Lord's Times

Deccan chargers win IPL-2

2009-05-24T11:07:00.000-07:00

Deccan chargers beat Royal Chargers Bangalore to win the IPL-2 in a fully packed stadium Wanderers, Johhanesburg.

They beat Bangalore by 6 runs.

For the full score click here.

Farewell, Dada, India will miss you

2008-11-11T01:38:00.001-08:00

The present age cricket lovers may look at him as a legend. Sourav Ganguly, spent a lifetime in achieving that status, transforming the attitude of the Indians towards the game.

He created a bunch of self-believers which set about to tame the cricket world. Befittingly, his journey has ended on a glowing note, with a series win at home against world champion Australia.

Colourful career

Ganguly's was a most colourful career. When he walked into the Eden Gardens as a teenager, his influential father was credited with the selection, though he had won his place on merit.

When he was picked for India, it was said the 'quota' system worked in his favour. The critics did not realise that he had earned his place again on merit.

He shut them up with a century on Test debut at Lord's in 1996. A fascinating career was launched at the home of cricket and Ganguly's love with the game blossomed as he took gigantic strides, culminating in 7212 Test runs (16 centuries and an average of 42.17) and 11363 in ODIs (22 centuries, average of 41.02).

He tormented bowlers with his languid style, scaled new peaks and set new benchmarks. He was destiny's gift to Indian cricket.

Remarkable comeback

Dropped in January 2006 for non-cricketing reasons, Ganguly played some amazing cricket in his second phase nine months and seven Tests later, hitting four centuries, including his maiden double hundred (239 against Pakistan).

He played domestic cricket at nondescript venues to stay focussed and his comeback was a saga worthy of the man. In the process, he won a 'personal' battle against Greg Chappell, the Aussie who spat such venom through an e-mail to the BCCI. "That e-mail changed my life" Ganguly was to confess.

"Fed up" with repeated humiliations, Ganguly chose a graceful exit. He wants to look after his cricket academy which has a team of 30 coaches and devote time to family. Perhaps "drive Sana (daughter) to school," as he puts it.

He was a bowler's nightmare but a delight for the spectators. Ganguly has been the most successful Indian captain thus far (21-13 win-loss record in 49 Tests; he had just three losses at home) and a legend in contemporary cricket.

Indian cricket will miss the character that Ganguly was.

Read the full article at:

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/11/stories/2008111161701800.htm

Tributes to Anil Kumble

2008-11-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

Lord's Times pays tribute to the greatest bowler of India, who have made India win number of matches than any other bowler in the history of Indian cricket.

Lord's Times pays its tributes by passing through clouds of pictures from memory of web. Here are some for yours too. Good bye Anil, you have made history. Thanks for making our times very good by the not hand full of victories that you have earned to cheer your fans. It is very emotional affair for Anil as well as us in bidding farewell.

Anil kumble retired

2008-11-02T02:04:00.000-08:00

The all time greatest bowler of India, Anil Kumble has revised from test cricket. This announced today afternoon between the on going third test match between India and Australia in which he caps the Indian team. This puts to end the legacy of one more cricketer who is being tortured by the media regularly. The other star batsman who will be retiring after the test series between Australia is Sourav ganguly.

4th day end

2008-11-01T04:18:00.000-07:00

At the end of 4th day India are 43-2, with Dravid and Gambhir in crease. As of me india will play till lunch tomorrow and gift the bat to Australia. Anyway the test is going to be a draw.

India loses second wicket

2008-11-01T03:59:00.000-07:00

Ishant sharma loses his wicket blindly keeping his bat in front resulting in a easy catch for Ponting. The wicket is for clarke. India are now 34-2 with a lead of 70 runs. The new batsman in crease is Dravid.

Sehwag bowled out

2008-11-01T03:53:00.000-07:00

The test is surely moving for a draw, as the pinch hitter Sehwag is out leaving India on 29 for 1. The night watchman Ishant has been sent to crease.

Australia all out for 577

2008-11-01T03:04:00.000-07:00

Australia are all out for 577 in their first innings. The break through was when Mishra got the wicket of michael clarke. Clarke top scored the australian innings with 112. India has a lead of mere 36 runs. They are left to play around 15 overs till the end of the day.

India, if aiming for a victory has to play till half session tomorrow and has to come up with atleast 250 runs.

Heading for a draw

2008-11-01T02:52:00.000-07:00

The third test match between India and Australia for the Gavaskar-Border trophy is heading towards an inevitable draw. The Australian batsmen have succeeded in restricting the Indian victory hunger.

As of now Australia have managed to score 563 for the loss of 8 wickets. At the time of this writing the final session of play on the fourth day is in progress. There is only a very remote chance of a result for this match.

Thanks to the Indian team dropping upto 4 catches, Australia are cruising very near to India's first innings score of 613.

Gautam Gambhir will miss the next test match

2008-10-31T01:23:00.001-07:00

India opener Gautam Gambhir is banned after elbowing Australia's Shane Watson and will miss the final Test against Australia.

