conceded 23 in the 17th over, facilitated a 21-run 17th over during the chase en route to 53 off 24 balls, as Deccan went about scoring more than 100 in the last 10 overs.

Deccan bowled well to have Royal Challengers Bangalore at 68 for 4 in the 11th over, but seemed to have forgotten how to bowl when they went for 92 runs in the last six. Once again, during the chase, Adam Gilchrist scored a quick thirty but failed to convert it into anything substantial.

Suman, however, had been promoted to No. 3 and Deccan had reached the 11th over by the time Gilchrist's 19-ball 32 ended. Gilchrist didn't get much strike, and Suman had put his share to good use, reaching 41 off 34. It wasn't the cleanest innings: stylish hits off length balls were offset by streaky boundaries off inside edges.

In the next over Rohit Sharma fell too, leaving Deccan with 90 to get off 50 balls. The turnaround started with a thick edge from Symonds, but he followed with a four off a yorker next ball. Suman followed suit, hitting Anil Kumble for a six to bring up his fifty in the next over, and 62 off 33 didn't read much worse than from where they started.

The streaky shots from Suman had disappeared by then, and he continued with a six off Vinay Kumar in the 16th over, but the symbolic moment was yet to come. Symonds had to make good for his bowling effort, and make good he did by thumping Praveen Kumar. An edge flew over the keeper, a slower ball was deposited over midwicket, and a yorker-gone-wrong hit into the sight screen. Forty-nine from 24 balls had become 28 off 18, and from there it was only a matter of avoiding the famous Deccan choke.

Suman took the lead, hitting Dale Steyn for four after he seemed to have found a good yorker rhythm. Symonds upset Kallis' rhythm when he missed the yorker by about a foot, and finished the game by hitting Vinay for a six and a four off the first two balls of the last over.

It should never have been that big a chase for Deccan. They had Bangalore struggling, but let them double their 14-over score, vindicating their reputation as the worst bowling side at the death, taking their tournament economy-rate in last six overs to 11.44 an over. Next-worst is 9.89.

Despite little support from Harmeet Singh, RP Singh and Mitchell Marsh, Ryan Harris had managed to keep Bangalore down to 46 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay. Harris went for just five in two of those overs. Ojha and Symonds followed Harris' good work with three wickets in three overs, including the massive ones of Robin Uthappa and Ross Taylor.

In the last six overs, though, Jacques Kallis and Virat Kohli went berserk in the absence of yorkers and abundance of length balls and hit six sixes and eight fours in the last six overs, as opposed to two sixes and seven fours in the first 14. Kallis reiterated his importance in the line-up with his sixth fifty of the tournament, and Kohli showed he could dabble in the power-hitting business too, going from 12 off 18 to 58 off 35. One of his sixes hit the roof at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, but by the end of the night their semi-final prospects - almost a certainty before the match started - had taken a hit

Sania-Shoaib Wedding Today as per Close Friend of Shoaib, True or False?

2010-04-09T04:20:00.000-07:00

Pakistani media is alleging that Sania Mirza & Shoaib Malik is marrying tonight at her home in Hyderabad at 7 pm. The Geo TV sources alleged that a nearby friend of Shoaib Malik has confirmed that the marriage between Sania-Shoaib would be held tonight.

Earlier in day-time, Sania’s family had held a shut-door prayer function at their home. There were present only very close family members. Even the very closest friend of Sania weren’t invited at the function. Only Sania’s family and Shoaib were there at the prayer-meeting.

After the drama of so many days, Sania-Shoaib at last took a relief breathes today after an agreement was done between Shoaib and the family of Ayesha Siddiqui who is Shoaib’s first wife.

There are the reports that Sania-Shoaib are marrying on 15th April but a close friend of Shoaib claims that the couple will marry today in Hyderabad at 7 pm. Let us see whether it is true or false? Some hours later, we all will know what’s the whole issue?

There were reports of the couple apparently networking with their close friends both in India and Pakistan to be present with them on April 15 — their wedding day.

Shoaib Malik-Sania Mirza nikah tonight?

2010-04-09T04:18:00.000-07:00

According to Pakistan media reports, Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza are to wed tonight at her place, at 7pm in Hyderabad.

Geo TV sources revealed that a close friend of Shoaib Malik has confirmed that the nikah between Sania and the former Pakistan skipper would be held tonight in Hyderabad.

Earlier in the day, Sania’s family had held a closed-door prayer ceremony at their home. Apparently, only very close family members were present. Even Sania’s closest friends weren’t invited. Only Sania's family and Shoaib were present at the prayer meet.

After several days of high drama, Sania and Shoaib finally heaved a sigh of relief today after a compromise was reached yesterday between Shoaib and the family of Ayesha Siddiqui, the Hyderabadi woman, who claimed to have married him.

There were reports of the couple apparently networking with their close friends both in India and Pakistan to be present with them on April 15 — their wedding day

Real job beckons for Bracken

2010-04-08T03:35:00.001-07:00

The messages to Nathan Bracken telling him it's time to get a real job have been light-hearted, but he knows his mates are right. Bracken lost his Cricket Australia contract on Wednesday and will spend the winter without the security and status of the precious item he has owned for most of the past decade.

At 32, having overcome some serious knee operations, he is effectively a state player despite being ranked as high as No.2 last year in the ICC's one-day list. Bracken was surprised by the decision, figuring his limited-overs talents would be relied on heavily in the next 12 months, but he has been over-run by a group of younger, fitter and faster bowlers.

He is not angry when he speaks about his omission and is not in a rush to decide what to do next. At times he sounds like he is already in retirement, but he is not stepping down. Just stepping back after five Tests and 116 ODIs and beginning to plan a life away from his bowling mark.

"I thought this year, with the amount of one-day cricket and the World Cup in India, that would really improve my chances of getting a contract," he told Cricinfo. "The World Cup years are usually more in favour of the one-day players, but it didn't quite go through as I thought it might.

The cross from Andrew Hilditch and his selectors "changes things dramatically" for Bracken, who was planning to be at full fitness for the tour of the British Isles in June. He points out he was the one-day player of the year at the 2009 Allan Border Medal, but is realistic enough to know that if he heads to England during the winter it will be for the county Twenty20 competition.

Last year he had to turn down a T20 contract with Northamptonshire because it clashed with Australia's itinerary and his management is scouting for opportunities on and off the field. Having started a communications degree before his international career blossomed, he would enjoy a role in the media.

Ideally he'd love to be a sideline reporter or a behind-the-scenes man who details the extensive preparation of high-profile players. "Missing a Cricket Australia contract gives me these sorts of opportunities," he said. Support has come quickly from his followers on Twitter and Facebook and 47% of voters in a poll on Cricinfo's Australia home page believe he didn't deserve to lose his deal.

Bracken isn't sure what happens next in New South Wales' contract process but he does know about the IPL auction later in the year. Injuries and Australian commitments ruled him out of the first two tournaments and his contract for this event was bought out by Bangalore during his knee rehabilitation. He is well-suited to a role as a Twenty20 bowler for hire, giving away less than seven runs an over and achieving a strike-rate of 19.8 during 19 internationals.

While he was away from the Australian team Ryan Harris, Clint McKay and Doug Bollinger grew in popularity and won contracts along with Brett Lee and Shaun Tait. At New South Wales there is impressive younger talent in Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Trent Copeland. The environment has changed and Bracken is aware of it.

"I've been lucky to be on a CA contract for the last eight or nine years and it's been very good to be on them," he said. "Missing out is never a great state to be in ... It's a chance to get back and re-set goals. It's a time to sit back and have a look at a few things."

Sehwag's dismissal turned the game - Ganguly

2010-04-08T03:33:00.000-07:00

After inspiring Kolkata to a hard-fought win against Delhi, Sourav Ganguly hinted that the changes made to the bowling attack proved crucial to the result. Kolkata benched Shane Bond and Jaidev Unadkat, while Murali Kartik missed out due to injury. The replacements - Ajanta Mendis, Ashok Dinda and Iqbal Abdulla - were Kolkata\'s best bowlers on the day.

"It is always a difficult decision to leave Shane Bond out," Ganguly said after the 14-run victory. "I wasn\'t sure whom to play, Bond or Mendis, when we reached the ground. But then on seeing the wicket, I thought Mendis would do well. Even Iqbal Abdulla bowled well. He is a youngster and every time he gets an opportunity, he proves himself."

Ganguly and Chris Gayle gave Kolkata the perfect start, before they were pegged back, losing 3 for 17 in 3.1 overs. Angelo Mathews and Manoj Tiwary managed to reclaim the momentum in the end overs, but Ganguly noted that his team missed out on a few runs. "I think we should have got 190 today. We were a bit stuck during the middle overs," he said.

Chasing 182, Delhi were in the race thanks to a whirlwind 99-run stand in 58 balls between Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, before Ganguly ran the latter out. Sehwag\'s dismissal at 134 for 4 in the 15th over tilted the game Kolkata\'s way, and Ganguly acknowledged that was the turning point. "Till the time Sehwag was around, I thought they were very much in the match. He is a champion batsman and when he bats, anything is possible. So Sehwag, along with Gambhir, kept them in the match. It was only when Sehwag was dismissed that we began to sense victory."

When asked about his excellent fielding - apart from running out Gambhir, he held a smart catch, and threw himself around - Ganguly\'s response was tongue-in-cheek. "As far as my fielding is concerned - I\'m getting younger," he said.

Kolkata\'s win continues a trend of alternating wins and losses in their last five games, and Ganguly admitted they needed to be more consistent. "We have been playing well for quite some time now. Hopefully, we will be able to win the next match. Every time we win one, we lose the very next game," Ganguly said.

Gambhir, the Delhi captain, was disappointed with the way the chase unfolded. "I think we should have finished the game as we had it in control. With wickets in hand, we should have achieved the target. But that is what happens in this format. You tend to panic and then you lose wickets. That\'s what happened to us today. But all credit goes to KKR, they played excellently," Gambhir said.

"Obviously, my run-out was the turning point. Till then we were very much in the game. We needed around 90 odd from 10 overs which was absolutely achievable. We got two boundaries in that over and at that point of time we didn\'t need that single. It was a mistake on my part and it was disaster," he said.

It's about striking a happy medium - Ray Jennings

2010-04-08T03:30:00.000-07:00

Royal Challengers Bangalore were the team to beat in the initial stages of the IPL, but their campaign has slowed down with defeats in three of their last four matches. Ray Jennings, their coach, acknowledged that the conservative mindset of the top order hampered their momentum, but insisted they would continue to balance defence with attack.

"I think against Chennai Super Kings, the problem was that when we lost [Jacques] Kallis and [Virat] Kohli, we lost two wickets in 15 balls and just made three runs. I think that made the difference," Jennings told Deccan Herald. "We were a little bit conservative against the Delhi side. The top order has planned the innings very well over the season - to not be over-powerful in the first six overs and not too conservative as well, it's all about striking a happy medium.

"That's why guys like Kallis and Robin Uthappa need to bat up the order and plan the innings properly. I need to trust those guys to do the job for us," Jennings said.

Bangalore had a winning combination for the first leg of the tournament, before the arrival of Ross Taylor, Kevin Pietersen and Cameron White made them tinker with the line-up. Jennings denied that the team management faced difficulties in selecting the eleven. "You might think that the permutations are confusing but I have a clear idea about them. When these combinations work on the field, it can look nice, but when it does, you look like an idiot. Drawing up permutations is an easy job, but the hard part is to maintain the right energy level in the player assigned to do the job," he said.

Jennings noted the importance of properly defining roles in a line-up filled with different types of players. "We have 120 balls to play and the role of each cricketer has to be defined according to the situation. With players like Kevin Pietersen and Ross [Taylor] coming in, the role of each batsman has to be defined. Sometimes it's easier for an allrounder or a young Indian player to hit the ball around, and at that time the roles could be changed," Jennings said.

Jennings acknowledged the impact of the senior players in keeping the team spirit up. "We have seven or eight international captains with us and we have three legends in our ranks - Kumble, Dravid and Kallis - and not many sides have got those kind of players together. They are in the background of keeping the team together and helping me exectute the strategies with honesty and peace, making sure that we make an impact."

Bangalore's next match is against the Deccan Chargers who are going through a slump, with five successive defeats, but Jennings was not taking them lightly. "There is no good time to play any side. Tomorrow, if [Adam] Gilchrist gets a hundred then we can struggle, so we need to come to the field with the best preparations. I don't look at yesterday's match as tomorrow we need to play a fresh game," he said.

Kolkata clinch hard-fought victory

2010-04-08T03:28:00.000-07:00

n stark contrast to the silence that accompanied the listless defence against Kings XI Punjab, the Eden Gardens faithful responded passionately to a charged performance from Kolkata Knight Riders, which derailed Delhi Daredevils' chase to secure an invaluable 14-run victory. At the heart of the turnaround was Sourav Ganguly, who scored a half-century to build a challenging total, after which he fielded like few believed he could: the direct hit that ran out Gautam Gambhir ended a threatening 99-run partnership and turned the game Kolkata's way.

The result took them level on 10 points with Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, the fourth-placed team.

It nearly didn't happen for Kolkata though. Virender Sehwag, who was reprieved on 7 when the umpire failed to hear or see an edge, threatened to deliver Delhi their seventh win. His partnership with Gambhir put Delhi on course and he completed a 34-ball half-century, his slowest in the IPL. It was greeted with silence by Eden Gardens. Delhi needed 48 off 32 balls with seven wickets in hand when Ajit Agarkar's inswinger crashed into Sehwag's stumps, and the slide had begun.

