Kolkata says can be ready for World Cup

Updated at: 1602 PST,  Friday, January 28, 2011
NEW DELHI: The bosses of Kolkata's Eden Gardens insisted Friday they could be ready to host next month's India-England World Cup clash after the venue was ruled out because of unfinished renovation work.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) sparked a logistical nightmare for organisers on Thursday by asking for an alternative stadium for the February 27 match because of concerns about unfinished facilities at the famous ground.

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), which runs the stadium, asked the the ICC to reconsider its controversial ruling, which raised further questions about India's ability to host major sporting events.

CAB chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, a former ICC president and himself a construction company owner, wrote to the Indian cricket board on Friday to convince the governing body to stick to the original schedule.

"(The ICC's decision) comes as a shock because when their inspection team was in Kolkata, we were given to understand that they were happy with the progress of the work and had suggested only a few minor modifications," said the letter.

CAB chiefs promised they would hand over a completed Eden Gardens to the ICC on February 7, "provided we are given an extension."

"Finally, we also state that we will address the bulk of the ICC concerns by January 31, 2011 itself and the remaining little, if any, in another seven days," the letter said.

World Cup organisers were struggling to find a different venue and organise travel, ticketing and security.

"It's a challenge for sure, but we are working on solving the issue at the earliest," tournament director Ratnakar Shetty told reporters at the World Cup headquarters in Mumbai.

The ICC was concerned about work in the renovated stands of Eden Gardens, as well as corporate boxes, the media centre and the location of the radio commentary boxes.

The problems echoed similar trouble before the Delhi Commonwealth Games in October that were marred by severe delays in construction work and shoddy finishing.

Tour operators said they hoped the matter would be resolved soon with the tournament looming.

"England v India is the biggest of all the group games," Shirley Rattray of Cricket Logistics, the ICC's official travel partner, told a cricket website.

"It is the most popular because Eden Gardens is such an iconic venue to watch cricket. A match there is regarded as one of the sporting things to do before you die.

"So it's a big shame that the game has had to be moved."

Rattray said tickets needed to be relocated and fresh flights and hotels booked.

"It's never easy when things like this happen, but it will get done. That's the way things work in India, things can be turned around at the last minute very quickly."

Eden Gardens, which hosted the World Cup final in 1987 and a semi-final in 1996, is due to host three other matches. A decision on whether they will go ahead will be taken by the ICC at a later date.

The three games are South Africa v Ireland on March 15, Ireland v the Netherlands on March 18 and Zimbabwe v Kenya on March 20.

The World Cup is being co-hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka from February 19 to April 2.

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Kolkata says can be ready for World Cup

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England beat Australia to avoid series defeat

Updated at: 1245 PST,  Friday, January 28, 2011
ADELAIDE: Inspired by a Jonathan Trott century England secured a 21-run victory over Australia on Wednesday, keeping alive their hopes of winning the one-day series after trailing 3-0.

The tourists needed a win to claw their way back into the seven match series and a fine century by man-of-the-match Trott helped them to 299-8, the first time they have lasted their full complement of overs in this series.

Australia never looked comfortable in reply at the Adelaide Oval and their chances all but evaporated with the wicket of opener Shane Watson for 64, caught behind of Ajmal Shahzad.

Captain Michael Clarke's season-long woes with the bat deepened when he was clean bowled by part-timer Paul Collingwood for just 15 as the home team fell short with just 278 for seven.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, the tourists looked poised for a huge score when they brought up their century for the loss of one wicket in the 15th over.

But the middle order stuttered and the innings lost its way, regaining momentum through a late flourish from Michael Yardy, who hit 39 not out from 27 balls.

Trott (102 from 126 balls), who also picked up two wickets in the Australian innings, set up the win with his second ODI century while opener Matt Prior belted 67 from 58 balls.

The pair set England on course for a bug score, piling on 113 in quick time for the second wicket.

They were helped by poor bowling from Australia's pacemen, with Brett Lee conceding 68 runs from eight overs and Doug Bollinger 55 from nine.

Lee's wayward bowling helped the English get off to flyer, his first delivery resulting in five wides in an opening over that cost 12 runs.

However, the loss of Prior in the 23rd over slowed the innings.

Prior, who was coming off successive ducks, brought up his 50 with a six off Lee, but fell to Steve Smith in the spinner's second over, top-edging an attempted cut.

The English middle order struggled with Kevin Pietersen making just 12 and Ian Bell going for duck, the pair both falling within three balls in one Smith (3-33) over.

Eoin Morgan's indifferent form continued when he fell to part-time spinner David Hussey attempting a reverse sweep for 24.

