[Kool Guy]

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[Kool Guy]

Australia 6 for 253 (Clarke 77*, Gilchrist 61) beat Sri Lanka 125 (Sangakkara 42, Bracken 5-47) by 128 runs

It was a rematch between last year's World Cup finalists that turned into a mismatch. Nathan Bracken earned career-best figures as he bowled Australia to a comfortable 128-run win, exploiting the slow SCG pitch to perfection after Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist set up an imposing target of 6 for 253.

Kumar Sangakkara looked like carrying on from his last international innings in Australia - he made 192 in the Hobart Test in November - as he cracked 16 off a Brett Lee over. However, when Bracken trapped him lbw with a delivery that angled in towards middle stump and kept low, Sri Lanka's hopes quickly slipped away.

Bracken finished with 5 for 47 when he collected the final wicket as Muttiah Muralitharan skied a catch to the outfield and the CB Series had its first result following a pair of wash-outs in Brisbane. The rot began with Sangakkara's dismissal, which sparked a disastrous spell in which they lost 7 for 51.

As if to prove it simply wasn't Sri Lanka's night, Lasith Malinga was run out in unlucky circumstances when he took a single and grounded his bat past the crease, but in the process it knocked out of his hands moments before Andrew Symonds' throw hit the stumps. His feet were in the air and Sri Lanka were on the ground.

At that point it had not seemed long since Sangakkara brightened Sri Lanka's prospects with a series of vicious strokes off Lee. He top edged an attempted pull to third man for four but instead of putting the shot away, Sangakkara simply decided that practice makes perfect. Two further pulls from on and outside off stump raced to the boundary before he finished the over with a cracking cover drive that just evaded the diving Symonds.

But one over of joy does not make a 50-over victory. Bracken led a strong bowling effort, having Chamara Kapugedera caught sharply by Matthew Hayden at first slip before Tillakaratne Dilshan thrashed a chance to long-off. Sri Lanka had needed almost the highest successful ODI chase at the SCG - the record is Australia's 260 set in 1998-99 - but they never got close.

The slow-and-low pitch was not easy to bat on but the visitors made much harder work of it than Australia. There was also the matter of the different mindsets; Sri Lanka took a defensive approach that allowed Clarke to to finish unbeaten on 77 after Gilchrist set up the total with 61.

Clarke poked, prodded and sprinted his way to a half-century as he batted to fields that seemed designed just to stop boundaries. That part of Sri Lanka's plan worked as Clarke struck only two fours and one six, but he was content to bat himself in with hurried singles and twos.

Apart from a six lofted over long-on against Muralitharan early in his innings, Clarke was not forced to take many risks. His first four was an unconvincing bottom edge that flew to third man and took him to 45 but his second - and last - was a more orthodox drive through cover that brought him his fifty from 63 balls.

Jayawardene's tactics had been defensive from the start and there was no cordon in the third over when Hayden edged Chaminda Vaas to the vacant first-slip position. That allowed the 65-run opening stand that Australia used as a platform for their solid effort.

The Sydney crowd was denied a Gilchrist century and settled for a sensible knock from the hometown hero Clarke. Gilchrist's record playing Sri Lanka - five of his 15 ODI centuries came against them - suggested a big innings but there was no repeat of the last time the two sides met, when he made 149 in the World Cup final.

Although he was more guarded than usual on the unhelpful pitch, Gilchrist gave the fans a couple of flashbacks to his powerful prime. He rocked back to pull Malinga viciously over midwicket for six and sent Ishara Amerasinghe through and over cover for boundaries.

His half-century took more than half the innings, which is almost unheard of for Gilchrist, and his 81-ball effort ended on when Tony Hill ruled him lbw trying to slog-sweep Kapugedera. Gilchrist departed to a standing ovation and it will become a familiar feeling for him over the next month as he completes his farewell. Triple-figures or not, his final series is beginning on a high note.

[Kool Guy]

While denying reports of marrying Ayesha Siddiqui, an Indian
girl based in Hyderabad, Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik said on
Tuesday that he would be filing a defamation case against her family, both
in Pakistan and India.

Shoaib Malik told a press conference here allegations that he had ditched
the Indian girl were "baseless". Malik was accompanied by Imran Zafar, a
close relative whom the Pakistan skipper has delegated to handle the matter.


Imran admitted that Malik had developed contacts with Ayesha through the
internet and telephone in 2001. Later he even tried to meet Ayesha, visiting
India for the purpose, but her family told him that the girl had gone to
Saudi Arabia.

Then in 2005, Shoaib Malik went to India with the Pakistan team, and tried
to see the girl once more, only to be told that she was in the United
States.

