‘Beasted’ Broad backs ‘fearless’ England for Ashes, World Cup glory

June 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, June 11(ANI): England fast bowler Stuart Broad has said that he spent his time out of the national team on working on his fitness, and announced that he is now prepared for the Ashes and the World Cup.

Broad, who was dropped for the two-Test series against Bangladesh, was named in the 13-man ODI squad to play England in a five-match series.

“I’ve spent the last few weeks at Loughborough getting a serious beasting in the gym — it’s been knackering, but I feel stronger and have put on about a kilogram of muscle. This isn’t a short-term thing, this is so I am still going strong by the end of the Ashes in January and through to the World Cup,” The Sun quoted Broad, as saying.

“By being dropped for that reason, I at least have the confidence that I”m in the long-term plans,” he added.

The 23-year-old said that he was unhappy with the selectors’ decision to drop him for the Bangladesh Test series.

“It was a hard phone call to take when the selectors told me. They gave their reasons and were adamant it wasn”t form. So if I”m taking wickets during an Ashes win in Australia and the World Cup, it will have been worth it,” Broad said.

He further insisted that the current England one-day side is different from the one that lost 6-1 to Australia last summer.

“These five games against Australia this summer are important — it”s crucial we continue the momentum we”ve built up in one-day cricket. Now we back ourselves and each other to play fearless cricket. We look a different team and that”s why we won the World Twenty20,” Broad said.

“We want to keep beating Australia. We have the Ashes and won that Twenty20 final — it”s hugely important we keep getting these little things over them,” he added. (ANI)

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England v Bangladesh test to start after rain

June 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Play on the third day of the second test between England and Bangladesh will start after a rain delay at 1215GMT with the hosts deciding to enforce the follow-on at Old Trafford on Sunday.

England captain Andrew Strauss opted to put Bangladesh in again after his team bowled Bangladesh out for 216, in reply to the home side’s first-innings total of 419.

The tourists lost all ten first innings wickets after tea on the second day having reached 126-0. Tamim Iqbal top-scored with 108 before off-spinner Graeme Swann claimed 5-76 as Bangladesh’s fragile batting line-up capitulated in the final session.

Bangladesh need a win to draw the series after the hosts eased to an eight-wicket victory at Lord’s in the first test.

(Editing by Miles Evans; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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England v Bangladesh – first test scoreboard

May 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Scoreboard at the close of the second day of the first test between England and Bangladesh at Lord’s, London on Friday.

England innings

A. Strauss b Mahmudullah 83

A. Cook lbw b Shahadat Hossain 7

J. Trott c Kayes b Shahadat 226

K. Pietersen b Shakib Al Hasan 18

I. Bell b Rubel Hossain 17

E. Morgan c Mushfiqur Rahim b Shahadat Hossain 44

M. Prior run out 16

T. Bresnan c Siddique b Shahadat Hossain 25

G. Swann c Rubel b Shakib 22

J. Anderson b Shahadat Hossain 13

S. Finn not out 3

Extras (lb-10, 13-nb, 8-w) 31

Total (all out; 125 overs) 505

Fall of wickets: 1-7 2-188 3-227 4-258 5-370 6-400 7-463 8-478

9-498 10-505

Bowling: Shahadat 28-3-98-5, Robiul 22-2-107-0, Shakib

27-3-109-2, Rubel 23-0-109-1, Mahmudullah 23-3-59-1, Ashraful

2-0-13-0.

Bangladesh innings

T. Iqbal run out 55

I. Kayes c Strauss b Finn 43

J. Siddique not out 53

J. Islam not out 16

Extras (lb-1, w-3, nb-1) 5

Total (2 wickets; 53 overs) 172

Fall of wickets: 1-88 2-134

Bowling: Anderson 16-2-52-0, Bresnan 15-2-65-0, Finn

12-4-39-1, Swann 10-6-15-0

Still to bat: Ashraful, Shakib, Rahim, Mahmudullah,

Shahadat, Robiul, Rubel.

