Sri Lanka's veteran seamer Chaminda Vaas insists his international career

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's veteran seamer Chaminda Vaas insists his international career is not over despite retiring from Test cricket and finding himself dumped from the limited-overs game. The left-armer, 35, ended his Test career at the end of the three-match series against Pakistan on Friday, saying he was still keen to play One-day and Twenty20 cricket till the 2011 World Cup. The selectors, however, did not pick Vaas in the 15-man squad for the upcoming five-match One-day series against Pakistan starting in the central town of Dambulla on July 30. "I will be back soon," Vaas said at a farewell media conference after his last Test, the 111th in a 15-year career in which he claimed 355 wickets at an average of 29.58. "I have not played One-day cricket for 11 months and during that time all the young fast bowlers have played very well and grabbed the opportunities with both hands. "I am going to work hard to fight for my place."


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Ian Bell is set to return to England's

LONDON: Ian Bell is set to return to England's Test team next week at his Edgbaston home ground after star batsman Kevin Pietersen was ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes series with an Achilles problem. Bell, 27, may have been out for a duck against Hampshire on Friday, in a match where he only made seven in the first innings, but he has long been regarded as the 'next man in line' should England need to alter their batting line-up. The Warwickshire batsman was included in the squads, but not picked for the final XI, in both of the first two Tests against Australia. England are currently 1-0 up in the series, following a draw in Cardiff and their 115-run win at Lord's last week. They are due to announce a 13-man squad on Sunday for the third Test of the five-match series and England national selector Geoff Miller paved the way for Bell's return by saying Friday the extra two places were likely to be taken by additional bowlers, rather than batsmen. Bell played the last of his 46 Tests against the West Indies in Jamaica in February but was dropped after a run of low scores, with Ravi Bopara taking over in England's problem position of No 3.


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Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson's Ashes tour in England

SYDNEY — Test greats Kim Hughes and Shane Warne believe Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson's Ashes tour in England is being torn apart by a public split with his mother, reports said on Thursday. Johnson's spectacular loss of form -- he has taken eight wickets for 331 runs in the opening two Tests -- has been largely blamed for the Australian team's losing start to the five-Test series. Johnson, 27, arrived in England as Australia's premier pace spearhead but former Test skipper Hughes said his confidence has hit 'rock-bottom' since his spat with his mother. Vikki Harber, 45, made headlines earlier this month when she said her son had been stolen from her by his karate champ fiancee, Jessica Bratich. Harber told the Herald Sun newspaper her once close relationship with her son had deteriorated since he started going out with Bratich. While pundits say there are some technical issues involved in Johnson's loss of bowling form, Hughes believes the young quick has been deeply affected by his mother's comments. "I found it incredibly surprising that his mum said what she did -- Mitchell Johnson is a pretty sensitive young man and now it looks like he is totally devoid of self-confidence," Hughes told the Daily Telegraph. "That really added some extra pressure and he is a young man who has got other things on his mind. When you lose confidence in yourself, all of a sudden there are technical things that you lose as well.

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Pakistan batted on for just three overs

Pakistan batted on for just three overs after lunch, setting Sri Lanka 492 to win, or 149 overs to survive. Mohammad Aamer illustrated his big-hitting potential with a couple of mighty hits down the ground, and when Chaminda Vaas led his mates off the field in his final Test, the mood was understandably subdued. Lunch Pakistan 299 and 410 for 9 (Aamer 10*, Ajmal 0*) lead Sri Lanka 233 by 476 runs Having established a stranglehold on the game on the third day, Pakistan put the boot in during the first session on Thursday, with Umar Gul the star of the show. Only this time, it was with the bat, as Pakistan stretched their lead to 476 by lunch. Sri Lanka faced the prospect of surviving five sessions or going after an unprecedented target. Trailing by 366 when play resumed, Sri Lanka started poorly, with both Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik taking fours from Thilan Thushara's opening over. The partnership had swelled to 133 by the time Nuwan Kulasekara gave Sri Lanka the breakthrough, getting some late movement to catch the outer edge of Akmal's bat as he went for the expansive drive, handing Mahela Jayawardene a sharp catch to his right at slip. They couldn't build on that though. Thushara got Malik to slash hard at one, but Sangakkara's despairing dive only resulted in the ball being tipped away for two runs. The sloppiness didn't end there though. Tharanga Paranavitana put down a high catch at slip after Gul had ducked a bouncer with his bat positioned like a periscope, and then Sangakkara fluffed a stumping with Gul way down the track. Malik was moving along steadily, but his progress was halted by a nasty blow to the side of the eye, after an attempted pull off Thushara sneaked through the helmet grille off the top edge. In the next over though, there was an element of retribution, as a short ball was emphatically pulled for four.