Hussey bowled just four overs, but picked up 4-21, also removing centurion Trott, who dragged a ball onto his stumps, Paul Collingwood (27) and Ajmal Shahzad (4).

England were forced to leave out spinner Graeme Swann and all-rounder Tim Bresnan, both sent home early because of injury in a bid to have them fit for next month's World Cup.

Swing bowler James Anderson returned for his first game of the series at the expense of youngster Chris Woakes, while Pietersen was recalled for Luke Wright.

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Sri Lanka tour will be good World Cup preparation: Gibson

Updated at: 1605 PST,  Thursday, January 27, 2011
The West Indies team's upcoming tour of Sri Lanka is being seen as "good preparation" for next month's ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Speaking before the team departed from the Caribbean, Head Coach Ottis Gibson said the three matches in Sri Lanka will give the team a chance to get acclimatized to the conditions, where the mega event will also be played.

"It is a good opportunity to put some of the plans in place that we are going to take into the World Cup. When we went for the Test series we did really well as a team and we made progress. We also had a chance to get used to the conditions. Now we are heading back to Sri Lanka for these three One-Day Internationals and we will be looking to put in place the plans that we will be taking into the World Cup. The players are fresh out of the Caribbean Twenty20 and all the players are ready for what we have coming up," Gibson said.

The West Indies played to a 0-0 result in the three-match Test Series last December. The ODI Series was to be played in December but was rescheduled due to bad weather. Gibson said the ultimate goal on tour was to win the World Cup. The Windies have been drawn in Group B alongside South Africa, Netherlands, India, Bangladesh, England and Ireland in the 14 team event.

"I think we have a team that can win the World Cup. We will go there with the expectation of doing very well and putting ourselves in a position that we can reach the semi-finals, which is a very realistic possibility. We would love to win and we will try to win. The aim is to reach the semi finals and put ourselves in a position to capitalise from there," Gibson said.

"The Cricket World Cup is one of the biggest stages in international sport and we want to make sure we feature during the tournament. We are not listed among the favourites and that could work in our favour," Gibson concluded.

Team: Darren Sammy (captain), Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle, Nikita Miller, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith.

Team Management Unit: Ottis Gibson (Head Coach), Richie Richardson (Team Manager), David Williams (Assistant Coach), C.J Clark (Physiotherapist), Hector Martinez Charles (Strength and Conditioning Co-ordinator), Richard Berridge (Video and Statistical Analyst), Philip Spooner (Media Manager), Virgil Browne (Massage Therapist).

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Clarke turns to his Indian mentor for change of fortune

Updated at: 1605 PST,  Thursday, January 27, 2011
Struggling Australia stand-in skipper Michael Clarke has turned to his childhood mentor and Indian-origin coach Neil D'Costa in a bid to revive his batting form ahead of the upcoming World Cup in the sub-continent.

The move comes a day after national selector Greg Chappell publicly backed the batsman to return to his best.
Emphasising on the three successive victories in the ongoing series against England, D'Costa has told his protege to relax and start focusing on his game as Australia seems to be back on track.

"A lot of captains, at different times... they don't put their gas mask on first," the Indian origin coach said. "They're running around trying to fit everybody else's gas mask. I feel as though, with the team back winning, he can get a little bit of oxygen in his lungs and settle back in his innings and we can see some runs," D'Costa told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Clarke has scored just 193 runs at an average of 21.44 during the recent Ashes loss to England and hardly showed any signs of revival during the first three ODI's of the ongoing series. D'Costa however disagreed that captaincy had distracted Clarke saying, "I don't think it's the captaincy weighing him down. It's a matter of prioritising. He cannot stand the team losing. He just hates it. That's how most captains are around the world. What happens with captains is they're searching for what can make his team go in the right direction," D'Costa added.

The coach, however, reiterated that since the Kangaroos are back to winning, Clarke will soon return to form. "The team's started to win and, as a captain, that will make him feel that other guys are starting to be a bit more confident in their game. They seem to be a bit more confident. There seems to be more guys contributing.

"The fielding seems to have improved quite a lot, their catching has improved quite a lot in a short space of time. So some confidence has started coming back to the side and with that we'll start to see the captain starting to make some runs as well," the coach insisted.

Endorsing David Hussey's view that the captain was trying too hard, D'Costa said, "He's looking for runs rather than letting the runs come. As a player you're desperate to score runs. Right now he's trying too hard when he bats. Things go wrong when you try too hard. If you just let it flow, things start to fall into place," D'Costa added.

D'Costa also supported Clarke's view that his problems were not technical. "Everyone seems to keep attacking his technical features.It's not always technical, it's an extremely mental game."