Fixtures for Australia tour of England-2009

2008-05-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

The Test Fixtures
July.
Wed 8 - Sun 12
1st Test - England v Australia
Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Thu 16 - Mon 20
2nd Test - England v Australia
Lord's, London

Thu 30 - Mon 3
3rd Test - England v Australia
Edgbaston, Birmingham

August
Fri 7 - Tue 11
4th Test - England v Australia
Headingley, Leeds

Sat 15 - Sun 16
5th Test - England v Australia
Kennington Oval, London

The one day fixtures.
September
Sun 30
16:00 local, 15:00 GMT England v Australia
Old Trafford, Manchester

Tue 1 D/N
19:00 local, 18:00 GMT England v Australia
Old Trafford, Manchester

Fri 4 D/N
14:30 local, 13:30 GMT 1st ODI - England v Australia
Kennington Oval, London

Sun 6
10:15 local, 09:15 GMT 2nd ODI - England v Australia
Lord's, London

Wed 9 D/N
14:30 local, 13:30 GMT 3rd ODI - England v Australia
The Rose Bowl, Southampton

Sat 12
10:15 local, 09:15 GMT 4th ODI - England v Australia
Lord's, London

Tue 15 D/N
14:30 local, 13:30 GMT 5th ODI - England v Australia
Trent Bridge, Nottingham

Thu 17 D/N
14:30 local, 13:30 GMT 6th ODI - England v Australia
Trent Bridge, Nottingham

Sun 20
10:15 local, 09:15 GMT 7th ODI - England v Australia
Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street

India retain 2nd position by beating South Africa

2008-04-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

Kanpur: India made amends for the Ahmedabad debacle by thrashing South Africa by eight wickets within three days in a dramatic third and final Test to level the three-match series 1-1 here today.

After two days of pulsating battle between bat and ball on an under-prepared Green Park track, the Indians tilted the balance decisively in their favour with a splendid all-round display to ensure that their impressive track record at home was kept intact.

The script could not have unfolded in a more heartening way for the hosts as they first took a crucial 60-run first innings lead by scoring 325 and then skittled out South Africa for a paltry 121 in just 55.5 overs in their second essay.

Needing 62 runs for victory, the Indians lost Virender Sehwag (22) and Wasim Jaffer (10) but former captains Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid steered the team home.

Rahul Dravid hit the winning runs by sweeping Paul Harris to the boundary at the fag end of the day, triggering off celebrations in the Indian dressing room.

None of the South African batsmen could hang around for long today on the deteriorating surface, making the defiant 46-run last wicket partnership between S Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma all the more important.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was the pick of the Indian bowlers with 4-44 while Virender Sehwag returned with career-best Test figures of 8.5-2-12-3.

Ishant Sharma also played a big role taking two wickets for 18 runs.

Captain Graeme Smith was the top scorer for the visitors with 35 while Ashwell Prince remained unbeaten on 22 on an eventful day. Like the second Test in Ahmedabad, the match got over within three days but this time it was the home team which had the last laugh.

The South African second innings began poorly as they were reduced to 27 for two by lunch and could never really recover with the Indian bowlers exploiting the crumbling track to good effect.

The visitors showed signs of a fightback with captain Smith and the experienced Jacques Kallis batting resolutely to steady the ship but Sehwag's twin blows late in the post-lunch session put India in an advantageous position.

Both were a picture of concentration as they played cautiously against both seamers and spinners to help the team wipe out the deficit without losing any more wickets.

After the second drinks break, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni introduced Sehwag and he struck with his first delivery by scalping Kallis.

Sehwag bowled a quicker delivery outside off-stump and Kallis went back and across to play it, the ball spun sharply and Wasim Jaffer took a smart catch at short-leg.

Ashwell Prince, who joined the action after Kallis' dismissal, could have been out in the very first ball he faced. Prince tried to close the face of the bat and got a leading edge, but Jaffer could not react quickly enough to catch it.

Sehwag then did the star turn by getting the well-settled Smith bowled round the legs with a fastish delivery.

The South Africans took tea at a precarious 88 for four but the wickets started falling in a heap in the last session with AB de villiers (7), Mark Boucher (5), Morne Morkel (0) and Paul Harris (0) departing in quick succession to put the home team in control of the game. Harbhajan dismissed De villiers in the first over after tea with Laxman taking a smart catch at backward short leg and then Ishant Sharma produced a devastating spell to evict Boucher and Morkel.

The day began with tailenders S Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma adding some crucial runs to give India a handy 60-run first innings lead.

Resuming at the overnight score of 288 for nine, the two tailenders frustrated the visitors with some streaky shots to a stitch 46-run partnership for the last wicket before the innings folded at 325 shortly after the first drinks break.

The Indians, who had a slender 23 runs lead before play began this morning, needed to gain a more substantial lead and both Sreesanth (29) and Sharma (14 not out) were in no mood to surrender their wickets.

Sreesanth was the more aggressive of the two and hit some lusty boundaries off paceman Dale Steyn but some of the boundaries came off edges through the slip cordon. Every run put on by the tailenders was lustily cheered and the lead gave the hosts a definite edge to push for the win.

Sreesanth was once caught by Smith at the mid-off region off Morne Morkel but it turned out to be a no-ball. But he could not capitalise on that 'life' and perished soon after with Harris plotting his dismissal.

Sreesanth came forward to drive a flighted delivery and played it in the air towards Prince at short cover who took a simple catch, bringing an end to the Indian innings. His knock of 29 came off 44 balls and was studded with five boundaries.

