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NEWS UPDATE : Asian Cricket Third Sri Lanka-Pakistan ODI abandoned due to rain COLOMBO: The third One-day International between Sri Lanka and Pakistan was abandoned due to rain here at the R Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday. The umpires made this decision after consulting ... Australia want to master all forms of game: Clarke SYDNEY: Australia's limited-overs tour of England and Ireland represents the start of a two-year campaign to make them the top nation in all three forms of the game, captain Michael Clarke said ... Bopara glad to be back for England SOUTHAMPTON, England: Ravi Bopara is eager to make up for lost times as he tries to revive his ... South Africa name unchanged squad for England series JOHANNESBURG: South Africa have kept faith with a winning formula by naming an unchanged squad for the three-Test series in England starting next month, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on ...


Sunday, March 20, 2011

Australia win toss, bat against Pakistan

Updated at: 1341 PST,  Saturday, March 19, 2011
COLOMBO: Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and opted to bat as Pakistan left out express paceman Shoaib Akhtar in the World Cup Group A match at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.
On Thursday Shoaib announced that he would retire after the World Cup and hoped he would get another chance against the defending champions.
The only change in the Pakistan side which beat Zimbabwe on Monday was the inclusion of Umar Akmal, who has recovered from a finger injury, in place of out of form opener Ahmed Shahzad.Australia kept an unchanged side from their win over Canada on Wednesday Both teams have already qualified for the quarter-finals.Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Cameron White, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Krejza, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait.Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (captain), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz.Umpires: Tony Hill (NZ) and Marais Erasmus (SA), Tv umpire: Tyron Wijewardena (SL)
Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)