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Swann hoping to be fit in time for CWC 2011

Updated at: 1605 PST,  Thursday, January 27, 2011
Injured England off-spinner, Graeme Swann has revealed that he has battled for long with the back problem but insisted that he will be fit for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup in the sub-continent.

Swann flew back to his home from Australia in the middle of the ongoing bilateral one-day series after he was ruled out of the rest of the tour following a severe back spasm.

The spinner is also nursing a knee injury which had kept him out of action since January 16.

Swann, who is currently number two in the Reliance ICC Test Ranking for bowlers said, "I've had a bad back for years and, every now and again, it gives me problems. But I know from previous experience that I'll definitely be fine for the World Cup from the start.

"It happened when I was getting changed in Hobart. I bent down and felt a twinge, there was nothing more to it than that.

"It's improved already but would not be 100 per cent right to play in any of the remaining one-dayers," Swann told The Sun.

The bowler will join his wife, Sarah, and will remain at home to attend the birth of their first child before flying to India on February 22, two days before England's World Cup opener against Holland in Nagpur.

Swann, who is set to miss England's warm-up matches, though pointed out, "Once I'm fit again, I'll join in with Notts' winter training.

"It's been a long tour away and it's taking its toll on a number of players. I'm not worried about the back. The first time it happened in my career, I was frantic. But it doesn't feel as bad as it did then."

The bowler, however, was satisfied with his performance Down Under and said, "...I have some great memories - winning the Ashes will stay with me forever."

England have been left with spate of injuries as they look ahead to vie for an elusive World Cup trophy.

Fast bowler Tim Bresnan, who made his mark with the ball during the team's successful Ashes campaign, starts off as a big doubt as he has a torn calf muscle.

Stuart Broad, who tore a stomach muscle during the second Test is back with the team but is unlikely to play in any of the remaining ODI's.

Emphasising on the team's expanding injury list ahead of the mega event coach Andy Flower said, "Not only do we play high intensity international cricket but we also train at high intensity.

"There are serious demands on these guys. We're almost three months into this tour and it's not surprising there are injuries," Flower added.

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Campbell satisfied with performance in India

Updated at: 1605 PST,  Thursday, January 27, 2011
Head coach of the West Indies women's team Sherwin Campbell has expressed satisfaction with the development and commitment demonstrated by the team on the recent tour of India.

The team returned home late Tuesday after three weeks on the sub-continent. They lost the five-match ODI Series 2-3, after taking a 2-1 lead, and lost the three-match T20 Series 1-2, after drawing level in the second match.

"Many teams, both men and women, go to India and get blown away so I was pleased with the fact that we were very competitive against the Indian girls and we played some fantastic cricket on tour," Campbell said.

"The Indians are ranked above us and are more experienced than us but the way we played showed that we have a talented team here in the West Indies, and the ladies are committed to getting better.

"We toured South Africa and Sri Lanka and managed to do very well. We played against England in St Kitts and we beat them. We also reached the semis in the World T20. Now with the performance in India, it shows that the team is making more steps forward," Campbell said.

"It is never easy away from home. To go out there in foreign conditions and record victories in tough conditions, again proved we are getting better as individuals and as a team. I believe we should have won the ODIs. We outplayed India in the first match, and on two occasions we lost by just 10 runs," Campbell recapped.

"We need to learn from these experiences so that the next time we get in winning positions we can convert them to victories," the former West Indies Vice Captain said.

Windies star all rounder Stafanie Taylor dominated the ODIs, making the most runs and taking the most wickets. Off-spinner Anisa Mohammed got the second most wickets. Both made major jumps on the Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings.

Left-hander Shanel Daley also batted well in her new position at Number 3 and recorded career-best scores in the both formats. Seamer Tremayne Smartt was also a stand-out with her bowling in the Twenty20 Internationals.

Campbell commented: "I have been with the team for close to three years now and I can see the overall improvement, the overall effort, the desire to get better. We are moving forward. We have players who give 100 percent every time. Once you get that kind of effort the team will do well. We would love to play more against teams ranked higher so we can get competitive and improve even more."

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Morkel, Tstosobe make rapid strides

Updated at: 1605 PST,  Thursday, January 27, 2011
South Africa's victory in the five-match ODI series against India on Sunday has coincided with its key performers making rapid progress in the Reliance ICC ODI Rankings.

Man of the Series fast bowler Morne Morkel, who ended with 12 wickets, moved up by 10 places to secure the second spot behind New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori in the Reliance ICC ODI Rankings for bowlers. With 704 points, Morkel has earned his best placing so far on the table in his ODI career. Among the others to move up in the rankings is left-arm fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe who moved a whopping 38 places to the eleventh spot, his best to date. Tsotsobe was the highest wicket-taker in the series with 13 scalps from five games.

