Debutant Sunny puts Windies in spin

CHITTAGONG : Elias Sunny bagged four wickets on his debut to boost Bangladesh's hopes of taking a first innings lead in the opening Test against the West Indies on Monday.The left-arm spinner took 4-56 as the West Indies reached 144-5 in their first innings at stumps on the penultimate day in reply to Bangladesh's total of 350-9 declared.Sunny, 25, did not have to wait long for his first Test wicket as he trapped Kirk Edwards leg-before in his third over before dismissing Darren Bravo (two), teenager Kraigg Brathwaite and Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the last session.The West Indies were struggling at 52-3 before Chanderpaul (49) and Brathwaite steadied the innings with a 62-run stand for the fourth wicket.Sunny again put pressure on the tourists when he removed both the batsmen in his last five overs. Chanderpaul's 72-ball knock contained two successive sixes over long-on off the left-arm spinner.Brathwaite, bowled off a no-ball in paceman Rubel Hossain's opening over, scored a 135-ball 33 before being caught by Imrul Kayes.Marlon Samuels was unbeaten on 17 and Carlton Baugh on six not out when bad light stopped play.Bangladesh paceman Shahadat Hossain got a wicket in his second over when he had Lendl Simmons (seven) caught by Raqibul Hasan at gully.Edwards, dropped on three by Shahadat at mid-on in Sunny's opening over, failed to make the most of the chance as he fell after scoring 17 runs.Bangladesh earlier added 95 runs to their Friday's total of 255-4 before declaring their innings closed in the afternoon session. No play was possible on Saturday and Sunday due to rain.Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo (3-81) and fast bowler Fidel Edwards (2-88) shared five wickets as Bangladesh batted 31.4 overs in the day.Edwards struck with his first delivery when he had skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (68) caught by Bishoo at square-leg before dismissing Shahriar Nafees (32) in his next over. Rahim hit five fours in his 145-ball knock.Nafees, who retired hurt on 21 after being struck by an Edwards bouncer on Friday, could add just 11 runs before being caught by wicket-keeper Baugh.Bishoo also took two wickets in successive overs, removing debutant Nasir Hossain (34) and then Sunny for no score. Nasir hit six fours in his 47-ball knock.His third wicket came in the second session when he had Shahadat stumped for nine runs. Naeem Islam remained unbeaten with 36.The second and final Test starts in Dhaka on October 29.

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England top ICC's inaugural T20 rankings, Pak 7th

DUBAI : Reigning world champions England top the inaugural Twenty20 rankings announced for the popular format of the game here on Monday.England, who won the the third edition of the World Twenty20 under Paul Collingwood in the West Indies last year, have a rating of 127 points and lead second placed Sri Lanka by just one point.England are already world number one in Tests, while Australia top the one-day rankings.The International Cricket Council (ICC) general manager cricket David Richardson said a true context will be provided to the new and popular brand of the game through the rankings."The launch of T20 rankings will generate even more interest in the shortest format and will help to give more context to bilateral T20 matches," Richardson, a former South African wicket-keeeper, said at the launch ceremony.Only six ranking points separate the next four sides with New Zealand on second with 117 followed by South Africa (113) and 2007 World T20 winners India on fifth with 112. Australia are placed at sixth with 111, Pakistan are seventh (97) and West Indies next on 89.Afghanistan, who played the third edition of World Twenty20, are ninth with 75 and Zimbabwe are tenth (54).Bangladesh, Ireland and Scotland have not played the required number of matches since the August 2009 (period from which the rankings have been drawn) and so were not placed in the rankings.Richardson said it was important to recognise all formats of the game."We have rankings for Tests and one-day already in place since 2001, so the T20 rankings is a new addition and will help us draw the seedings for the next World Twenty20 Cup to be held in Sri Lanka next year," said Richardson.England's Eoin Morgan tops the Twenty20 players rankings in the batting department, while Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka is the top bowler and Australia's Shane Watson is the world's best Twenty20 allrounder.New Zealand's Brendon McCullum is second in the batsmen's rankings while England's Kevin Pietersen is third and Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene is fourth.Jayawardene welcomed the Twenty20 rankings and said it will add to the competition."I think rankings are important and will add to the competition," Jayawardene said at the launch. "Twenty20 cricket is a positive influence on the other formats of the game," he added

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Afridi should guide young players and captain: Wasim Akram

ISLAMABAD : Former cricket captain, Wasim Akram said the spot-fixing scandal scared Pakistan cricket, Geo News reported. Akram added that it was time to forget the past and concentrate on the future. Speaking to the media Akram said Shahid Afridi could play cricket for another three years and he should guide young players and the captain. Akram said he would help the Pakistani side without being made coach and in his opinion the side should have tried to win the Abu Dhabi test.

