ICC Awards nominations list leads by M.S.Dhoni

MS Dhoni leads the honours list for the upcoming 2013 ICC Awards. The India skipper has been nominated for the important Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for The Cricketer of The Year along with the ICC ODI Cricketer of The Year award.

Dhoni has also been named the winner of the People’s Choice Award, complete through online voting. The accolades don't stop there: Dhoni is also the good captain and wicketkeeper of ICC's nominal ODI Team of The Year, and the wicketkeeper of the ICC Test Team of The Year, led by England Alastair Cook who has led his team to Test wins in India in December and during the Ashes this summer.

The individual awards will be decided by a 32-member panel comprise of previous cricketers, media persons, match officials and be headed by Anil Kumble as the ICC Committee chairman. The time frame of performance to be considered for the awards is August 2, 2012 to August 25, 2013. 

Since most cricket teams will be busy playing in different corners of the world, this year's awards will be declared through a television event on December 14. 

On winning the People’s Choice award, Dhoni said: “This is one of the awards that have given me tremendous satisfaction, since it comes from the key stakeholders of the game - the fans. Thanks from the people who support and encourage us day in and day out, only inspires me to put in that much more, and go the extra mile for them. I would like to thank all those people who have voted in my favor.

It's been a period of wildly variable fortunes for Dhoni. He had the disappointments of losing the home Test series to England and an ODI series to Pakistan. India had also failed to qualify for the 2012 World Twenty20 match knockouts. Dhoni had to witness the near breakup of his IPL franchise during the spot-fixing and betting scandal. He has put all of that behind him to lead the Indian team judiciously to key wins, including the ICC Champions Trophy in England and the twin wins in Tests and ODIs against Australia.

• Mahela Jayawardena (SL). Mahela Jayawardena, batting on 91 with Sri Lanka on 229-7, gloves Jeetan Patel’s delivery and is caught at the wicket by New Zealand wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk and starts walking before the umpire raised his finger. The nomination has come from a member of the New Zealand squad who felt Mahela’s actions were deserving of reference for the award as it happened at a very crucial stage of the match and Mahela, whose side was in some bother, walked without even waiting for an umpire’s decision. 

• Farhad Reza (Bang): Pakistan v Bangladesh, ICC World Twenty20 -2012, Group Stage matches, 25 September 2012. Farhad Reza of Bangladesh, in an attempt to catch Pakistan opener Nasir Jamshed, touches the boundary. Before the on-field umpires refer the catch to the third umpire, the 26-year-old Bangladeshi signals a six, confirming that his foot had touched the boundary. This was finished with minimum fuss. 

LG PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD (via internet voting): Alastair Cook (Eng), Clarke (Aus), MS Dhoni (Ind), Virat Kohli (Ind), AB de Villiers (SA). Winner: Dhoni.

NOMINATIONS — INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla (SA), James Anderson (Eng), Michael Clarke (Aus), Alastair Cook (Eng), MS Dhoni (Ind), and Kumar Sangakkara (SL).

ICC TEST CRICKETER OF THE YEAR: Hashim Amla (SA), James Anderson (Eng), Ravichandran Ashwin (Ind), Michael Clarke (Aus), Cheteshwar Pujara (Ind), Dale Steyn (SA).

ICC ODI CRICKETER OF THE YEAR: Saeed Ajmal (Pak), Shikhar Dhawan (Ind), MS Dhoni (Ind), Misbah ul-Haq (Pak), Ravindra Jadeja (Ind), Kumar Sangakkara (SL). 

ICC WOMEN’S ODI CRICKETER OF THE YEAR: Suzie Bates (NZ), Charlotte Edwards (Eng), Meg Lanning (Aus), Dane van Niekerk (SA), Anya Shrubsole (Eng), Stafanie Taylor (WI).

ICC EMERGING CRICKETER OF THE YEAR: Trent Boult (NZ), Cheteshwar Pujara (Ind), Joe Root (Eng), Mitchell Starc (Aus). 

ICC ASSOCIATE AND AFFILIATE CRICKETER OF THE YEAR: Kevin O’Brien (Ire), Kyle Coetzer (Scot), Ed Joyce (Ire), Nawroz Mangal (Afg).

