Arthur backs Hussey

Updated at: 0122 PST,  Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Western Australian coach Mickey Arthur says Michael Hussey shouldn't be the player under pressure to move on after Australia's underwhelming summer.Thirty-five-year-old Hussey was one of the few stars for Australia in the 3-1 Ashes defeat, but that hasn't stopped his position coming under scrutiny after a serious hamstring injury kept him out of the World Cup squad.In the Ashes, Hussey was Australia's highest run-scorer with 570 at 63.33, a figure made even more remarkable by the fact he didn't score well in the last two Tests.He is also the world's No.4 One-Day International batsman according to the latest ICC rankings released on Monday evening.Hussey will get a chance to test his hamstring when Western Australia take on Queensland in Thursday's Sheffield Shield clash, along with Shaun Marsh, another hamstring victim who's also been named in the WA side.Arthur believes the man known as Mr Cricket will soon demonstrate to all that there's plenty of life left in the old dog."After the summer he's had ... he certainly wouldn't be the one that I'd be putting under pressure at the moment," Arthur said on Tuesday morning in Perth."There's absolutely no doubt he's got a lot of cricket left in him, no doubt.""I do think that it probably is time to change for Australia, I do think that they are going to get to a situation where they probably need to blood some younger players.""If they're serious about going and winning the 2013 Ashes, there's no doubt about that.""But with all the young players that you have, you need some experience to guide them.""If you haven't got that experience through the middle, those young guys are going to get put under some serious pressure."Arthur was coaching South Africa during the 2008-09 summer, when the Proteas defeated Australia 2-1, the coach remembering former Australian opener Matthew Hayden being put under extreme pressure to retire at the time after a run of poor form.But Arthur doesn't believe Hussey should simply go quietly in order to avoid such a situation happening again."(Some) players are of the opinion that if I'm good enough I should be playing and if you don't want me drop me," Arthur said."It's certainly not a bad way to do it because if you're performing well then you're putting the selectors under some serious pressure you know.""If you retire, you almost make the selector's decision a lot easier.""(But) guys know exactly where they're at in their career, they know what their hunger for the game is, they're in the best positions to make that decision.""Huss's hunger for the game is still as it was I think when he was an 18-year-old, so I wouldn't say Huss is certainly anywhere near retirement at the moment."Arthur said he wasn't certain under what ICC provision Australia could take Hussey to the World Cup after he was replaced in the initial squad, but said if he did come in to replace the injured Doug Bollinger he would be fit to fire."Huss will be ready," Arthur declared. "He'll be ready to go if he gets an opportunity and he certainly won't let anybody down."

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Australia deny ICC probe

Updated at: 0122 PST,  Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Australian officials have laughed off suggestions that the team is under investigation by the ICC for slow batting against Zimbabwe.Australia won the match easily but openers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin struggled to put runs on the board during the first 15 overs in the Group A game at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.The pair put on 28 runs in 11 overs and 53 in the first 15 when two of the three power-plays were used."The slow rate of scoring in the first two overs was scrutinised by the ICC anti-corruption and security unit," Indianexpress.com website said in a report from the national wire service, Press Trust of India."Sources aware of developments said the ICC ACSU (Anti-Corruption Security Unit) had carried out a quiet review of the match after questions were raised over the slow start taken by Watson and Haddin.""With the spectre of spot-fixing now looming over international cricket following the bans on three Pakistani players for spot-fixing last year on the England tour, sources said the ICC ACSU was keeping a vigilant eye on all matches in the World Cup and the slow start by the Australian openers caught their attention."Australia coach Tim Nielsen said after the Zimbabwe match he saw nothing wrong in the openers' slow approach."I thought they played well in game one. Everyone had this perception that they went slowly. But if Zimbabwe were going to be competitive against us, they needed to take early wickets with their spinners. We're playing the way we think is the right way to play," Nielsen said.On Tuesday, Haddin and team manager Steve Bernard described the claims as 'ludicrous'."It's quite a laughable story. It's a joke," Haddin told reporters during a net session at the SSC in Colombo."We just got off the mark a bit slowly.""It's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard in my life … that a team could be none for five after two overs and that's suspicious?" Bernard said."I think it's the silliest thing I've heard this week, and I've heard a lot of silly things since I've been here.""At the start of any campaign, on a fresh track that the guys weren't used to, it took a bit of time (to adjust), but 260-odd was a pretty good score."

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Pakistan trio lodge appeals

Updated at: 1623 PST,  Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Pakistan trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have filed appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against bans for spot-fixing.Butt was banned for 10 years, with five of them suspended, after being found guilty of corruption by an International Cricket Council tribunal.Mohammad Asif was handed a seven-year ban, with two of them suspended, while Amir was banned for five years.All three men have denied wrongdoing in a Test match against England.The players were accused of spot-fixing in the fourth Test at Lord's in August 2010.They were banned after newspaper The News of the World reported no balls were bowled at specific points in England's innings after a payment was made to a businessman.Former captain Butt said in a statement: "This is to confirm that today my legal team served a statement of appeal."Amir's lawyer Shahid Karim said he filed his client's appeal on Friday."The process is now to set to motion, we have challenged the judgment of the tribunal on various grounds," Karim said.A CAS statement read: "The Court of Arbitration for Sport has registered the appeals filed by Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt against the International Cricket Council (ICC) Anti-Corruption Tribunal's decision.""The cases will be handled in accordance with the procedural rules set out in the code of sports-related arbitration.""The parties will first exchange written submissions and will then be heard at a hearing, the date of which will be fixed at a later stage.""The CAS will not comment any further on these matters until a panel of arbitrators has been constituted and a procedural calendar established."In a separate development, the players are due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on March 17 to face charges of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat.

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Bell's LBW review explained

Updated at: 1623 PST,  Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Here's an explanation of how the Decision Review System (DRS) worked in the case of the leg-before appeal against Ian Bell on 27 February in the game between India and England at Bengaluru. * The greater the distance between point of impact and the stumps and the shorter the distance between point of pitching and the point of impact, the more difficult it is for the technology to provide an accurate projection.* For this reason the playing conditions provide that in the case of a not out lbw decision where the distance between point of impact and the stumps is greater than 250 cm and/or the distance between point of pitching and point of impact with the pad is less than 40cm (as will be indicated in the Hawkeye graphics and with the attached being an example), the umpires are not obliged to follow the normal rules for using Hawkeye to determine whether the batsman is out or not and shall have a discretion in determining whether or not to overturn their original not out decision.* In exercising this discretion they are required, in consultation with the third umpire, to take into account normal cricketing principles for determining lbw decisions.
What are these normal cricket principles?
These are a combination of factors:* The distance between point of pitching and point of impact (the shorter this distance, the more difficult it is to be certain that the ball will go onto hit the stumps and thus the more unlikely it will be that the umpire will change his not out decision).* The distance from point of impact to the stumps (the greater this distance, the more unlikely it will be that the umpire will change his decision)* Where the ball is predicted to hit the stumps (the further this point from the centre of middle stump, the more unlikely it will be that the umpire will change his decision).But it is a combination of the above factors that must be taken into account by the umpire in consultation with the third umpire.E.g. If the batsman double steps and gets hit on the pad 4 metre down the wicket, the umpire will not change his not out decision even if the ball is predicted to be hitting the middle of middle stump, especially if there was only a short distance between the points of pitching and impact on the pad.There have been two instances in ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 where a not out leg-before decision has been reviewed by the fielding side where the point of impact was more than 2.5 metres from the stumps. In both these cases:

* the distance from point of pitching to point of impact was approximately the same
* the distance between point of impact and the stumps was just over 2.5 metres
* The ball was predicted to hit the stumps slap bang between off and middle stump about 3/4 of the way up.

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Malinga picks up second World Cup hat-trick

Updated at: 1739 PST,  Tuesday, March 01, 2011

COLOMBO: Spearhead Lasith Malinga took his second career World Cup hat-trick when he collected six wickets as Sri Lanka dismissed Kenya for 142 in their World Cup clash here at the R Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday.Malinga had Tanmay Mishra lbw with the final ball of the 42nd over and then clean-bowled Peter Ongondo and Shem Ngoche with the first two of the 44th. Malinga became the first bowler to pick up two hat-tricks in World Cups. He took four wickets in four balls against South Africa in the 2007 World Cup,The 27-year-old speedster, who missed his side's opening two matches with a sore back, finished with six for 38 as the Kenyans were dismissed for 142.It is the second hat-trick of the 2011 World Cup after Kemar Roach took the last three Canadian wickets in West Indies' victory in Group B on Monday.

