London, September 04: Jon Lewis, the former Gloucestershire captain and England seamer, has criticised the decision to do away with the 50-over format in county cricket, arguing that the limited-overs game in the domestic circuit should remain consistent with the international format.
London, September 04: After having regained the coveted Ashes urn, England are ready for a closely contested seven-match ODI series against the revenge-hungry Aussies.
According to latest cricket updates, England captain Andrew Strauss, who had a great Ashes series both as a captain and as a batsman, expects that they would be up against some new challenges in the ODI series against Australia that starts on Friday at The Oval.
But he also said that the feel-good factor after the Ashes win would help them to beat their arch-rivals and improve their ODI rankings.
London, September 04: Strauss`s men can move ahead of their visitors if they win 5-2 or better while Ponting`s side can reclaim number-one position in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship.
Ideal opportunity for both sides to prepare for this month`s ICC Champions Trophy
After consigning Australia to its lowest Test ranking to date, England can leapfrog its old foe in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table as the two sides go head to head in the seven-match ODI series which gets underway at The Oval on Friday.
Johanesburg, September 04: AB de Villiers believes the ICC Champions Trophy presents South Africa with an “ideal opportunity” to prove they are the best in the world.
South Africa are currently No.1 in the ICC ODI rankings but their record in ICC tournaments has been below expectations, having only emerged triumphant in the inaugural Champions Trophy in 1998.
New York, September 04: Sania Mirza has kept her hopes alive in the doubles and mixed doubles at the US open by winning both matches and advancing to the second round.
Sania bounced back from her 6-0, 6-0 drubbing at the hands of 10th seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy to win both her women’s doubles and mixed doubles matches Thursday.
She partnered with Italy’s Fransesca Schiavone to win a see-saw first round match defeating Ekaterina Dzehalevich of Belarus and Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic 5-7, 7-5, 6-1.
New Delhi, September 04: He has an abundance of runs in the domestic circuit but nine years after making his debut for India, Wasim Jaffer is yet to cement his place in the national team and the Mumbai opener says he doesn’t know how to impress the selectors, who seem to have overlooked his exploits.
Jaffer made his Test debut for India in February 2000 against South Africa and since then has been on and off the team but everytime he was shown the door, the lanky batsman went back to the domestic circuit and scored runs to strengthen his claim.
London, September 04: The West Indies Cricket Board’s decision of sending a sub-standard team to the Champions Trophy has drawn the ire of Tim May.
May, who is the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricket Associations (FICA), said that the WICB decision devalued the Trophy, and also voiced concerns on the team that was slated to tour Australia later.
Melbourne, September 04: Brett Lee is ready to redeem his so far insipid tour to England and win back his Test spot with a successful one-day international campaign against England. Lee, who was unable to make the starting XI in the Test squad, will lead the Australian attack in the one-dayers and the Champions Trophy to follow.
It has been a frustrating tour for Lee, who was set to play a leading role in Australia’s Ashes defense, but instead had to watch from the sidelines after an injury cruelly laid him low just days before the first Test.
New Delhi, September 04: Suresh Raina smashed a sparkling unbeaten 92 to power Air India Red to a thumping seven-wicket victory over India Cements in their last Group D match and book a semifinal berth in the inaugural Sahara BCCI Corporate Trophy limited overs tournament.
Raina sent the India Cements bowlers for a leather hunt in his 107-ball innings which was studded with seven fours and two sixes at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Melbourne, September 04: Australia have a long limited-overs season ahead of them, and Nathan Bracken will be central to their plans of regaining the top ranking, which they lost earlier this year.
“It’s about getting out here playing some cricket and probably getting this side back to where we should be,” Bracken was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
“We want to be the best in the world. We don’t want to sit second, third, fourth or fifth.
Auckland, September 04: Daniel Vettori was pleased with New Zealand’s fightback which helped them secure a narrow victory over Sri Lanka in the first T201, praising the effort of his bowlers in particular.
“I think we were about 15 runs short, but the history of this track suggests that it gets harder to bat on as the game progresses,” Vettori said.
“We knew we were in with a chance and the fightback after we got Dilshan was impressive.
“The ball stopped a little and we managed to just strangle them and pile on the pressure.
Dubai, September 04: Injured Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin will be replaced by Tim Paine while West Indies’ Kevin Mclean will come in the side in place of Darren Powell for the Champions Trophy in South Africa later this month.
International Cricket Council’s (ICC) event technical committee confirmed the two changes here Thursday.
New York, September 04: Shaky top seed Dinara Safina turned in another patchy performance to escape with a victory, while American Melanie Oudin produced the shock of the event so far with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 knockout of fourth seed Elena Dementieva Thursday.
It was hit-or-miss for Safina, troubled by doubts over her status as a world number one who has yet to win a Grand Slam title.
The Russian got past Kristina Barrois of Germany 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-3, no thanks to 15 double faults and 38 unforced errors in their second-round match-up.
Visakhapatnam, September 03: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation made it to the semifinals of the inaugural Sahara BCCI Corporate trophy after their last Group B match against Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rains here today.
Umpires SD Ranade and MR Singh took the decision to call off the match at the Andhra Cricket Association ground.
