1st one-day against England tomorrow - Mahela orders team to start afresh
-----Sunday Observer
By Ranjan Anandappa
CRICKET: Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardena said that he has no intention in living on past laurels, being runner-up of the 2007 World Cup and made it clear that the team has to start all over again. Sri Lanka will take on England in a five Bradford and Bingley day night ODI series, the first starting tomorrow (Monday) at the Rangiri Dambulu Stadium.
"Two years ago there was a goal set for us,that's the World Cup, and after the World Cup we had quite a few changes in the set up. Now we have to start all over again. If we stay in dreams of the past, the other teams might roll you over." he said.
"The Sri Lankan Skipper Mahela said that the Lankans have to prepare themselves and groom the new planes to push the guys who are in the team.
We cannot keep them in a floating system, that's why our new coach Trevor Bayliss has come in and done a fair bit of work in the last month and a half to push the players into another level, from where Tom Moody has left us. "
He said that it is not going to be easy and rosy just because we got into a final of a World Cup.
We will have to work harder as the opposition will obviously come at us with a vengeance, knowing that we were the runners-up at the last World Cup. So we got to work vigorously towards our goal.
"We should forget the negative aspect of the Twenty 20 version of the game, pick up the positive side that we gained, and face the 50-over game, because 50 overs are lot of overs, and it is important that we bat throughout the 50 overs, which we have done quite well in the past and our focus should be drawn once again towards that.
Jayawardena also said that the bowlers had learnt a lot in the Twenty20 tournament, and for the first time an extra fielder is permitted instead of the two outside the circle in the third power play. The free hit off a no-ball will come into play for the first time in the fifty over version of the game in Monday's first game. So the players should get used to the new innovations.
Referring to the pitch at the Dambulu Stadium, Jayawardena said that it could be even unfamiliar to the Lankans as matches were not played in the recent past.
Jayawardena was optimistic that the young England players would be a challenge as it will be a new experience for them. We are aware of their performances against India and the West Indies.
England skipper Paul Collingwood said that his players are confident and waiting to go after their limited over success.
England has not won an ODI series in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka beat England 5/0 when the two countries met in England.
He was also concerned about the heat which will be a challenge and believed that spinner Monty Panesar will play a vital role in the series.
One - day squads
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardena (Captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Chaminda Vaas, Sanath Jayasuriya, T. M. Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Jehan Mubarak, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Farveez Maharoof, Upul Tharanga, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Gayan Wijekoon, Dilruwan Perera, Muttiah Muralitharan.
England: Paul Collingwood (Captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Chris Tremlett, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, P. Mustard, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graems Swann, Luke Wright.
Fixtures
1st October: 1st ODI (day night) Dambulla,
October 4; 2nd ODI (Day night) Dambulla,
October 7; 3rd ODI (Daynight) Dambulla.
October 10; 4th ODI (day night) R. Premadasa Stadium.
October 13; 5th ODI (day night) R.Premadasa Stadium.
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Sunday, September 30, 2007
Tie-breaker ODI series -Sri Lanka VS England ' begins Tomorrow..
Tie-breaker ODI series
Lanka to capitalise on Flintoff’s absence
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
Sri Lanka is to exploit the absence of Andrew Flintoff and capitalise on it fully when they take on England in a five-match one-day international series starting at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium tomorrow.
Flintoff was forced to pull out of the Sri Lanka series and return home following a troublesome left ankle. The England all-rounder also missed out the last one-day series played between the two countries in 2006 where England lost at home 5-0.
“Andrew is a top class all-rounder. To have him in the side gives England more balance in their attack because he is a batting all-rounder who bowls really well,” Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene told ‘The Nation’.
“With him England’s combination is much better. Without him they will have to go for a different combination. He is a match-winner and his absence is obviously an advantage for us,” he said.
Jayawardene pointed out that although Sri Lanka won the last series played in England rather comprehensively the side England had brought to Sri Lanka was altogether a different set-up.
“They have got some really good all-rounders coming through. We met them in the World Cup and it was a very close game. They have a very young all-round side. We have to make sure we capitalise on that and play some really good cricket. England will be a good challenge for us. It’s a big season ahead of us and we need to make sure that we start on a very good note,” said Jayawardene.
“We have to be aware of certain players they have in their set-up, bowling all-rounders who will suit these conditions. We have to make sure we plan things properly and execute them to perfection. They also have some quality batsmen who play different roles, some we haven’t seen. We need to understand what those roles are and try counter-attacking it. We need to make sure we don’t get blind-sided on that,” he said.
Jayawardene stated that it was tough call for the selectors to pick leg-spinning all-rounder Kaushal Lokuarachchi ahead of another ‘leggie’ Malinga Bandara.
“Loku’s been performing really well in one-day internationals. We know what Bandara is capable of doing. Thinking of the future you’d never how long Sanath (Jayasuriya) is going to play cricket. If one day he stops playing that’s a bowling option we will be losing,” explained Jayawardene. “We might have to fit in a spinning all-rounder in the middle of our batting. It’s good for us to try a few things right now and see what Loku has to offer for our team and how we can have different combinations going forward,” he said.
Jayawardene stated that champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was still not 100 percent and doubted whether he is going to be fit for the series. Muralitharan is recovering from a strained right bicep which he sustained bowling long spells with English county Lancashire.
“It’s good to have Murali around but the reality is that we know he won’t be around for a long time. He won’t be playing all the matches. We need to give him adequate rest. Even the workload on Vaasy must not be too much. He is a fine performer and we can’t push him all the way. We need to find replacements and give them breaks in between,” said Jayawardene.
“When opportunities come we have to try new blood. We might not be that consistent in performances doing that but that’s the only way these guys will learn. There are a few guys we have earmarked. We will them bring slowly into the system. We tried a few during the Bangladesh series,” he said.
Left-arm fast bowler Chanaka Welagedera who bowled Sri Lanka Invitation XI to victory over Tamil Nadu in the Gopalan trophy tie, opening batsman Mahela Udawatta and off-spinning all-rounder Dilruwan Perera are some of the players in the short list.
Collingwood out to avenge 5-0 whitewash
England one-day captain Paul Collingwood believes he has the team to beat Sri Lanka and avenge their 5-0 thrashing at home last year.
“The squad we have got is exciting. A young bunch of guys who are excited about coming to a country that’s difficult to play cricket in. That’s a massive challenge for us,” Collingwood said.
“If we can come over here and do very well it will be very satisfying. Not many England sides have come over here and won a series. We are determined to do that,” Collingwood said.
“It was very disappointing to lose 5-0 at home. We’ve got an opportunity now to come out here and hopefully reverse that. We are a totally different side, a different set-up altogether. That’s an exciting thing for us, a young side not a lot of experience to come out in this kind of conditions. It is going to be a challenge,” Collingwood stated.
“We got a set of players who have the belief to come over here and win. You come to places like Sri Lanka or Australia you are beaten before you go out in the park. Certainly the mental side is a massive thing and all our players in the dressing room in the squad believe that we can win out here.
“What you’ve got to do is adapt to the conditions and the wickets you come upon. The team that adapts quickly wins. You make sure when you practice in the nets you practice all kinds of skills that you come up in all kind of conditions and make sure you apply those skills at the right time,” he said.
Speaking further Collingwood said: “We obviously realise Sri Lanka is a very good side. When you come to Sri Lanka it is obviously hot and conditions do favour the home side. That’s the most exciting thing. When you play professional cricket you want to challenge yourself. It is certainly one of the biggest challenges you can come up against.”
“If we can go home after a good series here it would be very satisfying. There is still a lot of confidence in the side. We believe we’ve got the skills to adapt to these conditions, to adapt to the heat we got the fitness. Only time will tell.”
Collingwood was of the opinion that left-arm spinner Monty Panesar will play a crucial in England’s bid to win the series.
“Monty will do very well out here. He is learning a lot and he has been pretty good for us so far. The conditions out here will suit him. He’s realised that a change of pace could be a good thing,” said Collingwood. “Certainly the work he has done so far in the nets has been fantastic and he could he a handful out here. Monty is a fantastic bowler as similar as New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori whose change of pace had a great impact on the 20-20 game. Vettori used that as his main weapon.”
Collingwood admitted that he would miss all-rounder Andrew Flintoff. “He is two players in one.”
He was also confident that young fast bowler Chris Broad would bounce back after the harsh treatment he received at the hands of India’s Yuvraj Singh who hit him for six sixes in one over in the World Twenty20 match.
“He is someone who learns a lot in the nets, always asking questions. Certainly he is not happy to have gone for six sixes in an over. He will learn from that experience,” he said. -(ST)
UK bank sponsors ODI series
One of UK’s biggest banks Bradford & Bingley will sponsor the five-match one-day international cricket series between Sri Lanka and England starting at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium tomorrow. The company is also the proud sponsor of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The series ends on October 13 in Colombo.
****
Maddy 'joins rebel Indian league'
Maddy 'joins rebel Indian league'
 Maddy hit 113 runs in four Twenty20 games in South Africa |
The 33-year-old played in the World Twenty20 for England after a seven-year absence from the international scene.
But he joins New Zealanders Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle, Chris Harris and Hamish Marshall among 18 new signings.
"They are in line with our objective of providing the best platform for young cricketers from all corners of India to play alongside superstars," Kapil said.
Former West Indies captain Brian Lara and ex-Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq are the biggest names to have joined.
Pakistan's Imran Farhat and Abdul Razzaq, and South African duo Lance Klusener and Nicky Boje, are other high-profile players to link up with the Twenty20 league.
But several national boards have threatened to ban anyone who joins, while the Indian board is planning its own official Twenty20 competition.
Star Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf pulled out of his contract on Thursday and committed himself to his country, and the ICL - which was due to begin in October - has been delayed because of logistical reasons.
Rain saves India after Clarke ton
Rain saves India after Clarke ton
No result - rain
India 9-1 (2.4 overs v Australia 307-7 (50 overs)
Michael Clarke's third century in one-day internationals helped Australia post 307-7 against India in Bangalodre. 
Clarke was fortunate to survive a strong lbw shout on 31
But rain began in the third over of India's reply, preventing the tourists from making a winning start to the seven-match series.
Sachin Tendulkar had already fallen lbw to Mitchell Johnson to leave India 9-1.
Australia were 90-4 after Sree Santh (3-55) ripped through their top order and Clarke was lucky to survive an lbw shout on 31 on his way to 130.
He hit three sixes in his 132-ball knock, putting on 144 with Brad Haddin, who made 69 in 83 balls.
Clarke was run out in the last over but Australia were well in charge.
The advantage grew as Tendulkar was pinned by an inswinging yorker from left-armer Johnson.
The weather worsened almost immediately though and, despite hopes of a resumption later, drizzle returned to finally finish the matter.
"The entire playing area is quite wet. We don't think it would dry before the cut-off time. So we have decided to call it off," said umpire Suresh Shastri.
"We had a discussion with the two captains. The Australians were obviously keen to play but the decision is not either captain's."
Australia were led by Adam Gilchrist, with Ricky Ponting ruled out by a hamstring injury, while Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar returned for India after sitting out the World Twenty20.
And it was the home side who were rampant early on as Gilchrist slashed Zaheer Khan to backward point and Yuvraj Singh hurled himself to his right to pull off a stunning catch.
Santh swung one in to trap Hodge in front, while Matthew Hayden pulled RP Singh for a six before Santh bowled him as he attempted a big heave.
When Andrew Symonds was plumb lbw to a slower Santh delivery the Aussies were in trouble and it could have got worse if Clarke had been dispatched in similar circumstances by the umpire when Irfan Pathan rapped his back pad.
But the right-hander survived and began to unfurl the kind of strokes which helped him make a Test century on debut at the same venue.
He punished a regular diet of poorly directed balls to reach his century in 108 balls, with two maximums coming in one over from spinner Ramesh Powar.
After Haddin was stumped off Yuvraj, Clarke and James Hopes - who escaped when Powar dropped a return catch early on - scored at nine an over to take the total past 300.
In the final over, Hopes was snapped up at long-on and Clarke was run out by Zaheer right at the end.
Friday, September 28, 2007
England in Sri Lanka 2007
England in Sri Lanka 2007
25 One-day squad arrives
28 Warm-up match, Moratuwa
October ****************************
1 1st ODI, Dambulla (d/n)
4 2nd ODI, Dambulla (d/n)
7 3rd ODI, Dambulla (d/n)
10 4th ODI, Colombo (RPICS) (d/n)
13 5th ODI, Colombo (RPICS) (d/n)
15 One-day squad departs
November*************************
15 Test squad arrives
20-22 Warm-up match, Colombo Cricket Club
25-27 Warm-up match, Colombo Colts Cricket Club
December*************************
1-5 1st Test, Kandy
9-13 2nd Test, Colombo
18-22 3rd Test, Galle
23 Test squad departsYuvraj may have to wait for his sports car
Yuvraj may have to wait for his sports car
By Bipin Dani
Mumbai, Sept. 25 : India's left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh will not be presented a sports car by the Indian cricket board. Instead, the car will be gifted to him by BCCI's vice-president Lalit Modi, it is reliably learnt.
According to the sources close to the BCCI, all victorious team members will be paid a hefty sum and BCCI will be paying a special prize of Rs. 1 crore to Yuvraj Singh for hitting six sixes in an over against England in the Twenty20 match.
All national TV chanels have also been running the news that the all-round will also be gifted a car by the BCCI.