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Kenya bowled out for 142 by Sri Lanka

Updated at: 1830 PST,  Tuesday, March 01, 2011

COLOMBO: Fit-again fast bowler Lasith Malinga took four wickets in six balls, including his second World Cup hat-trick, to dismiss Kenya for 142 in a Group A match in Colombo on Tuesday.The 27-year sling-action bowler, who missed Sri Lanka's opening two matches due to a back strain, trapped Tanmay Mishra (nought) lbw with the last ball of his seventh over.At the start of his next over he clean-bowled Peter Ongondo and Shem Ngoche in successive balls to complete his hat-trick.Malinga then bowled Elijah Otieno to complete a career-best 6-38 in his 7.4 overs, improving on his figures of 5-34 against Pakistan at Dambulla last year.Malinga's ferocious bowling derailed Kenya, who opted to bat, after they were on course for a total of around 200 following half-centuries from brothers David Obuya (51) and Collins Obuya (52).Kenya, shot out for 69 against New Zealand and 112 in their match against Pakistan, started disastrously with Nuwan Kulasekara dismissing opener Morris Ouma (one) in the second over before Malinga had Seren Waters (three) lbw in the next.Collins Obuya, whose five wickets helped Kenya upset Sri Lanka at the 2003 World Cup, hit four boundaries during his sedate 100-ball knock. His elder brother David hit three fours during his 106-ball innings.But Malinga, who also took a World Cup hat-trick against South Africa in the 2007 World Cup, dismissed Collins Obuya in his second spell before destroying the tail.Malinga's hat-trick is the seventh in all World Cup matches and came just a day after West Indian Kemar Roach recorded a hat-trick against the Netherlands in New Delhi.

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Jayawardene mulls action over corruption allegation

Updated at: 1708 PST,  Tuesday, March 01, 2011

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's former skipper Mahela Jayawardene is reportedly considering suing a state-run television network for hinting he may have helped fix a World Cup match against Pakistan.Jayawardene, who lost his middle stump for just two runs in a game that Sri Lanka lost by 11 runs, was mulling legal action against the station for implying he was guilty of corruption, the BBC said.Jayawardene's manager told a news agency on Tuesday that they were not commenting because "a formal process has been initiated."The state television commentary said a local businessman had placed a $18,000 bet on Sri Lanka losing the game.The TV channel speculated over whether Jayawardene and Thilan amaraweera, dismissed for one, had "changed the game" by getting out cheaply and said the outcome would have been different had the pair scored more runs.Despite high hopes coming into the match, 1996 champions Sri Lanka fell short of Pakistan's total of 277-7, leaving thousands at a packed R. Premadasa stadium in Colombo devastated.Governing body Sri Lanka Cricket said they had not received a formal complaint from the two players."We are not aware of the issue," Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive officer Ajith Jayasekera said.Three Pakistan Test players -- Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer -- were last month banned on charges of corruption relating to last year's Lord's Test against England.Many Sri Lankan players have been investigated by the International Cricket Council over match-fixing in the past.

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Kenya win toss, elect to bat against Sri Lanka

Updated at: 1342 PST,  Tuesday, March 01, 2011

COLOMBO: Kenya captain Jimmy Kamande won the toss and elected to bat first against Sri Lanka in their third Group A match of the World Cup here at the R Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday.Teams: Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (captain & wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Silva, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan. Kenya: Maurice Ouma (wk), Seren Waters, Colins Obuya, DO Obuya, Steve Tikolo, Tanmay Mishra, Jimmy Kamande (captain), Nehemiah Odhiambo, Shem Ngoche, Elijah Otieno, PJ Ongondo.

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Malinga ready for return to add to Kenya's problems

Updated at: 1017 PST,  Tuesday, March 01, 2011

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka are expected to welcome the return of fast bowler Lasith Malinga to their ranks when they meet Kenya on Tuesday in a World Cup Group A match.Sri Lanka's bowling lacked the penetration on Saturday to stop Pakistan from running up a competitive total of 277-7 and the lost the contest by 11 runs.Malinga has been nursing a sore back in the past fortnight but coach Trevor Bayliss said that he was available for selection for the Kenyan game."Malinga's physio told us that the first two weeks were the most important," said Bayliss."The first two weeks are up tomorrow since he got injured. He is fit and it's up to the selectors to select him or not for tomorrow."Malinga is a key component in the Sri Lanka bowling line-up having built up his reputation at the last World Cup by becoming the only bowler to capture four wickets off four balls in the match against South Africa.Sri Lanka will be looking to redeem themselves having come off second best against Pakistan.One of the key areas Sri Lanka will be concentrating on is building up partnerships in their batting which let them down after a decent start during their run chase.Sri Lanka will stick to their original batting line-up and if there are any changes it is going to be in the bowling where either Nuwan Kulasekara or Thisara Perera may have to make way for Malinga.Sri Lanka may also rest Muttiah Muralitharan, the master spinner who has been so far disappointing, and play their other two spinners Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath.Kenya, well beaten in their first two matches by New Zealand (10 wickets) and Pakistan (205 runs), are looking for some redemption with suggestions from a recent Reuters interview of splits between the senior players and coach."We can't continue doing the same thing all the time. Tomorrow we have the third game against another top side. We have got to work on that and try to get a good result out there," Kenyan captain Jimmy Kamande said. (Reuters)

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Cricket WC: Hurt Sri Lanka ready to down Kenya

Updated at: 0830 PST,  Tuesday, March 01, 2011

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka are expected to welcome the return of fast bowler Lasith Malinga to their ranks when they meet Kenya on Tuesday in a World Cup Group A match Sri Lanka's bowling lacked the penetration on Saturday to stop Pakistan from running up a competitive total of 277-7 and the lost the contest by 11 runs.Malinga has been nursing a sore back in the past fortnight but coach Trevor Bayliss said that he was available for selection for the Kenyan game."Malinga's physio told us that the first two weeks were the most important," said Bayliss."The first two weeks are up tomorrow since he got injured. He is fit and it's up to the selectors to select him or not for tomorrow."Malinga is a key component in the Sri Lanka bowling line-up having built up his reputation at the last World Cup by becoming the only bowler to capture four wickets off four balls in the match against South Africa.Sri Lanka will be looking to redeem themselves having come off second best against Pakistan.One of the key areas Sri Lanka will be concentrating on is building up partnerships in their batting which let them down after a decent start during their run chase.Sri Lanka will stick to their original batting line-up and if there are any changes it is going to be in the bowling where either Nuwan Kulasekara or Thisara Perera may have to make way for Malinga. Sri Lanka may also rest Muttiah Muralitharan, the master spinner who has been so far disappointing, and play their other two spinners Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath.Kenya, well beaten in their first two matches by New Zealand (10 wickets) and Pakistan (205 runs), are looking for some redemption with suggestions from a recent Reuters interview LDE71P0B7 of splits between the senior players and coach."We can't continue doing the same thing all the time. Tomorrow we have the third game against another top side. We have got to work on that and try to get a good result out there," Kenyan captain Jimmy Kamande said. (Reuters)

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Cricket World Cup: Roach hat-trick as WI beat Netherlands