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Bangladesh put Windies under pressure in 1st Test

CHITTAGONG: Shahadat Hossain and debutant Elias Sunny took one wicket each as Bangladesh put the West Indies under pressure on the penultimate day of the opening Test on Monday.The West Indies lost opener Lendl Simmons and Kirk Edwards before reaching 50-2 in their first innings at tea in reply to Bangladesh's total of 350-9 declared in Chittagong.Opener Kraigg Brathwaite was unbeaten on 12 and Darren Bravo on two not out at the break.Paceman Shahadat got a wicket in his second over when he had Simmons (seven) caught by Raqibul Hasan at gully before left-arm spinner Sunny removed Edwards in his third over in Test cricket.Edwards, dropped on three by Shahadat at mid-on in Sunny's opening over, failed to make the most of the chance as he was trapped leg-before after scoring 17 runs.Bangladesh earlier added 95 runs to their Friday's total of 255-4 before declaring their innings closed in the afternoon session. No play was possible on Saturday and Sunday due to rain.Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo (3-81) and fast bowler Fidel Edwards (2-88) shared five wickets as Bangladesh batted 31.4 overs in the day.Edwards struck with his first delivery when he had skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (68) caught by Bishoo at square-leg before dismissing Shahriar Nafees (32) in his next over. Rahim hit five fours in his 145-ball knock.Nafees, who retired hurt on 21 after being struck by an Edwards bouncer on Friday, could add just 11 runs before being caught by wicket-keeper Carlton Baugh.Bishoo also took two wickets in successive overs, removing debutant Nasir Hossain (34) and then Sunny for no score. Nasir hit six fours in his 47-ball knock.His third wicket came in the second session when he had Shahadat stumped for nine runs. Naeem Islam remained unbeaten with 36.The second and final Test starts in Dhaka on October 29.

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Reliance ICC T20I Rankings launch

Dubai : meeting icc Cricket Wt20 ratings are in release 24 October Check out the 

Reliance ICC T20I Rankings launch

Reliance ICC Test Rankings launch

Reliance ICC odi cricket Rankings

India 3rd position in 4-0 England slip to 5th positaion top position Australia series againts south africa

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Morgan, Mendis and Watson are number-one ranked T20I players

England's Eoin Morgan, Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka and Shane Watson of Australia were announced as the number-one ranked batsman, bowler and all-rounder, respectively in the Reliance ICC T20I Player Rankings which were released in Dubai today (Monday).In 18 T20Is, Morgan has scored 569 runs at an average of 47.41 and only Matthew Hayden (308 runs at 51.33) and Andrew Symonds (337 runs at 48.14) have better averages than the left-hander.Commenting on the launch of the rankings, the 25-year-old said: "International Twenty20 rankings give players an ideal guide as to how they're performing in this form of the game."From an England perspective it's great to see a number of colleagues feature in the player rankings and I know they, like all players listed, will be looking to improve their positions and develop their game as we look forward to playing more international Twenty20 cricket ahead of Sri Lanka next year," he added.While Morgan is the only batsman to boast a rating of over 800 points on the day of the launch, New Zealand's Brendon McCullum and Kevin Pietersen of England are both within striking range.Second-ranked McCullum is on 799 ratings points while third-ranked Pietersen, who is likely to face India in Kolkata on Saturday, is sitting on 793 ratings points.The top 20 list includes four batsmen each from Australia and South Africa and three each from Sri Lanka and India.Ajantha Mendis, who won the ICC Emerging Player of the Year award at the LG ICC Awards in Dubai in 2008, leads the field in the bowlers' category.The 26-year-old from Moratuwa is the fourth leading wicket-taker behind Pakistan trio - Shahid Afridi (53), Umar Gul (47) and Saeed Ajmal (45) - with 39 wickets in 20 matches. His bowling figures of six for 16 against Australia in Pallekele on 8 August 2011 stands as the best bowling figures in T20Is to date."I feel honoured and humbled to be ranked as the top bowler in a list which includes some of the finest current bowlers," he said."While celebrating my number-one ranking, I cannot thank my team-mates enough for their continued support and guidance. If fact, our number-two position on the Championship table illustrates how well we have gelled as a team and consistently produced good performances," he added.The salient feature of the bowlers' ranking is that seven spinners figure inside the top 10.New Zealand's left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, who has recently retired from the shortest version of the game but remains one of the most respected voices in cricket, was impressed with these stats when he said: "I believe spin bowlers have adapted to T20 cricket better than most."To see spinners succeed in a tough environment is great for the game and means bowlers can enjoy Twenty20 cricket, most of the time!"Shane Watson leads the all-rounders' category that also includes three Pakistanis in second-ranked Afridi, fourth-ranked Mohammad Hafeez and 10th-ranked Abdul Razzaq inside the top 10.David Hussey is in third position as the top 10 also includes two South Africans in Jacques Kallis and Albie Morkel.A humble Watson said: "With so many fantastic players in world cricket it is a great honor to be recognised as the number-one all-rounder in the international Twenty20 cricket. While personal milestones and accolades are nice, our goal as a team is to play more consistent T20 cricket and allow the rankings to take care of themselves."The games we play over the Australia summer are a wonderful opportunity to begin this climb and prepare ourselves in the best way possible for the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka next year.