Lalit Modi, a 42-year-old sharp-minded billionaire and vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, is one of the main men behind the astonishing amounts of money coming into Indian cricket. He has created mass money-making vehicles that the previous regime failed to identify and exploit. "The car will be gifted to Yuvraj Singh by him", a source added. Yuvraj may have to wait for few more days to get the keys of the vehicle.
The prize money will not be tax-exemped to the players, it is also learnt here.
By Bipin Dani
Mumbai, Sept. 25 : India's left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh will not be presented a sports car by the Indian cricket board. Instead, the car will be gifted to him by BCCI's vice-president Lalit Modi, it is reliably learnt.
According to the sources close to the BCCI, all victorious team members will be paid a hefty sum and BCCI will be paying a special prize of Rs. 1 crore to Yuvraj Singh for hitting six sixes in an over against England in the Twenty20 match.
All national TV chanels have also been running the news that the all-round will also be gifted a car by the BCCI.
Lalit Modi, a 42-year-old sharp-minded billionaire and vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, is one of the main men behind the astonishing amounts of money coming into Indian cricket. He has created mass money-making vehicles that the previous regime failed to identify and exploit. "The car will be gifted to Yuvraj Singh by him", a source added. Yuvraj may have to wait for few more days to get the keys of the vehicle.
The prize money will not be tax-exemped to the players, it is also learnt here.
Sri Lanka suffer Murali setback _England tour in Sri Lanka
Hot weather and hot Lankans don’t bother visiting England
Murali will definitely miss at least “First couple of games” says skipper Jayawardene
Muttiah Muralitharan will miss at least the first three of Sri Lanka's five one-day internationals against England which begin on 1 October.
Murali will definitely miss at least “First couple of games” says skipper Jayawardene
Sri Lanka suffer Murali setback
 Murali is the second most successful bowler in Test history |
The off-spinner is recovering from a biceps injury which ruled him out of the recent World Twenty20 tournament.
"I'll definitely miss the first three games in Dambulla, and we'll assess the situation again towards the end of next week," said the 35-year-old.
Captain Mahela Jayawardene said the hosts would not any risks with Murali.
"We'll see how things go. We have a lot of Test cricket coming up so we need to make a sensible decision."
Muralitharan's place is expected to go to leg-spinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi.
New Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss said: "He's a leg-spinner, he's good in the field and he can bat a bit.
"If he gets an opportunity in this series I'm sure he'll be able to hold his own."
England, though, are still preparing for Muralitharan and his supporting slow bowlers, Kaushal Lokuarachchi and Dilruwan Perera.
"We've been told he's going to be out for the first couple of games, but we're preparing as if Murali is playing and we will still prepare in this way," said England captain Paul Collingwood.
Sri Lanka squad for series against England:
M Jayawardene (captain), K Sangakkara, S Jayasuriya, U Tharanga, C Silva, T Dilshan, J Mubarak, F Maharoof, C Vaas, L Malinga, D Fernando, K Lokuarachchi, M Muralitharan (subject to fitness), G Wijekoon, D Perera. Stand-by: M Bandara, N Kulasekara, C Kapugedera, C Welagedera.
Bombs found in Bombay at India cricket team parties
Bombs found in Bombay at India cricket team parties
- Daily Mirror
MUMBAI, , (AFP) - Police found six unexploded bombs in a Mumbai suburb on Wednesday as thousands celebrated on the streets the return home of India's cricket team after winning the Twenty20 world title.
Two people were arrested, one near a railway station, said police, adding they were investigating whether the pair had links to any terror group.
Mumbai, India's financial capital which was shaken by a series of bombs targeting commuters in July 2006 that killed 186 people, was on high alert, police said.
Police did not directly link the festivities to the bombs which were recovered near suburban Andheri railway station, north of the airport and far away from the celebration route.
“These were live, crude home-made bombs... but not of high intensity,”joint crime commissioner Rakesh Maria told reporters.
“Two people have been arrested in connection with this,” Maria added.
“We're investigating whether they have links to any terror group,” he said.
Police staged the arrests on a tipoff.
“We were told about a person carrying these crude bombs in a bag near a railway station. We seized him on the basis of his suspicious behaviour,” Maria said.
He did not say where the second man was arrested.
Huge crowds turned out to welcome the team along a 30-kilometre (20-mile) route south from the airport to the Wankhede cricket stadium.
Indian police last year blamed the bombings on rival Pakistan's intelligence service and the outlawed pro-Pakistan militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, but the claim is not listed in any of the charges.
Islamabad rejected the allegations as “totally baseless.”
- Daily Mirror
MUMBAI, , (AFP) - Police found six unexploded bombs in a Mumbai suburb on Wednesday as thousands celebrated on the streets the return home of India's cricket team after winning the Twenty20 world title.
Two people were arrested, one near a railway station, said police, adding they were investigating whether the pair had links to any terror group.
Mumbai, India's financial capital which was shaken by a series of bombs targeting commuters in July 2006 that killed 186 people, was on high alert, police said.
Police did not directly link the festivities to the bombs which were recovered near suburban Andheri railway station, north of the airport and far away from the celebration route.
“These were live, crude home-made bombs... but not of high intensity,”joint crime commissioner Rakesh Maria told reporters.
“Two people have been arrested in connection with this,” Maria added.
“We're investigating whether they have links to any terror group,” he said.
Police staged the arrests on a tipoff.
“We were told about a person carrying these crude bombs in a bag near a railway station. We seized him on the basis of his suspicious behaviour,” Maria said.
He did not say where the second man was arrested.
Huge crowds turned out to welcome the team along a 30-kilometre (20-mile) route south from the airport to the Wankhede cricket stadium.
Indian police last year blamed the bombings on rival Pakistan's intelligence service and the outlawed pro-Pakistan militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, but the claim is not listed in any of the charges.
Islamabad rejected the allegations as “totally baseless.”
Warne vs. Murali debate rages again in Australia
Warne vs. Murali debate rages again in Australia- Daily Mirror
By Daniel MacDonald
Muttiah Muralitharan is poised to become the world's highest Test cricket wicket-taker, but greats of the sport still refuse to acknowledge the Sri Lankan as the game's best bowler of all time.
The 35-year-old has baffled batsmen for 16 years and needs just nine wickets to surpass Australian Shane Warne's record of 708. The controversial off-spinner is likely to do so this summer, in one of two Tests against Australia.
But if former Australian skipper Mark Taylor was a selector, he said he would have no hesitation in picking Warne over Muralitharan. Retired wicketkeeper Ian Healy would do the same, as would current captain Ricky Ponting and retired fast-bowler Glenn McGrath.
All have played with Warne and against Murali. So even though the Sri Lankan will eventually take the most Test wickets of any international player, why will he live in the shadow of Australia's 'Sheik of Tweak'?
"His career lacks wickets in Australia," Healy said. "It'll be Warne then Murali. History will have it, the way I think of it, as one and two."
Murali has taken 55 wickets in 11 matches against Australia - his lowest total against any of the other nine Test-playing nations.
"He hasn't convinced me that he can take wickets against Australia, in Australia but if he does that [this summer] it'll be a great feather in his cap," Healy said.
McGrath thinks Murali's ability to spin a cricket ball is amazing, but still regards Warne as "the greatest bowler of all time".
Taylor made his selection by taking into account what Warne offered around the ground.
"It's always nice to have a leg-spinner to start with," he said. "Warney gave a bit more in terms of batting and in terms of catching. "I wouldn't call Warney a great slips fielder but he's certainly a good one - he hung on to more than he dropped.
"He gave you a lot more in the field, a lot more than Murali ever gives you." The argument will be debated until, if ever, the Test wicket-taking record is under threat of being broken again.
"[Murali] has very similar instincts to Warney in that when batsmen can't pick him he is all over them and just does not let them go," Healy said.
"Whether it's Bangladesh or Australia he nails you."
But doubters of Murali's record will, more than likely, never be silenced.
He has been branded a chucker and a shot-putter for his bent-elbowed, right-arm, off-spin bowling and critics have even labelled him a disgrace to cricket. Taylor witnessed Murali's bowling for the first time in a series in Sri Lanka under former Australian captain Alan Border in 1992.
Border was at the crease and faced what he thought were leg-breaks from the then 20-year-old.
The Australian team, Taylor said, then thought Murali was chucking the ball to Border.
"My thoughts have changed since I first saw him," Taylor admitted. "I think we sort of got to realise he is certainly different, you all sort of get round and say he's cheating and you convince yourself that that's the case.
"If you try and bowl like Murali does you're more than likely going to throw. "It's only from getting to know Murali and seeing the rigorous tests that he's been through throughout his career you can't say that Murali is an out and out thrower."
No cricket player or fan can deny Murali has had a resounding influence on the culture encompassing spin bowling. Cricket academies around the world now teach proteges of the game how to bowl off-spin from out of the front of the hand.
"Controversy has sort of followed him around for most of his career and Australia's a place he hasn't really enjoyed touring in the past but he's a freak at what he does, it's as simple as that," Ponting said.
"He'll be remembered as one of the greats of the game.
"We've just got to make sure that when he comes out here that we pay full attention and respect to him, and hopefully make sure he doesn't win any games for Sri Lanka."
Canberrans have the chance to see Murali twice at Manuka Oval this summer when Sri Lanka plays the Prime Minister's XI on January 30 and in a one-dayer against India on February 12.
Ponting said facing Murali was a hard task, but said the challenge of deferring any record celebrations was one he was looking forward to.
"We actually play him as well as anyone," the Australian skipper said. "The Indians and Pakistanis have grown up playing spin bowling and I think we've managed to play him even better than that.
"It's always a great challenge as a batsman and it's one that I'm definitely looking forward to, that's for sure."
- Canberra Times
By Daniel MacDonald
Muttiah Muralitharan is poised to become the world's highest Test cricket wicket-taker, but greats of the sport still refuse to acknowledge the Sri Lankan as the game's best bowler of all time.
The 35-year-old has baffled batsmen for 16 years and needs just nine wickets to surpass Australian Shane Warne's record of 708. The controversial off-spinner is likely to do so this summer, in one of two Tests against Australia.
But if former Australian skipper Mark Taylor was a selector, he said he would have no hesitation in picking Warne over Muralitharan. Retired wicketkeeper Ian Healy would do the same, as would current captain Ricky Ponting and retired fast-bowler Glenn McGrath.
All have played with Warne and against Murali. So even though the Sri Lankan will eventually take the most Test wickets of any international player, why will he live in the shadow of Australia's 'Sheik of Tweak'?
"His career lacks wickets in Australia," Healy said. "It'll be Warne then Murali. History will have it, the way I think of it, as one and two."
Murali has taken 55 wickets in 11 matches against Australia - his lowest total against any of the other nine Test-playing nations.
"He hasn't convinced me that he can take wickets against Australia, in Australia but if he does that [this summer] it'll be a great feather in his cap," Healy said.
McGrath thinks Murali's ability to spin a cricket ball is amazing, but still regards Warne as "the greatest bowler of all time".
Taylor made his selection by taking into account what Warne offered around the ground.
"It's always nice to have a leg-spinner to start with," he said. "Warney gave a bit more in terms of batting and in terms of catching. "I wouldn't call Warney a great slips fielder but he's certainly a good one - he hung on to more than he dropped.
"He gave you a lot more in the field, a lot more than Murali ever gives you." The argument will be debated until, if ever, the Test wicket-taking record is under threat of being broken again.
"[Murali] has very similar instincts to Warney in that when batsmen can't pick him he is all over them and just does not let them go," Healy said.
"Whether it's Bangladesh or Australia he nails you."
But doubters of Murali's record will, more than likely, never be silenced.
He has been branded a chucker and a shot-putter for his bent-elbowed, right-arm, off-spin bowling and critics have even labelled him a disgrace to cricket. Taylor witnessed Murali's bowling for the first time in a series in Sri Lanka under former Australian captain Alan Border in 1992.
Border was at the crease and faced what he thought were leg-breaks from the then 20-year-old.
The Australian team, Taylor said, then thought Murali was chucking the ball to Border.
"My thoughts have changed since I first saw him," Taylor admitted. "I think we sort of got to realise he is certainly different, you all sort of get round and say he's cheating and you convince yourself that that's the case.
"If you try and bowl like Murali does you're more than likely going to throw. "It's only from getting to know Murali and seeing the rigorous tests that he's been through throughout his career you can't say that Murali is an out and out thrower."
No cricket player or fan can deny Murali has had a resounding influence on the culture encompassing spin bowling. Cricket academies around the world now teach proteges of the game how to bowl off-spin from out of the front of the hand.
"Controversy has sort of followed him around for most of his career and Australia's a place he hasn't really enjoyed touring in the past but he's a freak at what he does, it's as simple as that," Ponting said.
"He'll be remembered as one of the greats of the game.
"We've just got to make sure that when he comes out here that we pay full attention and respect to him, and hopefully make sure he doesn't win any games for Sri Lanka."
Canberrans have the chance to see Murali twice at Manuka Oval this summer when Sri Lanka plays the Prime Minister's XI on January 30 and in a one-dayer against India on February 12.
Ponting said facing Murali was a hard task, but said the challenge of deferring any record celebrations was one he was looking forward to.
"We actually play him as well as anyone," the Australian skipper said. "The Indians and Pakistanis have grown up playing spin bowling and I think we've managed to play him even better than that.
"It's always a great challenge as a batsman and it's one that I'm definitely looking forward to, that's for sure."