Ajantha Mendis, chosen ahead of Shane Bond because of a dry pitch, had Kedar Jadhav caught at cover - Ganguly jumping to intercept a hard drive - in the 17th over. The next, from left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla, was pivotal. He bowled Farveez Maharoof with one that pitched middle and hit off, before reacting athletically to run out Rajat Bhatia three balls later.

The decisive blow was struck by Ashok Dinda in the penultimate over when Dinesh Karthik, Kolkata's last threat, pulled to Brendon McCullum at midwicket. His exit left Delhi needing 30 off 10 balls, a task too hard for Daniel Vettori and Amit Mishra. It was fitting that Dinda landed the last blow, for he had struck the first during an astonishing opening over. He hurried David Warner with four skiddy deliveries, cramping him for room, before beating him with the fifth - a quick one that uprooted offstump before Warner had brought his bat down. Delhi knew then that they were in for a scrap.

Unlike Ganguly, who used the pace of Dinda, Agarkar and Angelo Mathews, Gambhir instructed his bowlers - from Maharoof to Rajat Bhatia - to take the pace of the ball. It didn't work immediately for Kolkata made their best score at the end of ten overs this season - 88 - and had all wickets intact.

Chris Gayle, who had scored 40 off 21, fell soon after though, missing a swipe against Bhatia, and Ganguly followed in similar fashion against Vettori. Brendon McCullum was run out cheaply too and Kolkata scored only 30 runs between overs 12 and 16 to reach 130 for 3.

The innings needed acceleration and it was provided by Mathews and Tiwary. Mathews had been dropped Bhatia on 10 - a caught and bowled opportunity - and he made Delhi pay with two well-aimed blows over long-on. Tiwary joined in the hitting right at the end, and they boosted the innings by taking 18 runs off Mishra's last over. Their partnership was worth 70 in 6.5 overs, and it helped set Delhi a testing target in a match vital to Kolkata's semi-final chances.

Lumb assault knocks out Punjab

2010-04-08T03:12:00.000-07:00

(CRICKET WORLD)

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium remained a fortress for Rajasthan Royals, who made it eight out of eight wins at the venue by bulldozing Kings XI Punjab with five overs remaining. Opener Michael Lumb pummelled 83 off 43 balls to deliver Rajasthan their third straight victory, which lifted them to joint second spot, an unlikely position for a team that was written off after starting with three defeats in a row.

Rajasthan sprinted to the highest total of the season in the first five overs (65), after Punjab had mucked about to gather the least runs in the final five overs (27), reflecting the gulf between the two sides. Punjab reverted to being the bumbling bunch that has been entrenched at the bottom of the table all season: the batting lost fizz after a bubbly start, the fielding was the usual butter-fingered effort, and the bowling lacked inspiration.

Mahela Jayawardene top-scored again, and Yuvraj Singh briefly showed off his awesome hitting, but with the rest failing to contribute anything substantial Punjab ended up with an inadequate total.

The variety of sweeps against the spinners and the trademark carves behind point off the quicks were the highlight of Jayawardene's innings, in which only seven runs were scored in front of the wicket. He had some luck as well, a leading edge six to third man off Aditya Dole, reprieved when Shane Warne reacted slowly to a caught-and-bowled chance and dropped by Dole at deep square leg.

With Kumar Sangakkara's poor tournament continuing, it was Yuvraj who provided some support for him. Warne was at his bewitching best in the previous game, but had no answer to Yuvraj today. First, Yuvraj muscled him over midwicket for a six, and two overs later clobbered two flat sixes and a four to take 24 runs off eight balls against the Rajasthan captain.

The match turned in the next over from Dole: he had Yuvraj dragging a short ball onto the stumps and Jayawardene edged to a wide slip. That sucked all the momentum out of the Punjab innings, and they never recovered.

Ravi Bopara pottered about before being run out after racing down the track for a second run which his partner, Irfan Pathan, was not interested in. Watson varied his length and pace well towards the death, and Siddharth Trivedi's steady servings of slower deliveries proved hard to score off, so much so that Punjab couldn't hit even one boundary in that period.

The Punjab score looked insufficient, but it was not as measly as Lumb and Naman Ojha made it seem. The match was essentially decided after the fourth over of the chase, in which Lumb lashed fast bowler Rusty Theron for 20 runs to blast Punjab to 55 for 0.

The template was set in the first over, when Ramesh Powar made a hash of a simple fielding chance to give away two extra runs, and Sreesanth followed that up with gift of a short ball that was pulled for four by Lumb.

Sangakkara shuffled his bowlers around but to no avail: Lumb picked off the spinners with a bunch of sweeps and reverse-sweeps, while showcasing his full range of strokes against the quicks. The 100 came up in the ninth over when Irfan was caned for four fours, and Lumb was also eyeing his century. He was dismissed in the next over, but Ojha, who has been quiet when Lumb was blasting, took charge of the chase, and with the help of Yusuf Pathan finished off the game in the 15th over.

DC Vs RR - cricket live score, updates, streaming

2010-04-08T03:10:00.000-07:00

(CRICKET WORLD)

Today, April 5, defending champions Deccan Chargers take on Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2010 season 3 at Nagpur. RR have won the toss and have elected to bat first. Do watch the live coverage and streaming. Also the latest updates and cricket live scores

Today, April 5, defending champions Deccan Chargers take on Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2010 season 3 at Nagpur. Today's DC Vs RR match would be a die or die match for both the teams. A loss today, will significantly dent semi-final aspirations for both the teams, more for Deccan Chargers. The match is about to start and the live coverage can be watched on Set Max. The streaming as well as cricket live scores are also available on a number of sites. Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and have elected to bat first.

DC and RR both have Australia's former players captaining the teams and both are match winners. The match promises to be a thriller as it would be a very important match for both teams. Both the teams have been going through a lean patch and have disappointed their fans, specially the Deccan Chargers. A lot was expected from the Hyderabad team but losing four matches in a row have out them in a do or die situation.

On paper, the Deccan Chargers appear quite strong, but Rajasthan cannot be taken lightly. They have some players who can single handedly turn things around. The key players for RR will be Yusuf Pathan, Naman Ojha, Shane Watson and Shane Warne. On the other hand, for Deccan Chargers a lot would depend on Gilchrist, Symonds, Gibbs and Rohit Sharma.

Rajasthan is placed 6th in the IPL points table, whereas Deccan Chargers are 7th with 2 points behind Rajasthan. Rajasthan have played 9 games (8 points with four wins) so far and Deccan Chargers have played 8 games (6 points with 3 wins).

So who do you think will win today's encounter? Will it be RR or DC?

IPL 2010 CSK Vs MI: Latest score, live updates, streaming

2010-04-08T03:09:00.000-07:00

IPL 2010 will today witness the match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Chennai.

PL 2010 will today witness the match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK Vs MI) and Mumbai Indians.

MI are on a roll under the captaincy of Sachin Tendulkar. On the other hand, CSK under skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni needs to win this match if it has to remain in contention for a semifinals berth.

CSK have won 4 matches and lost 5 matches. They need a win desperately to keep their semifinals hopes alive. CSK have also suffered due to the injury of skipper Dhoni, which kept him out of a couple of matches.

Today's match between CSK Vs MI would be a battle of wits between Tendulkar and the team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Tendulkar is in the form of his lifetime with the bat, he has also shown astute captaincy skills, which have kept the MI team in good stead.

Under Tendulkar, MI has won eight matches and lost only one match and they will be keen to continue the winning momentum.

The match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Vs Mumbai Indians (MI) will be the 37^th match of IPL 2010 and would be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Chennai.

The key players for Chennai Super Kings today would be Mathew Hayden, Suresh Raina, Murli Vijay and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The key players for Mumbai Indians would be Tendulkar, Shikhar Dhawan and Harbhajan Singh.

CSK Vs MI match would be telecasted live on Set Max and the live streaming of the match would be available on You Tube and a number of internet sites.

Rajasthan Royals Vs Kings XI Punjab, live cricket, latest score

2010-04-08T03:08:00.000-07:00

(CRICKET WORLD)

People are eagerly waiting for the match between RR and KXIP today. It has been scheduled at 4 p.m at Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur.

PEOPLE ARE eagerly waiting for the IPL 2010 match between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) today. The RR Vs KXIP match of IPL 2010 is scheduled at 4 p.m at Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur.

IPL season one's winners RR are all geared up after pulling off a sensational victory against Deccan Chargers. Under the guidance of Sharne Warne, they would be looking for a comprehensive victory against KXIP, who have just started to find out their bearnings in the IPL 2010 tournament.

Shane Warne, RR captain and also their triumph card performed brilliantly against Deccan Chargers and ensured that his team remained in the hunt for the semifinals spot in IPL 2010. His captaincy and leadership has taught the RR players how to turn the tables in their favour.

KXIP is also on a roll after its victory against KKR in the match at Eden Garden, where they chased a mammoth total and carved out a fine victory against Sourav Ganguly's men in the IPL match.

The Rajasthan Royals now appear to be fighting their way back into semi-final contention but the road to redemption is more arduous for bottom-placed KXIP, so only a win for the latter can maintain their flickering hopes of making to the last four.

KXIP squad's skipper Mahela Jayawardene is however under pressure as the team needs to win to stay in contention for the semifinals. With players like Kumar Sangakkara, Yuvraj Singh, S Sreesanth, James Hopes, KXIP is expected to put up a powerpacked show in order to challenge the opposition.

Live streaming and latest score of the match can be seen on You Tube and other internet sites.

You can also tune into Set Max for live telecast of the match at 4 p.m.

KKR vs DD - cricket live score, latest updates, score, streaming

2010-04-08T02:58:00.000-07:00

(CRICKET WORLD)
KOLKATA KNIGHT Riders will be challenging Delhi Daredevils in the Eden Gardens of Kolkata at 8p.m tonight. Do watch the live coverage and cricket live score, updates.

KOLKATA KNIGHT Riders will be challenging Delhi Daredevils at Eden Gardens, Kolkata at 8p.m tonight. The live coverage, cricket live score, steaming and latest updates are available on a number of sites.

KKR has won the toss and have elected to bat first. Hard hitter, Brendon McCullum has been included in KKR's final eleven and all eyes will be set on him. Ganguly and Gayle need to give KKR the much needed good start if they want to put up a huge score to defend against the mighty Daredevils.

In today's other match, Rajathan Royals beat Kings Eleven Punjab with ease by 8 wickets.

DD did not perform that good since the beginning of IPL-3 but they slowly and steadily picked up the threads with some impressive cricket and is currently at second place in the IPL points table.

On the other hand KKR’s performance has been quite inconsistent as they were beaten by KXIP at Eden Gardens in their last match and thus slipped to the sixth place in IPL ranking.

Even after making a mammoth score of 200 runs on the board against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday, Mahela Jayawardene’s batting trampled KKR's hopes.

KKR's sort after captain Sourav Ganguly is under pressure as they lost their last match in their home ground but he has to step up big time to give his team the required leap and boost.

Keeping the loss to KXIP batsmen on Sunday aside, KKR should plan and execute impressive cricket to keep themselves intact in the run for the semi-finals.

Delhi Daredevils are second in the IPL points table after Mumbai Indians, who are comfortable on the top spot. On paper, DD are much stronger as a team and have a strong batting lineup as well. DD's captain Gautam Gambhir needs to fire at the top and give his team a great start.

Live streaming, latest score of IPL 2010 season 3 matches can be seen on You Tube and related internet sites. The DD vs KKR match promises to be a thriller and cannot be missed. So what's your take? Who will win today's match? Will it be Dada's KKR or Gambhir's DD?

All you people are vampires

2010-04-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

Vampires are So Hot Right Now. Wizards are yesterday's news.

Bookshop shelves groan under the weight of a million identical tomes with none-more-black covers, written by hormonal women and with embossed silver titles like Dead Vampire B*stard and Fang F*ck For That and such.

On the gogglebox, Being Human - a gritty, realistic tale of house-sharing vamps, werewolves and ghosts - was almost decent enough to make up for the unmitigated toss that makes up the rest of BBC3's output. Stateside, the highly-sexed, ultra-violent True Blood, starring Anna Paquin's teeth and breasts alongside some chap from Essex is a huge hit.

And on the silver screen, naan-faced simpleton Robert Pattinson is inexplicably one of Hollywood's hottest properties on the back of starring in some vampire version of Harry Potter or something.

Yes, vampires are in. And what kind of blog would this be if I couldn't draw some tenuous, self-indulgent link between the hugely popular bloodsuckers and cricket?

Probably a much, much better one, but I'm gonna do it anyway. Because vampires, you see, are the cricket administrators of the mythical creature world.

Don't believe me? Consider the evidence.

Most cricket administrators are many hundreds of years old.

Cricket administrators also have an instinctive aversion to natural light, hence the silly obsession with day-night Tests and floodlighting.

Like vampires, cricket administrators are selfish creatures who will bleed their victims dry without a pang of remorse or regret. For vampires, these victims are generally comely wenches with heaving bosoms. For cricket administrators, the victims could be anything or anyone from Test cricket itself to every single cricket fan on the planet.

Also, cricket administrators prefer to be among their own kind, only venturing out to feed. Lalit Modi would no sooner talk to an ordinary cricket fan than he would post a dignified, non self-congratulatory and non-spammy Tweet.

This is even more true in England, where Giles Clarke has never even seen an ordinary person close-up. He's seen them queue for the bar or the toilets at Lord's, or singing their ghastly songs and enjoying the cricket - which isn't really the idea, old boy, is it? - but that's about it. Giles Clarke believes David Gower to be A Bit Common.

