Cricket: Sierra Leone, Liberia partner to develop game

Sierra Leone and Liberia have signed an agreement to coordinate the development of cricket in their countries and encourage their neighbours to take up the game, an official said Monday.
Emmanuel Pessima, development officer of the Sierra Leone Cricket Association (SLCA), said the two nations had agreed "to coordinate cricket development activities" and encourage other countries in the Mano River Union -- a four-nation bloc that also includes Guinea and Ivory Coast -- to develop cricket programmes.
Under the agreement, "the SLCA shall provide coaching and other resource assistance to Liberia including umpiring and groundmanship."
Sierra Leone will also advise Liberians on how to produce cricket equipment and introduce the Liberian cricket team to other cricket-playing nations in Africa.
The memorandum also calls for the "convening of biennial and annual conferences on a rotational basis and the launching of cricket series to be hosted rotationally for the Mano River Union trophy."
Cricket was introduced to former British colony Sierra Leone by the British Artillery Forces based there in 1898, and the popular game has experienced a resurgence since the end of a bloody civil war in 2002.
Sierra Leone has played in international tournaments with English-speaking countries in the sub-region as well as with Kenya, Namibia, Zambia and Tanzania.
Liberia, a country established by freed American slaves, is not a traditional cricketing nation. Neither are former French colonies Guinea and Ivory Coast.

Gibson pleased with 'total team effort' as Windies beat New Zealand

Lauding West Indies players for their commitment and hard work against New Zealand in the first Test, Coach Otis Gibson said the team's emphatic win was the result of a "total team effort".
Speaking after his side's massive nine-wicket win, Gibson noted that his team knew from the start they had to play "tough and smart" cricket and keep their "fitness levels up" to beat the Black Caps on a placid pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.
The home side triumphed, thanks mainly to superb knocks of 150 and 64 not out from Chris Gayle, 134 from Kieran Powell in the first innings; as well as five-wicket hauls from pacer Kemar Roach and spinner Sunil Narine, who won the Digicel Man-of-the-Match award.
This was the West Indies first victory in 11 Tests against New Zealand.
The previous victory came 16 years ago at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, when a Courtney Walsh-led side conquered Lee Germon's tourists by ten wickets.
"This win was a total team effort in every way. We did well in all departments. I'm happy for everyone involved. Before this match, our last win against New Zealand was way back in 1996. So, to come here and start the series with such a good result is pleasing. Everybody has the feel good factor - the players are smiling and the fans are happy. We are heading in the right direction and you can see the team is progressing. This is healthy. This is what we need," Gibson said.
"We looked good in this match. Chris Gayle was dominant with the bat and led us in the first innings. It was good to see the way he batted with Powell and set the platform for us. Powell played well and grew as a player. Narine got the wickets for us in the first innings and today Roach showed what a class act he is with the ball," Gibson added.
"The way we executed our plans was one of the most pleasing aspects for me. With the ball we were patient when we had to and aggressive when we had to. An example of that was today when Roach bowled very well in the morning session to build the pressure and Ravi Rampaul was aggressive, and that also applied pressure on the batsmen. When we got the chance to push we had to be incisive and we did just that.
"We batted very well, led by that amazing opening stand between Gayle and Powell. That really set the tone for the innings. It was also good to see Fudadin get his first Test match half-century, Deonarine played really well and Sammy also got a good score to keep the momentum going. Once we put 500 runs on the board we realised we could win."
The West Indies dominated the visitors during this tour. They won the Digicel Twenty20 Series 2-0, and took the Digicel One-Day International Series 4-1. Gibson said his team is eagerly looking ahead to the next match in Jamaica.
The two teams will travel to Jamaica on Monday for the second and final Digicel Test match, which bowls off on Friday at Sabina Park.

Swann says 'publicly humiliated' England deserved 'old kick up the a**e'

England off spinner Graeme Swann has said their innings defeat to South Africa in the first Test match was like a public humiliation for them, and added that world's number one Test team thoroughly deserved it since they have not performed to their expectations.
Swann also questioned whether after reaching the pinnacle of Test cricket, he and his teammates stood still while others were catching them up.
"It's the old kick up the a**e isn't it? You can approach everything holistically and be a bit trendy lefty about things, but sometimes a size ten up the -backside is what you need," The Daily Mirror quoted Swann, as saying.
"It was a sort of public humiliation by the end of it, fielding that long and then getting skittled afterwards," he added.
"I can't deny that since we've been number one we have a dismal record. Whether that goes hand-in-hand with being number one I don't really know. We're not doing anything differently. Perhaps that's it, perhaps we're not evolving quickly enough," he said.

Cricket: New dad Smith to rejoin England tour

South Africa captain Graeme Smith is to rejoin his team-mates in time for the second Test against England after jetting home to attend the birth of his first child.
Smith returned to Cape Town last week after steering the Proteas to an innings victory against the hosts at the Oval, arriving just in time to see his wife Morgan give birth to a daughter, Cadence.
The 31-year-old, whose place as skipper was filled by AB de Villiers for a two-day game at Worcester, was due to return in time for the start of the second match of the three-Test series, which begins at Yorkshire's ground, Headingley, on Thursday.
JP Duminy said the whole side was delighted for Smith and added: "It's always good to have him back, the leader of our team. We're looking forward to having him here again."
South Africa's innings and 12-run victory against England was their first win at the Oval and came after an unbeaten first-innings triple century from Hashim Amla plus centuries from veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis and Smith himself.

India benefited from ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup: Harbhajan

World Cup winning off-spinner Harbhajan Singh believes India has benefited from the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, as a number of top performers from the event, billed as a finishing school for future stars, have moved on to serve the country at the highest level.
"India has been lucky to find some very good and talented cricketers from the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cups. The likes of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Irfan Pathan and Virat Kohli have come through these World Cups.
"I am sure this time too we will be able to find some cricketers from the tournament. Who knows maybe in 2015, someone from the India U-19 side will be a key member of the senior team at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. It is a tournament of immense importance for cricket in general and Indian cricket in particular," said Harbhajan who played in the ICC U-19 CWC 1998 in South Africa
India failed to reach the final of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 1998 after losing out to eventual winners England and Australia in Group A on net run-rate.
The 32-year-old from Jalandhar, who has taken 406 Test and 259 ODI wickets, returned figures of one for 52 against Australia, one for 29 against England and one for 26 against Pakistan in the three matches 14 years ago.
"I remember a lot about the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup 1998. Even though we didn't win the tournament, there were some happy memories from the event. I still remember we played some sides in the tournament like England, Australia and it was a good experience.
"It was the first time I was representing India at any level. The biggest learning for me from the tournament was the fact that I played in a tournament of 50-over matches. Before the tournament, I had played only four-day matches for Punjab U-19.
"This tournament was definitely a stepping stone for me in my international career, because shortly thereafter, I played for India," added the champion off-spinner.
Harbhajan urged the players to give it their best shot when they participate in the event, which will be staged from 11-26 August in Queensland, Australia.
"I would only tell the players playing this time to go there to win the title. Only participating in the tournament is of no use. Go to win and that will pay rich dividends in your career," he said.
"My advice is simple, make the most of this opportunity and enjoy the opportunity you are getting at this early stage in your career. Imagine getting to play in Australia at such a tender age, there is nothing better than that for a young a cricketer starting out in his career," he added.
New Zealand captain Ross Taylor captained his country's U-19 side when the event was staged in New Zealand in 2002.
Reflecting on that event, Taylor said: "I think the ICC U-19 CWC 2002 gave me the exposure and a chance to play in a world tournament, something which most of the other sports don't offer at that young age. It was nice to have that exposure and the experience and to play in your country, in front of your family was extra special."
Taylor scored 85 runs in five innings of six matches as New Zealand failed to qualify for the Super League semi-finals after managing just one victory against England following losses to Australia and South Africa in Group 2.
Taylor is one of the 15 players to have captained their countries in the ICC U-19 CWCs and also at the highest level.
"I have a come a long way since then," said Taylor, adding: "It was a privilege obviously to captain your country at the age group in a World Cup. And with the event-taking place in our country, it was extra special.
"But captaining the national team was dream come true, something I never thought would happen. So, I am very happy and learning a lot along the way.
"I think I learnt a lot from the 2002 event and I am now a totally different player and leader. You learn a lot from your mistakes and am sure this is what I have done so far."
Talking about tips to future stars, Taylor said: "I think you need to have the motivation and sacrifice to be a cricketer and play cricket for a living, the discipline and all the parts comes together itself and takes care of the rest.
"My first and foremost advice will be to enjoy yourself as a lot of time you tend to put a lot of pressure on yourself. Of course, try to adjust to the conditions as quickly as possible, try to play as a team, learn from your mistakes and have fun. If you do all those things, your team will be competitive."
Taylor also had a word of encouragement for the New Zealand U19 side as well. "Good luck. Enjoy the moment, enjoy representing New Zealand and I wish the team all the best and look forward to seeing the results."

