Melbourne, July 06: Jason Krejza reminded the national selectors of his value with a four-wicket haul that helped deliver Australia A a tense victory over Pakistan A in Townsville.
As Australia consider a spinner-less Test team in Cardiff, Krejza and his fellow slow bowler Jon Holland combined for six wickets on the final day to hand the home team a 1-0 series win.
London, July 06: Somerset captain Justin Langer has protested against the ECB’s proposed decision to cut the number of County Championship matches to accommodate the Champions League which will take place in September 2010.
The ECB is facing a serious backlash from professional players over radical plans to reform domestic cricket and Langer has defended the current four-day format, saying it is “perfect”.
London, July 06: The former T20 champion India and South Africa have been placed in the Group ‘C’ along with a qualifier team for the ICC T20 World Cup which will held in 2010 in West Indies.
The defending champion Pakistan has been placed in the Group ‘A’ with Bangladesh and Australia as other teams in the group.
The ICC T20 World Cup 2010 will commence on 30th April and the schedule for all the round matches has been announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday.
St Lucia, July 06: Pakistan will begin the defence of their World Twenty20 title in the Caribbean next year against fellow Asian Test nation Bangladesh in St Lucia on May 1, organisers announced on Sunday.
Pakistan, who beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in last month’s World Twenty20 final at Lord’s, will complete its group phase programme at the same venue the following day against Australia.
The West Indies will open the event in Guyana on April 30 against one of two qualifiers for the tournament.
Melbourne, July 06: Australian pacer Brett Lee has revealed that he managed to get devastating reverse swing against the England Lions after employing an Indian strategy.
Lee bagged six wickets against the Lions to stake a strong claim for a place in the starting eleven of the first Ashes test.
During Australia’s tour of India last October, pacers Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan bowled with a scrambled seam so the ball would deteriorate and start to reverse swing quicker and Australia is planning to use the same strategy against England in the first Test.
London, July 06: Former Pakistan fast bowler Khan Mohammad, 81, has died in London. Khan had undergone surgery after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
A fine bowler in his day, Khan played 13 Tests for his country between 1952 and 1958, taking 54 wickets at an average of 23.92. He made his debut in Delhi during Pakistan’s first Test series, the tour of India in 1952-53. Khan was the first man to bowl an over in Tests for Pakistan, and the first wicket-taker, bowling Indian opener Panjay Roy on debut. He formed a potent new-ball pair with Fazal Mahmood.
New Delhi, July 06: The top seeded pair of India’s Leander Paes and Zimbabwean Cara Black has lost the final match of the mixed double event of the Wimbledon championship in London on Sunday.
The ninth seeded pair of Mark Knowles of Bahamas and Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany has won the Wimbledon title after defeating Paes-Cara duo in the final match in the straight sets by 7-5.
Knowles-Anna duo made a strong comeback to win the first set after trailing by 5-2 as they won eight games in a row.
Dhaka, July 06: After a poor first innings, the Bangladeshis got themselves some useful batting practice on the final day against West Indies A at Bridgetown. It was a satisfactory day for the tourists after they were dismissed for 195 on day one, with most of their remaining recognised batsmen spending time at the crease.
New Delhi, July 06: India clinched their fifth straight ODI series when rain forced the abandonment of the final match against West Indies in St Lucia, and the captain MS Dhoni believes it is tribute to his core unit.
“I think we really have a very good side,” said Dhoni after India won the series 2-1. “It’s a pleasure to win series out of the country. The bowlers took the initiative, we have a very good bowling attack and the youngsters who came in and got a chance have proved himself.”
Melbourne, July 06: Shane Warne believes Australia would be making a serious mistake if they didn’t play Nathan Hauritz in the first Test despite his ugly figures in the two tour matches. There is a strong chance Australia will name a four-man pace attack for the opening Ashes Test, despite the possibility of England taking in two spinners.
London, July 06: An umpire died after being struck on the head by a ball during a league match in Wales on Saturday.
Alcwyn Jenkins, 72, was standing in the game between Swansea and Llangennech in Division One of the Antur Insurance South Wales Association at the St Helen’s ground in Swansea.
He was struck by a throw from one of the fielders and was airlifted to hospital but died shortly afterwards. The match was later abandoned.
St. Lucia, July 06: India won the One-day international cricket series against West Indies 2-1 after the fourth and the final match was washed out by rain at Beausejour Stadium here Sunday.
The Indian team which was under fire back home after their World Twenty20 debacle in England brought some cheers, winning their fifth ODI series on trot and their first in Caribbean soil after seven years.
India led the closely fought series 2-1 going into the final match Sunday. But early morning rain delayed the start and forced the match being reduced to 49-overs-per side.
St. Lucia, July 05: India will endeavor for yet another win against West Indies in order to seize the series here at Gros Islet.