And, finally, cricket administrators cannot be killed by conventional methods. They are immortal. Or at least immune to criticism and able to cling on desperately to their jobs and perks despite continued and utter incompetence.

Legend has it Lalit Modi can only be killed by a DLF-sponsored stump through the heart, delivered while somewhere in the distance Ravi Shastri excitedly bellows, "This is a Citi Moment of Slaying!"

It's admittedly not a perfect comparison. Vampires, for instance, are generally alluring and charming creatures, while every cricket administrator in history has had all the charm and sex appeal of a syphilitic warthog with bad breath.

But if Pattinson, with his sunken eyes, sneering little sphincter of a mouth, bicycle-seat-shaped face and deeply unfortunate hair can become a sex symbol, then why can't David Morgan?

Over to you, Straussy

2010-04-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

Could there just be a tinge of doubt in Andrew Strauss's mind that he did the wrong thing by relieving himself of the captaincy? There was just the hint of a wavy defensive stroke when he spoke on the subject this week. Teams don't miss a captain too much if they win without him. Going missing in action after only being in the job for 18 months might not be the best idea for future life insurance either.

To be fair, with or without Strauss, England were expected to make a clean sweep in Bangladesh as a minimum requirement. The manner of how they did it was of more specific importance. There were all kinds of sub-plots going on to keep the easily bored elements of the press entertained. KP's personal downturn in form was a major worry, mainly for himself, until he got a "fantastic" call from Rahul Dravid to boost the ego. Jonathan Trott was unlucky, but that tends to happen when you are not playing well, and Stuart Broad appeared more interested in petulance than his all-round performance.

However, the man at the helm, Alastair Cook, has done enough to put credit in the captaincy bank the next time Strauss doesn't feel up to a tour of the minor countries. And there were we thinking that picking and choosing which itinerary to pass on was a thing of the past.

Strauss is looking forward to regaining control of the ship, but although he praised Cook at a pre-season event, he could not refrain from a more patronising tone later in the piece: ""I think Alastair has done an excellent job, he has done things his own way, to an extent, which is fine, and he's carried things on." Notice how the sentence starts with a positive, and is then followed by a completely indifferent garble of indifference. Are you feeling a bit threatened, Straussy?

Apart from boosting the batting average, the 25-year-old should be complemented for the way he energised his team in searingly hot conditions. Going on the previous evidence of interviews, vacuous newspaper columns, and, God forbid, his autobiography , it appeared that Cook came from some kind of School of Robotics that made mentor Graham Gooch seem almost charismatic in comparison. So it was a bit of a surprise that, given the captain's log on a no-win tour of duty, he has shown some invention which may have taken the equally unexciting Strauss aback.

England wouldn't be England if they didn't make some potty selections, like a four-pronged pace attack in the first Test. The Essex opener will probably never watch the British film noir classic The Third Man, after his criminal lack of field placing during the Chittagong game. But Cook may have rediscovered something in the last few months which he had in abundance during the early stage of his Test career: concentration.

On the basis that the captaincy strengthens your batting, then Cook should get the job for the Ashes. His record against Australia is pretty miserable, apart from a 90 at Lord's against a hopeless attack and a century in Perth when England were virtually beaten.

Given Strauss's fraught last four years which have included a stint as temporary captain, being overlooked for the Ashes captaincy in 2006, a poor home series in 2007, losing his place in Sri Lanka and then saving his Test career in New Zealand, it seems strange that he put up a vacancy in the first place. It may have given his opening partner a glimmer of the big time and "Chef" certainly hasn't cooked his goose in Bangladesh.

What the papers say - England's WT20 squad

2010-04-06T22:29:00.002-07:00

The English press - at times kind but mostly ruthless - ponder the ins and outs of England's 15-man squad for the World Twenty20...

The Independent offers little hope to comeback kid Mike Yardy and questions the merit of selecting the perennially crocked Ryan Sidebottom.

"The 15 players named for the tournament to be played in the Caribbean in May include three who are uncapped in the format, a batsman who has not played an international match for three years, another who has been out of favour since being dropped during last summer's Ashes series, a bowler who has spent most of his recent career on the treatment table and a star who might have to dash back any hour to be with his wife at the birth of their first child.

"Apart from that, the selection may be a model of how to build a side gradually to ensure it peaks on the day of the big match. The choice that the selectors have made, or rather the gamble that they have taken, means that there are six changes from the 15 who competed in the same competition in England only nine months ago.

"The choice of the 22-year-old wicketkeeper batsman, Craig Kieswetter, flavour of the month and it is to be hoped the decade, makes it certain that England will use their 17th different opening batting combination in 26 T20 internationals. As soon as one pair fails another one is summoned, which is less selection policy than hailing a cab and hoping for the best."

While the bulk of headlines afford the South African-born Englishman plenty of applauds, The Telegraph fails to let the omission of another go unnoticed.

"What has slipped under the radar is the omission of Jonathan Trott. Most people seem to have forgotten that Trott played in England's last five Twenty20 matches, probably because he turned in a series of anonymous performances.

"Am I alone in wondering whether we might already have seen the best of Trott in an England shirt? Since the euphoria of his extraordinary Test debut, he has clearly struggled with the mental demands of international cricket. I interviewed him in February, just before the squad left for Bangladesh, and I was amazed at how negative and self-critical he was.

"To be a success today, you need to be able to reinvent your game all the time, and to do it without second-guessing yourself in the way that Trott tends to. Sooner or later, Eoin Morgan will probably steal his Test place, simply because he has a steelier mindset."

Craig Kieswetter might be The Independent's "flavour of the month" on a batting front, but the Daily Mail won't offer his wicketkeeping ability the time of day. And there's even mention of a forgotten Middlesex man.

"England will gamble on a totally new, all 'South African' opening partnership to try to get them off to explosive starts in their latest attempt at an elusive global title.

"It is a measure of England's failure to make an impact in the short-form they gave the world that they are prepared to go into a global event with two Twenty20 international debutants in the all-important opening slots. Only the recalled Ravi Bopara will provide an opening alternative in the Caribbean.

"One of the unexpected bonuses of the Twenty20 game is how it has brought top quality wicketkeeping to the fore but that was not enough to save the much improved Prior, nor indeed James Foster, who kept exceptionally for England in the last World Twenty20.

"Instead they have gone for someone who is no more than competent with the gloves.

"The absence of Owais Shah means that he has almost certainly been consigned to international history."

The Times cotton onto England's astounding penchant for tossing Twenty20 caps around willy nilly and question the selection process of Geoff Miller and posse.

"England are yet to reach the last four of a World Twenty20, but the squad of 15 announced yesterday for the tournament in the Caribbean that begins this month has struck enough of a balance between flair and pragmatism to raise hopes of better progress this time.

"By including Craig Kieswetter as opening batsman and wicketkeeper, at the expense of Matt Prior, the selectors avoided a potential fudge, and the timely presence of Ravi Bopara and Michael Lumb in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has pushed them ahead of Jonathan Trott and Joe Denly.

"Constructing a Twenty20 squad is problematic. While domestic tournaments expand, the number of international matches remains in check. England on tour still pick from their 50-over party rather than fly out specialists for one or two games. Miller and his colleagues, then, are going by hunches as much as evidence.

"To a large degree, that is what selection is about, but turnover from the previous World Twenty20 in England last June is striking: Robert Key, James Foster, Graham Napier, Owais Shah, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Adil Rashid have been replaced by Lumb, Kieswetter, Yardy, James Tredwell, Ajmal Shahzad and Bresnan."

Finally, The Guardian stoop to quoting Twitter and referencing the Indian Premier League in their bid to promote Lumb's selection.

"For Lumb, though, there was still plenty to celebrate. His has been an unspectacular but satisfying first IPL season and he is admired in India both for his abrasive attitude and ability to hit over the top. Even the great chairman himself, Lalit Modi, was moved to post "Lumb - looks good" on Twitter, a noteworthy personal endorsement from the godfather of cricket. And oddly for a man who might struggle to get himself recognised in Southampton, he is now a familiar face to 42m Indian TV viewers and an object of some veneration inside the thronging stadiums.

"Lumb is not the first Englishman to use cricket's great spangled billionaire's beano as a springboard to international success. Graham Napier of Essex played a couple of unremarkable matches for Mumbai Indians last season and was also rewarded with an England squad spot.

"Lumb seems a little more likely to be a lasting success. Perhaps his own previous experience of migration has helped. Lumb is the son of the former Yorkshire opener Richard Lumb, but he was born in Johannesburg and played for South Africa Under-19s before returning to England in 1998."

Write your own Pakistan crisis story

2010-04-06T22:29:00.001-07:00

C365's write-your-own Pakistan cricket crisis story - simply fill in the gaps and delete as appropriate...

Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has again announced his retirement from/return to international cricket.

The xx-year-old has been excluded by the PCB since the volatile tour of ?, which proved disastrous as internal politics undermined the team's performances on the pitch.

There has followed a period of blood-letting in which Pakistan have lurched from one difficulty to another - without doubt the nation's biggest cricketing crisis since insert last crisis here.

At Sunday's press conference Yousuf told reporters, "I always played for my country but now my career is over/and I am delighted at this recall to Pakistan cricket."

Added Yousuf, "I thank the fans around the world, my colleagues and family members for supporting me."

The decision represents the nth occasion on which Yousuf has walked out on/triumphantly returned to the national side and comes at a dramatic time.

Fellow former captain Younis Khan is also absent/on his way back, the PCB is conducting an inquiry into failed drugs tests/match-fixing/their last enquiry and Shoaib Akhtar has missed out on the squad for their upcoming series with a back injury/due to long queues at the pharmacy/at auditions for the new IPL Bollywood musical Dumbslog Millionaire.

Nothing is permanent in Pakistan cricket. Yousuf appears to have kept a window open for return to the international arena/an imminent retirement, revealing that he has taken the advice of "the elders".

He insisted that his decision was only 'Filhaal' [for now] and that a u-turn might be possible after he has consulted "the elders".

Whatever happens next, his legacy is clear. A record of 24 Test centuries with eight wins, eight draws and eight defeats proves Yousuf a batsman you can pigeon hole as you like.

And while his international career remains in doubt, Yousuf's immediate future is not in doubt. The right-hander was emphatic that in the future he will remain available to make bucketloads/wheelbarrows-full of money in private leagues.

CSA not concerned by IPL injuries

2010-04-06T22:28:00.000-07:00

Cricket South Africa maintain that they will not consider removing their players from the IPL despite a number of Proteas players suffering injuries during the competition.

Graeme Smith fractured his middle finger while turning out for the Rajasthan Royals, and while the injury will not keep him out of the upcoming World Twenty20, it is the second time in three years that Smith has left the competition with a fitness concern, having injured his elbow in the inaugural edition of the competition.

Justin Kemp and Wayne Parnell have not been so lucky, with Kemp's back injury and Parnell's groin strain ruling both players out of the T20 competition in the Caribbean.

Despite the slew of injuries, Cricket South Africa have adopted a conservative position on the subject of IPL participation.

"Cricket South Africa reviews injuries on an ongoing basis but gives players no objection certificates on that basis," Proteas media manager Michael Owen-Smith told Cricket365.

"Graeme Smith's injury was a freak one. You can never anticipate injuries and there is no question of pulling players out of the IPl as a preventative measure at this stage," he added.

Parnell has a bright future ahead of him and will have plenty of opportunities to showcase his talent in later years but for Kemp, who has only just become eligible for national selection having been involved in the rebel ICL, the injury comes at a time when he could have applied pressure on a struggling Albie Morkel for the all-rounder role in the Proteas starting XI. Should Morkel perform in the West Indies that chance may not come again for the 32-year-old.

Musing The Week's Media

2010-04-06T22:27:00.002-07:00

A Class Act

Papers around the world have been delighted at the news that Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza are to marry: starcrossed lovers as the fellow wrote; can't remember his name.

As cricket fans it is important to know, what exactly is our man bringing to the table?

The Times reports: "Think of Romeo and Juliet with a dash of Posh and Becks and a heavy dose of Bollywood melodrama. Shoaib Malik, Pakistan's former cricket captain, is to marry Sania Mirza, India's top women's tennis player, despite being accused of marrying another Indian woman and then dumping her for being fat."

The father of Malik's current wife has launched a lacerating attack on his behaviour. We await Mohammad Yousuf's analysis with interest.

Nose, glasses and moustache that all come off together

Cricinfo, Monday: 'Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's captain for the upcoming World Twenty20, has said that Sachin Tendulkar's absence from the Indian team for the tournament will be a blessing in disguise for the other sides.'

Tendulkar is one of the best batsmen in the history of world cricket and certainly the most distinguished playing today. He just scored the first ever ODI double century and is second in the Indian Premier League batting table.

So...what kind of disguise?

Number Crunching With England

6: Squad changes in nine-month period between 2009 and 2010 World T20.

7: Big-name coaches in charge of ECB Performance Programme last winter.

41: Players on that EPP - not including the 20 men in South Africa with Test and ODI parties.

4: Players in 2010 WT20 squad who were not among last October's 'elite' 61.

0: Number of people who will lose their job the next time the development programme is restructured.

Backing Himself

'Waqar salutes Afridi appointment' - Cricinfo.

Either the Pakistan coach has literally no say in how his team is put together or he's keen to build up his own confidence in the most difficult of cricket roles.

Scoop!