But, Imran said, the shock came when "we learnt that Ayesha is not the girl
whose photograph he (Malik) received through the Internet. This led Malik to
cut all ties with her."

Ayesha's family claims that Malik had married her on June 3, 2002. The Nikah
was performed by a religious leader from Sialkot, the skipper's home town.
The family claims it had been agreed, on Malik's request, that the wedding
be kept secret till an "appropriate time".

But now they are asking for a divorce, calling the cricketer a "cheat".
However, Malik contends that in order to give a divorce there should have
been a marriage in the first place.

[Kool Guy]

HYDERABAD: The father of a Hyderabadi girl whose love story involving Pakistani cricket captain Shoaib Malik went sour contested his claim that the couple did not enter into a nikah and pressed the player to give a "formal divorce."

M A Siddiqui in a statement said the family will move the court if his daughter does not get divorce which was needed to help her start a "new life."

He was reacting to Malik's statement in Karachi on January 21 when the cricketer claimed that no nikah took place between him and Ayesha Siddiqui.

"The nikah of my daughter (Ayesha) with Shoaib Malik took place on June 3, 2002. We also have the proof," said Siddiqui amid reports that the couple got 'married' through a telephone nikah on that date.

Siddiqui, a resident of posh Banjara Hills in the Andhra Pradesh capital, also challenged Malik's claims that his marriage plans with the Hyderabadi girl ended because both families could not reach an understanding on certain issues.

"Yes I had a long relationship with her and we planned to get married. But no nikah ever took place and in the end our families could not reach an understanding on various things," Malik had said.

Siddiqui alleged Malik wanted to end the relationship not for the reasons he had stated but "just to gain goodwill and build his image."

Siddiqui said his daughter is "devastated and traumatised" by the whole issue and claimed she was hospitalised many times.

[mission]

Excellent thread KG (Y)...

From my side

[Kool Guy]

India 5 for 160 (Tendulkar 44) beat Australia 159 (Hussey 65*, Ishant 4-38) by five wickets



A five-wicket win chasing 160 might seem a comfortable victory but India made hard work of their success at the MCG, grinding out their first triumph of the CB Series with less than five overs to spare. Their youngest star Ishant Sharma set up the small target and their oldest warrior Sachin Tendulkar put their batting on track, but it was left to Rohit Sharma and their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to complete the task.

Rohit finished unbeaten on 39 and Dhoni was on 17 as Ricky Ponting ran out of attacking options with only four specialist bowlers in his line-up. The pair was in no hurry and for 13 overs India scored only in singles as they battled from 3 for 93 to 5 for 118. While the match remained alive, the crowd did not care that picket fences were being constructed on the scoresheet instead of being cleared by towering sixes.

The previous day in Wellington England were thrashed as New Zealand chased down 131 with 20 overs to spare. But with an extra 30 runs, a world-champion attack and helpful conditions for the fast bowlers, Australia proved that low totals can still make for gripping contests at the highest level.

It was fitting that Dhoni was there at the end, as his aggressive captaincy earlier in the day had put his side in a winning position. He must have had moments of doubt though when he watched his top order stumble. After India's Twenty20 thrashing at the hands of Australia less than a fortnight ago Dhoni said the batsmen had forgotten their individual roles. Similar problems were glimpsed in the 50-over format until Dhoni and Rohit came together.

Things were ticking along comfortably at 2 for 89 with Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir both looking dangerous. Gambhir was caught when Brett Lee surprised him with extra bounce but Tendulkar threw his wicket away by driving Mitchell Johnson to mid-off on 44 as the runs began to dry up.

Still, nothing silly was needed as they required less than three an over with six wickets in hand. Unfortunately for India, dot balls do not sit comfortably with Yuvraj Singh and the superb tight bowling of Stuart Clark and Johnson tempted him into folly. Yuvraj did not pick a slower one from Clark and drove to short cover, which left India at 5 for 102 and handed the momentum back to Australia, albeit briefly.

Clark, who for so long has been on the fringes of the ODI side, highlighted his potential value with a ten-over collection of 1 for 26 and Johnson was excellent with 2 for 24. But it was Lee who put the frighteners into India, regularly clocking over 150kph and generating some sharp bounce. His figures of 1 for 41 suggested he was the weak link in Australia's attack but it was his ferocity that sparked his colleagues.

His figures ballooned after an early 12-run over when Tendulkar drove him superbly straight and through cover for three boundaries. Things might have been different had Rudi Koertzen raised his finger when Tendulkar appeared to edge a Clark legcutter to Gilchrist on 24; Gilchrist was extra frustrated as Koertzen also failed to hear a thick edge off his own bat in Australia's first over and wrongly adjudged him lbw.