3rd Test, Green Park, Kanpur, April 11-15, 2008

Match Information
Series:	South Africa in India, 2008
Toss:	South Africa (Elected to bat)
Match Status:	India won by 8 wkts
Man of the Match:	Saurav Ganguly
Man of the Series:	Harbhajan Singh

Match Officials
Umpires:	Asad Rauf (Pak)
	Billy Doctrove (WI)
Third Umpire:	GA Pratapkumar (Ind)
Match Referee:	Roshan Mahanama (SL)

Batting: South Africa 1st Innings
Batsmen	South Africa (265 for 10 in 87.3 overs)	Runs	Balls	4's	6's	SR
Neil McKenzie	st M Dhoni b P Chawla	36	57	5	0	63.16
Graeme Smith (c)	c W Jaffer b Y Singh	69	134	8	2	51.49
Hashim Amla	b I Sharma	51	101	6	0	50.50
Jacques Kallis	b H Singh	1	7	0	0	14.29
Ashwell Prince	lbw b V Sehwag	16	71	0	0	22.54
AB de Villiers	c S Ganguly b P Chawla	25	45	3	0	55.56
Mark Boucher (wk)	b I Sharma	29	59	3	0	49.15
Morne Morkel	c R Dravid b H Singh	17	17	3	0	100.00
Paul Harris	b I Sharma	12	31	2	0	38.71
Dale Steyn	c (sub)M Kaif b H Singh	0	5	0	0	0.00
Makhaya Ntini	not out	0	2	0	0	0.00
Extras: w - 2, nb - 4, lb - 3, b - 0		9
Total: (265 for 10 in 87.3 overs)		265	Run Rate: 3.03

Fall of Wickets

1/61 (Neil McKenzie, 17.5 ov.) , 2/152 (Graeme Smith, 45.4 ov.) , 3/160 (Hashim Amla, 48.4 ov.) , 4/161 (Jacques Kallis, 49.6 ov.) , 5/199 (AB de Villiers, 62.2 ov.) , 6/215 (Ashwell Prince, 73.2 ov.) , 7/241 (Morne Morkel, 77.5 ov.) , 8/264 (Mark Boucher, 85.2 ov.) , 9/265 (Dale Steyn, 86.4 ov.) , 10/265 (Paul Harris, 87.3 ov.)

Bowling: India
Bowler	O	M	R	W	nb	wd	ER
S Sreesanth	11	0	32	0	2	1	2.9
Ishant Sharma	12.3	1	55	3	2	1	4.4
Harbhajan Singh	31	9	52	3	0	0	1.7
Piyush Chawla	16	3	66	2	0	0	4.1
Yuvraj Singh	11	1	39	1	0	0	3.5
Virender Sehwag	6	2	18	1	0	0	3.0

Batting: India 1st Innings
Batsmen	India (325 for 10 in 99.4 overs)	Runs	Balls	4's	6's	SR
Wasim Jaffer	lbw b M Morkel	15	34	3	0	44.12
Virender Sehwag	lbw b D Steyn	8	14	2	0	57.14
Rahul Dravid	c A Villiers b M Morkel	29	106	4	0	27.36
VVS Laxman	b M Morkel	50	103	7	0	48.54
Saurav Ganguly	c H Amla b D Steyn	87	119	9	1	73.11
Yuvraj Singh	c A Villiers b P Harris	32	57	6	0	56.14
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c) (wk)	st M Boucher b P Harris	32	54	5	0	59.26
Harbhajan Singh	lbw b D Steyn	6	21	0	0	28.57
Piyush Chawla	c G Smith b M Ntini	4	12	1	0	33.33
S Sreesanth	c A Prince b P Harris	29	44	5	0	65.91
Ishant Sharma	not out	14	38	2	0	36.84
Extras: w - 1, nb - 4, lb - 6, b - 8		19
Total: (325 for 10 in 99.4 overs)		325	Run Rate: 3.26

Fall of Wickets

1/18 (Virender Sehwag, 4.6 ov.) , 2/35 (Wasim Jaffer, 10.4 ov.) , 3/113 (Rahul Dravid, 41.1 ov.) , 4/123 (VVS Laxman, 43.5 ov.) , 5/188 (Yuvraj Singh, 60.6 ov.) , 6/248 (Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 76.1 ov.) , 7/268 (Harbhajan Singh, 82.5 ov.) , 8/279 (Piyush Chawla, 85.6 ov.) , 9/279 (Saurav Ganguly, 86.1 ov.) , 10/325 (S Sreesanth, 99.4 ov.)

Bowling: South Africa
Bowler	O	M	R	W	nb	wd	ER
Dale Steyn	20	1	71	3	0	1	3.6
Makhaya Ntini	21	7	47	1	0	0	2.2
Morne Morkel	15	2	63	3	3	0	4.2
Paul Harris	32.4	8	101	3	1	0	3.1
Jacques Kallis	9	1	23	0	0	0	2.6
Hashim Amla	2	0	6	0	0	0	3.0

Batting: South Africa 2nd Innings
Batsmen	South Africa (121 for 10 in 55.5 overs)	Runs	Balls	4's	6's	SR
Neil McKenzie	lbw b S Sreesanth	14	45	1	0	31.11
Graeme Smith (c)	b V Sehwag	35	90	3	0	38.89
Hashim Amla	c W Jaffer b H Singh	0	6	0	0	0.00
Jacques Kallis	c W Jaffer b V Sehwag	15	45	1	0	33.33
Ashwell Prince	not out	22	87	1	0	25.29
AB de Villiers	c VVS Laxman b H Singh	7	21	0	0	33.33
Mark Boucher (wk)	c M Dhoni b I Sharma	5	11	0	0	45.45
Morne Morkel	b I Sharma	0	3	0	0	0.00
Paul Harris	c R Dravid b H Singh	0	7	0	0	0.00
Dale Steyn	b H Singh	7	10	1	0	70.00
Makhaya Ntini	c S Ganguly b V Sehwag	0	12	0	0	0.00
Extras: w - 1, nb - 2, lb - 1, b - 12		16
Total: (121 for 10 in 55.5 overs)		121	Run Rate: 2.17

Fall of Wickets

1/26 (Neil McKenzie, 11.3 ov.) , 2/27 (Hashim Amla, 12.5 ov.) , 3/65 (Jacques Kallis, 29.1 ov.) , 4/72 (Graeme Smith, 33.1 ov.) , 5/90 (AB de Villiers, 39.5 ov.) , 6/101 (Mark Boucher, 45.1 ov.) , 7/101 (Morne Morkel, 45.4 ov.) , 8/102 (Paul Harris, 46.5 ov.) , 9/114 (Dale Steyn, 50.5 ov.) , 10/121 (Makhaya Ntini, 55.5 ov.)