The Mail on Sunday had a belter of a headline last weekend: 'England skipper Andrew Strauss tells ECB: We want the Ashes Tests back on free TV'

In this on-message media age for the national captain to give orders to his own bosses on perhaps the biggest issue facing the English game today was nothing short of extraordinary.

Unfortunately, the story was nothing at all.

Actual quotes from Strauss: 'This is a tough issue. The funding is absolutely crucial as well. Without it, a lot of grass-roots initiatives wouldn't go ahead. We need players playing the game, not just watching it. The issue is, what is best for the game?'

Headline of the Week

'Conveyor Velt' - England keep pickin' em, The Sun keeps writin' em.

Cynic of the Week

'You should book somewhere to announce your comeback.' - At least one journalist at Mohammad Yousuf's retirement do is less than convinced.

Best of the Rest

'Sri Lanka All-Time XI'

'It simply doesn't matter who wins.'

Good Week, Bad Week

2010-04-06T22:27:00.001-07:00

Good week for...

None-cap Wonders

What do these people have in common:

You, me, Dinesh Chandimal, Craig Ervine, Vinay Kumar, Michael Lumb, Rob Nicol and Juan Theron?

Correct answer: Not an international cap between us.

Take those first two names out of the equation and there's a second connection. All six are going to the World Twenty20 in the West Indies later in the month.

Almost all squads announced so far have at least one newcomer. Since such last-minute calls are generally considered a mark of desperation, it doesn't bode well.

MS Gill

A selection of quotes from a TV interview with the Indian sports minister this week:

"The BCCI, they have a direct interest as owners of teams, as people who have a direct benefit from the IPL and this is very dangerous.....

""They have abused the rules against another rival league. But the controlling body has to be for India, for cricket for the long term. It has to be totally uninvolved.....

"Those who are to make rules for everyone, for all aspects of the game and keeping in view the interest of the game and the country and the long term, have to be totally apart from being involved in IPL in any way."

Good luck with that.

Michael Lumb

As predicted here two months ago, the Hampshire batsman is going to the World Twenty20, included once the English public had gotten used to the idea of Craig Kieswetter.

The exclusion of Matt Prior robs us cruelly of the statistic that England are taking as many Johannesburgers to the Caribbean as South Africa (the Proteas win 3-2).

But the question of how to stop the England side being overrun by these South African interlopers remains an open one. Some sort of quota system, perhaps?

Bad week for...

Daniel Vettori

Another heavy defeat to Australia is not the way to mark your hundredth Test.

It was Vettori's 18th cap against Australia without a victory. An even more worrying stat as he and Mark Greatbatch seek a miracle cure:

Of the current squad only Ross Taylor has a better batting average than the captain (42.80) since he took charge in 2007.

Without boring you on the mathematical detail, a number eight should not be the second best batsman in the side.

Mohammad Yousuf

The scorer of most calendar runs in a year has retired again - and with more dignity than usual. Great players get better with each retirement of course.

Still he does not compare well to Sachin Tendulkar, who has recently turned down the chance to play for India at the T20. Turning down a penultimate shot at a major trophy for his own fitness and the team's long-term development is rare indeed among leading players.

One explanation for Yousuf's lack of conviction is the widespread expectation he will be back soon. But surely what Pakistan now need is a period of stability under their new captain: the ball-biting, fan-baiting, pitch-booting Test part-timer and full-time mutineer Shahid Afridi.

County Power

The BCCI have flexed their muscles and withdrawn Virender Sehwag from Northants and Yusuf Pathan from Essex for the Twenty20 Cup.

On both occasions the timing has been bizarre. The Indian bodies are either having some horrible internal disagreements or sending the following message to England for no apparent reason: '&$£% you, mother&$£%ers!'

Perhaps to ensure good Indian relations all counties have to enter into one of those global franchises that we are assured will soon rule the world.

So far only Hampshire have signed up. And how is it benefiting the south coast Royals' T20 Cup preparations? They've signed Afridi and Abdul Razzaq, neither of whom are even allowed in the current IPL

This Week In History - 5 - 11 April

2010-04-06T22:26:00.001-07:00

In our yesteryear column, the Waugh twins make history, Hansie Cronje quits on the back of the match-fixing scandal and more...

April 5
1930
Andrew Sandham becomes the first member of the 300-run club as he smashes a triple ton for England in a timeless Test against the West Indies in Jamaica. He was eventually dismissed for 325 after occupying the crease for 10 hours. Sandham's heroics helped England to post 849 - a then Test record.

1974
England - defending a modest 226 - beat the West Indies by just 26 runs in Trinidad to claim a series-levelling victory. Anthony William Greig - better known as Tony - did the damage with 5 for 70 to add to his first-innings haul of 8 for 86. This was England's last victory over the Windies in 17 years and the match also marked the end of Garry Sobers and Rohan Kanhai's Test career.

1991
Mark and Steve Waugh create history when they become the first twins to play together in a Test match as Australia take on the West Indies in Trinidad. Mark had a good game, scoring 64 and picking up one wicket while brother Steve could only manage 26 in his only visit to the crease.

1994
England suffer another embarrassing defeat on their tour of the Caribbean as they go down by eight wickets against a West Indies Board XI. The visitors were cruising at 140 for one only to be bowled out for 165.

2005
MS Dhoni - sporting red-tinted hair - comes in at No 3 for India and smashes his way to his first one-day ton as he takes Pakistan's bowlers to the cleaners. He was eventually out for 148 (off 123 balls, 15x4, 4x6). His century set up a 58-run win for India in Visakhapatnam.

2008
Dale Steyn claims eight wickets in the match while AB de Villiers scores an unbeaten double century as South Africa beat India by an innings and 90 runs in the second Test in Ahmedabad.

April 6
1973
Clive Lloyd's 178 - his highest score at home - in the first innings is not enough to save the West Indies as they suffer a 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia in Guyana. The hosts were bowled for just 109 in their second innings as the visitors took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

1984
For the first time in cricket history, Sharjah in the UAE host a cricket match as Pakistan and Sri Lanka battle it out in an ODI match in the Asia Cup.

1988
Imran Khan's Pakistan become the first visiting side to win a Test in the Caribbean for 10 years as they defeat the Windies by nine wickets in Guyana. Their win was set up by Javed Miandad's 114 in the first innings and Imran's match haul of 11 for 121. The hosts also conceded 71 extras in the first innings - a Test record. The match also marked debut of one Curtley Ambrose.

1995
Saiful Islam claims 4 for 36 - the best bowling figures by a Bangladeshi - against Sri Lanka in Sharjah. The Tigers, though, still lost the game by 107 runs.

2002
South Africa post their biggest ODI total against Australia, yet they still end up losing the game. Set 327 for victory in Port Elizabeth, 92 from Ricky Ponting and 91 by Darren Lehmann help the visitors to reply with 330 with three wickets still left.

April 7
1930
Despite a 563-run lead in a Timeless Test, England captain Freddy Calthorpe did not enforce follow-on against West Indies at Kingston. His decision cost England as the match petered out to a draw.

1965
New Zealand's Bev Congdon becomes only the second substitute to make a stumping in Test cricket when he dismisses Pakistan's Pervez Sajjad in Lahore.

1996
Sanath Jayasuriya smashes 74 off just 28 balls, but Sri Lanka still manage to fall short in the Singer Cup final against Pakistan. Set a target of 215 for victory, the Islanders lose by 43 runs

2009
Rahul Dravid takes three catches in New Zealand's second innings in Wellington to surpass Mark Waugh's record 181 Test catches. The match finished in a draw, but it was enough for India to a secure a 1-0 series win - their first Test victory in New Zealand in more than 30 years.

April 8
1962
Indian all-rounder Polly Umrigar takes only 248 minutes to smash an unbeaten 172 against West Indies in Port-of-Spain.

1972
The Windies' Alvin Kallicharran scores an unbeaten 100 on debut during the fourth Test against New Zealand in Guyana. Kallicharran also scored a ton in the next Test.

1995
Playing in his 78th Test, Richie Richardson wears a helmet for the first time in his career during the second Test against Australia in Antigua.

2000
Asia beat the Rest of the World by just 1 run in the first and last ICC Cricket Week in Dhaka. Chasing 320 for victory on the back of 80 from Sachin Tendulkar, the Rest of the World fall short despite an unbeaten 185 from Michael Bevan.

April 9
1972
New Zealand's Glenn Turner and Terry Jarvis share an opening stand of 387 - the fourth highest in Test history - against the West Indies in Guyana. Tarvis was out for 182 while Turner scored 259 before he was dismissed. Turner's 259 was the highest score by a New Zealander until the early 90s.

1984
Viv Richards and Richie Richardson add 308 for the third wicket to help the West Indies post 498 against Australia at St John's. Their partnership set up an innings and 36-run win for the hosts.

1989
Malcolm Marshall surpasses Lance Gibbs as the West Indies' highest Test wicket taker during the Test against India in Bridgestone as he captures his 310th wicket.

1995
On his way to scoring a century against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup, a 21-year-old Sachin Tendulkar becomes the youngest player to score 3 000 ODI runs. His hundred helped India to an easy eight-wicket win.

1998
Mohammad Azharuddin scores an unbeaten 153 and Ajay Jadeja chips in with 116 not out as they put on a record 275 (unbeaten) for the fourth wicket against Zimbabwe in Cattuck. It was the best partnership for any wicket in an ODI cricket at the time.

April 101930
England all-rounder Wilfred Rhodes' 58-match Test career comes to an end on the final day of the fourth Test against West Indies at Kingston. Rhodes was 52 years 165 days at the time and was the oldest to appear in a Test match.

1979
Rod Marsh's unbeaten 102 helps Australia to draw the fifth SuperTest against the West Indies in Antigua. The result meant the teams squared the five-match series 1-1.

1987
England are crowned Sharjah Cup champions by virtue of having a superior run-rate. Pakistan needed to win their final match against India inside 17.2 overs, but they could only get to their target in the 41st over.

1986
The inaugural Australasia Cup kicks off at Sharjah with India beating New Zealand by three wickets.

1990
A rampaging Curtly Ambrose picks up England's last five wickets in 80 minutes with the second new ball to bowl the West Indies to a 164-run win in Barbados. Ambrose finished with 8 for 45 - his best bowling figures in Test cricket. It was the Windies' ninth consecutive Test win in at the Kensington Oval.

2005
Karen Rolton's unbeaten 107 helps Australia to win the Women's World Cup for a fifth time. Her century helped Australia to a comfortable 98-run win over first-time finalists India in Centurion.

April 11
1955
The Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain hosts its first Test match as the West Indies take on Australia. A record 28 000 people witnessed the match. The match also marked Gary Sobers' first of 85 consecutive Tests for the Windies.

1992
South Africa suffer their first 10-wicket defeat in ODI cricket as the Windies beat them without losing any wickets in Port Elizabeth. Brian Lara's unbeaten 86 and Desmond Haynes' 59 not out saw the visitors home.

1995
Saeed Anwar leads Pakistan for the first time during the Asia Cup in Sharjah after regular captain Moin Khan is ruled out with chicken pox. Pakistan lost the game by five wickets.

2000
The world of cricket is rocked after Hansie Cronje quits as South Africa captain following allegations that he was involved in match-fixing during a tour of India. Cronje was later banned from cricket for his involvement in the scandal.

Yuvraj: The media are not the moral police

2010-04-06T22:24:00.000-07:00

Yuvraj Singh has lashed out at the media fraternity, claiming that they make stories out of nothing in an attempt to create controversy.

The talismanic Indian has often been criticised for his supposed air of arrogance and hard-partying ways but Yuvraj believes the media are to blame for the negativity that often surrounds him, including the recent reports that he has been at odds with Kings XI skipper Kumar Sangakkara, causing a rift in the team.

"I am disgusted and horrified that a news reporter can stoop down to such a level. I, in all my career, haven't seen such a disgusting piece of news," Yuvraj wrote about the reports on his Twitter feed.

"Media has no right to fabricate stories, they just want eyeballs."

In an interview with the Times of India, Yuvraj continued to berate the media, this time for suggesting that the owners of the Kings XI were unhappy with him because of his poor form thus far in the IPL, in which he is averaging just over 21.

"Do you mean to say only because Yuvraj isn't scoring, my team is losing? Players of some of the other teams too aren't performing. Had they performed, their teams wouldn't have suffered heavy defeats but to the media Yuvraj is a whipping boy.

"If the media is happy doing what it's doing, I don't have the resources and time to stop them. A cricketer's job is to perform consistently. If I had not performed, do you think I would have been playing international cricket for so long?"

Asked as a follow up question whether he felt the media were being unfair on him, he criticised the media's apparent need to create sensational stories.

"That's for people in the media to introspect," he stated.

"They are behaving like moral police. Are they an authority on everything? They keep speculating about my private life and then they expect me to cooperate with them.

"If sensational stuff helps them make good business so be it. I guess credibility of some of them is at a discount. But there are quite a few in the media who command respect because of their responsible work," he added.

The simple joy of the fat lad

2010-04-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

The IPL coverage on ITV4 has been a hit with British viewers, although of course there have been plenty who find themselves a bit bemused by all the flashing lights and rampant commercialism. Luckily, most of these seem to have newspaper columns or blogs to tell us that, would you believe it, the IPL is a bit of an advert-fest?

At the other end of the razzmatazz spectrum, I happened to turn onto Sky Sports 4 on Sunday - a channel that I swear I didn't even know I had access to - and found something called The Emirates Twenty20 tournament.

