Gambhir to lead young team to West Indies

Gautam Gambhir has been named captain of India's limited-overs squad which will tour the West Indies to play five ODIs and one T20 beginning June 4.Captain MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan have been rested. Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla and Ashish Nehra are the three players from India's World Cup-winning squad to be axed.Parthiv Patel, Rohit Sharma, Subramaniam Badrinath, R Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra and Wriddhiman Saha are returning to the squad. Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma, who were left out of the World Cup due to injury and poor form respectively, have also returned.Badrinath's fantastic show in the IPL has earned him a recall to the ODI squad after nearly three years. He has made 349 runs in nine innings at an average of 87.25 -- a phenomenal number for T20 cricket.Pacer R Vinay Kumar, who dropped off India's radar after a fruitless tour of Zimbabwe last year, has also made a comeback after a decent show at the IPL, where he has 12 wickets in 11 games and has started bowling a Lasith Malinga-like round-arm delivery. More to follow.Squad: G Gambhir (C), S Raina, P Patel (wk), V Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, S Badrinath, R Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, I Sharma, M Patel, V Kumar, Y Pathan, A Mishra, W Saha.

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Saeed Ajmal vaults into third position

Pakistan's off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has broken into the top three of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers for the first time in his career. The latest player rankings were released on Friday after the conclusion of West Indies and Pakistan ODI series in Guyana.The 33-year-old from Faisalabad, who took six wickets in the series which Pakistan won by 3-2, has climbed 16 places and now sits in third position, just five points behind Zimbabwe's left-arm spinner Ray Price.
Saeed's rise means the top four spots are now occupied by spinners with New Zealand's Daniel Vettori leading the field and England's Graeme Swann sitting in fourth position.Saeed's jump also means he has now become Pakistan's highest-ranked bowler with captain Shahid Afridi dropping out of the top 10 after a disappointing series by his high standards. Shahid, who managed just two wickets, has slipped five places to 14th position.Saeed's fellow off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez has also improved his ranking after claiming six wickets in the series at 23.50. The 30-year-old from Sargodha has moved up seven places and now occupies 27th position. The West Indies bowlers have also made good progress in the latest rankings with fast bowler Ravi Rampaul and wrist spinner Devendra Bishoo heading in the right direction.Rampaul, the 26-year-old Trinidadian, claimed eight wickets in three matches and has been rewarded with a jump of 15 places which has put him in 29th position. The 25-year-old Bishoo, who finished as the leading wicket-taker in the series with 11 wickets, has rocketed 114 places and now sits just outside the top 100 in 116th position.In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, West Indies opener Lendl Simmons has rocketed 150 places to 67th position after finishing as the leading run-getter in the series with 279 runs at just under 70.Hafeez, who was the second most successful batsman in the series with 267 runs, has improved his ranking by 17 places and is now in 49th position. Misbah-u-Haq's series contribution of 184 runs has helped him move up three places to 31st spot while Umar Akmal has achieved a career-best ranking of 23rd after rising four places.Hafeez's all-round performance in the series has also helped him become the sixth-ranked all-rounder in the world. His 267 runs and six wickets in the series have helped him climb six places in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders.In the Reliance ICC ODI Championship table, Pakistan had started the series with a difference of 35 ratings points relative to West Indies. This gap had meant Pakistan was expected to win the series convincingly. As such, because the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference, Pakistan's failure to win comfortably has meant it has dropped points.Despite losing the series 3-2, the West Indies has earned four ratings points which puts it five points clear of ninth-ranked Bangladesh, while Pakistan has dropped three ratings points to open the gap with fifth-placed England by five points.Pakistan next ODI commitment is a two-match series against Ireland in Belfast on 28 and 30 May, while West Indies will play world champions India next in a five-match series at home in June.