Bowling: India
Bowler	O	M	R	W	nb	wd	ER
Harbhajan Singh	23	7	44	4	0	0	1.9
Ishant Sharma	10	2	18	2	0	1	1.8
S Sreesanth	9	4	9	1	2	0	1.0
Piyush Chawla	4	0	18	0	0	0	4.5
Virender Sehwag	8.5	2	12	3	0	0	1.4
Yuvraj Singh	1	0	7	0	0	0	7.0

Batting: India 2nd Innings
Batsmen	India (64 for 2 in 13.1 overs)	Runs	Balls	4's	6's	SR
Wasim Jaffer	lbw b M Morkel	10	11	2	0	90.91
Virender Sehwag	c A Prince b P Harris	22	12	1	2	183.33
Saurav Ganguly	not out	13	28	2	0	46.43
Rahul Dravid	not out	18	29	4	0	62.07
VVS Laxman
Yuvraj Singh
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Harbhajan Singh
Piyush Chawla
S Sreesanth
Ishant Sharma
Extras: w - 0, nb - 1, lb - 0, b - 0		1
Total: (64 for 2 in 13.1 overs)		64	Run Rate: 4.86

Fall of Wickets

1/32 (Virender Sehwag, 3.3 ov.) , 2/32 (Wasim Jaffer, 4.2 ov.)

Bowling: South Africa
Bowler	O	M	R	W	nb	wd	ER
Dale Steyn	2	0	15	0	0	0	7.5
Makhaya Ntini	1	0	5	0	0	0	5.0
Paul Harris	5.1	0	36	1	0	0	7.0
Morne Morkel	5	1	8	1	1	0	1.6

Dhoni says policy of youth justified

2008-03-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

India's one-day captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni says the tri-series victory in Australia has vindicated his decision to leave out premier batsmen Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid from the competition.

India beat world champions Australia 2-0 in the finals earlier this month after the selectors pitched for youth at Dhoni's behest and controversially dropped former captain Ganguly despite the left-hander's consistency at test level.

Ganguly and Dravid, who was the first to feel the heat of the one-day shake-up late last year, are two of just three Indians to score over 10,000 runs in one-day cricket.

"I was pretty clear about the players I wanted in the side," Dhoni told Cricinfo web site."That's what I said to the selectors as well. You can see the kind of team I got."

The axing of Ganguly and Dravid set off a nation-wide debate in cricket-mad India given the challenge of playing in Australia.

"It's very important because the process and the timing were criticised a lot," Dhoni said. "But sometimes it is very important to send the message across, because sometimes people neglect the answer."

Dhoni, 26, was made one-day captain after Dravid quit following the England tour in September last year and guided a young team to a surprise triumph at the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup.

Dhoni said he had asked his players in Australia to stand up with questions being raised about his team selection.

"What now? Why are people not asking the same questions now? Because if the result was not in our favour, what would have happened?" he said.

"Would the people have been really behind this side or behind individuals?" (Reporting by Sanjay Rajan; Editing by Alastair Himmer)

Courtesy: Reuters

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ICL players are not against Indian cricket

2008-03-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

It is in no small part due to the ICL that a certain class of cricketer can now be concerned about the whimsies of the stock market. In a warm hotel room in Chandigarh, this is indeed what Dhruv Mahajan is presently worrying about.

Mahajan is 28 and to be married in one month. Now he's a member of the Indian Cricket League with the Delhi Giants, a world away from the Jammu and Kashmir Ranji side he represented since 1999, and even led for four years.

"Aaj bhi bada dard hai," he says, wrapped in a quilt. CNBC, on mute, has only bad news for him. "Now whoever puts his money in, bhool jaaye ek saal ke liye. I say thanks to ICL maine itna paisa uda diya iss pe."

'Paisa uda diya' is an unlikely declaration coming from a domestic cricketer. To blow it, they have to have some of it first.

The ICL struck at the very heart of this issue. Of course, of the several reasons players of any age choose to join the league, they will mention money least of all. It is a very good reason because Mahajan and other players like him, such as Abid Nabi, his roommate (and teammate from J&K) who is currently sprawled on the floor just listening, earn around Rs 25 lakh a year with incentives.

"The first factor is monetary, but log apne mooh se nahi kahengey," Mahajan says, lifting a finger to his lips. And he's right. The other night, a player who participated in two world cups would only say, "I get to play with stars." This he would say repeatedly, disregarding the actual question.

Mahajan, who averages 28 point something in first class cricket, and Nabi were sounded out by scouts soon after the ICL was announced in April. They were told of the league and its financial packages, and left to think about it.

When it was decided that they were interested, Zee officials sent them a more complete plan.

In months, the BCCI would announce its league and ban a raft of players. This posed questions for players: What were the repercussions, what did it offer, how did it compare with what they had now?

