World Cricket News

Indian Media praises the God of Cricket

2010-02-25T20:39:00.000-08:00

Tendulkar, who turns 37 in April, smashed the first-ever double century in one-day international's on Wednesday, pounding the South African bowlers with 25 boundaries and three sixes.

Tendulkar's landmark dominated the front pages of leading newspapers, even overshadowing India-Pakistan diplomatic talks.

Immortal at 200, screamed a banner headline in the Times of India, while the Indian Expressran a half-page photo of a celebrating Tendulkar with the word God!

A similar front-page photo in the Hindustan Times, headlined 200 not out, was followed by an appreciation by Tendulkar's former teammate and bowling great Anil Kumble.

"The way he celebrated when he reached his 200 epitomised the man's persona," Kumble, an ex-India captain, wrote.

"There were no running laps around the field, no aggressive gestures, nothing over-the-top.

"He did what he always does. Raised both his arms, closed his eyes for a moment and quietly acknowledged it had been done.

"If the youngsters in the team can take even 10% of what he does, they will be better cricketers for it."

A memorable year

The Times of India highlighted the veteran's scintillating form in the last 12 months, during which he has hit 10 international centuries, including six in Test cricket.

"Treasure this new, improved Tendulkar," the paper said. "He is, by far, still India's most valuable player, and will remain so till he decides to call it quits."

Tendulkar, who made his debut in 1989, has scored 13 447 runs with 47 hundreds in 166 Tests, and 17 598 runs with 46 centuries in 442 one-day matches.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar rated Tendulkar over legendary Australian Don Bradman, saying the Mumbai man was the "greatest batsman the game has ever seen".

Newspapers highlighted Australian spin legend Shane Warne's tweets as he followed the knock of one of his close friends.

"Nervous for my good friend Sachin," Warne posted as Tendulkar neared his double century.

"Come on Sachin, my friend, get your 200. World record to please! you deserve it."

Once achieved, Warne said: "Yes, yes, yes! Well done Sachin my friend. Congrats and well done! Awesome."

The Hindustan Times cricket correspondent wrote: "It's never a good idea to try and speak for a whole nation. But on Wednesday it was a risk worth taking.

"To Sachin Tendulkar, on whom more words have been written than any other cricketer, including Sir Donald Bradman, two words will suffice: Thank you."

The pavilion at the Roop Singh stadium in Gwalior where Tendulkar achieved the feat will be named after him, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

The chief minister of Madhya Pradesh state, where Gwalior is located, also announced that one of the main roads in the town will be named after Tendulkar, PTI said.

India win in Kolkata, despite Amla resistance ; back to No 1 spot

2010-02-18T21:14:00.000-08:00

India defied an unbeaten century from Hashim Amla to crush South Africa by an innings and 58 runs in the final Test on Thursday to draw the series 1-1.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh claimed 5-59 as the tourists, trailing by 347 runs on the first innings, were bowled out for 289 in their second knock with just nine deliveries remaining in the match.

Amla returned unbeaten on 127 to finish the series with an astonishing average of 494 after making 253 not out in the first Test and 114 in the opening innings of this match.

The 26-year-old from Durban battled for 394 deliveries and struck 16 boundaries in his ninth Test century, but failed to prevent his team from snatching a thrilling draw.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Indians, who lost the first Test in Nagpur by an innings and six runs, retained their number one Test ranking with 124 rating points.

Second-ranked South Africa, who would have taken over from India if the match had ended in a draw, were left on 120 points.

Last man Morne Morkel (12) kept Amla company for 21.4 overs before being leg-before to Harbhajan in the penultimate over of the match in front of 40 000 relieved fans at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Wayne Parnell, who put on 70 for the eighth wicket with Amla, was dismissed in the fourth over after tea for 22. He was caught at mid-on off seamer Ishant Sharma.

Sharma also had Paul Harris caught in the slips for four, before Morkel and Amla almost pulled off a thrilling draw.

As the South Africans fought hard, India sorely missed pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, who was confined to the dressing room the entire day with a knee injury.

Breakthrough

The overnight pair of Amla and Ashwell Price put on 47 for the fourth wicket, before Harbhajan broke through two hours after the start under bright sunshine.

The off-spinner beat Prince in the air and the miscued drive lobbed to Sharma at mid-off.

Left-handed Prince made 23 after scores of zero and one in the previous two innings of the series.

Leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who left the field briefly for treatment on a sore right shoulder, returned to trap AB de Villiers leg-before for three with a googly just before lunch.

South Africa, who went to lunch at 164-5, slipped to 180-7 as Harbhajan claimed both Jean-Paul Duminy and Dale Steyn leg-before soon after play resumed.

Meanwhile, the Indian cricket board said in a statement that Zaheer will not feature in the one-day series against the Proteas which starts on Sunday.

South African captain Graeme Smith will also miss the one-dayers due to a fractured finger and all-rounder Jacques Kallis will lead the tourists in his absence, the team management said.

The internationals will be played in Jaipur (Feb 21), Gwalior (Feb 24) and Ahmedabad (Feb 27).

India dominate after Laxman, Dhoni tons

2010-02-16T07:24:00.000-08:00

Kolkata, India - Venkatsai Laxman and Mahendra Singh Dhoni slammed unbeaten centuries to put India in firm control of the second and final Test against South Africa on Tuesday.

Laxman hit 143 and Dhoni made 132 as India piled up a record 643-6 before declaring their first innings shortly before stumps on the third day at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The tourists, trailing by 347 runs, were six for no loss in their second knock when play was called off due to bad light after just five deliveries from Zaheer Khan.

India's powerful batting boosted their chances of squaring the series after they lost the first Test in Nagpur by an innings and six runs.

A drawn series will also enable Dhoni's men to retain their No.1 position in the official Test rankings.

India's total was their highest against South Africa, surpassing the 627 during the Chennai Test in 2008.

"We expected India to come back strongly," said South Africa's batting consultant Kepler Wessels.

"They're a very good team under their own conditions. We certainly expected them to put up this sort of fight. If you don't take your opportunities against a good side, you're going to pay the price."

Laxman and Dhoni put on 259 for the unbroken seventh wicket as India lost just one wicket, of nightwatchman Amit Mishra, during the day.

Laxman, who missed the Nagpur Test due to a finger injury, played some trademark pulls and drives for his 15th Test century and the fourth at the Eden Gardens.

Dhoni, dropped on 23, clobbered part-time spinner JP Duminy for two consecutive sixes and another off Paul Harris to underline India's dominance over the second-ranked Proteas.

There were four centuries in India's innings after Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar made hundreds on Monday.

The South Africans, who made 296 in their first knock, squandered a few chances in the field, which could prove costly as they seek their first Test series victory in India for nearly a decade.

Duminy spilled his second catch of the match when he dropped Laxman on 48 at backward point off Wayne Parnell (0-103).

Duminy had also grassed Sehwag on 47 while fielding in the slips on Monday. Sehwag went on to make 165 and set the platform for India's huge total.