(Editing by Toby Davis; to query or comment on this story

email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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Mohali take honours on Day One

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The encounter between two heavy weights-Chandigarh and Mohali- has always been mouth-watering. Both the teams have always called for high-intensity and action filled matches. It was no different on Tuesday when both the teams once again engaged in an exciting encounter during the third round matches of the Punjab State Under-22 Cricket Tournament played at the Sector 16 Cricket stadium. However, Mohali took the honours on the first day as their batsmen helped the team pile on a handsome total.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Mohali mustered a sound total of 377 in 94.4 overs. After losing the first wicket cheaply, Mohali batsmen Ankit Pursharthy and Sachin Sohal stitched 108 runs for the second wicket before Ankit was caught by Bawa off the bowling of Anshul Tripathi. He made 67 off 145 balls with the help of ten boundaries. Two quick wickets in succession put Chandigarh on top but Gurkirat Mann and Arshdeep Brar were involved in a century stand (101) for the fifth wicket that once again brought Mohali back into the match. Arshdeep returned back to the pavillion after a well-made 45 off 80 balls.

However, Gurkirat continued in the same vein and smashed a quick-fire 36 off 28 balls and was involved in a 93-run stand for the sixth wicket with Gunjot Singh. Gurkirat, who has been in good form, struck a superb 109 off 100 balls. Gurinder Singh and Anshul Tripathi took three wickets each for Chandigarh.

In reply, Chandigarh were 6 for no loss in five overs.

Brief scores:Mohali (1st innings): 377 all out in 94.4 overs (Gurkirat Mann 109, Ankit Pursharthy 67, Sachin Sohal 65, Arshdeep Brar 48, Gunjot Singh 36, Gurinder Singh 3 for 104, Anshul Tripathi 3 for 146); Chandigarh (1st innings): 6 for no loss in 5 overs (Amit Prashar 3 no, Manan Vohra 3 no).

Chawla saves the day for PatialaHolding on one side firmly as wickets fell regularly at the other end, Himanshu Chawla emerged as hero of the day for Patiala as he helped the team muster a competitive 308 in 82 overs in the match played at Jalandhar.

Opting to bat first, Patiala lost their first wicket cheaply before Jeevanjot and Amitoze got together and put on 91 runs in 110 balls for the second wicket. Thereafter, Patiala lost few quick wickets but then Himanshu and Vikramjit resurrected the visiting team’s innings by stitching 82 runs for the sixth wicket.

Himanshu who was looking good for a century, missed out on the feat when he holed a Yogesh Kumar delivery to the mid wicket where Maninder took an easy catch to send him packing on 95. He took 147 balls for his effort and struck 10 boundaries. Yogesh Kumar was the pick of the bowlers as he completed a five-wicket haul (5 for 82), while Maninder bagged three wickets.

Jalandhar were 40 for 1 in 12 overs. They lost opener Nitish for 23 on the last ball of the match.

Brief scores:Patiala (1st innings): 308 for all out in 82 overs (Himanshu Chawla 95, Amitoze Singh 61, Jivanjot Singh 34, Vikramjit Singh 36, Yogesh Kumar 5 for 82, Maninder Singh 3 for 89, Manpreet Singh 2 for 51); Jalandhar (1st innings): 40 for 1 in 12 overs (Nitish 23, Robin Singh 15 no).

Ludhiana batsmen shineA Collective batting effort by Ludhiana batsmen helped the team finish the first day on a high during their match against Kapurthala at Ludhiana. Batting first, the hosts amassed 399 for 8 in 95 overs. Bharat Malhotra (108), Gitansh Khera (87), Sunny Pandey (59) and Akhil Aggarwal (48) were the run scorers for the hosts.

A second wicket partnership of 95 runs for the second wicket set the tone for Ludhiana innings. Then a fourth wicket partnership of 132 runs between Gitansh and Bharat helped the team build platform for a good total. Similarly, another fruitful partnership of 75 runs for the fifth wicket between Bharat and Deepak Bansal further swelled the team’s total. In the process, Bharat completed his century (108 off 159 balls) with the help of 11 boundaries and a huge six.

Gagan added a quick-fire 39 off 18 balls to help the team reach 399. Krishan picked up three wickets for 109 runs.

In reply, Kapurthala were reeling at 57 for 5 in 13 overs at the end of the day’s play. Baltej Singh scalped three wickets, while Deepak Bansal took two wickets to leave the team tottering. Four of the five batsmen failed to open their account. Mandeep Singh was batting on 42.

