West Indies stumble after bowling fightback

 West Indies, already widely dismissed as no-hopers after the first two days of a three-match series, lost three top-order wickets for no runs in nine balls on the verge of tea to contemplate the possibility of defeat inside three days as England's first-innings lead of 155 looked more impregnable by the minute. England's pace attack fired in more short balls than has become their habit and it paid dividends....

Read More

Recent record gives Pakistan edge over Sri Lanka - Misbah

 Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan's Test and ODI captain, has said that his team's recent record against Sri Lanka gives it the edge leading into the tour slated for June and July. "Sri Lanka is always a difficult team to play against, especially in their back yard," Misbah said on the sidelines of Pakistan's preparatory camp in Lahore. "Obviously we have to be at our best in all departments, because they always come...

Read More

Delhi knock out Punjab and take top spot

 Delhi Daredevils confirmed their standing as the team to beat with a fearsome opening burst from their fast bowlers, Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav, before a typically brutal David Warner innings pretty much guaranteed top spot. Kings XI Punjab, one of the lower-profile teams in the tournament, managed to stay alive till the final weekend of the league phase but couldn't make it to the playoffs as a power-packed...

Read More

Shah Rukh Khan gets five-year ban from Wankhede

 The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has banned Shah Rukh Khan, the Kolkata Knight Riders owner, from entering Wankhede Stadium for five years as a result of his scuffle with security guards after the game between Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians on May 16. The IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, however, said the ban was not final until the BCCI had its say on the matter. "The MCA managing committee is forced to ban...

Read More

IPL 2012 Points Table

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR Daredevils 15 10 5 0 0 20 +0.599 KKR 15 9 5 0 1 19 +0.478 Mum Indians 15 9 6 0 0 18 -0.160 Super Kings 16 8 7 0 ...

Read More

Broad completes career-best haul

 England's allrounder Stuart Broad claimed his Test-best figures of 7 for 72 as it took only one ball for the home side to wrap up West Indies first innings on the second morning at Lord's. The West Indies resumed on 243 for 9 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 87 not out overnight, hoping that the last man Shannon Gabriel would hang around long enough for him to reach his 26th Test century. But Gabriel, on debut, lasted...

Read More

Kenya matches postponed due to security fears

The ICC has confirmed that next month's matches between Kenya and Namibia in Nairobi have been postponed until September 2012 due to security concerns. Nairobi Gymkhana was to host the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup match between the two sides from June 6, followed by two 50-over ICC World Cricket League Championship matches on June 11 and 13. The ICC considered holding the match at an alternate venue but decided against it due to logistical...

Read More

Vusi Sibanda makes a comeback in Zimbabwe squad

 Vusi Sibanda has made a return to Zimbabwe's national squad and was included in the 24-man training group to play South Africa in five Twenty20 matches in June. Sibanda was not considered for Zimbabwe's January tour of New Zealand after he chose to play grade cricket in Australia instead of fulfilling domestic commitments in Zimbabwe. Although Sibanda returned home after a five-week stint for Eastern Suburbs...

Read More

Ajantha Mendis named in Sri Lanka provisional squad

Sri Lanka spinner Ajantha Mendis and fast bowler Dilhara Fernando have been named in the 30-man provisional squad for the upcoming tours by Pakistan and India. The squad has no new faces. Mendis and Fernando last played for Sri Lanka during the tour of South Africa last year. Mendis, who suffered a back injury, hasn't played a competitive match since January. Nuwan Pradeep, the fast bowler, is also returning from injury. Pradeep suffered...

Read More

Lorgat eyes top CSA role

 Haroon Lorgat, outgoing chief executive of the ICC, has confirmed he would be open to an offer from CSA subject to a complete restructure of the board. The organisation may soon have to search for a new boss following the suspension of Gerald Majola in March and Lorgat, along with current acting CEO Jacques Faul, are among the top candidates. Majola's suspension after ministerial inquiry chaired by judge Chris...

Read More

Multiple coaches a possibility for New Zealand - White

 New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White has said that the possibility of multiple coaches for the national team, for the game's different formats, is being looked into. This, he said, could be an option to help New Zealand get through a hectic international schedule more effectively. "Whilst the team is touring and playing one form of the game, you must ensure other specialists are preparing [for other...

Read More

McDermott's legacy must be maintained

 Among the more succinct lines uttered by John Buchanan in his time as Australia's head coach was a stated desire to ultimately make himself redundant. Buchanan argued that if he was doing his job successfully, then the players under him would soon learn to make their own decisions, leaving the coach to concentrate on more strategic matters. In less than 12 months as Australia's bowling coach, Craig McDermott ...

Read More

Jurgensen named Bangladesh's interim head coach

 Bangladesh have named Shane Jurgensen - their bowling coach - as their interim head coach. The decision was made at the board's cricket operations committee meeting during which the national team's proposed tours of Zimbabwe and Europe in the next two months and playing a Twenty20 tournament in Trinidad and Tobago later in the year were also discussed. "Our bowling coach Shane Jurgensen will look after the...