"You can't drop good players and expect to get away with it, particularly on good surfaces like this," said Wessels. "It's challenging but you have to adapt and take the opportunities that come your way. We didn't.

"We're in a position where we have to save the game to win the series.

"There are two days of tough Test cricket ahead and we'll fight as hard as we can."

Resuming at 342-5, Laxman flicked a couple of boundaries in the first over of the day by Dale Steyn, who conceded 115 runs while taking just one wicket.

Laxman faced 260 balls during his nearly six-hour stay at the wicket.

Mishra (28) enjoyed a brief flourish and a couple of reprieves before falling to an ambitious upper cut which was plucked by Jacques Kallis off Morne Morkel (2-115) at second slip.

Four South African bowlers conceded more than 100 runs each, with left-arm spinner Harris being the most expensive with figures of 1-182 from 50 overs. - AFP

Mind your horses

2010-02-15T01:06:00.001-08:00

Among the tips for spectators coming to Eden Gardens for the second Test is to have a newspaper on hand to put on the concrete benches, a damp handkerchief to help with the dust, caps and wet towels for the heat, small boxes for food and fruit which must be cut.

But the most important warning doesn't involve anything inside the ground, or anything associated with the cricket, or a cricketer, it's to do with horses. "Be careful of the mounted police while venturing out. They lose control of their horses quite often."

Which is a pretty damning indictment of the mounted police. How do you qualify to be come a mounted policeman if you can't control your horse?

But enough horsing around. South Africa's first innings total in this match appears woefully inadequate. After the start they got thanks to Hashim Amla and Alviro Petersen, they really should have made more than 296.

The cab driver's son from PE, did a wonderful job Sunday. He was obviously very nervous at the start, but he was coldly analytical in describing what he wanted to do. There's an intensity about Petersen's play that he doesn't show outwardly.

It was through that kind of emotional detachment that Petersen has carved out a successful career for himself at domestic level. In the 2008/09 season he became the highest run-scorer in a first class cricket in South Africa, scoring 1376 runs at 57.33 that included six centuries and four 50s from 27 innings.

It was because of his desperation to improve that he packed his bags and left PE to go to Centurion 2000/01 to join Northerns. When he had a fall out there with coach Richard Pybus, he moved south to the Lions in 2005/06 and has continued to improve, finding consistency and revelling as a senior player.

It's no surprise that the Highveld Lions having made the decision to dispense with Neil McKenzie as captain looked to Petersen, he may not make Churchillian like speeches, but he'll inspire through his deeds.

His own self-belief is shared by his dad, who once told a group of travelling journalists to Port Elizabeth, to "interview my son now because one-day he's going to be a big star".

A hundred in your first Test, and that at Eden Gardens would suggest the father was right. And who did Petersen junior dedicate the hundred to? "I'll probably dedicate it to myself for all the hardwork I've put in in the last couple of years.

India search for right answer

2010-02-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

VVS Laxman’s return to the Test side will be a boost to the struggling Indian middle-order, but it is almost certain to cause a strange selection headache to the team management. Before suffering an innings defeat in the first Test against South Africa in Nagpur, the India think-tank had found it hard to plug the yawning gaps in the middle-order due to the absence of Rahul Dravid, Laxman and Yuvraj Singh. Now, as the Indian batting line-up regains some strength with Laxman’s presence, the team’s plan of countering left-arm spinner Paul Harris with the inclusion of Suresh Raina is bound to throw up the problem of who to leave out.

With no other left-handed batsman in the side after opener Gautam Gambhir, Raina had been called into the squad to provide cushion to the right-handers as they attempted to counter Harris’s negative leg-stump line. The spinner had choked the Indian batsmen in Nagpur with this tactic, dismissing Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar and skipper MS Dhoni in the second innings, to return figures of 38-17-76-3.

While Raina was earlier considered a direct replacement for Wriddhiman Saha — dropped after a woeful debut — the situation has changed with Laxman’s return. Only two out of three players — Raina, Vijay and S Badrinath — can now make it to the final XI and, according to highly placed sources, Raina looks set as of now to make his debut, leaving a difficult choice between between Vijay (227 runs in four Tests) and Badrinath (who impressed the selectors with a fifty on debut).

“The team management thinks the left-handed Raina, who is a good player of spin bowling, can upset Harris’s plan and rhythm. Of course, the final decision will be taken after reaching Kolkata and seeing the conditions there,” the team source said.

A national selector, who did not wish to be named, added that it was likely Vijay would be retained in the playing XI. “He hasn’t done badly. He was out to a brilliant Dale Steyn delivery in the first innings, and played well in the second. He is the right choice at No 3 in Dravid’s absence,” the selector said. While one would have expected Badrinath’s half-century to insulate him for the Eden Gardens Test, the India batting order is bound to see some readjustments.

There could be some changes in the bowling attack as well, with the most notable difference going into the Kolkata Test being that, after a string of average performances, Harbhajan’s place in the side does not remain a certainty. “After Anil Kumble’s retirement, Harbhajan was the clear spearhead of the spin attack, but so far he has failed live up to the expectations,” the selector said.

With the No.1 Test ranking on the line, the think-tank have a lot to take care of before Sunday’s fixture.

Source: Indian Express

Lalit Modi calls on ECB to make 'minor adjustments' to county schedule

2010-02-11T02:17:00.001-08:00

Lalit Modi, the Indian Premier League commissioner, has hit back in the row over fixtures scheduling that has developed between himself and the English and Wales Cricket Board by calling on the governing body to make "minor adjustments" to its county schedule so that English side can participate in this year's Twenty20 Champions League.

Modi's comments come a day after he announced the tournament would take place between 10-26 September and, as such, clash with the final two rounds of the County Championship season, the semi-finals and final of the 40-over league and the one-day international series between England and Pakistan.

This led to annoyance within the ECB as well as among the counties, with Richard Gould, the chief executive of Somerset, accusing Modi of engaging in brinkmanship by intentionally trying to force English sides to choose between his competition and the county championship.

"We hope the ECB will be able to prepone their domestic tournament and be able to participate by making this minor adjustment to their schedule," Modi told Cricinfo. Doing that, he added, would provide an opportunity to the top two English domestic Twenty20 winners to participate in the world club championships, where $6m is up for grabs, with $2.5 million going to the winners.

Modi also denied an ECB statement that it was not consulted over the dates. "[This is] not true," he said, adding that Dean Kino, a member of the Champions League governing council, "is and has been in touch with [David] Collier [the ECB chief executive] on a regular basis since December [2009]."

The Champions League Twenty20 is run by the boards of India, Australia and South Africa and its governing council comprises representatives from each board. Other countries participate in the tournament by invitation.

Modi said the scheduling is always complicated due to the fact that the Champions League timings are adjusted according to the international schedules in an existing Future Tours Programme.

