Ashes review set to shake up Aus cricket

The Ashes failure may lead to a major shake up in Australian cricket

Australian cricket faces the prospect of a far-reaching shake-up when the country's Board decides next Tuesday to review the disastrous Ashes performance, a report said on Monday.

An independent chairperson is being sought, preferably from a corporate background, to assess the wider problems in the game's structure in Australia that led to the crushing 1-3 home series defeat against England.

SL vs WI: Rain plays spoilsport

Adrian Barath cracked a ton before rain forced abandonment of the 1st ODI

West Indies' Adrian Barath cracked a maiden century before the first one-day international against Sri Lanka was abandoned due to heavy rain in Colombo.

Pak FIA returns passports of Zulqarnain's wife, children

Zulqarnain Haider's wife and children were stopped from boarding a flight to England.

Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency has returned the passports of runaway wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider's wife and children but refused to give reasons as to why they were stopped from boarding a flight to England, where the controversial cricketer has taken refuge.

Public vote for Afridi as captain for WC

Afridi has got the full support of the Pakistani people to lead the WC side

In a public poll conducted by a leading media group in Pakistan, national team's one-day captain Shahid Afridi has got overwhelming support from the people to lead the side in the 2011 World Cup, starting from February 19.

Bangalore to host Ind-Eng match

Kolkata's loss is Bangalore's gain

The ICC today confirmed its decision to relocate the venue for the India v England match in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, which had been originally scheduled for Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 27 February. It will now take place in Bengaluru on the same date.

Plunkett to join England squad

Liam Plunkett has been called up as cover following injuries to Chris Tremlett and Ajmal Shahzad.

England and Durham pace bowler Liam Plunkett has been called into the England One Day squad as cover following injuries to Chris Tremlett and Ajmal Shahzad.

Both Tremlett (side strain) and Shahzad (hamstring strain) will undergo further assessment to determine the extent of their injuries.

Working on being calm during World Cup: Ashwin

I have been working hard and working smartly for past five six months: Ashwin

January 31, 2011 08:38 GMT

As he gears up to live the dream of being in a World Cup squad, young Indian off--spinner R Ashwin says he is trying all he can to be of more a utility by improving his batting and, more importantly, learning to handle pressure which "gets easily" to him.

1987 World Cup - Australia master sub-continent

Led by a strong captain, Australia held their nerve when it mattered most

Australia opened the tournament with a one-run win over India at Madras (now Chennai). The ability to win close matches stood them in good stead, culminating with winning the Cup after another tight finish against England.

Prospect of captaining Australia appeals Watson

Watson has represented Australia in 27 Tests, 121 ODIs and 22 Twenty20 matches so far.

With Ricky Ponting's illustrious career coming to a close, all-rounder Shane Watson has said that if offered he would gladly accept the role of Australia captain even as Michael Clarke and Cameron White are in the running for the job.

1992 World Cup - Imran's 'cornered tigers' roar

The tournament was jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand and had all the trappings of a modern event

Pakistan were facing elimination after winning just one of their first five matches. Luck also smiled on them when they shared points with England in a rain-ruined match they were poised to lose.

Imran's instructions to his team to fight like "cornered tigers" produced the desired results as his side won their last five matches, including the final against Graham Gooch's Englishmen.

Afridi hints at limited role for Akhtar in WC

Afridi said Akthar was working hard at the nets to regain his fitness.

Pakistan one-day captain Shahid Afridi has indicated a limited role for experienced fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar in the remaining matches in New Zealand and next month's World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

1999 World Cup - Waugh's Australians hold nerve

The final was an anti-climax, with Australia thrashing Pakistan by eight wickets

It nearly came against South Africa at Headingley chasing a stiff 272-run target.

Steve Waugh was on 56 when he offered a simple catch to South African century-maker Herschelle Gibbs, who held the ball before dropping it in premature celebrations.

The Australian captain needed just that slice of fortune to steer his team to a crucial win with an unbeaten century.

1996 World Cup - Strife-hit Sri Lanka on top

Sri Lanka played the final as if they had to settle a score with Australia

India had lost not only a game of cricket, but also much of their reputation as a sporting nation because that was the first match in the World Cup history to be abandoned due to riots.