ICC TWENTY20 INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR:

• Umar Gul (Pak) (SL) – 2.2-0-6-5 v South Africa, Centurion, 3 March 2013

• Martin Guptill (NZ) – 101* (69b, 9x4, 6x6) v South Africa, East London, 23 December 2012

• Brendon McCullum (NZ) – 123 (53b, 11x4, 7x6) v Bangladesh, Pallekele, 1 October 2012

• Ajanth Mendis (SL) – 4-2-8-6 v Zimbabwe, Hambantota, 18 September 2012

ICC WOMEN’S T20I CRICKETER OF THE YEAR: Suzie Bates (NZ), Shanel Daley (WI), Deandra Dottin (WI), Meg Lanning (Aus), Sarah Taylor (Eng), Stafanie Taylor (WI).

DAVID SHEPHERD TROPHY FOR ICC UMPIRE OF THE YEAR: Aleem Dar (Pak), Steve Davis (Eng), Kumar Dharmasena (SL), Marais Erasmus (SA), Ian Gould (Eng), Tony Hill (NZ), Richard Illingworth (Eng), Richard Kettleborough (Eng), Nigel Llong (Eng), Bruce Oxenford (Aus), Paul Reiffel (Aus), Rodney Tucker (Aus).

Vettori injury out of West Indies Tests

Previous New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori has ruled himself out of the upcoming West Indies test series starting next week due to fitness worries as he comes back from a serious injury.

The 34-year-old player all-rounder had operation on his left Achilles in June and, despite returning to the domestic arena this month, is unsure if he can cope with five-day matches. International cricket, and in main test cricket, places enormous demands on the body and I simply haven't played enough recently to be confident of meeting those demands, Vettori said in a statement on Tuesday.

The left-arm spinner said his short-term plan would be to concentrate on his domestic side Northern Districts and Brisbane Heat in Australia Twenty20 competition before re-evaluating his fitness in the New Year. What I cannot afford to do is throwing myself back into the international arena prematurely and re-injures myself, added Vettori.

Vettori, who boasts 4,516 runs and 360 wickets in test cricket, played the last of his 112 tests against West Indies in July 2012.

The 3-test series starts in Dunedin on December 3, with matches in Wellington and Hamilton to follow. New Zealand then hosts India in February.

Johnson Speed of the storm England all out

Australia Paceman Mitchell Johnson returned to his brutal best Friday as Australia blew away England for just 136 all out to turn the 1st Ashes Test on today. 

Australia, castigated for a top-order failure on day one, roared back to rattle the trophy-holders with 6 wickets for nine in one of their worst Ashes collapses. By stumps on the 2nd day in Brisbane, the home side had cruised to 65 without loss, 224 runs in front, with Warner on 45 and Chris Rogers not out 15.

And it was Mitchell Johnson, who has been unreliable in his Test career and was targeted mercilessly by England Barmy Army fans in the 2010/2011 series, who sparked the turnaround. The left-armer, steaming in and bowling at hostile pace, captured four for 46 off 13 overs, taking the wickets of Jonathan Trott, Michael Carberry, Joe Root and Graeme Swann.

The confidence flooded back into the Australians, coming off a 3-0 series loss to England 3 months ago, with Ryan Harris taking 3 wickets, spinner Nathan Lyon denied a hat-trick and Steven Smith holding 3 catches. They will now be confident of extending an unbeaten record at the Gabba ground which goes back to 1988. Australia is also trying to avoid losing four Ashes series in a row for the first time in 123 years.

England, who lost 6 wickets for just 9 runs, were left to contemplate their heaviest collapse since Melbourne 1990, when they gave up nine wickets for 47.Steven Smith dives to catch the ball played by Ian Bell. Their lowest first-innings score since the 102 against Australia at Headingly in 2009 came after the key scalp of Kevin Pietersen triggered a clatter of wickets.

Kevin Pietersen, playing his 100th Test, was dropped on 8 in a sharp caught and bowled chance by Peter Siddle. England were pinned down for 13 dot balls before Kevin Pietersen, on 18 from 42 balls, lost attention and flicked Harris off his pads to mid-wicket, where debutant George Bailey accepted a fine catch.

Johnson struck again three overs later when he peppered Carberry with some short deliveries before getting him to edge to Watson at second slip for 40.Then Lyon struck, removing the dangerous Ian Bell (5) and Matt Prior (0) with consecutive deliveries.