Cricket: Sri Lanka hire ex-ICC chief Lorgat

Sri Lanka's cash-strapped cricket board has appointed former International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat as an advisor for three months, the board said on Tuesday.
South African Lorgat, 52, who quit the ICC in June after serving as CEO for four years, will assist in improving the "governance and administration" of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), a release from the board said.
"Mr. Lorgat has a wealth of knowledge and experience and we are delighted that he has agreed to work with us to improve the governance and administration of our cricket," SLC president Upali Dharmadasa said.
"Mr. Lorgat is a seasoned administrator and I am excited that with his expertise we can work towards building a strong and sustainable future for SLC."
The SLC is struggling to repay debts of around $70 million after building two new stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele and renovating a third in Colombo for last year's World Cup.

Kohli century hands India series win

COLOMBO: Virat Kohli’s preference for the Sri Lankan attack and Manoj Tiwary’s fortuitous stint with the ball handed India a 3-1 series win as they bested the hosts by six wickets in the fourth ODI at the R. Premadasa Stadium, here on Tuesday.

India restricted Sri Lanka to 251, and survived a testy opening spell from Lasith Malinga - who cleaned up the in-form Gautam Gambhir in the first over for a duck - to chase the target down with 46 balls to spare.

Sri Lanka made all the right moves as they rid themselves of Virender Sehwag (34) and extended Rohit Sharma’s wretched run, and when Tiwary was trapped in front by Jeevan Mendis, the match could have swung either way.

Kohli (128 n.o.) and Suresh Raina (58 n.o.) came together at 109 for four in the 24th over, a period during which Sri Lanka looked set to tighten the screws on India’s middle order.

But the two, after a cautious beginning, added 146 in 18.4 overs in an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand, which concluded in a frenzy as 65 runs came off the last five overs.

Kohli started slowly, reaching his fifty in 65 balls, but accelerated mercilessly as he neared his century. He took just 41 more balls to get to his 13th ODI hundred – his fourth in six matches against Sri Lanka, but gained from a couple of reprieves, once when he had made 22 and again when he had just reached his hundred.

Raina too was dropped when he had scored 19; the lapses costing Sri Lanka dear and handing India their 400th ODI win on a platter.

The victory was set up by a most unlikely bowler – Tiwary (four for 61) who scythed through Lanka with his guileless leg breaks after the hosts elected to bat.

India opted to include Tiwary but at the expense of an unlikely Sharma – Rahul. This meant that Tiwary, who had scored a century in his last ODI, and the totally out-of-sorts Rohit Sharma, both took the field.

Dhoni thus went for a relatively weakened bowling attack on a batting-friendly track, but was vindicated when his part-time bowlers (who bowled 22 overs among themselves) restricted Sri Lanka to 251.

Tiwary claimed four wickets, including those of Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews, stalling the hosts after they had got off to a watchful but safe start through a 91-run opening stand between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga.

Tiwary, Sehwag and Rohit Sharma bowled with such purpose that spearhead Zaheer Khan was restricted to just six overs. It was Zaheer though who spelled trouble initially for the Lanka openers.

On a slow pitch, both batsmen strove to get a move on. Dilshan sparkled for seven boundaries, before top-edging a largely ineffective Ashok Dinda to M.S. Dhoni behind the stumps in the 19th over.

Both Powerplays were utilized within the first 20 overs and soon after Dilshan’s exit, Tharanga followed

Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne added 50 for the third wicket mostly against the innocuous presentations of Ashwin and Sehwag, haring between the wickets and eschewing risks. The two also gained from minor lapses in the field, the most major of which was the simple catch that Kohli put down.

Tiwary was introduced in 32nd over, and immediately had an impact. Apparently devoid of any threat, the part-timer unleashed a long hop that Chandimal spanked straight to deep-square leg.

Soon after, new man Mahela Jayawardene botched an attempted sweep against Sehwag and was caught by Dhoni. Tiwary then bowled a maiden to Angelo Mathews – tying him down with such effect that when the Lankan all-rounder sought to open up, he only managed to hole out, exiting for a 34-ball 14.

Tiwary struck against when he bowled Jeevan Mendis as the batsmen missed a reverse sweep, and in the same over Thisara Perera drilled one to deep midwicket.

Thirimanne, who had soldiered on for a boundary-less 69-ball 47, finally rampaged down the track to Ashwin and was bowled, leaving Sri Lanka at 219 for 8 at the end of 47 overs.

If India were hoping to run through the rest of the tail, they were mistaken. Tiwary finally got the stick in the last over of the innings, conceding 18 including a six apiece by Malinga and Rangana Herath as the hosts surged past the 250 mark.

ICC denies its clearance was required to select Kamran Akmal in Pak team

Islamabad, July 28 (ANI): The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said that Kamran Akmal was always eligible for selection in the Pakistan team and that they did not need to issue any clearance for his inclusion in the squad.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf had earlier said that the PCB had sought permission from the ICC for Kamran's selection.
According to Ashraf, the selectors were given the go ahead to select Kamran after getting the nod from the ICC.
However, the ICC's media and communications chief Colin Gibson was quoted as saying that selection of players for the Pakistan team was the sole responsibility of the PCB.
"The ICC has not issued any form of clearance to the PCB for the selection of any of its players and like all others who are not suspended for any reason from participating, Akmal remains eligible for selection for the Pakistan national cricket team should Pakistan decide to select him," The Daily Times quoted Gibson, as saying.
Selectors sidelined Akmal after his name surfaced during the spot-fixing trial in London last year prompting suspicions about his links with bookmaker, Mazhar Majeed.
However, Akmal was recalled for the team's upcoming Twenty20 assignments after he made a final appearance before the PCB's integrity committee.

England likely to field same pacers for Headingley Test

London, July 28 (ANI): England cricketers playing in the County Championship point towards an unchanged side for next week's second Test match against South Africa at Headingley.
The pre-series hype surrounded the battle between the two best pace attacks in the world, but it was South Africa's top-order batsmen who dominated at the Oval as England pacers managed to take only two wickets.
Steven Finn and Graham Onions were playing for their respective county teams at Chester-le-Street on Friday morning, with the England pacers who played at the Oval being rested.
Finn took the new ball for Middlesex against Onions's Durham side, The Telegraph reports.
Nottinghamshire took to the field without either Broad or spinner Graeme Swann.
Speculations are rife that England may field an attack of five specialist bowlers at the expense of Ravi Bopara.
The Essex batsman's return to the Test side yielded only 22 runs and a pair of bad dismissals at the Oval.

Tendulkar urges India squad to embrace pressure

Cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar has simple advice to offer India's medal hopefuls at the London Olympics -- embrace pressure, don't fight it.
The record-breaking batsman, who has himself shouldered the burden of expectations from cricket-crazy fans for more than two decades, said top sportspersons needed to get used to the pressure.
"There is no doubt pressure will be your continuous companion," the 39-year-old was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.
"If you fight that, it gets difficult. You have to just understand your body and mind and embrace it.
"It is easier said than done, but I think, once they enter the playing area, they will all forget about the pressure. They would just want to focus on a good performance."

Special Coverage: London Olympics
India, a perennial underachiever at the Olympics given its population, is hopeful of a better showing at the Games having sent its largest ever contingent to London.
At the Beijing Olympics India won just three medals -- shooter Abhinav Bindra picked up the country's first individual gold medal, and wrestler Sushil Kumar and boxer Vijender Singh won bronze medals.
But Tendulkar shied away from predicting India's medals tally at London and urged the country's Olympic squad to just give their best and not worry about the results.
"I am not the kind of person who sets targets like that," he said. "The entire world is there to win and there is going to be only one winner. It's not going to be easy, but yes, we have winners in our contingent.
"I would want to let our entire Indian squad know that we all are behind them. Whether you are successful or not, your effort will matter to us and for that you will always be heroes.
"It is the commitment that matters. As long as the heart says we have given our best' we will be proud of you. It is about the hard work they have put in, the sacrifices they have made."
Tendulkar, who made his debut in 1989, is the leading run-getter in both Test and one-day cricket and has an unprecedented 100 international centuries to his credit.

Prior confident of England's revival against Proteas post Achilles heel recovery

London, July 28 (ANI): England wicketkeeper Matt Prior, who feared for his place in the side after suffering from Achilles tendon problems, is now looking to level the series against South Africa next week.
Prior's struggle became so painful towards the end of the West Indies series that he was struggling to walk downstairs in the mornings.
But after having high-volume injections in both tendons, a process to flush out blood vessels around scar tissue on June 12, Prior believes his injury issues are now behind him.
"If ever there was going to be a problem with them, it was going to be at the end of the first Test against South Africa, given that we were in the field for 200-plus overs," said Prior.
"But they feel fine and, as things stand, I am now 100 per cent. I'm right as rain and looking forward to the rest of the summer. But the whole process has been a hell of a thing," The Daily Express quoted him, as saying.
He felt the first signs of tendon trouble during the Sri Lanka series in the early part of the summer of 2011.
Having received a thorough workout against South Africa at The Oval, Prior is confident England will give him some respite and bounce back in the second match of the three-Test series at Headingley, which starts on Thursday.