For India, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh moved up three places to the 19th and spearhead Zaheer Khan moved to 22nd from the 27th spot.

In the Reliance ICC ODI Rankings for batsmen, Hashim Amla retained his position on the top of the charts after his match-winning hundred in the final match of the series on Sunday.

India's Virat Kohli moved up three places to finish at joint second position with South Africa's AB de Villiers for his best-ever placing.

Perhaps the biggest mover among the batsmen was Yusuf Pathan who broke into the top 50 for the first time in his career. He moved from 82nd to the 48th following his knocks in the last three games

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ICC Inspection team rules out Kolkata for 27 February India v England fixture

Updated at: 1605 PST,  Thursday, January 27, 2011
A venue inspection team which included the Tournament Director, members of the Central Organising Committe (COC) and the ICC, have today reported on the readiness of five outstanding venues scheduled to host matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

Following the inspection tour, the three Sri Lanka venues - Colombo, Hambantota and Pallekele - as well as Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai have been approved subject to minor finishing work being completed within specified time frames not exceeding 14 days. The expert report, however, determined that Eden Gardens in Kolkata would not be ready within an acceptable time frame to host the India v England ICC Cricket World Cup match on 27 February.

Of particular concern was the fact that host venue obligations in relation to cricket operations, media, broadcast and sponsorship facilities were not finalized and/or confirmed by the venue.

The ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of the decision and, as host, the BCCI will now consider an alternate venue for approval by the ICC.

Mr Lorgat said: "All venues had ample time in which to prepare for world cup matches. We had been understanding and had provided extensions to the deadline dates but unfortunately we are now at a point where we must carefully manage our risks.

"The COC had provided venues with a deadline of 30 November 2010 to complete all construction work and then to be match-ready by 31 December 2010. An extension was granted by the ICC for five venues, which were again inspected over the past week. Sadly, Eden Gardens in Kolkata was unable to meet the final deadline date of 25 January 2011.

"Regrettably, Eden Gardens has not made sufficient progress to justify the level of confidence required to confirm that the venue would be ready in good time. This was no easy decision to take and while it is most unfortunate, it is absolutely necessary," said Lorgat.

The inspection team drew on the knowledge and experience of some of the leading experts in the field of stadium and ground preparation and the view was that Eden Gardens would not be ready by the 27 February.

The ICC has also recognised the challenge of relocating a scheduled match.

Tournament Director Prof. Ratnakar Shetty said: "We will work with the new venue, the tour operators and the ticket distributors to manage the logistical challenges that will surely arise."

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Luke Woodcock called up for third ODI New Zealand v Pakistan, 3rd ODI, Christchurch

Updated at: 0807 PST,  Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Luke Woodcock, the only uncapped player in New Zealand's World Cup squad, has been included in 12-man team for the third ODI against Pakistan in Christchurch on January 29. Ross Taylor will captain the side while Daniel Vettori will stay with the team but won't play the match.We think it's important for everyone in the World Cup squad to get a run before they head to India," Mark Greatbatch said. "Normally theselection panel would pick a squad for two matches but because of the short game in Wellington and the rained-out match in Queenstown we wanted some flexibility Luke Woodcock comes into the squad and deserves his place after playing so well for Wellington over a number of seasons. It's important he gets some exposure to international cricket and I'm sure he will make the most of the opportunity when he gets his chance. Kyle Mills is a proven performer at international level and will slot back into the squad with Jesse Ryder and James Franklin going back to play domestic cricket.Franklin and Ryder will be available for Wellington's one-day match against Northern Districts on January 30.Squad: Ross Taylor (capt), Hamish Bennett, Martin Guptill, Jamie How, Nathan McCullum, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Luke Woodcock, Kane Williamson

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Rain wipes out second one-dayer New Zealand v Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Queenstown

 Updated at: 0807 PST,  Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Pakistan 31 for 0 v New Zealand Abandoned

Queenstown is the place for adrenaline-junkies but there was little excitement on Wednesday as persistent rain allowed only 4.2 overs of play in the second one-dayer between Pakistan and New Zealand.

There were showers early in the morning, but it cleared up before start of play, raising hopes of the fans who had gathered. The rains returned, however, soon after Daniel Vettori chose to field, as every international captain has done after winning the toss in Queenstown.