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Michael Vaughan, writing in his Daily Telegraph column

That form should be enough to earn him a recall to the side in place of the injured Kevin Pietersen. And Bell is confident he can produce the goods in front of his home crowd. "I have enjoyed being back with Warwickshire and having plenty of input, but I still have an eye on what is happening with England, naturally," Bell said. "In many ways county cricket has been refreshing and given me a chance to look at my game and where I am going. I've been going well, converting my 50s into hundreds. "I take nothing for granted in terms of selection. I may be in many respects the next cab on the rank, but you cannot assume it. I'm also an England supporter and as such I want us to be playing our best team possible. "Obviously that would include KP because he is our No1 batsman. I have played against the Aussies many times and I am aware how tough they are to beat, but it goes without saying it is something I would look forward to if selected." Former England captain Michael Vaughan, writing in his Daily Telegraph column, says Bell must learn to relax at the crease. "For all that Pietersen will be gutted, his absence will create a massive opportunity for Ian Bell," wrote Vaughan. "He should be mentally fresh and he will have a huge point to prove after he was left out in the Caribbean. "It is important, though, that he doesn't try too hard. Belly has a habit of always striving for the perfect shot and the perfect innings, and sometimes you need to make an ugly 20 or 30 just to get your knock going."

Source : www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/theashes/5892142/The-Ashes-Ian-Bell-confident-ahead-of-England-return-for-third-Test.html

Andrew Flintoff might be expected to bowl with such venom

Brad Haddin was out, the Long Room was enraptured and England was on its merry way to a first Lord’s Ashes Test victory for 75 years when Andrew Strauss, the captain, turned his thoughts to how long Andrew Flintoff might be expected to bowl with such venom. Strauss said later: “After he took that first wicket this morning, he said, ‘By the way, just to let you know, I’ll keep on going until all the wickets are gone.’ I said, ‘It sounds like a good plan to me.’” The irresistible force of Flintoff’s pace and precision smashed Australia’s resistance and finally wrote the name of the crocked colossus with the pin-cushion knee on the board of English bowlers who have claimed five Test wickets in an innings at this great London warehouse of myth and legend. To allow his pre-lunch rampage to outshine one of the finest England team performances anyone here could remember might seem reductionist and surrender to the cult of personality. But one of the enduring charms of team sports is that gifted individuals can burst from the fog of collective responsibility and steal the show with their own unstoppable talent. From the moment Haddin could only deflect a fizzing Flintoff delivery to Paul Collingwood in the slips — the Australian wicketkeeper departed without adding to his overnight 80 — this history-making second Test became a study in one man’s quest to leave an audience not just wanting but slavering for more.

For further details visit as : www.hindu.com/2009/07/22/stories/2009072257371800.htm