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England women claim a crushing 96-run victory over South Africa

Captain Charlotte Edwards and Sarah Taylor set a record partnership for the second wicket as England women claimed a crushing 96-run victory over South Africa in the second one day international of the series in Potchefstroom today.Charlotte Edwards and Danielle Wyatt got England off to a solid start after South Africa won the toss and inserted the visitors. Wyatt had reached 37 - her highest one-day score - before she was bowled by Shabnim Ismail in the 20th over.Edwards continued to control the game, registering her fifth one-day international century as she and Sarah Taylor (77) put on 159 for the second wicket - a new record. Their stand was finally broken when Taylor was caught at square leg in the 41st over. Two overs later, after a superb innings that included 22 boundaries, Edwards (138) was caught at short fine leg, leaving England on a commanding 263 for three.With seven overs remaining and seven wickets in hand England continued to push for runs but lost the wickets of Arran Brindle, Lydia Greenway and Jenny Gunn in the process.Heather Knight and Laura Marsh batted out the overs for England who finished on 315 for six.England took momentum into the field where Marsh claimed the first wicket to disrupt the South African attack.Halfway through the 16th over the dangerous Trisha Chetty was caught behind by Taylor off the bowling of Danielle Hazell, leaving South Africa on 84 for two.As South Africa attempted to rebuild England piled on the pressure and a good spell from Brindle and Knight saw the wickets begin to tumble as the hosts were reduced to 147 for six.The South Africa tail had an impossible task and crumbled under the pressure with England's spinners wrapping up the win. South Africa were bowled out for 219 with 15 balls remaining.England women claimed a 96-run victory and are 2-0 up in the three match series.Charlotte Edwards said: "It was a good all round team performance today. I'm really pleased how we've come back with our bowling and our fielding performance."It's always nice to clinch a series and to contribute to that is fantastic. I was really pleased with how I played today, I wanted to get a big score out here. "Sarah and I have batted a lot together - she's world class.England women play the third ODI against South Africa on Tuesday 25th October

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Waqar believes bowlers will recover for second Test

Former Pakistan coach Waqar Younis expects the team's fast bowlers to shake off the effects of two days in the field and be ready for action again in time for Wednesday's second Test against Sri Lanka at Dubai Sports City.Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema and Junaid Khan bowled 88 overs between them in Sri Lanka's second innings of the opening match of the three-Test series as Pakistan battled in vain to force a win.But while Waqar accepted the workload in hot conditions would have left the trio jaded he was confident they would all be ready to go again at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium after three days of rest and recovery."It was hot in Abu Dhabi and that will have taken its toll on the bowlers," he said. "But three days is long enough (for them to recover) and they will make sure they are nice and fresh when they come for the next game."I'm sure they won't do much bowling over the three days between matches. The team might be doing some more fielding practice instead," he added, a comment on the seven catches put down by Pakistan in Sri Lanka's second innings.The two teams have two scheduled days of practice at the ICC Global Cricket Academy, another part of the rapidly developing Dubai Sports City community, ahead of Wednesday's start of the Test.Despite the frustrations of the dropped chances for Pakistan and the resultant failure to force a win in the first Test after securing a first innings lead of 314, Waqar was heartened by the team's display."Overall, Pakistan did extremely well," he said. "They bowled very well in the first innings to bowl Sri Lanka out for 197. That was a great effort, especially by Junaid Khan and Aizaz Cheema. Both of them bowled their hearts out and put Sri Lanka on the back foot but Kumar Sangakkara (who made 218) was too good."Umar Gul looked like he needs another game (to get into his best rhythm) but Junaid Khan and Aizaz Cheema were very positive and they were unfortunate not to pick up more wickets because their bowling deserved more."Waqar, who stepped down as coach in September after 18 months in the role having taken Pakistan to the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20 and the ICC Cricket World Cup, did not rule out a return to coach the team in future.Now in the United Arab Emirates as part of the TEN Sports commentary team for the series, Waqar said he was willing to leave the door open to a possible return in due course."The job of the coach is very time-consuming," he said. "I've just finished and I need a bit of time to settle down (but) then I'd think about it (again)."Waqar admitted he was still getting used to watching the Pakistan team without the pressures of being the coach."It is a bit strange not to be part of the team," he said. "I think it shows in my commentary a bit when I talk about the players because I still have a feeling for them."It does get a bit frustrating watching them but in this role there's not the same pressure and that's the beauty of commentary," he said

