CRICKET

The Ashes

2009-08-03T01:21:00.000-07:00

For a man quite literally on his last leg, Andrew Flintoff is doing a mighty fine job of staving off the reports of his imminent demise. First with the ball at Lord's, and now with the bat at his favourite venue, Edgbaston, he has seized the momentum of two pivotal days' cricket, and bent them to suit his will. When Andrew Strauss dared to tempt fate and declare before the match that the Australians no longer have an aura, he was doing so in the comfortable knowledge that so long as Flintoff remains fit and in England's starting line-up, they possess the single biggest character on either side.

By the close of a fourth day as packed with intrigue as any so far in this series, the frailties in Australia's Ashes campaign had been further exposed to the elements - even in a final session when England, by Flintoff's own admission, bowled some way short of their best. Nearly two days of rain delays have left them needing a dramatic run of dominance to have any chance of a 2-0 lead by Monday's close, but as James Anderson and Graham Onions showed by claiming 7 for 77 in the first session on Friday, there are ways and means to tighten the screw in the current climate.

"We've played some good cricket so far in this game, so there's a belief and some quiet confidence, but we know it's going to be tough," Flintoff said. "We have an attack that is capable, it's just a matter of showing it. We might have started a little better with the ball [tonight], but we managed to get the breakthrough, and we're in a decent position going into tomorrow."

As it happens, Flintoff's contribution with the ball was as muted as it is possible to be when bowling at 90-plus mph. For the second innings running he reverted to his less-than-ideal splice-beating length, and after failing to take a wicket in his first 19 overs of the match, he self-deprecatingly stated his only role was to remove the lacquer on the new ball for Anderson and Onions to start it swinging at around the 30-over mark.

"It would be easy to say my knee's hurting and that I had a shocker, and blame it all on my knee," he said. "But so far in this Test I've not bowled as well as I'd like, and I'm not making excuses for that. It's no secret I've got a bit of a dicky knee, but I can still bowl at decent pace and I can still run in. I'll bowl whatever overs Straussy wants me to, and in between Tests I'll rest up. I want to play in every Test of this series and it would have to be something very serious for me not to."

Flintoff's mobility and determination were instead demonstrated with the bat in hand, as he reverted to his old self in a much more rewarding sense, by thumping hard and straight to rack up only his second Test half-century in two-and-a-half years, and his highest score since Sydney in January 2007. "It would have been nice to have got a century," he said, as he lamented getting out without playing a stroke when Nathan Hauritz spun one into his gloves. "But if someone had said I'd get 70-odd I'd have taken it."

More than the runs he scored, however - 74 off 79 balls - the most crucial aspect of Flintoff's performance was the message it emitted. By the time he was dismissed having added 141 in 24 overs with Matt Prior and Stuart Broad, his exploits had ignited a passion in the stands that has been unmatched all series. It is not a coincidence that Flintoff now averages exactly 50 in Tests at Edgbaston, a run of scores that include his highest in Tests, 167 against West Indies in 2004, and that brace of 68 and 73 against Australia in his defining performance four years ago. He thrives on the adulation of his fans, and they in turn feed from his exploits. When it's all in harmony, it is English cricket's perfect symbiotic relationship.

"It's probably the best atmosphere you play in, in the country," Flintoff said. "Headingley will be different again, but at Edgbaston they've always got behind the side from start to finish. It has helped us in the past and I'm sure it'll help tomorrow. I'm sure ticket sales have gone through the roof, and we'll be playing in front of a full house tomorrow." As many as 11,000 seats were still available this morning, but seeing as the ticket office website had crashed in mid-afternoon, it's safe to suggest that a fair few of those have now gone.

ICC Champions Trophy

2009-08-03T01:14:00.000-07:00

ICC Champions Trophy, comprising of one of the most popular One Day International (ODI) cricket tournaments in the world, came into being in the year 1998, as ICC KnockOut Tournament. Since its inception, the tournament has been organized every two years, though it was renamed as Champions Trophy in the year 2002. Till date, the trophy is regarded as being second in importance only to the Cricket World Cup.

In the initial stages, the participating teams in the Champions Trophy comprised of all the all ten full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Apart from that, the tournament also included two associate members (till 2004 only). However, from the 2009 tournament onwards, the participating teams would include only the eight highest-ranked ODI teams, as placed 6 months out from the tournament.

In Cricket Champions Cup Trophy also know as Mini Word Cup, the matches are organized over a period of around two weeks and no team is allowed to play with another more than once in the tournament. In the 2002 and 2004 tournaments, the teams went through a round robin tournament, which took place in four pools of three. It was the top team in each pool that went to the semifinal. After winning only four games (two in the pool, the semi-final and the final), a team could win the trophy.