New Zealand stuck with their plan of giving James Franklin the new ball, ahead of the much quicker Hamish Bennett, and it didn't work as 19-year-old Ahmed Shehzad took 16 off his two overs, including a smash over square leg for six off the third ball. Shehzad, playing his first one-dayer in 20 months, also slapped Tim Southee for a couple of fours before the rains returned, and stayed through the day to cause the match to be abandoned.

The third one-dayer of the series is in Christchurch on Saturday, and the bad news is that rain is predicted during that game as well.

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Southee and Ryder crush Pakistan

Updated at: 0807 PST,  Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Shahid Afridi won the toss and batted. Daniel Vettori wanted to do the same. Both captains expected the drop-in pitch at the Westpac Stadium to have runs in it. Instead, Pakistan's batsmen faced a torrid examination of their techniques during an extravagant display of swing and seam bowling from Tim Southee. They were beaten innumerable times on both edges and five eventually succumbed to him. And the rest of the New Zealand attack, Hamish Bennett in particular, supported Southee by building pressure, giving away nothing. The outcome was a spectacular collapse that ended in the 38th over, leaving New Zealand with a modest target, which they overhauled with aggression.The same sequence of events, with different characters, played on loop. A bowler pitched on a good length, the ball angled in before seaming away, the batsman fished, and if he was lucky, he missed. Pakistan's run-rate dipped below 3.50 after the second over and it did not reach that height again. Of the six boundaries that were hit in the first 30 overs, only two were the product of fluent strokes. Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq, who secured victory in the Test series, struggled but appeared to be guiding Pakistan out of the mire. Then Bennett, a fast bowler built like an All Black, ripped through the resistance with a double-strike in two balls. Amid the uncertainty over the identity of Pakistan's World Cup captain, Afridi failed while his deputy Misbah, defiant at one end, watched his team-mates come and go. Allan Donald, New Zealand's brand new bowling coach, looked on with satisfaction.

When New Zealand came out to chase, though, the Pakistan bowlers were unable to recreate the trouble their batsmen had suffered. Their lines and lengths were not bad initially, but the lateral movement was negligible, and Jesse Ryder, hurting after one duck too many in the Tests, went after them. He drove, hooked and slashed his way to a rapid half-century, and in the company of Martin Guptill, set up a nine-wicket victory with 32.4 overs to spare. The result continued the trend of New Zealand skittling teams cheaply at the Westpac Stadium, and chasing with relative ease.The afternoon had begun with Kamran Akmal threading a square drive through the narrow gap between two fielders in the point region - a false dawn. Southee's first ball was a wide outswinger that Kamran chased and missed. He then strayed on to the pads twice but wasn't punished by the openers. Southee was fine-tuning his line and length, and once he found it, he was swinging the ball into off and seaming it away. The one that cut back amid the outswingers only added to the confusion.

Mohammad Hafeez had struggled for eight scoreless deliveries before he poked at one that seamed away, edging Southee to Brendon McCullum. Kamran, who had shown patience and adequate technique for 22 balls, eventually chased another seaming delivery and watched Ryder leap to his left at point to take a sharp catch. Asad Shafiq was unlucky to be given lbw because the one that nipped back into him, after he had been beaten by several outswingers, hit him high on the back thigh. Southee's first spell was 6-0-16-3.

Southee was not without support, though, for Franklin, Jacob Oram and Bennett were tight. There was pressure at both ends and wickets from one. Younis and Misbah nudged around for singles, unable to do much else. Younis, beaten several times, smiled in the knowledge that today, unlike most other ODI days, would not be a batsman's day. And then he was late in pushing off the back foot against a quick one from Bennett and edged behind. Umar Akmal came and went in a jiffy, edging a rising delivery to first slip. Pakistan were 57 for 5.They could have been worse off but Afridi's attempt to attack Vettori, a mis-timed loft to long-on, was dropped by Oram. Afridi was on 3. They were worse off soon, though, when Southee returned for his second spell and got Afridi to edge to McCullum, who leapt acrobatically across first slip to take his 200th catch. In the 30th over Abdul Razzaq, the last of the recognised batsmen, square drove Oram for four. It was only the second shot of authority of the innings. A ball later he hung his bat out to edge behind. Abdur Rehman did likewise next ball.Misbah, rapidly running out of partners, took the batting Powerplay in the 35th over and carted Oram over the midwicket boundary for the innings' only six. He attacked Southee too, lofting over cover and driving down the ground, desperate to add whatever he could to Pakistan's meagre total. He got to a well-earned half-century, but then walked too far across his stumps to play to leg and was bowled. Fittingly, Southee was the bowler and the final wicket was his fifth.Any hopes of Pakistan's bowlers triggering a collapse ended in the fifth over of the chase. Ryder took on Shoaib Akhtar, lofting over the off side for four, hooking for six and powering past mid-off in an over that cost 17. In the next over, Ryder carted Sohail Tanvir over mid-off and then swung a full ball over the square-leg boundary. New Zealand had raced to 50 after six overs, when the tea break was taken. Ryder fell after the resumption but New Zealand, steered by Guptill, stormed to an emphatic victory that ended a streak of 11 consecutive defeats. 