Such was the format that qualifying chances of Australia and the West Indies were not affected after forfeiting the opening games. Twelve sides were divided into two groups, with the top four advancing to the quarter-finals.

2003 World Cup - Aussies get over Warne shame

Australia marched on relentlessly on win the 2003 trophy

The washouts virtually eliminated Pakistan (v Zimbabwe) and the West Indies (v Bangladesh), while Shaun Pollock's South Africans bowed out after a miscalculation during their rain-hit match against Sri Lanka.

When South African wicket-keeper Mark Boucher hit the penultimate ball off what turned out to be the final over for a six to level the scores, he thought the job had been completed. But his team still needed one more run to win.

2007 World Cup - Tragedy, then triumph in darkness

Adam Gilchrist dominated the final, hammering a 104-ball 149

Australia were involved in a few tight matches in the 2003 tournament in South Africa, but so dominant were they in the Caribbean that they hardly gave any chance to the opposition.

Four Australians -- Matthew Hayden (659), skipper Ricky Ponting (539), Gilchrist (453) and Michael Clarke (436) -- were among the tournament's top 10 run-getters.

Australian pacemen Glenn McGrath (26), Shaun Tait (23), Brad Hogg (21) and Nathan Bracken (16) were among the top six bowlers.

Windies elect to bat in Sri Lanka one-dayer

The remaining two matches will also be played in Colombo on Friday and Sunday

West Indies captain Darren Sammy elected to bat after winning the toss against Sri Lanka in the opening one-day international on Monday.

The remaining two matches will also be played in Colombo on Friday and Sunday.

Eden Gardens can still host other matches if it is ready: ICC

Dalmiya said he had contacted Pawar and Pranab Mukherjee but his efforts went in vain.

The ICC on Sunday rejected BCCI's appeal to reconsider its decision to take away India-England World Cup match from Kolkata but its president Sharad Pawar said the Eden Gardens can host the other three ties if it is ready on time.

IPL needs to be more transparent: Vijay Mallya

Mallya called for "transparency" and "inclusive approach" in the administration of the IPL.

Royal Challengers Bangalore owner Vijay Mallya on Sunday backed the Mumbai Indians in its fight against the alleged rigging of the IPL 4 auction and called for more "transparency" and "inclusive approach" in the administration of the Indian Premier League.

The Mumbai Indians had shot a letter to the IPL governing council, asking why the auction was changed from "selection of sets at random" to pre-decided "order of auction list" for the January 8-9 players auction.

West Bengal PWD steps in to get Eden ready

Sharad Pawar has reportedly set a deadline of Feb 7th for the completion of renovation work at Eden.

With ICC president Sharad Pawar reportedly setting February 7 as the deadline to prepare Eden Gardens for the India-England World Cup match, the West Bengal PWD on Sunday stepped in to help the Cricket Association of Bengal complete the work within the deadline.

"Yesterday (CAB president) Jagmohan Dalmiya requested me to involve PWD in the work for preparing infrastructure. A team of engineers will visit the site today to see what needs to be done," PWD minister Kshiti Goswami told newsmen.

Pietersen slams World Cup schedule

KP said the hectic schedule could be the reason why England have underperformed at the WCs.

England batsman Kevin Pietersen has blasted the Cricket World Cup schedule, saying that the six-week fixture is too long and playing matches with six-day intervals is "ridiculous".

"It`s far too long. How can the England team play once and then in six days` time play again, and then in six days` time play again?" Pietersen asked.

"It`s ridiculous but there`s nothing we can do about the schedules," he added.

BCCI recommends B'lore as alternate venue

The Chinnaswamy Stadium will now host the Ind-Eng match on Feb 27th.

The ICC has formally conveyed to the BCCI about its inability to hold the India vs England World Cup match at the Eden Gardens, February 27.

The BCCI issued a release to the ICC conveying its inability to hold the match at Eden Gardens on February 27. The Cricket Board said it has recommended Bangalore as the alternate venue for the match.

Clarke not bothered by boos

Australian captain Michael Clarke

Embattled Australian captain Michael Clarke said he had no concerns about being booed by local fans in Sunday's one-day international win against England at Brisbane's Gabba ground.