Regardless of how hard India made the chase look, Australia knew they needed early wickets to defend such a small total. Ponting's reluctance to push harder - during the second over Virender Sehwag edged Nathan Bracken marginally wide of the sole slip - made Australia's task even more difficult. Ponting was out-captained by Dhoni.

Dhoni realised the best way to rattle the world champions was all-out attack and he juggled his three main strikers for 21 overs before thinking about spin. He backed the fast men with an assortment of catchers, which forced Australia into a different game-plan after Friday's thrashing of a defensive Sri Lanka.


Michael Hussey's rescue act was not good enough to drag Australia to a match-winning total © Getty Images


The results spoke for themselves as Ishant had Matthew Hayden caught behind following a pair of lucky slashes over the three-man cordon and Ponting snared at first slip when he was surprised by extra bounce. Between them, Ishant and Harbhajan Singh have this season driven Ponting into what by his high standards is a very rare slump.

A lack of easy runs also frustrated Michael Clarke into a loose flick straight to midwicket off Irfan Pathan after Andrew Symonds edged behind to give Ishant his third. Australia soon fell to 6 for 92.

Sreesanth, who at 25 was the old man of India's pace attack, kept things tight and fittingly it was he and Ishant who returned to finish off the Australians after Michael Hussey and Lee poked and prodded for a 53-run stand. Ishant was the pick, finishing with 4 for 38, while Sreesanth complemented him with 3 for 31 from nine overs.

Hussey's unbeaten 65 was his first time past fifty in an ODI in nearly a year. Most of his runs were sprinted ones and twos and he found the boundary only four times, although a pull over midwicket from a Sehwag delivery that wasn't that short was particularly impressive.

But Australia's pain had been inflicted long before and Hussey's roll of sticking plaster ran out as the team's wounds gradually gaped wider and wider. The only people who might have enjoyed the game even less than Ponting's men would be Sri Lanka, who on Tuesday face the conquerors of a team that beat them by 128 runs in Sydney.

[Kool Guy]

Fleming may opt for early retirement
February 11, 2008


Stephen Fleming could end his Test career earlier than expected with the home series against England looming as a possible farewell for the former captain. Fleming had been tipped to continue until the return tour of England, which finishes in June, however a report in the Herald on Sunday said that now seemed unlikely.

The paper said Fleming's wife was expecting their second baby in June, which might contribute to an early call. That would leave the selectors with more headaches ahead of the England trip, with their Test line-up already losing Nathan Astle, Scott Styris, Shane Bond and the fringe players Craig McMillan and Hamish Marshall in the past 13 months.

John Bracewell, the coach, said it he was not bothered if Fleming chose to say goodbye in the third Test against England in Napier in late March. "My understanding was that Stephen wanted to go on and play the England series in England," Bracewell told Monday's New Zealand Herald. "But it doesn't surprise me and doesn't particularly concern me.

"It's always disappointing to lose experience, but it's also an exciting time for selectors to pick and see the development of youngsters. The young men we've selected in this particular round so far have shown some great attributes for the international game. There are kids out there who want a crack."

Fleming's departure would mark the end of a significant era in New Zealand Test cricket, as he is the country's most capped player, highest run scorer, longest serving captain and leading catcher. He held a similar swag of records in one-day internationals when he ended his career in that format last year.

[Kool Guy]

In his last innings at his adopted home ground Adam Gilchrist whet the appetite of a partisan crowd with a determined half-century that took Australia to 2 for 122 by the half-way mark in game six in Perth. Against the backdrop of Sri Lanka's swipe at Australia's mental fortitude Gilchrist put his side on target for a formidable total despite another failure from his captain, who decided to bat first on a hard WACA surface.

The early initiative, brief though it was, went Sri Lanka's way as Matthew Hayden, Gilchrist's partner in many a showdown, failed to ignite. Hustled by extra pace and bounce from Lasith Malinga, he played a horrible pull that went right into midwicket's palms.

But one man came out with a clear agenda. The cheer for Gilchrist as he walked on to the field was palpable and if he was overcome by emotion he didn't show it. Taking guard as he has for the last decade, Gilchrist took a moment to survey the field set for him - two slips, three men on either side of the pitch inside the circle, a third man and deep fine leg - and was off the mark first ball with a tuck to square leg.

