Sangakkara, Dilshan and Chandimal aim for further improvements in Asia Cup

Sri Lanka's batting trio Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Dinesh Chandimal will be aiming to carry their recent good form into the Asia Cup starting in Mirpur from Sunday.

If they can do that then it will help them maintain upward movement in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen after the trio stormed up the batting chart at the conclusion of the three-nation series which finished in Adelaide on Thursday.

Sangakkara has jumped five places to fourth position after finishing as the fourth leading run-getter with 420 runs, Dilshan has moved up four places to 10th place after ending as the leading scorer with 513 runs, while Chandimal has broken into the top 20 for the first time and lies in 18th spot after scoring 419 runs, success that saw him rise 18 places.

The latest rankings, which reflect player performances in the three-match ODI series between New Zealand and South Africa which finished on 3 March, were released on Friday.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena is the other Sri Lanka batsman to improve his ranking in the tri-series in Australia, which also featured world champion India. Jayawardena chipped in with 406 runs and has been rewarded with a rise of two places which has put him in 17th position.

Three Australia batsmen have also been rewarded for their consistent performances.

Captain Michael Clarke has moved up two places to eighth spot after scoring 331 runs in six matches, David Warner has been rewarded with a jump of 97 places which puts him in 53rd position after he aggregated 506 runs in the series and David Hussey has gained eight places and is now in 34th position after scoring 439 runs at an average of just under 55.

Other players to improve their rankings include New Zealand's Brendon McCullum 19th (up by eight places) and JP Duminy of South Africa in 22nd (up by two places).

In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, South Africa's Lonwabo Tsotsobe has achieved the number-one ranking for the first time in his career.

The South Africa left-arm fast bowler took six wickets in his side's 3-0 win over New Zealand which has been enough to lift him ahead of Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal.

Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn are the other South Africa bowlers on a move in the right direction.

Morkel was the most successful bowler in the series with seven wickets which has helped him leapfrog England's Graeme Swann in third position while Steyn has moved up three places to 13th position.

Australia's trio Shane Watson, Clint McKay and Xavier Doherty have also improved their rankings. Watson has vaulted 15 places to 25th position, McKay has moved up six places to 28th position and Doherty has gained a place and is now in 29th spot.

In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders, Watson has dislodged Shakib Al Hasan from the number-one position. The Australia leads the former Bangladesh captain by three ratings points.

With the Asia Cup starting in Mirpur, Dhaka, on Sunday, India's iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar will be eyeing to score his hundredth international century and, in the meantime, also improve his rankings.

Tendulkar has scored 51 Test and 48 ODI centuries in an illustrious 23-year career but the 100th century has been eluding him since last year's ICC Cricket World Cup.

In addition to this, Tendulkar's current ranking of 29th is his lowest since December 1991, when he slipped to 31st position. The 38 year-old's highest career ranking is at the top of the listings, a mark he first achieved in February 1996.

In the Reliance ICC ODI Championship table, the main battle appears to be for the number two position as Australia has all-but-sealed top spot for the third successive year and ninth time in 11 years.

The only way Australia can slip behind second-ranked South Africa is in the highly unlikely scenario of it losing all the five ODIs against the West Indies. In other words, Australia just needs to win an ODI of the five-match series to retain the prestigious ODI shield and with it win a cheque of US$175,000.

However, battle for second position remains tight with South Africa leading India by just one ratings point.

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ICC to probe fresh fixing claims: report

LONDON: The International Cricket Council (ICC) is investigating claims that Indian bookmakers are fixing the results of England county games and international fixtures, Britain's Sunday Times reported.

The newspaper said it had uncovered evidence that tens of thousands of pounds (dollars) was on offer to players to throw part or all of international matches, including last year's World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan.

It cited one Delhi bookmaker boasting that English county cricket was also a "good new market", as it involved "low-profile matches and nobody monitors them. That's why good money can be made there without any hassle".

The allegations come just weeks after former Essex bowler Mervyn Westfield became the first English cricketer to be jailed for corruption after admitting accepting money to fix a match against Durham in September 2009.

An ICC spokesman said it would investigate the new allegations.

"We are grateful for the information you have provided and will launch an inquiry into these serious allegations," he told The Sunday Times.

"Betting on cricket in the legal and illegal markets continues to grow rapidly and, with many, many millions of dollars being bet on every match, the threat of corrupters seeking to influence the game has not gone away."

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Australia experience gives rivals edge in Asia Cup: Misbah

DHAKA: The tough experience that India and Sri Lanka went through in Australia in their recent tour will give them an advantage over their rivals in the Asia Cup,Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq said on Saturday.

The biennial four-nation Asia Cup begins in Dhaka on Sunday with Pakistan and Bangladesh vying for the top spot in the continent along with India and Sri Lanka.