Brief scores:Ludhiana (1st innings): 399 for 8 in 95 overs (Bharat Malhotra 108, Gitansh Khera 87, Sunny Pandey 58, Akhil Aggarwal 48, Deepak Bansal 39, Gagan 39, Krishan 3 for 109); Kapurthala (1st innings): 57 for 5 in 13 overs (Mandeep Singh 42 no, Baltej Singh 3 for 26, Deepak Bansal 2 for 26).

Loomba helps team take leadRiding high on Sharad Loomba’s unbeaten 91, Amritsar took an unassailable 45-run lead over Mansa in the fourth match played at Amritsar. Batting first, Mansa were bundled out for 131 in 50.2 overs. Lakshay Seth took four wickets, while Shubham Khanna and Charanjit Singh bagged two wickets each.

In reply, Amritsar were 176 for 3 in 42 overs at the end of the day’s play. Loomba was batting on 91 off 109 balls. He was involved in a 63-run partnership for the third wicket with Amandeep Bawa. Aman Bharti took two wickets.

Brief scores:Mansa (1st innings): 131 for all out in 50.2 overs (Manpreet Singh 27, Aman Bharti 26, Lakshay Seth 4 for 28, Charanjit Singh 2 for 29, Shubham Khanna 2 for 35); Amritsar (1st innings): 176 for 3 in 42 overs (Sharad Loomba 91, Mohit Handa 14 no, Aman Bharti 2 for 52)

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Out in the cold, Irfan vows to come back

May 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It took one Australian tour in 2003-04 to make a curly-haired teenager a household name. Once he began swinging the ball both ways, comparisons with Wasim Akram followed. A few impressive knocks later, he was destined to be the next Kapil Dev. The fall for Irfan Pathan though, has been as quick as his climb was.

Having lost his swing and a considerable amount of pace, Pathan is no longer the blue-eyed boy of the selection committee. Despite scoring 397 runs at an average of 49.62 and scalping 22 wickets in the 2009-10 Ranji season, followed by a five-wicket haul in the Duleep Trophy final, Pathan didn’t make the cut for the Zimbabwean tour or the India A side — touring England — as a pool of fresh faces was preferred by the selectors.

Working on errors

The disappointment is clear, but Pathan does his best to conceal it. “I really don’t know what to say. I was hopeful. Every cricketer thinks of where he is going wrong and tries to work on his errors. I’m playing well but need to do better. I’m still hoping to make a comeback,” Pathan says, while speaking to The Indian Express.

While cricket pundits attempt to deconstruct where the downfall began, Pathan isn’t sure himself. Could it have been because of the drop in pace? “But I have never been a 140-plus bowler,” he says.

“I don’t know what people are expecting from me. Do they want to see me to bowl at 140-plus and take no wickets? Or do they want to see me swing my way to wickets and give away fewer runs?” he asks, adding, “I was a bowler who could take wickets and perform whenever the team required.”

The long season has finally come to an end after the IPL, and Pathan has planned his next three months in advance.

“At the moment I’m working on my body, hitting the gym. These three months will be crucial as I will work on my pace. It all depends on how I maintain my body,” he says.

The 25-year-old has more plans in place but is reluctant to reveal them, though he is tugging at the leash to return into the senior side as it’s been a year since he was last part of the Indian team. Pathan is aware of his statistics this season, and rattles them off like a student giving his oral exams.

“It all depends on how my next season goes, I’m ready to do well again. Ready for more hard work, ready to learn everyday, ready to come back.”

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Amla, de Villiers hit tons as SA beat Windies

May 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers scored hundreds as South Africa defeated West Indies by 66 runs in their rain-affected one-day international.

Amla anchored the top half of the South African batting with 102 from 109 balls, and de Villiers kept the momentum going with the same score from 101 balls, as the Proteas, put in to bat, reached 280 for seven from their rain-reduced 48 overs on a slow Vivian Richards Cricket Ground pitch on Saturday.

South Africa then dismissed West Indies, who had been set a Duckworth/Lewis target of 288, for 215 in 44.1 overs to clinch a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, which continues on Monday at this venue.

Morne Morkel was the most successful South African bowler with three wickets for 40 runs from eight overs, while Dale Steyn, Ryan McLaren, and Johan Botha collected two wickets apiece.