Updated at: 2021 PST,  Monday, February 28, 2011

NEW DELHI: Kemar Roach grabbed six wickets, including a hat-trick, while Kieron Pollard smashed 60 off 27 balls to help West Indies thrash the Netherlands by 215 runs in the World Cup on Monday.Kemar Roach recorded the first hat-trick of the 2011 World Cup against the Netherlands. He removed Pieter Seelaar, Bernard Loots and Berend Westdijk off the last three deliveries of the match to lead West Indies to a 215-run victory.Pollard built on the platform laid by Chris Gayle, who made 80, as the Caribbean side posted 330-8 before bowling out their hapless opponents for 115 off 31.3 overs in the Group B game at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium.The West Indies' total was the highest at the ground, which is coming off a 12-month suspension over a dangerous playing surface.The Netherlands hardly posed any threat in the lop-sided encounter, crumbling to 36-5 by the 11th over after early strikes from Roach, who took 6-27, and left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn (3-28).Roach, 22, returned to collect only the sixth World Cup hat-trick and the first of this tournament, sealing an emphatic win for the former world champions.Dutch hope Ryan ten Doeschate, who scored 119 against England, failed to repeat his magic this time, trapped leg before wicket for seven by Benn.Tom Cooper provided the only resistance with an unbeaten 55 off 72 balls.Earlier, Gayle put on 100 runs for the opening wicket with Devon Smith (53) after the West Indies were put in to bat on a placid wicket in the day-night clash.Pollard, who plays for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, hammered five fours and four sixes on his way to the third-fastest World Cup half-century before Ramnaresh Sarwan chipped in with a 42-ball 49.Gayle overcame a subdued start to unleash seven fours and two sixes in his 110-ball knock, which was cut short by ten Doeschate (1-77) during a batting powerplay.Smith scored at a quicker pace than his more famous partner, racing to his fourth one-day half-century off 45 balls with the help of nine fours.Just when Smith looked set to go on to a bigger score, he edged behind off medium-pacer Bernard Loots to give the Netherlands their first breakthrough in the 17th over.The promising Darren Bravo, with 30, then joined in the party briefly, dispatching Australian-born Cooper to the stands before hitting another six off left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar who finished with 3-45.But Seelaar took his revenge in his very next over, tempting Bravo to charge down the pitch and offer a simple catch to Alexei Kervezee at long-on.Kervezee also took two more catches which accounted for Gayle and captain Darren Sammy, who made just six, in an otherwise sloppy performance in the field by the non-Test playing nation.The win put life back into the West Indies campaign after they lost to South Africa in their opener.For Netherlands, it was the second defeat on the trot after the six-wicket reversal against England in Nagpur last week.Complete scoreboard of the World Cup Group B match between the West Indies and the Netherlands at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Monday:

• West Indies:
• D. Smith c Barresi b Loots 53
• C. Gayle c Kervezee b ten Doeschate 80
• D. Bravo c Kervezee b Seelaar 30
• R. Sarwan lbw b Westdijk 49
• K. Pollard c ten Doeschate b Bukhari 60
• D. Sammy c Kervezee b Seelaar 6
• S. Chanderpaul b Seelaar 4
• D. Thomas lbw b Bukhari 13
• N. Miller not out 11
• S. Benn not out 3
• Extras (b3, lb3, w14, nb1) 21
• Total (for eight wickets; 50 overs) 330
• Fall of wickets: 1-100 (Smith), 2-168 (Bravo), 3-196 (Gayle), 4-261 (Sarwan), 5-278 (Sammy), 6-290 (Chanderpaul), 7-312 (Pollard), 8-326 (Thomas).
• Bowling: Bukhari 10-1-65-2 (w1), Westdijk 7-0-56-1 (w4), ten Doeschate 10-0-77-1 (nb1, w4), Loots 7-0-44-1 (w1), Cooper 6-0-37-0 (w4), Seelaar 10-1-45-3.
• Netherlands:
• A. Kervezee st Thomas b Benn 14
• W. Barresi c Gayle b Roach 0
• T. Cooper not out 55
• R. ten Doeschate lbw b Benn 7
• B. Zuiderent b Roach 1
• T. de Grooth lbw b Benn 1
• P. Borren c Pollard b Sammy 10
• Mudassar Bukhari b Roach 24
• P. Seelar lbw b Roach 1
• B. Loots lbw b Roach 0
• B. Westdijk b Roach 0
• Extras (lb2) 2
• Total (all out; 31.3 overs) 115
• Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Barresi), 2-26 (Kervezee), 3-34 (ten Doeschate), 4-35 (Zuiderent), 5-36 (de Grooth), 6-56 (Borren), 7-113 (Bukhari), 8-115 (Seelaar), 9-115 (Loots), 10-115 (Westdijk)
• Bowling: Benn 8-1-28-3, Roach 8.3-0-27-6, Miller 7-0-23-0, Sammy 7-0-33-1, Pollard 1-0-2-0.
• Result: West Indies won by 215 runs
• Toss: The Netherlands
• Umpires: Amish Saheba (IND) and Simon Taufel (AUS)
• TV Umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
• Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)

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Roach records first hat-trick of 2011 World Cup

Updated at: 2039 PST,  Monday, February 28, 2011

NEW DELHI: West Indies pace bowler Kemar Roach recorded the first hat-trick of the 2011 World Cup against the Netherlands in a Group B match on Monday.He removed Pieter Seelaar, Bernard Loots and Berend Westdijk off the last three deliveries of the match to lead West Indies to a 215-run victory.Team mate Sulieman Benn praised Roach, who finished with figures of six for 27 as the Dutch were skittled for 115."Brilliant man. His bowling tonight was exceptional, I'm really pleased for him," said Benn."I'm glad he got that hat-trick -- I'm really proud of him." (Reuters)

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Cricket World Cup: Rehman out of Canada match

Updated at: 2007 PST,  Monday, February 28, 2011

COLOMBO: Pakistan will be without left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman in their World Cup match against Canada on Thursday after suffering a left leg muscle injury in the 11-run over Sri Lanka.Team manager Intikhab Alam said Rehman's injury will take five days to heal."Rehman sprained his leg while fielding in the match against Sri Lanka and had to put on a strapping in order to bowl. It's an adductor muscle rupture," Alam said.Rehman, who will be 31 on Tuesday, took one wicket in Pakistan's win against the 1996 champions in Colombo on Saturday."We don't want to risk Rehman and will wait for him to recover," said Alam, of the spinner who has 13 wickets in 17 one-day internationals.Alam said Rehman's place is likely to be taken by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who has yet to play in the tournament.Senior batsman Misbah-ul-Haq, who hurt his hamstring, may be rested, said Alam. (AFP)

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Windies hammer Dutch bowlers for 330

Updated at: 1751 PST,  Monday, February 28, 2011

NEW DELHI: The West Indies batsmen hammered the Netherlands bowlers for a huge total of 330 runsfor eight wickets in their World Cup Group B day-night match here at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Monday.Sent into bat by Netherlands captain Peter Borren, experienced batsman Chris Gayle opened the innings with Devon Smith for an exact 100-run partnership and then added another 68 with Darren Bravo. Smith made 53 from 51 balls with nine fours while Bravo scored 30 with two sixes.Later, Gayle was dismissed by Ryan ten Doeschate for 80, laced with two sixes and seven fours.Then, Ramnaresh Sarwan (49) and Kieron Pollard (60) got together to make 65 runs for the fourth wicket. Pollard struck four sixes.For the Netherlands, Pieter Seelar took three and Mudassar Bukhari got two wickets.The Dutch fielded the same side that lost to England by six wickets in their opening match in Nagpur.The West Indies brought in left-arm spinner Nikita Miller in place of injured all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.Bravo picked up a knee injury during his team's seven-wicket defeat to South Africa at the same venue last week.

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Cricket World Cup: Shoaib too old for life in fast lane

Updated at: 1709 PST,  Monday, February 28, 2011

COLOMBO: Former tearaway Shoaib Akhtar admitted on Monday that age has dimmed his energy and desire to deliver the 100 mph toe-crunchers that once made him the world's most feared fast bowler.The charismatic but controversial Pakistan seamer, whose career has been plagued by injury and disciplinary problems, knows that, at 35, it is sense rather than speed that will get wickets."I left this race of bowling at 100 mph a long time ago. I am nearing 36 now and am more mature, so I am focusing (more) on getting wickets now than bowling fast," said Akhtar, who broke the 100 mph barrier at the 2003 World Cup.However, he added: "But I crossed 159 kmh (98 mph) the other day."Akhtar has played 162 ODIs with 246 wickets and 46 Tests, which yielded 178 wickets. (AFP)

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Zimbabwe crush Canada by 175 runs

Updated at: 1612 PST,  Monday, February 28, 2011

NAGPUR: Zimbabwe recorded their first victory in the World Cup 2011 when they demolished Canada by a huge margin of 175 runs in their Group A match here at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground on Monday.Chasing 299, Canada were all out for 123 runs in 42.1 overs. Their main scorers were Zubin Surkari (26), Gunasekeara (24) and Jimmi Hansra (20).Ray Price (3-16) and Graeme Cremer (3-31) were the most successful bowlers for Zimbabwe,. This is Zimbabwe’s largest victory in World Cups and the fourth largest in One-day Internationals.Batting first after their captain Elton Chigumbura won the toss, Tatenda Taibu and Craig Ervine helped Zimbabwe set Canada a daunting 299-run target for victory.Taibu was unfortunate to miss his third ODI century by just two runs as he was dismissed by Balaji Rao for 98. He hit nine boundaries in his 99-ball innings.Craig Ervine also batted very well to make 85 from 81 balls with two sixes and six fours.He and Taibu made together 181 runs for the third wicket partnership which helped Zimbabwe compile a big score but no other batsman except Sean Williams (30), Graeme Cremer (26) and Prosper Utseya (22) could make any significant score.The 181-run partnership between Taibu and Craig Irvine is the highest partnership for Zimbabwe in World Cups, surpassing the 166-run stand between Grant Flower and Craig Wishart against Namibia in 2003.After skipper Elton Chigumbura won the toss and elected to bat, Zimbabwe lost both their openers for only seven runs before Taibu and Ervine came to rescue.Leg-spinner Balaji Rao was the most successful bowler capturing four for 57.while seamers Khurram Chohan and Harvir Baidwan claimed two wickets each.