"Given that Australia's tour to India begins on 2 October and other countries also have pre-committed FTP games it was the only window available this year," Modi explained. "We will always endeavour to accommodate all countries as far as possible, and the governing council looked at all possibilities and decided that these were the only dates."

The ECB, however, remains keen to see a compromise be reached so that English sides can take place in the Champions League as well as fulfil their domestic requirements.

"The ECB has expressed serious concern to the BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India], CA [Cricket Australia] and CSA [Cricket South Africa] concerning this decision and the matter will be discussed with the respective chairmen and presidents who are currently meeting in Dubai," read a statement yesterday. "The ECB believes that it would be a great shame for the Champions League tournament to be deprived of teams and players by this change of date in bringing forward the respective events by a week and has called on the BCCI to review all alternatives."

ICC turns down BCCI appeal, upholds ban on Kotla

2010-02-11T02:08:00.001-08:00

An appeal by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) challenging the 12-month ‘ban’ imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on the Kotla has been dismissed by the independent Appeals Commissioner, Michael Beloff.

The BCCI had disputed the ICC’s classification of the pitch used for the India-Sri Lanka ODI on December 27 last year as “dangerous and unfit”.

Beloff, conducted the hearing via a teleconference on Tuesday and issued his written judgement late on Wednesday.

As per the regulations, the decision to declare the pitch as unfit was taken by ICC general manager (cricket) David Richardson and ICC Chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle. The BCCI had subsequently appealed against the decision.

In his judgement, Beloff said: “Following due consideration of all the evidence and submissions from both the ICC and the BCCI, the correct decision was taken by Mr Richardson and Mr Madugalle to declare the pitch to be dangerous and, therefore, unfit.”

Beloff added that the imposed suspension until the end of 2010 was proportionate in this case, according to an ICC release.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said: “We must now focus on making sure the New Delhi venue is ready in time for the 2011 World Cup.

“The ICC’s pitch consultant will travel shortly to the Kotla, a ground with a long and proud history, to begin the process of remedial work that will ensure the pitch is restored to its former glory.”

The one-day International had been called off after 23.3 overs, during which the Sri Lankan players received several blows due to the uneven bounce of the pitch.

The ICC governing body earlier hadn’t specifically used the word ‘ban’, but the ruling implied just that.

The ICC said in a statement that following the conclusion of a full investigation into the circumstances leading to the abandonment of the ODI on December 27, it was confirmed that no international cricket would be played at the ground until the end of December 2010.

As per the BCCI’s rotation policy, the Kotla is not scheduled to host any international match this year.

The fact that the Kotla will host the Delhi DareDevils’ home matches in the upcoming IPL-III will, however, give the DDCA a chance to rebuild its image.

The Kotla is expected to host seven matches during the IPL in March-April. The one-year ban is on international matches, and the IPL, being a domestic tournament, is out of the global governing body’s purview.

Richardson and Madugalle’s decision was taken, after considering all the evidence, including video footage of the match, and the Match Referee Alan Hurst’s report and the submissions from the BCCI.

Richardson had said: “We understand that turf pitches, by their very nature, are not and cannot be expected to always behave predictably and that an occasional delivery of unexpected steep bounce, while not ideal, especially for limited-overs cricket, is part of the game.

“In this instance, however, we are of the view that the frequency of the misbehaving deliveries (on average just more than one every three overs) — and the excessive degree of variation — had the potential to inflict serious injury on the batsmen and that therefore the pitch that was prepared for the above match was ‘dangerous’ and should therefore be classified as ‘unfit”.

The BCCI had disbanded its grounds and pitches committee following the abandonment of the ODI.

All members of the grounds and pitches committee of the DDCA — chairman Chetan Chauhan, convenor Sunil Dev and curator Vijay Bahadur Mishra — had also resigned owning moral responsibility for the pitch fiasco.

"NO" for the Pakistani job ; Chappel Greg

2010-02-11T02:04:00.000-08:00

Former India coach Greg Chappell said he has rejected an offer to coach Pakistan, preferring to work with the next generation of cricketers in his native Australia, reports said on Thursday.

Chappell, 61, said he had received an approach from the Pakistan Cricket Board, which is yet to officially terminate the employment of Intikhab Alam following Pakistan's disastrous tour of Australia.

The former Australian Test captain, who did not extend his two-year stint as coach of India after the 2007 World Cup, said he was committed to his role as head coach of Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence.

"They (Pakistan) basically offered me the job but I told them, 'Thank you very much but I have a contract here with Cricket Australia for the next 18 months,'" Chappell told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Chappell said he was not looking for any further team roles and certainly not at international level, citing the demanding lifestyle accompanying the job.

"It's a job for the next generation of coaches, so I let them know that I am not in the hunt.

"I am really enjoying the Centre of Excellence role and it's a good level at which to work because the influence you can have at this level is probably greater than you can have at the higher level."

Chappell is the chairman of the youth selection panel that chose the Australian team that won the recent under-19 World Cup in New Zealand.

Chappell, the younger brother of former Test captain Ian, played 87 Tests for Australia from 1970 to 1984, scoring 7,110 runs at 53.86 and captained his country in 48 Test

LAXMAN back for second Test

2010-02-11T00:06:00.001-08:00

India's seasoned batsman Venkatsai Laxman will return for the final Test against South Africa after recovering from a finger injury, an official said on Thursday.

"Laxman is fit and will definitely be playing," chairman of selectors Krish Srikkanth told reporters ahead of the decisive Test which starts at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.

India, who lost the first Test in Nagpur by an innings and six runs, need a series-levelling win to retain their top spot in the International Cricket Council's Test rankings.

Laxman, 35, missed the Nagpur match after a finger injury sustained during last month's tour of Bangladesh failed to mend in time.

With star batsmen Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh ruled out of the series with injuries, Laxman was sorely missed in Nagpur as India crashed for 233 and 319 in reply to South Africa's 558-6 declared.

Laxman has scored 6 993 runs in 109 Tests at an average of 45,70 with 14 centuries.

India were forced to play rookie wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha as a specialist batsman in Nagpur after Rohit Sharma, the first-choice replacement for Laxman, got injured just before the toss.

Saha, who made 0 and 36, has been dropped for the Kolkata Test and replaced in the 15-man squad by the more experienced Dinesh Karthik.

SA must ready for a TURNER PITCH

2010-02-10T23:53:00.000-08:00

After 0-1 lead for India in the ongoing Test series, the South African team must ready for traditional turner pitch in the second match in Kanpur.Though ,the Indian team must not forget that the SA spinner did more damage than the their spinner in the last match, their is less alternative available for the Indian team to pursue.

Corrie van Zyl knows the road from now on will get harder, but will it be as hard as the last time South Africa were here in 2008?

On that occasion, they were also 1-0 up in the series and went to Kanpur to find a broken pitch on which they lost the third Test in three days.

After that match, the ICC gave the Board of Control for Cricket in India a slap on the wrist for the generally poor state of facilities at Green Park. The BCCI said they would take "corrective" measures.