The match on show was the final, between Sussex and... some blokes who play for the works team of Emirates Airlines. It was played in an empty stadium, and naturally it had apparently not been possible to sell advertising, or bother too much with commentators etc. The match, in fact, took place on March 21, not sure why it was on TV over Easter. A very minor point of news interest was the fact that Shahid Afridi had been signed up to play as the airline boys' ringer, but had injured his knee or teeth or something in the semi-final.

Yet even without the services of Shahid, the baggage handlers and trolley dollies of Fly Emirates XI defeated the County of CB Fry and Ted Dexter, Ranji and John Langridge, setting them a modest-looking 85 but then skittling the men from Hove for just 71. Sussex are, of course, the holders of England's Twenty20 Cup.

Other than the obvious opportunities for sniggering, the best bit was the sheer joy of the amateur side, some of whom looked like pretty useful players, some of whom had international experience with the UAE and some of whom were distinctly tubby and a bit long in the tooth. Keeper Shoeb Muljiani, especially, looked like somebody's uncle who had been drafted in at the last moment, and there was at least one other player about whom it seems safe to say that he had not been going on any boot camps prior to the match. Or at any other time.

It was a pleasant antidote to all the hoopla over the IPL, and a break from all the discussion about commercialisation and TV rights and direction of the game. Obviously, the event was largely a branding exercise by a large international airline, so I'm not saying that the tournament represented some sort of Corinthian ideal or anything. But there's nothing like an underdog, especially a generously-covered one, to remind us that cricket is still about upsets, and glory, and improbable feats as much as it is about DLF Maximums and worrying about DLF Maximums. Cricket will be fine.

Is the IPL digging its own grave?

2010-04-06T22:18:00.002-07:00

As ashamed as I am to admit it, I'll come right out and say that I was a massive fan of twenty20 cricket when it was still in its infancy. Of the generation of instant gratification, fast living and a penchant for anything that screams excitement but no long-term commitment, the shortest form of the game and I are a match made in heaven. Or at least we were on the face of it.

I blame the IPL for our marital discord; initially it fostered our mutual admiration but of late the unrelenting slogfest has become all too much for me to bear. It's not the cricket itself that's the problem but rather the constant bombardment of advertising; it's both over-bearing and for the majority of the world irrelevant.

While the Indian market is of course the primary target for the ads with the likes of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gamhbir displaying the latest range of mobile phones on offer , it's incredibly annoying for everyone in the 195 other countries in the world to be bombarded by commercials that have no relevance whatsoever. That aside the unbelievable frequency of the ads is enough to drive one to insanity. Forget a replay of a great piece of cricket; one's instead subjected to an advert between balls. I'll say it again for those of you who haven't seen it: adverts between balls. Admittedly not between every ball but it's enough to make one question whether one's entirely superficial following of the Kolkata Knight Riders is really worth it.

But it's not only in terms of advertising that the IPL seem to be getting a little too big for their boots.

With two new teams, next season's IPL will exceed the 90-match mark, many are already saying that's over-kill but the question that really needs to be asked is when on earth are all these games going to take place?

The 2011 World Cup is scheduled for February through March, meaning that next year's IPL can occur in April at the earliest. The problem is that while IPL mastermind Lalit Modi would be happy to go on without most countries, according to the ICC's future tours program India themselves are scheduled to spend much of April and May in the Caribbean.

The national team has a break in June, but the issue of the sweltering heat aside, England, Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Zimbabwe will all be involved in various series. The trend continues for the remainder of the year with no break in sight; it's hard to see where one will fit the 51 days Modi says are required for the 2011 edition.

The point is that while Modi may be squeezing as much as he can out of sponsors and new franchises, has he underestimated the even vaguely discerning cricket-watching public and sheer number of days in a year? Only time will tell.

Super Kings surge into fourth

2010-04-06T22:18:00.001-07:00

MS Dhoni's Super Kings produced a spirited display in the field to condemn the Mumbai Indians to only their second defeat of this year's IPL competition in a hot and humid Chennai.

The visitors from Mumbai were on track for victory before Sachin Tendulkar left the field with dehydration and the wheels fell off, with the Mumbai Indians ultimately falling 24 runs short.

The Indians were nicely perched at 62 for one when Tendulkar left the field, but they imploded once the captain departed.

Ambati Rayudu was stumped by Dhoni, Thilan Thushara took a neat catch in the deep to get rid of Dwayne Bravo, Saurabh Tiwary pulled one straight to Hayden at midwicket and Vijay took a stunning catch at long-off to send off Pollard to leave them in trouble.

McLaren's dismissal in the 15th over brought Tendulkar back to the crease, with the Indians requiring 77 from 34 deliveries.

Tendulkar added seven more to his tally before lofting straight to Vijay at long-on and, although Harbhajan made a fighting 33, the Super Kings were firmly in control.

The hosts had left out Muttiah Muralitharan going into the game, despite the Sri Lankan being the Super Kings leading wicket-taker of the tournament. With Albie Morkel injured Mike Hussey came in to bolster the batting while Thilan Thusara added to the fast bowling options.

Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians were without the injured Zaheer Khan, replaced by medium pacer Abu Nechim.

With his batsmen having produced a total of 246 on the same wicket just three days earlier MS Dhoni unsurprisingly chose to bat first after winning the toss. Murali Vijay showed signs of his recent form with two boundaries before being dismissed by Harbhajan Singh.

Matthew Hayden was joined at the wicket by Suresh Raina who looked good before attempting one shot too many against Dwayne Bravo and was caught on the square leg fence. Hayden meanwhile, Mongoose in hand, battled to find any fluency with singles the major form of his runs.

The Aussie opener was joined at the wicket by captain MS Dhoni and the pair threatened to take control of the game in a stand of 50. Kieron Pollard then made the major blow of the innings by dismissing both batsmen off consecutive deliveries. Dhoni was caught and bowled attempting a flick over fine leg and Hayden's power was unable to clear the fielder at long on.

Mike Hussey and S Badrinath struggled to lift the run-rate and it was only a couple of paddles from Badrinath, one flying fortunately of the back of his bat, in the penultimate over with lifted the hosts to 165/4 off their allotted overs.

Pakistan and South Africa plan series in UAE

2010-04-06T22:17:00.001-07:00

Pakistan and South Africa are planning a Test and ODI series in the UAE later this year, according to media reports. Gerald Majola, the chief executive of Cricket South Africa, has agreed to the PCB's proposal of playing in the UAE but the schedule and the venues are yet to be finalised.

"UAE has always been a viable cricket venue," Majola told Gulf News. "We have played in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi before and we are looking forward to playing in the new stadium at the Dubai Sports City.

"We have not yet finalised the itinerary. We have been exploring options of playing in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah but no decision has been taken."

Pakistan has not hosted an international series since the Lahore attacks in March last year, and was stripped of its rights to host the 2011 World Cup as a result of the volatile security situation in the country. The UAE, with strong links to Pakistan cricket, has emerged as an alternate 'host' and Pakistan have played ODI series against Australia and New Zealand in Dubai and Abu Dhabi since last year.

The chief of the Emirates Cricket Association, Dilawar Mani, welcomed the news and said the Shiekh Zayed Stadium, a possible Test venue, was ready for the series. The ground hosted the inaugural game of the English domestic season this year, a four-day fixture between the MCC and Durham.

"It is very, very encouraging that we will soon be an international Test match venue," Mani was quoted as saying by The News. "This wicket looks so flat to me we could probably play a 10-day game on it," he said. "It is absolutely ready for a Test match. I think our groundsman has done a great job."

Majola added he was keen to send the South Africa A team to the UAE to train in conditions similar to the sub-continent, and said it would also help the national team in its preparation for the 2011 World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

"We are hoping to send our A team also to UAE. I am able to see that UAE is currently doing very well and hence will be a strong opposition to our A team. It is also important for us to prepare our players to play in the sub-continent conditions. We will be speaking to UAE whether we can send our A team here," Majola said. "Our A team is our second best team. We want our A team to play here because if anything happens to our top players the players from our second best team will also know to play under these conditions."

Afridi writes to PCB; requests reconsideration of fine

2010-04-06T22:16:00.001-07:00

Shahid Afridi has written to the PCB chairman asking him to reconsider the fine imposed on him by a committee for ball-tampering during the fifth ODI against Australia in February this year. Though local reports suggested that the fine will be withdrawn, the board says it has asked Afridi to formally appeal against the charge.

Afridi was fined Rs. 3 million ($35,000) and put on probation for a six-month period after the committee, set up after a disastrous tour of Australia, found him guilty of bringing the game and country into disrepute. Afridi was caught on TV biting the ball in a bid to tamper with it. He was leading Pakistan in the match and was immediately banned for two games, by the ICC.

He was temporarily removed as Pakistan's Twenty20 captain following the incident but was announced recently by the board as the man to lead Pakistan's defense in the World Twenty20, due to begin in the Caribbean on April 30th. Afridi's personal plea to the chairman is based on the grounds that he has already been punished once for the incident, and a fine would be the second punishment for the same offence. "Afridi has written a letter to us and we will consider it in due course," Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, told Cricinfo. "His punishment has not been withdrawn yet and all these reports are baseless."

The letter does not, however, constitute a formal appeal and Afridi is likely to be told he should follow the process set up by the board to the punished players. Seven players were punished in all by the committee with fines and bans - the Akmal brothers, Shoaib Malik, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan and Afridi - though the specific nature of charges was never released. The board has set up a three-member appeals panel consisting of retired judges from the Supreme and High Courts and given the players 30 days to file appeals.

As of today, no player has filed an official appeal. Afridi has sent a letter to the chairman, as has Younis Khan who has been banned indefinitely from playing from Pakistan. The board has sent Younis a reply asking him to initiate a formal appeal to the panel. Rana, banned for a year from playing for Pakistan for unspecified offences, has today also sent in a legal notice through his lawyer to the PCB in which some legal objections have been raised about his punishment, but this is not a formal appeal.

Malik, also banned for a year, said he intends to appeal but he's currently playing in a Twenty20 tournament in Sharjah - he could lodge an appeal upon his return - and is possibly distracted by the announcement of his wedding to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.

Yousuf, meanwhile, has announced his retirement from international cricket as a result of his indefinite ban though he also said recently he might consider appealing should he be advised to do so.

Deccan under pressure to catch up

2010-04-06T22:15:00.002-07:00

Time is running out for Deccan Chargers, who have won only three matches by the halfway stage. They've lost two from strong positions. Kolkata Knight Riders, whom they let off the hook in the opening match of the tournament, came back to beat them convincingly in the return match. The other team, Mumbai Indians, awaits on Saturday.

If Ryan Harris is fit and ready, Deccan will look to him to strengthen their weakest link. Both their near-misses can be attributed to Deccan's poor death bowling. Like Chaminda Vaas and RP Singh against Kolkata, Kemar Roach and Andrew Symonds lost the script against Mumbai in their first encounter. Even in one of the matches that Deccan won, ordinary bowling from RP let Kings XI Punjab come close in a match that shouldn't have gone into the last over.

Mumbai haven't been thinking twice before accepting such largesse from other teams this season. They have been winning the close matches, a marked change from previous years; they are closing out matches ruthlessly; and they are looking for a win that should all but seal their place in the semi-finals. And we are only about halfway through.

Form guide (most recent first)

Mumbai Indians WWWWL

Deccan Chargers LLLWW

Team talk

Harris has arrived in India, and Deccan will be hoping he is fresh and fit to replace Roach, who has gone for 80 in his eight wicketless overs so far. Alternatively, Vaas could come back too, but his death bowling has been a worry. RP could come back after his replacement, Harmeet Singh, failed to impress.

Mumbai don't really need changes to a winning combination, but there could be a case for dropping one of their West Indians, and trying JP Duminy. Between them. Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo have scored 131 runs in 11 innings, and Mumbai would like to test Duminy's form before they reach the more important matches.

Previously�

Deccan 3 Mumbai 2

In their first encounter this season, Mumbai were stumbling to a below-par total at the DY Patil Stadium when Harbhajan Singh went mad and Deccan lost the plot.

Prime numbers

* Sachin Tendulkar is the highest scorer in Powerplay overs. He has scored 163 in the first six and been dismissed once, and has scored at a rate of 9.40 runs per over. Adam Gilchrist has a strike rate of 11.36 runs per over but has been dismissed six times in Powerplay overs.

* Mumbai are one of only two teams to have scored more than 300 runs through their opening partnerships. They have 301 in seven innings at a run rate of 9.07 per over while Bangalore lead with 378 in seven innings at a run rate of 7.87. Deccan have a higher run rate, 10.93, but their opening partnerships have scored only 195 in seven tries.

* Tendulkar, at 314 runs, needs 49 runs to reclaim the orange cap that he got to wear only for one day.

In the spotlight

Adam Gilchrist has given Deccan a few quick starts but is yet to last long enough to put them in a winning position. That he has faced just 88 balls in seven innings as an opener tells a story. It's about time that Deccan started expecting one of those special nights when everybody else is a spectator.

Kieron Pollard gets paid more per match than Dwayne Bravo. Pollard is a less accomplished international player than Bravo. Pollard is less of a bowler than Bravo, and perhaps more dispensable. Despite the winning run for his team, Pollard will feel under pressure. Tendulkar, though, hasn't been a fickle captain, and knows a Pollard special can't be too far away. Pollard will want to prove Tendulkar right as soon as possible.

The chatter

"All is not lost. We have one win less what we were this time last year. After seven games, we had memorable four wins to be back. It goes without saying that there is much work to be done."