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Netherlands win toss, put Windies into bat

Updated at: 1333 PST,  Monday, February 28, 2011
NEW DELHI: Netherlands have won the toss and elected to field against West Indies in their Group B day-night match of the World Cup here at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground on Monday.

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Zimbabwe set 299-run target for Canada

Updated at: 1246 PST,  Monday, February 28, 2011
NAGPUR: Zimbabwe made a difficult target of 299 runs for Canada in their Group A match of the iCC Cricket World Cup 2011 here at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground on Monday After skipper Elton Chigumbura won the toss and decided to bat, Zimbabwe made 298-9 in the allotted 50 overs.Both sides lost their opening matches, Zimbabwe going down by seven wickets to Australia here while Canada suffered a 210-run mauling in Sri Lanka.

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ICC announces public ballot process for CWC tickets

Updated at: 0925 PST,  Monday, February 28, 2011

The ICC today announced the process for the public sale of tickets for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-finals in Colombo and Mohali on 29 and 30 March, respectively and the final to be held at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 2 April. When the tickets were initially programmed to go on sale on 21 February the demand was so great that the website was overloaded. Haroon Lorgat, the ICC Chief Executive, announced today in Bengaluru that there will be a public ballot system similar to that which is used in the majority of global sporting events. The ballot will open on Monday 28 February. Mr Lorgat said: "It was most unfortunate and no blame should be directed at Kyazoonga, the ICC's official ticketing partner, as no one could have anticipated that tens of millions people would be trying to access the site an hour before it went live. In truth Kyazoonga have been an innocent third party in all the issues we have had with ticketing. "In conjunction with the hosts, we have now agreed that a ballot system is the best means of releasing any available tickets for the semis and final. The high demand clearly proves the massive attraction of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and format of 50 overs cricket." In dismissing media perceptions about a letter addressed to ICC President Mr Sharad Pawar, Mr Lorgat added: "To help resolve our ticketing challenges we have also engaged the offices of the ICC President Mr Pawar to assist us as he has done with several other issues related to World Cup planning." Mr Lorgat also reflected on the fact that two contractors had been arrested in Sri Lanka for selling tickets on the black market. Mr Lorgat said: "We will support and encourage the actions of Sri Lanka Cricket in having such persons arrested for black market selling. It must serve as a warning that we will not hesitate to take action against anyone who abuses the system and sells tickets illegally." The ballot process is as follows: STEP ONE

You may apply for the ICC CWC 2011 Ticket Public Ballot from 28 February 2011 to 6 March 2011.

You need to fill in a the Public Ballot application form at http://cwc2011ballot.kyazoonga.com A ticket limit of two tickets per applicant applies. Only one application per person. Please do not submit more than one form: Kyazoonga will void your applications. STEP TWO You will receive a Ballot Confirmation Number once you complete and submit your application. No up-front payment is required at this stage.STEP THREE Please read and follow the instructions carefully before completing the form. If you break any of the rules all tickets you may be offered will be cancelled. All Ballot applications must be submitted no later than 6 March 2011. STEP FOURThe draw will be made by computer on 10 March 2011 and successful applicants will be informed by email on 11 March 2011. If you have not heard from Kyazoonga by 12 March 2011, please assume that your application was not successful in the ballot. STEP FIVESuccessful applicants will be able to pay for their tickets through Kyazoonga's secure payment processing website where they will be shown the transaction amount and asked to pay online using credit card/debit card/net-banking. If your transaction is not successful, your place in the draw will be offered to the next polled applicant from the draw. STEP SIXU pon successful payment completion, you will receive a confirmation page and email. Please print the page and keep the email. You will receive your tickets from the third week of March 2011.

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Qualifying begins for World Twenty20

Updated at: 0925 PST,  Monday, February 28, 2011

While Associate nations ponder a future that may not include being part of the World Cup, some of the game's least well-known nations take their first steps towards what they hope can ultimately be a place at the expanded 2012 World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.Although the 2015 World Cup is set to be trimmed to 10 teams this has been balanced to some degree by the expansion of the Twenty20 event which will increase from the 12 sides that took part in 2010 to 16 for the next tournament.However, it is highly unlikely that the seven countries who begin the qualifying campaign on February 24 will reach the showpiece event next year. Cameroon, Gambia, Lesotho, Mali, Morocco, Rwanda and the Seychelles will play in an initial qualifier in Ghana at the end of this month.Sixteen teams will take part in the final global qualifier in UAE in early 2012 to decide the final places at the World Twenty20. The six Associate and Affiliate members with one-day international status - Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, the Netherlands and Scotland - have automatically qualified for the UAE event.Three teams from the Asia region, two teams from Africa, Americas and Europe, and one team from East Asia-Pacific will play in the global qualifying event.In 2010 in the Caribbean the two Associate and Affiliate nations involved were Ireland and Afghanistan. Although neither progressed to the Super Eights, Ireland caused England problems in Guyana and Afghanistan performed with great credit during their first global tournament.

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Butt, Amir file appeals against bans

Updated at: 0925 PST,  Monday, February 28, 2011

Butt, Amir file appeals against bans Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir have filed appeals against their bans from the game with the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland.Butt and Amir, along with Mohammad Asif, were found guilty of orchestrating three pre-planned, deliberate no-balls during the Lord's Test against England last August. The trio, who were provisionally suspended by the ICC in September, were given sanctions ranging from 5 to 10 years by an independent tribunal headed by Michael Beloff QC after a full hearing in Doha, Qatar in early January, with the verdicts being handed down on February 5."Today my legal team served a statement of appeal upon The Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) to appeal against the Tribunal's findings in relation to the Lords Test and the sanctions imposed at the recent Hearing in Doha. Full Grounds for the Appeal will be lodged in due course," a statement from Butt's lawyer, Yasin Patel, said.As captain at the time, Butt received the stiffest sentence, though the ban comes with a suspended sentence of five years. On the day the verdict was announced, Patel had indicated that the tribunal's recommendation to the ICC to revisit sanctions in their code was encouraging. "The tribunal's hands were tied by the ICC's code to a five-year minimum," he said. "Mr Butt is encouraged that the tribunal advised the ICC to change the code or revise the minimum term."Butt also confirmed that he would appear at a London court on March 17th for a hearing into the criminal charges he faces - along with Asif and Amir - into the same incident.Amir was given a straight five-year ban with no suspended sentence and had indicated his intention to appeal on the day the judgments came. "We have filed an appeal against the ban [on Friday]," Shahid Karim, Amir's lawyer, said. "The process is now set into motion. We have challenged the judgment on various grounds."Asif has so far not said whether he will file an appeal.

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Zimbabwe win toss, bat against Canada

Updated at: 0903 PST,  Monday, February 28, 2011

NAGPUR: Zimbabwe skipper Elton Chigumbura won the toss and decided to bat in the World Cup Group A game against Canada on Monday.Both sides lost their opening matches, Zimbabwe going down by seven wickets to Australia here while Canada suffered a 210-run mauling in Sri Lanka. Zimbabwe Elton Chigumbura (capt), Brendan Taylor, Charles Coventry, Tatenda Taibu (wkt), Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Greg Lamb, Prosper Utseya, Graeme Cremer, Raymond Price, Christopher Mpofu. Canada Nitish Kumar, John Davison, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Ashish Bagai (capt/wkt), Jimmy Hansra, Zubin Surkari, Tyson Gordon, Rizwan Cheema, Khurram Chohan, Harvir Baidwan, Balaji Rao Umpires: Asad Rauf (PAK) and Bruce Oxenford (AUS) TV umpire: Steve Davis (ENG) Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI).(AFP)

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Afridi, his team fined for slow over rate

Updated at: 1848 PST,  Sunday, February 27, 2011

NEW DELHI: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has been fined 20 percent of his match fee and his team mates will lose 10 percent for their slow over rate in Saturday's 11-run win against Sri Lanka, the ICC said on Sunday.Match referee Chris Broad imposed the fine after Pakistan were one over short of their target at the end of the match in Colombo when time allowances were taken into consideration, the International Cricket Council said in a statement.According to the ICC Code of Conduct governing minor over-rate offences, players are fined 10 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fail to bowl in the allotted time while the captain is fined double that amount."The penalty was accepted by Pakistan without contest so there was no need for a hearing," the ICC statement read.Having beaten Kenya and Sri Lanka, Pakistan take on Canada in their next Group A fixture on Thursday.