Read More

Bangladesh included in Zimbabwe tri-series

 Bangladesh have been included in a Twenty20 tri-series in Zimbabwe, which will also feature South Africa, in June. Ozias Bvute, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) managing director, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Bangladesh will take part, while the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said they only needed the ratification of their board before regarding the matter as finalised. "We have put forward such a request [to play in...

Read More

IPL can't duck the F-word Penalising players is not enough; it's time to pull up and rein in the franchises

On Wednesday night, Lalit Modi complained about how the TV channel that showed the sting operation and put certain information "in the public domain" was "totally misleading". He felt for the viewers, the fans and the sporting fraternity, he said, because the sting had no proof. Quite the contrary. What India TV's "Operation IPL" proved beyond doubt was that India's young domestic cricketers, those who drift away from centrestage, are quite...

Read More

No pay for players following Toronto All Star T20

Top international players who participated in an 'All Star Twenty20' event in Toronto last weekend, some of them travelling from as far as South Africa and Sri Lanka, have been left in the lurch over their appearance money and in some cases reimbursement for air travel. Events company Kat Rose, who organised the event, said they incurred substantial losses when six Pakistan players including Shahid Afridi pulled out...

Read More

Gayle ton delivers crucial win for Bangalore

 Royal Challengers Bangalore needed to win at the Kotla, to draw level with Chennai Super Kings on 17 points, to move one ahead of Kings XI Punjab, and to pull further away from Rajasthan Royals, their closest competitors. Defeat against league leaders Delhi Daredevils, who had already secured a playoff spot, would have been debilitating to their campaign. So the time and place Chris Gayle chose to score his season's...

Read More

Pomersbach detained over alleged assault

 Luke Pomersbach, the Western Australia batsman who is part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad, has been detained by Delhi police following allegations that he assaulted a US national and her fiance at a hotel on Thursday night. The alleged incident took place after the match against Delhi Daredevils. "A US national, staying at Hotel Maurya, was molested by Luke Pomersbach, an Australian player of RCB,...

Read More

IPL 'missed opportunity' for Pakistan players - Hafeez

 Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan's newly appointed Twenty20 captain, has said that his side has missed out on the opportunity to enhance their skills by not being part of the IPL. They will have to face up to Sri Lanka short on match practice, he said, but the team is focussed on their task and optimistic about putting in a strong showing. "For about two months we have not been playing international matches, not even...

Read More

Chanderpaul defiant despite Broad sweep

 That Shivnarine Chanderpaul values his wicket like few others is not a matter for debate. His team-mate Darren Bravo felt it, the umpire Marius Erasmus felt it and, most painfully of all, the England bowlers felt it. All three found at the start of an international summer that getting him to leave the crease is no easy matter. More than 18 years since he made his Test debut, Chanderpaul is ranked the No. 1 Test...

Read More

Gilchrist pushes Chennai to the brink

 Kings XI Punjab kept themselves in contention for a place in the playoffs with a comfortable victory set up by their seamers in Dharamsala. In conditions conducive to swing and movement, Praveen Kumar and Parvinder Awana stymied Chennai Super Kings, who finished their league campaign on a disappointing note, though are still hanging by a thread in this IPL, and are at the mercy of other results. Kings XI's decision...

Read More

Bangalore look to stay alive

 How rapidly prospects change in the IPL. Two days ago, Royal Challengers Bangalore were on a three-match winning streak, with healthy chances of making the playoffs. Then they lost to Mumbai Indians, one of their competitors for a top-four finish, and later that day another competitor, Chennai Super Kings, beat Kolkata Knight Riders, whose position is far healthier than that of Royal Challengers. Now Royal Challengers...

Read More

IPL 5 Point Table

Cloz competition wid Chenie and Banglore , Kings Punjab vs Rajistan  look this point table Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR Daredevils 14 10 4 0 0 20 +0.715 KKR 15 9 5 0 1 19 +0.478 Mum Indians 15 9 6 0 0...

Read More

BCCI begins corruption probe

The BCCI has begun its investigation of the corruption charges against five players, with Shalabh Srivastava deposing before its inquiry commission in New Delhi. The hearing was conducted by Ravi Sawani, head of the new anti-corruption wing announced by the BCCI on Saturday. Sawani, whose last job was heading the ICC's ACSU, has been given 15 days to carry out his investigation and report to the BCCI. Srivastava, part of the Kings XI Punjab...

Read More

Strauss not looking too far ahead

 With the sun shining on Lord's and Andrew Strauss receiving the ICC Test Championship mace in the rose garden, it would be easy to reach the conclusion that all is well for England cricket. It is true, too, that the last few years have brought unprecedented success. England have won their first global competition - the World Twenty20 - they have won the Ashes home and away and they have climbed to No. 1 in the...

Read More

Imran Tahir seeks Qadir's help before England series

 Imran Tahir, the South African legspinner, will prepare for the much-anticipated Test series against England with long-time mentor Abdul Qadir. Tahir is set to travel to Lahore to meet Qadir for personalised training before the national team heads to England in July, with the No. 1 Test ranking in their sights. "It will be a very big series and if I do something special it will be one of the biggest achievements...

Read More