Sri Lanka's Sangakkara sidelined with fractured finger

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara has been ruled out of the rest of the one-day series against India after fracturing the little finger on his right hand during the third match on Saturday.
"Sangakkara will be out of action for a minimum of four weeks," said Sri Lanka team manager Charith Senanayake.
Sangakkara received a blow on his hand from a delivery by Indian fast bowler Ashok Dinda but continued to bat after medical attention was given to him on the field.
He went on to score 73, but did not take the field during the Indian innings with Dinesh Chandimal playing as wicketkeeper.
Sri Lanka are due to play two more one-day matches and a Twenty20 in India. (Editing By Alison Wildey)

Pakistan best team at Under-19 World Cup: Azeem Ghumman

Karachi, (ANI): Azeem Ghumman, who led the Pakistan Under-19 team to the final of the 2010 ICC World Cup in New Zealand, has said that the present junior team is the best in the world, with batting being their main strength.
As part of their preparations for the World Cup, the Pakistan U-19 team plays a three match ODI series against their Australian counterparts between 29th July and 3rd August.
Pakistan will play their World Cup opener against Afghanistan on 11 August at Buderim.
Speaking on the strengths of the current Pakistan U-19 team for the World Cup, Ghumman said: "I don't think there is much wrong with player selections - they recently defeated South Africa and tied with India utilising a similar squad. Young talent is being showcased and amongst the players selected, I particularly look forward to seeing Babar Azam, Usman Qadir, Sami Aslam and Zia-ul-Haq perform.
"The strength of the team lies in the batting. The tournament is being held in Australia and as I mentioned to Babar Azam [current U-19 captain] before the squad departed, they won't find conditions easy out there," he told Pakpassion.net.
"However from what I have observed, the batting seems to be the team's strength and all of top seven are scoring runs. In 2010, when we played the U-19 tournament in New Zealand, our strength was the middle order and all-rounders."
Commenting on the pressure faced by young cricketers, he said: "Pressure comes when you reach the knock-out stages. I know Babar Azam well and am aware of his skills as a captain. This will be the second time he will appear in a World Cup and I am sure he will be aware of what's required of him and his team."
Australia won the World Cup in 2010, beating Pakistan in the finals.

Gambhir ton hands India thrilling win

COLOMBO: Gautam Gambhir’s brisk century enabled India to defeat Sri Lanka by five wickets in a thrilling last-over finish at the R. Premdasa Stadium here on Saturday night.

The win gives India a 2-1 lead in the five-match ODI series.

Set a target of 287, India survived some anxious moments to gun down the requirement in 49.4 overs.

This was the highest score ever chased down at the Premadasa, and the first time that Sri Lanka lost an ODI at home after posting a total in excess of 250.

Sri Lanka had earlier overcome a disastrous start (20 for three) to amass what they would have considered to be a match-winning total.

India lost Virender Sehwag early and sought to rebuild first through Gambhir (102) and Virat Kohli (38) and then through the southpaw and M.S. Dhoni (31).

Gambhir raced to his half-century in 43 balls, including seven hits to the fence, and reached his 11th ODI century off just 96 deliveries.

India was pegged back by Lasith Malinga’s double strike in the 36th over. At 180-2, the slinger returned to clean up two scalps in as many balls, uprooting Dhoni’s stumps with a trademark yorker and trapping the unfortunate Rohit Sharma in front on the next delivery for yet another duck.

Gambhir fell victim to a sensational direct hit by Isuru Udana from mid on.

India needed 91 from 11.3 overs at that stage, an ask that was commendably fulfilled by Suresh Raina (65) and Irfan Pathan (34).

Raina and Pathan edged and smashed their way to a 92-run sixth-wicket partnership in just 67 balls. Victory was achieved when Pathan smashed Angelo Mathews' fourth ball of the 50th over to the deep mid wicket fence.

Earlier, Sri Lanka elected to bat and recovered from 20-3 to post an imposing 286 for five, a total that centered on two classy century partnerships.

Jayawardene’s decision to bat first appeared to have backfired when Sri Lanka lost three key batsmen in a trice for precious little on the board.

Zaheer Khan and Pathan bowled with swing and bounce initially, testing the batsmen with probing lengths. Tillakaratne Dilshan was the first to get out when he defended against Zaheer and the ball bounced on to the stumps, dislodging the bails.

Upul Tharanga and Dinesh Chandimal too failed to hang around, and it was left to the old warhorses Jayawardene (65) and Kumar Sangakkara (73) to effect a revival. The duo got together at 20 for 3, after Pathan had trapped Chandimal with one that came in, and added 121 in just 23.5 overs.

Sangakkara, who had struck a laboriously slow hundred in the first ODI in a losing cause, began by creaming boundaries off India’s seamers. Jayawardene took a while to get going, scoring just one from the first the first 12 balls he faced.

But once he got settled, Jayawardene picked fours effortlessly off the variety of India’s bowlers - square-cutting Rahul Sharma (Pragyan Ojha’s replacement), walking down the pitch to boss Ashok Dinda (Umesh Yadav’s replacement), and striding ahead purposefully to Zaheer and Irfan.

Jayawardene was out leg before to Rahul Sharma in the 30th over and Sangakkara departed trying to force the pace in the Powerplay, leaving the stage clear for Mathews and Jeevan Mendis to up the ante with another century stand, this time at a blistering pace.

The two massacred the attack for 104 runs for the sixth wicket, including 97 in the last ten overs, as the bowling fell apart at the death. Mathews was caught-behind off an Irfan no-ball on 33, but gave no chances thereafter. He spanked five fours and a six in his 57-ball 71.

Mendis, in the team for Lahiru Thirimanne, made good his chance by providing Mathews with an ideal foil, tonking a brisk 45 and taking Sri Lanka to 286.


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Gayle inspires as Windies take command in 1st Test

Chris Gayle marked his return to five-day cricket by hitting 150 as the West Indies moved past New Zealand's 351 all out on the third day of the opening Test here to build up a healthy lead.
At the close, the hosts were 442 for 6 - a lead of 91 - with Gayle and Kieran Powell both hitting centuries before Assad Fudadun and Narsingh Deonarine weighed in with half centuries to give the home side a solid edge as the Black Caps struggled even given some swing from the new ball.
Deonarine was still there on 54 with skipper Darren Sammy on eight after Fudadin fell to the bowling of Williamson for 55.
Gayle, who was playing his first Test for more than 18 months due to his stand-off with the West Indies Cricket Board following comments he made about officials in a radio interview, smacked 17 boundaries and four sixes as he made his mark in a 206-ball inning before falling to the bowling of Kane Williamson.
The 32-year-old enabled the hosts to put on 254 for the first wicket alongside Kieran Powell before Brendon McCullum took the catch in the deep.
Earlier, Gayle had brought up his 14th Test ton by smashing Chris Martin for six over midwicket, having earlier hit four successive boundaries off the same bowler.
Powell also made a century pull to the boundary through square leg off Neil Wagner before going caught behind for 134 including 22 boundaries and a six of 288 deliveries as Wagner bagged his first Test wicket.
But the West Indies carried on regardless of having their openers back in the pavilion as Fudadin and Samuels took them through to 352 for 2 at tea, a run ahead.
Martin Guptill laid the foundation for what appeared a solid first innings score for the Black Caps with a spirited 97 but spinner Sunil Narine took a maiden five-wicket haul, finishing with five for 132, to undermine the tourists.
Gayle and Powell then set the stage for an exciting denouement.
The West Indies have dominated the tourists so far this summer, taking the Twenty20 series 2-0 in which Gayle was awarded man of the series, and the ODI series 4-1 in which Gayle made an aggressive century and half-century.

Cricket: Morgan to captain Lions squad

Middlesex batsman Eoin Morgan was on Friday named captain of the England Lions squad for two four-day games against Australia A next month.
The 25-year-old was one of four players with Test caps - along with Yorkshire batsman Jonny Bairstow, Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel and Kent off-spinner James Tredwell - included in the 13-man group for the matches at Old Trafford on August 7 and Edgbaston on August 14.
All members of the squad have already been capped for England Lions.
National selector Geoff Miller said: "The Lions team and England performance programme plays an important role in the development of future England players and this fixture will present an opportunity for our players to show us that they are capable of representing England at Test level in the future.
"We expect Australia A to provide tough opposition and look forward to seeing how some of our most talented players outside the Test squad perform in these two matches."
England Lions squad:
Eoin Morgan (capt) (Middlesex), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Matt Coles (Kent), Nick Compton (Somerset), James Harris (Glamorgan), Simon Kerrigan (Lancashire), Craig Kieswetter (wkt) (Somerset), Stuart Meaker (Surrey), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), James Tredwell (Kent), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).

Finn, Onions battle for Headingley Test spot

Fast bowlers Steven Finn and Graham Onions will attempt to outgun each other over the next few days in a bid to secure a spot in the England team for the second Test against South Africa to be played at Headingley.
Both were omitted from the final 11 during the Oval Test, which England lost by an nnings and 12 runs.