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High-scoring India-England match tied

Updated at: 2213 PST,  Sunday, February 27, 2011

BANGALORE: India and England tied a thrilling World Cup clash here on Sunday in a high-scoring match which yielded 676 runs and was adorned by blistering centuries from Sachin Tendulkar and Andrew Strauss here at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.Chasing a huge target of 339 runs, England finished on 338 for eight having scored 13 off the last over when 14 were needed for victory. Captain Andrew Strauss was declared Man-of-the-Match who led from the front to steer England near to a certain victory with his career-best 158 from 145 balls with 16 fours and a six But Zaheer Khan's dramatic three-wicket burst turned the match back in India's favour when England needed 56 runs in 44 balls with eight wickets in hand.Earlier, India great Tendulkar's record-breaking 120 saw him become the first man to score five World Cup hundreds. Zaheer took three wickets for one run in six balls, including two in two, as England slumped from 281 for two to 285 for five.Tim Bresnan (14) revived England's innings before he was bowled by leg-spinner Piyush Chawla to leave his side 325 for eight and needing 14 off the last over from Munaf Patel.But Ajmal Shahzad launched Patel for six to leave England needing five from three balls in front of a frenzied crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.Shahzad and Graeme Swann ran a single to make the target four from two. They ran two more to leave England requiring two for victory off the last ball.But they managed just a single to produce only the fourth tie in World Cup history. Strauss and Ian Bell (69) put on 170 for the third wicket before Zaheer had Bell holing out.Next ball he had Strauss lbw with a brilliant yorker to end the left-handed opener's 145-ball innings featuring a six and 18 fours that beat his previous one-day best of 154 against Bangladesh last year.Strauss's was the first hundred by an England captain at the World Cup and the highest score by an England batsman, beating the 137 made by Dennis Amiss against India in the competition's inaugural match at Lord's in 1975.England then needed 58 off 43 balls with two fresh batsmen at the crease but they were in the first over of the batting powerplay.Zaheer then bowled Paul Collingwood and finished with three for 64.There had been controversy when Strauss and Bell's partnership was worth just 52. Left-arm spinner Yuvraj Singh thought he had Bell lbw on review for 17, with replays showing the ball would have hit the stumps. Bell had started to walk off but because New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden's verdict was not out, the decision was returned to him by Australian replay official Rod Tucker and the Kiwi deemed Bell to be too far down the pitch.But he enraged India fans who had seen Bell 'dismissed' on the giant replay screens.An unruffled Strauss advanced to drive Yuvraj for a superb six before Bell completed a 45-ball fifty with a six when he swept leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. Bell was reprieved again on 68, with England 278 for two in the 42nd over, when he was dropped by slip Virat Kohli off Chawla.Earlier, Tendulkar had faced 115 balls with 10 fours and five sixes.Yuvraj ensured there was no respite for England with a quickfire 58.James Anderson conceded 91 runs in 9.5 overs to give the paceman the most expensive analysis by an England bowler at the World Cup, beating Derek Pringle's none for 83 against the West Indies at Gujranwala in 1987.But Bresnan picked up several late wickets to finish with career-best figures of five for 48.

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India plunder 338 against hapless England

Updated at: 1802 PST,  Sunday, February 27, 2011

BANGALORE: Indian batsmen ruthlessly punished England bowlers to amass 338 runs in 49.5 overs in their crucial Group B match of the ICC World Cup here at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.Winning the toss, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to bat first on an easy batting wicket.Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar opened the innings in style and made 46 in 7.5 overs before Sehwag got out for 35 made off 26 balls.Then, Tendulkar joined by Gautam Gambhir took the charge and thrashed England bowlers for a 134-run second wicket stand. Gambhir was bowled by Graeme Swann for 51 but it was Tendulkar who showed great stroke-play. The master-blaster, who had made 28 against Bangladesh in the opening match of the tournament, completed the much awaited hundred off 103 balls, hitting four towering sixes and seven marvelous boundaries.This was his fifth hundred in the World Cup, a record, and second against England. He along with Yuvraj Singh added another 56 runs before making an exit from the field, making 120 from 114 balls.Later, Yuvraj and Dhoni blasted 69 runs in 46 balls and both were dismissed off two successive deliveries from Tim Bresnan. Yuvraj went for 58 (50 balls) and Ddhoni 31(25 balls).However, India managed to set an difficult target of 339 runs for England and in this process lost three more wickets.Bresnan was the most successful bowler for England taking five wickets for 48 runs.

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Cricket World Cup: Sri Lanka need Murali and Malinga to hit ground running

Updated at: 1652 PST,  Sunday, February 27, 2011

COLOMBO: If Sri Lanka are to have any chance of becoming the only Asian team to win two World Cups in the sub-continent, they need their two chief weapons, Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan, to find their form -- fast.The co-hosts were one of the pre-tournament favourites to win the showpiece but Saturday's 11-run defeat by Pakistan exposed some glaring weaknesses in their bowling armoury.Muralitharan should have been trapping rival batsmen with his mystifying powers of flight and spin but has instead been leaking runs to rank outsiders such as Canada. In the first match he was the most expensive of the Sri Lankan attack.The off-spinner's figures of 2-38 at the cost of 4.22 against a bunch of part-timers in Hambantota was hardly the kind of stats the world's most prolific wicket-taker would want to shout about.He was the most economical of the Sri Lankan bowlers against Pakistan but having picked up only one wicket, his success rate would have hardly set Sri Lankan pulses racing.But at least Muralitharan is playing a part in all the action as the same cannot be said of Malinga.The 27-year-old, who made his name in the 2007 World Cup by claiming four wickets in four balls against South Africa, has not even tested one run-up to the pitch.SORE BACKHe was sidelined with a sore back against Canada but had been declared fit for the contest against Pakistan. However, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara was not prepared to gamble on his fitness and chose to rest him for "the more difficult matches we have ahead" -- a strategy that backfired on Saturday.With showdowns against world champions Australia now less than a week away, the Sri Lankans know they can no longer waste time experimenting with their line-ups and plan to draft Malinga into action in their match against Kenya on Tuesday."We will consider him for the next game because we need to get him into his rhythm ahead of the game against Australia next Saturday," Sri Lanka's team manger Anura Tennekoon said."Malinga was rested as a precautionary measure. We don't want to take any chance with him because he is our key bowler.Malinga is fit but we don't want to take that extra one percent (risk with his fitness) and play him."Sangakkara acknowledged the presence of Malinga could have tipped the match in their favour, as in the end they lost by a fairly narrow margin after Pakistan amassed 277-7."We can say that we missed Lasith a bit. He is going to be back with us very shortly," he said.Luckily for Sri Lanka, one defeat is unlikely to dent their chances of progressing in the tournament, especially since Zimbabwe, Kenya and Canada are expected to be the teams that fall by the wayside in Group A.Its round-robin format means four teams from Group A will qualify for the knockout stages.While the bowling has been the obvious weak link, Sangakkara was also concerned with his team's batting even though they scored 332-7 in their first match and came very close to overhauling Pakistan's total.Going forward, Sangakkara wants to learn from their mistakes and said he wants his bowlers to pay more attention once on the field."A few things we can learn, maybe bowling a better line and length is important all the time," he said. "On a pitch like this, had we played better cricket and done basics especially in batting, we could have changed the result."If we had kept building partnerships, when we had that great start, I think it would have been a different story."It's pretty disappointing to be 10 (sic) runs short at the end." (Reuters)

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Tendulkar smashes 47th ODI century

Updated at: 1643 PST,  Sunday, February 27, 2011

BANGALORE: Sachin Tendulkar smashed 47th century in his One-day International career, while playing against England in a Group B match of the ICC Cricket World Cup here at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.Tendulkar who had made 28 against Bangladesh in the opening match of the tournament, completed the much awaited hundred in 103 balls, hitting four towering sixes and seven marvelous boundaries.This was his fifth hundred in the World Cup and second against England.