But with a similar scenario facing India in this series - titled the "World Championship of Cricket" - will they be more wary before instructing the ground staff at the venerable Kolkata venue to "rake" the pitch? "I hope so," chirped Van Zyl. "I do, however, expect something that will help the Indian team.

Indeed, reports in local media on Wednesday quoted the head curator at Eden Gardens as saying he'd received a call from a BCCI official to prepare "a turner".

"Test cricket is meant to be played on good wickets. Can anyone please define what exactly a 'turner' is?" Prabir Mukherjee, the curator, told the Indian Express.

"If you want the ball to turn square from day one, why do you need a curator? The Eden Gardens wicket will have even bounce and decent carry. Spinners will come into play as the match meanders along."

The gist of Van Zyl's response on Wednesday to enquiries about the pitch in Kolkata, was, "we'll see".

"Mentally the South African team are better prepared. It's still going to be a challenge to deal with turning wickets, but the players are in a better place as far as the challenges of this tour are concerned," Van Zyl explained.

The concerns for India, though, is that they got a surface in Nagpur that was supposedly suited to their strengths.

Corrie van Zyl knows the road from now on will get harder, but will it be as hard as the last time South Africa were here in 2008?

On that occasion, they were also 1-0 up in the series and went to Kanpur to find a broken pitch on which they lost the third Test in three days.

Indeed, reports in local media on Wednesday quoted the head curator at Eden Gardens as saying he'd received a call from a BCCI official to prepare "a turner".

"Test cricket is meant to be played on good wickets. Can anyone please define what exactly a 'turner' is?" Prabir Mukherjee, the curator, told the Indian Express.

The gist of Van Zyl's response on Wednesday to enquiries about the pitch in Kolkata, was, "we'll see".

The concerns for India, though, is that they got a surface in Nagpur that was supposedly suited to their strengths.

What the selectors do with it is up to them," said Dhoni, who, along with coach Gary Kirsten, was clearly miffed about the squad given to them in Nagpur.

The inclusion of Shanthakumaran Sreesanth may temper calls for a "turner" in Kolkata. Sreesanth was in reasonable form until he was struck down by a thigh strain in Bangladesh last month and his five-for against Sri Lanka last November suggested a more mature approach from the clownish behaviour that was a feature of his play during India's last tour to South Africa in 2006/07.

South Africa fights India for Top Criicket Slot

2010-02-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

Nagpur, India - India's claim to be the world's leading test cricket nation will be put to the test by South Africa and a string of injuries in the series starting Saturday.

India dethroned South Africa to take the No. 1 slot on the International Cricket Council's test rankings and are coming off the back of a predictably comfortable 2-0 series victory over neighbors Bangladesh.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni downplayed the importance of the top ranking.

"We are not bothered about the ranking," Dhoni said Friday. "We have to play well and that is important to us."

However, the hosts enter the series, beginning at Nagpur, without experienced batsmen Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh, both nursing the injuries they sustained against Bangladesh, while paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth is also injured.

We know if we perform to our level we would be able to put India under lot of pressure."

The visitors enter the first test off the back of a strong showing in a two-day warm-up match against a Board President's XI.

South Africa's attack bowled out the home team's top six batsmen for 114 runs, with pacemen Morne Morkel and Wayne Parnell bagging three scalps each.

South Africa's batting coach and former captain Kepler Wessels was enthused by the display.

"After a brilliant performance by the bowlers on the first day, the batsmen also came good on Wednesday. All the top batsmen got runs. And I am very happy with the effort."

Of the 22 tests between the teams, South Africa have won 10 and India only five.

Squads:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Shewag, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, S. Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Sudeep Tyagi, Pragyan Ozha, Abhimanyu Mithun and Wriddhiman Saha.

South Africa: Grame Smith (captain), Hashim Amla, Ashwell Prince, A.B. de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Jean-Paul Duminy, Alviro Petersen, Mark Boucher, Paul Harris, Johan Botha, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn and Lonwabe Tsotsobe.

India vs South Africa 2010 - NAGPUR 1st Venue

2009-12-31T03:02:00.000-08:00

The cricketing caravan will roll into the Orange city once again when it hosts the first Test match between India and South Africa in February next year. The TOI has reliably learnt that the tour itinerary is almost finalized and Nagpur will be hosting the first Test from February 7 to 11.

That Cricket South Africa readily agreed to the Board of Control for Cricket in India request, to play two Tests and 3 ODI’s, at a short notice underlines the goodwill that exists between the two Boards.

The South Africans are scheduled to arrive in Nagpur on February 1

While top Vidarbha Cricket Association officials stressed that they are getting to host a Test match as per the rotation policy of the Board, the only reason why VCA will also be hosting the 2-day warm up match between the Board President’s XI and South Africa ahead of the Test match will be to cut down on the travel time and ensure top grade security for the visitors.

The tentative dates for the two-day warm-up game will be on February 3 and 4. This match will be played at the old VCA stadium in the heart of the city before the caravan moves over to the smashing new VCA stadium in Jamtha, about 16 kms from the city, for the first Test.

The last time Nagpur got to host a Test match was in November last year when they hosted the fourth and final Test match of the series against Australia.

The second Test match will be played in Kolkata from February 14 to 18.

The three One-dayers will be played at Jaipur, Jamshedpur and Goa. The likely dates for these matches are February 22, 25 and 28th.

Now Harbhajan lambastes Kotla officials

2009-12-31T02:58:00.001-08:00

Team India have remained tight lipped regarding the Kotla fiasco, but a few senior members of the team have been voicing their opinions regarding the aftermath. Earlier Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir in interviews let the DDCA have it, the latest to join the bandwagon is offieHarbhajan Singh.

According to Bhajji, practice games should have been conducted on the pitch before the international match between India and Sri Lanka. Also, Bhajji did extend his support for match referee Alan Hurst for his decision to call off the match owing to the dangerous pitch. The Turnunator admitted that there was definitely something wrong with the surface, and that playing for much longer would've resulted to a lot of injuries for both teams. The Lankan batsmen were lucky to survive as a few deliveries almost took their heads off. At one instance, Tilakarante Dilshan fell to the ground and writhed in pain after a ball turned sharply and hit is forearm. He said that the Indian batsmen would have suffered the same fate had they batted first.

"The pitch was behaving in surprising manner and Sri Lankan players got injuries due to fault of the pitch. The decision to call off the match was right," Harbhajan, who was in Jalander to witness the cricket tournament in the name of his father Sardev Singh at Burlton Park Stadium, said. "It is always better to hold some practice matches on any new pitch, instead of directly going for international matches," he said.

Earlier, the DDCA vice president and former Test player Chetan Chauhan stated that it was because of Sri Lanka that the final ODI was called off. Chauhan went on to say that Lanka were not manly enough to play on a dangerous track, and that they 'chickened out' when they were losing the game. "The Match Referee told me unofficially that one side did not want to carry on and he could not force them. It could not be India since (MS) Dhoni was willing to continue. Sri Lanka were at 83 for five and that's why they backed out... It was the Sri Lankans who chickened out," a defiant Chauhan told a TV channel.