- Canberra Times
Dhoni can swim in his own pool
Dhoni can swim in his own pool - Daily Mirror
By Bipin Dani
Mumbai, Sept. 26 : Before Team India's new young captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni swims in his own under construction swimming pool at his Ranchi-home, he was greeted with the city rain and he saw people had happy tears in their eyes when they gathered to see the glimpse of their TwentyTwety World Cup heros.
"The Jharkhan State government has given a green-signal to him for the construction of a swimming pool at his new house", Madhu Koda, the chief minister and Sudhir Mahto, the Deputy Chief Minister told this scribe over their mobiles from Ranchi. "Few neighbours had objected to Dhoni family constructing a swimming pool when they have been facing scarcity of water problem but the same neighbours are repenting for their objections now and they want Dhoni to come to their houses", a source close to Dhoni family said. "His new swimming pool will hardly be of 15'x20' size and 4' deep which can not store much water, The neighbours wanted cheap publicity and therefore they objected". "We have spoken to the people and the plan for swimming pool is aprooved. Dhoni can go ahead with it", both ministers further added.
None of Dhoni's family members had arrived to receive him at the airport today but thousands of fans gathered at the Wankhede Stadium. "His brother (Narendra) is busy with the constructional activities back home and his old parents were not fit enough to travel to Mumbai all the way from Ranchi", a family-friend Shashikant Pathak said to this scribe.
Dhoni's new house will have four floors with ample parking and a gym. The upper three floors will be occupied by his family members and the fourth floor will be reserved for Mahi", the family-friend added.
By Bipin Dani
Mumbai, Sept. 26 : Before Team India's new young captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni swims in his own under construction swimming pool at his Ranchi-home, he was greeted with the city rain and he saw people had happy tears in their eyes when they gathered to see the glimpse of their TwentyTwety World Cup heros.
"The Jharkhan State government has given a green-signal to him for the construction of a swimming pool at his new house", Madhu Koda, the chief minister and Sudhir Mahto, the Deputy Chief Minister told this scribe over their mobiles from Ranchi. "Few neighbours had objected to Dhoni family constructing a swimming pool when they have been facing scarcity of water problem but the same neighbours are repenting for their objections now and they want Dhoni to come to their houses", a source close to Dhoni family said. "His new swimming pool will hardly be of 15'x20' size and 4' deep which can not store much water, The neighbours wanted cheap publicity and therefore they objected". "We have spoken to the people and the plan for swimming pool is aprooved. Dhoni can go ahead with it", both ministers further added.
None of Dhoni's family members had arrived to receive him at the airport today but thousands of fans gathered at the Wankhede Stadium. "His brother (Narendra) is busy with the constructional activities back home and his old parents were not fit enough to travel to Mumbai all the way from Ranchi", a family-friend Shashikant Pathak said to this scribe.
Dhoni's new house will have four floors with ample parking and a gym. The upper three floors will be occupied by his family members and the fourth floor will be reserved for Mahi", the family-friend added.
Row over Galle stadium ahead of England tour
COLOMBO (AFP) — Sri Lanka's tsunami-hit cricket stadium at Galle is embroiled in a heritage row as it races to host the final Test of the England tour in December, officials said.
Jayananda Warnaweera, the curator overseeing its reconstruction, said conservationists had objected to a new building at the stadium that could obstruct views of Galle's 17th century Dutch Fort, a heritage site.
He added that he was worried about meeting the reconstruction deadline.
"We may not be able to meet the targeted November 15 deadline," Warnaweera told AFP, adding that work had also been slowed by continuous rain.
The Third Test against England is due to start at the southern coastal city's ground on December 18.
The Galle International Stadium, which sits in the shadow of the huge fort walls, was devastated by the December 2004 Indian ocean tsunami which killed an estimated 31,000 people on the island.
Sri Lanka Cricket recommenced construction of the stadium after an initial government order to move it to another location.
A new three-storey building to house player facilities has irked the Galle Heritage Foundation."The view of the Fort will be completely blocked by the new building that is coming up," the Foundation's President Parakrama Dahanayake said.
He said the Urban Development Authority had approved the blueprint on condition that it would not impede views of the 36-hectare (89-acre) fort. "The view is obscured and the Galle Fort may find itself struck off the World Heritage list as a result", Dahanayake said.
Galle has been a happy hunting ground for Sri Lanka with six wins in 11 Tests at the stadium.
Jayananda Warnaweera, the curator overseeing its reconstruction, said conservationists had objected to a new building at the stadium that could obstruct views of Galle's 17th century Dutch Fort, a heritage site.
He added that he was worried about meeting the reconstruction deadline.
"We may not be able to meet the targeted November 15 deadline," Warnaweera told AFP, adding that work had also been slowed by continuous rain.
The Third Test against England is due to start at the southern coastal city's ground on December 18.
The Galle International Stadium, which sits in the shadow of the huge fort walls, was devastated by the December 2004 Indian ocean tsunami which killed an estimated 31,000 people on the island.
Sri Lanka Cricket recommenced construction of the stadium after an initial government order to move it to another location.
A new three-storey building to house player facilities has irked the Galle Heritage Foundation."The view of the Fort will be completely blocked by the new building that is coming up," the Foundation's President Parakrama Dahanayake said.
He said the Urban Development Authority had approved the blueprint on condition that it would not impede views of the 36-hectare (89-acre) fort. "The view is obscured and the Galle Fort may find itself struck off the World Heritage list as a result", Dahanayake said.
Galle has been a happy hunting ground for Sri Lanka with six wins in 11 Tests at the stadium.
Huge offer awaits Twenty20 champs - BBC
Huge offer awaits Twenty20 champs
 Stanford wants to stage a high-profile game in the Caribbean |
The best players from next year's Stanford Twenty20 tournament will be chosen for the Stanford Super Team.
India earned the invitation to meet them after beating Pakistan by five runs in Monday's inaugural ICC World Twenty20 final in Johannesburg.
Billionaire Texan Sir Allen Stanford, who lives in Antigua, is behind the project, putting up the $5m prize.
Stanford said: "Since this is the first World Twenty20 and that is the format of our tournament, we felt it was fitting to have the winners play our team next year."
Stanford organised a game between his Super Team and South Africa last year, after the first running of the island tournament, won by Guyana.
But the match, set to take place in November, was cancelled because of a scheduling conflict.
The second running of the Stanford Twenty20 takes place for the second time in January and February and includes 21 islands.
Stanford's Twenty20 project has the backing of the West Indies Cricket Board.
WICB president Julian Hunte said: "I am extremely pleased to be working with the Stanford Twenty20 board in their initiatives to bring West Indies cricket back to its former glories.
"This added international component will go a long way to achieving that goal."Thursday, September 27, 2007
Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) is all praises for team India
Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) is all praises for team India
27 Sep 2007, 0000 hrs IST,AFSANA AHMED ,TNN
The world saw him out there at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Monday, cheering the Men in Blue, shouting Chak De, India and punching the air in triumph as M S Dhoni’s Demons demolished Pakistan to win the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup. Shah Rukh Khan spoke to CT after the euphoria had sunk in.
His trip wasn’t planned. The BCCI and Sharad Pawar had invited him. It was kind of them, said SRK. I was sitting at home doing nothing because of the Ganpati holiday. The game was just for three hours, I could make it. I would never have been able to go for a day-night One-dayer. My son Aryan wanted to go. And I was glad I could take him for a World Cup final, everything just fell into place, he added, explaining his presence at the stadium.
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif had mentioned earlier that it was SRK’s presence that inspired Dhoni and his men to victory. He was the ‘X’ factor that lent that extra edge to a team that was already riding a wave of confidence with Lady Luck alongside them.
Amused at being described as Team India’s lucky mascot, Shah Rukh Khan said, That’s not true at all. Success isn’t about one person, it’s a collective effort. Let’s not take away from the boys their dues. This success belonged solely and only to Dhoni and his boys. They played superbly. We can only thank them for making us proud.
But did he not think that his role as hockey coach Kabir Khan in Chak De! India had inspired all of India to compete at whatever it was doing more fiercely and proudly? Well, yes, Chak De has enthused India with a new spirit. But Chak De, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai are defining movies of my career.
I am glad to be able to contribute through them. But, in this case, I was another Indian among the spectators cheering the boys with my mind, body, heart and soul. Yeah, I was praying fervently as well, but then so was everyone else, laughed SRK.
His role as the hockey coach has emboldened SRK to offer this tip to the new One-day captain M S Dhoni:
It’s important to instill confidence in the team. A captain has to be in sync with his players. Success is all about team spirit. Treat every player as an adult who has his own mind. Leave them with responsibility and you see magic. You just channelise their energy and help them put things in perspective when they require it. He added, Dhoni scores on all these counts.
27 Sep 2007, 0000 hrs IST,AFSANA AHMED ,TNN
The world saw him out there at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Monday, cheering the Men in Blue, shouting Chak De, India and punching the air in triumph as M S Dhoni’s Demons demolished Pakistan to win the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup. Shah Rukh Khan spoke to CT after the euphoria had sunk in.
His trip wasn’t planned. The BCCI and Sharad Pawar had invited him. It was kind of them, said SRK. I was sitting at home doing nothing because of the Ganpati holiday. The game was just for three hours, I could make it. I would never have been able to go for a day-night One-dayer. My son Aryan wanted to go. And I was glad I could take him for a World Cup final, everything just fell into place, he added, explaining his presence at the stadium.
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif had mentioned earlier that it was SRK’s presence that inspired Dhoni and his men to victory. He was the ‘X’ factor that lent that extra edge to a team that was already riding a wave of confidence with Lady Luck alongside them.
Amused at being described as Team India’s lucky mascot, Shah Rukh Khan said, That’s not true at all. Success isn’t about one person, it’s a collective effort. Let’s not take away from the boys their dues. This success belonged solely and only to Dhoni and his boys. They played superbly. We can only thank them for making us proud.
But did he not think that his role as hockey coach Kabir Khan in Chak De! India had inspired all of India to compete at whatever it was doing more fiercely and proudly? Well, yes, Chak De has enthused India with a new spirit. But Chak De, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai are defining movies of my career.
I am glad to be able to contribute through them. But, in this case, I was another Indian among the spectators cheering the boys with my mind, body, heart and soul. Yeah, I was praying fervently as well, but then so was everyone else, laughed SRK.
His role as the hockey coach has emboldened SRK to offer this tip to the new One-day captain M S Dhoni:
It’s important to instill confidence in the team. A captain has to be in sync with his players. Success is all about team spirit. Treat every player as an adult who has his own mind. Leave them with responsibility and you see magic. You just channelise their energy and help them put things in perspective when they require it. He added, Dhoni scores on all these counts.
Lay to rest the ghosts of Africa - Sanath Jayasuriya
Lay to rest the ghosts of Africa
With happy experiences of the 2007 World Cup fresh in our minds-even if we lost at the final hurdle, few would have faulted us if we had great expectations about the Twenty-20 World Cup in South Africa.
After all, innovative batting has always been Sri Lanka’s strength in the shorter versions of the game and if we had a weakness, it would have been in the bowling and the Twenty-20 format appeared to have been tailor made for the style of game that we play. But as events last week went horribly wrong, it was not to be and we found ourselves making an early exit from the tournament and on a flight to Colombo.
I believe things began to go wrong in the game against Pakistan. It was a key match and Pakistan were minus quite a few of their established stars for a variety of reasons. In terms of experience we clearly had the advantage but it was up to us to convert it to a win that day-- a win, with a game to play against Bangladesh that would have meant almost certain passage through to the semi finals.
Was it a raw deal for Jayasuriya in that crucial game against Australia?
Pakistan themselves began disastrously, losing three wickets early to be 33 for three in the sixth over with Vaasey and Dilhara bowling superbly. Then, Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan settled down for a hundred run partnership in less than ten overs to shift the advantage.
I wrote last week how challenging it was to be the main spinner in squad in absence of Murali. Malik and Khan appeared to have decided to go after my bowling and I ended conceding 64 runs in my four overs, not an experience I would cherish. Finally, our target was a 190 to win.
Any thoughts I had of repairing the damage with the bat disappeared when I was bowled by the newcomer Sohail Tanvir for 5, but unfortunately the others also found the Paksitani attack difficult to cope with.
Unlike in the Pakistani innings, whenever one of our batsmen looked like repairing the damage a wicket was lost. Again, we had a plan for one of the top four batsmen to carry through to the end of the twenty overs but that didn’t happen. No one scored a fifty and only Mahela, Chamara and Dilshan contributed scores of significance. At the end of the day, we lost by 33 runs.
One aspect of the twenty-20 game and this tournament in particular is the short interval between matches. The game against Bangladesh was on the very next day, giving us very little time to rethink and regroup. It also meant that batsmen and bowlers had little time to make technical adjustments to the prevailing conditions or even have a long session at the nets to get their confidence restored.
This is what we realised when we batted against Bangladesh. I was again dismissed for a duck. The top order, all of them, got set and then got out. It was left to Dilshan and Jehan to give some respectability to the score by adding 51 runs in five overs to pose a total of 147.
During our innings we realised that this particular wicket at the New Wanderers Stadium was not easy to bat on but even then we reckoned a target of less than 150 would not be imposing. We discussed this during the short innings break and told ourselves that the bowling and fielding would have to be spot on if were to make match of it. Of course, we all knew that a loss to Bangladesh would not only dent our confidence badly, it would also signal our exit from the tournament.