Prior backing Bopara to come good in Tests
This time, they will be in opposition as third-placed Middlesex play bottom-placed Durham ahead of next Thursday's Headingley Test, with both men keen to show England's selectors their worth, The Telegraph reports.
Wickets in this match will allow them to present a case to the selectors, although Finn, with his extra pace, probably has an advantage given the desire for England to try something different this time.
Onions, who is similar to James Anderson in build and style, should not be underestimated, though. When he and Finn bowled together in the third Test against the West Indies, he out bowled him four wickets to three.
He also has a knack for dismissing left-handers of which South Africa have three in their top seven.
England need to win or draw the next Test to keep the series and their No 1 position alive for the final match at Lord's.

Titans to play Perth Scorchers in Champions League Twenty20 Opener

New Delhi, (ANI): South Africa's reigning domestic T20 champions will take on Australia's domestic T20 runners-up, in the opening 'Group Stage' game of the Champions League Twenty20 2012.
The Group Stage of the tournament will commence with a double-header at Centurion on 13 October 2012. Titans, the winners of the T20 Challenge in South Africa, will play the Perth Scorchers, runners-up in the Big Bash League. The game will be followed by one between Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL 2012 champions, and Delhi Daredevils, who finished third in the same tournament.
The final of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 will be played on 28 October 2012, at the Wanderers, Johannesburg, an arena that has hosted some memorable cricket matches in the past, including the final of the ICC CWC 2003, the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 2007, the IPL2, CLT20 2010 and the unforgettable '438' ODI between South Africa and Australia in 2006.
The fourth edition of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 will feature a total of 14 teams and 29 matches across four venues - Centurion, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
Newlands Stadium in Cape Town was recently voted by a panel of experts in the May edition of The Cricketer Magazine as the 2nd best cricket stadium in the world.
The Group Stage will be preceded by a Qualifying Stage from 9 October 2012 to 11 October 2012 featuring six teams. These teams have been equally divided into two pools, with each team playing the other two in its pool once. The top team in each pool, in terms of points, will then qualify for the Group Stage. If teams from the same pool are equal on points, the qualifier will be decided by net run rate.
Pool 1 - ECB 1 (winners of the ECB's domestic T20 championship), Sialkot Stallions (Pakistan) and Auckland Aces (New Zealand).
Pool 2 - ECB 2 (runners-up in the ECB's domestic T20 championship), Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies) and the winners of Sri Lanka's domestic T20 championship.roup Stage:
The Group Stage will comprise 10 teams divided into two groups of five. Each side will play the other four in their group with the top two teams qualifying for the semi-finals.
Group A - Kolkata Knight Riders (India), Titans (South Africa), Perth Scorchers (Australia), Delhi Daredevils (India) and Qualifier 1.
Group B - Chennai Super Kings (India), Highveld Lions (South Africa), Sydney Sixers (Australia), Mumbai Indians (India) and Qualifier 2.
"We are delighted to announce the match-schedule of the Champions League Twenty20 2012. This is the second time the tournament will be played in South Africa, and we have no doubt that it will be as, if not more successful, than the 2010 edition. The tournament will feature the world's top players, and we can be assured of some exceptional cricket," N. Srinivasan, Chairman of the Champions League Twenty20 Governing Council, said.


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Though the Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) sports minister Anil Roberts claimed that Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine would represent their country ahead of their respective IPL teams at the 2012 Champions League T20 (CLT20), the club against country debate is far from settled.
The franchises have maintainsed that they have not been contacted on this issue. In fact they are waiting for the CLT20 organising committee to release the tournament document, which contains all clauses. The document that is released every year is likely to present a clearer picture.

On Thursday, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team director, Joy Bhattacharya, tweeted that Narine would play for KKR. “Good news from @VenkyMysore. Sunil Narine to play for KKR in the CLT20.”

The CLT20 rules state that players can pick the team they wish to play for. In 2011, Bravo had played for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Pollard represented the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Narine wore the KKR colours. Earlier, Roberts had said that an agreement had been reached with the players.

He claimed the players were close to signing an MOU following which the details of the individual contracts would be worked out.

“All three players have said they want to play for Trinidad & Tobago. The government of Trinidad & Tobago will match their fees,” explained Roberts.

“We want the best team. Some of the Indian team owners are obviously a bit upset because they would love to have Sunil Narine, Pollard and Bravo but I told them quite upfront that we are being professional, that we are not holding anything in secret.”

Ojha injury gives India minor scare

India suffered a minor injury scare on Thursday morning when Pragyan Ojha was hit on the neck while batting during a practice session ahead of the third ODI against Sri Lanka. The left-arm spinner was rushed to the hospital. He was released after a check-up and a precautionary scan. “It's


nothing serious. He's absolutely fine and will be available for selection for the third ODI on Saturday,” said Ravi Jain, the media manager.
The spinner got hit when he attempted and missed a pull while facing throw-downs from Trevor Penny, the fielding coach. The ball caught him on the left side of his neck.

Incidentally, Rahul Sharma, the leg spinner in the squad, too was hit, on the forehead, before India embarked on the tour during the preparatory camp in Chennai.

Poor form
Ojha’s form in the current series has been a bit erratic. He conceded over seven runs per over in the first ODI, which India won, while he bowled just five balls in the second One-dayer that India lost.

With the action shifting to spin-friendly Colombo from the windy Hambantota, the spinners' role will become crucial.

As Rahul Sharma’s inclusion in the final XI remains doubtful in the wake of his testing positive for drugs during the Mumbai rave party, India will need Ojha to be fighting fit for the match. Sri Lanka, which fielded four seamers in Hambantota to successfully exploit the conditions, are also likely to return to their normal spin-heavy attack.

We will produce better away results: Sachin

NEW DELHI: Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday said that Team India are confident of a good show at home against England and Australia but will certainly aim at preparing well when they play away series against these two teams next time.

"We need to look at one factor. When we played against Australia, they were the home team. England also played at home. There is no point in saying that India only plays well at home. Why do we always look at one side of the coin, it should be always fair," the senior batsman said.

"I feel that it does not come as an excuse for us to go somewhere and not play well. We need to go abroad and win. It's as simple as that. We have done it before (winning abroad). Both England and Australia tours were tough for us. We should make every possible effort to perfect our preparation and produce better results," Tendulkar told an English news channel.

The master batsman also admitted that things didn't go as per plan in England and Australia.

India lost eight consecutive Test matches against England and Australia last season.

Tendulkar said that Team India always go out there to perform well but sometimes it just does not work.

"Ideally, we want to win each and every match and that is how we want to prepare ourselves. But sometimes, it's humanly impossible. There are some ups and downs. The best of the teams have rather faced or seen the other side of the coin," he said.

On playing along side his son, Arjun, he said, "I have never thought of it. I used to visit Bandra for his practice sessions. I just stand at non-striker stand. Just to see how he calls for single and twos. Beyond that, I have not thought of playing with him. It may happen at some exhibition match or club-level game.

"Arjun likes to watch cricket. I have not forced him to make cricket his career. He is passionate about the sport," he said.

Injured Oz pacer Pattinson pulls out of 'A' tour to UK

Pace sensation James Pattinson has withdrawn from the Australia A tour of England with an abdominal strain.
According to The Age, Pattinson was hurt during the rain-affected series against England, and Cricket Australia elected to send him home to complete his rehabilitation.
His stomach strain, sustained during the last, rain-affected match in Manchester, was overshadowed by injuries to Brett Lee - who has since retired from international cricket.
Victorian coach Greg Shipperd said Pattinson, 22, is expected to resume bowling at Bushrangers training next week and should be fit for his next assignment, a one-day series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates next month.

Cricket: Gayle storms to half-century on return

Chris Gayle marked his return to five-day cricket by hitting a half-century Thursday as West Indies boldly replied to New Zealand's 351 all out to close on 145 without loss on day two of the opening Test here.
Gayle, who was playing his first Test for more than 18 months due to his stand-off with the West Indies Cricket Board following comments he made about officials in a radio interview, finished on 85 not out.
The 32-year-old hit four successive boundaries off the first over from Chris Martin and added another six in reaching his 34th Test fifty.
Kieran Powell was unbeaten on 58, making his third Test fifty. The 22-year-old's runs came off 164 balls and included 10 fours.
New Zealand were only able to add 119 runs to their overnight tally of 232 for four before being dismissed in the afternoon session.
It would have been even worse for the tourists but for a counter-attacking 39 off 31 by number 10 Doug Bracewell, who put on 42 for the final wicket with Martin.
Spinner Sunil Narine took his maiden five-wicket haul, finishing with five for 132 after adding two more wickets to his three scalps from day one.
The West Indies have dominated the tourists so far this summer, taking the Twenty20 series 2-0, in which Gayle was awarded man of the series, and the ODI series 4-1, in which Gayle made an aggressive century and half-century.