"Everybody involved with the game is to be blamed for the fiasco, including the Match Referee. I don't think the match would have been called off had it been in Australia or South Africa. Had the pitch been dangerous for play, the match would have been called off inside five overs and it could not have gone on to the 24th.

"I agree this was not ideal for international matches but this was neither unplayable nor dangerous. I've played on similar tracks, even on worse. I never realised a match could be called off so easily," Chauhan wondered. We offered another wicket and said 'give us one hour and you would have it ready'. But he decided to call it off. The match should have continued because some 45,000 people were in the ground and another 2-3 crores were glued to the television. Only nine out of 130-odd deliveries either went low or above the normal bounce and that doesn't qualify the match to be cancelled. An honest effort should have been made to save the match," Chauhan said.

The fate of the Ferozshah Kotla stadium hangs by a thread, he venue faces a ban of a minimum of 12 months, and may well be out of contention to host four 2011 World Cup matches. Kotla neesd to be re-accredited by the ICC to reclaim its Test status. The BCCI face a heavy fine as well. The ICC report had taken serious note of the pitch, saying: "There is an ODI at this venue on December 27, 2009 and considerable improvement of the pitch block will be required by then to make the pitch provided more acceptable. During the Champions League and the India vs Australia ODI series, it was well documented that the performance and condition of the pitches at the stadium were a cause of concern for the players."

Proteas taken to the sword

2009-09-22T23:14:00.001-07:00

Tillakaratne Dilshan struck a century and Ajantha Mendis grabbed three key wickets as Sri Lanka cruised to a 55-run win over South Africa on Tuesday in the opening Champions Trophy game.

Opener Dilshan made 106 as his side reached 319-8 off 50 overs and spinner Mendis sent Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy packing as South Africa slumped to 206-7 when rain stopped play with 74 balls outstanding.

The Duckworth-Lewis method came into play and Sri Lanka emerged clearcut winners over opponents seeking a first ICC trophy since winning the inaugural Champions Trophy 11 years ago.

Smith opted to send Sri Lanka into bat on a run-rich pitch in a gamble that backfired as many of his bowlers revealed rust in their first competitive ODI appearance since losing to Australia last April.

Ranked the best ODI team in the world ahead of a two-week tournament second in importance only to the World Cup, South Africa must defeat New Zealand and England at the same venue this week or face a humiliating first-round exit.

"We batted very well by doing the basics properly and building partnerships, but we need to brush up on our bowling with which I am about 80 percent happy," said victorious captain Kumar Sangakkara.

Smith offered no excuses: "Tillakaratne and Kumar batted superbly and we must improve quickly and hopefully do a lot better. It is a question of getting the basics right."

A recent convert from the middle order, Dilshan hit 16 fours and one six in his 106 off 92 balls and a second-wicket partnership with Sangakkara reaped 158 runs on a slow, even-bounce pitch.

Dilshan finally departed off the first ball of the 29th over, caught at the boundary by Albie Morkel off the bowling of right-arm speedster Dale Steyn before a near-capacity crowd.

It was the third ODI century for the 2009 ICC Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year nominee, whose career-best 137 came against Pakistan in Lahore this year.

Wicketkeeper Sangakkara had departed two overs before Dilshan, caught and bowled by JP Duminy for 54 when he played too early on the leg side and got a leading edge.

The exploits of Dilshan and Sangakkara followed the early, cheap departure of the grand old man of Sri Lankan cricket, 40-year-old Sanath Jayasuriya, for 10 when trapped leg before by Steyn.

Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera proved a further thorn in South African flesh, adding 116 runs off 106 balls for the fourth wicket before they departed from consecutive Wayne Parnell deliveries.

Facing a mammoth total, the last thing the Proteas needed was the loss of an early wicket but Hashim Amla was walking back to the pavilion with just nine runs on the board after being bowled by Angelo Mathews.

The prize wicket of Smith came in the 15th over as he sought an off break when looking good on 58 and Kallis (41) and Duminy (0) fell to consecutive Mendis balls.

South Africa were tottering at 122-4 and any chance of a miraculous recovery vanished as AB de Villiers (24) and wicketkeeper Mark Boucher (26) departed on a dismal day for a team considered title favourites with Australia.

Srilanka started with a bang.....in ICC champians Trophy

2009-09-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka hero Tillakaratne Dilshan says switching from the middle to top order has helped develop him into a fearsome run machine.

He scored 106 to set his country up for a surprise 55-run victory over hosts South Africa at SuperSport Park on Tuesday in the opening match of the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy.

Sri Lanka amassed 319-8 on a run-friendy pitch and spinner Ajantha Mendis snatched three key wickets as South Africa slumped to 206-7 before rain halted play with 74 balls left and the Duckworth-Lewis system came into play.

"I have been in good form for the past 12 months and believe moving from the middle order to the top has helped me a lot," revealed Dilshan after receiving the man-of-the-match award.

"As an opener I feel I have more chances to build an innings and Kumar (captain Sangakkara) and I have developed a wonderful partnership in which we know how to assist each other."

It was the third ODI century by the 2009 ICC Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year nominee and his career-best 137 came this year against Pakistan in Karachi.

Dilshan struck 16 fours and one six in a near-flawless knock before being caught at the boundary by Albie Morkel off the bowling of right-arm speedster Dale Steyn.

Sangakkara hailed the contributions of Dilshan and Ajantha Mendis, who overshadowed more famous fellow spinner Muttiah Muralitharan by taking the wickets of skipper Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy.

"Tilla and Ajantha were outstanding but this victory is history now and we must capitalise on it otherwise it will be worthless," warned the skipper-cum-batsman-cum-wicketkeeper.

"The big challenge with Ajantha was when to bring him on and against who," said Sangakkara.

Smith said the Proteas - joint pre-tournament favourites with defending champions Australia for the $2-million first prize - had to improve quickly or face a humiliating early exit.

South Africa meet bogey team New Zealand at the same venue on Thursday and another loss would virtually spell the end of their chances to reach the semi-finals.

"Although it was our first outing we have no excuses. We need to improve quickly and hopefully do a lot better. It is a question of executing the basics properly."

England's one-day games against Australia serve no purpose

2009-09-07T07:44:00.000-07:00

A slightly less than full house dozed through another grim ritual, enacted to satisfy the apparatchiks who, in their wisdom, determined that there should be seven of these matches to round off the season.

Count them: the Oval, Southampton, Chester-le-Street, and two each at Lord's and Trent Bridge. Will anybody be awake when they finally put their bats away on Sept 20? Does a single person, beyond the dressing rooms, care the proverbial tinker's cuss about the outcome?

There was a time when the England and Wales Cricket Board, or the Test and County Cricket Board as it used to be known, arranged these matters properly. Before the start of a Test series, in late May and early June, England would play three one-day internationals to set up the summer. The matches formed an amuse-gueule for the main course, which was Test cricket.