ONGC, who had beaten Madras Rubber Factory by 81 runs yesterday, topped the group with seven points to move to the semifinal stage.
Only the group toppers make it to the semifinals.
Mohali, September 03: Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (106) and opener Manvinder Bisla (152) slammed fiery unbeaten centuries to propel Air India Blue to a massive 362 for one in their rain-truncated one-day match against India Revenue in the BCCI Corporate trophy here today.
India Revenue captain Amay Kurasyia’s decision to field backfired as the Air India Blue top-order put up an amazing display of aggressive batting at PCA stadium.
Dhoni gave himself some good practice ahead of tri-series in Sri Lanka as the India skipper hit seven fours and six sixes in his 61-ball unbeaten hundred.
London, September 03: Former Test umpire Peter Willey has expressed fears that the referral system, which will be introduced in the longer version of the game next month, will harm umpires more than it aids them.
Willey, current chairman of the first-class umpires’ association in England, said increasing reliance on technology will only blunt the power of judgement of the umpires.
“Umpires who have done Tests for five or six years have lost the art of giving out run-outs and stumpings – they just refer everything,” Willey said in the October issue of Wisden Cricketer.
London, September 03: England coach Andy Flower is confident of boosting their batting line-up with the return of Kevin Pietersen for the tour of South Africa in November but doubted Andrew Flintoff’s comeback to the national team.
The 29-year-old Pietersen, who played only first two Ashes Tests, is nursing an achilles injury after he developed an infection in the scar tissue post surgery.
“He (Pietersen) is still struggling a little with that wound in his achilles. I spoke to him yesterday but I think we are confident in saying he will be back for South Africa,” Flower said.
London, September 03: The International Cricket Council will ask the World Anti-Doping Agency to consider a cricket-specific code for its controversial “whereabouts” rule, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat told Indian media on Thursday.
The influential Indian cricket board rejected the WADA directive last month, backing its players’ refusal to sign up over security and privacy issues.
The ICC became a WADA signatory in 2006 and world cricket’s governing body last year unanimously approved out-of-competition tests on players in accordance with amendments made to the code.
China, September 03: The Indian eves benefited from a late entry penalty rule to beat Russia 2.5-1.5 in the second round of the World Women Team Chess championship here.
The Indians were helped by the Zero Tolerance rule on the fourth board as Russian Gunina Valentina was a bit late to enter the tournament hall for her game against Mary Ann Gomes.
As per the latest rules the players have to be seated on their respective chairs when the games start. While Gunina was at the gate of the tournament hall, she was declared lost.
New Delhi, September 03: A recurring wrist injury marred Olympian Akhil Kumar’s feather weight debut as he lost to Dominican Republic’s Roberto Navarro Gonzalez but Jai Bhagwan brought some cheer to the Indian camp by winning his light weight opener in World Boxing Championships in Milan, Italy today.
The seventh seeded Akhil went down 2-16 to become the fourth Indian to make a first-round exit from the mega-event.
However, late last night, Asian silver medallist Jai Bhagwan outpunched Venezuela’s Angel Rodrigues 10-4 to bring the first cheer in the Indian camp.
London, September 03: Kevin McClean will replace Daren Powell in the West Indies squad while Tim Paine will replace Brad Haddin in Australia squad after the ICC approved changes for the Champions Trophy to be staged in South Africa from September 22 to October 5.
The ICC has confirmed Powell’s replacement to West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) on behalf of the event technical committee yesterday.
London, September 03: Australian captain Ricky Ponting and talismanic England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff may be seen in the new role of a commentator in the upcoming Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament.
Both the star players have been approached by the Champions League organisers to be expert commentators during the tournament to be held at three different venues in India from October 8-23.
“We have approached Flintoff and Ponting to be commentators during the tournament. As great cricketers themselves, they will certainly add a lot of value,” a Champions League source said.
London, September 03: England team director Andy Flower expects Kevin Pietersen to be fit for the tour of South Africa.
Pietersen was forced out of the Ashes series after the second Test due to an Achilles injury which required surgery, and his recovery was delayed by an infection in the scar tissue.
“He is still struggling a little with that wound in his Achilles,” said Flower.
“I spoke to him yesterday but I think we are confident in saying he will be back for South Africa.”
New Delhi, September 03: Ajinkya Rahane has achieved his primary goal of sharing a dressing room with idol Sachin Tendulkar and the Mumbai top order batsman now wants to see his other dream – of making his India debut – come true.
Playing for Mumbai Indians in the second Indian Premier League in South Africa, Rahane fulfilled his long-cherished dream of sharing the dressing room with his idol.
Auckland, September 03: New Zealand’s Jacob Oram said Thursday he was unaware he had taken a hat-trick during the thrilling three-run win over Sri Lanka in a Twenty20 international.
Oram’s three wickets in three balls, but in separate overs, was missed by almost everyone at the Premadasa stadium on Wednesday night, including Oram’s team-mates, the Sri Lankans and television commentators.
The tense finish and the helter-skelter nature of the Twenty20 game ensured the rare feat was forgotten, till Oram returned to the team hotel late at night after the match.