England beat SL

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 26: Eoin Morgan steered England to a morale-boosting six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka with a solid half-century in the Champions Trophy on Friday.
England achieved a 213-run target on a lively track with five overs to spare in the day-night match, thanks to Morgan (62 not out), man-of-the-match Paul Collingwood (46) and Owais Shah (44).

South Africa and Sri Lanka now have one win apiece from two games in the four-team group, while England were playing their first match after being thrashed 6-1 by Australia in a recent home One-day series.

Younus cleared for crunch game against India

Younus cleared for crunch game against India
Yahoonews, IANS, 24 September 2009

Karachi: Pakistan received good news on Thursday when it was confirmed its captain Younus Khan has recovered from a hairline fracture and will be available for the much-awaited ICC Champions Trophy clash against India at Centurion on Saturday.

In a media statement, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Thursday that Younus has been declared fit for the big Group A game against India after missing the ICC Champions Trophy opener against the West Indies at the Wanderers on Wednesday.

Pakistan beat the West Indies by five wickets in that game and can confirm its place in the semi-finals of the eight-nation tournament by beating India in Saturday's match.

Younus, one of Pakistan's most dependable batsmen, suffered a hairline fracture in his right hand index finger during his team's practice match against Warriors at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on September 20.

"After detailed examination of injury Younus was advised rest by the doctors and is under treatment," said the PCB statement. "He has been under medication and could have played the match against West Indies but the team management decided not to take risk so that he could be fully fit and available for the crunch game against archrivals India," added the statement.

In the absence of Younus, vice-captain Shahid Afridi led Pakistan against the West Indies. Pakistan suffered a few hiccups before recording a five-wicket win in that game.

Team India fights against odds

Yahoonews, Sunandan Lele, 24 September 2009

Indian team is fighting against odds. Before coming to South Africa they already were missing services of two frontline players in Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag.

Now just before their first match against archrivals Pakistan, Indian team has lost one more important player in Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj broke his little finger during the course of fielding practice session. Indian team is preparing for the Saturday's match which is major attraction of this year's ICC Champions Trophy.

Team landed in Johannesburg on 17th September. Indian team played just one practice match in Potchefstroom. Team is lacking cutting edge in fielding department and Indian bowlers are not in top form. Captain MS Dhoni was quite candid in accepting the fact that his side is not recognized for fielding skills.

Dhoni's main worry is bowling department. All the bowlers were taken to task in triangular tournament played in Sri Lanka. Only Harbhajan Singh took 5 wickets and showed real character in the final match of the triangular tournament. In the recent past, Yuvraj was becoming dependable left arm spinner who can bowl few overs with confidence.

"Sub ko out kar dunga... (will get all of them out)," Yuvraj use to tell us with wink in his eyes. Now Dhoni will miss that vital link in the middle overs.

When Pakistan team coach Intikhab Alam was asked about Yuvraj he said, "I know Yuvraj well as I was coach of Punjab team. He is extremely talented cricketer. I have observed that he was taking his bowling quite seriously. He was becoming man with the golden arm for Indian team. Indian team will certainly miss Yuvi's services."

Relations between media and Indian team are not in pink of health. Gary Kirsten and Paddy Upton's confidential reports broke out in Indian news paper. In the meanwhile Indian team is maintaining very thoughtful distance with the media.

Other than mandatory interaction planned by the ICC, they have refused to have any dialogue with the media. Team is just concentrating on big match preparation. Indian team takes on Pakistan on Saturday. This match is going to be main attraction of ICC Champions Trophy 09.

All the tickets are already sold and cricket fans are going to come from countries like Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and Botswana.

"No surprise for me", said Intikhab Alam. "All of us know what Indian-Pakistan match is all about. Even though Indian team is missing 3 major names from their list, but still I refuse to accept that Indian side is weak. They still have some great match winners in their side and I respect f them. I only can say that my team is in good shape and we have combination to take on Indian team in all important match to be played on Saturday."

They say that 'tough gets going when going gets tough'. Same way Indian team members are planning to put up professional performance in the ICC Champions Trophy 09.

India and Pakistan will start on equal footing: Miandad

India and Pakistan will start on equal footing: Miandad

Yahoonews, PTI, 24 September 2009

Karachi: Former Pakistan skipper Javed Miandad believes the India-Pakistan match of the ICC Champions Trophy will begin on an equal footing for the archrivals and the team that sustains the pressure will emerge as victories.

"Both the teams in my book are equally balanced. While India has a stronger batting line-up despite the absence of Yuvraj Singh, Pakistan has a much better and more penetrative bowling attack," Miandad said.