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Windies leg spinner Bishoo puts Pakistan in trouble

PROVIDENCE, Guyana: Pakistan were undermined by leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo and West Indies captain Darren Sammy as they collapsed to 113 for six in their first innings at tea on the second day of the opening Test on Friday.Umar Akmal was not out on 27 and Abdur Rehman was not out on 13 at the break as the Pakistanis continued their reply to West Indies' first innings total of 226 at the Guyana National Stadium. Akmal and Rehman were busy trying to restore respectability to Pakistan's innings, after Bishoo collected three wickets for 41 runs from 16 overs, and Sammy two for 16 from 12 overs, to send the visitors crumbling to 80 for six.Akmal announced himself with a flowing off-drive on the move off Sammy for his first boundary. He then put Bishoo on the defensive with a lofted drive to long-on for four, and a cut through backward point for another boundary in the leg-spinner's ninth over.Rehman endured a barrage of short-pitched bowling from West Indies two frontline fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul to survive until the break.Things had taken a dramatic twist for the Pakistanis when they lost five wickets for 23 runs in the space of 78 deliveries.Taufeeq Umar was lbw to Sammy for 19 playing forward and across a delivery angled in to the left-hander from around the wicket in the fifth over after lunch.Three overs later, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq was trapped lbw for two on the backfoot to a flatter, faster delivery from Bishoo.Azhar Ali was bowled for 34 in the next over, offering no stroke to a delivery from Sammy that moved back. Asad Shafiq was lbw for two playing down the wrong line to a leg-break from Bishoo, following a successful West Indies review of New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden's not-out verdict, and Mohammad Salman suffered a similar fate, falling lbw for six.Before lunch, the visitors looked to have firm control, as Azhar and Taufeeq guided them to 45 for one, after they lost opener Mohammad Hafeez early. Hafeez was Pakistan's most prolific batsman in the preceding one-day series, but he was bowled for four, dragging a delivery from Rampaul into his stumps in the second over of their innings.Azhar and Taufeeq made steady progress in between a couple Alarming moments. Taufeeq was fortunate on one when he edged a rising ball from Rampaul between second slip and gully for his first boundary.West Indies raised his heart rate again when he was on five, appealing unsuccessfully for a caught behind off the same bowler.Azhar hardly placed a foot wrong and got into the thick of things with a square drive through cover and a back-foot cover drive from successive deliveries in Kemar Roach's fifth over.Earlier, Pakistan needed half an hour to complete the demolition of the West Indies first innings, after the hosts resumed from their overnight total of 209 for nine. Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal suffered the indignity of Roach smashing a searing drive through cover for his third boundary, but he had the last laugh when he had the West Indies fast bowler caught at forward short leg for a Test-best 24 from bat-pad, playing defensively forward.Ajmal finished with the impressive figures of five for 69 from 33 overs.Pakistan are seeking their maiden Test series victory in the Caribbean.

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Azhar, Taufeeq steady Pakistan

Updated at: 2215 PST,  Friday, May 13, 2011

PROVIDENCE, Guyana: Azhar Ali and Taufeeq Umar guided Pakistan to 45 for one in their first innings, after they lost an early wicket before lunch, in the opening Test against West Indies on Friday. Azhar was not out on 27 and Taufeeq was not out on 13 at the interval as Pakistan started their reply to West Indies' first innings total of 226 on the second day of the Test at the Guyana National Stadium.Pakistan lost opener Mohammad Hafeez - their most prolific batsman in the preceding one-day series - in the second over of their innings, when he was bowled for four, dragging a delivery from Ravi Rampaul into his stumps.But Azhar and Taufeeq made steady progress in between a couple alarming moments.Taufeeq was fortunate on one when he edged a rising ball from Rampaul between second slip and gully for his first boundary.West Indies raised his heart rate again when he was on five, appealing unsuccessfully for a caught behind off the same bowler.Azhar hardly placed a foot wrong and got into the thick of things with a square drive through cover and a back-foot cover drive from successive deliveries in Kemar Roach's fifth over.Earlier, Pakistan needed half an hour to complete the demolition of the West Indies first innings, after the hosts resumed from their overnight total of 209 for nine.Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal suffered the indignity of Roach smashing a searing drive through cover for his third boundary, but he had the last laugh when he had the West Indies fast bowler caught at forward short leg for a Test-best 24 from bat-pad, playing defensively forward.Ajmal finished with the impressive figures of five for 69 from 33 overs, fellow off-spinner Hafeez supported with two for 22 off 13 overs, and left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman captured two for 51 from 29 overs.Pakistan are seeking their maiden Test series victory in the Caribbean.