Nabi considered staying back to play for his state, and weighed his options: Money, opportunity, exposure in one corner. No exposure, little money, and certainly no backing in the other. "Bahut sawaal aaye dimaag mein. I did think about it, but also thought that if I did not perform in the future, what would happen?"

"When we shifted here," Mahajan says, "everybody knew they were taking a big step. There was no talk of amalgamation or this making up between the leagues. So everybody knew what they were doing." He says it's incomprehensible why the BCCI would ban players.

"See, ICL players are not against Indian cricket. Nobody is. So I don't know why�" He said he could have waited for the IPL to happen, but who knew what would happen if his personal form dipped? "A bird in the hand is better than two behind the bush."

Mahajan and Nabi have heard � only heard, they insist � that their share of revenue for the 2006-07 season is being stopped. For J&K, that season ended in December 2006.

"The checque still hasn't come," Mahajan says. "Aur ab aayega bhi nahi," Nabi adds.

They laugh at this, unsurprised if no money comes their way. When you're young, Mahajan says, you come in to the dressing room for the first time and it hits you that cricket comes with a lot of nonsense attached.

In Mahajan's retelling, they would travel by normal three-tier when they were entitled to beds in second-AC. They would be permitted a daily allowance of Rs150 when the rule book stated Rs500. The BCCI would ask them to take up the matter with the host association.

Eventually the problem was solved when Niranajan Shah called up the association. "In announcing these things they're very prompt. But not in giving." Laughter.

"If you have financial security, you can focus on your game," Mahajan says. "ICL gives you that. A common guy comes here, he's financially secure. He can focus on his game. The pressure that exists in state teams is not here. If you don't perform for two games in J&K, you're out. Then you say that he had a bad year. He plays two in five games, and it's a year for him?"

His detailed stories of J&K are hair-raising. There are tales of team instability, selectors and coaches discouraging promising cricketers, and the lack of overall opportunity. It impacted earnings seriously, and neither would there be enough games to play. "Over here, you are yourself. You are your own boss. Only your own performance matters. That's all you have to do.

"But this is how things should have worked in every state team. I'll give you a very good example. Here, we've played three matches. First match we won, second match we lost one-sided. We were never in the game. If this was J&K, half the team would have been out. [Points and laughs 'Nikalo!"] But we played the same team in the third match and won one-sided. Yahaan [Images] pe stability hai."

Mahajan is animated about this, and as he goes about it, Nabi sits there like he's heard it before.

"Cricketer ko akhir sirf cricket chahiye. And, look, money matters. In Ranji, if you make a guy sit out for one game, he earns Rs 70,000 instead of Rs 1,40,000. Half the money is gone. It'll keep playing on his mind. It's human psyche. In ICL, if you're sitting out, and if your team wins, you get an equal share. So you're happy because your team is winning. In every way, ICL is better. Cricket-wise, money-wise, standard-wise. You can say "Country! Country!" all you want, but not everybody can represent the country. Those who couldn't represent it came here. They have come here with a grudge, with a point to prove."

It is his belief that the IPL is not for everybody. "Fine, both ICL and IPL are cash rich. But in IPL, the cash has gone to the rich guys only. What we've heard is that players like Mithun Manhas and others are being paid 20 lakhs."

It was all quite cloak and dagger last year in J&K. Only Mahajan and Nabi knew they were leaving for the ICL. It became an inside joke, and now their friends want in.

"They tell us, 'You've done your own work, abhi apna kaam bhi karva lo'." They say a number of cricketers, grown tired of a poisonous atmosphere, would like nothing better than to move. This is where they come from: "Once, after we lost a game, this selector wanted to change the team. I told him to give me a chance with this team, and he agreed on the condition that if we lost, I'd do exactly what he said. I lost, and 22 players played in five one-day games. Twenty-two players! Where else does that happen?"

The list of complaints is rather long-winded, and you've probably heard it all before, like Nabi has.

So we won't go there. This is domestic cricket, and hopefully cricket as it used to be. Perhaps ICL was ill-conceived, and there's a good chance it won't catch on. But a domestic cricketer can now worry about his stock portfolio. Really, how cool is that?

Rahul Bhatia, a former Cricinfo and Mint correspondent, will file regular reports/features/interviews for Rediff during the ICL tournament. More of him here. (http://grch.wordpress.com/)

Courtesy: Rediff

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West Indies welcome back Sarwan for Sri Lanka series

2008-03-19T22:54:00.000-07:00

West Indies return to home international action for the first time since last year's World Cup when they take on Sri Lanka in Guyana from Saturday in the first of a two-test series.

Since their poor showing at the one-day showpiece, West Indies have shown sparks of a revival only for disappointment to quickly follow.

Following last year's 3-0 test defeat by England, the Caribbean side claimed their first ever test win in South Africa - their first test win since May 2005 - but then lost the next two tests and all five matches in the one-day series.

Spinners Sulieman Benn and Amit Jaggernauth are included in the squad for the first time, while captain Chris Gayle has Barbados all-rounder Ryan Hinds back in the side for the first time in nearly three years.

The biggest boost though is the return from injury of Guyanese batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, who will share the top-order pressure with Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

"It is a pretty balanced team, it's a good all round team, the expectation is high and we're looking forward to it," said Gayle.

"Sri Lanka is a good team, they have been playing terrific cricket and it is up to us now to play some good cricket and back our talent," he added.

Sri Lanka are without two of their most consistent performers of recent years --Sanath Jayasuriya, who has retired from tests, and explosive pace bowler Lasith Malinga, who is injured.