Clarke received a harsh response from the home fans when he came out to bat in the match, which Australia won by 51 runs to secure the seven-match series by taking an unbeatable 4-1 lead.

The 29-year-old went on to top score for Australia with 54 in a sign of a return to form and after the match said he was not bothered by the boos.

Australia beat England to take ODI series

Shane Watson picked up three wickets while Bollinger, Lee and Hastings got 2 each.

Australia claimed the one-day international series against England with a 51-run win in the fifth match at the Gabba in Brisbane on Sunday.

After winning the toss and batting Australia made 249, with second-gamer Chris Woakes picking up a record-equalling six wickets.

Eden impasse: Pranab to meet Pawar

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that he would speak to ICC president Sharad Pawar.

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that he would speak to ICC president Sharad Pawar about the impasse over holding the India-England World Cup match at the Eden Gardens.

"(Cricket Association of Bengal) president Jagmohan Dalmiya came to me yesterday. I had a talk with him. I am not familiar with the matter so much. I will, however, talk to Sharad Pawar," Mukherjee told reporters.

The human side of cricketing God Sachin

Tendulkar is not known for showing his temper on the field, but at home he is a different person.

Sachin Tendulkar is not known for showing his temper or angry reactions on the cricket field, but at home he is a different person.

Many a time his mother and wife are at the receiving end of his occasional outbursts, the batting maestro himself revealed at a function here this evening.

Bangladesh beggars to be 'paid' during World Cup

Chittagong will host two World Cup matches

The mayor of Chittagong city in southern Bangladesh said Sunday that he would pay hundreds of beggars a daily wage to keep them off the streets during the cricket World Cup.

Manzur Alam said that about 300 disabled beggars would be given 150 taka (two dollars) a day after the tournament's opening ceremony on February 17 to compensate them for loss of earnings.

Woakes six rocks Australia

Chris Woakes claimed 6/45 as Australia were bowled out for 249.

A six-wicket haul for English second-gamer Chris Woakes foiled Australia's plans to post an imposing score in the fifth one-day international against England in Brisbane on Sunday.

Leading the series 3-1, at the Gabba Australia's batsmen paid the price for poor shot selection and the home side blew a good start to struggle to 249 after winning the toss and electing to bat.

1983 World Cup - Kapil 'Devils' just magic

Kapil Dev plays a shot during a cricket match in Bernese Alps

The West Indies won their remaining four group matches before putting it across Pakistan in the semi-final.

India faced many anxious moments, losing to the West Indies in their second group encounter and then to Australia before finding themselves in a deep trouble against Zimbabwe.

They were 17-5 when Dev played a brilliant innings at Tunrbidge Wells, a blazing 175 not out off just 138 balls with the help of six sixes and 16 fours to help his team post a competitive 266-8.

1979 World Cup - No stopping West Indies

England's tactics left a lot to be desired, batting as if they were playing in a Test match

Australia shed much of their strength in the 1979 World Cup after Australian TV tycoon Kerry Packer rocked the establishment by luring top players to his World Series Cricket in 1977.

The 1975 runners-up looked a pale shadow of their former selves as their Packer players were not considered for the tournament. An under-strength side, led by Kim Hughes, failed to make it to the semi-finals.

1975 World Cup - West Indies set early pace

The final will be remembered for West Indies captain Clive Lloyd's 102 off 85 balls

The West Indies were 203-9 chasing a 267-run target before Andy Roberts and Deryck Murray held their nerve under pressure to help their team win by one wicket.

Eden Fiasco: Dalmiya seeks political help

Jagmohan Dalmiya is doing everything he can to win back the India vs England WC game.

In a desperate bid to bring back the India-England World Cup match to Eden Gardens, Cricket Association of Bengal chief Jagmohan Dalmiya on Saturday called on Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, though authorities in Kolkata denied taking any political help.

CAB accuse ICC of double standards

The CAB has blamed the ICC for the Eden Gardens fiasco.

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) virtually accused the International Cricket Council (ICC) of double standards after the international body on Saturday turned down its plea of retaining the historical Eden Gardens as the venue for the India-England World Cup match.