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Pakistan spinners put brakes on Windies

Updated at: 0929 PST,  Friday, May 13, 2011

GEORGETOWN: Pakistan's spin bowlers, led by four-wicket Saeed Ajmal, gave them early control of the first Test against West Indies on Thursday.Off-spinner Ajmal ended the opening day with four for 63 from 29 overs, as West Indies, electing to bat, reached 209 for nine in their first innings.Mohammad Hafeez, bowling off-spin, supported with two for 22 from 13 overs, and Abdur Rehman captured two for 46 from 26 overs.Gaining appreciable turn and bounce from an unpredictable Guyana National Stadium pitch, the spinners created headaches for the West Indies' batsman, several of whom got starts, but failed to carry on.Hafeez gave an early indication of what to expect, when he shared the new ball with Umar Gul, and bowled Devon Smith in the sixth over of the match.It was the fourth straight time that Hafeez had dismissed the West Indies left-handed opener, stretching back to the preceding one-day series.Lendl Simmons, whose 49 was the top score for West Indies, and compatriot Darren Bravo held firm for the remainder of the morning period, taking West Indies to 66 for one lunch.Pakistan continued to tighten their grip, when Wahab Riaz trapped Bravo lbw for 25 in the third over after the interval.Riaz also interrupted the West Indies' flow when he struck Simmons on his left knee, and forced him to retire hurt on 41, leaving the home team on 81 for two.Pakistan ran into defiance when Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indies' two most experienced batsmen, came together, and spent just over 90 minutes in astute consolidation.Rehman made a decisive breakthrough however, when he had Sarwan caught behind for 23, top-edging a cut, and requiring New Zealand umpire Tony Hill to review his not-out verdict, to leave West Indies 131 for three at tea.After tea, Ajmal and Rehman continued to apply the pressure, and things fell apart for West Indies in dramatic fashion.Ajmal gained lbw verdicts to dismiss Brendan Nash for five, and Carlton Baugh for four before Rehman had West Indies captain Darren Sammy caught at deep mid-on for 12.But Ajmal swung fortunes firmly Pakistan's way when he bowled the obdurate Chanderpaul for 27 with a doosra that spun sharply out of the rough outside the left-hander's off-stump.Ajmal also trapped Simmons lbw after the batsman returned to the middle following the dismissal of Sammy, and Hafeez too, gained an lbw decision to remove Ravi Rampaul for 14.Both sides included a Test newcomer in their teams with the Windies playing leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo while Pakistan handed a first Test to Mohammad Salman.The Pakistanis are seeking their maiden Test series victory in the Caribbean.
Scoreboard:
West Indies 1st innings
D.Smith b Mohammad Hafeez 13
L.Simmons lbw b Saeed Ajmal 49
D.Bravo lbw b Wahab Riaz 25
R.Sarwan c Mohammad Salman b Abdur Rehman 23
S.Chanderpaul b Saeed Ajmal 27
B.Nash lbw b Saeed Ajmal 5
C.Baugh lbw b Saeed Ajmal 4
D.Sammy c Umar Akmal b Abdur Rehman 12
K.Roach not out 16
R.Rampaul lbw b Mohammad Hafeez 14
D.Bishoo not out 10
Extras (b-1 lb-7 w-1 nb-2) 11
Total (for nine wickets; 90 overs) 209
Fall of wickets: 1-15 2-71 3-127 4-136 5-142 6-159 7-162 8-175 9-198
Bowling: Umar Gul 13-0-40-0, Mohammad Hafeez 13-5-22-2, Abdur Rehman 26-9-46-2, Saeed Ajmal 29-12-63-4, Wahab Riaz 9-1-30-1 (nb-2 w-1)
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Azhar Ali, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Salman, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal. (AFP/Reuters