Our strategy worked exactly as we planned and Vaasey and Dilhara were able to deliver. Bangladesh folded up for just 83 runs. They are a young and talented side but in this instance, their inexperience showed. We lived to fight another day-but that was to be a do or die battle against world champions, Australia.
First though, we had to travel the nearly 900 miles from Johannesburg to Newlands, Cape Town. Australia had played all their previous games at Cape Town, just as much as we had played all our previous games at the Wanderers, so we knew this would be to their advantage.
The match was scheduled for a 10 o’clock start but when we came out of our hotel at 7.30 in the morning we could hardly see each other in the thick fog. There was also a lot of dew on the wicket, so the toss was crucial even if the fog did disappear by the time the game began under bright sunshine.
Gilchrist who was standing in for the injured Ponting won the toss and as expected the Aussies put us in. My lean form with the bat continued as I was ruled out LBW to Brett Lee in the second ball I faced and I thought I was unlucky but that is part and parcel of the game.
We all knew the conditions were difficult to bat on, but that is not an excuse for our batting display. We have a very experienced batting line up and we should have adapted to the conditions and we should have played better. Our shot selection was poor and our batsmen, including myself, should take responsibility for what followed.
Once again, the batsmen either threw their wickets away or got reasonable starts but didn’t convert them into a bigger score in a game that we absolutely needed to win. We needed to be more careful with our stroke play, especially early in the innings, in difficult batting conditions and we weren’t.
In a sense, this game taught us a valuable lesson. Much has been said of how the Twenty-20 game suited our brand of attacking cricket. While there is some truth in that assumption, this game showed us that especially in this extra-short version of cricket, ground conditions needed to be gauged first before embarking on adventurous stroke play. We didn’t do that and we paid the price.
A target of a 101 was never going to test Australia and that was how our tournament ended. Personally, it was one of the worst games I ever played and it is a game I would want to forget remembering only the lessons we learnt from it.
Overall too, how I would remember the Twenty-20 tournament is as a learning exercise. We have to face the realities of world cricket: the Twenty-20 format proved very popular because an entire match is over in three hours. Therefore, it is commercially very attractive for the game’s administrators and more and more of this format of the game will be played in the future. So, we need to adapt quickly.
Twenty-20 games are played locally in our domestic calendar but that is at a time when most of our international players are not available and this will need to be looked at. As cricketers, we need to be able to play innovative shots and develop our technique to cope with the fast pace of the game.
Personally, I had a lean streak with the bat towards the end of the tournament after a couple of good games at the beginning. I am not too worried about that as my dismissal against Pakistan was to a very good delivery; against Bangladesh I hit out and that is the way I play and against Australia I was a trifle unlucky. I will think of my future tour by tour and assess how I perform. I feel that is the best way to decide about my future at this stage of my career.
The boys are all keen to do well against England in the five match one-day series which begins next week and to lay to rest the ghosts of South Africa. As you read this on Sunday morning, we will be arriving from South Africa and we go back to practices on Tuesday. It is not easy being a professional cricketer but I find that I still enjoy playing for my country, as I used to when I first began my international career nearly twenty years ago!
The new threat to cricket
The new threat to cricket
---The Nation
Any new product put out on the shelves will always be reviewed with a great deal of circumspection initially. After a period of time it will either become a hit with the public or a flop depending on what it has to offer.
That is how the new format of cricket introduced by the world governing body for the game the International Cricket Council (ICC) will be reviewed. Diversified opinions on the ICC’s new tournament the Twenty20 World Cup which is currently taking place in South Africa have been expressed by virtually all and sundry with critics, past captains, past players and officials all joining the bandwagon.
Whether the new format of instant cricket will come to stay only time will tell, but it is a new innovation of the game and from the way it has been projected to the public in South Africa and to millions of television viewers around the world gives one the impression that it has caught on. It has brought a new dimension to the game of cricket and to the spectators who seem to enjoy not only the action in the middle but also the side attractions like the super models, the music and the fireworks display all of which go to make it a carnival like atmosphere.
Certainly the cricket dished out in the middle is not for the purists who would always prefer the traditional five-day Test which actually tests the skills of a cricketer. For a great many years, in fact for more than a century, Test seemed to be what international cricket was all about. But times changed and the public became bored with too many drawn matches and the sight of seeing batsmen prodding at the crease for hours without scoring a single run led to a fall in attendance at cricket matches. In order to address this alarming trend, limited overs cricket was introduced in the early sixties. It began with the English counties and following its success, the first international match was played between Australia and England in 1971. Four years later the ICC moved in to introduce a World Cup tournament to be held every four years and to this day it has proved to be globally popular.
The advent of limited over internationals gave the cricketing public something new in cricket to lap up. Here was a 100 overs game where a result could be obtained by the end of the day rather than in a Test match where even after five days of play the result could still be a draw.
One-day cricket became popular at a time when everything else in the world was becoming ‘instant’ like for instance instant coffee, instant tea and instant food. It was revolutionised to some extent in the late seventies when a business tycoon Kerry Packer started his rival World Series Cricket where he signed up some of the top cricketers in the world to play in a limited-overs tournament played under lights with coloured clothing, white balls and black sightscreens. By starting the matches in the afternoon and playing till late in the night Packer targeted the working class public giving them an opportunity to come and watch the cricket after work. He also brought a new dimension to television broadcasts by having multiple camera angles, effects microphones to capture sounds from the players on the pitch, and on-screen graphics.
This style of cricket was wholly criticised by the traditionalists and termed ‘pyjama cricket’ because players of different countries were attired in diverse coloured clothing. But this new trend caught on fast and the ICC, which initially objected to Packer and fought a legal battle in the courts, finally accepted the so called ‘pyjama cricket’ when the fifth edition of their World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand in 1992 included all the features introduced by Packer. Today it is commonplace to see a one-day international played in Packer style.
The thrill and close contests one-day international cricket brought withstood the times for over three decades. Signs that one-day cricket was becoming boring and sometimes rather predictable saw the ICC trying out new methods to sustain it for a longer period by introducing power-plays and supersubs. The latter was dispensed off with after a six-month trial period when it became evident that the supersub was of far more benefit to the side that won the toss, unbalancing the game. The powerplays still continue to be in use.
The Twenty20 World Cup from what it has so far produced seems to be popular with the spectators with plenty of excitement and tension squeezed into matches inside three and a half hours. Despite the advent of one-day international cricket the following and popularity of Test cricket never diminished. It will in all probability continue to reign supreme in the future. The question remains whether one-day cricket can ride the storm of Twenty20 cricket.
---The Nation
Any new product put out on the shelves will always be reviewed with a great deal of circumspection initially. After a period of time it will either become a hit with the public or a flop depending on what it has to offer.
That is how the new format of cricket introduced by the world governing body for the game the International Cricket Council (ICC) will be reviewed. Diversified opinions on the ICC’s new tournament the Twenty20 World Cup which is currently taking place in South Africa have been expressed by virtually all and sundry with critics, past captains, past players and officials all joining the bandwagon.
Whether the new format of instant cricket will come to stay only time will tell, but it is a new innovation of the game and from the way it has been projected to the public in South Africa and to millions of television viewers around the world gives one the impression that it has caught on. It has brought a new dimension to the game of cricket and to the spectators who seem to enjoy not only the action in the middle but also the side attractions like the super models, the music and the fireworks display all of which go to make it a carnival like atmosphere.
Certainly the cricket dished out in the middle is not for the purists who would always prefer the traditional five-day Test which actually tests the skills of a cricketer. For a great many years, in fact for more than a century, Test seemed to be what international cricket was all about. But times changed and the public became bored with too many drawn matches and the sight of seeing batsmen prodding at the crease for hours without scoring a single run led to a fall in attendance at cricket matches. In order to address this alarming trend, limited overs cricket was introduced in the early sixties. It began with the English counties and following its success, the first international match was played between Australia and England in 1971. Four years later the ICC moved in to introduce a World Cup tournament to be held every four years and to this day it has proved to be globally popular.
The advent of limited over internationals gave the cricketing public something new in cricket to lap up. Here was a 100 overs game where a result could be obtained by the end of the day rather than in a Test match where even after five days of play the result could still be a draw.
One-day cricket became popular at a time when everything else in the world was becoming ‘instant’ like for instance instant coffee, instant tea and instant food. It was revolutionised to some extent in the late seventies when a business tycoon Kerry Packer started his rival World Series Cricket where he signed up some of the top cricketers in the world to play in a limited-overs tournament played under lights with coloured clothing, white balls and black sightscreens. By starting the matches in the afternoon and playing till late in the night Packer targeted the working class public giving them an opportunity to come and watch the cricket after work. He also brought a new dimension to television broadcasts by having multiple camera angles, effects microphones to capture sounds from the players on the pitch, and on-screen graphics.
This style of cricket was wholly criticised by the traditionalists and termed ‘pyjama cricket’ because players of different countries were attired in diverse coloured clothing. But this new trend caught on fast and the ICC, which initially objected to Packer and fought a legal battle in the courts, finally accepted the so called ‘pyjama cricket’ when the fifth edition of their World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand in 1992 included all the features introduced by Packer. Today it is commonplace to see a one-day international played in Packer style.
The thrill and close contests one-day international cricket brought withstood the times for over three decades. Signs that one-day cricket was becoming boring and sometimes rather predictable saw the ICC trying out new methods to sustain it for a longer period by introducing power-plays and supersubs. The latter was dispensed off with after a six-month trial period when it became evident that the supersub was of far more benefit to the side that won the toss, unbalancing the game. The powerplays still continue to be in use.
The Twenty20 World Cup from what it has so far produced seems to be popular with the spectators with plenty of excitement and tension squeezed into matches inside three and a half hours. Despite the advent of one-day international cricket the following and popularity of Test cricket never diminished. It will in all probability continue to reign supreme in the future. The question remains whether one-day cricket can ride the storm of Twenty20 cricket.
World Twenty20 results
World Twenty20 results
****************************************
India beat Pakistan in an exciting final
****************************************
September
GROUP STAGE (all start times BST)
Group A: Bangladesh, South Africa, West Indies
Group B: England, Australia, Zimbabwe
Group C: New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Kenya
Group D: India, Pakistan, Scotland
* 11 South Africa v West Indies, Johannesburg
South Africa won by eight wickets
* 12 New Zealand v Kenya, Durban
New Zealand won by nine wickets
* 12 Pakistan v Scotland, Durban
Pakistan beat Scotland by 51 runs
* 12 Australia v Zimbabwe, Cape Town
Zimbabwe won by five wickets
* 13 West Indies v Bangladesh, Johannesburg
Bangladesh won by six wickets
* 13 England v Zimbabwe, Cape Town
England won by 50 runs
* 13 India v Scotland, Durban
Match abandoned, rain
* 14 Sri Lanka v Kenya , Johannesburg
Sri Lanka won by 172 runs
* 14 Australia v England, Cape Town
Australia won by eight wickets
* 14 India v Pakistan, Durban
India win bowl-out 3-0 after tie
* 15 Sri Lanka v New Zealand, Johannesburg
Sri Lanka won by seven wickets
* 15 South Africa v Bangladesh, Cape Town
South Africa won by seven wickets
<<<<<<<<<<<SUPER EIGHTS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
*** How the Super Eights work:
*** Top two teams in each group qualify for Super Eights.
*** Each team plays three games against teams they have not already played. (Teams divided into Group E and Group F)
*** Fixtures are predetermined and have no connection to who finished first and second in the group.
*** No points are carried forward from group stages.
*** As in the group stages, tied matches will be settled by a bowl-out.
Top two teams in Groups E and F qualify for semi-finals.
************************************************************
* 16 New Zealand v India, Johannesburg
New Zealand won by 10 runs
* 16 Australia v Bangladesh, Cape Town
Australia won by nine wickets
* 16 South Africa v England, Cape Town
South Africa won by 19 runs
* 17 Pakistan v Sri Lanka, Johannesburg
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 33 runs
* 18 New Zealand v England, Durban
New Zealand bt England by five runs
* 18 Australia v Pakistan, Johannesburg
Pakistan bt Australia by six wickets
* 18 Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Johannesburg
Sri Lanka bt Bangladesh by 64 runs
* 19 South Africa v New Zealand, Durban
South Africa won by six wickets
* 19 England v India, Durban
India won by 18 runs
* 20 Australia v Sri Lanka, Cape Town
Australia won by 10 wickets
* 20 Bangladesh v Pakistan, Cape Town
Pakistan won by four wickets
* 20 South Africa v India, Durban
India won by 37 runs
<<<<<<<<<<<<<SEMI-FINALS/FINAL>>>>>>>>>>>>>
* 22 1st semi-final: New Zealand v Pakistan, Cape Town
Pakistan won by six wickets
* 22 2nd semi-final: India v Australia, Durban
India won by 15 runs
* 24 Final: Pakistan v India, Johannesburg
India won by five runs
Twenty20 is Over Now, But : Speed reins in hype over Twenty20
Speed reins in hype over Twenty20
By Oliver Brett - BBC
The meteoric success of the first World Twenty20 will not lead to fewer 50-overs-a-side matches, insists the International Cricket Council.
There have been calls to drop the Champions Trophy event following the successful debut of the shorter format and India's eventual victory.
But ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told BBC Sport: "We are committed to the Champions Trophy in 2008 and 2010.
"We have a problem of fitting Twenty20 into the international calendar."
There will be another ICC World Twenty20 in England in 2009.