Smith snapped up a bat-pad catch to dismiss Bell, the man of the last series in England, and took a magnificent sprawling catch again next ball to send Prior on his way after a DRS review for a golden duck. 

Root played away from his body and nicked to third slip, where Smith took his third catch in two overs to leave England shell-shocked at 89 for 7. Graeme Swann was next to go, caught close in by Bailey off Johnson for a duck, while Harris dismissed Chris Tremlett (8) and Siddle finally finished Broad's spirited knock of 32, caught in the deep by Chris Rogers.

Before lunch Australia had removed England captain Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott cheaply.

Harris coaxed an edge off Cook to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin for 13 and Mitchell Johnson followed up snaring the wicket of Trott, who tickled one down the leg-side to Haddin for 10. The first innings by Australia had ended on 295 when wicketkeeper Haddin was run out chasing a century. The veteran wicketkeeper, 78 not out overnight, attempted a risky second run on 94 but was beaten by Carberry's throw from deep point to Prior behind the stumps.

Broad, England's hero of the first day walked off the Gabba holding the match ball aloft in tribute to his 6 for 81 off 24 overs.

Sehwag, Zaheer, Harbhajan Name No BCCI 2013-14 contracts

Zaheer Khan, Sehwag and Harbhajan have been dropped from the Indian cricket board list of contracted players for 2013-14. Tendulkar, who retires on going the Mumbai Test, remains in Group A.

The list has been cut down to 25 players from 37 last year. 

Tendulkar, India captain MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Ashwin, Suresh Raina form Group A.

The BCCI will pay them Rs.1 crore for the year.

The axe does not augur well for Zaheer Khan, Sehwag and Harbhajan, who are trying to make a national comeback. 

Yuvraj and out-of-form Gautam Gambhir remain in the BCCI's scheme of things but have been demoted to Group B where a player draws Rs.50 lakh per annum. 

Keeping them company in the grade are in-form Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Rohit Sharma. The likes of Dinesh Karthik, Amit Mishra and Ajinkya Rahane are in Group C and get Rs.25 lakh each for the central contract.

The players who do not figure in these lists will be placed in Grade C if they represent India in Tests/ODIs/ T20 Internationals during the season, said BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel in a statement Thursday.

The grade list:

Grade A (Rs. 1 crore annually): Tendulkar, Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Ashwin, and Suresh Raina. 

Grade B (Rs.50 lakh a year): Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Rohit Sharma. 

Grade C (Rs.25 lakh): Dinesh Karthik, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Vinay Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jaydev Unadkat, and Mohit Sharma.

WI three-match ODI series Squad Against India Tour

India Tour WI three-match ODI series Squad
Dwayne Bravo	Chris Gayle	Darren Sammy
Lendl Simmons	Marlon Samuels	Tino Best
Darren Bravo	Johnson Charles	Narsingh Deonarine
Jason Holder	Sunil Narine	Veerasammy Permaul
Kieran Powell	Denesh Ramdin	Ravi Rampaul

Jesse Ryder celebrates return with a ton

New Zealand cricket Player Jesse Ryder on Monday completed a remarkable comeback from a serious assault by posting a century in his first game for more than 7 months. He scored 117 off 164 balls playing for Otago away to his previous side Wellington in a provincial championship match

It was Jesse Ryder is first appearance with the bat since being seriously assaulted outside a bar in the South Island city of Christchurch March-2013.He was later suspended for 6 months after testing positive to a banned substance contained in weight loss pills.

Jesse Ryder 29-year-old, who has been in a self-imposed exile from international cricket since early 2012 when he said he needed to sort out personal issues, has announced he now wants to reclaim his place in the New Zealand Cricket team.

The left-hander is a prodigious batting talent, averaging 40.93 from 33 Test innings, but his career has been blighted by punitive lapses and off-field problems as well as fitness issues.

He appears to be making progress before he was beaten outside a bar in the South Island city of Christchurch and suffered a serious head injury.

We have all heard the stories of guys hitting their heads and dying after being punched and falling to the ground. I look back and think I am Very lucky not to be dead," Jesse Ryder later told reporters.

Oneday International Match Records Indians and others

At times, the mess is so huge the batsmen fail to clear it up, despite their best efforts. At times, the batsmen do such a thorough job, their refrain to the bowler’s changes to, so that's all you have got? It was the latter occasion tonight. India's bowlers leaked 359, the same score they had in the 2003 World Cup final. Only once had a big target been chased in one day international match history, the famous Wanderers 438 game. Leave alone 359, India had never chased even 300 successfully against Australia.