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West Indies 131-3 at tea against Pakistan

Updated at: 0017 PST,  Friday, May 13, 2011

PROVIDENCE, Guyana: Lendl Simmons hit an unbeaten 30 on Thursday to guide West Indies to 66 for one when lunch was taken on the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan.Darren Bravo was not out 23 as West Indies made slow progress after losing opener Devon Smith for 13, bowled by off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez.West Indies skipper Darren Sammy, who left out batsman Marlon Samuels and pace bowler Fidel Edwards, won the toss and decided to bat.The Caribbean side, featuring recalled local favourites Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, suffered an early blow when Smith departed in the sixth over with the total on 15.The left-handed Bravo joined Simmons and cautiously saw the hosts through to lunch with a run-rate of just over two per over and just six boundaries coming in the opening session.Simmons, nephew of former West Indies batsman Phil Simmons, was one of the few success stories in the recent one day series, making four half-centuries against the tourists.

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1st Test: Windies elect to bat against Pakistan

Updated at: 1931 PST,  Thursday, May 12, 2011

PROVIDENCE, Guyana: West Indies captain Darren Sammy won the toss and decided to bat in the first Test against Pakistan on Thursday at the Guyana National Stadium here.Both sides have included a Test newcomer in their final elevens  leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo for the West Indies and Mohammad Salman for the tourists.It is an extra special occasion for Bishoo as he becomes the 289th player from the Caribbean to be handed the maroon cap in Tests in front of his home crowd.Salman is the 206th Test player for Pakistan, and becomes the fourth (wk/batsman that the visitors have tried in the last year to fill that pivotal role due to the inconsistency of Kamran Akmal.The Pakistanis are seeking to become the latest international side to create history on Caribbean soil, as they seek their maiden Test series victory here.In six previous visits, starting in 1958, Pakistan have lost four series, and drawn two.The visitors also share the unenviable record of being one of the two Test-playing nations -- along with Sri Lanka -- not to have recorded a Test series victory in the Caribbean.Pakistan have won just four of the 21 Tests they have played in the Caribbean, but there is huge optimism that Misbah-ul-Haq's side can put the matter to rest.The Pakistanis are brimming with confidence after winning the preceding one-day international series 3-2, and aware that West Indies have not won a Test  let alone a Test series -- in just over two years.Team West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith, Darren Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brendan Nash, Carlton Baugh Jr (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Devendra BishooPakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Salman (wk), Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Saeed AjmalUmpires: Billy Bowden (NZ), Tony Hill (NZ), TV umpire: Asoka De Silva (SL), Reserve umpire: Norman Malcolm (WI) Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SL)

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ICC pondered 'stings' to catch fixers

Updated at: 1523 PST,  Thursday, May 12, 2011

LONDON: International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat has considered the use of 'sting' operations to trap players prepared to fix matches.The South African administrator said the use of a "mystery shopper" could help weed out possible fixers as the global governing body tries to eradicate corruption from top-flight international cricket."I thought when this issue came up last year that perhaps we could have a 'mystery shopper'," Lorgat told the BBC's Hardtalk programme."In other words, some people posing as bookmakers approach players and see if those players report along with our codes of conduct."However, Lorgat admitted the proposal had met with strong resistance."We would have to get the players' federations consenting to it and they of course opposed it and were not happy, they considered it a form of entrapment," he said.Another plan would give the ICC access to players' bank accounts and assets so that they could be monitored, but Lorgat conceded that had less chance of being enacted than his 'sting' scheme."It is a bit more complex than that, there are human rights issues and legalities to understand properly," he said.Three memmbers of the Pakistan team - former Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer - were all bannned by the ICC for a minimum of five years each for their involvement in a spot-fixing scam during last year's tour of England.The trio now face criminal prosecution in England.But the scandal, which involved the bowling of deliberate no-balls during the Lord's Test, only came to light as a result of a 'sting' operation carried out by Britain's News of the World tabloid.Many pundits said the fact it took a newspaper, rather than the ICC's own anti-corruption and security unit, to expose the affair was an embarrassment for the global governing body.That was a point the ICC denied at the time but Lorgat told the BBC: "We are doing a review of our whole process and all of our systems right now."We have engaged an independent firm to conduct that review and I'm hopeful that some constructive recommendations will come up that will enhance or improve the way we are currently tackling the issue