In the next ICC CT (2006), there were ten teams, which played in two pools of four. The top two teams in each pool played the semi-finals. In effect, this meant that even if a team lost one match, it went right out of the tournament. Now, the cricket lovers are eagerly awaiting the next Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in South Africa, between 24th September and 5th October 2009.

THE ASHES

2009-08-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of international cricket's most celebrated rivalries and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Since cricket is a summer game, the venues being in opposite hemispheres means the break between series alternates between 18 and 30 months. A series of "The Ashes" comprises five Test matches, two innings per match, under the regular rules for international Test-match cricket. If a series is drawn then the country already holding the Ashes retains them.
The series is named after a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, in 1882 after a match at The Oval in which Australia beat England on an English ground for the first time. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. The English media dubbed the next English tour to Australia (1882–83) as the quest to regain The Ashes.
During that tour a small terracotta urn was presented to England captain Ivo Bligh by a group of Melbourne women. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of an item of cricket equipment, possibly a bail, ball or stump. Some Aborigines hold that The Ashes are those of King Cole, a cricketer who toured England in 1868.[1] The Dowager Countess of Darnley claimed recently that her mother-in-law, Bligh's wife Florence Morphy, said that they were the remains of a lady's veil.
The urn is erroneously believed by some to be the trophy of the Ashes series, but it has never been formally adopted as such and Bligh always considered it to be a personal gift.[2] Replicas of the urn are often held aloft by victorious teams as a symbol of their victory in an Ashes series, but the actual urn has never been presented or displayed as a trophy in this way. Whichever side holds the Ashes, the urn normally remains in the Marylebone Cricket Club Museum at Lord's since being presented to the MCC by Bligh's widow upon his death.[3]
Since the 1998–99 Ashes series, a Waterford Crystal representation of the Ashes urn has been presented to the winners of an Ashes series as the official trophy of that series.
Australia currently holds The Ashes, after beating England 5–0 to regain them in 2006–07. The Ashes are currently being contested in England and, for the first time, Wales.

The Ashes - England v Australia 2009 / Photos

2009-08-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

Andrew Flintoff punches down the ground his positive innings, England v Australia, 3rd Test, Edgbaston, 4th day, August 2, 2009

Andrew Flintoff gets into gear as England take upper hand

2009-08-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

Flintoff hits 74 off 79 balls in afternoon session • Nathan Hauritz strikes back for Australia as seamers struggle

Andrew Flintoff attacks the bowling of Australia's Ben Hilfenhaus. Photograph: David Jones/PA

ICC World Twenty20 squads

2009-05-28T00:52:00.000-07:00

AUSTRALIA

Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke (vice captain), Nathan Bracken, Brad Haddin (wk), Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, David Hussey, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Peter Siddle, Andrew Symonds, David Warner, Shane Watson.

BANGLADESH

Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Raqibul Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Rubel Hossain, Shamsur Rahman, Mohammad Mithun.

ENGLAND

Paul Collingwood (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, James Foster (wk), Rob Key, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Eoin Morgan, Graham Napier, Kevin Pietersen, Adil Rashid, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright.

INDIA

Mahendra Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha, Irfan Pathan.

IRELAND

William Porterfield (capt), Andre Botha, Jeremy Bray, Peter Connell, Alex Cusack, Trent Johnston, Kyle McCallan, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien (wk), Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Regan West, Andrew White, Gary Wilson.

NETHERLANDS

Jeroen Smits (capt), Peter Borren, Mudassar Buhkari, Tom De Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Alexei Kervezee, Dirk Nannes, Ruud Nijman, Darren Reekers, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Ryan ten Doeschate, Dan van Bunge, Bas Zuiderent

NETHERLANDS

NEW ZEALAND

Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Neil Broom, Jacob Oram, James Franklin, Nathan McCullum, Daniel Vettori (capt), Ian Butler, Peter McGlashan, Kyle Mills, Brendon Diamanti, Iain O'Brien.

PAKISTAN

Younis Khan (capt), Salman Butt, Ahmed Shahzad, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Fawad Alam, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Saeed Ajmal, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Shazaib Hassan.

SCOTLAND

Gavin Hamilton (captain), Richie Berrington, John Blain, Kyle Coetzer, Gordon Drummond, Majid Haq, Neil McCallum, Navdeep Poonia, Dewald Nel, Glenn Rogers, Colin Smith, Jan Stander, Fraser Watts, Ryan Watson and Craig Wright.

SOUTH AFRICA

Graeme Smith (capt), Johan Botha, Yusuf Abdulla, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robbie Peterson, Dale Steyn, Roelof van der Merwe.