“We want to play well, and we want to win this series,” said South Africa captain Graeme Smith.

“We want to have a very successful tour of the Caribbean.

I have said this a number of times. We have a lot of bouncing back to do, following the Twenty20 World Cup, and we want to do it well.”

“This is just the first match, and the matches are very close together, so recovery is going to be important to us being successful.”

West Indies captain Chris Gayle, whose 45 from 39 balls was the home team’s top score, felt let down by the batting again.

“It’s one of those things that we can’t seem to catch a break with our batting, so we will have to go back to the drawing board,” said Gayle.

“We are not going to give-up. We know that we are not playing good cricket now.”

Steyn set West Indies back early, when he had Andre Fletcher caught at slip for four in the third over.

South Africa were put on the defensive, however, when Gayle gave West Indies a typically flourishing start.

Ryan McLaren had Dwayne Bravo caught behind for 15, and Morkel had Gayle caught in the deep to leave West Indies 69 for three in the 13th over.

The South Africans then saw Ramnaresh Sarwan make 38, and left-handed compatriot Narsingh Deonarine get 26 to stage a recovery with a stand of 61 for the fourth wicket.

Botha made the breakthrough in the 27th over, when Deonarine top-edged a sweep, and was caught at backward square leg, and Morkel bowled Sarwan, as West Indies slipped to 140 for five.

Kieron Pollard joined Denesh Ramdin, and they put on 52 for the sixth wicket.

Steyn returned for another spell, and bowled Ramdin for 17, when the batsman chopped on, and West Indies lost their last five wickets for 23 runs from 35 deliveries.

Amla, later named man-of-the-match, reached his second ODI hundred from 106 balls, when he steered a short, rising delivery from Pollard to third man for a single in the 33rd over.

De Villiers later reached his seventh ODI hundred from 99 balls, when he dragged a delivery from Ravi Rampaul through mid-on for a single in the 44th over.

They added 129 for the third wicket, after play started half-hour later than scheduled, and a near half-hour stoppage for rain further marred the match.

Amla put on 53 for the first wicket with Smith either side of the rain break before the Proteas’ captain edged a flat-footed drive, and was caught behind for 18 in the seventh over off Bravo, who also had Jacques Kallis caught at third man for one to leave South Africa 57 for two.

After de Villiers added 54 for the fourth wicket with left-hander JP Duminy, South Africa lost four wickets for 40 runs from the last 41 deliveries of their innings.

Bravo was the most successful West Indies bowler with three wickets for 40 runs.

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McLaren’s career best spell helps South Africa overcome West Indies

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, May 20 (ANI): South African bowler Ryan McLaren, who bowled a career best spell and became the fourth bowler to take five wickets in a T20 match, helped his team register a 13-run victory in the first of the two Twenty20 Internationals against the West Indies.

McLaren took 5-19 from 3.5 overs to get the man-of-the-match award, as West Indies chasing 137 for victory from their 20 overs were dismissed for 123 with one ball to spare.

He finished with the second-best figures in Twenty20 internationals behind Pakistan’s Umar Gul, who took 5-6 from three overs against New Zealand, FOX Sports reports.

“It’s a good way to start off the tour having practised indoors and not outdoors for the last few weeks. But it’s only the first day, and there’s plenty more cricket to come, so hopefully, I can better this performance,” said McLaren.

“We all know the nature of T20 cricket – the bowler is always up against it. You can take five wickets one day, and the next day, take a thumping, but I enjoyed it. It was not an easy day for the batters, and you had to graft pretty hard.

“Playing shots was not easy, and there was a strong wind, so there were a lot of things you had to take into consideration,” the paper quoted him, as saying.

“It was obviously nice to start with a win. This was the most important thing for us. We have worked really hard over the last few days here in Antigua, had a few discussions, the energy has been good around the team, and a lot of new faces have come in,” McLaren added.

Earlier, Jacques Kallis struck one four and three sixes in 53 from 45 balls, as South Africa reached 7-136 from their 20 overs, after deciding to bat on an uneven pitch. (ANI)

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Strong comeback by Cadence Academy in Under-19 cricket tournament

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

After being dismissed for 184 in 40.1 overs on the first day of the Varroc Cup Cricket tournament (under-19), Cadence Cricket Academy responded strongly by bowling out the Varroc Cricketv Academy for 150 in 55.3 overs. Earlier, Vipul Raut, Jaydeep Khetre and Hira Choudhri bowled well for Varroc.