There wasn't a lot of sideways movement expected at the WACA and Malinga worked a good line to keep Gilchrist relatively quiet, but three times pitched wide and was hammered through the covers. Without any needless risks, Gilchrist ticked along at a fine strike-rate and kept the run-rate at near five an over. He received his first really loose delivery in the 11th over and duly flayed it through point to put 50 on the board. In the next over Farveez Maharoof was welcomed into the attack with a disdainful six over mid-on and a cleaner, straighter six followed as the 50-run stand with Ponting came up.

At this juncture Sri Lanka made a big strike, and a calculated one at that. Ricky Ponting had been out in the slip cordon on all four occasions this series and after edging one wide off the lone fielder he opened the face of the bat one too many times and presented Mahela Jayawardene, this time standing wider, with a simple catch. Before this match Jayawardene said Ponting was a man he would look to put added pressure on after his lean summer with the bat, and the Sri Lankan captain won this battle.

One man's continued battle contrasted with another's flourish. Gilchrist's strengths have always been hand-eye coordination and superb bat speed, and at 36 he showed both were still pretty sharp. Nuwan Kulasekara pitched marginally short of a length and craned his neck as the ball disappeared over midwicket, the six bringing up Gilchrist's half-century from 57 balls. He dominated another half-century stand, this time with a patient Michael Clarke, and in the process became the fourth batsman to aggregate 9000 runs while opening the batting.

Another hoick over midwicket was followed with the purest of straight drives for four and the WACA gathering felt something bigger brewing. Gilchrist only has one ODI hundred at the WACA, against Sri Lanka in 2005-06, and looked set for another at the twilight of a remarkable career.

[Kool Guy]

The chances of Australia going to Pakistan next month grow slimmer by the day with the Australian reporting senior players would pull out of the trip if it goes ahead. The visit is dependent on a security inspection, which is currently due to occur after the country's elections on Monday, but Cricket Australia said in a letter to the Pakistan Cricket Board it has been advised not to travel.

"We are aware of the significant concerns that the players have and they are concerns we share," the Cricket Australia public affairs manager Peter Young told the Australian. "We're still moving through a process and we have a way to go before that process is finalised."

The paper reported "most of Australia's senior players have made it privately clear they would pull out of any visit". The violent situation in Pakistan may force the security visit to be cancelled, but Young said no decision had been made, believing there were "significant obstacles" which need to be worked through. "But that's not to say the obstacles are locked doors," Young said.

Nasim Ashraf, the Pakistan board chairman, raised suggestions of a boycott for the return 2009 tour if Australia did not take part in next month's series. "We're obviously keen to see them here and the circumstances of them visiting here have to be considered in isolation at that time," Young said. "The particular circumstances this time include significant concerns about safety and security that we just can't ignore."

[mission]

KG thanks for sharing excellent thread.... Good Work from your side...

Can I also participate in your this thread ? If yes then I can fully participate here after election vacations.....

Waiting for your reply.....

[Kool Guy]

thanks
yeh sure... any can add...

[Kool Guy]

Mahela Jayawardene has urged his side to adopt a smarter approach following Sri Lanka's 63-run loss to Australia in the sixth CB Series match in Perth.

Sri Lanka were in with a great chance to notch up their first win over Australia but a meek batting performance put paid to their chances. "We need to go hard, but the shot selection has to be a bit better," he said after the loss. "In world cricket a lot of guys do go hard up front, with the power plays and all that, but the guys have got to be a bit smarter.

Kumar Sangakkara played a lone hand in the Sri Lankan run-chase but the rest gave it away with some poor strokeplay. "The way we lost wickets was not good," he said. "At crucial times, we keep losing wickets and you can't do that in a run chase."

The tailenders once again failed to make an impression - the last five wickets put together only 14 - and Jayawardene wanted to see Chamara Silva, Farveez Maharoof, Chamara Kapugedera and Nuwan Kulasekera take up more responsibility with the bat. "These guys can bat and they have scored runs and we need to get their confidence back," he said.

Sri Lanka, who were off to a poor start in the series, revived their chances with a thumping eight-wicket win against India on Tuesday. However, Sri Lanka's batsmen are yet to fire against Australia - having collapsed against them on both occasions. Sanath Jayasuriya has shown only glimpses of form, with 46 runs at 15.33, while Jayawardene, Silva and Tillakaratne Dilshan all fell cheaply when up against Australia.

Sri Lanka take on India in their next match in Adelaide on Tuesday.

[Kool Guy]

A valuable half-century from Michael Clarke kept Australia afloat before a tigerish bunch of fielders backed up accurate bowlers to pull off a memorable 50-run win in Adelaide. Few would have given Australia a chance from the depths of 5 for 73 but so tenacious was the fightback that they pocketed a bonus point as well.