Saina Nehwal encouraging world badminton championships

New Delhi: Title aspirant Saina Nehwal received an encouraging draw in the world badminton championships to be played in Hyderabad from August 10 to 16. The draw, held in the capital on Tuesday, Arjuna Awardee Saina received a bye in the first round of women’s singles. Given Saina’s current form, there is a distinct possibility that the sixth seeded Indian girl would move to the quarter finals without facing any problem. Saina’s coach and former All England champion Pullela Gopichand, however, was confident that the Hyderabad star would make it to the last four of the championships. “In the quarter finals, Saina would meet second seed Lin Wang,” Gopichand predicted. “But there is nothing to worry about. Saina has beaten the Chinese before. She should be able to do it again in front of her home crowd.” In the third round, Saina may face 10th seeded Bulgarian Petya Nedelcheva. The draw was made in the presence of Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell, Badminton World Federation vice-president Paisan Rangsikitpho and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi. Former All England champion Prakash Padukone was also present. Padukone said even though Saina had a good chance of bagging the title in Hyderabad, the Chinese stars would once again dominate the championships. Among other Indians, Sayali Gokhale will meet Jie Wao of the Netherlands in the first round and Aditi Mutatkar will face 11th seed German Juliane Schenk, a former European junior champion. Hong Kong’s Zhou Mi is the top seed.


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England at bay with an unbeaten century

LONDON: Michael Clarke survived some fiery new-ball bowling to keep England at bay with an unbeaten century that gave Australia hope when all seemed lost in the second Ashes Test at Lord's on Sunday. Scorecard Australia were 313 for five when bad light forced an early close on the fourth day with 12 overs left.

They needed a further 209 runs to achieve what would be a new Test record fourth innings victory total of 522 on Monday's final day. England, by contrast required five more wickets if they were to beat Australia in a Test at Lord's for the first time in 75 years and so go 1-0 up in the five-match series following last week's drawn opener in Cardiff.
But first they needed to separate Clarke and wicket-keeper Brad Haddin, 80 not out, who'd so far shared an unbroken stand of 185 for the sixth wicket.
If Australia reached their target they would surpass the current fourth innings record victory total of 418 for seven made by the West Indies
against Australia in Antigua in 2002/03. After tea, Haddin - who made a hundred in Cardiff - completed a 95-ball fifty with a single against off-spinner Graeme Swann.
And next ball Clarke went to his 11th Test hundred and first at Lord's when he pushed Swann for two.
He reached the landmark in 159 balls, his first fifty coming in 58 but his second in 101 as Clarke concentrated hard.
It had looked Sunday as if England might wrap up victory with more than a day to spare as they reduced Australia to 128 for five.



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Final cricket test against Pakistan at Sinhalese Sports Club

COLOMBO (AP): Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss Monday and elected to field first in the third and final cricket test against Pakistan at Sinhalese Sports Club.

Sri Lanka brought in veteren seamer Chaminda Vaas for his farewell test at the expense of out-of-form spinner Ajantha Mendis. Legspinner Danish Kaneria replaced fast bowler Abdur Rauf who played for Pakistan in the second test. Sri Lanka leads the series 2-0.
Teams:
Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Malinda Warnapura, Tharanga Paranavitana, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Anjelo Mathews, Chaminda Vaas, Thilan Thushara, Rangana Herath and Nuwan Kulasekera.
Pakistan: Younis Khan (captain), Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamer, Danish Kaneria and Fawad Alam.
Umpires: Ian Gould, England, and Simon Taufel, Australia.



For further details visit as : www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/007200907201040.htm

Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli are still the best of buddies

NAGPUR: Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli are still the best of buddies. Once Kambli made his position clear — following a recent controversy wherein it was alleged that he had made some poor remarks against his childhood friend in a television show —the issue died a natural death. While Kambli lost little time in denying statements attributed to him, Tendulkar, true to his self, remained calm. It was his way of suggesting that the issue was nothing but a ‘storm in the tea cup’. Having backed each other in their own ways through the turbulent time, both Tendulkar and Kambli will make an appearance together at a public felicitation function at the Vasantrao Deshpande Hall along with their coach Ramakant Achrekar here on Saturday. Their former Mumbai and India teammate, Sameer Dighe, will also be coming for the function. During the event, aptly titled, ‘Gaurav Guru Shishyancha’, (in honour of the coach and his pupil) both Tendulkar and Kambli would be feted along with their coach Ramakant Achrekar who would be presented with a purse of Rs. 5,00,000.

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Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are due to visit Lord's Cricket Ground

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are due to visit Lord's Cricket Ground to watch part of the second Ashes Test match between England and Australia.