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John Wright hints at changing opening combination

Updated at: 0807 PST,  Wednesday, January 26, 2011

New Zealand coach John Wright has hinted at splitting the one-day opening combination of Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder for the series against Pakistan, as his side seeks to end a 11-match losing streak in the format. Wright hopes to use the six games against Pakistan to zero in on the right line-up for the World Cup, which begins on February 19.

"They [McCullum and Ryder] may not be at the top of the order," Wright told NZPA. "There may be only one of them at the top of the order. We really need to look at the way we have been playing and to consider where we have our firepower, particularly our impact batsmen. There is the opportunity to start with the Powerplay, and then who plays where when we get to the next Powerplay. We will have a look at that and make the decisions.

"It's something we just have to consider carefully. Dan [Daniel Vettori] will have some strong views on it and you look at the batting line-up, and if we can get players in form, and get our order right, then we should be able to do the job."

McCullum and Ryder formed one of New Zealand's most successful opening pairs, and Wright said the decision to move one of them lower down would be to beef up a misfiring middle order. "The one thing about New Zealand one-day sides is that they always appear to be at their strongest when you had great batting depth around Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8," Wright said. "When you played against New Zealand they were just a hard side to break down. We will be looking to bat as deep and with as much quality as we can around those areas."

Martin Guptill, who opened in the second Test in Wellington when Tim McIntosh was dropped, is likely to take the role in the one-dayers, if New Zealand decide to make the change. "Obviously the development of Martin Guptill has been a huge plus for us," Wright said. "He has played incredibly well in the Twenty20 series and he worked ever so hard in the Test series, and he looks ever so promising."

Despite the 1-0 defeat in the Test series, Wright was encouraged by New Zealand's show in the second Test when they stretched Pakistan for a hard-fought draw. "I was pleased with the improvement and quality of our play in Wellington. It was disappointing not to get a win, if we had broken that partnership [between Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan] we probably would have. I suppose we have got to learn to play sessions and we had a terrible session in Hamilton that cost us the series."

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Rain delays NZ-Pak second ODI

Updated at: 0323 PST,  Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Rain delays NZ-Pak second ODI QUEENSTOWN: Rain delayed the start of play in the second one day international between New Zealand and Pakistan in Queenstown on Wednesday.

Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Queenstown Events Centre, a venue where no side batting first has ever won.

The tourists, coming off a nine-wicket hiding in the first game of the six-match series, will field a rejigged line-up as they seek a winning combination ahead of next month's World Cup.

"We have time now to do some experimentation before the World Cup because you can't do experiments in the World Cup," Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said.

Pakistan brought in batsman Ahmed Shehzad for Asad Shafiq, while bowlers Wahab Riaz and Umar Gul replaced Abdur Rehman and Shoaib Akhtar.

New Zealand, whose victory on Saturday ended an 11-match losing streak in one-dayers called up batsman Jamie How in the place of Nathan McCullum.

The Black Caps stayed with their new opening partnership of Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill.

Captain Daniel Vettori said conditions should suit paceman Tim Southee, who took five wickets in the first game in Wellington on Saturday. "It's overcast, it should assist the bowlers early on," he said.

Queenstown, a South Island ski resort town, has hosted only six one day internationals since 2003.

In each of them, the side that won the toss has elected to bowl first and gone on to win.

New Zealand: Jesse Ryder, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Jamie How, Scott Styris, James Franklin, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori (captain), Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett.

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi (captain), Abdul Razzaq, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz

Umpires:Chris Gaffaney (NZL), Amiesh Saheba (IND)
TV umpire: Barry Frost (NZL)
Match referee: Alan Hurst (AUS)

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Inzamam blasts PCB over World Cup build-up

Updated at: 1607 PST,  Monday, January 24, 2011
KARACHI: Former Pakistan cricket captain Inzamam-ul-Haq Monday accused the sport's authorities of creating factions within the national side by delaying the naming of a captain for next month's World Cup.

Pakistan is the only one of 14 competing teams to have failed to name a captain for the tournament, to be jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from February 19 to April 2.

Inzamam, who played 120 Test matches for Pakistan scoring 25 centuries, said the delay had disrupted the team's preparations for the showpiece event and stoked divisions among the squad.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last week named a 15-man squad for the tournament but did not name a captain, fanning speculation that current one-day captain Shahid Afridi could be replaced with Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq.