Ex-ICC chief Mani warns PCB not to follow BCCI blindly

Karachi, (ANI): Former International Cricket Council (ICC) chief Ehsan Mani has advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to refrain from blindly following the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) without putting forward its own point of view.
The BCCI has invited Pakistan for a three-match One-Day International (ODI) series in December, ending the five-year hiatus. While it was PCB's turn to host the series, the Pakistan board refused to go into the debate of revenue-sharing, saying its first priority was to revive cricket with India, reports The Express Tribune.
The BCCI is expected to earn millions of dollars from the short series, gauged from the fact that television rights will be sold at an estimated 25 million dollars. The PCB, which is facing a budget deficit, will not get a share for the series.
However, Mani added that the PCB should have been involved in decision making as well.
"It is concerning to see that the BCCI solely took the decision. Their working committee discussed it and their board decided it on their own without consulting the PCB. They blindly followed what the BCCI conveyed to them. The officials showed a lack of competence by saying yes without putting forward the board's point of view," Mani said.
"However, as far as the resumption is concerned, it will be good for world cricket, fans and help in bridging gaps between the two countries," he added

Lorgat likely to join Sri Lanka Cricket as consultant

Colombo: Former International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat is all set to join Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) as a consultant.
In his proposed new role with SLC, Lorgat is expected to assist the board in revamping its domestic cricket structure, and advise it on finances and governance, reports the Daily Times.
"First we must get his (Lorgat's) expertise as far as possible with regard to the restructuring programme and find ways of bringing modern thinking into the process," SLC treasurer Nuski Mohammed was quoted as saying.
Mohammed also suggested that if Lorgat comes on board he could help the cash-starved SLC in examining its finances. In the past 15 months, SLC has ran up debts close to 70 million dollars to finance the building of two international stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele, and to renovate the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, for the 2011 World Cup.
SLC is interested in Lorgat's services because of his vast experience in cricket administration. He is likely to be roped in for a period of three or four months.
Lorgat served as the chief executive of ICC for four years before stepping down at the end of June this year. He has also held several posts in South African cricket.

Boucher could recover most of eyesight: doctor

JOHANNESBURG: Former South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher could regain most of the sight in his left eye after a freak accident tore his retina, his doctor said Thursday.

"While it is impossible to predict the long-term outcome of Mark's eye injury, his medical team are nevertheless cautiously optimistic that he will have a reasonable recovery of the vision in his left eye," his doctor Peter Sandell said in a statement.

The 35-year-old underwent two operations after his left eyeball was torn by a dislodged bail off an Imran Tahir delivery during a warm-up match prior to a three-Test series in England earlier in July.

Doctors had feared he would be left totally blind in the damaged eye, but the prognosis has improved over time.

"Due to the severity of the injury, as well as the pain related to the recent lengthy surgical procedure, Mark has been strictly house-bound," said Sandell.

"Over the next three to six months, Mark will undergo further surgery procedures in an attempt to improve his vision."

Boucher, whose Test career spanned 15 years, immediately retired from international cricket following the injury.

Hashim Amla's audacious innings sparks memories of Zaheer Abbas

It is easy to see why images of Mohammad Yousuf came so easily to the minds of those watching Hashim Amla's majestic unbeaten 311 at The Oval, particularly in the commentary boxes. All were quick to mention, in some haste, that the flossy beards both batsmen sport were immaterial to the comparison – it was the patience and serenity Amla exhibited, the deft flicks from those slick, powerful wrists, the handsome ease with which he pierced the field and the combination of audacity and dexterity to execute the occasional late cut, the artful batsman's ultimate demoralisation weapon.

There was one glorious back-foot drive off Jimmy Anderson that raced to the fence and a host of more orthodox, graceful cover drives. It was those shots especially that reminded The Spin of Yousuf but the little flourish at the top of his backlift also brought back older memories of arguably the most aesthetically pleasing and textbook-purest right-handed cover-driver this writer has seen. By coincidence that batsman, Zaheer Abbas, who turned 65 on Tuesday, made the previous best Test score in England by a man of Asian heritage, whose 274 Amla overtook on his way to establishing the fourth-highest innings in the 476 Test matches played in this country since 1880.

Remarkably Zed's 274 came in only his third Test innings, batting at No3 for Pakistan in the first Test at Edgbaston in 1971 against Ray Illingworth's England, who had won the Ashes in Australia only five months before. He was 23, a late comer to the game after his father had told him to concentrate on his studies because "you cannot make a living" from cricket. He took the opportunity afforded by his father's posting to Saudi Arabia to defy the ban to take up the invitation to join the Karachi club Park Crescent and such was his progress that by the time his father had returned from the Gulf Test selection beckoned.

He came to the wicket in Birmingham to face the fourth ball of the match when the opener Aftab Gul ducked into a short ball outside off stump from Alan Ward and left the field with blood pouring from a cut above his ear. Bespectacled players – Zaheer's gold rims were among the most famous of all cricket's glasses – always exude a vulnerability, as the Sun's Clive Taylor noted in his evocative allusion about David Steele being "the bank clerk who went to war". There was nothing frail about Zaheer, though, as he ran through the treasury of his strokes from the start with, wrote the Times's John Woodcock, "as effortless a swing of the bat as Edgbaston ever saw". Towards the end of his career it was alleged that he was hesitant against the short stuff but here, in front of a sparse crowd of only 6,000, he put away bouncers from Ward and Peter Lever with what John Arlott described as "hooks which flashed like sword strokes".

The Dawn's Qamar Ahmed, who was there, remembers: "Even the greatest batsman of his time, Colin Cowdrey standing in the slips, cheered his sensational stroke-play in admiration. It is no exaggeration, but not before or since have I watched such artistry in batting. Zaheer's silken grace as he drove, pulled and cut the ball with minimum of fuss or effort, was in a class of its own."

It was special because it was so unexpected. Pakistan had a reputation for being susceptible to bullying but as much as Ward, Lever and Ken Shuttleworth tried to unnerve the novice, he responded with a finesse and guile that ran the fielders ragged. "Boycott, Barrington, Sobers and Richards, accustomed to the rigid discipline demanded to play a long innings at international level, would have been well satisfied with such a performance," wrote the Almanack in its Five Cricketers of the Year essay in 1972. "For a virtual newcomer to Test cricket to display impeccable judgment and skill and not to break concentration over nine hours was little short of astounding."

Three years later he was back, scoring 240 at The Oval. Oddly, that was only his second Test century, having suffered a run of poor form when the selectors stuck by him despite him averaging barely 20 in 20 innings. Again there was a touch of sadism from Zaheer for the fielders, this time helped by Surrey's decision no longer to accommodate spectators on the grass. The rope was set at the very edge of the field, making the ground a vast six and a half acres, more than an acre bigger than it had been for recent Tests. Little wonder four of his fours were all-run, and 78 of Pakistan's 600 came in threes. With such a huge space to defend for the bowling side, no batsman was more likely to torment the fielders on a flat, true pitch than Zaheer with his precision, shrewdness and range of shots.

There was greed, too, a virtuous kind of avarice for runs. Eight times over his career he would score centuries in each innings of a match, four of them a not out double and an unbeaten plain old hundred in three-day County Championship games. In all he scored 108 centuries, 49 of them for Gloucestershire, 14 in Tests and 15 more for the Pakistan tourists in first-class matches. He brought up his hundredth hundred in December 1982 at Lahore, scoring 215, his second double Test century against India. The conflict between Pakistan and India halted Tests between the two for the first nine years of Zaheer's career but in the last seven he played 19 Tests against them, scoring 1,740 runs at 87.00. Each side's fear of losing tended to imbue the groundstaff with caution so the majority of pitches were featherbeds but Zaheer was still in a league of his own over those series.

There was a testing spell with World Series Cricket and some sparkling one-day innings but he was particularly cherished in England for his exploits with Gloucestershire where, with his compatriot Sadiq Mohammad and the irrepressible Mike Procter, he lit up county grounds the breadth of England. In 1976 he made 2,554 championship runs and five years later 2,306. He was accused of being obsessed with milestones, a charge to which he cheerfully pleads guilty. "Yes of course I loved to break records and why not?" he told PakPassion. "I loved to bat for hours and hours. Not just scoring hundreds, but big hundreds and then double hundreds and big double hundreds. My job was to score as many as I could." The other indictment is his relative failure against West Indies, making only 259 runs in eight Tests. In mitigation he did score 80 at Georgetown on a fast track in 1977 against an attack including Andy Roberts, Colin Croft and Joel Garner and two years later, in the World Cup semi-final at The Oval, he made 93 against those three plus Michael Holding when putting on a thrilling, elegant 166 off 36 overs with Majid Khan in that ultimately fruitless run chase.

Such lyrical players are often hostages to form and, because they take risks, the early dismissal. In 1983, he addressed his critics, telling David Foot: "I'm either very good or very bad." In 1971 England saw him at his very best and the county that had been graced by WG Grace, Wally Hammond, Gilbert Jessop and Tom Graveney took him to its heart.

Amla's footwork and that sumptuous back-foot cover drive brought it all back. "Never the crack of willow on leather with Zaheer it's the mellow clump brought on by perfect timing," Frank Keating wrote. "Other batsmen bind their bats with Elastoplast, Zaheer seems to bind his with velvet." At times at The Oval, you could have said the same about Zed's latest heir.