The game is into its second day and at the close of play on Thursday England had scored 364 runs for the loss of six wickets with captain Andrew Strauss hitting 161 not out.
The Royal visit comes the day after Andrew Flintoff announced he would retire from test cricket after the Ashes series.
The England all-rounder, who was the hero of England's victorious 2005 Ashes campaign has been plagued by injuries in recent years and will now concentrate on one-day cricket.
When the Queen and the Duke arrive at the cricket ground in central London they will be met by Keith Bradshaw, secretary and chief executive of the Marylebone Cricket Club, who will introduce them to representatives from the Australian and British cricketing associations.
The Royal couple will then watch part of the match before walking on to the pitch to meet Australian captain Ricky Ponting's Australian team and management and Strauss's teammates.
Before leaving the Queen and the Duke will have lunch in the cricket ground's committee dining room.
She last attended a test match at Lord's in May 2007 when she watched part of the game between England and the West Indies.



Source : www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jj83c19p-yXP23RjBHplFTX0hs0A

Sri Lanka's last two wickets added

Sri Lanka's last two wickets added only 14 runs after lunch, as Pakistan limited their first-innings deficit to 150, after it had threatened to be much greater at the end of the first day. Angelo Mathews, who had a let-off on 4, made it count, making 27 and helping the lead touch 150 with a slog to midwicket off the persevering Saeed Ajmal, but fell off the next ball, getting a leading edge to a doosra as he looked for a single to keep the strike. It was Ajmal's fourth wicket, just reward for having bowled unchanged through the day.

Thilan Thushara had earlier fallen soon after the break, trapped in front by Abdur Rauf, as Pakistan continued their resurgence after lunch. They'd taken seven Sri Lankan wickets for 76 runs on the second day; now it was the turn of the batsmen to continue the good work done in the field.


Source : www.cricinfo.com/slvpak2009/content/story/414015.html

Bangladesh to the lead

KINGSTON, 12 JULY: It was a very tight session of play in Kingstown. Both teams fought hard and gave nothing away but didn't do enough to seize control of the game. Tamim Iqbal shared an 82-run opening partnership with Imrul Keyes to push Bangladesh to the lead but West Indies didn't allow them to get away at a frenetic, match-controlling, pace.

Perhaps, Bangladesh were worried about repeating their first-innings collapse and opted for the safety-first tactic. West Indies don't have the firepower to blow the opposition away on this slow track and chose to keep it tight with their disciplined line-and-length bowling.
Tamim was the more adventurous of the batsmen. He looked for his favourite off drives and didn't flinch from cutting if the ball was short. In the past, he has paid for his over aggression but today was careful not to cross that line. When Tino Best hurled sharp bouncers at him, Tamim swayed away calmly but when it was short and wide enough to cut, he went for it. He did have a couple of iffy moments, in the thirties, against Sammy when he edged couple of drives but got over that phase quickly. As the session neared the end, he seemed to falter in concentration again and tried to slog the offspinner Ryan Austin without much success.



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England have an opportunity of the Ashes series

SYDNEY (AFP) — England have an opportunity to regroup for the rest of the Ashes series after they courageously held off Australia's bowlers for a tense draw in the first Test, according to Australia's media.
James Anderson and Monty Panesar staged one of cricket's great escapes as the last-wicket duo batted together for 40 minutes to deny Ashes holders Australia what seemed a certain victory on the final day in Cardiff on Sunday.
While England appeared doomed to go one down in the five-Test series, Paul Collingwood was the bedrock of the home team's fighting rearguard, defying the Australian bowlers for nearly five-and-three-quarter hours in his gutsy 74.
"I'm sure England coach Andy Flower will be very relieved to go to Lord's (second Test) with the series still level," former Test legspinner Stuart MacGill said on SBS TV.
"He's got a great chance now to pull the team together. They have an amazing opportunity to put things right and get England back on track."
Fellow SBS TV panellist and former Test allrounder Greg Matthews said Australia's batsmen and bowlers generally put in great performances in the Cardiff opener, but just couldn't get over the line.
"England were 5/70 after 26 overs. In the next 77 overs Australia took just four wickets," Matthews said.
"England got lucky today. They showed a lot of courage, but they got lucky.
"England will take some nice positive things out of today. They fought hard and dug themselves out of a hole, but they took six wickets."