"With only three weeks left to the World Cup, Pakistan have no captain and the blame goes to the PCB for creating an impasse which has divided the team into two groups, supporting Afridi and Misbah," Inzamam said in an interview.

"In this scenario one cannot have high expectations for the team."

Inzamam was at the helm when Pakistan crashed out in the first round of last World Cup in 2007 -- a tournament overshadowed by the sudden death of coach Bob Woolmer a day after the side's shocking defeat against Ireland.

The team also tumbled out in the first round of the 2003 tournament.

But in 1992 Inzamam's inspired innings in the semi-final and final helped propel Pakistan to their only World Cup triumph.

"I am surprised, why does it always happen to Pakistan?" said Inzamam, who managed just 19 runs in the 2003 World Cup and was blamed for the team's poor performance.

"The PCB has failed to control the situation and if Pakistan fares badly in the World Cup, people will accuse the players and not the board."

Inzamam accused the PCB of in selecting the 15-man World Cup squad without consulting one-day captain Afridi or coach Waqar Younis.

"So if the team loses, the captain and coach will say that it was not their team and was selected without their consent. And they will rightly not accept responsibility for a poor showing," he said.

"When a team is without a captain how can a proper strategy be made? The team is playing a one-day series in New Zealand but they do not know who will be their captain in the World Cup which is very damaging."

Pakistan is in Group A of the World Cup and start their campaign with a match against Kenya at Sri Lankan resort of Hambantota on February 23.

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Refreshed Anderson returns to mount fresh challenge

Updated at: 0031 PST,  Tuesday, January 25, 2011
England's pace spearhead James Anderson is back after a break at home to spearhead the campaign in the remainder of the ODI series against Australia.Anderson returned home at the end of the five-match Test series, thereafter he missed the Twenty20 International series and the first three matches in the ODI series.Anderson will now feature in Wednesday's ODI at Adelaide."Hopefully I can bring a bit of experience and a bit of energy in the field. I'd like to think I bring some energy with both my bowling and fielding."He added: "I don't think we are that far away having seen the first three games. We aren't far away from a win and turning the momentum around," added Anderson.Despite the three reverses, Anderson is confident that England can turn it around."I know we are 3-0 down but the dressing room seems just as positive as when I left. They are still in good spirits. We know we are just one game away from turning the momentum around. We are looking to Wednesday to be a good all-round performance with both bat and ball," added Anderson.

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Miandad advises Pakistan players to learn from Tendulkar

Updated at: 0031 PST,  Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Former captain and director-general of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Javed Miandad has urged Pakistan cricketers to learn from the achievements of India batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar.

Rather than letting their on-field performance speak for them, Miandad feels that the players are happy to brag about their performance in media.

"We keep on reading and hearing about some of the players making claims about how they will deliver, but on field that is not happening and it is a big let down for the nation."

"I would advise them to just focus on their game and go for improvement and take every match seriously. The players need to realise cricket is played on the field.

"They should learn from Sachin who has had a wonderful career and scored century after century but one never hear him making tall claims about his performances or achievements. He is a proper professional and someone our players can learn from," the veteran of 124 Tests insisted.

Miandad also called on captain, Shahid Afridi to take more responsibility as a player and lift the team by example and said that the all-rounder has got enough amount of talent and he should channelise it properly.

"He shouldn't be playing the way he is. Imran Khan is a great example of how a captain should perform.

"Imran lifted the team in the 1992 World Cup. Afridi needs to start doing that himself. He did it during the ICC World T20 so he is perfectly capable of delivering," Miandad said.

He emphasised, "He (Afridi) has immense talent which he does not utilise properly at times."

Urging the players to take the current one-day series against New Zealand seriously Miandad said, "Unfortunately what I noticed was that the players didn't appear serious about their business in the first match in Wellington they took things lightly. In international cricket this is not acceptable."

Pakistan who are currently engaged in an ODI series against Kiwis failed to replicate their performance in Tests against the hosts and lost the series opener by nine wickets after being bowled out for just 124 runs in 37.4 overs.

Adding greater significance to ongoing series in view of the upcoming World Cup, Miandiad reiterated that losing it could have a big impact on their performances in the mega event.

"It is important for the players to realise that once they get into a losing streak it will be difficult for them to come out of it in a high pressure event like the World Cup," the former batsman cautioned.

"The players must realise they are fortunate to get such a series just before the World Cup," Miandad said while expressing his surprise at the relaxed attitude of the players in the first match.