Australia put in an all-round performance beat by India

Australia put in an all-round performance; defeat India by 72 runs, to win the 1st ODI at the Maharashtra Cricket stadium here on Sunday.

Chase 305 for win, India lost Shikhar Dhawan (7) early, who was caught behind by Brad Haddin. Unfortunately for the keeper, the bowler Faulkner (3/47) high-fived him in the eye. Haddin went down right away, got back to work after receiving some action, only to walk off later on. Phil Hughes donned the gloves, watching a 40-run partnership bloom between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

A well 71-run partnership between Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina briefly put India on track. Kohli in particular played some delightful shots, driving and pulling with style. But once James Faulkner broke through this stand, Australia slowly began to establish control. Yuvraj Singh fell for 7, and Kohli (61) fell lbw, playing across to Shane Watson.

113 were needed from 60. But MS Dhoni can’t be summoned to engineer a rescue act all the time. Once he was bowled by Clint McKay, it was only a question of finishing the formalities. The tail did resist, but it was too late.

Earlier, Australian captain George Bailey won the toss and decided to bat first. Openers Phillip Hughes and Aaron Finch gave the hosts a good headache, added 110 runs for the 1st wicket. Hughes had Virat Kohli to thank, after the latter missed him on 32 at point.

The left-hander would go on to make 47, before he fell to Ravindra Jadeja, caught at leg slip by Suresh Raina.Yuvraj then came in, to take a wicket off his first ball, with Watson hitting the ball straight to Jadeja at long on. Aaron Finch then hung around with Bailey for a 33-run partnership, before ending up as Yuvraj second wicket.

Bailey (85) however was keen to keep the foot on the accelerator, and he thrived on the half-trackers being offered by Yuvraj. Adam Voges’ run out did bring about a bit of a wobble, but Maxwell joined his captain to restore stability. After a brief lull, Maxwell brought up his 1st six off Ashwin, before turning his attention to Vinay Kumar.

The right-hander smashed 2 sixes, punishing the right-armor for some pretty ordinary bowling, before beating a careless shot straight into the hands of Rohit Sharma at cover. Brad Haddin (10) came in to strike 2boundaries before, playing back to Ashwin. The leg before appeal was accepted, and Australia scorecard read 231/6.

Bailey went into 4th gear, hitting his tenth four, before being removed by Ashwin, when he took the aerial route. India then had trouble with the Australian tail, as Faulkner (27) made merry. Mitchell Johnson and Clint McKay too cleared the fence, as the visitors registered a challenging total of 304/8.

AUS-304/8(50overs) 

IND-232/10(49.4 overs) 

Player of the match G Bailey

Yuvraj Return to India Squad

Left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh has made a return to India’s ODI squad for the lone T20 and the 1st three ODIs against Australia.

The 31-year old scored 123, 40 and 61 for India A in a 3-match series against West Indies A and also scored 52 in the lone T20. Yuvraj also led India Blue to victory over Delhi in the final of the N.K.P Salve Challenger Trophy.

India will play 1 Twenty20 and 7 one day international s against Australia. But the selectors decided to pick the squad only for the Twenty20 and first 3 ODIs. Umesh Yadav, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik, Mohit Sharma and Parvez Rasool are outside.

Senior players gives more option to selectors

The Indian cricket season has commenced with a bang. The ‘A’ teams from New Zealand and the West Indies along with the early Champions League T20 games have brought quite a few of the young and aspiring older Indian cricketers into the fray. 

He seems to have come back with even more vigour, receiving a scintillating century and 2 wonderful knocks against the West Indies ‘A’. Along with him the success of Parthiv Patel and Robin Uthappa has bring to the table more choices for the selectors.

The toughest task is going to be for the selectors. They had made a good concrete path to get young faces and it proved to be a success with the team winning the Champions Trophy in England. 

Giving the seniors another chance to stake claim to their lost position is a generous move but could cost the selectors embarrassing options when they chose the team.

The Indian batting for cricket’s shorter version seems to be rosy with lots of options, but one will have to also look at the correct combination for the Test side. Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay will need to constrict their technique a fair bit to be successful overseas and a few sessions under the watchful eyes of Gavaskar would be the best option for them. 