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Nielsen added that the fast bowler Mitchell Johnson's

Australia's coach Tim Nielsen believes the reverse swing of Brett Lee and his England counterpart James Anderson will have a big impact on the Ashes series.

Lee showed he is fully recovered from an ankle operation when he took seven wickets against the England Lions at Worcester last week while Anderson has been tipped by many to challenge Andrew Flintoff as England's leading bowler of the series, which starts on Wednesday in Cardiff.
"I think reverse swing will play a big part. Brett bowled it so well in the first innings at Worcester," said Nielsen. "He bowled a very impressive spell of 90 miles an hour plus, with the ball reversing in. That is his big strength when the ball starts to do that, especially with his pace. He has done it well in the past and Anderson does a good job with it for England.
"If the ball stops swinging naturally, the idea is to try and get it going reverse as quick as you can. With fast outfields and flat wickets, you need something happening otherwise good batsmen will get a lot of runs. I think it will play a huge part."
Nielsen added that the fast bowler Mitchell Johnson's form and fitness was improved by the warm-up game against the Lions and he expects him to be fully prepared for the Tests. "Mitchell definitely got better against the Lions. His pace was up. He was able to go over and round the wicket, which is a good sign for his rhythm," he said.
"He got the ball through nicely and worked out a couple of things from the first innings that hadn't worked quite right. He is coming along nicely and with a couple of run-outs in the nets under his belt on Monday and Tuesday, he will be primed and ready for the Test. The biggest thing for us is being aware he is going to have three weeks playing in a row.



For further details visit as : www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jul/06/anderson-lee-ashes-tim-nielsen

ODI series, Mahindra Singh Dhoni won all four tosses

Gros Islet (St Lucia) (PTI): Statistical highlights at the conclusion of the four-match cricket one-day series between India and the West Indies here on Sunday.

# India have won (2-1) a one-day series against West Indies in in the Caribbean after a gap of seven years. In 2001-02 also India had won the series by a 2-1 margin,
# India's series win is their fifth in a row - two against Sri Lanka and one each against England, New Zealand and West Indies - India's best winning sequence in ODIs.
# India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni finished as the highest run-scorer in the series - 182 at an average of 91.00.
# Dwayne Bravo (6 at 19.83) and Ashish Nehra (6 at 19.16) were the leading wicket-takers in the just concluded series.
# Chris Gayle recorded his 19th duck in ODIs - his fourth against India on Sunday.
# As captain, Gayle has registered his third duck in ODIs - one each against India, Pakistan and England.
# For the first time in an ODI series, Mahindra Singh Dhoni won all four tosses.
# Dhoni now enjoys a winning % of 66.00 - 33 wins out of 55 (Lost 17, NR 5) - the best record by an Indian captain.
# Dhoni's batting average of 90.28 (632 in 12 innings, including six fifties) is the best by any batsman in ODIs in 2009.
# Dhoni's first Player of the series award against West Indies is his fourth in ODIs.



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India's seven-match ODI series against Australia

The BCCI today announced Guwahati, Delhi, Mumbai, Mohali, Hyderabad, Nagpur and Jaipur as the venues for India's seven-match ODI series against Australia, scheduled for October-November this year. The tour programme and fixtures committee of the board which met in Mumbai will finalise the match schedule after the logistics are worked out. Guwahati and Delhi missed out on fixtures during India's previous home ODI series, with England opting to return home after the Mumbai terror attacks last November. The two cities were scheduled to host the last two games of the seven-match series but England flew back soon after the fifth match at Cuttack. However, they returned for the two-Test series that began on December 11. Mumbai was to host the second Test but lost out due to the changed security situation. The panel for the 2009-10 domestic season also decided that the Duleep Trophy would continue to be played on a knockout basis, along with the revival of the inter-state Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Trophy. The inter-state two-day women's tournament will not feature this year, as only one-dayers and Twenty20 matches have been scheduled in women's cricket. In junior cricket, the CK Nayudu Trophy for Under-22 players and the Cooch Behar Trophy for the U-19s would be played in a two-tier format - elite group and plate group - on a home and away basis.