"Both teams have their own strengths and weaknesses but definitely having players of the calibre of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid is a big plus for India. But I think we have the bowling to seriously challenge the Indian batsmen. So the match will start on an even kneel," he said.

Miandad feels the hype generated for the match will create a lot of pressure on the players of both the team.

"Which means basically that the team that keeps its nerves and cool will win," he added. Miandad said it will be an important match considering the current political tensions between the nations.

"Things have changed a bit now people don't react that strongly to the result. But I think this match at Centurion is important in the backdrop of the relations between the two countries," he said.

Miandad said if injury-hit Younus Khan returns to lead the side against India it will give Pakistan a morale boost. "It is a big match and the presence of the regular captain will be a boost for the team after he missed the first game against West Indies," Miandad said

Cool De Villiers keeps South Africa hopes alive

Cool De Villiers keeps South Africa hopes alive

Yahoonews, Reuters, 24 September 2009

Centurion: AB de Villiers scored an 70 to steer South Africa to a five-wicket win over New Zealand in ICC Champions Trophy Group B on Thursday.

The hosts, who lost their opening match to Sri Lanka, will now go into their final group game against England on Sunday knowing that victory would almost certainly book them a place in the semi-finals.

New Zealand were sent in to bat and compiled a mediocre 214 all out built around Ross Taylor's 72 off 105 deliveries.

South Africa lost wickets regularly in reply, but De Villiers ensured that they were always ahead of the required run-rate as he breezed to 70 not out off 76 balls, including nine boundaries.

The home side gave a much-improved bowling display on a pitch that had more of a green tinge than in the loss to Sri Lanka, with Dale Steyn (two for 32) and Jacques Kallis particularly economical.

Left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe showed that he can both contain and take wickets as he completed figures of two for 35 in 10 excellent overs.

New Zealand opening batsman Brendon McCullum scored 44, before Taylor and South African-born Grant Elliott (39) combined for a fourth-wicket stand of 71.

But the Black Caps suffered a late collapse in which they lost their last five wickets for 11 runs.

Wayne Parnell, expensive in his first two spells, returned to claim three more wickets and finish with career-best figures of five for 57.

Hashim Amla (38) and Kallis (36) put on 52 for the second wicket to keep South Africa on target after the early loss of captain Graeme Smith.

Kallis looked particularly impressive, being quick to get on the front foot as he stroked six fours off 39 deliveries, before edging a leg-cutter from Shane Bond to wicket-keeper McCullum.

The glovework of McCullum was the highlight in the field for New Zealand as he also took fine catches standing up to pace bowlers Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills to remove JP Duminy for 11 and Mark Boucher for 28.

Parnell made the difference for South Africa: Smith

Parnell made the difference for South Africa: Smith
Yahoonews, Reuters, 24 September 2009

South Africa captain Graeme Smith praised young left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell for his five-wicket haul in the five-wicket ICC Champions Trophy win over New Zealand on Thursday.

Parnell took three wickets in his last two overs as New Zealand crashed from 203 for five to 214 all out, the 20-year-old finishing with career-best figures of five for 57 in eight overs.

"Wayne has proven his skills and it was great to see him bounce back today," Smith told reporters.

"He has put the work in at training and, although he will have his ups and downs because he is young and will have to learn quickly, as a captain it's important to show faith."

Left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe, who took two for 35, also received praise as South Africa recovered from their heavy opening loss to Sri Lanka.

"Roelof is one of the most competitive players in our squad, he even gets worked up in schools games. He plays at 100 per cent and it's great to see his skills are at the same level as his competitiveness," Smith said.

AB de Villiers produced a top-class innings of 70 not out off 76 balls to steer South Africa home on a difficult pitch.

"I thought to get us home in the 42nd over was a good effort," Smith said. "We knew the pitch would be a touch slow and we'd have to work harder with the bat today. The nature of the pitch was such that to really attack the spinner was tough."

(Editing by Ed Osmond; to query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Ken Borland

Lanka in a fix over spinner selection against England

Lanka in a fix over spinner selection against England
Yahoonews, Hindustan Times, 25 September 2009

Johannesburg: Coming off a 1-6 thrashing at home against Australia, things can only get better for England. Or, at least, that will be the hope as a team without Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff looks to get out of its struggling ways and searches for a formula that will bring them victory in 50-over cricket.

The beginning won't be the easiest, though, for England take on Sri Lanka at the Wanderers on Friday and the Lankans looked strong in their first game of the tournament, where they beat South Africa completely.

The only problem skipper Kumar Sangakkara has is one of plenty. The temptation to continue to play two spinners, especially since they have quality operators in Mendis and Murali will only be dampened by the pitch at the Wanderers, which had little in it for the slow men.