But with the prolific wicket-taking ability of spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and the reliable swing bowling of Chaminda Vaas, Gayle sees no reason to underestimate the Sri Lankan threat with the ball at the Providence Stadium in Georgetown.

"They have a good bowling attack without Malinga, they have Vaas and Muralitharan who have been taking most of Sri Lanka's wickets so hopefully we can make the adjustment necessary," said Gayle.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara provide the experienced core of the Sri Lankan batting line-up and despite several new faces the captain is hoping for his country's first test win in the Caribbean.

"We're very good at home. In our conditions we dominate but away from home we've also been winning games recently. If we can keep competing away from home, challenging ourselves to be better cricketers every day that's the way forward. It's going to be a great challenge," Jayawardene said.

The second test follows on April 3 in Trinidad and the tour is completed with three one-day internationals. Squads West Indies - Chris Gayle (captain), Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Ryan Hinds, Amit Jaggernauth, Darren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor. Sri Lanka - Mahela Jayawardane (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Michael Vandort, Malinda Warnapura, Thilann Samaraweera, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Prasanna Jayawardane, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Ishara Amarashinghe, Rangan Herath, Thilina Thushara Mirando, Chanaka Welegadara, Nuwan Kulasekara. (Editing by Miles Evans)

Courtesy: Reuters

Langeveldt withdrew due to political interference in selection

2008-03-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

Pace bowler Charl Langeveldt withdrew from the tour to India due to political interference in selection, the South African players' association (SACA) said on Wednesday.

Langeveldt, who is mixed race, had been controversially included in the South African squad instead of fellow fast bowler Andre Nel to satisfy a racial target of six players of colour amongst the 14 players.

The 33-year-old Langeveldt withdrew on Tuesday from the three-test series, which begins in India on March 26.

"South Africa stands to lose two of its premier fast bowlers, Charl Langeveldt and Andre Nel, because of political interference in selection," SACA chief executive officer Tony Irish said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Charl Langeveldt's request to be removed from the squad to tour India is the desperate unhappiness of a player who knows that he has been selected for this tour for quota reasons."

Irish called for Cricket South Africa (CSA) president Norman Arendse to relinquish his right of veto over team selection.

Bitter infighting broke out within South African cricket in February when Arendse refused to approve the squad initially chosen to tour Bangladesh because it included only four black players.

His veto was eventually sidestepped when CSA chief executive Gerald Majola released the team, leading to a standoff between the country's two leading cricket administrators.

"Any form of veto, interference or involvement in the selection of the Proteas by anyone who is not a selector should be abolished," said Irish. "The players' association recently made that recommendation to Cricket South Africa's Transformation Review Committee.

"The players believe in the goals of transformation, but all of them -- black and white -- are adamant that this should not be achieved by interfering in the selection of the national team."

Langeveldt confirmed he did not feel he deserved his place in the test squad on merit.

"As players, we all have a good idea of when we are clearly in the running for selection and when we aren't," said Langeveldt.

"You just have to look at Andre's test record compared to mine and the fact that he has been part of all the test plans while I haven't played a test for over two years.

"I have always fought for a place in the team, but I don't want to be put there because of my colour.

"Up to now I have been very happy in my role in the ODI team and I know my value there. I'm quite upset by this now and I'm going to need a bit of time to consider my future."

Nel's future was also uncertain.

"I'm as upset for Langes as I am for myself," said Nel. "We are good team mates and I have a lot of respect for him. We are both passionate about playing for South Africa and neither of us deserve to feel like this. It is hard to just shrug it all off."

No decision has yet been made by the selectors as to whether Langeveldt will be replaced.

(Reporting by Ken Borland, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

Courtesy: Reuters

PCB reveal ODI series venues against Bangladesh

2008-03-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced the venues for the upcoming one-day international series against Bangladesh.

The PCB have arranged the series after Cricket Australia decided to postpone their tour to Pakistan because of security fears, which have escalated since the death of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in December.

Confirming the tour venues, a PCB spokesman told the Daily Times: "The Bangladesh Cricket Board has agreed for the tour which is being arranged to fill the gap caused due to Australia's pull-out from their scheduled tour earlier this month."

The spokesman added: "The Bangladesh team will play their first two games in Lahore followed by matches in Multan, Faisalabad and Karachi. The Twenty20 game will also be played in Karachi."

The Tigers are currently involved in a three-match one-day international series against Ireland and will arrive in Pakistan to play five ODIs and a Twenty20 International between April 6 and 22.

The PCB is also holding talks with Sri Lanka Cricket to host another ODI series in May.

Courtesy

Collingwood confident the top order will fire

2008-03-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

England's batsmen have spent much of the winter protesting that their failure to convert fifties into hundreds is not symptomatic of something more sinister, but the criticism will be withering if they make the same mistakes in the third and decisive Test against New Zealand, starting on Saturday (9.30pm GMT Friday) in Napier.

McLean Park has developed a reputation for big totals since its return to the Test rota in 2005 - each wicket has cost almost 46 runs - and yesterday Paul Collingwood claimed redemption was just round the corner.

"We're just one big ton away from opening the floodgates again," he said. "It's up to one of us to go out there and do that. But we've come up against some good bowling recently. I wouldn't put it down to [lack of] desire or concentration or anything like that. We believe we are better players than that."

The worry is that there is an increasing disjunction between the self-belief of England's batsmen, who all average at least 40, and the number of runs they are actually scoring. Alastair Cook's 118 at Galle before Christmas was the only time a member of the top six has reached three figures in a Test all winter, while their performance during the win at Wellington proved all too familiar: eight times in the match a top-six batsman passed 30, but none did better than Collingwood's first-innings 65. Without Tim Ambrose's century from No7 in only his second Test, a series England were expected to win might already be over.