Scores: Cadence Cricket Academy: All out 184 in 40.1 overs Jimit Parmar 50 not out. Shubam Ranjane 50 n.o. Prayag Bhati 23 Sudhakar Bhosle 21 Vipul Raut 3/40 Hira Choudhri 2/28 Jaydeep Khetre 2/48

PCMCS’ VARROC Vengsarkar Academy: 128 for 7 wickets in 48 overs Saurabh Phengse 42, Tariq Ansari 28, Aatique Quereshi 22, Chirag Khurana 3/34

On the second day’s play, PCMCS’ VARROC Vengsarkar Academy (U-19) was 150 for all out in 55.3 overs. Cadence Cricket Academy made 290 runs for 5 wickets in 52 Overs in second innings

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NZ eves set up clash with Oz in T20 WC final

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Sara McGlashan starred with a 55-ball 84 as New Zealand beat hosts West Indies by 56 runs to set up a summit clash against traditional rivals Australia in the Women’s World Twenty20 here.

Riding on McGlashan’s blazing knock, New Zealand, who finished runners-up at the last edition of the event, made 180 for five in their 20 overs.

In reply, the hosts could only manage 124 for eight in stipulated 20 overs last night. McGlashan was declared player of the match.

The win sets up New Zealand against Australia in the final scheduled tomorrow in Barbados.

The Kiwi women were off to a rather wobbly start as they lost opener Suzie Bates (7) with just 18 runs on the board.

The other opener, skipper Aimmee Watkins (20) didn’t last long either, leaving New Zealand at a precarious 49 for two in eight overs.

In walked McGlashan and she quickly started rebuilding the innings. Together with Sophie Devine (27), McGlashan put on 93 runs for the third wicket, which pout New Zealand in a strong position.

McGlashan struck six fours and a couple of sixes in her fantastic innings before being run out by Shakera Selman. Devine’s 22-ball knock included a four and a six.

For West Indies, Selman was the most successful bowler picking up two wickets, conceding 27 runs in her four overs.

In reply, opener Stafanie Taylor was the lone West Indian batter to put up some resistance with a 33-ball 40 that included three fours and a couple of sixes.

Watkins was New Zealand’s star with the ball as she grabbed three wickets giving away just 26 runs in her four overs.

After playing a stellar role with the bat, McGlashan made an impression in the field as well when she ran out Taylor.

The West Indies kept losing wickets at regular intervals and never got a partnership going, which was crucial to the chase.

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Michael Hussey snatch sensational victory for Australia in semi-finals

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Gros Islet (St Lucia), May 15 (IANS) Michael Hussey produced a breathtaking 24-ball 60 to give Australia a sensational come-from-behind three-wicket victory over Pakistan in the second semi-final of the World Twenty20.

Hussey blasted off-spinner Saeed Ajmal for three sixes in the last over in which Australia needed 18 runs to chase down a tough target of 192 runs.

Australia were stuttering at 144 for seven before Hussey brought them back into the match single-handedly. Cameron

White was the other top contributor with 43 off 31 balls.

Hussey smashed 48 runs in the 53-run stand with Mitchell Johnson that came in just 16 balls. He struck six sixes and

three fours to take the game away from Pakistan.

Australia needed 34 runs from the last two overs and Hussey hit 16 with the help of two fours in the 19th over.

Afridi showed faith on his best bowler of the tournament, Ajmal to stand up to Hussey in the last over. Johnson gave

the strike back to Hussey, who pulled the second ball to mid-wicket for a six and went down his knee to hit the next

ball over long on for another six.

He levelled the score with a four and then finished with a six for a stunning victory. The Pakistani dug-out watched in disbelief even as Australians rushed to embrace Hussey.

It was a complete turnaround as Pakistan, who were on the verge of ouster in the tournament after losing their first

two Super Eights matches, were on their way to reach the final before Hussey stopped their march.

Pakistan, after being sent in by Australian captain Michael Clarke, rode on half centuries from Akmal brothers-Umar (56

not out) and Kamran (50) and contribution from stylish left hander Salman Butt (32) to set-up a challenging total.