Former players can help the young aspirant and somehow this approach is missed out on because of being reticent. Gautam Gambhir, I remember, took help from late Parthasarthy Sharma and came back to form after that. Also, it was nice to read that Robin Uthappa has recently done the same with Pravin Amre.

The sad tale is to see empty stands during all the recent ODI and Twenty20 games. We have built such wonderful new stadiums, but they seem to lack comfort and a hospitable experience. Each hosting relationship should only be given a match once the basics are in place or else we will see the finish of the on-ground watchers and be dependent on eye ball figures.

Aus announced ODI squad against Eng Warner dropped

David Warner has been dropped from Australian squad for the ODIs against Scotland and England, while Mitchell Starc will return to Australia after complaining of lower back soreness. Steven Smith, who was part of the original 18-member limited-overs squad, has already flown back after a thigh injury.

David Warner has been left out of the Australia’s ODI squad for this tour purely due to his recent lack of form in this format, Darren Lehmann, the Australia coach, said. By his own admission, David would acknowledge that unfortunately he hasn't scored the weight of runs that he would like just in one-day cricket for his country.

Australia start the ODI leg of the tour with a one-off match against Scotland in Edinburgh on September 3 before taking on England for a 5 ODI-match series that starts on September 6 in Leeds.

Australia in England Tour Australia Five ODI squad
No	Name	No	Name	No	Name
1	Michael Clarke(C)	6	Aaron Finch	11	Glenn Maxwell
2	George Bailey	7	Josh Hazlewood	12	Clint McKay
3	Fawad Ahmed	8	Phillip Hughes	13	Adam Voges
4	Nathan Coulter-Nile	9	Mitchell Johnson	14	Matthew Wade(wk)
5	James Faulkner	10	Shaun Marsh	15	Shane Watson

INDIA VS ENGLAND FIVE TEST MATCH SCHEDULE

The tour schedule also sees 50-over world champions India, who beat England by 5 runs in the Champions Trophy final at Edgbaston in June, involved in 5 one-day internationals and a one-T20 international Match.

INDIA vs ENGLAND FIVE TEST MATCH SCHEDULE
No	Date	Match	Team	Place
1	Jul 09 to14-2014	1 st Test	England vs India	Trent Bridge
2	Jul 17 to21-2014	2 nd Test	England vs India	Lord's
3	Jul 27 to31-2014	3 rd Test	England vs India	Rose Bowl
4	Aug 07 to11-2014	4 th Test	England vs India	Old Trafford
5	Aug 15 to19-2014	5 th Test	England vs India	The Oval

England Announced ODI squad Against Australia

England has rested Alastair Cook, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann for the 5-match ODI series against Australia next month.

Eoin Morgan will captain the side in Cook Rest, while pace bowlers Chris Jordan and Jamie Overton are included in an England squad for the first time.

Michael Carberry, Gary Ballance and Boyd Rankin, who are yet to make their ODI debuts for England, have also been selected.

Following a good intense period of cricket this summer we have decided to rest a number of senior players which will allow them to recover from a heavy workload over the last 3 months and to prepare for the tour of Australia which begins in 8 weeks, national selector Geoff Miller said in a statement.

Virat Kohli and other sports players got Arjuna Award

Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has been given the Arjuna Award, by the Government of India in respect of his contribution to sport. 

Along with Kohli, badminton player PV Sindhu who created history by winning a bronze medal in the recently world badminton championships has also bagged the award. 

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the highest sporting honor in the country, has been given to ace shooter Ronjan Sodhi, according to a report by NDTV.

The national sports awards will be held in New Delhi on August 29. The winners receive a statue, a mention and a cash prize of Rs.5 lakh. 

The Arjuna Award selection committee was headed by 3-time billiards world champion Michael Ferreira and comprised former India hockey captain Zafar Iqbal, archer Limba Ram, cricketer Ravi Shastri and table tennis player Indu Puri amongst others.