Source : uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/02072009/28/bcci-announces-venues-australia-odis.html

Captain Javed Miandad has urged the International Cricket Council

KARACHI (Reuters) - Former Pakistan test captain Javed Miandad has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to resist calls for a shake-up of the traditional test match format.The ICC is considering reducing tests to four days from the current five as part of a series of innovations aimed at keeping the oldest form of the sport exciting to spectators in the wake of Twenty20's growing popularity."Any move to change the format of test cricket or the way it is played would prove very harmful to cricket in the long run," Miandad told Reuters on Thursday."I don't think reducing tests to four-day events and playing them under lights or using coloured balls will help the sport, which needs its traditional form to survive."Despite the rising popularity of Twenty20 cricket, most players considered test cricket as the real format for the game, he added."Twenty20 is good entertainment and has commercial value but any move to tamper with the traditional format of test cricket will prove counter productive," Miandad added.The former batsman, who appeared in 124 tests and is now on the Pakistan board, said it was important to find away to let all forms flourish."A path must be found for all formats of the sport to survive together like test and one-day matches have done."Pakistan won the Twenty20 World Cup last month in England and the shortest format of the game is becoming increasingly popular in the country.

Source : in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-40753020090702

After returning from Malaysia, Saina, currently the world number seven

HYDERABAD: Saina Nehwal is not in a hurry for the number one ranking but the Indian wants to see herself among world's top five shuttlers by the end of this year.

After returning from Malaysia, Saina, currently the world number seven, said she would take it step-by-step and would be reasonably happy to break into the top five by the end of the year.
Also Read: I'm more popular in Indonesia & Malaysia: Saina
"My immediate target is the World Championship (in Hyderabad) in August and I hope to do well in that. After that, I have events in Chinese Taipei and Macau. By the end of the year, I hope to get into top five," said the soft-spoken shuttler.
The Indonesian Open Super Series triumph has instilled enough self-confidence in Saina to start dreaming big and she reckons attaining the number one ranking is difficult but not impossible altogether.
"Becoming number one will not be easy," she said. "It will be really tough. You have to win consistently. It is not impossible but I guess it will take some time," she said.
Looking back at her Super Series triumph in Indonesia, Saina said it came a little early than she had anticipated and the feeling took time to sink in.


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Test cricket remains the pinnacle of the sport

LONDON (AFP) — Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara put aside the hype over Twenty20 on Monday and declared that Test cricket remains the pinnacle of the sport.

"I think Twenty20 should enhance Test cricket; Tests should have prime importance," said Sangakkara after his team lost by eight wickets to Pakistan in the World Twenty20 final at Lord's.
The 16-day tournament has been widely hailed as a success with most matches at the Lord's, Trent Bridge and Oval venues sold out.
"If you ask players around the world, every single player will admit Test cricket is the real test," added Sangakkara.
"At the end of the day not many people will go around saying you scored 2,000 runs in Twenty20 cricket but they will talk of you if you score 10,000 runs in Test cricket.
"That is the final ambition of all cricketers and if you are a good cricketer you can play any format of the game.
"We as Sri Lankans would love to play 10 to 12 Test matches a year, we would like to see that day come very soon."
Sangakkara said he had no excuses after his side suffered fresh one-day misery after losing Sunday's final.
The comprehensive eight-wicket defeat followed the team's 50-over World Cup final loss two years ago to Australia in Barbados.
Sri Lanka had enjoyed an unbeaten run to the final, a sequence of wins which included a victory over Pakistan.
But on Sunday they lost early wickets - including player of the tournament Tillekaratne Dilshan for a duck - as they slumped to 32 for four after Sangakkara won the toss, with paceman Abdur Razzaq taking three for 20.


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