"We have a bit of a laugh about [scoring hundreds]," said Collingwood, who has scored between 23 and 66 on 11 occasions in Tests since his last century, against West Indies at Chester-le-Street in June. "But it's about winning games for England in certain conditions. You can put too much pressure on yourself. You play your best cricket when you're relaxed."

Just how relaxed England will be as they go in search of their first Test-series win out of three is another matter. Collingwood denied he and his team-mates arrived in New Zealand expecting the home side, ranked two places below them in the Test ratings, to roll over, but still hinted at the prevailing attitude in the England dressing room when he said "if we put in the performance we can do, we should win".

New Zealand, though, have other plans. They have lost only two home series in seven years, and will seek to channel the emotion surrounding their former captain Stephen Fleming's 111th and final Test appearance before heading off to the Indian Premier League into a repeat of the 2-1 win in England in 1999, a result which left Nasser Hussain's new side at the bottom of the Test ratings.

"I'm trying to be deadpan about it," Fleming said. "Emotions will creep in from people around me, but I'm trying to be very statistically motivated in the goals that I've set: 7,000 runs, 10 hundreds, it's a focus to get away from the emotions of Test cricket. I've often cared too much, but if I can play free and release the shackles I often play my best."

Fleming's best is very good but - for all the respect he earned during his time in charge of a limited but perennially underestimated New Zealand side - he has never quite shaken off the tag of attractive underachiever. A tally of nine Test hundreds and an average of 39.81 reflect a talent unfulfilled, but one final victory would paper over any number of statistical cracks.

"I'm proud as a cricketer, but I'll put these things in perspective once I leave the game," the 34-year-old said. "I'm an achiever rather than a good player or a great player. I've managed to achieve through longevity. There are some aspects I'll always look back on, but I've always tried to be better. There'll be nothing different in this last Test."

So can McLean Park produce anything other than a bore draw?

"It won't be through lack of trying," said Fleming. "Hamilton was an example where, if we do get an opportunity to push a game forward, we'll take it. We don't have a Murali, Warne or Akhtar to blow a game apart: we've got to slowly dissect a side, but in five days a lot can happen. I'd love to finish with a result either way. A draw wouldn't be tame but it wouldn't be quite right either."

Courtesy: Guardian

PCB to talk to CA to reschedule the Australian tour

2008-03-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Nasim Ashraf has been invited to Australia for high level talks with Cricket Australia (CA) to re-schedule the April tour postponed last week.

CA chairman Creagh O'Connor extended the invite as a way of confirming Australia's commitment to fulfilling their tour obligations despite withdrawing from next month's scheduled visit to Pakistan due to security concerns.

O'Connor said it had become clear to him that further in-depth talks were required to find a place and time for the series amid a cramped international schedule sure to be compressed further by the rise of the cashed up Indian Twenty20 Premier League.

Ashraf is also keen to speak with security advisers and officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to gain a better understanding of why CA abandoned the tour.

"Dr Ashraf and I have taken the opportunity to catch up during the current International Cricket Council board meeting in Dubai and we have had a preliminary look at dates which might be suitable to reschedule the matches," O'Connor said from Dubai.

"It is clear from our initial discussion here in Dubai that we need to sit down and go through the technical issues on finding new dates with a fine tooth comb.

"To that end, I have suggested we meet in Melbourne as soon as possible and we will organise dates once the current ICC meetings are finalised."

O'Connor and Ashraf have both been in Dubai for ICC meetings that also settled on South African television executive Imtiaz Patel as the next chief executive of the ICC, replacing Australian Malcolm Speed.

Patel had been in line to take over from Dr Ali Bacher as South African cricket's supremo in the late 1990s but instead moved sideways to pay television network SuperSport where he was to become chief executive.

Courtesy: SMH

Langeveldt withdrew from Indian tour

2008-03-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

South Africa fast bowler Charl Langeveldt withdrew on Tuesday from next month's tour to India after his selection had caused controversy.

Langeveldt, who is black, was included in the squad earlier this month ahead of the white Andre Nel in accordance with Cricket South Africa's (CSA) racial transformation policy.

"Charl Langeveldt called me today (Tuesday) in an emotional state saying he wanted to withdraw from the tour so he can consider his international future in the right frame of mind," CSA chief executive Gerald Majola said in a news release.

"He said the public controversy over the selection of the team to tour India had upset him to the extent he would not be in the right frame of mind to tour India and do his best."

Nel had reacted angrily to his omission and threatened to quit international cricket as the issue made big headlines in the local media.

Majola said he tried to convince Langeveldt of his worth to South African cricket.

"I have assured Charl he is very much in the Proteas's plans and is regarded as one of our best fast bowlers in one-day international and test cricket," said Majola.

"We will have in-depth discussions with him and hopefully he will continue to be available for international selection."

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

Courtesy: Reuters

BCCI v ICL, where the tussle is heading

2008-03-19T05:50:00.001-07:00

THE REPERCUSSIONS of the fight between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian Cricket League (ICL) are being felt in places you would never have imagined — colleges and universities.

Even though the BCCI, or for that matter the ICL, has nothing to do with the sport at that level, a couple of universities have somehow made themselves party to the tussle, siding with the BCCI and disallowing ICL players from participating in Inter-college and Inter varsity tournaments.