The international fixture list has expanded, of course, and the lopsided English summer must now contain seven Tests, as well as giving up a month for the domestic Twenty20 competition. But seven matches, coming at the end of a Test series that was always likely to be exhausting, is four too many.

A match at Lord's, any match, is usually an occasion. Few spectators would have felt bold enough to make that claim yesterday. It was just another fixture to be fulfilled, one more stop on the carousel. A nice way to spend a Sunday in September it may have been. A memorable game of cricket it was not.

Yet how many of these matches are remembered? Be honest now: what was the last one-day international you can recall? Outside the World Cup (and the last one, in the Caribbean two years ago, was possibly the biggest balls-up in the history of international sport), how many one-day matches linger in the mind for longer than a day?

As Kingsley Amis said, more will mean worse. After this interminable bunfight against the Australians, England go immediately to the Champions Trophy in South Africa, then return to the republic for a tour that kicks off with 11 one-day matches, over 20 and 50 overs, before the first Test starts in Centurion on Dec 16. Were England to reach the Champions Trophy final, a long shot admittedly, they will have played 25 one-day matches between Tests.

This is the world that Andrew Flintoff wants to rejoin, and he is welcome to it. This, and the Indian Premier League, which has assumed a commercial importance that, for the time being, is sweeping everything else out of its path. Yes, more will mean worse, and much more will mean much worse.

In a sense it doesn't matter that England are hopeless at one-day cricket, and have been since 1992, when they were unlucky to lose the World Cup final in Melbourne to Pakistan's 'cornered tigers'. Whether they win or not, people still pay good money (£90 top whack) to watch them, knowing they will probably be disappointed. It is one of sport's great conundrums.

Next year domestic one-day cricket will be played over 40 overs, which was satisfactory four decades ago, when the Sunday slog revived interest in the game, but appears to serve no purpose today. What a shame the counties have decided to do away with the longer form of the shorter game, in particular the old Gillette Cup, later sponsored by NatWest, which provided terrific entertainment over 60 overs a side.

Those were wonderful times, recalled in the mind's eye with so much affection by so many. Those finals, and quarter and semi-finals, too, were big days out, which meant something to everybody. Now there is a one-day game every blessed week, and each one is forgotten by twilight. It is sport without meaning, and sport without meaning has no purpose.

SOurce: Telegraph.co.uk

Tendulkar calls for 25-over games in one-day internationals

2009-09-07T07:43:00.001-07:00

Tendulkar believes 50-over international cricket should be split into two innings of 25 overs for each team to revive interest in the game.

With the Twenty20 format threatening to overshadow the 50-over game, former Indian captain Tendulkar said the idea would also provide similar conditions to both teams.

''Today, we can tell the result of close to 75 per cent of matches after the toss. We know how conditions will affect the two teams,'' Tendulkar told Times Now channel on Friday.

''But it [splitting the game] is not too dependent on the toss because if, for example, it's a day-night match, then both the teams will have to bat under lights … conditions change very dramatically, but this would ensure that it's the same for everyone.''

The debate over the future of one-day cricket has grown after the England and Wales Cricket Board decided to abandon its domestic 50-over competition from 2010.

Ricky Ponting quits from T20 cricket

2009-09-07T07:40:00.000-07:00

Australian captain Ricky Ponting has made the shock move to retire from international Twenty20 cricket, citing his desire to keep playing Test and 50-over internationals as the reason.

Cricket Australia revealed he will remain the captain of the Australian Test and one-day sides but will step away from the international T20 scene. A formal decision regarding Ponting's replacement as captain of the Twenty20 side will be made later in the year.

"After much thought and careful consideration I have advised Cricket Australia of my decision to retire from international Twenty20 cricket," Ponting said in a statement.

"I have also spoken to Andrew Hilditch, Tim Nielsen and Michael Clarke and I feel this decision provides me the opportunity to prolong my Australian Test and one-day career, an opportunity I am extremely determined about.

"The last 10 or 12 days for me have been a lot about reflection, looking back to the Ashes and looking forward to my playing future,'' Ponting said today.

"As I said after the fifth Test in London, I am hoping to continue playing Test cricket for as long as possible and retiring from the Twenty20 format gives me the best chance of doing this.

"I will now have set periods of rest throughout the Australian summer and while touring which I feel will be very beneficial." Ponting said he still intended to play the shortest form of the game for Tasmania in the KFC Big Bash team and the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said CA supported Ponting's decision.

"Needless to say he will be a huge loss to the Twenty20 side but it does present opportunities for the other players and leaders within Australian cricket to gain further experience," Sutherland said.

"While we have not seen much of Ricky in Australia’s Twenty20 matches in recent times, his innings in the first ever Twenty20 International against New Zealand at Auckland was probably the best innings I have ever seen in the Twenty20 form of the game.”

Don't Blame Ponting fo Ashes Loss

2009-08-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

FOR all those lining up Ricky Ponting as a cheap scapegoat for another Ashes failure in England, by all means take aim at his batting.

If there is a need for simple revenge by lopping Australian cricket’s tallest poppy then question why the most prolific player this country has ever seen managed just two half-centuries since his impervious 150 in the opening Test at Cardiff.

Ponting should have led with the bat and hasn’t. He averaged 48 for the series but post Cardiff it was 34.

His dramatic run-out by an Andrew Flintoff direct hit for 66 during the fifth and final Test at the Oval best summed up Ponting’s series - plenty of promise with a disappointing final result as England won the Test and the series 2-1.

But forget all that nonsense about criticising Ponting’s captaincy. He remains unequivocally the best player to lead the team.

Ponting is not a bad captain and his record says as much. Few have had more success in the history of the game.

And that is not just on the back of the final stages of the great Shane Warne-Glenn McGrath era.

Ponting inspired his young and inexperienced team to a most unexpected series victory in South Africa early this year when Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Andrew Symonds were all unavailable and a fading Matthew Hayden had retired.

The captain is often an easy target for superficial criticism.

His batting post Cardiff is a tangible disappointment, but don’t forget to include all those who failed with him.

The batsmen collectively capitulated at Lord’s to set up a loss in the second Test, collapsed at Edgbaston before being saved by rain and feebly fell on their sword during the Ashes-deciding Oval Test.

This is the crux of Australia’s frustrating Ashes campaign.

Yes, the bowling has been ordinary at times. Failing to close out the first Test at Cardiff with more than 11 overs at the last pair, spraying the ball everywhere during the opening three hours of the Lord’s Test and bowling rank half volleys to Andrew Flintoff at Edgbaston are listed amongst the crimes.

The earlier South African success was built around a new group of young fast bowlers - Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus.

With such rawness there will be inconsistent performances but they are the leading wicket-takers in this Ashes series.

Too often it was the batting which failed to build the first innings pressure for Australia’s bowlers when it mattered.