It was the best batting performance from Pakistan in the tournament and the bowlers too were fired up to give their

best.

Young pacer Mohammad Aamer was the pick of the bowlers taking three wickets for 35 runs while Abdur Rehman got two

wickets.

Aamer began the Australian slide as he struck in the first over of the innings removing dangerous David Warner caught

by Umar at backward point.

Shane Watson hit two fours and a six in his 9-ball 16 but Aamer dismissed him too.

Brad Haddin (25) and Michael Clarke (17) added 32 runs. But left-arm spinner Rehman broke the partnership when Haddin

came charging down the track only to be stumped.

Shahid Afridi removed Michael Clarke before Cameron White steadied the innings with a 31-ball 43 that included five

fours.

But Australia were falling back on the run rate and needed a magical knock from someone to reverse their fortunes and

Hussey came in for their rescue.

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Aussies to target Pietersen during World Twenty20 final

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, May 15 (ANI): Australia has upped the ante against archrivals England ahead of the World Twenty20 final with skipper Michael Clarke saying his bowlers will try to get Kevin Pietersen’s wicket early.

Pietersen has led the way for England with 201 runs at an average of 67, including match-winning fifties in the Super Eights against defending champions Pakistan, and his native South Africa.

Pietersen returned for a brief break to London for the birth of his son and showed no signs of jet lag as he made an unbeaten 42 off just 26 balls in England’s seven-wicket semi-final win over Sri Lanka.

“Kevin Pietersen coming back into form plays a huge part,” The Herald Sun quoted Clarke, as saying after Australia beat Pakistan by three wickets.

“He (Pietersen) is a wonderful player in all three forms of the game. He’ll be a big part of the final. If we can get him out early it will hold us in good stead,” he added.

Pietersen was seen asking his teammates not to be lax during the match.

“There is a fine line between demanding high standards…and then stepping over that line into a petulant world, and a world that damages the team in any way,” England coach Andy Flower said. (ANI)

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`Unbelievable’ Hussey’s performance to put Australia in T20 final ` freakish’: Clarke

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

St. Lucia (West Indies), May 15 (ANI): Australian skipper Michael Clarke on Friday described `Mr. Cricket’ Michael Hussey’s match-winning 24-ball 60 runs to put his side into the finals of the World Twenty20 championship as “unbelievable and freakish”.

Speaking to reporters after Australia miraculously trounced Pakistan by three wickets in a humdinger of semi-final here, chasing down 191, the Sydney Morning Herald quoted a delighted Clarke, as saying: “Today is a freakish performance from an unbelievable cricketer in any form of the game. His (Huss) attitude, he just never gave up.”

“Losing three wickets in the first (7.2) overs, it was always going to be a tough chase for us,” Clarke said at St Lucia”s Beausejour Stadium.

“But with the batting we have in the team, how far down in the order we go, you just can”t write us off. We”ll take a lot of confidence going into Barbados. The conditions will suit us more than St Lucia has, with a bit more pace and bounce for both our batters and our bowlers,” he added.

“Our mindset through this whole tournament has been exactly what Huss showed today. We”re never beaten,” he said.

Hussey compared the win to Australia”s victory in the Adelaide Test against England in 2006-07.

“When we won the Ashes Test in Adelaide and I hit the winning runs, I thought that was the best feeling,” he said.

“This one”s definitely up there, maybe even … if not better. It”s the best feeling you can ever have, to hit the winning runs for your country, particularly in such a big game as a semi-final,” he said.

Needing 18 to win from the final over bowled by spinner Saeed Ajmal, Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson took a signal of the first ball, and then Hussey fired 6-6-4-6 to post a career-best 60 not out from 24 balls and put his side into the final.

In all, he hit three fours and six sixes and was mobbed by team-mates as Australia finished on 7-197 after Pakistan had appeared set for an upset win, scoring 6-191 against Australia”s highly rated pace attack.

After the win, Clarke said Kevin Pietersen would be the key wicket to nab when Australia take on England in the final.

“He”ll be a big part of the final. If we can get him out early it will hold us in good stead,” Clarke said.

“We”ve just come off one of the best wins of my career so we”re pretty confident. I love playing against England. It”s a great build-up to what”s going to be an amazing summer in Australia. Any opportunity you get to beat England, you look forward to,” he said.