India had just a few days break before flying to Dhaka after a tough Australia tour where they lost all four test matches and failed to qualify for the finals of the tri-series one-day
tournament.

Sri Lanka, beaten by Australia in the best of three finals of the tri-series, flew to Dhaka directly from Australia on Saturday.

"I think the way they have played cricket in Australia, it will always be difficult... to play against them as they have played tough cricket over there," Misbah told a news conference in Dhaka about their opponents.

"To compete with them we have to work very hard and have to improve our performance."

Pakistan toured Bangladesh in December and won both Test and one-day series by a clear margin.

They also beat England in a test series 3-0 in the United Arab Emirates before losing the one-day series 4-0 to the same opponents.

"Regardless of the situation that we have played here and have some advantage, but it will hardly matter as they have played some tough cricket. A lot of teams get mentally strong after playing over there (Australia)," he said.

Misbah said they want to forget the poor showing in the one-day series against England and take inspiration from the past good test results.

"Every game and every series is a different ball game. You can't just stick to the series that you have lost," said Misbah.

"If you look at the series before we won six series in a row, I think this is part of the game. What we want to do is just forget the one-day series and just look forward," he said. (Reuters)

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Cricket: South Africa set New Zealand record mark

DUNEDIN: New Zealand need to break their record highest fourth-innings winning total if they are to snatch victory from South Africa in the first Test on Sunday.

South Africa declared their second innings on Saturday at 435-5 giving New Zealand a 401-run target -- a winning fourth-innings total beaten only four times previously in cricket history.

At stumps, with one day remaining, New Zealand were 137-2 -- requiring a further 264 runs -- with Brendon McCullum on 58 and Ross Taylor on 48.

The Black Caps' current record fourth innings winning total is 324-5 against Pakistan in Christchurch in 1994.

The West Indies hold the record for the highest winning run chase when centuries by Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan laid the foundation for their fourth innings 418-7 to beat Australia at St John's in 2003.

South Africa scored 414-4 to beat Australia at Perth in 2008, India scored 406-4 to defeat the West Indies at Port of Spain in 1976, and Australia were the first Test side to surpass 400 in a successful fourth-innings run chase when they made 404-3 against England at Leeds in 1948.

The highest unsuccessful fourth innings total is 654-5 by England when chasing a target of 696 to beat South Africa at Durban in 1939.

There should be 98 overs available on Sunday for New Zealand to score the runs or South Africa to take the last eight wickets, although morning rain is forecast in Dunedin.

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Cricket: McCullum, Taylor lead New Zealand run chase

DUNEDIN: New Zealand battled to 137 for two at the close of play on the fourth day of the first Test against South Africa on Saturday after being set an imposing 401-run target to win.

The home side lost both openers cheaply before Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor came together and reduced the required total to 264 with eight wickets in hand by stumps.

When bad light stopped play four overs early, McCullum was not out 58 with Taylor unbeaten on 48.

If New Zealand do pull off an unlikely victory they will have to post their highest successful fourth-innings run chase, or alternatively they could salvage a draw with the arrival of forecast rain.

The Black Caps' current record fourth innings winning total is 324-5 against Pakistan in Christchurch in 1994.

South Africa declared their second innings at 435-5 midway through the fourth day with Jacques Rudolph unbeaten on 105 -- the third centurion of the innings after Graeme Smith (115) and Jacques Kallis (113).

They then dismissed the New Zealand openers on either side of the tea break with Martin Guptill the first to fall for six, edging Vernon Philander to AB de Villiers in the slips. Rob Nicol was dismissed for 19.

Nicol had been at the crease for 90 minutes and weathered a torrid spell of pace bowling from Philander and Morne Morkel before losing his wicket to a full toss from leg spinner Imran Tahir which he lofted to Smith at mid-on.

At 55-2, Taylor joined McCullum in the middle and the pair set about rebuilding the innings, putting on an unbeaten stand of 82.

Until New Zealand's most experienced Test batsmen came together the day had belonged to South Africa, who resumed their second innings at 268-3 and added a further 167 for the loss of two more wickets before Smith declared.

New Zealand's hopes were boosted early with Kallis adding only six runs to his overnight 107 before he played an uncharacteristic lofted shot off left-armer Trent Boult and was caught by Nicol at midwicket for 113.

But de Villiers joined Rudolph at the crease and they built on South Africa's lead, adding 70 runs for the fifth wicket.

The partnership was broken when New Zealand turned to part-time spinner Kane Williamson, who had de Villiers caught at deep midwicket by McCullum for 29, leaving Mark Boucher (34 not out) to partner Rudolph until the declaration.

South Africa declared after Rudolph brought up his century, the sixth of his career, with a four off Daniel Vettori.

Doug Bracewell was the most successful of the New Zealand bowlers with three for 70 while Williamson finished with 1-16 and Boult 1-93.

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