South thrash Central to enter Duleep Trophy finals

Vinay Kumar starred with the ball as South destroyed Central in the Duleep Trophy semi final

R Vinay Kumar wrecked havoc with a four-wicket haul as South Zone humiliated Central Zone by 552 runs to set up a summit clash with North Zone in the Duleep Trophy in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Needing an improbable 770 runs to win the match, Central Zone were bundled out for 217 in their second innings on the fourth and final day of the match here.

CAB messed up ICC inspection?

The CAB has been blamed for the inept handling of the ICC inspection on Jan 25th.

Having lost their face in front of the cricketing fraternity, the blame game has already started in the corridors of Cricket Association of Bengal for the inept manner in which they handled the situation during the January 25 inspection of the Eden Gardens by the ICC team.

Eden's fate to be known on Sunday: Pawar

Eden's fate as a World Cup host will be decided on Sunday.

International Cricket Council President Sharad Pawar on Saturday said a final decision on whether the Eden Gardens would get to host World Cup matches would only be taken on Sunday.

The historic stadium in Kolkata lost the February 27 match between India and England after it failed to meet the completion deadline for renovation work. Three more matches are scheduled at the venue.

The BCCI, at the behest of the Cricket Association of Bengal, appealed to the ICC to extend the completion deadline for the India-England tie to February 7 but that has been rejected by the ICC.

Pawar said he would get a report on the stadium's preparedness from ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat on Saturday and then a final decision would be taken.

"I will get the report this evening. After that, an ICC Committee will deliberate on whether Eden will host the matches or not," Pawar said.

"Fans from other countries would be also coming to see the World Cup and they would have made their travel plans much in advance. Any last-minute change would hassle them," he added.

The India-England clash was to be the only match featuring the co-hosts at the venue and the other scheduled clashes mostly feature minnows.

South Africa-Ireland (March 15), Netherlands-Ireland (March 18) and Zimbabwe-Kenya (March 20) are the other games scheduled at the venue.

Yousuf, Malik denied central contracts

Mohammad Yousuf continues to be left out of Pakistan's plans

Pakistan's national selection committee has omitted the names of senior players Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Danish Kaneria and Rana Naved from the proposed list of 30 players, who will be awarded fresh central contracts this year.

We're hoping for a 6-1 result: Clarke

Clarke is hoping to get back in the winner's circle with a victory for the Queensland flood victims.

 

Australian captain Michael Clarke has said that though his team were chasing a whitewash in the CB series against England, they would take a 6-1 result.

Australia lead the series 3-1 and would be looking to settle the series in the 5th game at the Gabba.

AUS v ENG, 5th ODI: Preview

Paul Collingwood's poor form with the bat has been a worry for England.

As the action shifts to a city that is recovering from massive floods, England will be hoping for a similar recovery act on the field. They showed, in Adelaide, that they were not going to be knocked out in the first few rounds and that they were up for the fight. The Australian roll was stopped in it's tracks by man in form Jonathan Trott. He came up with a defiant hundred before knocking down a couple of the Aussies to ensure England stayed alive in the series.

Eden must be given a chance: Bedi

Bedi feels that the ICC should give Eden Gardens another chance to host the Ind-Eng game.

Former India spinner Bishen Singh Bedi has said that it is wrong on part of the organisers to deprive Kolkata the right to host the India-England World Cup match and the local authorities should be given some more time to complete the renovation work at the historic Eden Gardens.

Hafeez, Afridi help Pak level series

Hafeez's maiden ton and Afridi's blitzkrieg helped Pak level the series

A maiden century by Mohammad Hafeez and a blistering 65 by Shahid Afridi set up Pakistan for a 43-run win over New Zealand in their one-day cricket international on Saturday.

The batting heroics, which rescued Pakistan from a disastrous start, were complemented by the fielding exploits of Umar Akmal who featured in three crucial New Zealand dismissals.

Ponting to be fit for WC

Ricky Ponting will return to lead the Australian team for the World Cup.

In "encouraging" news ahead of the World Cup, Ricky Ponting is said to be recovering fast from his finger injury but team physio Alex Kountouris is cautious about taking Australian skipper back to the nets.