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IPL: Gayle floors hapless Rajasthan

Updated at: 2353 PST,  Wednesday, May 11, 2011

JAIPUR, India: Explosive opener Chris Gayle smacked an unbeaten 70 as Royal Challengers Bangalore thrashed Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets in the Indian Premier League to consolidate their play-off chances. The West Indies' batsman continued his fairytale run, clobbering six fours and four sixes in his 44-ball knock to help Bangalore overhaul a 147-run target with three overs to spare at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.Gayle has played a huge role in reviving his team's fortunes ever since he was roped in as a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes last month, guiding the franchise to their sixth win in a row.With 398 runs in his kitty, the left-hander has now surged to second in the run-getters list with two centuries and one fifty.The win moved Bangalore to second in the table, one point adrift of leaders Mumbai Indians (16) while Rajasthan slumped to their third consecutive defeat, denting their chances of advancing in the tournament. Rajasthan skipper Shane Warne, playing his last home game in the tournament, was left to rue a dropped catch of Gayle when the batsman was on 13.The Australian spin legend is set to retire from all forms of the game after the end of the IPL.Virat Kohli, leading Bangalore in the absence of an injured Daniel Vettori, chipped in with 39 not out and opener Tillakaratne Dilshan made 38.The hosts earlier frittered away a bright start given by openers Shane Watson (34) and Rahul Dravid (37) who put on 73 runs inside the first 10 overs before being dismissed in the space of three balls by Sreenath Aravind.Aravind returned to send back in-form South African all-rounder Johan Botha who nicked the left-arm paceman to wicket-keeper Arun Karthik for a 20-ball 19 including just one boundary.New Zealand's batting star Ross Taylor (13) too failed to fire, falling to a slower ball from South African speedster Charl Langveldt while attempting to clear the ropes.Brief scores:Rajasthan Royals 146-6 in 20 overs (R. Dravid 37, S. Watson 34; S. Aravind 3-34) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 151-1 in 17 overs (C. Gayle 70 not out, V. Kohli 39 not out, T. Dilshan 38) by nine wickets

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IPL: Punjab stun Mumbai by 76 runs

Updated at: 2319 PST,  Wednesday, May 11, 2011

MOHALI, India: Shaun Marsh hit 43 and Bhargav Bhatt bagged four wickets as bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab stunned table-toppers Mumbai Indians by 76 runs in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.
Mumbai could never recover after losing three wickets for 27 runs and were bowled out for 87 in 12.5 overs chasing a 164-run target, with West Indies' Kieron Pollard top-scoring with 17 in a dismal batting show.Seamer Praveen Kumar did the early damage when he took two of the first three wickets, including that of skipper Sachin Tendulkar (six). Left-arm spinner Bhatt finished with 4-22, including three wickets in one over. Australians Shaun Marsh and Adam Gilchrist (28), and Dinesh Karthik (31) helped Punjab post a competitive total despite a five-wicket haul by seamer Munaf Patel (5-21).Marsh, who put on 70 for the second wicket with skipper Gilchrist, hit five fours in his 34-ball knock before falling to a superb diving catch by Pollard in the deep off Patel.Mumbai, who had already made sure of a place in the semi-finals, still lead with 16 points.They are followed by Chennai (14), Kolkata (14), Bangalore (13), Rajasthan (11), Kochi (10), Pune (eight), Delhi (eight), Punjab (eight) and Deccan (six). Brief scores:Kings XI Punjab 163-8 in 20 overs (S. Marsh 43, D. Karthik 31, A. Gilchrist 28; M. Patel 5-21, L. Malinga 2-24) beat Mumbai Indians 87 in 12.5 overs (B. Bhatt 4-22, P. Kumar 2-19) by 76 runs.

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