Pakistan coach Waqar said: “When you have such momentum with you, it”s always handy. They (Australia) played like champions,” he said. (ANI)

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New Zealand crush West Indies by 56 runs to enter ICC Women’s T20 WC final

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Gros Islet, May 15 (ANI): Riding on Sara McGlashan’s superb 55 ball 84 run innings, New Zealand crushed West Indies by 56 runs to enter the final of the ICC Women’s World T20 Championship here.

The White Ferns’ would now clash with archrivals Australia, the side they”ve beaten six times in a row, in the final on Sunday (May 16) at the Kensington Oval, Barbados.

Batting first, New Zealand scored 180 for the loss of five wickets. The mainstay of the New Zealand innings was McGlashan’s exciting knock, which included six boundaries and two mammoth sixes.

McGlashan had two good partnerships with skipper Aimee Watkins (20) and Sophie Devine (27), which helped her steady the ship after a wobbly start.

New Zealand were 49 for two but a stand of 93 at nearly 11 an over between McGlashan and Devine took the game away from the home side.

In reply, West Indies never looked like they would overcome the highest total of the tournament and could only manage 124 runs.

Barring opener S.Taylor (40) none of the batswomen were able to stay on the wicket and followed each other to the pavilion at regular intervals.

Watkins also shone with the ball taking three wickets for 26 in her quota of four overs.

Speaking during the post match ceremony, an elated Watkins said she was delighted to have another chance at World Twenty20 glory so soon after last year”s disappointment.

“We”ve got to take each game as it comes. What we”ve done in the past doesn”t matter too much but we will take a lot of confidence into the game. We are lucky we”ve got two bites of the cherry, to have another crack at the Twenty20 World Cup. It”s not often you”ll have another one within 12 months of the last one,” Watkins said. (ANI)

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Keeper Haddin says Clarke is the best in the business

May 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

St. Lucia (West Indies), May 14 (ANI): Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Brad Haddin has described skipper Michael Clarke as one of the best in the business in the modern era, and rubbished criticism about his form in the ongoing World Twenty20 championship in the Caribbean.

Clarke has made just 48 runs in the World T20 at an average of 12, but has had more success with his captaincy, guiding Australia to five wins from five outings.

His strike-rate in the tournament of 70.58 ranks him well below the other five batsmen in Australia”s top six, but Haddin says the skipper is desperately needed when Australia”s openers fail to fire.

””Michael”s still our best player. He”s still a world-class batsman. Class is always class. The role he plays here can”t be underestimated,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Haddin, as saying.

””Michael is there to do the role that”s pretty tough, running hard between the wickets. He comes out when we”re in trouble. You need explosive batsmen but you need players like Michael to play in any different situations,”” he added.

””His captaincy has been first class. All the teams have explosive bats and world-class bowlers, but what he”s brought to us is make sure we”re doing our little things best, a presence in the field, taking all the catches,”” Haddin said. (ANI)

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Players themselves to be blamed for semi-final loss: Sangakkara

May 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Gros Islet, May 14 (ANI): Dejected after the seven wicket loss to England in the semi-final of the ICC World T20 Championship here, Sri Lanka cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara has said no one else but the players themselves are to be blamed for their shoddy performance in the all important match of the tournament.

Last year’s finalist, Sri Lanka could manage to put only 128 on the score board after Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat at the Beausejour Stadium here. For England, it was once again Kevin Pietersen who shone with the bat, showing no signs of fatigue after flying back from London following the birth of his first son. He remained unbeaten on 42.

Sangakkara, who himself made just 16, said losing wickets at regular intervals restricted the team from posting a fighting total.

“In the first six overs if we”d got 40 runs with wickets in hand we could have accelerated through the middle but we lost three wickets early. Angelo Mathews (58) played very well but we didn”t bat smartly today,” he said.

Commenting on the smart bowling tactics of England pacers, who used slow looping bouncers to good effect, Sangakkara said : “ Everyone has those sorts of deliveries these days but it”s how you use them that counts and I thought England did that very well.”

Veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya finished the tournament with just 15 runs from six innings, but the Sri Lankan skipper avoided comments on whether it was the 40-year old batsmen’s last international outing.