But Speed claimed 50-over internationals - such as the four-yearly World Cup, the Champions Trophy and most limited-overs series between member nations - would not diminish in importance.
He said: "Everyone is very pleased with the success of the [Twenty20] tournament.
"We thought it would be well received in South Africa, and the reception by the public, the media and the players has exceeded our expectations.
"I don't agree with much of the criticism about the last two World Cups, although some of it is valid.
"But in any event we're very pleased that we've had a very successful event."
The World Cup in the Caribbean earlier in 2007 was criticised for having draconian regulations for spectators and half-empty grounds due to high ticket prices.
At the World Twenty20, tickets were cheap, grounds were full, and the fans were allowed to bring in huge flags - which created a spectacular atmosphere for the final between India and Pakistan.
"There were an amazing number of flags," said Speed.
"We try to learn from previous events; the fans seem to want to bring their flags in, and express their patriotism for their country so it was great to see that."
He acknowledged that the ICC faced a challenge to fit a third format of the game into a calendar already packed with Tests and 50-over internationals.
But he confirmed that the next World Cup would be much shorter, down to five weeks from seven.
In addition, the 2008 Champions Trophy would be completed in just over two weeks.
"We are committed to the Champions Trophy," Speed insisted.
"It will be an eight-team event, with two groups of four - a short, sharp tournament with the best teams playing in Pakistan next year in September. I think that will be a great event.
"It's a terrific problem to have, now we have three forms of the game.
"As cricket administrators we are very committed to Test cricket, the primary form of the game - it's important we preserve and maintain that.
Olympic sport?
"Fifty-over one-day cricket has proved to be very popular - we have just seen in England a seven-match series with sell-outs in every venue.
"So far the policy is that we have limited the number of international Twenty20 matches each team can play - three home matches and four away matches in a year.
"We'll review that but at this stage we are very comfortable with that formula."
Speed did concede that if cricket ever became an Olympic sport, Twenty20 would be the best format.
But his view that the Champions Trophy will continue, albeit in a shortened format, may well still disappoint many observers of the game.
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew said on Monday: "I don't see how they can seriously consider running three global tournaments in a four-year cycle.
"Something has to go and hopefully the Champions Trophy will get cut."
But the ICC was roundly applauded for its handling of the World Twenty20.
The Independent's cricket correspondent, Stephen Brenkley, said on Test Match Special: "I would go so far as to say it's world cricket reborn, and most importantly the players have embraced it as well."
By Oliver Brett - BBC
The meteoric success of the first World Twenty20 will not lead to fewer 50-overs-a-side matches, insists the International Cricket Council.
There have been calls to drop the Champions Trophy event following the successful debut of the shorter format and India's eventual victory.
But ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told BBC Sport: "We are committed to the Champions Trophy in 2008 and 2010.
"We have a problem of fitting Twenty20 into the international calendar."
There will be another ICC World Twenty20 in England in 2009.
But Speed claimed 50-over internationals - such as the four-yearly World Cup, the Champions Trophy and most limited-overs series between member nations - would not diminish in importance.
He said: "Everyone is very pleased with the success of the [Twenty20] tournament.
"We thought it would be well received in South Africa, and the reception by the public, the media and the players has exceeded our expectations.
"I don't agree with much of the criticism about the last two World Cups, although some of it is valid.
"But in any event we're very pleased that we've had a very successful event."
The World Cup in the Caribbean earlier in 2007 was criticised for having draconian regulations for spectators and half-empty grounds due to high ticket prices.
At the World Twenty20, tickets were cheap, grounds were full, and the fans were allowed to bring in huge flags - which created a spectacular atmosphere for the final between India and Pakistan.
"There were an amazing number of flags," said Speed.
"We try to learn from previous events; the fans seem to want to bring their flags in, and express their patriotism for their country so it was great to see that."
He acknowledged that the ICC faced a challenge to fit a third format of the game into a calendar already packed with Tests and 50-over internationals.
But he confirmed that the next World Cup would be much shorter, down to five weeks from seven.
In addition, the 2008 Champions Trophy would be completed in just over two weeks.
"We are committed to the Champions Trophy," Speed insisted.
"It will be an eight-team event, with two groups of four - a short, sharp tournament with the best teams playing in Pakistan next year in September. I think that will be a great event.
"It's a terrific problem to have, now we have three forms of the game.
"As cricket administrators we are very committed to Test cricket, the primary form of the game - it's important we preserve and maintain that.
Olympic sport?
"Fifty-over one-day cricket has proved to be very popular - we have just seen in England a seven-match series with sell-outs in every venue.
"So far the policy is that we have limited the number of international Twenty20 matches each team can play - three home matches and four away matches in a year.
"We'll review that but at this stage we are very comfortable with that formula."
Speed did concede that if cricket ever became an Olympic sport, Twenty20 would be the best format.
But his view that the Champions Trophy will continue, albeit in a shortened format, may well still disappoint many observers of the game.
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew said on Monday: "I don't see how they can seriously consider running three global tournaments in a four-year cycle.
"Something has to go and hopefully the Champions Trophy will get cut."
But the ICC was roundly applauded for its handling of the World Twenty20.
The Independent's cricket correspondent, Stephen Brenkley, said on Test Match Special: "I would go so far as to say it's world cricket reborn, and most importantly the players have embraced it as well."
Dhoni, Pathan croon after India's sensational win
Dhoni, Pathan croon after India's sensational win
- Daily News
CRICKET: Basking in the glory of their stunning triumph over mighty Australia, Indian cricketers let their hair down and indulged in a long night of celebration that began in the dresssing room and ended with a victory dinner at the team hotel.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's young squad was over the moon after stunning world champions Australia to seek a date with Pakistan in the Twenty20 World Cup final. Dhoni himself was heard rehearsing for a sing-song session, while the crooner in Irfan Pathan too found himself in demand.
Right after the win, the team shut itself up from public eye to have their own celebration in the privacy of the dressing room. "The boys were singing and dancing with joy.
They cheered each other wildly and hugged every colleague, praising each other's performances on the field. It was quite a sight, a memory to last a lifetime," said India Cricket Manager Lalchand Rajput.
For someone whose voice has been well appreciated by Sachin Tendulkar, Irfan Pathan was all charged up for a long session of singing. "This has been an unbelievable performance. Our first round exit in the World Cup left us with some sad memories but now I can afford to enjoy our success," said Pathan who just couldn't stop singing.
"Today I will sing whatever song my colleagues would request me to sing," he said. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni too was in a mood to showcase his passion for singing.
He was humming "...Iske aage ki ab dastan mujh se sun, sun ke teri nazar dab daba jayeegi...", a Kishore Kumar number from Mukaddar Ka Sikandar and was also very keen to sing it for his teammates at the celebratory dinner that started around midnight.
"This is one of my favourite songs and I'm just rehearsing it," said Dhoni, who added he had a hunch of a great day in offing when Pakistan defeated New Zealand earlier in the day to qualify for the finals.
"Pakistan was very impressive against New Zealand. They played brilliantly and when they won, I said to myself, 'maybe the stage is set for an India-Pakistan final'.
"You guys talked about a dream final but I was focused on taking one match at a time. But, somehow, after Pakistan's win over New Zealand, I felt if we could stay calm and confident and concentrate on playing well, we could surprise Australia. And that we ended up doing!"
- Daily News
CRICKET: Basking in the glory of their stunning triumph over mighty Australia, Indian cricketers let their hair down and indulged in a long night of celebration that began in the dresssing room and ended with a victory dinner at the team hotel.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's young squad was over the moon after stunning world champions Australia to seek a date with Pakistan in the Twenty20 World Cup final. Dhoni himself was heard rehearsing for a sing-song session, while the crooner in Irfan Pathan too found himself in demand.
Right after the win, the team shut itself up from public eye to have their own celebration in the privacy of the dressing room. "The boys were singing and dancing with joy.
They cheered each other wildly and hugged every colleague, praising each other's performances on the field. It was quite a sight, a memory to last a lifetime," said India Cricket Manager Lalchand Rajput.
For someone whose voice has been well appreciated by Sachin Tendulkar, Irfan Pathan was all charged up for a long session of singing. "This has been an unbelievable performance. Our first round exit in the World Cup left us with some sad memories but now I can afford to enjoy our success," said Pathan who just couldn't stop singing.
"Today I will sing whatever song my colleagues would request me to sing," he said. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni too was in a mood to showcase his passion for singing.
He was humming "...Iske aage ki ab dastan mujh se sun, sun ke teri nazar dab daba jayeegi...", a Kishore Kumar number from Mukaddar Ka Sikandar and was also very keen to sing it for his teammates at the celebratory dinner that started around midnight.
"This is one of my favourite songs and I'm just rehearsing it," said Dhoni, who added he had a hunch of a great day in offing when Pakistan defeated New Zealand earlier in the day to qualify for the finals.
"Pakistan was very impressive against New Zealand. They played brilliantly and when they won, I said to myself, 'maybe the stage is set for an India-Pakistan final'.
"You guys talked about a dream final but I was focused on taking one match at a time. But, somehow, after Pakistan's win over New Zealand, I felt if we could stay calm and confident and concentrate on playing well, we could surprise Australia. And that we ended up doing!"
Rocking Twenty/20 changes rules of the game drastically
Rocking Twenty/20 changes rules of the game drastically
Daily Mirror
Cricket has shed its image as a dull, unattractive and lengthy sport after the spectacular success of the inaugural Twenty20 world championships.
The event, which ended on Monday with India beating Pakistan by five runs in a rousing finale, created such a stir that Twenty20 is now being hailed as a revolution that will change the leisurely sport for ever.
There were more thrills and excitement packed into two weeks of non-stop action than in the entire six weeks of the 50-over World Cup in the Caribbean earlier this year.
Crowds thronged the three venues in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban as sixes, boundaries and heart-stopping finishes provided a cricketing spectacle unmatched in recent times.
West Indian Chris Gayle slammed the first ever T20 century, Zimbabwe stunned Australia, Bangladesh ousted the West Indies, Aussie Brett Lee took a hat-trick and India's Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes in an over.
There was even a tie between India and Pakistan in the league, India winning the bowl-out not by runs or wickets but with a 3-0 football-type scoreline previously unheard in cricket.
That two of the youngest and most inexperienced teams in the shortest version of the game outwitted the big guns from Australia, South Africa and England to contest the final only added to the drama.
India had played just one Twenty20 international before the tournament, Pakistan only two against major teams, yet the arch-rivals conjured a dream final at the overflowing Wanderers stadium.
The champions celebrated in wild style, the losers went out with their heads held high, knowing there was very little to choose between the traditional rivals.
Many want Twenty20 cricket to replace the 50-overs-a-side internationals as the limited-overs game complementing Test matches, but all three versions have a place -- for now.
Tournament director Steve Elworthy, a former South African Test seamer, said the Twenty20 format will help improve Test and one-day standards.
“The change is going to impact all of cricket,” he said. “If you can go eight an over in 20 overs, in the 50-over game you can go at six at least.
“So 300 in a 50-over game should be a par score.
“The impact on Test cricket is going to be just as profound. Teams will be much more positive and think that if we bowl out the opposition and need 200 in the last hour, it's still on because in 20-over cricket we're scoring 200.”
International Cricket Council chief executive Malcolm Speed admitted the success of Twenty20 had thrown down a challenge on how to balance the world game.
“Test cricket we value greatly, 50-over cricket is the financial driver of the game and now we have Twenty20 which has proved immensely popular,” said Speed.
“It's a great problem for us to have, a format of the game that is so popular with fans, players and broadcasters.”
Ali Bacher, the former South African captain and noted cricket administrator, cautioned against playing too much Twenty20 cricket because it could have an adverse impact on youngsters.
“Young cricketers may start thinking that batting is only about hitting sixes and slogging,” said Bacher. “They need to be told that to become quality cricketers, they still need to observe and adhere to the basic rules of the game.”
Ironically, the tournament was won by a country that had shunned the short version fearing it would sideline the lucrative one-day internationals.
Not any more. India will now not only have its own T20 Premier League but also take part in a five-million dollar Champions League involving some other ICC nations.
India have also been invited by American businessman Allen Stanford to take part in a winner-takes-all five-million dollar T20 game against the Rest of the World in Antigua next summer.
Daily Mirror
Cricket has shed its image as a dull, unattractive and lengthy sport after the spectacular success of the inaugural Twenty20 world championships.
The event, which ended on Monday with India beating Pakistan by five runs in a rousing finale, created such a stir that Twenty20 is now being hailed as a revolution that will change the leisurely sport for ever.
There were more thrills and excitement packed into two weeks of non-stop action than in the entire six weeks of the 50-over World Cup in the Caribbean earlier this year.
Crowds thronged the three venues in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban as sixes, boundaries and heart-stopping finishes provided a cricketing spectacle unmatched in recent times.
West Indian Chris Gayle slammed the first ever T20 century, Zimbabwe stunned Australia, Bangladesh ousted the West Indies, Aussie Brett Lee took a hat-trick and India's Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes in an over.
There was even a tie between India and Pakistan in the league, India winning the bowl-out not by runs or wickets but with a 3-0 football-type scoreline previously unheard in cricket.
That two of the youngest and most inexperienced teams in the shortest version of the game outwitted the big guns from Australia, South Africa and England to contest the final only added to the drama.
India had played just one Twenty20 international before the tournament, Pakistan only two against major teams, yet the arch-rivals conjured a dream final at the overflowing Wanderers stadium.
The champions celebrated in wild style, the losers went out with their heads held high, knowing there was very little to choose between the traditional rivals.
Many want Twenty20 cricket to replace the 50-overs-a-side internationals as the limited-overs game complementing Test matches, but all three versions have a place -- for now.
Tournament director Steve Elworthy, a former South African Test seamer, said the Twenty20 format will help improve Test and one-day standards.
“The change is going to impact all of cricket,” he said. “If you can go eight an over in 20 overs, in the 50-over game you can go at six at least.
“So 300 in a 50-over game should be a par score.
“The impact on Test cricket is going to be just as profound. Teams will be much more positive and think that if we bowl out the opposition and need 200 in the last hour, it's still on because in 20-over cricket we're scoring 200.”
International Cricket Council chief executive Malcolm Speed admitted the success of Twenty20 had thrown down a challenge on how to balance the world game.
“Test cricket we value greatly, 50-over cricket is the financial driver of the game and now we have Twenty20 which has proved immensely popular,” said Speed.
“It's a great problem for us to have, a format of the game that is so popular with fans, players and broadcasters.”
Ali Bacher, the former South African captain and noted cricket administrator, cautioned against playing too much Twenty20 cricket because it could have an adverse impact on youngsters.
“Young cricketers may start thinking that batting is only about hitting sixes and slogging,” said Bacher. “They need to be told that to become quality cricketers, they still need to observe and adhere to the basic rules of the game.”
Ironically, the tournament was won by a country that had shunned the short version fearing it would sideline the lucrative one-day internationals.
Not any more. India will now not only have its own T20 Premier League but also take part in a five-million dollar Champions League involving some other ICC nations.
India have also been invited by American businessman Allen Stanford to take part in a winner-takes-all five-million dollar T20 game against the Rest of the World in Antigua next summer.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
ICC World Twenty20 final, - India 157-5 (20 overs) bt Pakistan 152 (19.3 overs) by five runs
ICC World Twenty20 final, Johannesburg:
India 157-5 (20 overs) bt Pakistan 152 (19.3 overs) by five runs
By Paresh Soni
India fought back superbly to become the first World Twenty20 champions
India beat Pakistan in the World Twenty20 final by five runs to clinch their first major trophy since 1983.
They were up against it when Umar Gul (3-28) helped restrict them to 157-5, despite Gautam Gambhir's 75.
But RP Singh struck twice early on and Irfan Pathan took 3-16 as a succession of Pakistanis gave away their wickets.
Misbah-ul-Haq (43) rallied them with three sixes off Harbhajan Singh and another in the final over, but fell to Joginder Sharma to end an amazing game.
It brought a hugely entertaining tournament to a fitting climax, which was always likely - after all, the teams tied their group game.
There was a similar frenzied atmosphere when the latest instalment in their rich rivalry commenced at a packed Wanderers.
Gambhir was a figure of calm assurance, however, after debutant Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa perished with mis-timed heaves during a frenetic opening.
He placed and timed the ball elegantly, particularly through the covers, in bringing up his fifty in 38 balls.
The left-hander put India on course for a formidable total, but Yuvraj Singh - the hero against England and Australia - never got going as Gul exerted control with his clever variations in pace and length.
Gul took a return catch after Yuvraj top-edged a pull and sent skipper Mahendra Dhoni's leg-stump flying as the scoring slowed dramatically between the 14th and 18th overs.
Umar Gul pegged India back during an impressive spell
Gambhir quite literally hurt Gul's figures by smashing the ball into the scoreboard over the mid-wicket fence but Gul had the last word by having him snapped up at short fine-leg to become the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 13.
Rohit Sharma collected successive fours off Yasir Arafat, while Mohammad Hafeez helped a swipe off Sohail Tanvir over the wide long-on boundary to take the score past 150.
But India still had a lot of work to do to clinch their first major silverware since the 1983 World Cup final and deny their neighbours the chance to emulate their 1992 50-over triumph.
Their prospects looked brighter when Hafeez guided RP Singh's fifth ball to Robin Uthappa at slip and Kamran Akmal lost his off-stump to an inswinger from the left-arm paceman.
As long as Imran Nazir stayed at the crease the run rate was never likely to be an issue.
He battered two fours and two sixes off an atrocious first over from the erratic Sree Santh which cost 21 runs.
Younus Khan was nowhere near as convincing, although he managed to get bat on ball to collect successive leg-side fours off Santh to take the team past 50 in the sixth over.
The innings then capitulated from 52-2 to 77-6 as Dhoni's bowling changes took the pace off the ball.
Nazir, who went into the game with a groin problem and was refused a runner, was short of the crease when Uthappa's throw from mid-off hit the stumps.
RP Singh took three wickets as India fought back
Younus holed out to mid-on, while skipper Shoaib Malik and dangerman Shahid Afridi, who went first ball, tossed their wickets away with ambitious heaves off Irfan Pathan.
The seamer cleaned up Yasir Arafat to end a brief revival but Misbah swung off-spinner Harbhajan between cow corner and long-on for three thumping sixes, and Tanvir flicked the returning Santh for two more maximums to provide a massive twist in the tale.
Crucially, Santh knocked out the tail-ender's off-stump and RP Singh cleaned up Gul with his penultimate delivery.
The inexperienced Joginder Sharma was entrusted with the final over and began with a horrible wide and when Misbah battered another six down the ground the game looked up.
But Misbah's gamble of trying to loft the ball over the keeper's head backfired horribly and handed a stunning victory to India.
India 157-5 (20 overs) bt Pakistan 152 (19.3 overs) by five runs
By Paresh Soni
India fought back superbly to become the first World Twenty20 champions
India beat Pakistan in the World Twenty20 final by five runs to clinch their first major trophy since 1983.
They were up against it when Umar Gul (3-28) helped restrict them to 157-5, despite Gautam Gambhir's 75.
But RP Singh struck twice early on and Irfan Pathan took 3-16 as a succession of Pakistanis gave away their wickets.
Misbah-ul-Haq (43) rallied them with three sixes off Harbhajan Singh and another in the final over, but fell to Joginder Sharma to end an amazing game.
It brought a hugely entertaining tournament to a fitting climax, which was always likely - after all, the teams tied their group game.
There was a similar frenzied atmosphere when the latest instalment in their rich rivalry commenced at a packed Wanderers.
Gambhir was a figure of calm assurance, however, after debutant Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa perished with mis-timed heaves during a frenetic opening.
He placed and timed the ball elegantly, particularly through the covers, in bringing up his fifty in 38 balls.
The left-hander put India on course for a formidable total, but Yuvraj Singh - the hero against England and Australia - never got going as Gul exerted control with his clever variations in pace and length.
Gul took a return catch after Yuvraj top-edged a pull and sent skipper Mahendra Dhoni's leg-stump flying as the scoring slowed dramatically between the 14th and 18th overs.
Umar Gul pegged India back during an impressive spell
Gambhir quite literally hurt Gul's figures by smashing the ball into the scoreboard over the mid-wicket fence but Gul had the last word by having him snapped up at short fine-leg to become the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 13.
Rohit Sharma collected successive fours off Yasir Arafat, while Mohammad Hafeez helped a swipe off Sohail Tanvir over the wide long-on boundary to take the score past 150.
But India still had a lot of work to do to clinch their first major silverware since the 1983 World Cup final and deny their neighbours the chance to emulate their 1992 50-over triumph.
Their prospects looked brighter when Hafeez guided RP Singh's fifth ball to Robin Uthappa at slip and Kamran Akmal lost his off-stump to an inswinger from the left-arm paceman.
As long as Imran Nazir stayed at the crease the run rate was never likely to be an issue.
He battered two fours and two sixes off an atrocious first over from the erratic Sree Santh which cost 21 runs.
Younus Khan was nowhere near as convincing, although he managed to get bat on ball to collect successive leg-side fours off Santh to take the team past 50 in the sixth over.
The innings then capitulated from 52-2 to 77-6 as Dhoni's bowling changes took the pace off the ball.
Nazir, who went into the game with a groin problem and was refused a runner, was short of the crease when Uthappa's throw from mid-off hit the stumps.
RP Singh took three wickets as India fought back
Younus holed out to mid-on, while skipper Shoaib Malik and dangerman Shahid Afridi, who went first ball, tossed their wickets away with ambitious heaves off Irfan Pathan.
The seamer cleaned up Yasir Arafat to end a brief revival but Misbah swung off-spinner Harbhajan between cow corner and long-on for three thumping sixes, and Tanvir flicked the returning Santh for two more maximums to provide a massive twist in the tale.
Crucially, Santh knocked out the tail-ender's off-stump and RP Singh cleaned up Gul with his penultimate delivery.
The inexperienced Joginder Sharma was entrusted with the final over and began with a horrible wide and when Misbah battered another six down the ground the game looked up.
But Misbah's gamble of trying to loft the ball over the keeper's head backfired horribly and handed a stunning victory to India.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Sri Lanka has been eliminated from the finals of T-20 !
Unexpected expectation, Sri Lanka has been eliminated
The 1st Twenty20 world cup dream for the Sri Lankan is shattered. That dream never comes true in any case. The runner up for the World Cup was unable goes through
In to the top four countries. Are you going to blame on Jayasuriya ? No, Sanath is not the team. He is in the team. Then, Murali ?We must not mentally ill when Sanath and Murali the both are not there. But, There’s a team. The best eleven players of the country are there. They must play and show the best! The burden mustn’t target only the top players but the whole team.
T-20, Is Sri Lanka ready to play?
Twenty-20 is a new game to the world of cricket. If we say Sri Lanka has lack of experience, for the most of the countries same. With Australia , Sri Lanka lost the 7th wicket before 50 on the score card. That seems lack of knowledge on T-20. There wasn’t a plan to fulfill the dream to reach another round. With Jayasuriya to the duck, other end Upul Tharanga for 4 runs ,created the links for the rest of the team to go out. They haven’t a good plan or they didn’t use the plan. They thought big ones will bring more marks forgetting to be in the ground without giving any more wickets. If any one did that, the result won’t be the same!
England tour!
T-20 is gone. With learning from the past, prepare for the future. England tour will begin from next month. Lot of hard work to do escape from the poor situation now in. In these days England team is not much better as out of the torment so early. Sri Lanka has the chance to get profit from the situation.
If you want to see the England – Sri Lanka matches schedule in October,Or more information regarding cricket or sports,
http://cricketschedule.blogspot.com
Is Australia good enough to be in the TOP of the world.
If we use something unusual to win a game , others tell we are cheaters. So Adam Gilchrist used to have a Golf ball (broken) in his glove, when the last World Cup went on. Is he using it right now again? He has said that ball have given some more power to hit. If it’s real, Some fours come down to 2 or 3 runs. Sixes must be less than six likes four or less than four….
Another thing is some people who head some important positions feel “Open batmen’s of the Australia team are using some drugs, if not so , why anyone else can’t bats like them.”
Then, there are some rumors , Australia isn't good enough to play a genuine game. We can't come to conclusion that is same. Some times excellent people have been blamed by jealous ones, if so, Australia well be get rid of the rumors.
What do you think,
Is Australia team genuine ?
-Author : Priyantha De Silva
The 1st Twenty20 world cup dream for the Sri Lankan is shattered. That dream never comes true in any case. The runner up for the World Cup was unable goes through
In to the top four countries. Are you going to blame on Jayasuriya ? No, Sanath is not the team. He is in the team. Then, Murali ?We must not mentally ill when Sanath and Murali the both are not there. But, There’s a team. The best eleven players of the country are there. They must play and show the best! The burden mustn’t target only the top players but the whole team.
T-20, Is Sri Lanka ready to play?
Twenty-20 is a new game to the world of cricket. If we say Sri Lanka has lack of experience, for the most of the countries same. With Australia , Sri Lanka lost the 7th wicket before 50 on the score card. That seems lack of knowledge on T-20. There wasn’t a plan to fulfill the dream to reach another round. With Jayasuriya to the duck, other end Upul Tharanga for 4 runs ,created the links for the rest of the team to go out. They haven’t a good plan or they didn’t use the plan. They thought big ones will bring more marks forgetting to be in the ground without giving any more wickets. If any one did that, the result won’t be the same!
England tour!
T-20 is gone. With learning from the past, prepare for the future. England tour will begin from next month. Lot of hard work to do escape from the poor situation now in. In these days England team is not much better as out of the torment so early. Sri Lanka has the chance to get profit from the situation.
If you want to see the England – Sri Lanka matches schedule in October,Or more information regarding cricket or sports,
http://cricketschedule.blogspot.com
Is Australia good enough to be in the TOP of the world.
If we use something unusual to win a game , others tell we are cheaters. So Adam Gilchrist used to have a Golf ball (broken) in his glove, when the last World Cup went on. Is he using it right now again? He has said that ball have given some more power to hit. If it’s real, Some fours come down to 2 or 3 runs. Sixes must be less than six likes four or less than four….
Another thing is some people who head some important positions feel “Open batmen’s of the Australia team are using some drugs, if not so , why anyone else can’t bats like them.”
Then, there are some rumors , Australia isn't good enough to play a genuine game. We can't come to conclusion that is same. Some times excellent people have been blamed by jealous ones, if so, Australia well be get rid of the rumors.
What do you think,
Is Australia team genuine ?
-Author : Priyantha De Silva
WORLD TWENTY20 Super Eights, Durban:
WORLD TWENTY20 Super Eights, Durban:
India 153-5 (20 overs) bt South Africa 116-9 (20 overs) by 37 runs
By Paresh Soni
India produced a superb display in the field to stun the hosts
India booked a World Twenty20 semi-final with Australia and knocked South Africa out with a 37-run win.
They were reeling on 61-4 but Rohit Sharma (50no) and skipper Mahendra Dhoni (45) shared 84 to help them post 153-5 in bowler-friendly conditions.
RP Singh (4-13) then helped reduce the hosts to 31-5 before Mark Boucher and Albie Morkel both hit 36 to share 69.
But they folded well short of the 126 they needed to progress and New Zealand face Pakistan in the other semi-final.
India's chances of going through were dealt a blow when Yuvraj Singh, who hit six sixes in an over against England, was ruled out with a forearm injury.
And they were then rocked on a pitch offering inconsistent bounce and movement, which reduced the openers to groping outside off-stump.
Gautam Gambhir's attempted heave off Shaun Pollock ballooned to mid-off, Karthik chipped to mid-wicket for a golden duck and it became three wickets in four balls when Virender Sehwag guided Makhaya Ntini behind.
Robin Uthappa carted Johan van der Wath over deep mid-wicket for a big six, but was dropped by Vernon Philander before mis-timing another big shot to Graeme Smith at mid-off.
The inexperienced Sharma initially overshadowed his illustrious skipper Dhoni and began the revival by taking advantage of poor work in the outfield to collect two fours in a row off Ntini.
Sharma played some terrific shots to help India fight back
The pair then hit Morne Morkel for 18, including a massive six over wide long-on from Dhoni, as the partnership went past 50.
After Dhoni was run out chasing a second, Sharma finished with a big six to reach 50 off the final ball.
India had the momentum, and they emphasised that in a torrid opening burst from Sree Santh and RP Singh.
Singh swung the ball back into Herschelle Gibbs to trap him plumb lbw with his first ball, while skipper Smith flayed at one outside off-stump and was brilliantly caught by Karthik diving high to his left at slip.
Karthik then took over keeping duties from Dhoni, who appeared to have suffered a back problem in the first over, and both were leaping up with joy when Santh trapped AB de Villiers plumb lbw.
Just when things had calmed down, Boucher called Justin Kemp through for a quick single after dabbing the ball out on the off-side and Rohit Sharma brilliantly found the target with the latter short of the crease.
Amazingly, Pollock then played around one that Singh nipped back in next ball and his leg-stump was uprooted for a golden duck.
Morkel cracked Joginder Sharma and Irfan Pathan through the covers, while Boucher worked Harbhajan Singh through the leg-side and deftly guided him past short third man for three fours in a row, as the home side rallied.
The fifty partnership came up off 47 balls - hardly the stuff of Twenty20 - but it was quite clear the Proteas had their sights set on scoring at least 126 even though Morkel hammered Joginder Sharma for a straight six.
However, Santh returned to bowl Boucher off an inside edge and Philander, who had endured a miserable time in the field, was beaten by a flighted Harbhajan doosra to be stumped.
That left the equation 20 off two overs for South Africa to stay in the competition and once RP Singh cleaned up their last hope Albie Morkel, the game was up.
It was asking too much for the last three batsmen to conjure up 17 in the final over and Harbhajan added some gloss to a sensational triumph by having Van der Wath stumped.
India 153-5 (20 overs) bt South Africa 116-9 (20 overs) by 37 runs
By Paresh Soni
India produced a superb display in the field to stun the hosts
India booked a World Twenty20 semi-final with Australia and knocked South Africa out with a 37-run win.
They were reeling on 61-4 but Rohit Sharma (50no) and skipper Mahendra Dhoni (45) shared 84 to help them post 153-5 in bowler-friendly conditions.
RP Singh (4-13) then helped reduce the hosts to 31-5 before Mark Boucher and Albie Morkel both hit 36 to share 69.
But they folded well short of the 126 they needed to progress and New Zealand face Pakistan in the other semi-final.
India's chances of going through were dealt a blow when Yuvraj Singh, who hit six sixes in an over against England, was ruled out with a forearm injury.
And they were then rocked on a pitch offering inconsistent bounce and movement, which reduced the openers to groping outside off-stump.
Gautam Gambhir's attempted heave off Shaun Pollock ballooned to mid-off, Karthik chipped to mid-wicket for a golden duck and it became three wickets in four balls when Virender Sehwag guided Makhaya Ntini behind.
Robin Uthappa carted Johan van der Wath over deep mid-wicket for a big six, but was dropped by Vernon Philander before mis-timing another big shot to Graeme Smith at mid-off.
The inexperienced Sharma initially overshadowed his illustrious skipper Dhoni and began the revival by taking advantage of poor work in the outfield to collect two fours in a row off Ntini.
Sharma played some terrific shots to help India fight back
The pair then hit Morne Morkel for 18, including a massive six over wide long-on from Dhoni, as the partnership went past 50.
After Dhoni was run out chasing a second, Sharma finished with a big six to reach 50 off the final ball.
India had the momentum, and they emphasised that in a torrid opening burst from Sree Santh and RP Singh.
Singh swung the ball back into Herschelle Gibbs to trap him plumb lbw with his first ball, while skipper Smith flayed at one outside off-stump and was brilliantly caught by Karthik diving high to his left at slip.
Karthik then took over keeping duties from Dhoni, who appeared to have suffered a back problem in the first over, and both were leaping up with joy when Santh trapped AB de Villiers plumb lbw.
Just when things had calmed down, Boucher called Justin Kemp through for a quick single after dabbing the ball out on the off-side and Rohit Sharma brilliantly found the target with the latter short of the crease.
Amazingly, Pollock then played around one that Singh nipped back in next ball and his leg-stump was uprooted for a golden duck.
Morkel cracked Joginder Sharma and Irfan Pathan through the covers, while Boucher worked Harbhajan Singh through the leg-side and deftly guided him past short third man for three fours in a row, as the home side rallied.
The fifty partnership came up off 47 balls - hardly the stuff of Twenty20 - but it was quite clear the Proteas had their sights set on scoring at least 126 even though Morkel hammered Joginder Sharma for a straight six.
However, Santh returned to bowl Boucher off an inside edge and Philander, who had endured a miserable time in the field, was beaten by a flighted Harbhajan doosra to be stumped.
That left the equation 20 off two overs for South Africa to stay in the competition and once RP Singh cleaned up their last hope Albie Morkel, the game was up.
It was asking too much for the last three batsmen to conjure up 17 in the final over and Harbhajan added some gloss to a sensational triumph by having Van der Wath stumped.
Pakistan 141-6 (19 overs) bt Bangladesh 140 (19.4 overs) by four wickets
WORLD TWENTY20 Super Eights, Cape Town:
Pakistan 141-6 (19 overs) bt Bangladesh 140 (19.4 overs) by four wickets
By Paresh Soni
Junaid Siddique impressed as Bangladesh lost to a misfiring Pakistan
Siddique impressed but his team-mates failed to support him
A misfiring Pakistan warmed up for the World Twenty20 semi-finals with a four-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
They bowled the Tigers out for 140 despite never really hitting top gear, as only debutant Zunaid Siddique resisted with 71 off 49 deliveries.
After Imran Nazir retired hurt in the first over, Shahid Afridi blasted 39 before the spinners slowed the scoring.
From 59-0 Pakistan slumped to 119-6 and though Nazir returned to see them home, they will need to improve in the semis.
They slipped into their old complacent habits to give Siddique three lifelines - Misbah-ul-Haq fluffed an easy opportunity at mid-wicket when he was on two, while Nazir and Umar Gul failed to grasp more difficult catches at deep square-leg and long-on when he was on 26 and 44.
After that the 19-year-old left-hander produced some delightful straight and cover drives, and took a real liking for thrashing the ball over the mid-wicket region as he reached his fifty off 35 balls.
But there was little support for him as Aftab Ahmed was stumped off Mohammad Hafeez, captain Mohammad Ashraful was lbw to a quicker one from Afridi and Saqibul Hasan got a leading edge back to Hafeez.
Siddique responded by dispatching Hafeez over mid-wicket for successive sixes but his eventful knock was ended when another big hit off skipper Shoaib Malik was snapped up by Misbah at deep mid-wicket.
Malik also had Nadif Chowdhury caught behind and Mohammad Mahmudullah was run out after Mashrafe Mortaza's drive deflected off him and into the hands of Gul.
Mohammad Asif, who had been lacklustre earlier, returned to bowl Mortaza with another lifeless delivery and burst out into laughter after ending Abdur Razzak's bid for a reckless single by hitting the target.
There more smiles all round when Gul cleaned up Syed Rasel in the final over - it was one of those days.
Nazir did not share in the mirth around the ground when a delivery from Mortaza hit him in the nether regions and he was forced out of the action in the first over of the reply.
The way Afridi set about the bowling, there was the risk of more injury as he blasted the seamers and spinners away with regularity, while Hafeez also took a liking to Rasel as 50 came up inside five overs.
But Hafeez mis-timed Rasel to long-off, Afridi chopped Abdur Razzak behind after belting Rasel over the long-on rope, and left-arm spinner Razzak had Younus Khan stumped off a wide.
The runs dried up as Malik was snapped up at deep square-leg and Misbah was lbw second ball after missing a straight one from Mortaza.
When a casual Salman Butt was run out by Mushfiqur Rahim to make it 119-6, Bangladesh were still in the game.
However, Nazir came back to thrash Mahmadullah over square-leg for six and crash two more boundaries off Mortaza to help seal a far from convincing victory.
******************************************************************************
* Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful:
"Again we were 10-15 runs short but our boys have done a very good job in this tournament.
"We beat the West Indies and played some decent cricket but here and against Sri Lanka we were 20 runs short, we bowled well but didn't bat well.
"Still, I think it's been a very good tournament.
******************************************************************************
* Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik:
"We must give credit to their spinners, they bowled superbly, on the right spots and that's why they took a few wickets.
"In Twenty20 you don't have much time to take decisions - if you have plans you have to stick to them.
"I asked Afridi where he wanted to bat - I don't want to put pressure on any player.
"He said he wanted to open and I said fine, it's good for our team."
Pakistan 141-6 (19 overs) bt Bangladesh 140 (19.4 overs) by four wickets
By Paresh Soni
Junaid Siddique impressed as Bangladesh lost to a misfiring Pakistan
Siddique impressed but his team-mates failed to support him
A misfiring Pakistan warmed up for the World Twenty20 semi-finals with a four-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
They bowled the Tigers out for 140 despite never really hitting top gear, as only debutant Zunaid Siddique resisted with 71 off 49 deliveries.
After Imran Nazir retired hurt in the first over, Shahid Afridi blasted 39 before the spinners slowed the scoring.
From 59-0 Pakistan slumped to 119-6 and though Nazir returned to see them home, they will need to improve in the semis.
They slipped into their old complacent habits to give Siddique three lifelines - Misbah-ul-Haq fluffed an easy opportunity at mid-wicket when he was on two, while Nazir and Umar Gul failed to grasp more difficult catches at deep square-leg and long-on when he was on 26 and 44.
After that the 19-year-old left-hander produced some delightful straight and cover drives, and took a real liking for thrashing the ball over the mid-wicket region as he reached his fifty off 35 balls.
But there was little support for him as Aftab Ahmed was stumped off Mohammad Hafeez, captain Mohammad Ashraful was lbw to a quicker one from Afridi and Saqibul Hasan got a leading edge back to Hafeez.
Siddique responded by dispatching Hafeez over mid-wicket for successive sixes but his eventful knock was ended when another big hit off skipper Shoaib Malik was snapped up by Misbah at deep mid-wicket.
Malik also had Nadif Chowdhury caught behind and Mohammad Mahmudullah was run out after Mashrafe Mortaza's drive deflected off him and into the hands of Gul.
Mohammad Asif, who had been lacklustre earlier, returned to bowl Mortaza with another lifeless delivery and burst out into laughter after ending Abdur Razzak's bid for a reckless single by hitting the target.
There more smiles all round when Gul cleaned up Syed Rasel in the final over - it was one of those days.
Nazir did not share in the mirth around the ground when a delivery from Mortaza hit him in the nether regions and he was forced out of the action in the first over of the reply.
The way Afridi set about the bowling, there was the risk of more injury as he blasted the seamers and spinners away with regularity, while Hafeez also took a liking to Rasel as 50 came up inside five overs.
But Hafeez mis-timed Rasel to long-off, Afridi chopped Abdur Razzak behind after belting Rasel over the long-on rope, and left-arm spinner Razzak had Younus Khan stumped off a wide.
The runs dried up as Malik was snapped up at deep square-leg and Misbah was lbw second ball after missing a straight one from Mortaza.
When a casual Salman Butt was run out by Mushfiqur Rahim to make it 119-6, Bangladesh were still in the game.
However, Nazir came back to thrash Mahmadullah over square-leg for six and crash two more boundaries off Mortaza to help seal a far from convincing victory.
******************************************************************************
* Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful:
"Again we were 10-15 runs short but our boys have done a very good job in this tournament.
"We beat the West Indies and played some decent cricket but here and against Sri Lanka we were 20 runs short, we bowled well but didn't bat well.
"Still, I think it's been a very good tournament.
******************************************************************************
* Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik:
"We must give credit to their spinners, they bowled superbly, on the right spots and that's why they took a few wickets.