If there was going to be a victim from those dreadful displays in the second, third and fifth Tests, when there were no centuries and only one half century in each first innings, then Mike Hussey was squarely in the gun.

But like Matthew Hayden at The Oval four years ago, a century appears to have saved his career.

The only victim from the loss may be 33-year-old fast bowler Stuart Clark.

However, it would be wrong for the players to take the full brunt of this Ashes failure.

The selectors have had an ordinary year and it has got no better in England these past two months.

For the whole of this campaign the mantra has been to pick the team for the conditions.

Except the selectors should have picked Clark at Lord’s for about a hundred obvious reasons, finally chose him at Headingley, when he helped set up Australia’s only Test victory, and completely misread the spinning conditions at the Oval.

The selectors have had a particularly bad year when it comes to spin, choosing half a dozen candidates but showing faith in none.

And picking a half fit Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne last year was simply incompetent.

So if any players are to go for this disappointing Ashes display, should selectors go too?

Is Andrew Hilditch too conservative a chairman? How many hats should selector, tour group leader and commentator Merv Hughes be able to wear? Should Jamie Cox be a selector and South Australia’s high performance manager? Should there be some new blood joining David Boon on the four-man panel?

On and off the field, the status quo should not be an option.

Source:http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25972263-5003413,00.html

AUSTRALIA has lost its No.1 Test ranking

2009-08-23T22:53:00.000-07:00

AUSTRALIA has lost its No.1 Test ranking and plunged to fourth place on the world cricket list.
A dynasty is over with the Ashes loss meaning that South Africa has knocked Australia off its No.1 perch.

Australia has officially or unofficially been the No.1 Test side in the world since Mark Taylor's team beat the West Indies in the Caribbean in 1995.

Not only has South Africa now overtaken Australia but Sri Lanka and India have charged past them as well.

Rank Team Rating

1 South Africa 122

2 Sri Lanka 119

3 India 119

4 Australia 116

5 England 105

6 Pakistan 84

7 New Zealand 82

8 West Indies 76

9 Bangladesh 13

ASHES - Last Test - Last day

2009-08-23T22:52:00.000-07:00

Australia surrenders Ashes as Flintoff bows out

2009-08-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

Ricky Ponting's Ashes career has ended in heartache as he became the first Australian skipper in over a century to lose two series in England.

The Ashes are gone. So is Australia's No.1 Test ranking and its 14-year hold on world dominance.

So is retiring England hero Andrew Flintoff who went out with a bang as England savoured a fairytale 2-1 series triumph to back up its famous 2005 win.

Despite a career-saving century from Mike Hussey (121), Australia handed back the old urn when it lost 5-21 late in the day at The Oval. Australia was bowled out for 348 and lost by 197 runs.

England celebrations were sparked when Hussey was caught by at short leg by Alastair Cook off spinner Graeme Swann at 5.46pm local time.

A gracious Flintoff shook Hussey's hand before joining the rest of his England teammates in a madcap celebration and then running off the ground with several stumps in hand.

Kevin Pietersen and England's staff embraced in special scenes in The Oval dressingroom. After play a giant flag of St George - the patron saint of England - was rolled out on the ground.

A dejected Hussey, who scored his first century in 16 Tests, trudged off the ground as the innings of his life amounted to nothing.

The end was nigh when rampaging England quick Steve Harmison was on a hat-trick after removing Peter Siddle and Stuart Clark with successive deliveries.

Harmison had taken 3-7 in 13 balls after first removing Mitchell Johnson who flashed a thick edge to second slip. With men crowded around the bat, No.11 Ben Hilfenhaus blocked out the hat-trick delivery but it only delayed the inevitable.

Brad Haddin (34) had provided some resistance but it was too little too late and he fell in rash fashion when he unsuccessfully tried to launch Swann (4-120) over mid-wicket.

Ponting has a grand batting record but he has now become only the second Australian captain to lose two Ashes series in England since Billy Murdoch in 1884 and 1890.

Flintoff ruined Ponting's Ashes farewell to England when his rocket arm ran out the dejected Test skipper and plunged Australia towards oblivion.

The man they call Fred became an instant Ashes hero all over again when he flung down the stumps from mid-on to send Ponting on his way for 66.

It hastened Australia's demise and the loss of its world champion dynasty and No.1 Test ranking.

Australia, chasing an impossible word record 546, was never a chance.

And Australia's Mr Cricket was to blame for the madcap Ponting run out.

Hussey pushed a ball off his hips and made an awful decision to call hesitant non-striker Ponting through for a quick single.

Flintoff produced a tracer-bullet throw to fling down the off-stump and the decision was referred to video. The roar could be heard for miles as Ponting was clearly out. Flintoff went down on one knee and held his arms aloft as he jabbed another nail into Australia's Ashes coffin.

If the run out of Ponting wasn't enough for Australia to swallow, its second best batsman Michael Clarke (0) also fell to an incredible run out, this time at the hands of England captain Andrew Strauss.

Clarke clipped a ball from Swann to leg but it deflected off Alastair Cook at short leg and went to Strauss at leg slip who flicked it onto the stumps.

Third umpire Peter Hartley took an eternity to give the decision but the bail appeared to be slightly off with Clarke's reaching bat still on the line.

Australia was pushed even closer to an early Ashes grave when Marcus North (10) missed a sweep off Swann and was brilliantly stumped by wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

It came as former Test stars claimed the heads of selectors must roll.

Australia has been officially or unofficially the world's best side since former skipper Mark Taylor led them to an historic win in the West Indies in 1995.

But the Ashes loss to England has meant Australia will plunge to No.3 in the world - and possibly as low as No.4 - with South Africa the new top dogs.

Former Test opener Michael Slater and ex-captain Ian Chappell have led the chorus calling for the selection panel, chaired by Andrew Hilditch, to be made accountable for Ashes failures.

After starting the day at 0-80, Australia was rocked to 2-90 when openers Simon Katich (43) and Shane Watson (40) were dismissed within four balls.

But Ponting, wearing a swollen and bloodied lip from being hit in the field, had refused to surrender and joined with Hussey for a 127-run stand to frustrate England.

"It's never easy beating Australia, they don't just roll over and hand you the Ashes. England are finding out they have to fight for every wicket,'' former England captain Nasser Hussain said.

England botched a big moment when Ponting, on 51, edged a delivery from spinner Swann into the left boot of Collingwood at first slip.

Collingwood couldn't get down in time but then went for the rebound - failing to snaffle the catch as it lobbed behind wicketkeeper Prior.

England had become ragged at times and young quick Stuart Broad was officially warned for running on the crumbling pitch after a complaint from Ponting.

Amid the Australia's Ashes decline, Slater claimed selectors got it wrong from the start of the Ashes and problems have snowballed ever since.

"The fact of the matter is that we have gone over to England with the wrong squad. We needed an aggressive off-spinner in the squad and our best option was Jason Krejza,'' Slater said.

"We should have won the first Test match and we didn't, the selectors definitely got it wrong and it has just manifested right through the series.