“Unfortunately he didn”t have a great run but to his credit he stuck with the team through a difficult period and the team stuck with him. He showed a lot of support and we made sure he felt wanted, unfortunately he didn”t deliver but we still had more than enough quality to do better than we did today,” he said during the post-match presentation. (ANI)

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Australian T20 team has best depth: Mark Waugh

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, May 13 (ANI): After struggling to come to grips with the short format since it became an international fixture in 2005, Australia are now one win from advancing to their first World Twenty20 final

Former Opener Mark Waugh believes the selectors have sent a squad to this year”s tournament with the “best depth of any team going around.”

“They have nine blokes that can hit the ball over the fence and three guys that can bowl the ball 150kmh,” Waugh told foxsports.com.au.

“Even if they lose a couple of early wickets, they”ve still got the depth to keep going hard, where as a lot of other teams really only have two or three batsmen they can rely on,” he said.

Australia has demolished opposition bowling attacks on their way to five straight victories and bowling trio of Dirk Nannes, Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait have struck fear in the hearts of opponents.

“It doesn”t matter what form of the game – if you”ve got fast bowlers, batsmen don”t like it. And we”ve got three guys that bowl 150kmh – I haven”t seen any team collar our fast bowlers. They are all coming in from different angles with unorthodox bowling styles.

“Dirk Nannes is a hard bowler to pick up – his action”s a bit ungainly – and Shaun Tait has a very different action as well,” Fox Sports quoted Waugh, as saying.

If they can defeat Pakistan again, Australia will have achieved their best result at the tournament and made amends for their exit at the group stages in England last year.(ANI)

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Waugh, Hayden endorse Clarke’s captaincy of Oz T20 squad

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, May 13 (ANI): Michael Clarke as Australia’s Twenty20 captain has been endorsed by former greats despite passing through a poor run of form during the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean.

Steve Waugh and Matthew Hayden have backed Clarke as Australia’s captain for the shorter version of the game.

Undefeated Australia are favourite to win the tournament and will meet Pakistan in the semi-finals after beating West Indies in the last Super Eights game, but Clarke failed again.

He was run out for just 16 from 24 balls as Australia passed West Indies’ 105 with six wickets in hand and almost four overs to spare, FOX Sports reports.

By contrast, his leadership has been outstanding since he was appointed Australia”s Twenty20 captain at the start of the summer.

He has not lost in 13 matches, winning 11, tying one and one incomplete match.

Waugh said there should be no question about Clarke’s place in the team. “Form is temporary, class is permanent. He’s a good enough player to adapt to that form of the game.”

“I don’t see that as a big issue right now. A lot of people are saying he needs to up the ante but if he’s encouraging players around him and getting the best out of them that’s great for the team. He scores quick enough in my mind to be successful at T20,” Waugh said.

Hayden, a Cricket Australia board member since his international retirement, praised Clarke’s captaincy.

“As a leader he’s a valuable resource. I believe he’s going to lead Australia to its first Twenty20 championship and I’ll be the first in line to say, well done,” Hayden said. (ANI)

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Pak must aim at wickets, not containment to win T20 title: Imran Khan

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 13 (ANI): Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan has said that the Shahid Afridi led team should adopt a ‘wicket taking’ policy rather than just focussing on preventing other teams from scoring runs, if it has to move further in the ICC World T20 World Championship.

He said Afridi should adopt the same strategy which was adopted by the 1992 World Cup winning Pakistan squad, which was to look for wickets.

“This is what the Aussies have been doing and this has made them a great team,” The Nation quoted Imran, as saying.

Pakistan would be taking on Australia in the second semi-final of the T20 championship at St.Lucia tomorrow (Friday, May 14).

He also suggested that Pakistan should use fast bowler Mohammed Asif as an attacking bowler, and not as a ‘run stopper’.

Imran, one of Pakistan’s most successful captains, said that batting was Pakistan’s main problem in the on going tournament, as apart from opener Salman Butt none of the other batsmen have fired so far.

He said that since Pakistan’s batting has not been upto the mark, Afridi should always look to bat first rather than chasing.

He also suggested some changes in the batting order, saying Afridi should bring himself and Misbah-ul-Haq up the order so that they can accumulate maximum runs when the ball is new and hard. (ANI)

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