"They need to realise the significance of the World Cup when every Pakistani is praying for their success. The tournament comes once in four years and everyone expects the team to fire in the World Cup."

"No excuses can be accepted and the players must also realise that if they perform well in the World Cup how much of a boost it would be for Pakistan cricket which is facing so many problems," he added.

"The players just need to get more serious about their performances. I believe they have the capability of winning the series in New Zealand and also doing well in the World Cup but for that they need to focus on their short comings and strengths and use them properly," Miandad said while pinning hope on the present ODI outfit.

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Dhoni wants batsmen to step up for CWC 2011

Updated at: 0031 PST,  Tuesday, January 25, 2011
India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was disappointed that the batsmen failed to fire as a unit in the five-match ODI series against South Africa, which concluded on Sunday with the Proteas eking out a 33-run win in the final one-dayer to clinch the series 3-2.

"It's a disappointing series for the batsmen. Bowlers were getting the wickets, and the runs too. Overall, we haven't performed as a batting unit," Dhoni said.

"It was a good wicket but unfortunately, we kept losing wickets. We got out playing shots," Dhoni said of Sunday's match.

The series was significant as it preceded the World Cup, to be held in the sub-continent next month. "The learning before the World Cup is to keep wickets in hand for the last ten overs, the powerplay."

"Two warm-up games before the World Cup will be ideal," he said.

"It was a good learning before the experience, a good preparation, though, conditions will be different (in the sub-continent)," the India skipper said.

India were reeling at 119 for eight when Robin Peterson dismissed Piyush Chawla but staged a dramatic recovery through Yusuf Pathan's belligerent century and his 100-run partnership with Zaheer Khan.

"Any target is small if he gets going," Dhoni said of the marauder.

He also thanked the crowd in South Africa for turning up in large numbers.

"It's been spectacular. They come out to support good cricket everything, during our last visit here, during the IPL," Dhoni said.

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Smith lauds team's ability to fight back

Updated at: 0031 PST,  Tuesday, January 25, 2011
South Africa captain Graeme Smith on Sunday said that winning the ODI series against India was all the more commendable as they had fought back from 1-2 down and this victory would be a morale booster for next month's World Cup.

"It was lot more exciting than what I had thought. I think going in to Port Elizabeth match we were 1-2 down. We were the team under pressure and we were expected to do well under pressure. Obviously for me guys doing so well and we winning the series was very special," he said at the post-match press conference after his side beat India by 33 runs.

"We have learnt some important lessons from this series. We could have been 0-3 or even 0-4 going in to this game. Some of the decisions we have made let us down. It has been hard cricket throughout the series. You have to be at your best to win the series and that is what we did exactly.

"So we are feeling very good team spirit going in to the World Cup. To do well in the World Cup guys need to get some good rest. Then we can start preparation and we are going to play two warm up games. Keeping yourself fresh is going to be crucial," he said.

Asked about the prospect of his side in the World Cup, Smith said, "World Cup is going to be different proposition. It is nice to carry this confidence of series win. We will go to India with Jacques Kallis coming in the team. Because of that we will have many more combination to choose from. During the World Cup wickets will be more batting friendly and we need to adapt our mindset for that."

Smith praised India batsman Yusuf Pathan who threatened to single-handedly win the game for India with his brutal 70-ball 105.

"He almost took the game away from us. We all know Yusuf's potential. Today he was incredible. He was timing the ball so sweetly. He was clearing the rope at will. All credit to Yusuf for fantastic knock he played," said Smith.

Asked why Imran Tahir was not played in the series, Smith said he has been shielded to make him a surprise package during the World Cup.

"It was tactical decision not to play Imran during the series. We think that there is enough time for Imran to play in India. We are going to play two games before the World Cup. He is someone we want to keep fresh for the Word Cup," said Smith.

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PCB says legal action from Zulqarnain futile

 Updated at: 0031 PST,  Tuesday, January 25, 2011
 LAHORE: Terming a much-hovering legal action from wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider against PCB, the counselor Tafazzal Rizvi Monday said, the former’s intentions are useless as “there should be a proper reason for lawsuit against PCB”, Geo News reported.

It may be mentioned that Zulqarnain Haider, currently staying in London, hinted at lodging a lawsuit against PCB on social networking website ‘Facebook’ that he was poised to serve on PCB a legal notice, reasoning that PCB had hurt his feelings by calling him ‘mentally retarded’.

Meanwhile, those who comprised board’s inquiry committee would also be served a legal notice, he further wrote on Facebook.

Board’s lawyer Tafazzal Rizvi, reacting over Zulqarnain’s threats, said there should be a proper reason to drag PCB in a court of law.

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