Adam Gilchrist knows where to look for inspiration

Afridi asks senior players to lead by example

2010-04-06T22:15:00.001-07:00

Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi has urged his senior team-mates to inspire the younger players through example in the forthcoming ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies. Afridi was appointed captain after Mohammad Yousuf was banned by the PCB and later announced his retirement from international cricket.

"I believe that the main responsibility will be on the senior players. They are ones who have enough experience of playing in top-level events like the World Cup," Afridi told the News. "Our senior players like Abdul Razzaq, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul and Kamran Akmal will have to come out with their best in the West Indies. They are the ones who can inspire the young boys in our team to shine in the tournament."

Pakistan are the defending champions and Afridi said a second title triumph would be the best way to erase the bad memories of the recent past. Pakistan experienced one of their worst away tours, losing all three Tests, five ODIs and the one-off Twenty20 in Australia. The PCB came down heavily on the players it believed were responsible for their poor performance, handing out life bans to Yousuf and Younis Khan and one-year bans to Shoaib Malik and Naved-ul-Hasan. Afridi and the Akmal brothers were fined for various misdemeanours and put on six-month probations.

"We all know that Pakistan needs good news on the cricket field. If we win the World Cup again, we will be able to make millions of our countrymen happy," he said. "That is why I'm urging my team-mates to give their 100% effort in the training camp and later in the World Cup. I need them to fight like a unit because that's the only way to win a major event like the World Cup."

Despite the shoddy results in Australia, where they failed to capitalize on winning positions, Afridi backed his team to bounce back in the Caribbean. "I'm not making any promises which is why I won't say that we would go out their and lift the World Cup," he said. "But what I want to make crystal clear is that we have to play for the country and if we do that then anything is possible.

He was also pleased with the two latest appointments to the coaching staff, Waqar Younis as coach and Ijaz Ahmed as his assistant. "Both Waqar and Ijaz are really good coaches. They know how to get the best out of the players. They are making us go that extra mile in the camp and that's a very positive change."

Pakistan are placed in Group A with Bangladesh and Australia. They begin their campaign against Bangladesh on May 1 in St Lucia.

Another loss for sloppy Punjab

2010-04-06T22:14:00.002-07:00

An amateurish fielding display from Kings XI Punjab and one over of carnage from Robin Uthappa tipped the match Royal Challengers Bangalore's way after eight overs of sensible batting from Kevin Pietersen and Virat Kohli had kept the game evenly poised. Yet again, only one department clicked for Punjab - it was their batting today - and Brett Lee's meltdown in the 17th over helped Bangalore snap their two-game losing streak.

Punjab were in with a chance till the final four overs, off which Bangalore needed 48 runs. Lee, though, disappeared for 25 runs in the next over: Uthappa sent the first ball, a full toss, over long-on for six; a length ball crashed into the sightscreen after one bounce; two deliveries later Uthappa swung a short delivery over midwicket for six; Lee then gifted five wides with a horror ball down the leg side. After the over Bangalore needed 23 off 18, and Punjab were out of the match.

Uthappa's fireworks came after Pietersen and Kohli stitched together 76 brisk runs without too many big hits. The left-arm spinning pair of Yuvraj Singh and Bipul Sharma kept things tight after the openers departed, but there was little panic from the Bangalore batsmen.

They were helped by some of the worst fielding in the tournament: Sreesanth let go of an absolute dolly at long-on off Kohli in the 14th over, Ravi Bopara let one slip through for four two deliveries later, but perhaps the biggest let-off was when he reprieved Pietersen the ball after Kohli was dismissed with the match still in the balance. Punjab's fielding effort was epitomised by their captain's drop towards the end, Sangakkara not only grassed a chance at extra cover, he even managed to kick the ball over the ropes after the miss.

Punjab were in control during the early part of the Bangalore innings. Jacques Kallis was uncomfortable in his short stay before nicking to the keeper. His opening partner, Manish Pandey, was in better touch, swiping a few trademark boundaries down the ground. However, he couldn't convert his start to a big score once again, falling for his fifth score between 29 and 42 in the tournament. Then Bipul's economic bowling in the middle overs sent the asking-rate spiraling, but Uthappa's burst ensured that for the second time in the tournament Bangalore chased down a stiff score against Punjab.

Punjab's batting had worked well earlier in the day, with a clutch of cameos boosting them to a fighting total. The under-fire pair of Sangakkara and Yuvraj delivered, but both were dismissed just as they looked to explode. Bopara, pushed down to No. 4, chipped in with a well-paced knock to ensure the momentum wasn't lost, and 76 runs were plundered in the final six overs.

Bangalore's bowlers were spot-on with the new ball after a couple of ragged performances. Sangakkara, though, invigorated the innings with square drives and a whip past square leg for four. Dale Steyn, the spearhead, was brought in but he too leaked boundaries, and a string of fours from opener Manvinder Bisla pushed Punjab to 26 for 1 after five overs. The pair kept averaging a boundary an over, and had added 63 runs without too much trouble when Bisla fell attempting a scoop off Anil Kumble, being done in by a straight one.

Still, Sangakkara was looking the most fluent he has all tournament, and continued to find the gaps. A controlled, superbly-timed lofted off-drive of Pietersen's first ball and a flat-batted bash down the ground kept the runs coming.

Till then, Steyn had had a poor game, an expensive first over and a misfield on the boundary his only contributions. However, he made a crucial intervention, removing the ominous Sangakkara with his first ball when he returned for the 12th over.

That brought in the man in the eye of the controversy that engulfed the build-up to this game - Yuvraj. Steyn rattled him with a bunch of short balls, including a 151kmh bouncer that struck Yuvraj on the back shoulder.

Yuvraj, though, showed glimpses of his destructive best, swatting Jacques Kallis into the crowd behind midwicket and then picking a Kumble googly early and clubbing it beyond long-on for six. With Bopara offering solid support, and Bangalore presenting a bunch of full tosses, Yuvraj powered Punjab ahead but just when the fans were getting ready for a feast of hitting from Yuvraj, he miscued a leg-stump ball to midwicket in the 18th over.

That didn't prove too be too much of a hindrance, as Bopara picked off the loose deliveries, and Irfan slapped a four and a six in the final over to set Bangalore a challenging target. Had they not set such a sorry example in the field towards the final leg of the chase, the game could well have gone Punjab's way.

Shoaib tries to sort out marriage muddle: report

2010-04-06T22:14:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI: Shoaib Malik attempted in an interview published on Sunday to end confusion about his marital status ahead of his celebrity wedding to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.

"Sania Mirza will be my first wife. I have been cheated by Ayesha Siddiqui," Shoaib said, referring an Indian woman who claims he married her "by telephone" in 2002 and that she possesses documents to prove their alliance.

In an interview with The Times of India, Shoaib said he began a telephone relationship with Siddiqui in 2001 after she sent him photographs.

He and his family repeatedly attempted to meet Siddiqui as he wanted to marry her but she always refused, he said.

Malik admitted to the newspaper that in 2002 that he signed a "nikahnama" (wedding agreement) "thinking the girl I was marrying was the one in the photographs."

But "the girl who was accepting the proposal was someone else. That"s cheating," he said, without giving further details.

In yet another twist, Shoaib claimed he had spent time with Ayesha Siddiqui"s "elder sister" who told him that Ayesha would not meet him as she had put on weight. Malik said he now believes the "sister" was actually Ayesha herself.

The labyrinthine and often contradictory tale has attracted avid public attention across Pakistan and India, two countries normally locked in fierce rivalry.

Shoaib, 28, arrived on Saturday in the Indian city of Hyderabad, where he is scheduled to marry 23-year-old Sania on April 15.

Ayesha has circulated supposed copies of her nuptial agreement to media outlets in both India and Pakistan and has appeared on television regularly since Sania and Shoaib announced they were getting married.

"Malik can marry Sania Mirza only after divorcing me," Ayesha told the CNN-IBN news channel. "He dumped me because his teammates said I was fat."

Sania, whose short tennis skirts have drawn the ire of Islamist groups in India, is recovering from a wrist injury that has seen her world ranking slip from 27 in 2007 to 92. She has been a nationwide celebrity since 2005 when aged 18 she became the first Indian woman to win a WTA Tour title.

She previously said she would retire from tennis once married, but on Sunday Shoaib told reporters in Hyderabad that her career would continue.

"Sania will play tennis until she wants. She will play for India," he said. "My family and I will support her."

He declined to comment further on Ayesha"s allegations, saying only that "Sania knows the truth and she is very happy."

Shoaib, a former captain of the Pakistan team, is serving a year-long ban for indiscipline.

The Delhi-based Mail Today newspaper printed a copy of the apparent wedding agreement between Shoaib and Ayesha. It appeared to be signed by them both, but not as legally required by any witnesses.

Arranged marriages when the bride and groom have not met before are common, but Muslim scholars dismiss the concept of a "telephone wedding".

Wedding on April 15: Malik

2010-04-06T22:13:00.002-07:00

NEW DELHI: Shoaib Malik on Sunday said his wedding to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza would be held as scheduled on April 15.

"We are getting married, Inshaallah, on April 15. Preparations are on in full swing," a smiling Shoaib told reporters.

"The atmosphere here is very good, we (Sania and he) are very happy."

Former secretary of Andhra Cricket Association, V Chamundeshwarnath, paid another visit to Sania"s house amid speculation that he was trying to mediate between Shoaib and the family of Ayesha Siddiqui, who claims to be the first wife of the Pakistani star.

Chamundeshwarnath, however, has denied that he was trying to mediate and maintained that he came to convey his best wishes as he knows Sania since her childhood.

The visitors to Sania"s house including her relatives and friends indicated that preparation were in full swing for the high profile marriage, scheduled to be held on April 15. Sania, in her Twitter page, said they knew the "truth" and had confidence in god"s justice.

Afghan mine victims hit prejudice for six!!!!

2010-04-06T22:13:00.001-07:00

KABUL: Afghan cricket team looked the part in their matching red one-day uniforms and white spiked shoes, with batsmen playing a range of shots from balanced hooks to lofted drives.

In contrast, some of their international opponents, in black trainers, tracksuits and jeans, wielded their bats like clubs, swinging wildly at the ball like part-time sluggers.

But finely timed strokeplay on a bumpy pitch that normally serves as the main helicopter landing area for coalition forces in the Afghan capital Kabul was not the main aim of the game.

Instead, the Afghans many of them amputees, victims of the landmines that still litter the countryside after three decades of bitter conflict aimed to show that disability is no bar to sporting prowess.

"My right leg was amputated from the knee down after I was hit by a mine," one of the players, Rasool Khan Abdul Rahimzai, told AFP. "But nobody knows I"m disabled. I can run fast and I also do Taekwondo."

The 19-year-old plays for a team from the Afghan Disabled and Vulnerable Society (ADVS), based in the eastern city of Jalalabad, which provides disabled Afghans with skills training and support.

One of the ways it does so is through cricket, coaching 16- to 24-year-olds for two hours a day every day to give them back the confidence and life they once feared may have been lost to deadly mines and other unexploded ordnance.

"We want to show that we are just like normal people," said Mohammad Younis, 25, who coaches the youngsters. "We can participate in all social activities, including sport. There shouldn"t be embarrassment about us getting involved."

Cricket is still relatively new to Afghanistan. Most players learned the sport in neighbouring Pakistan, where millions of Afghans fled as refugees to escape the violence of Soviet invaders, civil war then the Taliban.

But it is becoming popular, particularly on the back of the success of the country"s able-bodied team, who have secured a coveted berth in the short-format Twenty20 World Cup for the first time.

They will play top-ranking teams India and South Africa in the qualifiers at the tournament, which begins in the West Indies later this month.

"Able-bodied people have been playing the game and it"s developed in Afghanistan," said ADVS director Sayed Mohammad Hossain Sadaqat, who uses a wheelchair. "As a result, disabled people have become interested, too.

"They don"t feel disabled when they"re playing and they"re playing very well."

The hope now is that the team will be able to play against other disabled sides at home and abroad.

Saturday"s six-overs-a-side tournament involved teams from the British, US, Australian, Canadian, Pakistani and Indian embassies, as well as a side from the Afghan National Army.

Each foreign team paid 150 dollars to participate, with the money going to support ADVS and bragging rights to the winners.

The event played in gloomy, damp and cold conditions came on the eve of the UN-sponsored international Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.

Afghanistan suffers more problems with landmines than any other country in the world. Nearly 200,000 people have disabilities as a result of landmine blasts, the UN has said.

Is Azharuddin witness to Shoaib, Ayesha relationship?

2010-04-06T22:12:00.004-07:00

HYDERABAD: Are former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin and his wife Sangita Bijlani witness to Shoaib Malik and his "first wife" Ayesha staying in a city hotel?

Azharuddin and Sangita were staying in the same hotel where Shoaib and Ayesha were sharing a room after their "marriage" in 2002. However, Ayesha on Sunday told some television channels that Shoaib met her several times during his visit to Hyderabad, they spent time together and that she has witnesses to prove this.

Ayesha also claimed that two employees of Taj Residency, where she shared a room with Shoaib, were ready to testify.

Siddiqui"s family friends in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, said the couple, during their stay at the hotel, also met Azharuddin, now a Member of Parliament, and his wife Sangita.

Jayawardene secures stunning win

2010-04-06T22:12:00.003-07:00

KOLKATA: Mahela Jayawardene struck a stunning unbeaten century as Kings XI Punjab made light work of a seemingly imposing target of 201 to beat Kolkata Knight Riders and claim only their second win of the Indian Premier League.