Full Award list:

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna: Ronjan Sodhi

Arjuna Awards:

1.Chekrovolu Swuro (Archery)

2.Renjith Maheshwary (Athletics)

3.PV Sindhu (Badminton)

4.Kavita Chahal (Boxing)

5.Rupesh Shah (Snooker and Billiards)

6.Virat Kohli (Cricket)

7.Abhijeet Gupta (Chess)

8.Gaganjeet Bhullar (Golf)

9.Saba Anjum (Hockey)

10.Rajkumari Rathore (Shooting)

11.Joshna Chinappa (Squash)

12.Neha Rathi (Wrestling)

13.Dharmender Dalal (Wrestling)

14.Amit Kumar Saroha (Athletics)

Banned Amir backs calls to match-fixing a crime

Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Amir has backed former India captain Rahul Dravid call to make match fixing a criminal offence. 

Amir, who was jailed in England for corruption and is also serving a 5-year ban for spot fixing during a test at Lord in 2010, urged the International Cricket Council to review and change its present system of anti-corruption enforcement and laws. 

"Fixing of cricket matches must be made an criminal offence where the punishment should be hard jail," Amir, who was released after 3 months of his 6-month prison sentence in England, told the Geo Super sports channel on Thursday.

Make fixing a criminal offence: Dravid

Only then will players be willing to report any come up to or offer or unusual movement to the ICC anti-corruption and security unit officers or their managing without fear.

Earlier this week Dravid, who has been named as a witness in a major spot-fixing scandal that tainted this year IPL Twenty20 competition, said merely calming players of the perils of match-fixing was not enough.

I have been through a lot at a young age and I have learnt a lot. I made expensive mistakes. But in order to prevent others from being lured into corruption tougher laws are compulsory by the ICC," said the 21-year-old, who was banned in 2011 by an ICC anti-corruption court with team mates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif.

Main thing is that the ICC needs to keep track of all phone calls made by players and official during a tour or match even if they need help of local police to make this legally possible.

South Africa beaten Sri Lanka by 22 runs 2ndT20

South Africa beaten Sri Lanka by 22 runs in the 2nd Twenty20 international in wind-swept Hambantota on Sunday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the Three match T20 series.

JP Duminy scored 30 off 23 balls and David Miller hit a violent 21-ball 36 as the Proteas reached 145-6 after elect to take first strike in the day-night match. Fast bowlers Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Morne Morkel then claimed 2 wickets each as Sri Lanka, the world top-ranked Twenty20 side, were restricted to 123-7 by an inspiring South African fielding display.

Kumar Sangakkara played a lone hand for the hosts with an attractive 39 off 35 balls, but he was only one of 3 batsmen who crossed 30 in difficult conditions for both teams due to the stiff breeze.

The series win helped South Africa salvage pride after an awkward 4-1 defeat in the preceding ODI.

South Africa's Twenty20 skipper FAF du Plessis said the win was sweet revenge for that loss.

Sri Lanka showed no mercy in the ODI and we surely don't want to be showing them any in the T20s, du Plessis said. The team has shown great character after what happened earlier. I thought we played a big game of cricket to get to 145 despite the wind. We were strategically very good in the bowling also.

The tourists, who won the first Twenty20 game by 12 runs in Colombo on Friday, will be looking to secure a series whitewash when the last match is played in Hambantota on Tuesday.Sri Lanka, who will lose their number 1ranking to 2nd-placed Pakistan if they are defeated again on Tuesday, paid the price for poor batting. I think it was a gettable score, but we just did not bat well," said Captain Dinesh Chandimal.

ICC World cup -2013 schedule

23 after Imran Khan led Pakistan to win over England, Melbourne will again host the World Cup final in 2015, while Sydney and Auckland will hosts semi-finals just as they did in 1992.

A wide range of other options for the major matches of a series co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand had been discussed in the lead-up to the formal announcement of the official fixtures in Melbourne on Tuesday; include the prospect of a semi or final at Sydney Olympic Stadium and even Adelaide Oval.

The tournament will feature fifty nine matches across forty four days in fourteen cities throughout February and March of 2015. Australia 2014-15 Test summer has been edited to a mere four matches against India in order to leave room for the cup lengthy schedule. 

14-team format has the competitors pitted in 2 groups of 7 teams, each to play 6 pool matches before the top 4 in each group advance to the quarter-finals, semis and final.

Venue cities and places: Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Canberra, Christchurch, Dunedin, Napier, Nelson, Hamilton, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Wellington

Pak won the series against WI-3-1

Pakistan twisted a 4-wicket win off the penultimate ball in the 5th and final one-day international against the West Indies at Wednesday.