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Third day's play called off in Bangladesh

CHITTAGONG : The first test between Bangladesh and West Indies at Chittagong was affected by the weather again on Sunday as early drizzle and a damp outfield forced the cancellation of the third day. No play was possible on Saturday due to a damp outfield. The match referee and umpires made the decision after an inspection at 1015 local (0415 GMT) time. Play will resume 30 minutes earlier than scheduled on Monday at 0900.Bangladesh were on 255-4 from the first day after opting to bat, with captain Mushfiqur Rahim unbeaten on 68

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Sri Lanka thwart Pakistan's victory hopes to salvage draw

ABU DHABI: Kumar Sangakkara hit his eighth double hundred and Prasanna Jayawardene notched up a fighting century to thwart Pakistan's hopes of victory to salvage a draw for Sri Lanka in the first Test here on Saturday.Sangakkara scored 211 during a marathon near eleven-hour stay while Prasanna made 120, for his fourth century, as Sri Lanka piled on 483 to frustrate Pakistan on the fifth and final day at Abu Dhabi stadium.A cluster of wickets in the final session with Umar Gul taking 4-64 left Pakistan with an improbable target of making 170 in a maximum 20 overs, but they called it quits on 21-1 after 10 overs.Sangakkara finally fell in the last over before tea, when he was trapped leg-before by the part-time leg-spinner Azhar Ali for his first wicket in Test cricket but not before he had frustrated Pakistan for almost two sessions.Sangakkara batted for 651 minutes, faced 431 deliveries and hit 18 boundaries during an epic knock.With just 25 overs remaining and the match heading towards a draw, Prasanna fell caught behind off paceman Aizaz Cheema but by that time he and Sangakkara had changed the course of the match.Sangakkara flicked Cheema to fine-leg for his 18th boundary to reach his double hundred after 604-minutes of defiant batting, punching the air in delight.Together with Prasanna, Sangakkara added 201 for the sixth wicket stand, erasing the previous best of 169 in Pakistan-Sri Lanka Tests for this wicket between Kamran Akmal and Yasir Arafat at Karachi two years ago.Sangakkara, 33, has also achieved a personal landmark by scoring a double hundred as he is now third behind Sir Donald Bradman (12) and West Indian Brian Lara (nine) in terms of scoring Test double hundreds.Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq employed all possible means but the Sangakkara-Prasanna pair did not served up any chances in the first three hours. Prasanna reached his hundred with his 11th boundary, an uppish drive off spinner Saeed Ajmal.In all Prasanna hit 12 boundaries during his 273-ball knock.Resuming at 298-5 Sri Lanka survived the morning session unscathed as the overnight pair of Sangakkara and Prasanna kept Pakistan's three-pronged pace attack at bay to take their team to 364-5 at lunch.Prasanna dropped by substitute Wahab Riaz off Gul on 11 one of six catches Pakistani fielders dropped on Friday -- hit Aizaz Cheema and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal for consecutive boundaries to help Sri Lanka erase the deficit.Sangakkara, whose wicket was crucial for both Pakistan and Sri Lanka, then came into his own hitting Ajmal for an exquisite cover drive to the ropes and gave no chance to bowlers.Pakistan used all five bowlers but were left to rue the missed chances of Friday which spoiled their chances of taking the lead in the three-Test series.The second Test starts in Dubai on October 26, while the third will be played in Sharjah from November 3.

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