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.