Replying to the hosts total of 242 /7, captain Misbah-ul-Haq's innings of 63 again piloted the visitors to their target although they made heavy weather of it at the end, Pollard missing the stumps at the non-striker's end and Saeed Ajmal striking home for the winning run to the relief of his teammates.

Pakistan take the 5-match series 3-1with one tied and now both teams shift focus to the 2 Twenty20 internationals to be played on coming Saturday and Sunday in St Vincent

Score Details

West Indies-242/7(50)

Pakistan-243/6(49.5)


Player of the match
Misbah-ul-Haq(Pak)
 
Player of the series
Misbah-ul-Haq (Pak)

Pakiatan beat WI By 6 Wickets

Rainy weather, the Duckworth/Lewis method and a lightning assault by Pakistan middle-order batsmen stole the thunder from the West Indies as the visitor’s quick the rain-affected 4th ODI by 6 wickets on Sunday.

In a match already reduced to 49 overs-per-side and after Marlon Samuels blazed an unbeaten 106 in the home team total of 261 for 7, Pakistan were set a revised target of 189 off 31 overs as a 2nd shower of the day interrupted play when they were 68 for 2 off 17 overs.

Needing a further 121 off 14 overs, half-centuries from Mohammad Hafeez and captain Misbah-ul-Haq sped the visitors to the target with one over to spare. It was like a T20 game when we came back out, said a delighted Misbah after his key role in the win. Mohammad Hafeez and I realized that we just had to play normal cricketing shots and look for the odd boundary. 

It was a case of not panicking and just staying focused on the target. Samuels returned to something like his sumptuous best, stroking 4 sixes and 9 fours off 104 balls in a feast of batsman ship in the midday sunshine. He put on 95 for the 5th wicket with Simmons, who supported Samuels’s classy assault with a belligerent 46 off 44 balls.

West Indies made 2 significant decisions before a ball was bowled in replacing hard-hitting Pollard with Devon Smith and demoting Chris Gayle to number 5 in the batting order in light of his continuing struggle for runs against the new ball.

He was back in the middle at 63 for 2 after Smith fell cheaply to Mohammad Irfan and Charles was trapped leg-before by Wahab Riaz, benefit from a huge slice of luck almost directly when put down by Hafeez off Wahab before he had scored. 

Following a tie in the 3rd match 2 days earlier, Pakistan now have an unbeatable 2-1 lead going into the 5th and final match at the same Beausejour Stadium venue on Wednesday.

Player of the match

M Samuels

South Africa in Sri Lanka ODI Series Schedule 2013

South Africa in Sri Lanka ODI Series

Date	Match	Team	Place
20-Jul-2013	1st ODI	Sri Lanka vs South Africa	Colombo
23-Jul-2013	2nd ODI	Sri Lanka vs South Africa	Colombo
26-Jul-2013	3rd ODI	Sri Lanka vs South Africa	Kandy
28-Jul-2013	4th ODI	Sri Lanka vs South Africa	Kandy
31-Jul-2013	5th ODI	Sri Lanka vs South Africa	Colombo

All rounder Afridi Record Hit Beat WI by 126 Runs

Shahid Afridi made one of the more amazing comebacks in international cricket in leading Pakistan to a crushing 126-run win over the West Indies tour in the first ODI at the Sunday.

Omitted from his country failed Champions Trophy campaign, the mercurial all-rounder returned the best-ever ODI bowling numbers by a Pakistani, and the 2nd best overall, in snaring 7 for 12 to rout the home side for just 98 off 41 overs after having top-scored with a classically swashbuckling 76 in the visitors total of 224/ 9.

happily for Pakistan, this was not one of those times and his impact on the match started with his domination of a 120-run 6th-wicket partnership with his captain, Misbah-ul-Haq (52), the pair rescuing their team from the depths of 47 for 5 after gangling fast-medium bowler Jason Holder had wrecked the top order in finishing with the outstanding figures of four for 13.

Score Details

Pakistan: 224/9 (50)
S Afridi -76(55)
Misbah-ul-Haq (C)-52(121)

Best Bowling
J Holder-4/13 (10 overs)

West Indies: 98/10 (41)
Highest Score
M Samuels -25(75)

Best Bowling

S Afridi-7/12(9 overs)

Player pf the match
Shahid Afridi

India win Tri-Nations Title beat SL by 1 Wicket

It was bitter deja for Sri Lanka as captain MS Dhoni almost single-handedly denied them the Tri-Nations Cup with an innings of stunning calmness and aggression on Thursday.