A scorching day saw the bowlers take centrestage. Irfan Pathan led India's charge before another left-armer, Mitchell Johnson, played a big part in the fightback. At 1 for 55, India seemed on course for an easy win but the contest opened up after they lost three wickets in nine balls, all to injudicious swings outside off. Once Mahendra Singh Dhoni fell to a moment of fielding brilliance, the match was headed only in one direction.

Australia were revived, quite fittingly, by James Hopes, a medium-pacer who surprised with extra zip off the pitch. He broke a promising stand, inducing an edge from Pathan, before luring Rohit Sharma into a false drive. Johnson managed to pocket a wicket in between, tempting the in-form Gautam Gambhir into a fatal flash to point. India were still in the hunt, though, especially with Yuvraj Singh showing signs of regaining form. But Yuvraj's shoddy swipe across the line to a long-hop and Dhoni's poor call shut the final window of opportunity.

Australia's intensity rarely wavered. Adam Gilchrist missed a simple chance against Sachin Tendulkar early on, when neither him nor first slip went for the catch, but made up with five dismissals by the end. With 73 dismissals against India, Gilchrist now has the most for a wicketkeeper against any country. He didn't do much with the bat but his performance behind the stumps, including a diving catch to finish the game, sealed a fine Adelaide farewell.

Australia's early slide began with Gilchrist falling, smashing his bat in the dressing room after his dismissal. To Ishant goes the credit of providing the initial breakthrough. Gilchrist was laying into Sreesanth when Ishant castled him with one that came in a fraction. Even before the dismissal it was clear that Ishant had sussed up the conditions early. He clocked up serious pace, going beyond the 152kph mark on one occasion, and extracted plenty of bounce from what was a good batting surface. He was duly rewarded with another wicket in his second spell - Andrew Symonds failing to gauge the bounce and chopping straight to gully - and showed the rest the value of a disciplined approach.

Pathan picked up the baton effortlessly. He moved the ball enough to create doubts in the batsmen's minds before slipping in the sucker punch of a ball outside off. Hayden didn't account for the extra bounce, snicking one to the wicketkeeper, and Michael Hussey wafted lazily at one outside off. Like all of India's bowlers, Pathan used the bounce in the track well and came back to nab two more wickets.

Clarke, who fell to Pathan towards the end, turned in an invaluable knock, adding 72 with the gritty Brad Hogg. The duo, coming together when James Hopes was left hopelessly stranded outside the crease to a Harbhajan doosra, played the percentages well. They decided to cut out the risks and chipped away with singles and twos.

Clarke began slowly but upped the strike-rate as his innings went along. He struck six fours but the signature strokes were the taps in the gaps followed by quick running between the wickets. He didn't go on to his hundred, holing out to midwicket in his first real slog attempt, but his knock was crucial in helping Australia post a competitive score.

[Kool Guy]

Australia look to shorter Pakistan tour
February 20, 2008


Australia's tour of Pakistan may be delayed by a month and shortened by 18 days after officials of the two boards met in Kuala Lumpur to thrash out a deal to save the trip. But the players are so concerned about the safety situation in the country, which held elections on Monday, that there are reports individuals may boycott the visit and a second-string side might have to be sent.

Last week the Australian said some players were reluctant to travel to Pakistan and the Herald Sun has quoted an unnamed team source saying: "There is no way the players want to go."

"Nothing has changed," the paper reported a "high-ranking cricket source". "A few weeks isn't going to make much difference here or there. There are a lot of players who will decide not to go. Australia may have to field a second-string side if the tour goes ahead."

The original 48-day itinerary has been culled to 30 in a bid to stop the trip being cancelled and the schedule of three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 will be reviewed. Cricket Australia is due to send a security delegation to Pakistan in early March - if it is safe - to assess the venues and off-field arrangements. A joint statement by the boards said: "Subject to the appropriate security clearance, and by mutual consent, the tour would be compressed and will be played tentatively between March 29 and April 27."

"We were assured that Cricket Australia was committed to touring Pakistan," Shafqat Naghmi, Pakistan's chief operating officer, said after talks in Kuala Lumpur. James Sutherland, Cricket Australia's chief executive, said Australia "remain committed to tour Pakistan" and " the PCB's preparedness to take a flexible approach to this tour is much appreciated".

"This delay will certainly assist us to better assess the post-election situation in Pakistan," Sutherland said. Last week Pakistan suggested Sri Lanka as an alternative venue if Australia was not content with the security arrangements, and India has also been mentioned as a possible substitute.

[Kool Guy]

20 Feb2008

[Kool Guy]