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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