A series of implosions on either side all came down to Dhoni, arguably the best finished in the modern game, facing Shaminda Eranga final over of the match with India needing 15 runs to win. Eranga had bowled superbly throughout the game and Lanka were just 1 wicket away from what would have been a hard-earned title.

But the nerveless Dhoni, who missed the earlier matches due to a hamstring injury, had other plans. And all they took were three deliveries a monster hit that clatter onto the roof, a slash over point for 4, and another savage hit over extra-cover for six. Indian team captain cool had finished it again with an unbeaten 45 in acute crisis; guide his team to win after they had lost 6 wickets for 43 runs during a disturbing phase of play.

India 1-wicket win was only the second occasion of this slender margin of win in an ODI competition final involving 3 or more teams. The previous occasion was in Pakistan famous verdict over India at Sharjah - the site of Javed Miandad famous last-ball six off Chetan Sharma. 

Jadeja

Sri Lanka had earlier suffered from an astonishing collapse of their own as they lost eight wickets for just 30 runs to be bundled out for 201. On a pitch that had a little something for bowlers of all types, only Sangakkara (71) and Thirimanne (46) stood out with the bat.

Expectedly it was swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar early strikes that got things moving for India. The youngster saw off the backs of openers Upul Tharanga and Jayawardene. The former done in on the inside edge for MS Dhoni to take a smart catch down the legside; Jayawardene, in his 400th ODI, brain-freezing into slashing a wide delivery to slip.

The men in form, Sangakkara and Thirimanne, brought in an impression of control through a 122-run alliance for the 3rd wicket. Their time, however, was helped in no little measure by an untidy India in the field. 

Score Details

Sri Lanka: 201/10 (48.5)

Highest Score
K Sangakkara-71(100)
L Thirimanne -46(72)

Best Bowling
R Jadeja-4/23(7.5 overs)

India: 203/9 (49.4)

Highest Score
R Sharma -58(89)
M Dhoni-45(52)

Player of the match

Player of the series

India Will Meet Srilanka in Tri Series Final

Bhuvneshwar kept up his 1st spell exploits as India win Sri Lanka by 81 runs (D-L method) to enter the final of the ongoing ODI Tri-Nation series in the Caribbean islands. The young swing bowler unbelievable figures of best 6-1-8-4 halted Sri Lanka pursuit of a revised target of 178 in 26 overs, an initial collapse leading to full-blown ruin and concluding in a bonus point win for new skipper Virat Kohli team.

By virtue of being the top 2 sides in the fray respectively, India and Sri Lanka will contest the final on Thursday. But like the one that preceded it, this match too appeared to be heading into a keep day after rain restricted India first innings 119/3 in 29 overs. The weather left time enough only for Sri Lanka to bat. And India humble total was lent a veneer of fight and propriety, thanks to the mysterious ways of the Duckworth-Lewis equation.

Two in two 

India had to restrict Lanka to 167 to win with the bonus point and get ahead of the West Indies Net Run Rate. They began in right earnest with dismissals off successive balls. Bhuvneshwar angle consumed the left-hander Upul Tharanga.

On the next ball, the Meerut lad trapped Kumar Sangakkara leg before, although replays indicate a borderline decision with reference to height. Bhuvneshwar Kumar then beat Dinesh Chandimal outside edge on the hat-trick delivery as the injured MS Dhoni looked on proudly from the dressing room.

More drama unfolded when Yadav bruised Chandimal right elbow with devilish pace, recreating the torrid time Malinga and Mathews had given to Rohit Sharma when India batted.

Bhuvneshwar 

Bhuvneshwar took his 3rd as Mahela Jayawardene (11) backed away and chopped the bowler to third man and his 4th when Lahiru Thirimanne (0) slapped him straight to Kohli at cover. Lanka were 40/4 after ten overs and the spinners, R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, completed the formalities. The chase ended on 96 in 24.4 overs.

Score Details

India: 119/3 (29)

R Sharma -48(83)

V Kohli (C)-31(52)

Sri Lanka: 96/10 (24.4) target of 178 in 26 overs(D/L)

D Chandimal -26(54)

Best Bowling

B Kumar-4/8(6 overs)

Player of the match

Bhuvneshwar kumar