The Knight Riders had given themselves a great chance of victory by making 200 for three on a batsman-friendly Eden Gardens track, West Indies captain Chris Gayle leading the way with 88 from just 42 balls.

But the recalled Jayawardene went even better, smashing 110 not out from 59 deliveries, and received strong support from fellow Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara in a stand of 98 for the second wicket as he led his team home with 10 balls to spare.

Earlier on Saturday night, Mumbai Indians defeated Deccan Chargers by 63 runs at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

Australia to review its old system for contracts

2010-04-06T22:12:00.001-07:00

MELBOURNE: Cricket Australia has pledged to review its outdated system for awarding national contracts to reflect the growth of Twenty20 and the changing priorities of international cricketers, as reports indicate that ace pacer Brett Lee will take a pay cut and Twenty20 specialist David Warner might miss out on the contract.

At present it works against players such as Warner, who will be one of the first men picked in Australia"s quest for World Twenty20 redemption in the Caribbean this month but he is unlikely to secure a high enough ranking for a contract.

Test players are given a weighting of 1.25 ranking points, but there are no such guidelines for determining the worth of Twenty20 specialists within the limited-overs ranking, other than the selectors using their discretion to weigh up performances over the past 12 months and priorities for the coming year.

Lee"s place in the pecking order will suffer because of his recent decision to retire from Test cricket, although the fast bowling star"s inclusion in the 15-man squad for the World Twenty20, and the strong one-day form, suggests he will retain a limited-overs ranking and be offered a reduced contract.

Imran Khan stands up to England

2010-04-06T22:11:00.003-07:00

LONDON: It"s the summer of 1982. Pakistan are playing England at Headingley, in the series decider. They could have won at Edgbaston but the final day is my first taste of Pakistan"s difficulties in chasing a fourth-innings total two wickets lost before a run is scored. Unpredictable Pakistan? You bet.

This is followed by an uplifting historic first win at Lord"s, where Mohsin "The Eagle" soars and Mudassar "Mud" Nazar turns in his most memorable performance for Pakistan as a medium-pacer. This is the awakening, Pakistan cricket battling on equal terms with their former imperial master.

Headingley, all overhead cloud and seam movement, is a ground that doesn"t inspire confidence in our team. England are favourites, especially as Pakistan"s injury list means "Halwai" Ehteshamuddin has been drafted in from the Bolton League as third seamer. There is a subplot the battle to be recognised as the world"s No 1 all-rounder; Imran v Botham on show, with Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee in the wings.

It"s the school holidays, and I"m young enough and local enough to attend all five days, and I do. I"m mesmerised from the first minute, even though the highest total in the match is only 275. It is a classic Headingley wicket and every run is a minor triumph. Pakistan take a first-innings lead, with captain Imran Khan top-scoring and then taking five wickets.

Imran"s expert marshalling of the tail to rescue Pakistan"s innings is as enjoyable as his sprinting, leaping fast bowling. I see Botham, Gower, Willis, Gatting, Miandad, Zaheer, Majid, and Qadir, some of the greatest cricketers in history, and it feels special.

The second innings is a real struggle for Pakistan, Mohsin and Mudassar fall to Willis without a run on the board. At a moment of crisis Javed flashes a breathtaking, almost reckless fifty, before Imran is again left with the tail to set England a worthy target.

He battles every inch, judiciously switching between defence and attack, ordering his tailenders how to approach each ball.

Nor does Imran shirk any challenge. He wants to face every ball and does his utmost to protect his partner.

It is Imran against the English, a warrior standing alone to defend his nation. And Imran is winning, the target creeping above 200, until umpire David Constant intervenes. Sikander Bakht, Pakistan"s matchstick fast bowler, has valiantly supported his captain with 7 off 47, but Constant gives him out caught off his pad to Vic Marks.

It is a decision that any member of the crowd can instantly judge is incorrect. Sikander is stunned, Imran fuming under his helmet, Pakistan"s rally undone by treachery, their supporters incandescent in the stadium.

The Halwai is helped on to the pitch; his 14 overs in the first innings and third-ball duck have earned him a pulled muscle. Imran knows he has run out of time and quickly falls to Botham. He marches off, head held high, with no acknowledgment to Ehtesham, who has to be carried off the pitch. A moment of comedy to break the tension.

Pakistan lose by three wickets, but they have fought like we"ve never seen them before. It is a moment of pride. Imran has shown Pakistan cricket a new way, the way of the warrior. The series, to my mind, is the turning point in Pakistan"s cricket history. There is no looking back from here.

Those feelings are still with me now. The tension of the five days, the injustice and anger of Sikander"s dismissal, the thrill of Miandad"s innings, the expectation of each one of Qadir"s deliveries, and above all the pride of watching Imran"s fearless leadership.

I know I"ve witnessed something special in these five days but how could I know what would follow in the next three decades?

Steve Waugh in favour of day-night Tests

2010-04-06T22:11:00.001-07:00

Steve Waugh, the former Australia captain, has backed day-night Tests and suggested some unorthodox tweaks to revive interest in one-dayers.

"I would have loved to play day-night Test cricket," Waugh said, speaking to Harsha Bhogle on Cricinfo's Opening Up interview show. "I think it is exciting, brings another dimension to the game.

"People want a bit of change, they want that excitement. Why not bring that into Test cricket? We have got it in Twenty20s. Let's get a pink ball in and play a day-night Test if it is possible."

Waugh said the concept needed to be thought through, however, since it wouldn't work everywhere. "Obviously in England it is not really possible because it doesn't get dark till 10 o'clock in summer. Maybe in the subcontinent the dew might make it impossible. So you've got to have common sense around it as well."

Waugh was optimistic about the future of Test cricket. "Quality always survives," he said. "As a cricketer I think you've got to be true to yourself. Why did you take up the game? To fulfill your potential, and you can't do that by playing Twenty20 because you can't bat for a whole day and you can't bowl 30 overs. And as a cricketer I think it wouldn't be that satisfying if I couldn't get out there and technically, mentally and physically challenge myself against the best players in the world over five days."

Waugh said a way to spruce up one-day cricket, especially the middle overs, could be to convert fours to sixes and sixes to nines to get the batsmen to play more shots. "Maybe the bowlers won't be too happy, but on the positive side, they have more chances of getting wickets when the batsmen are attacking them."

He was also in favour of giving the bowlers more incentives to restore balance in the game. As a member of the MCC's World Cricket Committee, he said he had discussed some radical ideas to that end. "We talked about the possibility of getting the seams a bit larger, even increasing the number of seams to eight."

The biggest change, Waugh said, between the time he played and the present was in the physiques of the players. "In our days you looked at the gym, but you never went in there. These days the guys are big, it's all about power and speed in Twenty20 cricket. They are hitting the ball long because they are much stronger."

Waugh, who started out as an allrounder in the mid-80s before maturing into a gritty middle-order batsman and the captain who presided over an Australia side that conquered all in its path, said the present was the best time in the sport's history to be a top-order batsman in Tests, since so many fast bowlers were breaking down and opting out of the format.

Though players are stronger, Waugh said there are more instances of injuries today because diagnosis is available more easily. "You've got a million people around the side. As soon as you get an inkling, you are off to the MRI scan, which will pick up a strain. Fifteen years ago they probably would have played with those strains. But now, as soon as it's diagnosed everyone's got a responsibility, so they say you've got to have 10 days off to recover."

Collingwood, bowlers set up big win for Delhi

2010-04-06T22:10:00.001-07:00

Paul Collingwood outshone a glittering batting line-up to give Delhi Daredevils a big total, which their bowlers defended comfortably despite a late assault from Ross Taylor, who tried to sweep Bangalore to victory. Virender Sehwag and David Warner played their cameos, but it was Collingwood who carried Delhi in the later half of their innings.

The first half of the match was a series of punches and counter-punches. Bangalore bounced back from aggressive knocks with wickets, but kept getting pushed back by knocks even more forceful. Sehwag's 22-ball 35 was ended by Abhimanyu Mithun, only for Warner to start hurting Bangalore. A smart catch from Virat Kohli stopped Warner at 33 off 22, only for Collingwood to provide the innings the final, and most important, thrust with an unbeaten 46-ball 75.

After Anil Kumble left out Dale Steyn and Praveen Kumar to accommodate Taylor and left-arm spinner KP Appanna, Bangalore's inexperienced attack could have been blown away by Sehwag and Warner. Kumble made sure Delhi didn't run away by bowling a two-run first over, and Mithun responded by removing Sehwag second ball.

Between that, though, Sehwag raised hell, hitting five fours and two sixes, taking Delhi to 35 in 4.2 overs despite that Kumble over. That second six was a demoralising hit off Mithun's first ball in this IPL, but he came right back with one that nipped back at Sehwag. The Bangalore fielders responded, running out Gautam Gambhir, and getting Warner with an overhead catch on the long-on boundary.

Between those wickets, Warner had done some hell-raising himself, hitting three fours and two sixes to take Delhi to 83 in 9.4 overs. The immediate response to that wicket was an elegant straight-drive from Dinesh Karthik, but Bangalore struck again via a blinder from Cameron White at extra cover. This was the lift in fielding standards that the tournament desperately needed.

Collingwood, however, had quietly played himself in by then and reached 14 off 15 courtesy a six-inch back-lift six while charging down to Jacques Kallis' slower ball. And his immediate response to Karthik's dismissal was to raise the back lift a little more and punish White with two sixes and a four in his only over, taking Delhi to 111 after 12.

No real explosion came in the next six overs, mainly because Delhi lost Kedar Jadhav too, but Collingwood kept Delhi going with two sixes - not into the stands, just over the fielders. The first of those hits brought up his fifty, but at 154 after 18 overs Delhi needed a big finish.

Collingwood was up to it again, this time punishing the youngster Mithun's length bowling. These two sixes were massive and 31 came off the last nine balls Collingwood faced. Even though Vinay Kumar finished with a decent last over, 30 runs in the last two overs set up a delicious chase for a line-up boasting Kallis, Kevin Pietersen, Robin Uthappa, Taylor and White.

It proved to be a bit of anti-climax, though. Bangalore opened with White and Kallis but, on a slow pitch, they never could free themselves from Delhi's choke hold after an 11-run first over. Farveez Maharoof, Amit Mishra and Daniel Vettori bowled in the Powerplay, giving them neither the pace nor the room.

White took Mishra level with purple-cap-holder Muttiah Muralitharan when he holed out to long-off in the fourth over. Mishra would go ahead and claim the purple cap with two tail-end wickets. Maharoof came back to concede just one run in the sixth over, consigning Bangalore to perhaps their worst Powerplay effort, at 38 for 1.

Rajat Bhatia, with his slow leggcutters, and Pradeep Sangwan, with his yorkers, conceded only 13 in the next three overs. One of Sangwan yorkers consumed Pietersen in the 10th over, and Uthappa couldn't quite recreate his fireworks, and holed out to long-on, making it 76 for 3 after 11.5.

While Kallis stroked his way to another fifty, off 38 balls, same as Collingwood, Bangalore were missing an innings that would rattle Delhi. Taylor tried to do that, sweeping Mishra for three sixes in the 14th over, but Bhatia trapped him too far across in the next over.

Kallis' wicket in the over following ended the contest, leaving Kohli and Rahul Dravid 67 to get off 25, and also raised the question if one of those two batsmen, and not Manish Pandey, should have made way for Taylor.

Arthur: I can help Australia

2010-04-04T01:58:00.000-07:00

Mickey Arthur has said that, if approached by Australia, he will be more than happy to offer national coach Tim Nielsen and company advice, but for now his sole focus is on getting his stint with Western Australia off to a fruitful start.

Former South Africa coach Arthur has been handed a three-year deal to take charge of Warriors.

The 41-year old, who enjoyed a successful five-year tenure with the Proteas, succeeds Tom Moody who announced in February that he would not seek re-appointment to the role.

"I am in the Australian structure right now and any help I can give to [Australian coach] Tim [Nielsen] and the Australian team I certainly will," Arthur told the Herald.

"I would like to say that Tim and I were good friends. We discuss a lot of things, and we spoke of our roles which were exactly the same. The guys will just have to ask, but right now my immediate focus is on the Warriors squad and getting it competitive and getting that edge back."

Arthur takes over the reins of a struggling Warriors set-up, which has made just one domestic final across the past 36 months.

"It is a team that has under-performed a little bit of late, and we will have to get in and try and fix that. I have got a three-year plan and I will work fairly rigidly with that plan," added Arthur.

Western Australian captain Marcus North welcomed the arrival of Arthur, who beat the likes of Geoff Marsh, Justin Langer and Geoff Marsh to the coveted coaching post.

I'm sure [the players] will be as excited as I am. I think it's fantastic the [Western Australian Cricket Association] has gone out to get a world-class coach to come to Perth to try and turn us around," enthused North.

"He seems to bring a real calmness. It can only be an exciting and encouraging time for WA cricket."

WACA chief executive Graeme Wood said Arthur was selected after a thorough process from a field of outstanding candidates understood to have included Bushrangers assistant coach Simon Helmot.

"Mickey's track record of success at domestic and international level speaks for itself, but his passion and drive to help the Warriors get back to the top of Australian cricket was clearly evident in all of our dealings with him," Wood said.

"Mickey has secured this position from a high quality field of applicants."