Reports may have been interchanged: Rahul's father

"We strongly suspect that my son’s report may have been interchanged with someone. It may be unintentional, but anything can happen in this country," said Pradeep, an assistant sub-inspector from Jalandhar.
"We wonder why it took two months to make the report public. The forensic department, where the samples were sent, could have given the report in 2-3 days. So, why have the Mumbai Police announced the results of the tests on the celebrities in the second phase? Instead, it should have been announced in the first list," he said.
Sharma is not ready to believe that his legspinner son is at fault. "Rahul is not a party boy. He had no knowledge of the rave party. He was given to understand by his team manager that they would be attending a birthday party of some friend and so he went there. The family was nervous initially when the report was first announced, but now we are confidant Rahul is not involved in this scandal. I have spoken to Rahul three-four times. I even spoke to the team manager (Sanjay Patel) in Sri Lanka and we have been assured that Rahul is being backed by the team members," Sharma Sr said.

1st Test: Guptill misses century; NZ reach 232-4

Antigua: New Zealand opener Martin Guptill was dismissed for 97 on Wednesday as offspinner Sunil Narine helped West Indies fight back to limit the visitors to 232 for 4 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test.
Guptill anchored a strong position for New Zealand, which elected to bat at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. He struck 14 fours and a six in an innings that took 249 balls and nearly six hours
He tried an ambitious swipe to leg to become one of two late strikes by Narine, who finished with 73 for 3.
Guptill shared half-century stands with Daniel Flynn and captain Ross Taylor. He added 97 for the first wicket with Flynn, who made 45, and then a further 90 with Taylor, who also compiled 45.
Guptill and Flynn began cautiously once Taylor won the toss, eking out just 16 runs from the first nine overs. But they overcame a few anxious moments to take New Zealand to lunch at 71 for no loss.
The pair continued to blossom after the break, and both batsmen were closing in on half-centuries when Narine broke through by claiming Flynn.
The left-hander, who struck seven fours from 127 balls in 156 minutes, tried to force through the offside off the back foot and skewed a catch to backward point off the top-edge to give Narine his first Test wicket.
The 25-year-old Guptill reached his half-century, off 107 balls, with his eighth four soon after Flynn's dismissal. He and Brendon McCullum forged another useful stand of 36 before paceman Kemar Roach claimed the No. 3 batsman just as he began to look dangerous.
McCullum lashed five fours to score 25 off 43 balls before lofting an off drive for Narsingh Deonarine to hold a good, low catch at mid-off.
Roach took 46 for 1 off 15 overs. New Zealand took tea at 159 for 2, and Guptill and Taylor deflated West Indies for most of the final session with a fluent stand.
Guptill survived a close lbw shout from Ravi Rampaul soon after the break. The subsequent decision review showed the batman's foot was marginally outside the line when hit by a yorker.
Taylor played some majestic offside strokes and Guptill continued to blunt West Indies' attack.
Narine, playing only his second Test, finally begin to trouble the batsmen more regularly in the final hour and deservingly reaped the rewards in the final 45 minutes.
Taylor, who had been dropped at short leg when on 41, was bowled as he tried to paddle to leg, the ball rebounding from thigh and glove onto the stumps to make it 223 for 3. He struck six fours from 96 balls in 136 minutes.
Five runs later, Guptill's adventure in trying to score his third test century proved to be his downfall. The Auckland player swung across the line to a ball on a good length and miscued badly, allowing Deonarine at mid-on to make no mistake with the skied chance.
Nightwatchman Neil Wagner, on debut, survived to the close to be 4 not out, while Kane Williamson was unbeaten on 2.

Bopara's performance in first Test against Proteas puts his position in doubt

England batsman Ravi Bopara's performance in the first Test against South Africa has put a question mark on his abilities of being a successful Test cricketer.
England will be slightly disappointed, particularly with Ravi Bopara, who got a duck on his return to the Test team.
Bopara is a very talented player, and one who is in form because he played well in the recent one-day series against Australia, but he has always had this question mark about the way he starts his innings in Tests.
Resuming play on day five, England simply had to bat all day to avoid defeat and in truth, they looked like they could manage it as they continued after lunch having lost just one wicket.
Ian Bell was grittily forging an innings and Matt Prior supported him as the hosts dared to believe that they could pull off another remarkable result, just as they had twice against the same opponents in the southern hemisphere.
But it wasn't to be as England once more capitulated, the final five wickets falling for just 37 runs.
"Bopara has had worse moments in an England shirt, his first-ever series against Sri Lanka was an embarrassment, but this was arguably his most costly failure, and his record is starting to read like that of a player who will never cut it at the top level," The Daily Mirror said.
"With averages of 15, 11 and 8 against Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka his test statistics belie a great talent. But the reality is that - as shown by his 118 average against the West Indies - while the batting ability is there, the mental fortitude to cope against the best in the world may not be," the paper added.
Bopara was not the only one guilty of this, Matt Prior's sweep was unnecessary, as was Andrew Strauss's but their positions in this side is not in doubt.

Steyn declares South Africa as best; England as phoney No.1 Test side

South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn has declared that he plays for the best team in the world, no matter what the official rankings say, and described England as a phoney No. 1 Test team.
Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower, who have guided England to historic heights, now face a crisis of credibility.
Steyn said: "I think we're the No 1 Test team in the world. We have all our bases covered, and I don't worry about England. Now we need it on paper."
England lost to the Proteas by an innings and 12 runs and the manner of the defeat makes it arguably their heaviest in history, The Sun reports.
Following England's 3-0 defeat against Pakistan and 1-1 draw with Sri Lanka during the winter, this was another crushing humiliation on a slow, low pitch.
Since securing the top spot with a 4-0 whitewash of India last summer, England has looked hesitant, short of confidence and lacked the clinical efficiency that marked their climb to the top.

Kallis rested from South Africa ODI squad

JOHANNESBURG, July 25 - Jacques Kallis has been omitted from South Africa's one-day squad for the series against England so he can rest before the World Twenty20, Cricket South Africa said on Wednesday.
The 36-year-old Kallis, a veteran of 321 ODIs, was replaced in the 15-man squad by new cap Dean Elgar.
The Proteas play five matches against England in August and September, and the World Twenty20 begins in Sri Lanka on September 18.
Elgar, the 25-year-old batting all-rounder, has played in 85 List A matches and scored 2,593 runs at an average of 39.28, and has taken 29 wickets with his left-arm spin.
Leg-spinner Imran Tahir, who played the last of his five ODIs during the 2011 World Cup, has also been called up to the squad, and there was a recall for all-rounder Ryan McLaren.
"“Dean has been in our plans for some time and might well have made his debut last year but for injury," Andrew Hudson, CSA's selection convener, said in a statement on the governing body's website (www.cricket.co.za).
"“Imran is a genuine wicket-taking bowler and his selection enables us to explore our options in this area. Ryan has just come off some exceptional form for the South Africa A side and the added depth he provides in the seam bowling department will allow us to rotate players if we feel the need arises."
The first match of the England-South Africa limited-overs series is at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on August 24, with the series concluding at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Sept 5.
South Africa will then play three T20 internationals against England. The squad for that series will be named in mid August.
South Africa ODI squad: AB de Villiers (capt), Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Francois du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Imran Tahir, Ryan McLaren, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Waqar not to coach Australia

Pakistan's former captain and coach Waqar Younis has said that talks with Cricket Australia (CA) about a coaching job have not been successful. CA was in talks with Waqar to replace bowling coach Craig McDermott who quit after Australia's tour of West Indies in May. However, Waqar revealed that the talks had failed and he was not in contention for the position anymore. "I was interested, but it didn't work out between me and Cricket Australia," The Dawn quoted Waqar, as saying. Waqar, who resigned as Pakistan's coach last year citing personal reasons, is based in Sydney and was eager to work with the Australia team. Waqar, who took 373 Test wickets in a 14-year career, said what he was offering was different from what CA was looking for. Waqar will be coaching a team in the Sri Lanka Premier League followed by the Twenty20 World Cup where he will be involved with commentary.

Sri Lanka thrash India by nine wickets, square series

HAMBANTOTA: Medium pacer Thisara Perera ransacked India’s vaunted batting card in blustery conditions as Sri Lanka thrashed India by nine wickets in the second ODI here on Tuesday.

The victory, achieved with more than 30 overs to spare, helped the hosts square the five-match series 1-1, and is India's second worst ODI defeat in terms of balls remaining.

India elected to bat as a strong breeze raged across the field, and after a devil-may-care beginning from Virender Sehwag found themselves shorn of their top-order in the face of smart bowling by Perera (who at one stage boasted figures of 3-3-0-3) and Angelo Mathews (7-2-14-3).

Unable to recover from repeated setbacks, India was shot out for 138 in 33.3 overs, with Gautam Gambhir (65) playing the lone hand.

Sri Lanka faced no trouble in chasing down the paltry target, with a little help from India who bowled 14 wides in 20 overs and grassed Tillakaratne Dilshan when he had score just one.

The openers Dilshan (50) and Upul Tharanga (59 not out) thwarted the Indian attack for 64 runs in eight overs before the early dinner break, necessitated by India’s hasty demise.

On resumption, more of the same fare was on the menu. The two extended their alliance to 119 in under 17 overs, helping themselves to half-centuries and reeling in victory in a shade under 20 overs, for the loss of Dilshan’s wicket.