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India win toss, bat against England

Updated at: 1343 PST,  Sunday, February 27, 2011

BANGALORE: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has won the toss and elected to bat against England in their crucial Group B match of the ICC World Cup here at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.India made one change from the team that beat fellow co-hosts Bangladesh by 87 runs in Dhaka, bringing in leg-spinner Piyush Chawla for wayward fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.That gave India a second spinner alongside off-break bowler Harbhajan Singh.England made two switches from the side that scraped a six-wicket win over the Netherlands after fast bowler Stuart Broad was ruled out with illness, bringing in fellow seamer Ajmal Shahzad.They also dropped all-rounder Ravi Bopara and, like India, opted for a second spinner in left-armer Michael Yardy on a pitch expected to take turn. This match had originally been scheduled for Kolkata but was switched to Bangalore after International Cricket Council officials said work still needed to be done on the Eden Gardens ground to make it tournament ready.India: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wk), Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Piyush Chawla, Munaf Patel England: Andrew Strauss (captain), Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior (wkt), Michael Yardy, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Ajmal Shahzad, James Anderson Umpires: Billy Bowden (NZ) and Marais Erasmus (SA), TV umpire: Rod Tucker (AUS)Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (SL)

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Pakistan win crucial match against Sri Lanka

Updated at: 2218 PST,  Saturday, February 26, 2011

COLOMBO: Pakistan after a tough fight defeated Sri Lanka by 11 runs in their crucial Group A match in the ICC World Cup here at the Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.Shahid Afridi came up with another superb bowling performance after taking his first World Cup five-wicket haul in the previous match against Kenya. He captured four for 34 runs which included his 300th one-day international wicket when he dismissed Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara for 49.Sri Lanka, chasing Pakistan's total of 277-7, replied with 266-9. They have now lost seven times to their sub-continental neighbours in the World Cup, falling in 1975, 1983 (twice), 1987 (twice) and 1992.After captain Shahid Afridi won the toss, Pakistan stalwarts Younus Khan (72) and Misbah-ul-Haq (83) not out) shared a century partnership to set co-hosts Sri Lanka a challenging target to chase under lights.But Pakistan spinners strangled the Sri Lankan batsmen, capturing six of the nine wickets to fall. Sri Lanka got off to a good start with openers Upul Tharanga (33) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (41) putting together 76, but got bogged down in the middle overs and despite a late spurt towards the target fell agonisingly short.Chamara Silva led a late onslaught with a top score of 57 and Nuwan Kulasekara hit a quick 24 off 14 balls, but Sri Lanka had left their run chase a little too late.Openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga provided a sound start of 76 runs but Sri Lanka lost four quick wickets for 20 runs, reeling at 96 for four.Then, captain Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera took the score to 167 before Sangakkara departed. They added 71 runs for the fifth wicket Other batsmen could not resist the accurate Pakistan bowling despite fielding lapses. But Chamara Silva batted aggressively to become top scorer for Sri Lanka with 57 off 78 balls.Pakistan stalwarts Younus Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq shared a century partnership after Afridi had won the toss and chose to bat first.The pair came together after Pakistan were reduced to 105 for three and they provided a solid foundation for Pakistan's eventual testing target.

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Pakistan send out warning with Cup win

Updated at: 0003 PST,  Sunday, February 27, 2011

NEW DELHI: Pakistan beat a powerful Sri Lankan side on Saturday for their second World Cup win, sending out an ominous statement of intent to their rivals as Bangalore geared up for the India-England showdown.
A sell-out crowd of 35,000 packed the R. Premadasa stadium in Colombo to witness the much-anticipated Group A clash between 1992 winners Pakistan and 1996 champions Sri Lanka, who both enjoyed convincing opening victories.Pakistan, seeking to keep intact their record of never having lost a World Cup match against Sri Lanka, made a bright start and were indebted to an unbeaten 83 from Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and 72 from Younis Khan.Sri Lanka made a good start to their reply but slipped to 96 for four and fell behind the run-rate, finally coming up 11 runs short on 266-9,"That was a big game and the boys all knew how big that game was," said skipper Shahid Afridi, who picked up the man-of-the-match award for his 4-34."I think it's a great message for other teams that we will come harder and harder game by game."Disappointed Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakarra said: "I think we made it a bit difficult for ourselves by losing wickets but we got a good start. We needed a couple of blokes to just kick on and keep batting for a longer time."

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Pakistan set 278-run target for Sri Lanka

Updated at: 1755 PST,  Saturday, February 26, 2011

COLOMBO: Pakistan set a target of 278 runs for hosts Sri Lanka in their crucial Group A match of the ICC World Cup 2011 here at the R Premadasa Stadium on Friday.Batting on an easy wicket, Pakistan plundered 277 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 50 overs after captain Shahid Afridi won the toss.The main architects of the innings were veteran batsman Younis Khan and experienced Misbah-ul-Haq who steered Pakistan from 105-3 to 213 runs, adding 108 runs for the fourth wicket partnership.Both completed half-centuries – Younis from 56 balls and Misbah in 65 deliveries. They had also made fifties in their previous match against Kenya on Wednesday.Younis made 72 off 76 balls while Misbah top scored with 83 not out from 91 balls.Earlier, openers Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez made 13 and 32, respectively while Kamran Akmal scored 39.Later, Umar Akmal and hahid Aridi scored 10 and 16, respectively while Abdul Razzaq remained not out on 3For Sri Lanka, Rangana Herath and Thisara Perera claimed two wickets each.Sri Lanka left out slinger Lasith Malinga who failed to fully recover from a back strain which forced him to miss the match on Sunday.Chamara Kapugedera and Ajantha Mendis made way for Chamara Silva and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath. Both teams are seeking their second win in the tournament as they have already enjoyed convincing opening victories: Pakistan defeated Kenya by 205 runs and Sri Lanka beat Canada by 210.Pakistan have never lost a World Cup match against Sri Lanka in six previous attempts, but the last time they met was in 1992, before Sri Lanka became one of the game's global powers.

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Pakistan win toss, elect to bat against Sri Lanka

Updated at: 1337 PST,  Saturday, February 26, 2011

COLOMBO: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has won the toss and elected to bat against Sri Lanka in their crucial match in Group A of the ICC World Cup 2011 here at the R Premadasa Stadium on Saturday. Both teams are seeking their second win in the tournament as they have already won one match each by a huge margin: Pakistan defeated Kenya by 205 runs and Sri Lanka beat Canada by 210.Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga was left out of the team as he was being rested for the later games. Teams:Pakistan - Shahid Afridi (captain), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Younus Khan, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, A hmed Shehzad. Sri Lanka - Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Rangana Herath.

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Waqar hopeful to win against Sri Lanka

Updated at: 1121 PST,  Saturday, February 26, 2011

COLOMBO: Pakistan coach Waqar Younis played down the threat from Muttiah Muralitharan ahead of their crucial World Cup clash with Sri Lanka on Saturday, saying their batsmen had coped with him in the past. A capacity 35,000-crowd is expected to fill the Premadasa stadium in Colombo for the Group A match -- the first big test for both teams after Sri Lanka easily rolled over Canada and Pakistan crushed Kenya. "In the past if Muralitharan had plans for us, we have played really well against him in this country. "I don't think we should worry about him that much, he is not 28 anymore," said Waqar of the 38-year-old off-spinner, who has 521 wickets in 342 one-day internationals -- a world record. "It is not going to be easy for him any more. We are prepared not only for him but the entire team because we know it's an important match for us and we need to keep the momentum going." Waqar admitted Sri Lanka would be tough to beat in home conditions. "Sri Lanka on their home ground are very good, very difficult to beat. Here the conditions and weather help them, but the way we have played and trained and with our momentum, I am hopeful we can beat them," said the coach. Waqar said he was looking to Abdul Razzaq to boost his tally of runs. "I think Razzaq has done really well with the ball, but he hasn't delivered the goods with the bat apart from one game in Abu Dhabi. "No doubt he is our striker in both batting and bowling," said Waqar of the all-rounder, who hit a quickfire century against South Africa last year."It's right he comes in at eight, but then again we have five batsman, our keeper (Kamran Akmal) is more of a batsman and then there is (Shahid) Afridi, so he doesn't really fit in at the moment. But if we need to send him up the order, if runs are required, we might push him." Waqar also admitted wicket-taking off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was unfortunate not to win a place in the eleven. "We are just going to go with the best combination, what we probably had in the last match, just the best team with which we can win and it's unfortunate that Ajmal is not fitting into it," said Waqar of the 33-year-old off-spinner.(AFP)