SRI LANKA

Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, T.M. Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Lasith Malinga, Isuru Udana, Farveez Maharoof, Jehan Mubarak, Indika de Saram.

WEST INDIES

Chris Gayle (capt), Denesh Ramdin (wk), Lionel Baker, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard., Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Xavier Marshall, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Jerome Taylor.

CA announces home series schedule against Pakistan

2009-05-27T01:29:00.000-07:00

SYDNEY: Cricket Australia has announced its home series schedule against Pakistan.

Pakistan team will play three tests, five one-day and one Twenty20 match. The series between Pakistan and Australia will kick off with the traditional Boxing Day test slated from December 26 in Melbourne, while series’ second test on January 3 in Sydney and the third test will be played on January 14 in Hobart, said the cricket Australia.

First one-day test between Pakistan and Australia slated on January 22 in Brisbane, second one-day on January 24 in Sydney, third one-day on January 26 in Adelaide, forth on January 29 and fifth on January 31 in Perth.

The lone Twenty20 match between the two teams will be played on February 5 in Melbourne.

ICC Give Ajmal The All Clear

2009-05-26T02:33:00.000-07:00

Pakistan bowler Saeed Ajmal is free to resume his international career after his action was declared legal by the International Cricket Council.

Off-spinner Ajmal was reported by the on-field umpires for a suspect action during last month's one-day international series against Australia in Dubai.

But the 31-year-old, whose place in Pakistan's 15-man World Twenty20 squad was in doubt due to the referral, has now passed an independent test which has ruled all of his deliveries can be bowled satisfactorily.

Ajmal's doosra was thought to be the main concern but Professor Bruce Elliott, a member of the ICC panel of human movement specialists, deemed that each of his deliveries fell within the 15 degrees of tolerance a bowler is currently allowed in the delivery action.

Nevertheless, the ICC were keen to point out that Ajmal, along with every other bowler, would be subjected to ongoing assessment from officials.

Dave Richardson, ICC general manager, said: "Saeed Ajmal can continue to bowl in international cricket on the basis he uses an action consistent to that used in the latest independent analysis of his action.

"However, it is important to emphasise that no bowler is ever 'cleared' as it is impossible to predict how a player might deliver the ball in the future.

"All bowlers are subject to further reporting if the match officials are of the view that they have concerns about whether a delivery or deliveries conform to the Laws of Cricket when observed with the naked eye."

Rao In For Akhtar

2009-05-26T02:31:00.000-07:00

Rao Iftikhar was confirmed as replacement for fellow paceman Shoaib Akhtar in the Pakistan squad on Monday for next month's World Twenty20....

Massive Riverse Swings

2009-05-05T02:08:00.000-07:00

IPL............

2009-05-02T03:03:00.000-07:00

New Delhi | New cap for Pakistan?

2009-05-02T00:44:00.000-07:00

Shoaib Akhtar light-heartedly wears the cap of a Delhi police constable, left, during a practice match against Delhi XI on Friday. The Pakistani cricket team arrived in India on Thursday amid tight security for a six-week tour to play five One-day Internationals and three Tests. ap

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2009-05-01T23:31:00.001-07:00

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2009-05-01T01:47:00.000-07:00

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2009-04-29T13:11:00.001-07:00

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2009-04-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

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2009-04-26T00:24:00.000-07:00

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2009-04-26T00:20:00.001-07:00

No more promises, go after militants: Clinton asks Pak

2009-04-23T10:17:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON: Pakistan is beginning to recognize the severity of the threat posed by an extremist insurgency that is encroaching on major urban areas, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday.

Clinton told a House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee that the Obama administration is working to convince the Pakistani government that its traditional focus on India as a threat has to shift to the Islamic extremists. ... Full Story

US to address Pak concerns in new regional strategy

2009-04-23T02:05:00.000-07:00

RAWALPINDI: The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen held an important meeting with his Pakistani counterpart General Tariq Majeed at Joint Staff Headquarters here on Thursday.

In the meeting, Admiral Michael Mullen assured General Tariq that the US would address concerns of Pakistan in the new US regional policy.

Earlier, Admiral Mullen also met the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar S ... Full Story

Pakistan beats Australia by 4 wickets in 1st ODI

2009-04-23T01:52:00.000-07:00

+ Enlarge This image

Pakistan's Shoaib Malik makes a run as Australian's Andrew Symonds misses a catch, during the one day international cricket match between Pakistan and Australia, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, April 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Andrew Parsons)

Associated Press

+ Enlarge This image

Pakistan's Kamran Akmal plays a shot off the bowling of Australian's Stuart Clarke during the one day international cricket match between Pakistan and Australia in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, April 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Andrew Parsons)

Associated Press

+ Enlarge This image

Pakistan's Shahid Afridi makes a run against Australia during the one day international cricket match between Pakistan and Australia in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, April 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Andrew Parsons)

Associated Press

Pakistan beat Australia by four wickets in their first of five one-day internationals on Wednesday.

After bowling out Australia for 168 in 38.5 overs, Pakistan made 171-6 by the 45th over at Dubai Sports City Stadium.

Shahid Afridi took 6-38 in toppling the Australians, who batted first after Michael Clarke won the toss.

Kamran Akmal topscored for Pakistan with 48, while Misbah-ul-Haq was unbeaten on 30, and Afridi played a cameo knock of 24 in 16 balls.

The second match will be on Friday.

___

Scores:

Pakistan 171-6 in 44.1 overs (Kamran Akmal 48; James Hopes 2-22), def. Australia 168 in 38.5 overs (Hopes 48 not out; Shahid Afridi 6-38; Saeed Ajmal 2-19), by 4 wickets.

Sri Lankan team attacked; tour called off

2009-04-23T01:36:00.000-07:00

LAHORE: At least twelve terrorists armed with rifles and rocket launchers targeted the touring Sri Lankan cricket team as they were on their way

Pakistan captain Younus Khan looks at the bullet–ridden bus, which was carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team, parked outside the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on March 3, 2009. (AFP Photo)

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to Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday, killing five escorting policemen and injuring six players, two of them with bullet wounds.

Immediately after the attack, the Sri Lankan government called off the tour.

"The tour has come to an end. We are in touch with Pakistan authorities and their Cricket Board. The players will be coming home as soon as possible," Sri Lanka Foreign Secretary Palitha Cohona said.

Among the players injured are Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana, PCB officials said.

While Samaraweera and Paranavitana receive bullet wounds, the others besides the head coach Trevor Bayliss received minor injuries. They are all being treated at a hospital, Sri Lankan officials said.

City police chief Haji Habibur Rehman said one of the players was hit in the leg while the other received a bullet in the chest but their injuries were not life threatening.

"It was a terrorist attack and terrorists used rocket launchers, hand grenades and other weapons," Rehman said, adding a hunt was on to track down the twelve terrorists involved in the shooting.

The Sri Lankan players were on their way to the stadium for the third day's play of the second Test match when the terrorists fired from different directions at their bus in the busy Liberty chowk located less than a km from the stadium, they said.

"They appeared to be well-trained terrorists. They came in rickshaws and were armed with rockets, hand grenades and kalashnikovs," Rehman said.

"The firing took place from at least four sides and continued for some minutes," a police official said. The police battled with the terrorists for about 25 minutes, he said.

The attackers later escaped in separate groups. One explosion was also heard at the stadium. Five policemen escorting the players were killed in the shootout while some shots hit the cricket team's bus, the police chief said, adding several policemen were also injured in the attack.

TV channels aired footage of at least two of the gunmen, one of them wearing salwar kameez and other jeans and a jacket. Both were armed with assault rifles and carrying backpacks.

Police cordoned off the area immediately after the attack and launched a search for the gunmen. The driver of the cricket team's bus drove away from the spot after the firing started.

"We are assessing the situation," Pakistan cricket board chief Ejaz Butt said.

The liaison officer of the Pakistan team said players of the host nation have been sent back to the hotel.

Sources claimed that the police had received a threat on Monday that the Sri Lankan team would be attacked so a different route was used to transport the team to the stadium.

QnA: Should Pakistan be declared a terrorist state and blacklisted?

NWFP govt asks to extend deadline for Darul Qaza

2009-04-23T01:22:00.000-07:00

PESHAWAR: The spokesman of Awami National Party (ANP) Senator Zahid Khan said Sufi Muhammad has asked to extend deadline to set up Daraul Qaza in Malakand as it is a time consuming task.

Talking to Geo News, Zahid Khan said Taliban have told to vacate Buner. Imposition of Nizam Adal in Malakand was the demand of the people. Government has fulfilled its promise imposing it. Remaining work will be completed soon in this connection.
Full Story

Deadline to set up Darul Qaza in Malakand ends today

2009-04-23T01:18:00.000-07:00

SWAT: A deadline set by Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad to set up Darul Qaza in Malakand division is going to end today.

Sufi Muhammad set April 23 deadline for the government to set up Darul Qaza(appellate court) and appoint Qazis in the region.

He said Ulema would be the Qazis (judges) of the Darul Qaza and only they would have administrative control over the Malakand judiciary.

Earlier, Sufi Muhammad said those who called the Supreme Court and.... Full Story

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2009-04-23T01:12:00.000-07:00