What is surprising is that this has been done despite there being no directive in this regard from the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). "We have no policy as such on the matter. We would rather be unconcerned about whether the player is playing in ICL or elsewhere, as long as he fulfils the eligibility conditions," said AIU secretary sports Gurdeep Singh. His stance notwithstanding, the fact is that a Mumbai boy Nikhil Mandle, a second-year student of Ruparel College, was thrown out from an Inter-college match when the rival college, H.R. College objected to his participation, saying he had signed up with the ICL. In another instance, three ICL players were not allowed to give inter-varsity trials for Punjab University.

Interestingly, the college and the university, unlike in Nikhil's case, allowed them to play inter-college matches. "We were told that since Nikhil had signed up with the ICL, he couldn't play the inter-college tournament. We withdrew Nikhil, but lodged a protest with the university. Now as per university rules, the result of the protest has to come within a month, but it's been over a month-and-a-half month now, and the matter is still pending with the university," said a sports official from Ruparel College.

"But now I have heard that charge against Nikhl on paper is that he is an employee of the ICL (employees aren't eligible for inter-college tournaments)," said the official.

That can't be the case as players with the ICL are on contract, and if somehow they are deemed employees, will players joining the Indian Premier League (IPL) be treated in the same way and also banned?

Interestingly, the Punjab University selector has an altogether different theory for not allowing the ICL players take the Inter-varsity trials. "Actually, the teams for Vizzy Trophy, a tournament funded by the board, are picked up from the inter-university tournament.

So as the players wouldn't be eligible (because of the BCCI ban), we decided not to pick them even for Inter-varsity tournaments." The explanation sounds strange, for how can someone stop players from appearing in trials if they fulfil the eligibility conditions for a particular tournament?

Anyway, the real question for everyone associated with Indian cricket in one way or the other is: Isn't all this going a bit too far? After universities and colleges, will inter-school tournaments also be hit?

Courtesy: HindustanTimes

Shorter will be 2011 world cup

2008-03-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

DUBAI, March 18 (Reuters) - The International Cricket Council (ICC) cleared the way on Tuesday for a shorter 2011 World Cup.

The ICC board decided on a 14-team format, reduced from 16 after the 2007 edition in West Indies was heavily criticised for being too long and unwieldy.

The duration of the tournament will also be cut from 47 to 38 days if a recommendation by ICC chief executives is implemented.

"The event will be held over a significantly shorter period than the previous one," said an ICC statement. "The detailed format, venues and schedule will be finalised in due course."

The next World Cup will be jointly staged by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The 2007 edition often attracted small attendances particularly for games involving non-test teams.

The ICC's 10 full members will automatically qualify for 2011 and will be joined by the four semi-finalists from next year's qualifiers in Dubai.

(Reporting by N.Ananthanarayanan in New Delhi, editing by Tony Jimenez)

Courtesy: Reuters

India to fire to Robin Singh

2008-03-19T05:43:00.000-07:00

India fielding Coach Robin Singh will be fired (He is the fielding coach of Indian Team now.) before the home test series against South Africa starting next week, local media reported on Wednesday.

Gary Kirsten, who has taken over as India coach before the series against his home country, has told the Indian board that Singh's services will not be required, the Hindustan Times reported.

The former India all-rounder joined the team along with bowling Coach Venkatesh Prasad last year following their shock first-round exit at the World Cup in West Indies.

Prasad and Singh had a dispute with the board over their involvement with the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL), due to be launched next month, the paper said. Prasad is expected to continue in his role.

The first match of the three-test series starts in Chennai on March 26. Click here to see the fixtures of the test series.

(Reporting by N.Ananthanarayanan; Editing by Ed Osmond)

Source: Reuters

South Africa in India, 2008 Fixtures

2008-03-19T05:42:00.000-07:00

South Africa in India, 2008 Fixtures

March 2008
Date	Time (GMT)	Match Details	Venue
Wed 26 - Sun 30	04:30	India v South Africa, 1st Test	Chennai
April 2008
Date	Time (GMT)	Match Details	Venue
Thu 03 - Mon 07	04:30	India v South Africa, 2nd Test	Ahmedabad
Fri 11 - Tue 15	04:30	India v South Africa, 3rd Test	Kanpur

Cricket Australia welcomes Hairs return

2008-03-19T05:32:00.000-07:00

Cricket Australia welcomed Darrell Hair's reinstatement (return) as a Test umpire Wednesday and said the controversial official should be able to oversee matches in any Test nation, including Pakistan.

The Australian was barred from standing in top-level cricket matches following an abandoned Test between England and Pakistan in 2006, which ended with Pakistan conceding the first Test forfeit in the game's history.

Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young said Hair remained one of the game's most technically proficient officials and welcomed the International Cricket Council's decision Tuesday to reinstate him to the elite umpire's panel.

"We're pleased to see Darrell back," Young told AFP. "Cricket Australia has always had a view that he is, in a technical sense, an excellent umpire, one of the best two or three in the world.

"World cricket needs good umpires, it's got good umpires but it needs more rather than less, so it's pleasing to see him back and we look forward to seeing him back on the circuit."

Hair has said he will be prepared to umpire in Pakistan if called upon to do so, although the Pakistan Cricket Board have shown no sign of altering their stance that what they regard as Hair's error of judgment in the 2006 Test makes him unfit to officiate top level matches.

Young said CA believed Hair's reinstatement meant he was eligible to umpire in all Test-playing nations.

"It's an ICC issue but we would support the notion that the ICC should be able to send him wherever it wants to send him in the world whenever it wants to send him according to its rostering of umpires," he said.

Source: AFP