Indian players’ hope will more be on the way to surmount this match as if they get through the match with a win then they will have 5 straight series wins under their belt and 2 straight wins alongside WI.
Karachi, July 5: Pakistan sports minister Aftab Shah Jillani does not foresee restoration of sporting ties with India in the near future.
“I don’t think it is possible to restore bilateral sporting ties with India at this stage and in these existing circumstances,” Jillani told reporters at a function in Karachi.
He said the sporting ties were determined by the government level ties between the two countries.
“As soon as conditions improve and official contacts are made the sports ministry will seek advice from the foreign ministry,” he added.
New Delhi, July 5: Australia have put together a “ridiculous” squad which gives England a distinct edge in the forthcoming Ashes series, according to former Aussie captain Ian Chappell.
“I thought it was ridiculous,” Chappell said of Australia’s team selection, pointing to Phillip Hughes’ shaky form.
Melhourne, July 05: Australia coach Tim Nielsen said his side are in the best possible shape ahead of the first Ashes Test in Cardiff next week.
The tourists drew their final warm-up match after the England Lions were set 445 runs to win from 60 overs before reaching 162 for four by the close of play on the fourth and final day.
Despite it being the tourists’ second successive draw, the match answered many of Australia’s questions before they start their Ashes defence on Wednesday.
Karachi, July 05: Mohammad Yousuf hit an unbeaten 82 on his return to big-time cricket after 18 months to lead Pakistan’s fightback in the first Test against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Misbah-ul-Haq chipped in with 56 as Pakistan, replying to Sri Lanka’s 292, recovered from 80-4 to post 225-5 by tea on the second day at the Galle International Stadium.
Yousuf and Misbah put on 139 for the fifth wicket after batting through a major part of the post-lunch session which was extended by half-an-hour to make up for the 36-minute interruption due to rain.
Dubai, July 05: Dethroned Twenty20 World Champions India have been placed alongside South Africa and a qualifier team in Group C for the next year’s third edition of the tournament to be played in the West Indies.
Holders Pakistan are in the Group A where they will have to ward off the challenges from Bangladesh and Australia to advance in the event starting April 30, according to the 2010 World Twenty20 Match schedule announced by the International Cricket Council today.
London, July 05: Cristiano Ronaldo insists that the $130 million (80 million pounds) Real Madrid paid for him is a “fair price” and he is delighted to be the “most expensive” player in the world.
Ronaldo will put the finishing touches on his move from Manchester United Monday night when he is officially unveiled as the Spanish giants’ latest signing.
Melbourne, July 05: Ian Chappell believes Australia have picked a “ridiculous” Ashes squad and it would be “nonsense” to rely on part-time spinners during the series.
Chappell, who captained the 1972 and 1975 touring squads, has tipped England to prevail in the five-match contest, a prediction backed by the former England captain Tony Greig.
“If you’re looking for clues as to who might win, I always look at the bowling attacks,” Chappell told Cricinfo. “Generally you can go with the team with the best attack. At the moment England certainly have got it.
London, July 05: Graham Onions will compete with Monty Panesar for England’s final bowling spot in the first Test at Cardiff on Wednesday, after he and Ian Bell were named in a 13-man squad that includes all 11 of the players who took part in England’s three-day warm-up against Warwickshire last week.
Singapore, July 05: India Ends Without Increasing Medal TallyThe fifth day was disappointing for India as they failed to add another medal to their tally and slipped to fourth place in the inaugural Asian Youth Games in Singapore on Saturday.
India players put their challenge in three events on day five including swimming, shooting and table tennis.
St Lucia, July 05: India Will Take On West Indies In Final ODIAfter taking a lead by 2-1 in the series India will now take on West Indies in the fourth and last ODI at the St Lucia today to end the series on a winning note.
In the previous rain interrupted match, the heroic inning of Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni led them to win by six wickets in a thriller, which went to last over of the match with India needing to score 11 runs from the last over of their inning.
London, July 05: Pakistan will begin its title defence in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 against Bangladesh at St. Lucia on May 1. The tournament will be staged at four venues – Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts and St Lucia – and the final will be played at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on May 16.
The 2007 World Cup, the premier 50-over tournament, was held in the West Indies and the World Twenty20 will present an opportunity to the island nations to set right some of the criticism directed at the 2007 tournament.
Melbourne, July 05: Australia’s players have described England’s star batsman Kevin Pietersen as the best in the business outside Australia.
Pietersen, with 50 percent of the vote, was by far the most popular choice, according to reports in The Age. Sachin Tendulkar, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Kumar Sangakkara were nowhere close to the South Africa-born batsman.
Pietersen has made 963 runs at 53.50 against Australia, but it is the 29-year-old’s attitude that attracts just as much admiration as his record.