Ponting, who broke his finger during the miserable Ashes series, was assessed by Melbourne specialist Greg Hoy, who has advised Kountouris to step up his rehabilitation.

"We saw the specialist yesterday and he was reasonably happy with how Ricky is going. It's an encouraging sign. We'll see what happens in the next week or two," Kountouris said.

Eden Gardens can be ready for World Cup

CAB chiefs promised they would hand over a completed Eden Gardens to the ICC on February 7

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

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

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

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

Venue shift disappoints English players

Tremlett said that he expected the English team to not be distracted a lot by the change.

Following the move to shift the England - India match from the famous Eden Gardens, the English players responded by saying they were disappointed about the change in the venue.

The ICC had announced on Thursday that Eden gardens would not be ready to host its first World Cup match on February 27 between England and the hosts, because of concerns over "cricket operations, media, broadcast and sponsorship facilities".

Don't know why I didn't play more Tests: Kambli

Kambli played 17 Tests averaging 54.20.

Former India batsman Vinod Kambli has questioned the logic behind keeping him away from Test matches during his playing days, stating that he scored back-to-back double hundreds and averaged nearly 55 in 17 games in the five-day format.

"Despite scoring back-to-back double hundreds I was told that I was not good enough for Test cricket and was only a good one-day player. I couldn't understand the reason behind it. I was a bit taken aback," Kambli said on the sideline of the release of his biography 'The Last Hero' by Kunal Purandare at the Cricket Club of India on Thursday.

Can't go into WC thinking about pressure: Pathan

Pathan said he is excited about playing for KKR though he will miss being a part of Rajasthan.

Explosive all-rounder Yusuf Pathan concedes that Indian cricketers would be under immense pressure during next month's cricket World Cup in the sub-continent but added that they will have to avoid thinking about expectations, if they are to deliver at the event.

"You don't go into a tournament thinking about the pressure involved with it. We will be playing the World Cup at home and it's natural that people will expect us do well", he said.

Preview NZ vs Pakistan: 3rd ODI

NZ will aim to increase their lead.

With the World Cup drawing closer, every match in this series assumes importance. New Zealand were a relieved side after they snapped their losing streak in ODIs. Pakistan looked flat and were unable to sustain momentum following a good show in the Test matches. A washed out match at Queenstown did not help either team in their preparation. The action now shifts to Christchurch, but the weather is not looking too great for that match either.

Sri Lanka stick with World Cup squad for Windies series

Kumar Sangakkara will lead the side while Mahela Jayawardene will be his deputy.

Sri Lanka have named their World Cup squad of 15 players to meet the West Indies in a one-day international series originally scheduled for November but abandoned due to bad weather.

The three-match series will start on Monday with the remaining games on Feb. 3 and 6 before the World Cup gets underway on Feb. 19.

Whatmore attends CAB camp to spot young talents

Whatmore attended the camp to spot the young talents.

Former World Cup winning cup coach of Sri Lanka Dav Whatmore attended the cricket camp organsied by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) here to hunt young cricket talents.

"Forty boys in the age group of 14-year to 18-year from the districts of Birbhum, Murshidabad and North 24 Parganas took part in the three-day organsied by CAB," Vice-President of the District Sports Association (DSA) of Birbhum, Kalyan Ghosal said here today.

Whatmore attended the camp to spot the young talents, who would by selected for the cricket academy, which the CAB is setting up, Ghosal said.

The young talents selected would undergo training in the cricket academy, he added.

It will be a dream to play in World Cup: Misbah

Misbah's Test form has been superb and he has scored 50+ in all of his last six innings.

Veteran batsman Misbah-ul Haq, one of the prime candidates who is in the fray to lead the Pakistan side in the forthcoming World Cup has said that playing in the mega event would be a dream come true for him.

Misbah, 36, who has never played in World Cup and is currently the captain of the Test team said that taking part in a World Cup tournament feels playing in the showpiece event is a dream for every cricketer.

Road in Gwalior named after Tendulkar

The road was named after Tendulkar to mark his historic double century in the ODI against SA.

A new 3.55 km long road here named after master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar was inaugurated by the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday.