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Asia Cup 2010 Cricket Match Full Schedule Fixtures Online

2010-06-15T06:50:00.000-07:00

Asia Cup 2010 Cricket Match Dates And Full Schedule.
Asia Cup 2010 Start On 15th June 2010 and Final Will Be Play On 24th June 2010
Match : 1
Date : 15th June, 2010
Time : 2.30 pm.
Team : Sri Lanka Vs Pakistan
Venue : Dambulla

Match : 2
Date : 16th June, 2010
Time : 2.30 pm.
Team : Bangladesh Vs India
Venue : Dambulla

Match : 3
Date : 18th June, 2010
Time : 2.30 pm.
Team : Sri Lanka Vs Bangladesh
Venue : Dambulla

Match : 4
Date : 19th June, 2010
Time : 2.30 pm.
Team : India Vs Pakistan
Venue : Dambulla

Match : 5
Date : 21st June, 2010
Time : 2.30 pm.
Team : Bangladesh Vs Pakistan
Venue : Dambulla

Match : 6
Date : 22nd June, 2010
Time : 2.30 pm.
Team : Sri Lanka Vs India
Venue : Dambulla

Match : 7
Date : 24th June, 2010
Time : 2.30 pm
Team : Final
Venue : Dambulla

SL Vs Pak Asia Cup Live Stream Score Sri Lanka Vs Pakistan

2010-06-15T06:06:00.000-07:00

match started at 2.30 Local time i.e. 2 PM IST.
Pakistani Speed Gun Shoaib Akhtar Come Back

Watch Live Stream on PTV In Pakistan and Doordarshan In India

Teams Pakistan and Sri Lanka for this match.

Pakistan Team: Salman Butt, Shahzaib Hasan, Umar Amin, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal,Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Aamer, Shoaib Akhtar,Mohammad Asif,

Sri Lanka Team: WU Tharanga, TM Dilshan, KC Sangakkara, DPMD Jayawardene, CK Kapugedera, TT Samaraweera, AD Mathews, MF Maharoof, KMDN Kulasekara, SL Malinga, M Muralitharan,

Interview with V VS Laxman Video

2010-06-08T05:46:00.000-07:00

Interview with Gautam Gambhir

2010-06-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

Pawar and Pune IPL Chak De Cricket 5TH June 2010

2010-06-05T02:23:00.000-07:00

Shahrukh Stay away From Cricket Video

2010-06-02T05:13:00.000-07:00

Sachin may Join Pune team in IPL

2010-06-02T05:11:00.000-07:00

In IPL-4 Sachin Tendulkar may play for Pune IPL team which is recently won by Subroto Roy in 2011; he may also ask his some teammates from Mumbai Indian to join Pune team.

Virendra Sehwag Chak De Cricket 2nd june 2010

2010-06-02T05:06:00.000-07:00

Cricket bat factory in UP gutted down Video in fire June 02 '10

2010-06-02T05:05:00.000-07:00

IIFA 2010 Fashion and Cricket

2010-06-01T06:36:00.001-07:00

Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Vivek Oberoi, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sunil Shetty along with cricketers Jayasurya, Sangakkara, Vinod Kambli, Kiran More at IIFA 2010 Fashion and Cricket Extravaganza Press Meet.

Hrithik, Suniel IIFA Cricket teams

2010-06-01T06:35:00.000-07:00

IIFA Awards 2010 to be held June 3-5 in the Sri Lankan capital. Actors Hrithik Roshan and Suniel Shetty would lead the two celebrity teams while Sri Lankan cricket captain Kumara Sangakkara would reprise his role.

Chak De Cricket 1st June 2010 Video

2010-06-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

Dhoni Attends Pragyan Ojha Marriage Reception Video

2010-05-29T06:41:00.000-07:00

Cricket players dances Video IPL Awards 2010

2010-05-29T06:35:00.000-07:00

Chak De Cricket 14 May 2010 T20 World Cup Special

2010-05-14T05:43:00.000-07:00

Team India, World T20 Squad Video

2010-03-30T03:46:00.001-07:00

Team India, World T20 Squad

230 runs in 88 deliveries in under-19 match A 17-year-old player hits

2009-07-28T05:40:00.001-07:00

17-year-old player hits 230 runs in 88 deliveries in under-19 match

Royal wants to keep up with you on Twitter

2009-07-10T01:33:00.001-07:00

Royal wants to keep up with you on Twitter

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India vs West Indies 3rd ODI Highlights Cricket Match At St Lucia 3rd July 2009

2009-07-04T01:42:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

India vs West Indies 3rd ODI Highlights Cricket Match At St Lucia 3rd July 2009

India won by 6 wickets (with 1 ball remaining) (D/L method)

West Indies 186/7 (27/27 ov); India 159/4 (21.5/22 ov)

Scoreline: WI 186/7 (27 over) Sarwan 62 (58) - Nehra 5-21-3. Further rain changes target midway to 159. India win in a thrilling final over - MS Dhoni 46 (34), Dinesh Karthik 47 (43), Gambhir 44 (38)

Player of the match MS Dhoni (India)

Pakistan v Sri Lanka Highlights 1st Test Cricket Match at Galle, Jul 4-8, 2009

2009-07-04T00:43:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Pakistan v Sri Lanka Highlights 1st Test Cricket Match at Galle, Jul 4-8, 2009
Pakistan won the toss and elected to field

Pakistan team
Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal†, Khurram Manzoor, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan*, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdur Rauf, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamer

Sri Lanka Team- BSM Warnapura, NT Paranavitana, KC Sangakkara, DPMD Jayawardene. TT Samaraweera, TM Dilshan, AD Mathews, T Thushara, KMDN Kulasekara, BAW Mendis, HMRKB Herath

Michael Vaughan announces his retirement from cricket

2009-07-03T02:28:00.001-07:00

England's most successful cricket captain Michael Vaughan has retired from all forms of the game but says he is proud of what he's achieved

Andrew Stauss says all England players are treated the same

2009-07-03T02:27:00.001-07:00

England captain Andrew Strauss has spoken about Freddie Flintoff's disciplinary issues and says there's no special treatment for anyone in the squad

England players look ahead to the Ashes

2009-07-03T02:26:00.001-07:00

Matt Prior, Stuart Broad and Paul Collingwood say the mood in the England camp is good ahead of this summer's Ashes series against Australia.

India v West Indies 1st ODI Highlights at Kingston - Jun 26, 2009

2009-06-26T05:29:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

1st ODI: West Indies v India Cricket Match at Kingston - Jun 26, 2009

Match scheduled to begin at 09:30 local time (14:30 GMT)

Gambhir and Dravid Make Centuries In Mohali Test India vs England 2nd test 2008

2008-12-20T01:31:00.000-08:00

Gambhir and Dravid Make Centuries In Mohali Cricket Test Match India vs England 2nd test 2008

Score for the match Uptill Now 2nd Day---

G Gambhir c Cook b Swann

179

V Sehwag c Prior b Broad

R Dravid c Panesar b Swann

136

SR Tendulkar lbw b Swann

VVS Laxman lbw b Flintoff 0

Yuvraj Singh Prior b Panesar

MS Dhoni Not Out 16

Harbhajan Singh Not Out 7

Total 388 Runs Fall of 6 WICKETS

WATCH VIDEO Highlights of the Match Click Here

Wickets

JM Anderson

0

SCJ Broad 1

A Flintoff 1

MS Panesar 1

GP Swann 3

PD Collingwood 0

England Team for this match----
AN Cook, AJ Strauss, IR Bell, KP Pietersen, A Flintoff, PD Collingwood,
MJ Prior, GP Swann, SCJ Broad,JM Anderson, MS Panesar

Toss India, who chose to bat first

WATCH VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

Umpires Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and DJ Harper (Australia)
TV umpire SL Shastri
Match referee JJ Crowe (New Zealand)
Reserve umpire VD Nerurkar

Close of play
day 1 - India 1st innings 179/1 (G Gambhir 106*, R Dravid 65*, 72 ov)

Tendulkar breaks runs record

2008-10-17T23:23:00.001-07:00

Tendulkar breaks runs record
Video sent by ITN

Sachin Tendulkar became the highest Test run scorer in history during the first innings of India's match against Australia.
For more information & Latest Hot Video, please VISIT us at http://www.yuvitube.com

Sachin breaks Lara's record, India News

2008-10-17T23:22:00.001-07:00

Sachin breaks Lara's record, India News
Video sent by headlinesindia

Know how sachin surpassed Brian Lara's record of most runs in test cricket. For more news and updates keep logging our For more information & Latest Hot Video, please VISIT us at http://www.yuvitube.com

India vs Australia, india news

2008-10-11T00:04:00.001-07:00

India vs Australia, india news
Video sent by headlinesindia

Know India's score at close of the second day.

WATCH FULL VIDEO AT-- WWW.YUVITUBE.COM

Osrick Ingredients Vintage Cricket

2008-10-07T02:24:00.001-07:00

Osrick Ingredients Vintage Cricket
Video sent by osrick1

WATCH ALL THE LATEST HIT VIDEO NOW AT OUR NEW VIDEO SITE===
WWW.YUVITUBE.COM

Micheal Hussey

2008-09-04T23:09:00.003-07:00

Micheal Hussey
Video sent by cricketanytime

The huss in a funny moment. For more videos visit

Sachin Tendulkar Classic 100 Against England

2008-09-04T23:09:00.001-07:00

Sachin Tendulkar Classic 100 Against England
Video sent by dafunvid

Sachin Tendulkar makes another test 100 (his 10th) against England with classic shots.. its a treat to watch

Test Cricket is Heart of Cricket

2008-06-23T00:59:00.001-07:00

Tony Becca, Contributor

WHEN I was a boy, cricket was a simple game. In those days, cricket, club cricket, first-class cricket and Test cricket, was a game played two days, over three days, and over five days.

It was a game involving the use of a bat and a ball, it was a game in which runs were scored and, at the end of it, the team with the most runs was declared the winner.

If, however, the team batting second and last in a one-innings match or last in a two innings match, had not scored more runs that the other team, and had not been bowled out, the match was ruled a draw.

Sometimes, when the match was over, when there was no one else to bat and the runs were equal, it ended in a tie.

Over the years, however, some things have changed, and some of them understandably so.

In a bid to increase the pace of the game, to get rid of the draw, and to make it more exciting for the casual observer, the 50-over per side contest was, for example, introduced to add some spice to it.

Boring

Then, with some people eventually finding that version of the game boring, the 20 overs per side contest was introduced and nothing was wrong with any one of them - certainly not as far as I was concerned.

With the bowler attempting to get the batsman out - or rather to keep him quiet, with the batsman trying to hit the ball as far as possible, with the bat hitting the ball, and with the sweet sound of bat hitting ball, as far as I was concerned, it was still cricket.

For me, however, despite the excitement it brings to the game, in spite of the crowds it now attracts to the game, cricket is more than swinging one's bat and hoping.

Test of stamina

For me, cricket, apart from being a test of stamina, of physical strength, is a test of skill. It is skill versus skill, mental fortitude against mental fortitude.

For me, cricket is a contest between a bowler and a batsman with the bowler matching his skill against that of the batsman. The bowler goes through his bag of tricks in an attempt to get the batsman out, and the batsman defends those deliveries he does not feel he can attack and attacks those which he believes he can deal with.

For me, that is cricket, and it matters not how long it takes, or the result.

A draw, for example, can sometimes be as exciting as victory. In fact, sometimes a draw, with the last pair defending, and defending, with every man on the field around the bat for an hour or two, can be more dramatic, even more memorable, than a victory.

Loves longer version

That is why I love the longer version of the game and why it annoys me to see, as is happening around the world and even in England, the moves, the rush, to push something like Test cricket into the shade, while spreading the gospel of 20/20.

Next month, the counties of England will meet to discuss changes in the game and there will be changes to accommodate 20/20 and its flood of money.

While nothing is wrong with accommodating 20/20, while everything is good with welcoming 20/20 for what should be obvious reasons, there is no need to trouble the first-class game and Test cricket.

According to those who are looking at the almighty dollar - including those who talk glowingly about their love for and the importance of Test cricket, Test cricket is boring and people no longer watch it.

That, however, is not true.

For those who love cricket for what cricket is, and as cricket is, Test cricket, the highest level of the game, is the true test of the skills of the game and it is far from boring. In fact, to watch, for example, a skilled spin bowler flighting or looping the ball seductively, dropping it, tantalisingly, on a good length, spinning it this way and then that way, and disguising the type of spin in a battle against a batsman is a treat - and especially so if it happens over after over.

When the batsman goes back and confidently drives through the covers or skips down the pitch and confidently drives through the covers, there is no element of risk, no luck.

It is skill versus skill.

Heart of cricket

And when it comes to crowd support, it is also a myth that people do not appreciate Test cricket. In England and Australia, and particularly so when it is England versus Australia, people still flock the grounds; and the same is true in India and in South Africa.

Test cricket is still the heart of cricket, and money or no money, it should not be pushed aside, and especially so when the three versions - Test cricket, 50-over cricket and 20/20 - can live together and without a problem.

There is no reason why those who love cricket as cricket was and as cricket is should be forced to change and settle for something which, although they appreciate it, even though some enjoy it, they do not really love it.

Dhoni versus icons in IPL

2008-03-25T02:31:00.001-07:00

The spoken word, Mahendra Singh Dhoni should have known, is like a poisoned arrow: once out of the bow, it can only hurt, cripple or kill. The other day, in a moment of heady weakness, he declared that one needs to send a strong message across at times. He was referring to his own moment of truth when he had to choose: between the tried and tested within the team and his young mates who had helped him win the Twenty20 World Cup.

It wasn't an easy choice, no doubt. The seniors in the squad had taken on the Australians gallantly; they were fired up and more than desperate for another shot at those scurrying 'roos. The so-called One-day specialists, on the other hand, weren't exactly on fire.

Dhoni eventually opted for the verve of youth and energy of fresh legs. The country responded indignantly; the experts felt it was a brave move, bordering on the suicidal. The selectors quickly washed off their hands, saying it was the captain's decision.

Dhoni received the bricks and the bats as they were mauled in the initial part of the Tri-series. But then, the tide turned. Pushed to the tipping point by the ill-mannered Aussies, the Indians found their feet slowly.

One or the other played pivotal knocks to resuscitate the team and slowly take it into the finals. Sachin Tendulkar, the last remnant from the old age, took over. India won the Tri-series for the first time ever; it was a victory for the cool-as-ice Dhoni too. Indeed, it was a proud moment for him, beating Australia in Australia.

But what prompted him to say what he eventually did? Was it just a festering wound that burst forth unexpectedly? Or was it a calculated outburst to actually send a message across (to the seniors)? Either ways, when he gets together with them again to prepare for the South Africa Test series, he may find himself on a bouncy track.

Even if the 'wise old men' ignore those barbs and welcome him with open arms, it will only be an uneasy calm. The storm will rage when the IPL gets under way, a couple of weeks after that. Because that is when the juniors will find themselves pitted against the seniors, along with the world's best all-weather players, for the first time.

That will be the time when the debate over old and young will finally be resolved. To understand the real value of a player, however, one just needs to look at the IPL. It is not for nothing that Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman and Dravid had been nominated icons by the BCCI. The Ishants and Uthappas might have gone for a ransom but the Gilchrists and Jayasuriyas were not too behind either.

Many might argue that the older ones are slower on the field and between the wickets too. True. But let us not forget that if one player can win a cricket match single-handedly, it is in this format. They would surely like to demonstrate it when the entire world is watching.

The seniors will be eager to have a go at Twenty20 for another reason: it was this very game that saw them first being harangued and ostracised; it was this very concept that split the team into two halves. They would surely want to show Dhoni and his dazzlers a thing or two about instant cricket and non-stop hitting.

Dhoni's Chennai is easily one of the stronger outfits in the IPL; he begins with a massive advantage on that count. Despite that if his team triumphs, all debates and arguments will come to a grinding halt. Otherwise, the same words, the same poisonous arrows, will come back to haunt him.

Pataudi, Gavaskar, Shastri to pick IPL Player of the League

2008-03-25T02:29:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI: Former captains Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri will be part of a panel to select the 'Player of the League' in the forthcoming DLF Indian Premier League.

The player winning the award will be presented a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh by title sponsors DLF Limited.

"In Pataudi, Gavaskar and Shastri, we have a truly world class panel of adjudicators, as these are cricketers that have been successful cricketing icons on the world stage," Chairman and Commissioner of IPL Lalit Modi said.

The IPL will start on April 18 with Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders taking on business tycoon Vijay Mallya's Bangalore Royal Challengers at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

Fantasy cricket becomes reality at last

2008-02-12T22:25:00.001-08:00

We are fantasy sport crazy. Google lists 1.5 million fantasy league websites, covering sports as diverse as football, clay pigeon shooting and drag racing. The Daily Telegraph's fantasy football competition has over 250,000 participants, and the cricket version is not far behind. Labelling yourself a sports fan is sometimes a euphemism for 'I know better' and newspapers have been smart to cotton on to a sports fan's craving to prove it by paying to select their own teams.

'Pick your own' is second nature to cricketers used to killing rainy afternoons compiling lists of the best sledgers or Ugly XIs, and Fantasy Cricket was the inevitable result. Now, with the impending launch of the Indian Premier League, fantasy has become reality.


	Cash bonanza: India's MS Dhoni could be a snip at $400,000

Cricket's answer to football's Champions League, and not to be confused with the renegade Indian Cricket League (ICL) which has recently been concluded, is a chance for eight money-wielding grandees to pick and play their ultimate cricket team in a ground-breaking twenty20 tournament.

The bidding for 90 of the world's best players starts next week. Cricket has been waiting for the future for quite a while, and it has finally arrived. For the first time since Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket in the Seventies, top players from each Test-playing country will be mixed and matched. Sachin Tendulkar could be batting with Mohammad Yousuf for Mumbai, against Glenn McGrath and Muttiah Muralitharan bowling for Bangalore. It will be compelling and explosive. And that's just the player auction at the Indian Cricket Board's headquarters in Mumbai next week.

Wielding their bulging corporate wallets like golden lassoos will be Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries and India's second richest man with a personal wealth of $20 billion (£10 billion), Vijay Mallya, India's answer to Richard Branson, owner of the Kingfisher group, a number of other heavyweight industrialists and two major Bollywood stars, Preity Zinta and Shah Rukh Khan.

Cricket is a fat cats' battleground in India and it will get ugly and expensive as the corporate giants stampede to sign the most sought-after players such as Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Ricky Ponting.

Into this megabucks mix will step an Englishman relatively unknown in Indian circles. Born in Mumbai but brought up in north London, where he played cricket for Stanmore, the entrepreneur Manoj Badale caused a bit of a stir when he purchased the commercial rights to Leicestershire CCC three years ago, then launched the Pop Idol-style talent programme Cricket Star on Indian TV last year.

But that was nothing compared to his stealthy acquisition of the eighth of the IPL franchises from under the noses of half a dozen other Indian bigwigs a fortnight ago. Badale's bid partnership with Rupert Murdoch's eldest son Lachlan pledged only £33 million for the Jaipur team franchise, just over half what Ambani paid for Mumbai, but it entitles him to realise his selectorial fantasy just the same. He can pick from the draft of contracted players who have all been designated minimum salaries.

Each franchise can have as many as eight non-Indian players in their 16-man squad (though you can only have a maximum of four overseas players on the field) and must spend $3.3-5 million assembling their team. This means an average player's salary of $250,000 for about six weeks' work. The only people salivating more than the players are their agents.

Already the owners are compiling their wish lists. Pairing, say, Sanath Jayasuriya with Chris Gayle at the top of the order (costing at least $500,000) is a mouth-watering prospect, or partnering Murali and Shane Warne with the ball. The fact that Warne is missing the first month of the season with Hampshire to take part is an indicator of the pulling power of the IPL.

Subject to ongoing negotiations with their board, most of the current Australian team in the list won't be available this year (nor any English players) because of country versus county clashes, but they can still be secured for forthcoming competitions, such as the Champions League-style event in the autumn, featuring the Twenty20 champions from all over the world.

Four iconic players have been pre-allocated. Tendulkar will play for his home city of Mumbai, Rahul Dravid for Bangalore, Yuvraj Singh for Mohali and Sourav Ganguly for Calcutta. The rest will be drafted in the private auction when owners will supply their choices and be forced to bid up their favourites. It is literally going to be a case of "Lot One, Anil Kumble! Who will start the bidding at $250,000?"

Now is the time to consider whether McGrath is really worth $300,000 (especially as all players must be signed for three years), if Viranda Sehwag is a steal at $200,000, whether Herschelle Gibbs is a busted flush and why the man rapidly emerging as the best wicketkeeper-batsman in the world, Sri Lanka's Prasanna Jayawardene, has no reserve bid value at all.

Harbhajan Singh was banned for three tests

2008-01-07T23:21:00.001-08:00

BHAJJI BANNED: Harbhajan Singh has been banned for 3 Tests for racially abusing Australia's Andrew Symonds.

Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was banned for three tests on racial abuse charges, but what is interesting to note is that it was an Australian player who was first to be banned in the history of cricket for racial abuse.

Darren Lehmann of Australia was suspended for five-day ODIs over a racial remark in the earshot of the Sri Lankan dressing room during the 2002-03 cricket series.

Lehmann shouted an obscenity during a triangular One-Day International against Sri Lanka in Brisbane — this after he was run-out in a match during the series.

But since then, the Australians claim they have been on the receiving end. During the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist accused his Pakistani counterpart Rasheed Latif of racial abuse.

Rasheed Latif was later cleared by the ICC of racism due to lack of evidence against him, but Indian off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh was not so lucky.

Bhajji was banned for three tests on Sunday night after he was found guilty of racial abuse for allegedly calling Australian all-rounder, Andrew Symonds "a monkey".

India has now launched a counter-attack against Australia by charging Oz spinner Brad Hogg with using abusive language during the second Test.

The Indians lodged a formal complaint during Harbhajan's disciplinary hearing.

The Indian team management says Hogg called some Indian players 'bastards'. Match referee Mike Procter has accepted India's complaint and a separate hearing will be held in Perth.

Meanwhile, controversial umpire Steve Bucknor has been removed from officiating in the third Test in Perth.

Bucknor and fellow umpire Mark Benson were responsible for a string of bad decisions in the second Test in Sydney that went against India.

Both the Indian team management and the BCCI lodged complaints with the ICC against Steve Bucknor, asking for his removal from the remaining matches.

India-Australia Cricket Tour in Jeopardy?

2008-01-07T23:16:00.001-08:00

The Indian cricket team, scheduled to leave for Canberra today after their defeat in the second Test against Australia, were still at their hotel in Sydney after boarding the bus and waiting for two hours. They are reportedly awaiting instructions from the BCCI. The BCCI has filed an appeal against Harbhajan Singh's suspension, and stated that he would continue to play until the decision on the appeal.

The ICC might suspend the ban on Harbhajan amidst speculation that the tour might be called off after the controversies surrounding the second Test, and the three-match ban handed down to Harbhajan Singh after allegations of racial abuse. This would be a black mark on his career. The Indian captain, Anil Kumble, had earlier said that only one team played in the spirit of the game. Various umpiring decisions had also been questioned, and Bucknor been asked to be removed for the third test in Perth from January 16th.

Ricky Ponting believed the tour would go ahead. Cricket Australia quoted assurances from the BCCI President, Mr. Sharad Pawar. The BCCI would have to pay a $2.3 million fine if they cancelled the tour. The team's continued stay in Sydney has, however, been backed by the Board, at least until the appeal is filed with the ICC. A statement signed by Mr. Pawar noted in part,

The game of cricket is paramount but so too is the honour of India's cricket team and every Indian,...The BCCI is committed to protect the country's fair name. India's national commitment is against racism. Our national struggle is based on values which negate racism.

Bad umpiring makes IT good for Indian companies

2008-01-07T23:13:00.001-08:00

If Indian cricket's bugbear, Steve Bucknor, were to be ever judged in his umpiring with the help of computer software, don't be surprised if an Indian company happens to be behind it.

With its track record in software much better than in cricket, India now wants to benefit from the business opportunity from bad decisions. A string of software start-ups as well as the biggest outsourcing companies have developed solutions that can capture cricketing motions and analyse them real-time so that better decisions can be made if the umpire is inclined. At least, one software ranks cricket umpire on five grades of quality.

Bangalore-based Swantha Software Solutions, co-founded by former Indian allrounder Vijay Bharadwaj, made a sales pitch two months ago to Ross Turner, Cricket Australia's game development manager for its umpiring applications software 3rdEYE.

An company official said a demo was given and the decision is awaited. The ongoing India-Australia cricket series has erupted into a controversy after India lost the second test match from a strong position, which some attributed to bad umpiring.

"In the wake such poor decision-making, our software can definitely provide a solution to improve the standards in umpiring if given the chance," says Swantha co-founder Sanjay Rao. "Most of the times, the whole match depends upon the decisions of an umpire, like it happened in the recent India-Australia Test match. We can monitor these decisions using the 3rdEYE on a real time basis."

This software can aggregate all the data analysis at the end of a match and qualify the umpire's performance as excellent, good, satisfactory, poor or bad, the judgement being made without human intervention. "Using this software, we can judge how good the umpire is giving at decisions, especially during the crucial stages of the match," Rao said.

The software was used in the recent Karnataka-Mumbai Ranji Trophy encounter, where the local umpiring coach monitored the umpires' performance. The International Cricket Council (ICC) created a buzz five years ago, when it gave an order to Phoenix Global Solutions for its e-Cricket Pro software.

The plan was to use this piece of coding for umpire training. Phoenix was later acquired by India's largest outsourcing company Tata Consultancy Services. However, the plan seems to be simmering on the backburner now.

TCS's rival, Satyam Computer Services, is also getting into cricket software, estimated currently to be a tiny Rs 100 crore but set to grow exponentially. Satyam has incorporated a sports solution division and is researching for a software product.

"We are in the pilot mode for most of the software and should be ready to make a pitch to various cricket boards in another 3 months," says Satyam head of sports practice Dilbag Gill. Satyam is developing three different solutions for tests, one-day internationals and twenty20 matches.

"Cricket is a ball-to-ball game and therefore it makes it easier for technology to step in due to the gap (between balls) in the game, which in turn can allow for technology for repairing umpire mistakes in real-time," Mr Gill says. Chennai-based Meru Consultants and Technologies sees the umpiring community as a market.

Its software is already used to analyse player performance in Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, apart from India. Now, the company plans to include an umpiring add-on. "The weekend row over controversial umpiring decisions have definitely spawned an opportunity for companies like us to take to this sector. It will definitely trigger a market for this product," says Meru CEO P Sankaran.

India, Australia, cricket captains told to make peace

2008-01-07T23:11:00.001-08:00

The head of Cricket Australia has sought to ease tensions between the Australian and Indian teams, calling on the captains of both sides to enter peace talks.

There is renewed doubt over the future of the remainder of the test series with the Indian side told to stay in Sydney and await further instruction, despite being scheduled to travel to Australia's capital, Canberra, for a tour match.

The Indians are angry about the umpiring in the second test and their captain has accused Australia of not playing in the spirit of the game.

Cricket Australia's Chief Executive James Sutherland says to some extent, Kumble's comments are understandable.

"It was a classic test match; it went right down to the wire," he said.

"Anil Kumble had a fantastic test match as a captain and as a player and no doubt he was disappointed in the end."

Australia-India Cricket Dispute Won't Damage Ties

2008-01-07T23:10:00.001-08:00

A dispute between the Australian and Indian cricket teams over an alleged racist slur won't damage diplomatic relations between the two nations, Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said.

India's cricket authorities are appealing a three-match ban on spin bowler Harbhajan Singh for allegedly calling Andrew Symonds, Australia's only black player, a ``monkey.'' The dispute may result in India cutting short its tour in Australia.

``Cricket has its ups and downs,'' Smith told reporters yesterday when asked about the dispute. He stressed his government is intent on pursuing stronger ties with India.

India is Australia's fastest-growing major goods export market, increasing at more than 34 percent a year over the past five years, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra. Australia last year agreed to supply uranium to the South Asian nation, subject to a civilian nuclear energy accord between the U.S. and India being completed.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India ``will fight the blatantly false and unfair slur on an Indian player,'' Niranjan Singh, honorary secretary of the Indian board, said in a statement yesterday.

Indian cricket captain Anil Kumble accused Australia of unsportsmanlike conduct after his team's loss in the second Test match in Sydney two days ago. Australia and India are playing a four-Test series with the third scheduled to begin Jan. 16.

No Problems

``I don't see any problems in the relationship arising from the Test series,'' Smith told reporters in the western city of Perth, according to a transcript. ``Australia needs to place greater emphasis on its relationship with India. In the course of this century, the emergence of India as a very significant power, the largest democracy, its relationship with Australia is very important.''

Australia's trade in goods with India reached A$11.4 billion ($9.9 billion) in 2006-07, making India its ninth largest trading partner, according to government figures.

Japan is Australia's biggest trading partner, with trade worth A$54.9 billion in 2006. China is the second-biggest, with the relationship worth A$41.3 billion in 2006.

Prime Minister John Howard's government, which was ousted in the Nov. 24 election after 11 years in office, pursued closer ties with India. It signed an accord in 2006 on defense cooperation and an economic framework agreement focusing on energy, mining, infrastructure development, tourism, education, entertainment and bio-technology.

``Australia and India, both through cricket and generally, will continue to have a very warm, friendly and strong relationship,'' Smith said.

Cricket tour on brink of collapse

2008-01-07T23:08:00.001-08:00

Cricket tour on brink of collapse

India's cricket tour of Australia was on the brink of collapse on Monday after a damaging row over racial abuse, poor umpiring and unsportsmanlike behaviour that could undermine relations between the two countries.

Officials said it was unacceptable that the word of Sachin Tendulkar, one of India's most revered players, was apparently not accepted by the match referee, while that of three Australian players was. The BCCI said it would appeal to the International Cricket Council to review the decision.

India's refusal to let its national side proceed to the next fixture in the Test series presents the world's cricketing authorities with a stark display of its financial muscle. The size of its middle class television audiences has turned India into the financial powerhouse of world cricket in recent years.

The dispute followed a dramatic climax to the second Test in Sydney, which Australia won in the closing minutes of the final day's play. Australia had earlier staged a comeback when Symonds scored 162 runs, but only after a poor umpiring decision that should have seen him out for 30.

Anil Kumble, India's captain, immediately condemned Australia's victory amid charges of incompetent umpiring.

"Only one team is playing in the spirit of the game," Kumble said, invoking bitter memories of Australia's anger in the 1930s when England adopted "bodyline" tactics to hamper legendary batsman Donald Bradman and beat Australia.

"Unfair allegations of racism against our Indian player is wholly unacceptable," Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president who is also a senior government minister, said.

"The game of cricket is paramount but so too is the honour of the Indian team and for that matter every Indian.

"The BCCI is committed to protect the country's fair name. India's national commitment is against racism. Our national struggle is based on values which negate racism," he said.

The Indian team was due to travel to Canberra on Monday to prepare for their next tour match but were ordered to return to their hotel rooms after waiting on a bus for close to two hours.

The BCCI risks a fine of up to $2m if it pulls out of the tour and could be liable to reimburse Cricket Australia for any losses incurred.

Australia lead the four-match series 2-0.

Administrators accused of bowling a googly

Threats by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to call off the Australian tour could do more than sour relations Down Under – they could unravel the financial fabric of the modern game, Joe Leahy writes in Mumbai.

Sponsors, advertisers and the stadiums have hundreds of millions of dollars riding on the tour and even a delay could lead to losses and damage confidence in future tournaments. "No one realises the significance of this. This is not about a tour being called off, this is about cricket being hit in the belly," said Suhel Seth, managing partner for Counselage, a strategic brand management and marketing consultancy. "This is about a googly being bowled at the game by the administrators of the game."

In cricket-crazy India, the game is the main vehicle for sports sponsorship and is controlled by a virtual monopoly, the BCCI.

India accounts for about 70 per cent of the global cricket revenue and the business surrounding the sport is likely to grow.

But any move by the BCCI to severely delay or cancel the tour would have serious repercussions and could force big advertisers, to reconsider their approach to sponsoring the sport.

Monkey business? Symonds compared to Hanuman

2008-01-07T23:02:00.001-08:00

FACE-OFF: Australian paper Courier Mail published this pic of Symonds with his face superimposed on Hanuman's body.

An Australian newspaper on Tuesday published a picture of Andrew Symonds with his face superimposed on Hanuman's body, giving a comic touch to the racial slur furore in the Sydney Test.

'Symonds baney Hanuman' ran the caption on the photograph in the Courier Mail, which was beamed by some Indian TV channels on Monday night.

The photograph was published a day after off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was banned for three Tests after ICC Match referee Mike Procter upheld the Australian charge that he had racially abused all-rounder Symonds by calling him a "monkey".

Meanwhile, the Sydney-based United Indian Association (UIA) expressed deep concern at the ban.

The Australian quoted UIA president Raj Natarajan as saying that since the Monkey God is one of the revered idols of Hindu mythology and worshipped by millions, it is surprising it was considered a racist term.

Even more surprising is that the word monkey is considered by the match referee serious enough to slap a three-match ban on Harbhajan Singh, the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.

UIA members felt the Australian team behaved in an unsporting manner during their 22-run win over India in the second Test at the SCG on Sunday.

The UIA represents various migrant community groups of Indian origin in Australia.

INDIA WON TWENTY 20 CUP

2007-09-24T23:16:00.001-07:00

Thousands of sub-continental cricket fanatics were on the high veld here with all their flag-waving, jingoism and obsession for the game.

In the end, skipper MS Dhoni's men triumphed over Pakistan in a nerve-shredding match by five runs.

Master blaster Yuvraj Singh did not hit a single six as opener Gautam Gambhir provided the ballast to India's total of 157-5 with 75 including one six that crashed into the electronic scoreboard.

In reply Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals with none of their middle-order big guns making a telling contribution.

Their demise was complete when Misbah- ul-Haq's attempt to flick Johinder Sharma over fine leg was caught by Sri Sreesanth.

This event has been an unqualified success in contrast to the poor format and meaningless matches during the 50-over World Cup this year. Dhoni said: "I will treasure this for the rest of my life."

India crushed all the preconceived ideas about Twenty20 — they had played just one match in the format before this event.

Dhoni won the toss but only Gambhir looked fluent against Pakistan's attack.

Yuvraj struggled with an elbow problem and his 14 runs came from a pedestrian 19 balls.

But Rohit Sharma caned 30 runs from 16 deliveries at the end of India's innings.

In Pakistan's reply, Imran Nazir belted 21 from Sreesanth's opening over before RP Singh took two important early wickets. Then match-of-the-match Irfan Pathan grabbed three more.

But Misbah whacked Harbhajan Singh for two sixes and No 9 Tanvir Sohail twice deposited Sreesanth over the boundary.

Misbah hit another six early in Sharma's final over before perishing. Cue the most manic celebrations imaginable.

INDIA 20-20 WORLD CRICKET CHAMPION

2007-09-24T23:06:00.001-07:00

India ran out winners by 5 runs in the finals of the Twenty20 World Cup, in a game which belied the adage that "youth knows no fear". As the match progressed, it was increasingly dominated by one player after another wilting under pressure. Shahid Afridi might be the sole exception, for his dismissal was not down to fear or pressure, but to Afridi. He will have the tournament's Most Valuable Player award to show for his effort in South Africa - albeit a Pyrrhic MVP if such a thing is possible. In a career built on spurts of crazy talent and crazed brainwaves, this was yet another celebrated episode.

It was cricket as it was meant to be played, I guess - on the village green. Batsmen getting out caught at mid off and in the deep of medium pacers and bowlers bowling it all over the place. And in the end, India were left standing, mainly because Pakistan shot themselves in the foot too many times to give them any chance of ending up on two feet. Misbah Ul Haq was the lone exception, and he seemed to be the only batsman with any sense of perspective. After Shanthakumaran Sreesanth had yet another mercurial bout (they should invent a 'Sreesanthometer' to measure his blow-hot-blow-cold efforts) and delivered unmitigated rubbish in his first over, to basically hand the match to Pakistan (after that 20 run over, all they needed was 7.5 an over for 18 overs with 10 wickets in hand, something which an ODI side of today would be disappointed to fail at), the Pakistan batsmen outdid him. Imran Nazir showed why he hasn't made his career in the more serious forms of the game. Younis Khan played a disappointing shot - you would expect a batsman of his quality to not lose his head in that fashion.

India for their part, Sreesanth apart, were admirably restrained. Accurate medium pace, bowled deliberately (read - where they wanted to land it), reminiscent of Kapil's devils of 1983 seemed to be the order of the day. In the end, they delivered fewer bad balls. Irfan Pathan showed why he is so highly thought of with a cerebral display of control in the big game. With the bat, India had what Pakistan didn't - one batsman batting through and ensuring a total on the board.

All in all, it was a game which revealed Twenty20 for what it is - if you ignore the contest between bat and ball, which in Twenty20 is pretty random, things happen quite fast - fast enough to suit the impatience of the television viewer. The pace is just right to ensure that there are very few lulls between bouts of "excitement". Even a ball which is played normally for a single or for no runs invites a response. It is like watching just the slog overs of an ODI game, or the last session of an exciting Test match. It is like watching Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, waiting with bated breath for the next melodramatic moment, except, unlike that shocking waste of everything, you don't know what the next week's story will be.

India won though. After the early exit from the World Cup and all the rubbish the ensued, all of India's cricketers have shamed the Indian cricketing public by going about their business in exemplary fashion. First, the first choice team beat South Africa in England, and then beat England in England. The Natwest result was a disappointing reverse, and the players will know that they lost a series they should have won. Now, the man whose house (under construction) was vandalized on television after that World Cup, has taken on the leadership of the side, and led well. They won a tournament beating the best teams in the world. It is why our cricketers are special. I feel culpable and guilty about the way India's cricketers were treated after the World Cup. I had no part in what happened, and I wrote about it a great deal then, but I still feel culpable. Here are excellent sportsmen, who have worked exceedingly hard all their lives to achieve a level of excellence which enables them to compete on equal terms with the best in the world, and all they find at the end of it all is the fickle interest of an ignorant, inadequate mass - consisting not just of poor people who's only pleasure is to watch a game of cricket at the end of a hard days back breaking labour, but of educated professionals and businessmen - middle class people like you and me - who love nothing more than to win our victories off the backs of young sportsmen. We abuse them for earning good money, and we abuse them if they don't win.

In a tournament where the cricket was completely random, fate has handed India's young players a just reward. In my view, we owe them an apology, not our congratulations. Dhoni doesn't need his home rebuilt, but the absolute assurance that it will never happen again. If he cannot be assured of this, then fast forward two years from now, and Dhoni in 2010 will be today's Dravid

England win over ireland

2007-03-30T22:01:00.001-07:00

Not very often does one see a player choke with emotion while answering mundane questions on the eve of the game against England. Irish vice-captain Kyle McCallan was asked a leading question about too many non-Irish performers in the team, hinting that they were mercenaries recruited to do a job for Ireland.

Though England went on to make 266/7 from 50 overs, the show put up by Ireland justified the answer the vice-captain gave.

McCallan, who is a school teacher by profession and has just been given a leave extension by his head mistress, wasn't rude, but his answer had the righteous tone of someone who felt under-valued in the collective effort of a unit that has three Aussie-born and one with South African roots. He felt the team effort was being underplayed.

Referring to the lost group game against the West Indies, where their Australian-born captain Trent Johnston sat out, he said: "We did miss him as, say, England would have missed Kevin Pietersen if he was injured. There is no difference in that."

The reference to Pietersen wasn't just because he happened to be the key player in the England squad, but also to the fact that Pietermaritzburg wasn't anywhere in Britain.

He wasn't finished yet, as he added: "When we beat Pakistan square and fair and there was Niall O'Brien who made 70 and Boyd Rankin who took three wickets. Both of them are Irish born and bred boys. Besides, Trent has an Irish wife and kids, Jeremy Bray has lived in Ireland as long as I know him. These guys are not mercenaries flown in for the World Cup, they have contributed a lot to Irish cricket and their children too might represent Ireland one day."

Today he walked the talk as he led a total Irish show on field. Till the 43.3 over, when Johnston had Andrew Flintoff clean bowled the scoreboard had a total true blue Irish feel to it as England were at one stage tottering for 113/4.

Londonderry boy Boyd Rankin, who was among the ground staff at Middlesex but never got a look-in and just recently got a contract with Derbyshire, showed the effectiveness of 6 feet 7 inches with a perfect action. By dismissing Ed Joyce from his first ball of the day the sentimental umbilical cord was cut and later when he had English skipper Michael Vaughan caught behind, Rankin just showed his rivals what they were missing by ignoring him.

The brothers from Dublin — wicket-keeper Niall and pacer Kevin — plotted Ian Bell's dismissal, but McCallan put the cherry on the cake by dismissing the dangerous looking Pietersen. The catcher being another Londonderry boy William Porterfield, and that just stressed the point that McCallan had made: the Irish too can play cricket.

In the hindsight if one looks at the scoreboard the worst bowling performance of the day came from the 'outsiders'. Johnston going for 70 in his 10 overs while Botha gave away 56 runs from 10 overs.

SCOREBOARD

England: E Joyce b Rankin 1, M Vaughan c NJ O'Brien b Rankin 6, I Bell c NJ O'Brien b KJ O'Brien 31,K Pietersen c Porterfield b McCallan 48, P Collingwood run out (White/Johnston) 90, A Flintoff b Johnston 43, P Nixon c Morgan b Botha 19, R Bopara not out 10, S Mahmood not out 0

Extras (lb 2, w 13, nb 3) 18;

Total (for 7 wickets) 266

Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-23, 3-89, 4-113, 5-194, 6-245, 7-258

Bowling: D Langford-Smith 7-0-38-0, W Rankin 7-1-28-2, D Johnston 10-0-70-1, A Botha 10-1-56-1, K O'Brien 4- 0-26-1, W McCallan 10-0-38-1, A White 2-0-8-0

Anil Kumble quits one-day cricket

2007-03-30T21:59:00.001-07:00

In a cricketing career spanning 17 years till date, Anil Kumble has made it a habit to be part of the playing XI for Team India. His outstanding performances have ensured that he has played a pivotal role for the team. But finally a day came when Kumble had to warm the benches, more recently in the 2007 World Cup. That is when Kumble decided to retire from ODIs.

"I have always wanted to be a part of the team once I was chosen and, as days passed, it became a habit. But it did not happen in the previous World Cup in 2003. I was a bit hurt and at that time I wanted to call it a day, but a few of my well-wishers advised me to stay on since they felt that I still had a lot of cricket in me. So I hung on.

In this World Cup, which was really a special one, I found no place in the team and then I decided to make way for youngsters. But I shall be still open to selection for Tests," said Kumble, whose brother Dinesh, mother Saroja, wife Chetna, daughters Aaruni, Svasti and son Mayas were present on the occasion.

After the 2003 World Cup, Kumble did not figure in the ODI team regularly and played only 19 matches before he was picked for the World Cup team. But it was disappointing for him that he featured in only one match against minnows Bermuda, with Harbhajan Singh playing the other two matches.

Asked whether he was hurt by being overlooked for the World Cup matches, the 37-year-old said: "Certainly not, every player has to deserve a place in the team. The team management had a certain strategy and we can't complain if we don't fit into it.

Harbhajan has been bowling very well. He is in fact a great bowler who is young and learning with experience. Since the plan was to play three seamers and one spinner, Harbhajan was the only choice."

The ace leg-spinner said that he would have loved to have ended his career on a high but that did not happen. "We had a great chance as this was the best 15 for the World Cup. We thought we could make it.

But it did not happen and things went horribly wrong. It has been a long journey and it is always nice to finish on a high note but everybody cannot have a fairy-tale ending every time," he said.

Kumble added: "I have great memories, like that partnership with Srinath, or the World Cup quarters against Pak in Bangalore."

south africa wins

2007-03-29T00:15:00.001-07:00

South Africa eked out a one-wicket win over Sri Lanka yesterday despite Lasith Malinga's unprecedented four wickets in four balls late in a Cricket World Cup Super 8 match.

The South Africans were one stroke from victory at 206 for six, chasing Sri Lanka's modest 209, before Malinga struck. He became the first bowler to take wickets with four consecutive balls in a limited-overs international.

Australia defeated West Indies by 103 runs in a match completed yesterday after rain delays Tuesday.

Sri Lanka's Malinga removed Shaun Pollock (13) and Andrew Hall (0) on the last two balls of his eighth over -- the 45th -- and Jacques Kallis (86) caught behind and Makhaya Ntini bowled on the first two balls of his ninth.

That left South Africa needing three runs from 21 balls.

Robin Peterson edged Malinga for four down to third man to take South Africa to 212-9 with 10 balls to spare. Peterson jumped jubilantly as he ran down the pitch in celebration and then smashed the stumps at the non-striker's end with his bat.

Malinga returned 4-54 from 9.2 overs and Muttiah Muralitharan, who had a loud shout for a hat trick, turned down earlier in the innings, finished with 3-34.

The win ensured South Africa of top spot in the season-ending international limited-overs rankings come April 1, regardless of whatever else happens in the World Cup.

Despite the close shave, the win was a confidence boost for the South Africans, and a slight come down for Sri Lanka after its 3-0 sweep in Group B included wins over India and Bangladesh.

Charl Langeveldt did the early damage with a career-best 5-39 to restrict the Sri Lankans to their lowest total of the Cup after Mahela Jayawardene had won the toss and elected to bat. Langeveldt took three wickets in his last over as Sri Lanka lost its last four wickets for one run in seven balls. He'll start South Africa's next match on a hat trick.

Coming in when AB de Villiers was bowled by Chaminda Vaas in the first over, Kallis scored 86 and shared a 94-run stand with Graeme Smith (59) that set up South Africa's chase.

His 110-ball innings contained four boundaries.

Muralitharan caused a wobble in the middle when he dismissed Herschelle Gibbs (31) and Mark Boucher on consecutive balls to make it 160-4. The Sri Lankan spinner missed a hat trick when his next ball just missed the edge and bounced off Justin Kemp's pad into the hands of a close-in fielder. Kemp scored five before he was stumped off Jayasuriya's bowling with the total at 182, giving Kumar Sangakkara his second stumping -- he combined with Muralitharan to remove Smith in the 18th over.

Kallis anchored the innings, scoring 70 runs between two reprieves: a tough chance at first slip put down by Jayawardene on six and another sharp return catch put down by Malinga.

Smith scored his fourth consecutive half-century, facing 65 balls and hitting seven boundaries and a six to continue a run of good form.

Tillekaratne Dilshan (58) and Russel Arnold (50) shared a 97-run sixth-wicket to bolster the Sri Lanka innings after Ntini and Langeveldt had them struggling at 98-5. Ntini had Upul Tharanga (12) caught at slip with the total at 13.

Sanath Jayasuriya took a liking to Pollock's bowling, however, hitting 26 from 27 balls before he was undone by a change in the attack.

South Africa plays Ireland next Tuesday, three days after Sri Lanka plays host West Indies in Guyana.

Hero to zero: Cricketers under threat

2007-03-24T23:15:00.001-07:00

New Delhi, March 24 Even as the nation was drowned in sorrow today, cricket-crazy fans gave vent to their ire against the national team over their disgraceful performance against Sri Lanka by burning the effigies of star cricketers whom they virtually worshipped all these years.

The humiliating defeat at the hands of the islanders, which has virtually ended India's disastrous campaign in the World Cup in the West Indies, shocked the cricket administrators as well with the BCCI promising to take drastic measures to overhaul the game.

Angry fans in several cities burnt effigies of cricket idols Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, skipper Rahul Dravid and other senior players and also Indian team coach Greg Chappell. At several places, 'funeral' processions of the team were taken out.

Security men were immediately rushed to the homes of Tendulkar, Dravid, Sehwag, wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, spinner Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh soon after India surrendered meekly to the Sri Lankans in the do-or-die tie at Trinidad.

India crashed to the second defeat in three games after minnows Bangladesh shocked them in their first league encounter of Group B last week.

In captain Dravid's hometown Bangalore, people thronged the busy thoroughfares shouting slogans and burning posters, besides demanding Dravid to step down from captaincy.

Kolkata wore a deserted look with torn posters of Indian stars in every nook and corner of the city, bearing witness to silent frustrations that brewed within the city.

Former national selector and Test cricketer Sambaran Banerjee told UNI, "It is a black day for Indian cricket. The fact that we did not qualify for the Super Eight is simply unexpectable."

Even the Railway Minister and Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) president, Mr Lalu Prasad joined in to lash out at all the members of the team, saying they should 'compulsorily retire' in favour of young talents.

"The defeat has underlined the fact that seniors in the team failed to deliver and that too in the most ignominious manner, and it is high time they were replaced by young talent," Mr Prasad told reporters on the sidelines of a railway function here.

Mr Prasad said India could learn a lesson or two from Bangladesh which had blooded young talent in the team and the results were there for everyone to see.

"Instead of concentrating on their game, Indian players are more concerned about making money through advertisements," he said, adding that it was adversely impacting their performance.

In New Delhi, the BJP today offered a bit of advice to India's cricket team after their near-exit from the World Cup, saying they were required to be a bit more serious in their game.

Cricketer Zahir Khan's restaurant in Kondawa area, in Pune, was attacked by an angry mob this morning following the dismal performance of the Indian team against Sri Lanka in the World Cup match last night.

The cricketing buffs attacked "ZK" restaurant in the posh Kondawa area by throwing stones to express their anger and dismay against the Indian paceman for his unsatisfactory performance in the World Cup. However, the restaurant was not damaged much except for the breaking of some glass windows.

The police took immediate step to control the irate mob and saved the restaurant from further damage.

Agitated cricket fans today set ablaze the effigy of Indian wicket-keeper and batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Ranchi.

The people were especially enraged by Dhoni's poor performance and burnt his effigies at the different locations in Ranchi including Albert Ekka Chowk and Rajendra Chowk.

Dhoni was not able to make a single run against Sri Lanka yesterday.

In Ahmedabad, cricket fans in the city today burnt effigies and conducted mock-funeral of the Indian players.

A group of cricket enthusiasts protested at the Lotus School in Isanpur locality, at the way the Indian cricketers put up a spineless batting display against the Sri Lankans yesterday.

They carried posters which criticised the cricketers for not concentrating on the game and minting money through advertisements.

They raised slogans against the BCCI president,

Mr Sharad Pawar and coach Greg Chappell. Members of the group slapped the posters of cricketing icons with slippers and burnt them.

Meanwhile, another group of youths in the city conducted a mock-funeral of the cricket team.

The youths who had gathered at Gujarat college took out a mock funeral procession and thereafter burnt the effigy of the team.

BOB WOOLMER'S BOOK

2007-03-24T23:09:00.001-07:00

News Agency IANS on Friday revealed that the suspense over the contents of the book, which is widely believed to have led to the murder of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer in the West Indies, is over: it is a coaching manual with a difference.

A report appearing on andhracafe.com, mentions IANS as its source of revelation that Bob's book was just a coaching manual.

This also lays to rest reports that the manuscript of the book - 'Discovering Cricket: The Art and Science of the Game' - was missing from Woolmer's hotel room in Kingston where he was murdered Sunday.

The former England cricketer was Pakistan's coach in the ongoing World Cup. Pakistan crashed out of the tournament after two successive defeats.

An e-mail to IANS from Woolmer's official website said on Friday that a 'Bob Woolmer Trust Fund' has also been created, with the late player's wife Gill, their sons Dale and Russell, former South Africa players Jonty Rhodes, Barry Richards and sports scientist and professor Tim Noakes are members of the trust.

The mail, however, does not say about the second book, his autobiography, that Woolmer was supposedly writing in association with English journalist Ivo Tennant.

It was perhaps in preparation of writing his autobiography that Woolmer had even met Delhi Police Commissioner K.K. Paul to seek details of the Hansie Cronje match-fixing case of 2001.

He was the coach of the South African team when Delhi police taped captain Cronje talking to a bookie over telephone to allegedly fix a one-day international during the tour of India.

Paul confirmed Monday that Woolmer, who was found dead in his hotel room in Kingston, West Indies, had a meeting with him on April 18, 2005, when he was in India as Pakistani team coach.

'He had come to me to discuss the various details of the match-fixing case, and he was given those. He was quite a nice, matter-of-fact and forthcoming person," Paul told IANS on Monday.

The e-mail said that 'Discovering Cricket: The Art and Science of the Game' is a book that has been written over the last five years by Woolmer and Noakes and will become the 'definitive manual on playing and coaching' cricket.

"It is first time that a cricket coach and a sports scientist have combined their experience, insights and wisdom to create the most comprehensive and holistic book on playing and coaching cricket ever,"it said.

"It has a global focus - suitable for players, coaches and cricket fans throughout the world, and especially in developing countries."

The scientific, biomechanical and medical aspects of the game are discussed in detail in the unpublished book, enabling a fuller understanding of the 'how' and 'why' of the game.

"It is user-friendly, lively and accessible, with summaries, plentiful illustrations (photos and diagrams), anecdotes and handy tips from some of the game's greatest players and characters," said the mail.

"The book contains the latest cutting-edge research on the science and medicine of cricket."

The Woolmer fund has been established "to ensure that his legacy is preserved".

One of its aims is: 'To ensure that his legacy and teachings live on through the creation of the Bob Woolmer Cricket Academy (BWCA) that is going to be built outside Nelspruit in the South African Lowveld.'

Another objective is to ensure that the book is published. It confirms that the manuscript is with one of the members of the trust.

The academy will be a non-profit organisation.

One feature of the BWCA is that children from underprivileged communities in South Africa would benefit in both a sporting and academic way.

A right-handed batsman and medium pacer, Kanpur-born Bob Woolmer played 19 Tests and six One-Day Internationals for England in 1970s.

The Jamaica Police is now looking for the man who killed Woolmer.

SILANKA BEAT NEW ZEALAND

2006-10-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

Upul Tharanga and Muttiah Muralitharan led Sri Lanka to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in their Champions Trophy Group B match on Friday.
The left-handed Tharanga hit 56 and shared an 89-run second-wicket stand with captain Mahela Jayawardene (48) as Sri Lanka reached their target of 166 with 14 overs to spare.
It was their first victory in the tournament, having lost their opening game to Pakistan. New Zealand had started their campaign with a win over South Africa.
Off spinner Muralitharan grabbed four for 23 as New Zealand were bowled out for 165 after winning the toss.
Nathan Astle made a battling 42 for the Kiwis while Daniel Vettori (46 not out) and Jeetan Patel (10) put on 47 for the last wicket.
Fast start
The in-form Tharanga, who struck centuries in the qualifying matches against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, and Sanath Jayasuriya gave Sri Lanka a fast start to their reply.
Jayasuriya hit Shane Bond for six over the cover boundary before cutting the fast bowler to the fence off the next ball.
Bond, who missed the opening match due to a back strain, went for 36 runs in his first four-over spell but Kyle Mills eventually had Jayasuriya caught behind for 20.
Jayawardene then joined forces with Tharanga to take the game away from the Kiwis.
Earlier, Muralitharan dismissed Astle, Mills, Jacob Oram and Brendon McCullum after the pacemen had reduced New Zealand to 56 for three.
Left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas struck an early blow when he trapped skipper Stephen Fleming lbw for a duck. Farveez Maharoof and Lasith Malinga also accounted for Lou Vincent and Hamish Marshall.
Sri Lanka next play South Africa in Ahmedabad on Tuesday while New Zealand take on Pakistan in Mohali the day after

West Indies beat Australia

2006-10-19T23:23:00.000-07:00

West Indies 234-6 Australia 224-9 (West Indies win by 10 runs)

Australian captain Ricky Ponting yesterday warned his world beaters to shed their lethargy after the Champions Trophy exploded with three successive shock results.
"We were outplayed," said Ponting as world champions Australia crashed to a 10-run defeat at the hands of the West Indies at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday night.
"There was a game here to be won and we were not good enough. We have to blame ourselves for some ill-disciplined batting and some ill-disciplined bowling," Ponting said.
The West Indies' stunning victory, on the back of a hat-trick from fast bowler Jerome Taylor, followed equally unexpected results on the previous two days that threw the eight-nation tournament wide open.
On Tuesday, a severely depleted Pakistan overcame the absence, on doping charges, of pace spearheads Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif to end Sri Lanka's 10-match winning streak with a four-wicket win in Jaipur.
A day earlier, world No.2 South Africa had been hammered by 87 runs by Stephen Fleming's New Zealand despite the Black Caps missing their frontline paceman Shane Bond due to a back injury.
The first round shockers mean both Australia and South Africa will not be guaranteed semi-final berths even if they win their two remaining league matches.
Hosts India, who beat England on Sunday, and the West Indies lead group A ahead of Australia. New Zealand and Pakistan are on top of group B, ahead of South Africa and Sri Lanka.
The second round of league matches starts today when New Zealand take on Sri Lanka at the Brabourne stadium.
Mahela Jayawardene's Sri Lankans need a win to stay in contention. The Kiwis will almost certainly book a semi-final berth if they win.
"This is just the start the tournament needed," said former Australian captain Ian Chappell. "There is little to choose between the eight teams. Anyone can win this one. There are more twists and turns to come."
The unpredictable nature of one-day cricket was evident on Wednesday night when Australia, chasing West Indies' 234-6 under lights, lost five wickets for 37 runs to be restricted to 224-9 in their 50 overs.
Taylor, a 22-year-old Jamaican, became the first West Indian to take a hat-trick in limited-overs cricket to fashion a sensational win for the defending champions.
The right-arm fast bowler clean bowled Michael Hussey and trapped Brett Lee leg-before with the last two balls of his ninth over, the 48th of the innings.
Taylor then returned for the final over with Australia needing an improbable 16 runs and shattered Brad Hogg's stumps with his first delivery to complete a split hat-trick.
Australia next play old foes England in Jaipur on tomorrow, a game Ponting said was "very important" in the context of the tournament.
"It is the first time Australia and England are meeting since the last Ashes battle," he said. "With a lot riding on the game as far as this tournament is concerned, I'm sure it will be another good game of cricket, hopefully one that we come out on top in."
The West Indians have eight days before their next game, against India, in Ahmedabad next Thursday.
"We understand that India play pretty well at home," said West Indian vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan. "But we will go into that game with the same positive attitude and hopefully win that one as well."
Sarwan said that captain Brian Lara, who suffered a back spasm while batting on Wednesday, would be fit for the next match.
The West Indies have won five of their past six one-dayers against India.