India could have Dilshan earlier when the opener had scored one, but a loafing Sehwag grassed a straightforward attempt at slip.

The visitors bowling arsenal, spearheaded by Zaheer Khan and shouldered by Irfan Pathan and Umesh Yadav, was ineffective in the face of purposeful batting.

It was a comprehensive win considering the hosts’ awry beginning.

Earlier, India won the toss and in blustery conditions capitalized on some wayward bowling and fielding from the hosts.

Debutant left-arm seamer Isuru Udana marked his first ODI with a wide-strewn 11-ball over, conceding 16 runs and sending India into overdrive at 31 without loss in under four overs.

And then it was time for Perera, who rocked India with a triple strike. The medium pacer strangled the runs by keeping a persistent off-stump line, claiming a wicket in each of his first three overs and had figures of 3-3-0-3 at one stage, as India’s batsmen struggled against the away-moving delivery.

Sehwag was first to go. The opener threw caution to the wind (of which, incidentally, there was plenty) and swatted Perera hard, only to be plucked out of this air for a sensational return catch with the bowler almost parallel to the ground in his reflex dive.

Having scored a century in his previous three matches against Sri Lanka, Virat Kohli perished when he tried to guide a widish delivery to third man and edged to Sangakkara behind the wicket.

Rohit Sharma played on to Mathews for a duck. Suresh Raina too departed in similar fashion, chopping Perera on to the stumps to become the Lankan’s third victim.

Perera could have had his fourth had Mathews not dropped a sitter of Dhoni at slip when the Indian skipper was yet to get off the mark. But Mathews atoned for his lapse soon after by cramping Dhoni with a gorgeous off-cutter, which the batsman could only snick to a graciously accepting Sangakkara.

India were 60-5 after 15 overs and it only went downhill from there.

All this while, Gautam Gambhir held one end firm. He launched a quasi rearguard with R. Ashwin, but the off-spinner was run-out farcically when he sought, lethargically, to retrace his steps back to safety from an aborted third run attempt.

Gambhir was finally the last man out, having scored a responsible 96-ball 65, but all his stoicism counted for naught when appended to the callous batting of his teammates.

BCCI to now produce all its matches

For the first time in its 84- year- old history, the BCCI has added an in-house television production unit and it will make debut with the home Test series against New Zealand next month.

The BCCI Broadcasting Services will not only do the production for international home series, but also the Indian Premier League ( IPL) and Champions League T20.

“Yes, a decision has been taken and the BCCI will do the production now, starting with the New Zealand series. We decided at a working committee meeting to go ahead with it,” BCCI president N Srinivasan told M AIL T ODAY . The two- Test series against New Zealand begins on August 23 in Uppal, Hyderabad. The Kiwis will also play two Twenty20 Internationals in a packed season in which England and Australia — and possibly Pakistan — too will visit India.

Till now, the company that held the BCCI media rights also used to do the production work, too, in return for a fee. Nimbus Communications held the previous contract.

But after terminating its contract on December 12 last year, for regularly defaulting on payments, the BCCI did not hire anyone to do the production for international matches as well as domestic tournaments.

SRINIVASAN declined to give reasons for breaking the traditional practice.

“ Instead of tendering it, we decided to do production ourselves. What were the reasons behind this decision, I do not want to disclose,” he said.

However, a top BCCI official said that the world’s richest cricket board decided against floating tender as it was confronting “ a lot of problems”, and they resulted from extremely limited options in the market.

“ It is a fact that the Indian market for this kind of production work is very limited. There are only a handful of companies that have the expertise. And the BCCI has been finding it difficult to deal with them,” the official told Mail Today.

When the BCCI terminated Nimbus’ contract, more than two years were left in the 2010- 2014 deal. The BCCI then floated tenders, inviting companies to bid for a total of six years — two years left in the Nimbus contract plus a separate four- year ( 2014- 18) block.

The Rupert Murdoch- owned STAR India Ltd., which was one of the only two bidders, quoted ` 3,851.52 crore ($ 757.6 million) to bag the six- year deal that includes the television, mobile and internet rights. It, however, did not hire STAR India Ltd. for production.

The BCCI assured STAR India Ltd. of 96 international matches in addition to select domestic tournament matches. Multi Screen Media ( Singapore) bid ` 3,700.032, only to lose by a huge difference of ` 151.488 crore.

In 2005, Lalit Modi, then a Board vice- president, and IS Bindra, president of the Punjab Cricket Association, had announced that the BCCI would launch its own cricket channel. But it never materialised.

The BCCI official said that Srinivasan himself raised the issue of inhouse production at a recent working committee meeting.

“ He told the gathering that only a handful of production houses were available and emphasised that the BCCI was finding it difficult to deal with its production partners,” he disclosed. “ Srinivasan invited members’ opinion on the proposal that was on the table. The proposal was prepared by BCCI’s Broadcasting Services director James Rego.” The official revealed that Srinivasan then requested IPL chief operating officer Sundar Raman, who was a special invitee at the working committee meeting, to explain the proposal in detail.

“He said that if the BCCI has an in- house production unit, the quality of telecast could be maintained,” he said. “ BCCI will also produce IPL and Champions League T20. The house approved the proposal unanimously.” Sources say that the BCCI has no plans to purchase expensive equipment straightaway, but will instead hire cameras and other gadgets for production, to be overseen by Rego, who joined the BCCI in 2009 from Nimbus. A few more old Nimbus hands have also joined the BCCI Broadcast Services.

“After the working committee approved the proposal, the top guns of the BCCI Broadcast Services have been calling a variety of professionals to hire them for the New Zealand series and the domestic season that begins on September 21 with the Irani Cup.” In all probability, the same freelance professionals who did duty for Nimbus will turn out for the BCCI too.

BCCI president N Srinivasan confirms the decision but declines to give reasons for departing from traditional practice

Tendulkar, Zaheer static in ICC Test rankings

Dubai: Veteran batsman Sachin Tendulkar and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan remained static at their respective 12th spots to be the highest-placed Indian cricketers in the latest ICC Test rankings issued on Wednesday.
While Tendulkar is the only Indian in the top-20 of the batting list, Zaheer has company in the form of spinner Pragyan Ojha, who held onto his 20th spot, in the bowling chart.
Meanwhile, South African Jacques Kallis led the charge of his country's batsmen up the rankings after his side's stunning innings-and-12-run victory against England on Monday.
Kallis, who scored an unbeaten 182 and also took 2 for 38 in England's first innings, not only moved up two places in batting rankings to second place but also unseated Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh as the number one ranked Test allrounder. Kallis has also moved up one rung in the rankings for Test bowlers to 31st place.
Hashim Amla's reward for his unbeaten 311, which was South Africa's highest ever individual Test score, was not only the 'Man of the Match' award but also a jump of three places in the batting rankings.
His overall rating of 872 is a career best to date for Amla - just two behind second-placed Kallis. Graeme Smith, South Africa's captain, moved up four places after his 131 in South Africa's mammoth 637 for 2 declared.
Smith is sixth in the batting table with AB de Villiers, who did not bat at The Oval, dropping to fifth because of the moves by Amla and Kallis.
Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara remained the top-ranked batsman and the only scant consolation for England was that Alastair Cook moved up one place to eighth - courtesy his first innings 115.
In the rankings for bowlers, Dale Steyn's seven-wicket haul in the match - including a second innings 5 for 56 - confirmed his place at the top and edged him ever closer to the magical 900-point mark.
He has 896 - just six short of his career best mark of 902 achieved against Sri Lanka at Centurion in 2011.