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Jubilant Pakistan hope to down hosts today

Updated at: 0504 PST,  Saturday, February 26, 2011

COLOMBO: In Hambantota last Wednesday, it was child’s play for Pakistan as they toyed with minnows Kenya on their way to a 205-run triumph But fun time is over for the Greenshirts. They will have to raise their game to a higher level as they look to conquer Sri Lanka, one of the serious contenders for World Cup 2011.In a way, it’s not really a do-or-die match for either team. Even the side that loses the game on Saturday (today) would most likely be progressing to the quarter-finals.But then it’s also quite an important game as its outcome could impact the quarter-final line-up, as Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach aptly pointed out here on Friday.“It’s an important game of course. In this tournament, for momentum it is important and to get to the quarter-finals and in which stage, position you get there, in that sense it’s very important. If you want to go ahead, you have to build momentum,” said Waqar.Waqar admitted that Sri Lanka will be a tough team to beat. “Sri Lanka in their home ground is very good. It’s very difficult to beat them because the conditions and weather here help them. But the way we’ve played and trained and with the momentum, I am hopeful we can beat them.”Sri Lanka have a much-touted bowling attack with spin ace Muttiah Muralitharan being one of their most potent weapons.But Waqar is confident that his batsmen have the ability to tackle Murali.“We’ve played really well against him in this country. I don’t think we should worry about him that much, he is not 28 anymore. It is not going to be easy for him anymore. We’re prepared not only for him but the entire team,” he stressed.Both teams began their World Cup campaigns with a bang with Sri Lanka thrashing Canada by 210 runs and Pakistan recording a 205-run win over Kenya. Both know it’s going to be much more serious business as they clash here at the R Premadasa Stadium in front of over 30,000 spectators.Pakistan have won all their six World Cup games against Sri Lanka but Kumar Sangakkara is confident that his team has the firepower to reverse the tide. “I wasn’t really aware of that history so yeah maybe it’s time to change that now, hopefully tomorrow if we can do our basics better than Pakistan I think we have a pretty good chance,” the Sri Lankan captain told reporters here on Friday.But Sangakkara admitted that his team is wary of the dangerous Pakistanis. “I think they’ve got a team all 11 players are capable of doing that they’ve got a great batting line-up well balanced — good pace and good spin, so against them you just got to be mentally strong and absorb as much pressure as you can and keep competing with them because you can make them crack under pressure at certain situation so you got to be in the game until those situations come up,” said the seasoned batsman.Sangakkara believes that both teams are almost evenly-matched in the bowling department. “I think both the sides have good pace and good spin. I think that’s been a vast improvement for us actually to have good fast bowlers in our squad, we have guys who bowl over 140, wehave guys who could swing and seam as well so I think it’s going to be a battle between two teams who are looking forward to a very keen contest and whichever side can do whatever their discipline is better than the other will probably come out on top.”Teams:Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (captain), Misbah-ul-Haq (vice-captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar.Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Matthews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Rangana Herath.

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Exciting win for Bangladesh against Ireland

Updated at: 2117 PST,  Friday, February 25, 2011

DHAKA: Bangladesh stung flat-footed Ireland to resurrect their World Cup campaign with a 27-run victory in front of some 25,000 boisterous home fans on Friday.Bangladesh, bowled out for 205 after taking first strike in the day-night match, hit back to dismiss the leading non-Test nation for 178 in 45 overs at the packed Sher-e-Bangla stadium.Former captain Mohammad Ashraful, who scored just one run, turned an unlikely hero with the ball by claiming two top-order wickets with his part-time off-spin.Skipper Shakib Al Hasan also picked up two wickets with left-arm spin before seamer Shafiul Islam polished off the tail in quick time with 4-21 from eight overs.Bangladesh, who had lost their first match to India last week, lapped up the pressure in a game they had to win to stay in contention for the quarter-finals from Group B.But the co-hosts, who play all their league matches at home, must still beat the Netherlands and at least one of the established teams among England, South Africa and the West Indies.The win helped Bangladesh avenge two successive defeats by Ireland in major events, having lost during the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and again in the 2009 World Twenty20 in England.Shakib turned to spin after just one over from Shafiul, bringing on left-armer Abdul Razzak in the second over and off-spinner Naeem Islam in the third.The move paid immediate dividends as Paul Stirling was stumped off Razzak for nine, before Irish captain William Porterfield fell to Shakib's first delivery for 20.Ed Joyce and Niall O'Brien carried the score from 36-2 to 75 when Ashraful struck with the first delivery of his second spell.Joyce, the former England batsman, made a fluent 16 when he was beaten in the air by a flighted ball and gave a delighted Ashraful an easy return catch.Ashraful then bowled Andrew White for 10, while Shakib claimed his second wicket when Niall O'Brien fell to a diving catch by Tamim Iqbal at deep mid-wicket after making 38.Kevin O'Brien slammed three fours and a six in 37 during a sixth-wicket stand of 41 with Andre Botha when he pulled Shafiul to mid-wicket to reduce Ireland to 151-6 in the 37th over.Shafiul, who had recovered in time from a shoulder injury to play the key match, claimed three of the last four wickets to send Ireland crashing.Earlier, seamer Andre Botha picked up three wickets and George Dockrell and Trent Johnston claimed two each to bowl out the hosts in 49.2 overs.The hosts made a blistering start, racing to 49 without loss by the end of the fifth over, 37 of those runs coming from the blade of Tamim.But the advantage was soon lost as four wickets fell for 33 runs in the next 10 overs.Man of the match Tamim, who top-scored with 70 against India, began by taking 10 runs in Boyd Rankin's opening over and stroked seven boundaries in his 44 off 43 balls.Mushfiqur Rahim and Raqibul Hasan lifted the hosts with a 61-run stand for the fifth wicket, before tailender Naeem Islam boosted the total with a defiant 29 towards the end.

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Aamer appeals to Arbitration Court for Sport

Updated at: 1932 PST,  Friday, February 25, 2011

LAHORE: Fast bowler Mohammad Aamer has appealed against the ICC ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport Aamer had been banned for five years in spot fixing case by the ICC anti-corruption tribunal in Doha Talking with Geo News, Aamer told that he has sent an appeal against the ICC verdict, through his lawyer Shahid Karim to the Court of Arbitration for Sports and he hoped it would be received by the Court tomorrow. Aamer said that this case would also be fought by Shahid Karim.An International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-corruption tribunal in Doha on February 5 handed out longer bans to former Pakistan captain Salman Butt, seamers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif for the roles they played in bowling deliberate no-balls during last year's Test against England at Lord's.Aamer is the first player to appeal to the Arbitration Court for Sports against this verdict.

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Ireland bowl out Bangladesh for 205

Updated at: 1734 PST,  Friday, February 25, 2011

DHAKA: Ireland bowled out Bangladesh for a modest 205 runs in their Group B clash on Friday as a sell-out home crowd of 25,000 looked on in stunned silence.Seamer Andre Botha picked up three wickets and George Dockrell and Trent Johnston claimed two each after the home side elected to take first strike on a slow pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.Wickets tumbled at regular intervals in a match Bangladesh had targeted as a must-win after they lost their first match to India by 87 runs at the same venue last week.The hosts made a blistering start, racing to 49 without loss by the end of the fifth over, 37 of those runs coming from the blade of Tamim Iqbal.But the advantage was soon lost as four wickets fell for 33 runs in the next 10 overs.Imrul Kayes was stumped brilliantly by Niall O'Brien off a John Mooney wide, Junaid Siddique was run out by a direct throw from Ed Joyce and Tamim holed out to point off Botha.Tamim, who top-scored with 70 against India, began by taking 10 runs in Boyd Rankin's opening over and stroked seven boundaries in his 44 off 43 balls.Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan had made a fluent 16 when he patted the ball back to bowler Botha after being dropped by his Irish counterpart William Porterfield at point in the previous over.Mushfiqur Rahim and Raqibul Hasan lifted the hosts with a 61-run stand for the fifth wicket but Bangladesh then suffered twin blows at the hands of left-arm spinner Dockrell.The 18-year-old dismissed Rahim (36) and former captain Mohammad Ashraful (one) in successive overs, both batsmen falling to catches by Andrew White at fine-leg with ill-timed sweepshots.Ashraful, Bangladesh's most successful one-day batsman with 3,360 runs in 164 matches, had been brought in to bolster the batting after being omitted against India.Raqibul ran himself out for 38 to reduce the hosts to 159-7 in the 39th over, but Naeem Islam boosted the total with a defiant 29 towards the end.