"The Australian selectors have faced serious issues right through the series and they have not been solid. The selectors need to be made answerable at the end of this campaign.''

Australia slipped from top spot

2009-08-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

Australia were knocked off the top of the ICC test rankings for the first time since 2003 after losing the Ashes series to England on Sunday, enabling South Africa to take over the number one spot.

After their 197-run defeat at the Oval in the fifth test, which meant they lost the series 2-1, Australia dropped to fourth place in the standings released by the International Cricket Council.

Australia had topped the standings since the current test ranking system was introduced in 2003. Sri Lanka are second, with India third, while England are just behind Australia in fifth.

South Africa are also the top-ranked team in the one-day game.

"This is a fitting tribute to (captain) Graeme Smith and the Proteas, whose triumphs around the cricketing world have made all South Africans very proud indeed," Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola said in a statement.

Victorious England regain Ashes Series

2009-08-23T22:42:00.000-07:00

England regained the Ashes with a momentous 197-run win in the deciding Test to seal a 2-1 series triumph.

After losing 5-0 in Australia in 2007, victory in The Oval sun was reminiscent of England's famous 2005 Ashes win.

Australia resumed on 80-0 needing a further 466 for a world record win but twice lost two wickets in two overs.

Andrew Flintoff, in his final Test, brilliantly ran out Ricky Ponting (66) and Mike Hussey was last out at 1749 BST on day four after a defiant 121.

Some said this series did not match the tension of 2005 but the continual fluctuations made it highly absorbing.

After their final wicket pair held on against the odds for a draw in the first Test, England took a 1-0 lead with their first Test win at Lord's for 75 years.

They were denied by the weather and a fine Australian rearguard at Edgbaston before capitulating to emphatic defeat at Headingley, and unlike in 2005 the series came to the final match with either side able to win outright.

The target of 546 had never been achieved in any first-class match, and only once had a team scored more than 500 batting last in a Test.

Australia still harboured hopes of making history but only 15 minutes into day four, Simon Katich made a fatal error of judgement as he offered no stroke to a quicker arm-ball from Graeme

Expecting the ball would turn away, it instead thudded into the pad and he was plumb lbw.

The old adage of one wicket bringing two was quickly demonstrated again when Shane Watson departed four balls later, pinned on the back foot by the persistent Stuart Broad.

Watson appeared disgruntled and waved his bat, but replays showed he had little grounds for complaint as any contact with the bat was made after the ball

Ponting was given a standing ovation as he made his way to the crease, while Hussey was fidgety and struggling for confidence given the dip in his average from nearly 80 two years ago to under 30 during the last calendar year prior to this game.

With Broad attempting to grip the ball on the surface and utilise any uneven bounce by bowling a lot of slower balls, old fashioned fields were set.

There was often only one slip for the seamer as men were instead stationed in front of the bat.

Ponting's customary fluency was slightly affected by the unpredictable pace of the pitch but, as expected, he soon got into his stride and looked in complete control in partnership with the battling Hussey.

Unusually for such an accomplished fielder, Paul Collingwood was guilty of three dropped catches standing close at slip, and Swann was the unfortunate bowler on each occasion.

Quick thinking by Strauss ran out Clarke in the over after Ponting's exit

Hussey was put down on 21 and Ponting when 51, both of which were devilishly tough chances as the ball dipped low, but Hussey should have been taken at a more regulation height when he edged the probing Swann again on 55.

With the batsmen set it needed a moment of magic, and fittingly it came from Flintoff.

Hussey thought the big man was labouring in the field when he called for a run, and he was right, but he forgot that Flintoff's throw was still as strong as ever and Ponting was out by six inches as a stump came cartwheeling out of the ground.

Astonishingly there was another run-out five balls later and this time it was down to captain Andrew Strauss.

Michael Clarke's clip off his toes ricocheted off Alastair Cook's ankles at short-leg, but Strauss reacted quickly, as did Matt Prior - the wicketkeeper got himself out of the way and allowed his skipper to underarm the ball into the stumps.

After numerous replays, third umpire Peter Hartley ruled that Clarke's bat had not got over the line when the bail was dislodged.

Swann got a deserved second wicket courtesy of more alertness from Prior, who collected a steepling ball expertly at head height but was still able to take off the bails with Marcus North unable to edge his foot back into his crease.

Umpire Billy Bowden was confident enough to give the batsman out without the need for the third official's involvement, and England were five wickets from victory with more than 30 overs left in the day.

Hussey, who had gone 28 innings without a Test century, proved his powers of resolve had not deserted him and ground out a defiant 10th hundred.

Brad Haddin was determined to play his shots throughout, even after being dropped at mid-wicket by substitute Graham Onions, but having scraped his way to 34 he swiped at Swann and was comfortably caught by Strauss in the deep.

Steve Harmison then came to the fore with three wickets, with Collingwood atoning by diving sharply to his left at second slip to snare Mitchell Johnson's edge.

Peter Siddle spooned to Flintoff at mid-off and next ball Stuart Clark fended to short-leg for a duck.

There was to be no hat-trick but the scenes that followed after Swann had Hussey caught at short-leg were as memorable as any cricketing moment.

Dravid Back to ODI team

2009-08-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

Rahul Dravid has, surprisingly, made a return to India's ODI team with his inclusion in the squad for the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy next month. Dravid replaces Rohit Sharma, who managed 15 runs in three ODI innings in the West Indies and 43 runs in three innings against major opposition in the World Twenty20. The selectors didn't risk taking Virender Sehwag, who is yet to fully recover from his shoulder injury, to the Champions Trophy. He was not expected to make it to the Sri Lanka tri-series anyway.

Dravid last played an ODI for India in October 2007, but his form in the second IPL season in South Africa - where the Champions Trophy will be held - and the vulnerability of India's younger middle-order batsmen in the recent World Twenty20 prompted the selectors to fall back on his experience and technique.

Sachin Tendulkar, who had opted out of the West Indies ODIs, makes a comeback. Suresh Raina, who was out because of a hairline fracture of the thumb, also returns. Amit Mishra breaks into the ODI squad, replacing Pragyan Ojha as the back-up spinner to Harbhajan Singh, on the back of his impressive showings in the IPL and the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia.

Terming Dravid as "one of the best players India has produced", Harbhajan Singh welcomed his and Tendulkar's return. "We have some senior players like Tendulkar and Dravid back in the side, so we have the required experience," he said. "It is important to do well as after the tri-series, we have important tournament like Champions Trophy coming up. Responsibility will be there on all the players."

Dinesh Karthik, who came in for the West Indies ODIs as replacement for Sehwag, and Abhishek Nayar, who edged out Ravindra Jadeja, have retained their places.

Kris Srikkanth, the chairman of selectors, said it was the "best possible Indian team". "It's a very balanced team and we are confident they would go on to win the Champions Trophy in South Africa," Srikkanth said.

India one-day squad: Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Amit Mishra, Dinesh Karthik, and Abhishek Naya