1st Test: Pitch the focus as NZ aim to change fortunes

New Zealand will look to change their fortunes when they take on West Indies in the first Test in Antigua on Wednesday. The tourists badly performed in the ODIs in the Caribbean and the Twenty20s in Florida, and this two-match Test series is their last chance to put things back in order.
West Indies’ captain Darren Sammy has already begun playing mind games, saying it would take a lot beating to deal with Narine in Caribbean conditions. The surface at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium at North Sound, which hosted the three-day tour match between the New Zealanders at the West Indies Cricket Board’s President’s XI, saw 17 of 28 wickets fall to spin. Shane Shillingford, the West Indies offspinner, took five wickets in the tourists’ second innings and Daniel Vettori six in the home team’s only innings, so Sammy’s talk of Narine being tough to play is understandable.
Narine, 24, has taken 20 wickets in his last seven limited-overs games against New Zealand, and none of the Kiwi batsmen looked comfortable against his guile and variety. Considering the Kiwis were left to play catch-up throughout the three-day practice game, there is enough reason to believe a turning wicket will be on view in Antigua.
Adding to New Zealand’s worries is the return of Chris Gayle, who hasn’t played a Test match since December 2010, and the No. 1 Test batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who missed the third Test against England due to a side strain last month. With Marlon Samuels also coming off a strong series in England, West Indies have a strong batting order though they will miss the services of the recovering Darren Bravo at No. 3. His replacement is likely to be Assad Fudadin, who made his Test debut in the final match of the England tour, but the fact that Narsingh Deonarine bowls handy spin could push his case for selection.
As far as West Indies’ fast bowling attack is concerned, tear-away pacer Kemar Roach will be the spearhead ahead of Ravi Rampaul and Tino Best.
For New Zealand, the fast bowler Trent Boult and the wicketkeeper-batsman BJ Watling have been ruled out of the first Test due to injuries, leaving 13 players available for selection for the Test. Watling’s injury means South Africa-born Kruger van Wyk will get a fourth Test cap and
the leading candidate to be picked as the third quick bowler is left-arm quick Neil Wanger, who took 3 for 65 in the tour game and scored crucial runs down the order. The 26-year-old could likely complete a three-man pace attack led by Chris Martin and Doug Bracewell.
"He has had to wait his time. He's got a very good first-class record and bowls with a lot of aggression," said New Zealand captain Ross Taylor of Wagner. "Neil Wagner has got a big chance to make his Test debut here in Antigua. He's an aggressive left-arm bowler who will be dangerous with the older ball as well, reversing it."
Taylor has a big responsibility on his hands to revive a dispirited bunch and he will need plenty of support from Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum, who played in the last two one-dayers but couldn’t do much. Vettori, returning to the side after a rest of three months, can cancel out Narine’s effect if he comes up with the performance he is capable of. His massive experience of 111 Tests is key to the visitors’ chances in the two-match series.
There is an outside chance that Vettori could have a spin partner for this Test in rookie legbreak bowler Tarun Nethula. But it is a slim possibility.
All said and done, West Indies will walk on to the field with the favourites’ tag on Wednesday. This is a golden opportunity for them to win a Test series against a proper team. In their last 10 home series, they have been victorious just once - against Bangladesh.
Probable XIs:
West Indies: 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Adrian Barath, 3 Assad Fudadin/Narsingh Deonarine, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Darren Sammy (capt), 8 Kemar Roach, 9 Ravi Rampaul, 10 Tino Best, 11 Sunil Narine
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Daniel Flynn, 3 Kane Williamson 4 Ross Taylor (c), 5 Brendon McCullum, 6 Dean Brownlie, 7 Kruger van Wyk (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Doug Bracewell, 11 Chris Martin

Styris does an Afridi: century in 37 balls

New Zealander Scott Styris matched Shahid Afridi's record of fastest century on Tuesday, with the only difference being that Afridi did it in one-day international cricket while Styris' 37-ball ton came for Sussex.
Styris smashed a century from 37 balls in the Friends Life T20 quarter-final against Gloucestershire, taking Sussex through to the finals day. Styris was particularly severe on Gloucestershire bowler James Fuller when he smashed him for 38 runs in the 18th over of the innings - the costliest over in professional cricket
Fuller's first two balls of that over were not only no-balls but also crossed the ropes, followed by a six off the first legitimate ball of the over. It was followed by a six and a four off the next two deliveries before Fuller managed to keep the fourth ball to a dot. The fifth ball landed inches short of the boundary for a four and the last ball was sent sailing into the crowd as well.
With this innings, Styris probably also sent a signal to his IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings who have been reluctant to include the New Zealand allrounder in their playing XI.

Dhoni points finger at Hambantota pitch

Hambantota: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed the unpredictable pitch for his team's abysmal batting performance in the lost second ODI against Sri Lanka, rejecting suggestions that rash shots led to the stunning collapse.
India were last night bowled out for 138 in 33.3 overs - their fourth-lowest ODI total in the past five years - by the host team, which chased down the target in under 20 overs. The five-match series is now tied at 1-1.
"The pitch was next to the wicket we played on last time but it behaved in a completely different way," Dhoni said referring to the track used for the opening ODI in which India posted a 300-plus score. "Initially the wicket was slightly on the slower side. Once Virat [Kohli] got out, we lost a couple of more wickets very quickly.
"Before the batsmen could assess the wicket, we lost two wickets played on. I thought after that it was too much for batsmen like Irfan [Pathan] and [Ravichandran] Ashwin to come in and take us out of trouble," he added.
But his opposite number, Mahela Jayawardene, disagreed with Dhoni insisting that the wicket was not that bad. "Probably a touch slower; there were quite a few good balls as well. We bowled in good areas, created pressure, maybe a couple of bad shots as well, but I will take that any day. The important thing with the Indian batting line-up is picking up wickets and that's the only way we can control things and that is what we did today," he said.
Dhoni defended his batsmen's shot selection, refusing to call them rash. "I don't think they were shots that were really rash. People were looking for singles. If you see Rohit's ball [the one off which he was dismissed], the shot was on. But he got an inside edge and it went onto the stumps.
"It could have been his lucky day if it hadn't hit the stumps and he was still there to carry on with his innings. It is part and parcel of the game and a big learning curve. Hope the batsmen learn and they assess the wicket very quickly [in the next game]," Dhoni explained.
The wicketkeeper-batsman said the wicket here lacked pace and was difficult to bat on. "Over here the wicket was slightly different, it [the ball] was stopping before coming on. I don't think there was too much swing for the bowlers, though there was a bit of breeze - meaning you can swing it a bit - but nothing unusual. I just thought the pace of the wicket was not really coming onto the bat and that's the reason why we lost too many wickets initially."
India now move to Colombo for the third game of the series and Dhoni said that his team has learnt some important lessons from the Hambantota stay. "The boys adjusted well to the conditions whether it was the bowling or the batting department. Today [Tuesday] the performance wasn't so good but still the kind of wind we faced here was the kind that one usually gets to see in Wellington in New Zealand," he said.
"I think given the amount of time we had, we adjusted pretty well. So I am quite happy; [it was a] decent performance. Slowly and gradually you will see all the youngsters learning, especially about the importance of the middle overs, because that is where most of the cricket is played - right from the 15th-20th over onwards till the 40th over," he added.
Meanwhile, Jayawardene lauded his team-mates for putting up a near-perfect show in every department of the game. "We were much more focussed in executing some of the game plans," Jayawardene said. "I told the guys that we are capable of performing at the highest level, so let's try and execute the game plan. That's what we did," he added.
Thisara Perera, who took 3 for 19 in eight overs, said he was keeping it simple. "I just bowled on one side of the wicket as Mahela wanted," he said.

Defeat has left sour taste, says Strauss

England captain Andrew Strauss was left with a "sour taste in the mouth" after his team suffered a crushing innings and 12-run defeat by South Africa in the first test on Monday.
In a battle between the world's top two teams, and with England's number one ranking on the line, Strauss had expected his men to flourish in the familiar conditions but instead floundered as South Africa dominated the contest to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
"Most of my regrets are that we did not come out with a draw," Strauss told reporters. "We should have done that."
Strauss especially rued how England lost wickets at times in the match when he thought they could have done better like on Friday morning when they plummeted from their overnight 267 for three to 385 all out.
In the second innings on Sunday, England lost four key batsmen to close 102 for four, en route to being 240 all out.
South Africa had far less trouble on a placid batting surface at The Oval, as they posted a huge total of 637 for two. Hashim Amla broke the national batting record with 311 not out.
"Losing four wickets last night was a body blow for us," said Strauss.
"The South Africans did get it reversing today and with more wickets in hand we could have batted out the day.
"There are a number of areas where we are frustrated. We did not deal better with those conditions and losing four wickets last night in placid conditions made life difficult for us today. There are regrets there but we will learn the lessons and come back strong next week."
The teams meet again in Leeds on Aug 2, before the final clash at Lord's on Aug 16. Strauss was keen not to panic by the defeat and said he still had faith in his team, especially the batsmen, who have flourished in home conditions “for a long period of time.

'Shoaib brands Sami 'mentally weak athlete who buckles under pressure'

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has described his one-time new ball partner Mohammad Sami as a "mentally weak" bowler who is unable to handle pressure.
"Sami is a mentally weak athlete and he can't take pressure. Efforts were made to make Sami into the Karachi Express. He was constantly told that your competition is with Akhtar for a place in the team," the Daily Times quoted Akhtar, as saying.
"I played a lot with Sami and my observation is he tried to compete hard and lost discipline in bowling. When we bowled together we could put a lot of pressure on the batsmen and in such circumstances he bowled well," Akhtar said.
The former pacer said luck also plays a big role in any cricketer's career.
"Sami was an unlucky bowler as well many times straight forward catches were dropped off his bowling while in some instances umpires didn't give decisions in his favour," he said.
Akhtar said he believed that compared to Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, Sami was a mentally weak bowler.
"He has been playing for 11 years but if you tick him off once he loses focus and comes under pressure. He has the ability and I wish he does well now but for this he has to be assigned a role in the team and pressure must be put on him to perform as a frontline strike bowler," Akhtar was quoted, as saying.
The national selectors and team management have come under criticism for retaining Sami in the Twenty20 squad announced for the upcoming Australia series and the T20 World Cup, after he failed to make an impact on the Sri Lanka tour.
Sami's selection was a debatable one, with critics pointing to his abysmal Test record of 85 wickets in 36 matches at an average of 56. His performances in ODIs and T20 matches is better since he has captured 121 wickets in 85 matches at an average of 28 and 10 wickets at 14 in five T20 games, the paper said.