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Aussies record easy win against Kiwis

Updated at: 1618 PST,  Friday, February 25, 2011

NAGPUR: Defending champions Australia overpowered New Zealand by seven wickets for a 25th straight World Cup victory in a dominant display here at the Vidarbha Cricket Ground on Friday.Australia's fast bowlers, with Mitchell Johnson taking four wickets, led the way as New Zealand were bowled out for just 206 with nearly five overs of their innings left.Left-armer Johnson finished with four for 33 and Shaun Tait three for 35.That New Zealand even had the remotest chance was down to a battling fifty from Nathan McCullum and skipper Daniel Vettori's 44 with the duo combining well in an eighth-wicket stand of 54.The Black Caps had earlier been in dire straits after their top order collapsed to 73 for six against the quicks from 66 for two. Australia finished on 207 for three with a mammoth 16 overs to spare with Michael Clarke (24) and Cameron White (22) the not out batsmen as Australia also won the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.Australia openers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin were rarely troubled during a century first-wicket stand.However, Watson, on 10, did successfully challenge an lbw appeal from seamer Tim Southee, originally upheld by Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena, after replays showed the ball would have missed leg-stump.Haddin, a fluent strokemaker, brought up his fifty in 39 balls with eight fours while Watson went to the landmark in 52 balls including a six off a Nathan McCullum off-break.New Zealand's day appeared to be summed up when substitute Kane Williamson, at deep mid-wicket, dropped Watson on 59 off left-arm spinner Vettori.But the Black Caps gave themselves a glimmer of hope when 133 without loss became 136 for two when fast bowler Hamish Bennett removed both openers in the space of three balls in the 19th over.Haddin (55) hooked a looping bouncer to James Franklin and then Watson (62) inside-edged an intended square-cut onto his stumps.Australia captain Ricky Ponting meanwhile could only manage 12 before he was brilliantly stumped down the legside by Brendon McCullum off Southee. In a match played out against the backdrop of the Christchurch earthquake, Ponting won the toss and chose to field in overcast conditions.Tait, following the economical Brett Lee, was erratic but removed dangerman Brendon McCullum for 16 when an attempted carve over the covers flew straight to Jason Krejza at third man.Jesse Ryder hit six forceful fours but Johnson took two wickets in four balls in the 14th over to have the left-hander and Franklin edging to wicketkeeper Haddin as they both pushed limply at good length deliveries.Tait then had Scott Styris caught behind for a duck and yorked Ross Taylor, who struggled to make seven off 22 balls.One concern for Australia coming out of this match though would have been the way Nathan McCullum milked rival spinners Krejza and Steven Smith -- whose combined 18 overs yielded just one wicket for 91 runs.Nathan McCullum top-scored for the Kiwis, completing a 72-ball fifty including three fours before he was lbw to Johnson for 52.

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Bangladesh bat against Ireland

Updated at: 1412 PST,  Friday, February 25, 2011

DHAKA: Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and elected to bat in the World Cup Group B match against Ireland at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium on Friday.Bangladesh made one change from the side that lost their first match to India last week, bringing in experienced middle-order batsman Mohammad Ashraful in place of all-rounder Mohammad Mahmudullah.Ireland, playing their first match in the tournament, went in with two slow bowlers in off-spinner Andrew White and 18-year-old left-armer George Dockrell.Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Raqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam.Ireland: William Porterfield (captain), Paul Stirling, Andre Botha, Ed Joyce, Niall O'Brien, Kevin O'Brien, Andrew White, John Mooney, Trent Johnston, Boyd Rankin, George Dockrell.Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Rod Tucker (AUS), TV umpire: Billy Bowden (NZ)Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (SL) 

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Aussies dismiss New Zealand for 206

Updated at: 1300 PST,  Friday, February 25, 2011

NAGPUR: New Zealand batsmen could not resist the pace attack by Australia and were all out for 206 runs in 45.1 overs in a World Cup Group A match here at the Vidarbha Cricket Ground on Friday.Australia captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and invited New Zealand in the daytime match overshadowed by the devastating earthquake in Christchurch.At least 113 people have been killed as a result of tremors in the New Zealand city and the teams wore black armbands and observed a minute's silence before the start of play.New Zealand were in trouble right from the start and all their top order batsmen were gone before the 15 overs were completed. They were 73-6 in 17 overs.Later, Nathan McCullum and captain Daniel Vettori tried to make some recovery and both added 54 valuable runs for the eight wicket.However, Nathan fell after scoring 52 from 76 balls when New Zealand were 175 Vettori then fought the battle against Aussie pace bowlers but could notcontinue it long and was after making 44 off 43 balls For Australia, Mitchell Johnson captured four wickets for 33 runs and Shaun Tait claimed three for 35.Both defending champions Australia and New Zealand won their opening matches following comprehensive wins over Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively.Australia were unchanged for the game at the VCA Ground but New Zealand brought in batsman Jamie How for all-rounder Jacob Oram in a tactical switch.
 

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Australia win toss, put New Zealand into bat

Updated at: 0843 PST,  Friday, February 25, 2011

NAGPUR: Australia captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to field against New Zealand in a World Cup Group A match over shadowed by the devastating earthquake in Christchurch At least 113 people have been killed as a result of tremors in the New Zealand city and the teams wore black armbands and observed a minute's silence before the start of play.Both defending champions Australia and New Zealand won their opening matches following comprehensive wins over Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively.Australia were unchanged for the game at the VCA Ground but New Zealand brought in batsman Jamie How for all-rounder Jacob Oram in a tactical switch.Teams Australia: Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (wk), Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, David Hussey, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Jason KrejzaNew Zealand: Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum (wk), Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, James Franklin, Scott Styris, Jamie How, Daniel Vettori (captain), Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett Umpires: Billy Doctrove (WI) and Kumar Dharmasena (SL), TV umpire: Asad Rauf (PAK)Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SL)

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Ten Doeschate's all-round show in vain

Updated at: 2131 PST,  Thursday, February 24, 2011

Ryan ten Doeschate's all-round show went in vain as Netherlands went down by six wickets to England in a Group B match in ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on Tuesday.Riding on ten Doeschate's 119 (110b, 9x4, 3x6), Netherlands posted 292 for 6 in its 50 overs. In its chase, England overhauled the target in 48.4 overs to finish at 296 for 4.Earlier ten Doeschate shared a crucial 78 run stand with Tom Cooper (47) for the third wicket. He then added a further 64 runs with Tom de Grooth (28) for the fifth wicket. To finish things off ten Doeschate added 61 runs for the sixth wicket with skipper Peter Borren (35 not out).For England, James Anderson (0-72), Stuart Broad (2-65) were expensive with the ball.In its reply, England got off to a confident start with skipper Andrew Strauss (88: 83b, 9x4) and Kevin Pietersen (39) adding 105 for the opening wicket.Later, Jonathan Trott (62: 65b, 4x4) held the innings together. Ian Bell contributed a useful 33 as England held its nerves to script a win.Ten Doeschate performed well with the ball as well picking up 2-47.

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South Africa players support young people affected by HIV

Updated at: 2131 PST,  Thursday, February 24, 2011

Ahead of their opening ICC Cricket World Cup match against West Indies in New Delhi, South Africa captain Graeme Smith and teammates took time out from training to interact with young people affected by HIV on Tuesday.As part of the global Think Wise partnership between ICC, UNAIDS and UNICEF which is raising awareness and reducing stigma about HIV and AIDS throughout the cricket world, the youngsters spent an hour with Smith, Johan Botha, J.P.Duminy and Wayne Parnell on the field of the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.After a fun-filled catching and throwing session, all of the participants gathered on the outfield to discuss issues relating to HIV and AIDS, including the role that cricket players can play in reducing stigma and discrimination around the disease."It was a wonderful experience for the young participants. The South African players showed excellent awareness of the issues relating to HIV and AIDS and displayed a passionate commitment to helping address these important issues," said UNICEF?s Geetanjali Masters who accompanied the young people.The visit was part of a programme of activities taking place at the ICC Cricket World Cup that includes similar interactions with other teams and a communications campaign featuring a Public Service Announcement recorded by Virender Sehwag and Kumar Sangakkara, two of a group of Think Wise champions that also includes Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shakib Al Hasan.

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