Wood said the WACA would be looking to fill the assistant coaching vacancy in the coming weeks

McDermott puts his hand up for England role

2010-04-04T01:57:00.002-07:00

Former Aussie speedster Craig McDermott has been short-listed alongside Victorian bowling coach David Saker, Warwickshire assistant coach Doug Brown, Gloucestershire bowling coach Stuart Barnes and erstwhile Proteas pace ace Allan Donald for the vacant England bowling coach post.

44-year-old McDermott, who claimed 291 wickets across 71 Tests before retiring in 1996, has been coaching rookie fast bowlers at Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence, and hopes to put the experienced gained there to good use.

"I just put my hat in the ring and my employer, Cricket Australia, is aware of that. I've had an interview and so forth and I will let the process run its course. I don't really want to say a lot about it," he told the Herald.

"Working at the Centre of Excellence has been a valuable experience for me. It will continue that way if I'm not successful."

England lost longtime bowling coach Ottis Gibson to a more senior position with the West Indies in early February.

Record-breaking Chennai overwhelm Royals

2010-04-04T01:57:00.001-07:00

Opener Murali Vijay's dazzling century steered the record-breaking Chennai Super Kings to a commanding 23-run victory over the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.

Vijay, relishing his opening batsman role, smashed a terrific 127 which, along with a solid 62 from Albie Morkel and 34 from Matthew Hayden, took the Super Kings to a massive 246 for five - the highest total ever recorded in the IPL.

Shane Watson (60) and Naman Ojha (94 not out) replied well, but the Royals were restricted to 223 for five.

Vijay had put his team in command from the outset, smashing Yusuf Pathan for a boundary in the first over and hitting Sumit Narwal, who shared the new ball, for a six and two boundaries off consecutive deliveries.

The Super Kings were soon blazing from both ends as Hayden too launched a ferocious attack, the former Australia opener smashing five boundaries and a six during his brief stay.

The opening partnership yielded 62, Hayden falling off the penultimate delivery of the power play, and the Super Kings then suffered perhaps their only blip - the dismissal of Suresh Raina for 13 shortly later.

However, the Royals bowlers - including Shane Warne who conceded 32 from three overs - were largely ineffective and Vijay continued to bludgeon and blast.

Morkel kept the tempo up with mighty blows of his own and together the duo added 152 in 11 overs, Vijay going past the century mark for the first time in the IPL and Morkel reaching a half-century off only 26 deliveries.

Both batsmen fell in the final over, but the Royals were already confronted with a massive target.

The Royals, however, have never lacked courage and openers Michael Lumb (37) and Ojha gave spirited chase, helping the innings start well and leaving the visitors nicely placed at 62 without loss at the end of the powerplay.

Lumb, however, fell in the eighth over and the Royals' trump card, Yusuf, was brilliantly caught on the long-on boundary by debutant Doug Bollinger two deliveries later, leaving the visitors in deep trouble.

Watson, playing his first match this season, joined Ojha and gave the Royals a glimmer of hope as he helped add 97 for the third wicket.

The Royals were left needing 72 from the last five overs, but Watson was bowled by Bollinger at the start of the 16th and the Super Kings were back in control.

Bollinger was easily the best bowler on either side, finishing with two for 15 from his four overs.

Swann arrested on 'suspicion of drink-driving

2010-04-04T01:56:00.000-07:00

England bowler Graeme Swann has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving, it was disclosed on Saturday.

The off-spinner was stopped as he returned to his home in the West Bridgford area of Nottingham on Friday, the Daily Mirror reported.

Swann, 31, had reportedly been out celebrating his birthday, which was last week, before he was stopped, the paper said.

Swann, who is currently ranked the second best bowler in the world, has just returned from a successful tour of South Africa and Bangladesh.

A spokeswoman for Nottinghamshire Police said: "A 31-year-old man was arrested on Byron Road, West Bridgford, at 3.23am on Friday, April 2 on suspicion of drink-driving."

The right-arm bowler was stopped just yards from a police station and a mile from his home. He was arrested after a breath-test and has since been released on bail.

He told the Mirror he had no comment to make about his arrest.

Harbhajan eyeing IPL title

2010-04-04T01:55:00.000-07:00

Harbhajan Singh has his sights on the Indian Premier League title following the Mumbai Indians' crushing win over the Deccan Chargers on Saturday night.

The Indians strengthened their place at the top of the IPL table with their fifth consecutive victory, by 63 runs against the defending champions.

Mumbai now have an impressive 7-1 win-loss record and with six matches remaining before the end of the round-robin it would take an unlikely dip in form to prevent them from reaching the finals for the first time.

Harbhajan, however, has ambitions beyond reaching the last-four.

"We are not thinking of the semi-finals. Our goal is much bigger than that," the 29-year-old said.

"We just want to keep on playing good cricket. We have worked very hard to get to this moment and credit must go to all the boys.

"I'm sure they are all looking forward to the remaining six matches in the league and then the semis and the finals."

Mumbai's latest success at the Brabourne Stadium was built around another all-round display as they first posted a competitive 178 for five before squeezing the life out of Deccan's chase.

The Chargers could manage just 115 all out in reply, as their inability to build a meaningful partnership cost them dear.

The Indians were far more composed with the bat and while Ambati Rayudu led the way with an unbeaten 55 from 29 balls it was his half-century stands with Saurabh Tiwary (44) and Kieron Pollard (21) in the late overs that were the difference.

"Everyone has been taking responsibility including the young players in this team," Harbhajan added.

"These guys are coming in and performing and that is good for the team and hopefully they can keep doing that for the team.

"I am really happy that we have been playing good cricket. I just want to keep winning games for the Mumbai Indians."

Mumbai cruise past Deccan

2010-04-04T01:54:00.002-07:00

Indian Premier League leaders the Mumbai Indians coasted to a 63-run win against defending champions the Deccan Chargers at the Brabourne Stadium tonight.

Ambati Rayudu hit an unbeaten 55 off 29 balls to inspire the hosts who have now won their past five matches.

Rayudu led the way for the Indians but it was his half-century stands with Saurabh Tiwary (44) and Kieron Pollard (21) in the late overs that were the difference as the hosts recovered from a mid-innings blip to post 178 for five.

In reply, Deccan simply could not build a meaningful partnership to challenge the total as they were bowled out for 115 and now look an outside bet to reach the semi-finals after losing their past four games.

To further sour their night, Deccan skipper Adam Gilchrist suffered a groin injury which could put his participation in the remainder of the tournament in doubt.

The former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman picked up the injury in the field and batted with a runner as he and Herschelle Gibbs initially made a good start at hauling in Mumbai's total.

The pair put on 30 in four overs before Gibbs, Deccan's topscorer in this year's tournament, skied a catch to Sachin Tendulkar off Zaheer Khan's very first delivery.

It was the best partnership Deccan managed as they lost wickets at a steady flow thereafter.

VVS Laxman (four) was run out following a mix-up with Gilchrist's runner before Khan skittled the Australian's stumps when he was on 19.

Pollard then took a sharp caught and bowled chance to remove Rohit Sharma (11) and when Andrew Symonds (21) was bowled by Ryan McLaren the visitors' challenge was over.

Earlier, Mumbai's openers Shikhar Dhawan and Tendulkar gave their side a flying start with a 53-run stand in six overs.

The momentum was slowed, however, by the introduction of Deccan spinners Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma as three wickets fell for the addition of just nine runs.

Ojha struck first when he had Dhawan (14) stumped before Sharma claimed the prize scalp of Tendulkar (35), who was pinned on the crease by a quicker delivery.

Ojha then bowled all-rounder Dwayne Bravo (two) as the Indians slipped to 62 for three after nine overs.

Deccan may have sensed their chance but poor fielding prevented them from taking it.

They twice dropped Tiwary as he and Rayudu combined in a 65-run stand to seize back the initiative.

Tiwary rode his luck as he saw Gibbs drop a difficult chance over the mid-on ropes. The right-hander cleared mid-wicket the next ball before Monish Mishra dropped a straightforward chance at point to the dismay of the bowler Sharma.

Tiwary's luck finally ran out when Ryan Harris juggled a catch at deep mid-wicket off Ojha.

By then Tiwary had contributed 44 from 35 balls and when Rayudu and Keiron Pollard (21) crashed 51 from the final 20 balls the hosts had built a match-winning score.

Afridi writes to PCB; requests reconsideration of fine

2010-04-04T01:54:00.001-07:00

Yousuf, meanwhile, has announced his retirement from international cricket as a result of his indefinite ban though he also said recently he might consider appealing should he be advised to do so.

Deccan under pressure to catch up

2010-04-04T01:53:00.000-07:00

Form guide (most recent first)

Mumbai Indians WWWWL

Deccan Chargers LLLWW

Team talk

Previously�

Deccan 3 Mumbai 2

In their first encounter this season, Mumbai were stumbling to a below-par total at the DY Patil Stadium when Harbhajan Singh went mad and Deccan lost the plot.

Prime numbers

* Tendulkar, at 314 runs, needs 49 runs to reclaim the orange cap that he got to wear only for one day.

In the spotlight

The chatter

"All is not lost. We have one win less what we were this time last year. After seven games, we had memorable four wins to be back. It goes without saying that there is much work to be done."

Adam Gilchrist knows where to look for inspiration

Afridi asks senior players to lead by example

2010-04-04T01:52:00.000-07:00

(CRICKET WORLD)

Pakistan are placed in Group A with Bangladesh and Australia. They begin their campaign against Bangladesh on May 1 in St Lucia.

Another loss for sloppy Punjab

2010-04-04T01:49:00.000-07:00

(CRICKET WORLD)

Afridi writes to PCB; requests reconsideration of fine

2010-04-03T01:01:00.001-07:00

(CRICKET WORLD)

Yousuf, meanwhile, has announced his retirement from international cricket as a result of his indefinite ban though he also said recently he might consider appealing should he be advised to do so.

Deccan under pressure to catch up

2010-04-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

(CRICKET WORLD)

Form guide (most recent first)

Mumbai Indians WWWWL

Deccan Chargers LLLWW

Team talk

Previously�

Deccan 3 Mumbai 2

In their first encounter this season, Mumbai were stumbling to a below-par total at the DY Patil Stadium when Harbhajan Singh went mad and Deccan lost the plot.

Prime numbers

* Tendulkar, at 314 runs, needs 49 runs to reclaim the orange cap that he got to wear only for one day.

In the spotlight

The chatter

"All is not lost. We have one win less what we were this time last year. After seven games, we had memorable four wins to be back. It goes without saying that there is much work to be done."

Adam Gilchrist knows where to look for inspiration

Afridi asks senior players to lead by example

2010-04-03T00:57:00.000-07:00

(CRICKET WORLD)

Pakistan are placed in Group A with Bangladesh and Australia. They begin their campaign against Bangladesh on May 1 in St Lucia.

Another loss for sloppy Punjab

2010-04-03T00:56:00.000-07:00

(CRICKET WORLD)

JUNE 2010..... SCHEDULE

2010-04-02T04:19:00.000-07:00

(CRICKET WORLD)

June 2010
Date	Match		Venue	Time
03 Jun, 2010	West Indies vs South Africa	5th Odi		20:30 PST
10 Jun, 2010	West Indies vs South Africa	1st Test		21:00 PST
18 Jun, 2010	West Indies vs South Africa	2nd Test		20:00 PST
26 Jun, 2010	West Indies vs South Africa	3rd Test		20:00 PST

MAY 2010....SCHEDULE!!!!

2010-04-02T04:18:00.000-07:00

(CRICKET WORLD)

May 2010
Date	Match		Venue	Time
02 May, 2010	India vs South Africa	1st Odi		19:30 PST
05 May, 2010	Afghanistan vs South Africa	2nd Odi		23:30 PST
19 May, 2010	West Indies vs South Africa	1st T20		00:00 PST
20 May, 2010	West Indies vs South Africa	2nd T20		00:00 PST
22 May, 2010	West Indies vs South Africa	1st Odi		19:30 PST
24 May, 2010	West Indies vs South Africa	2nd Odi		19:30 PST
27 May, 2010	West Indies vs South Africa	3rd Odi		19:30 PST
30 May, 2010	West Indies vs South Africa	4th Odi		19:30 PST

APRIL 2010...SCHEDULE

2010-04-02T04:14:00.000-07:00

(CRICKET WORLD)

April 2010
Date	Match		Venue	Time
01 Apr, 2010	IPL Kolkata Knight R vs IPL Deccan Chargers	30th T20		19:30 PST
02 Apr, 2010	IPL Kings XI Punjab vs IPL Royal Challengers	31st T20		19:30 PST
03 Apr, 2010	IPL Chennai Super Kings vs IPL Rajasthan Royals	32nd T20		15:30 PST
03 Apr, 2010	IPL Mumbai Indians vs IPL Deccan Chargers	33rd T20		19:30 PST
04 Apr, 2010	IPL Kolkata Knight R vs IPL Kings XI Punjab	34th T20		15:30 PST
04 Apr, 2010	IPL Delhi Daredevils vs IPL Royal Challengers	35th T20		19:30 PST
05 Apr, 2010	IPL Deccan Chargers vs IPL Rajasthan Royals	36th T20		19:30 PST
06 Apr, 2010	IPL Chennai Super Kings vs IPL Mumbai Indians	37th T20		19:30 PST
07 Apr, 2010	IPL Rajasthan Royals vs IPL Kings XI Punjab	38th T20		15:30 PST
07 Apr, 2010	IPL Kolkata Knight R vs IPL Delhi Daredevils	39th T20		19:30 PST
08 Apr, 2010	IPL Royal Challengers vs IPL Deccan Chargers	40th T20		19:30 PST