PAKISTAN BEAT SRILANKA

2006-10-18T01:36:00.000-07:00

• Abdul Razzaq put in a superb all-round show as doping-hit Pakistan turned the form-book upside down with a four-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a Champions Trophy match here yesterday.
Pakistan did a commendable job when they restricted Sri Lanka to 253 despite missing key pacemen Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, who returned home on Monday after failing dope tests. Seamer Razzaq came to Pakistan’s rescue with four wickets before completing the job under lights with a quickfire 38 not out off 24 balls in an exciting Group-B league encounter.
He exploded with a flurry of boundaries, finishing the match with his second six.
He added 54 off just 36 balls with Shoaib Malik (46 not out) as Pakistan won with 11 deliveries to spare.
“Everybody was keen to play good cricket and bury the whole (doping) issue,” said Pakistan captain Younis Khan.
“We are here to win. We were under pressure a bit, but we are mentally strong and play well as a team. I think the turning point was the way we bowled in the last 10 overs, especially Razzaq with the old ball.”
This was Sri Lanka’s first defeat in four matches of the ongoing tournament, having won three games in the preliminary round.
Left-handed opener Imran Farhat had put Pakistan on the right track with an impressive 53 while Mohammad Yousuf continued the good work with a solid 49 before being run out for the 33rd time in his career.
Sri Lanka paid dearly for letting off Farhat when the batsman was on 25, with skipper Mahela Jayawardene grassing a regulation slip catch off seamer Dilhara Fernando.
Farhat batted comfortably against the seamers and used his feet well against spinners before he fell playing one shot too many, caught in the deep off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. He hit eight fours in his fifth half-century.
Pakistan suffered a setback when a well-set Yousuf fell short of the crease while going for a third run on a misfield, but they eventually found a match-winner in Razzaq.
Sri Lanka earlier looked like posting a big total when they raced to 108-1 in less than 18 overs, but Pakistan came back strongly to make their opponents struggle for runs in the middle and final overs.
“Every time we looked like accelerating we lost wickets, so the momentum was lost,” said Jayawardene.
“The batsmen have to do their job as we fell 20-30 runs short. It is very disappointing as the top four batsmen were making runs consistently. Unfortunately, we made a lot of mistakes today.”
Razzaq led Pakistan’s fightback and received good support from off-spinner Malik (2-34) and leg-spinner Shahid Afridi, who bowled tightly in the middle overs.
Sanath Jayasuriya (48), Kumar Sangakkara (39), Upul Tharanga (38), Marvan Atapattu (36), Jayawardene (31) and Farveez Maharoof (22) all got starts, but none could convert it into a big knock.
Jayawardene also became the fifth Sri Lankan to complete 6,000 runs in one-day internationals after Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva, Atapattu and Arjuna Ranatunga.
Sri Lanka could capitalise only in the early overs after winning the toss as veteran left-handed opener Jayasuriya went on the rampage and dominated a 63-run stand for the opening wicket with the in-form Tharanga.
Jayasuriya, making a joint-record 368th appearance in one-dayers, treated the new-ball attack with contempt as he punished both Rana Naved and Rao Iftikhar during his 35-ball 48 which contained two sixes and five fours.
India’s Sachin Tendulkar is the other batsman to play 368 one-dayers.
Sri Lanka clash with New Zealand at Mumbai on October 20 while Pakistan meet the same opponents at Mohali on October 25. Australia, England, India and the West Indies are in Group A. The top two sides will advance to the semi-finals.

INDIA BEAT ENGLAND

2006-10-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

India beat England by four wickets in the Champions Trophy curtain-raiser in Jaipur after the hosts had produced an excellent bowling performance.
Munaf Patel and Ramesh Powar each took three wickets and Irfan Pathan removed Andrew Flintoff for a duck as England were bowled out for 125 in 37 overs.
England fought back valiantly with the ball, taking six Indian wickets in all.
But the tourists had not scored enough runs and Yuvraj Singh (27 not out) got the hosts home in the 30th over.
The best performance by any batsman in the match was Paul Collingwood?s 38, and James Anderson collected two wickets on his international comeback.
Anderson, whose last appearance for England had been in mid-April, also in India, removed pinch-hitter Pathan (19) and India captain Rahul Dravid in a single over.
Jamie Dalrymple and Steve Harmison also collected a brace of wickets each, though Harmison?s first over cost 20 runs.
Ultimately Sachin Tendulkar (35) and Yuvraj did enough for India on a wicket that was never easy to bat on.
There was plenty of uneven bounce and some swing movement on offer throughout.
England were not, however, helped by umpire Daryl Harper?s decision to uphold Patel?s appeal for lbw against Ian Bell in the fourth over of the match. The ball would have sailed over the stumps.
But when Flintoff and Michael Yardy also got their pads in the way of the ball, they had little reason to complain.
If 17-3 looked bad, then 27-4 was a total disaster for the tourists, who had been asked to bat first when India won the toss.
Kevin Pietersen finally injected some purpose into the innings, but Patel had him snapped up at first slip for 27 as he drove at ball that was not there for the shot.
As spinners Powar and Harbhajan Singh entered the fray, Collingwood and Dalrymple faced the dilemma of having to push the score along as much as possible while not losing any wickets.
They did at least advance the score from 55-5 to 106-6, until Collingwood, who had been batting brightly, was caught off glove and pad by wicket-keeper Mahendra Dhoni.
Chris Read had barely had a look at the bowling before hoisting Harbhajan to long-on before Harbhajan took the catch off Powar?s bowling to end Sajid Mahmood?s innings.
It was fine work by the fielder, running diagonally backwards to take the catch at long-on, his momentum almost taking him over the rope, but not quite.
Dalrymple?s vigil was ended on 24 and Harmison was run out as England?s innings finished in a hurry.
in India?s reply, Tendulkar and Pathan batted smoothly to take India to 55-1, whereupon the players took their 45-minute break.
Then, with the floodlights switched on, Anderson had Pathan spectacularly caught by Kevin Pietersen at short extra-cover.
Three balls later, Dravid departed to an Andrew Strauss slip catch to leave India 72-3. That double strike emboldened Harmison, who beat Tendulkar for pace to trap him lbw.
The run rate almost ground to a halt, before Dhoni lost patience and drove Dalrymple to mid-on. The off-spinner struck again when Suresh Raina was bowled for a duck.
But only seven runs were needed, and Harbhajan provided the winning hit, a boundary off Mahmood allowing the celebratory fireworks to begin.

disgraced Akhtar

2006-10-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

Cricket: Doctor defends disgraced Akhtar

The doctor of shamed Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has come out in defence of the player at the centre of cricketing's latest drugs scandal.

"Shoaib Akhtar may have taken the drug accidentally," according to his doctor Tauseef Razzaq, in an article posted on the ICC Champions Trophy website today.

Speaking from his Lahore residence, Dr Razzaq told the website, "I have been treating [Akhtar] for the last five years and he is more like a son to me. He never hides anything from me and I can say that he [would] never take the banned substance deliberately."

Dr Razzaq reportedly said the fast bowler has been on a herbal medication prescribed by a local hakim (doctor) in Pakistan and that could have created the problem.

"It is a possibility that the nandrolone drug was mixed in herbal medicines that he has been taking since his last surgery."

The superstar fast bowler and fellow bowler Mohammad Asif both tested positive for the steroid nandrolone, and were sent home from the Champions Trophy.

The tests were conducted by Pakistan at a camp late last month.

A spokesman for the Pakistan Cricket Board says the two players were part of a group of 25 tested before the Champions Trophy, in a World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory in Malaysia.

The tests were conducted internally, and not in an ICC tournament, so Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif will appear before a PCB disciplinary committee.

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer is defending his players, and says there is no way the players would have taken something to boost performance, but they have both been recovering from injury, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Akhtar has been suffering from knee and ankle problems while Asif had had a shoulder problem.

Nandrolone can sometimes aid recovery from injury.

If the 'B' samples are positive, both bowlers will be banned for two years.

"I want to assure everyone that I am innocent of doing anything I shouldn't have," Shoaib told the bigstarcricket.com website.

"All I can say at this stage is that I have not knowingly taken any performance-enhancing drugs and would never cheat my team mates or opponents in this way."

PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf said an investigation would be set up to look into the matter and possible actions against the pair.

"The players took it unfortunately," Ashraf said.

"They might have had no idea about the drug. It is the first time our players have tested positive so we'll take action accordingly."

Pakistan meet Sri Lanka in their first tournament clash tonight.

Pakistan cricket is still reeling from a ball-tampering fiasco which caused the team to forfeit the recent fourth test against England at The Oval.

That is in addition to controversy over the captaincy and the resignation of board chairman Shaharyar Khan.

Both players have only recently returned to top class cricket with Shoaib missing the four-test series in England last year with knee and ankle problems.

Asif played in the final test after he was sidelined by an elbow injury.

Australian leg spinner Shane Warne was banned for one year after testing positive for a diuretic before the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

Cricket website Cricinfo quoted Malcolm Speed, the chief executive of the ICC, saying that players should be well aware of banned substances.

Mr Speed told reporters in Jaipur that it was disappointing that two of Pakistan's premier bowlers had failed a test.

"Players have been tested since 2002 and I believe they're well aware of the substances on the list, as well as substances that most commonly cause problems for other sports. A number of times, the list has been advised to the cricket boards. This is not the first tournament when ICC has tested for drugs. We started in 2002 at the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand."

He continued: "Cricket is regarded as a low-risk sport in terms of doping.

"But five of our members - England, South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia - carry out regular testing within their own countries. The ICC has signed the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) code, as have most countries."

Speed was quoted by cricinfo as commenting on Shoaib Akhtar: "Shoaib has always been an exciting cricketer, a character and history will judge him the way it has to."