"In Twenty20 you don't have much time to take decisions - if you have plans you have to stick to them.
"I asked Afridi where he wanted to bat - I don't want to put pressure on any player.
"He said he wanted to open and I said fine, it's good for our team."
South Africa win ends England b
South Africa win ends England bid
WORLD TWENTY20 Super Eights, Durban:
South Africa 158-4 (19.1 overs) bt New Zealand 153-8 (20 overs)
By Paresh Soni
Impressive figures of 4-17 from Morne Morkel helped limit the Kiwis to 153-8 despite Craig McMillan's unbeaten 48.
But the Proteas were reeling on 45-3 and Kemp could have been given out lbw for six, but he and Mark Boucher turned the innings around with a stand of 65.
Kemp continued to club away, finishing with six sixes and 89 off 56 balls, as the hosts won with five balls to spare.
They can seal their place in the last four with a win over India on Thursday but that scenario seemed unlikely when openers Brendon McCullum (38) and Lou Vincent (32) set about Shaun Pollock and Andre Nel after New Zealand had been put into bat.
McCullum twice crashed Pollock over mid-wicket for maximums, while Nel's watch was broken as he tried to stop one of several violent straight drives from Vincent as 50 came up well inside six overs.
A double change altered the tempo of the game as McCullum and Ross Taylor edged behind trying to carve Morne Morkel away in his second over, while Vincent was bowled backing away against Johan van der Wath.
When Scott Styris mis-timed a heave off Albie Morkel to long-on, the Kiwis were on the back foot but the shrewd McMillan combined with the powerful Jacob Oram to put on 41 in four overs.
McMillan twice carted Albie Morkel over long-on for sixes, while Oram cut for four as 21 came in the over.
Brother Morne was far more effective and bowled Oram with the first ball after being brought back, while debutant Nathan McCullum was well run out for a four-ball duck by a fine throw to the keeper from van der Wath running in from fine-leg.
Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori pulled Van der Wath to Albie Morkel at mid-wicket and Shane Bond was caught behind first ball off Morne Morkel, who would have had a deserved five-for had he not over-stepped in yorking Mark Gillespie.
McMillan collected his fourth six, a top-edge over the keeper, in a final over yielding 11, but the New Zealand total looked short of challenging.
Especially so when Herschelle Gibbs announced his return from a hamstring injury by flicking Bond through mid-wicket and square-driving him with aplomb.
But skipper Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers did not last long, edging behind after chasing wide deliveries from the new-ball pair and Gibbs skied a pull off Chris Martin to substitute Jeetan Patel to provide another twist.
Oram then had a very strong shout for lbw against Kemp but he survived to take the sting out of the situation with Boucher.
They kept the scoreboard ticking along without producing a glut of boundaries, which meant the run rate climbed steadily.
With wickets in hand, there was no real cause for panic and the return of the expensive Martin provided them with the opportunity for the big over the home side needed.
Kemp got to his fifty off 42 balls by brutally hammering a Martin full-toss down the ground and driving a straight six, while Boucher squirted out a four on the off-side.
Vettori had no option but to turn to the miserly Gillespie, who struck gold immediately by having Boucher caught behind and the equation came down to 41 off 24 balls.
That became a more favourable 22 off 18 when Kemp and Pollock - who was inexplicably dropped by Taylor at deep cover - battered Oram for maximums in an over costing 19.
Kemp was now in the zone and a mighty swipe sent Vettori a long way back over the fence at wide long-on.
He appeared to edge Bond behind with seven needed but the noise in the ground meant umpire Billy Doctrove did not hear the nick and a thrash over long-on provided the game and England with an appropriate coup de grace.
************************************************************************************
* South Africa captain Graeme Smith:
"We stuck to what we needed to do.
"In Durban it can be easy to go two or three down but Kempy and Mark marshalled the middle and the innings was finished off superbly.
"The young guys have stepped up and shown a lot of bottle and have done well for us - hopefully we can carry on now."
* South Africa all-rounder Justin Kemp:
"We lost two wickets early but it was a very good wicket and I felt if we got in we could always catch up in the end.
"It's so short straight so if you get hold of a few and are in pretty good nick you can catch up quickly. Playing Vettori well was the key - he's their best bowler.
"If we keep on improving there's no reason why we can't go all the way."
**********************************************************************************
* New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori:
"It wasn't quite a competitive total but we fought pretty well in the field.
"We were quite sloppy with our extras and when you come up against a team like South Africa and let yourselves down like that it hurts you.
"We have to watch a couple of games and we will be supporting South Africa against India and England against India."
WORLD TWENTY20 Super Eights, Durban:
South Africa 158-4 (19.1 overs) bt New Zealand 153-8 (20 overs)
By Paresh Soni
Impressive figures of 4-17 from Morne Morkel helped limit the Kiwis to 153-8 despite Craig McMillan's unbeaten 48.
But the Proteas were reeling on 45-3 and Kemp could have been given out lbw for six, but he and Mark Boucher turned the innings around with a stand of 65.
Kemp continued to club away, finishing with six sixes and 89 off 56 balls, as the hosts won with five balls to spare.
They can seal their place in the last four with a win over India on Thursday but that scenario seemed unlikely when openers Brendon McCullum (38) and Lou Vincent (32) set about Shaun Pollock and Andre Nel after New Zealand had been put into bat.
McCullum twice crashed Pollock over mid-wicket for maximums, while Nel's watch was broken as he tried to stop one of several violent straight drives from Vincent as 50 came up well inside six overs.
A double change altered the tempo of the game as McCullum and Ross Taylor edged behind trying to carve Morne Morkel away in his second over, while Vincent was bowled backing away against Johan van der Wath.
When Scott Styris mis-timed a heave off Albie Morkel to long-on, the Kiwis were on the back foot but the shrewd McMillan combined with the powerful Jacob Oram to put on 41 in four overs.
McMillan twice carted Albie Morkel over long-on for sixes, while Oram cut for four as 21 came in the over.
Brother Morne was far more effective and bowled Oram with the first ball after being brought back, while debutant Nathan McCullum was well run out for a four-ball duck by a fine throw to the keeper from van der Wath running in from fine-leg.
Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori pulled Van der Wath to Albie Morkel at mid-wicket and Shane Bond was caught behind first ball off Morne Morkel, who would have had a deserved five-for had he not over-stepped in yorking Mark Gillespie.
McMillan collected his fourth six, a top-edge over the keeper, in a final over yielding 11, but the New Zealand total looked short of challenging.
Especially so when Herschelle Gibbs announced his return from a hamstring injury by flicking Bond through mid-wicket and square-driving him with aplomb.
But skipper Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers did not last long, edging behind after chasing wide deliveries from the new-ball pair and Gibbs skied a pull off Chris Martin to substitute Jeetan Patel to provide another twist.
Oram then had a very strong shout for lbw against Kemp but he survived to take the sting out of the situation with Boucher.
They kept the scoreboard ticking along without producing a glut of boundaries, which meant the run rate climbed steadily.
With wickets in hand, there was no real cause for panic and the return of the expensive Martin provided them with the opportunity for the big over the home side needed.
Kemp got to his fifty off 42 balls by brutally hammering a Martin full-toss down the ground and driving a straight six, while Boucher squirted out a four on the off-side.
Vettori had no option but to turn to the miserly Gillespie, who struck gold immediately by having Boucher caught behind and the equation came down to 41 off 24 balls.
That became a more favourable 22 off 18 when Kemp and Pollock - who was inexplicably dropped by Taylor at deep cover - battered Oram for maximums in an over costing 19.
Kemp was now in the zone and a mighty swipe sent Vettori a long way back over the fence at wide long-on.
He appeared to edge Bond behind with seven needed but the noise in the ground meant umpire Billy Doctrove did not hear the nick and a thrash over long-on provided the game and England with an appropriate coup de grace.
************************************************************************************
* South Africa captain Graeme Smith:
"We stuck to what we needed to do.
"In Durban it can be easy to go two or three down but Kempy and Mark marshalled the middle and the innings was finished off superbly.
"The young guys have stepped up and shown a lot of bottle and have done well for us - hopefully we can carry on now."
* South Africa all-rounder Justin Kemp:
"We lost two wickets early but it was a very good wicket and I felt if we got in we could always catch up in the end.
"It's so short straight so if you get hold of a few and are in pretty good nick you can catch up quickly. Playing Vettori well was the key - he's their best bowler.
"If we keep on improving there's no reason why we can't go all the way."
**********************************************************************************
* New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori:
"It wasn't quite a competitive total but we fought pretty well in the field.
"We were quite sloppy with our extras and when you come up against a team like South Africa and let yourselves down like that it hurts you.
"We have to watch a couple of games and we will be supporting South Africa against India and England against India."
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
WORLD TWENTY20, Johannesburg: Sri Lanka 147-5 (20 overs) beat Bangladesh 83 all out (15.5 overs) by 64 runs
WORLD TWENTY20, Johannesburg:
Sri Lanka 147-5 (20 overs) beat Bangladesh 83 all out (15.5 overs) by 64 runs
Sri Lanka kept alive their hopes of a place in the ICC World Twenty20 semi-finals with a 64-run victory over Bangladesh in Johannesburg.
Bangladesh's bowlers restricted Sri Lanka to just 147-5 in their 20 overs.
But their batsmen never looked likely of achieving their target from the moment they lost Mohammed Nazimuddin in the first over.
Man-of-the-match Dilhara Fernando finished with 2-21 as Bangladesh were bowled out for just 83.
Both sides went into the game needing a win and Bangladesh's bowlers were right on the mark from the start after winning the toss and electing to put Sri Lanka in.
Sri Lanka lost Sanath Jayasuriya for a first-ball duck when he was caught on the boundary by Mohammad Mahmudullah without scoring.
Upul Tharanga hit a brisk 23 but was removed during an inspired spell of bowling from left-arm paceman Syed Rasel, when an edge was caught between the legs of wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim.
Rahim twice missed the chance to remove skipper Mahela Jayawardene, who went on to add an unconvincing 30.
Sri Lanka's total was helped by a rapid sixth-wicket partnership of 51 in the last five overs from Jehan Mubarak and Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Chaminda Vaas struck an early blow for Sri Lanka when he trapped Nazimuddin lbw for a duck and Fernando then collected the scalps of Tamim Iqbal and Aftab Ahmed.
Vaas claimed his second wicket when Mohammad Ashraful found Dilshan after adding just four.
A combination of economic bowling and good fielding ensured Bangladesh never looked like reaching their target of 148.
Jayasuriya came on to remove Mahmud Ullah and then completed the win by having Abdur Razzak caught by wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara.
Sri Lanka's win ensures Pakistan one of the two semi-final berths from the group.
The winner between Australia and Sri Lanka in Cape Town on Thursday will take the other spot.
*******************************************************************************
* Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene on Thursday's crucial tie with Australia:
"It's basically a quarter-final, it's an important game, but it's in our hands as to whether we reach the semi-finals.
"We've had a couple of hard games bit we're looking forward ot Australia.
"Against Bangladesh, Dilhara Fernando and Chaminda Vaas set the tone for us. We had a plan and they produced."
* Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful:
"Our top order batsmen just did not do enough today, from the openers down."
Sri Lanka 147-5 (20 overs) beat Bangladesh 83 all out (15.5 overs) by 64 runs
Sri Lanka kept alive their hopes of a place in the ICC World Twenty20 semi-finals with a 64-run victory over Bangladesh in Johannesburg.
Bangladesh's bowlers restricted Sri Lanka to just 147-5 in their 20 overs.
But their batsmen never looked likely of achieving their target from the moment they lost Mohammed Nazimuddin in the first over.
Man-of-the-match Dilhara Fernando finished with 2-21 as Bangladesh were bowled out for just 83.
Both sides went into the game needing a win and Bangladesh's bowlers were right on the mark from the start after winning the toss and electing to put Sri Lanka in.
Sri Lanka lost Sanath Jayasuriya for a first-ball duck when he was caught on the boundary by Mohammad Mahmudullah without scoring.
Upul Tharanga hit a brisk 23 but was removed during an inspired spell of bowling from left-arm paceman Syed Rasel, when an edge was caught between the legs of wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim.
Rahim twice missed the chance to remove skipper Mahela Jayawardene, who went on to add an unconvincing 30.
Sri Lanka's total was helped by a rapid sixth-wicket partnership of 51 in the last five overs from Jehan Mubarak and Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Chaminda Vaas struck an early blow for Sri Lanka when he trapped Nazimuddin lbw for a duck and Fernando then collected the scalps of Tamim Iqbal and Aftab Ahmed.
Vaas claimed his second wicket when Mohammad Ashraful found Dilshan after adding just four.
A combination of economic bowling and good fielding ensured Bangladesh never looked like reaching their target of 148.
Jayasuriya came on to remove Mahmud Ullah and then completed the win by having Abdur Razzak caught by wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara.
Sri Lanka's win ensures Pakistan one of the two semi-final berths from the group.
The winner between Australia and Sri Lanka in Cape Town on Thursday will take the other spot.
*******************************************************************************
* Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene on Thursday's crucial tie with Australia:
"It's basically a quarter-final, it's an important game, but it's in our hands as to whether we reach the semi-finals.
"We've had a couple of hard games bit we're looking forward ot Australia.
"Against Bangladesh, Dilhara Fernando and Chaminda Vaas set the tone for us. We had a plan and they produced."
* Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful:
"Our top order batsmen just did not do enough today, from the openers down."
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