Should Sri Lanka choose a combination that leaves room only for one spinner, the decision Sangakkara has to take will be an impossibly difficult one.

England have never played Mendis, and that gives the mystery spinner a huge edge, especially given his confidence-boosting show in the last game. Conversely, England have played Murali countless times, and almost always struggled against him.

England's traditional problems against quality spin might just prompt Sangakkara to sidestep the tricky question and persist with playing his two slow men. England come here with matches under the belt, but no real success to speak off, and it is this that will be Andrew Strauss' biggest challenge.

The format of this tournament is not kind to slow starters, and a loss will put a serious dent in England's chances of advancing further from a group that also includes hosts South Africa and New Zealand.

Strauss admitted that the biggest challenge will be countering Sri Lanka's varied attack. "They ask different questions of you. It's only by facing them you can be sure of your gameplan. We have played a fair bit against Murali and Malinga now but Mendis is new," said Strauss.

"The way he bowls makes life difficult for batsmen, but to an extent the pace he bowls at provides opportunities once you get used to his variations. We're going to have to hit the ground running against him."

Performance uppermost on Akmal's mind

Yahoonews, Hindustan Times, 25 September 2009

Johannesburg: It was one of the low-key clashes of the tournament, but as can often be the case, the Pakistan-West Indies encounter helped unearth fresh heroes.

For 26-year-old Gavin Tonge, the medium-pacer from Antigua, just playing for the West Indies would have been a huge event. To go on and shine like he did will lift the spirits of a team that has frequently been described as second string.

If Tonge's rippling spell of 9-3-18-4 reduced Pakistan to 76 for 5 and made their lowly 133 seem more threatening than it was, it set the stage perfectly for the 19-year-old Umar Akmal, brother of wicketkeeper Kamran, to show that he was here to stay.

Akmal put together a nerveless and entertaining 41 and walked away with the Man-of-the-Match award after shepherding his team to a five-wicket win. "When we were struggling a bit, the coach and captain gave me a boost, they told me to bat positively," said Akmal. "I did that and it worked. I am delighted with the way I batted."

Tonge was also quick to take umbrage at his team being called second string. "Each guy has performed to be here, and we are here to compete."

Yuvraj out of CT

Johannesburg, Sept 23: India’s middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy with a finger injury and will be replaced by Virat Kohli. Yuvraj injured the little finger of his right hand during a practice session on Wednesday and will be out for six weeks. He couldn't participate in the batting and bowling sessions which were conducted later in the day. (IANS)

India clinch Compaq Cup

COLOMBO, Sep 14: A majestic century from Sachin Tendulkar helped India to lift tri-series title defeating Sri Lanka by 46 runs in Colombo, on Monday. Chasing 320 run to win Sri Lanka, who made a flying start, finally bowled out for 273 in 46.4 over.

After Saturday’s debacle against the hosts, India needed a strong showing with the bat, and Tendulkar led the way with a masterly innings of 138 that saw India post a mammoth 319 for five in their 50 overs after electing to bat.

The veteran batsman, who stroked 10 boundaries and a six in his 133-ball knock, gave India a solid start in a 95-run opening stand with Rahul Dravid (39). He made sure India consolidated on the good start with a 110-run partnership off 115 deliveries for the second wicket with Mahendra Singh Dhoni who hit 56 from 62 deliveries. Yuvraj Singh provided the finishing touches to the innings with a blazing 56 from 41 deliveries, leaving Sri Lanka to chase a record total to win the tournament. Interestingly, India sent in their two most experienced batsmen to open the innings, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar with the obvious intent of giving them more overs to settle and play big knocks.

Dravid started confidently with a cracking boundary through point off the second ball of the innings. Tendulkar struck his first boundary a few overs later when he creamed a slower delivery from Nuwan Kulasekara through the covers to take India to 19 for no loss after five overs.The master batsman struck another two boundaries in Kulasekara’s next over, on either side of the wicket, to race to 22 from 19 deliveries. Another couple of boundaries followed in the next over from Thilan Thushara as the two veterans brought up their 50-run partnership in 57 deliveries.

Dravid, on 24 from 34 deliveries, enjoyed a huge slice of luck when his uppish-cut shot was floored by Tillakaratne Dilshan at the point region in the 12th over.

The first 15 overs went according to script for the Indians as they reached 76 no loss. The two senior batsmen realised the need for rotating the strike and scored 22 singles, six twos to go along with eight boundaries while conceding only 51 dot balls.Tendulkar raced to his half-century, his 92nd in ODIs off just 47 deliveries, in the 16th over. It was his sixth half-century at the R Premadasa stadium, where he has now scored more than 1000 runs in 27 matches. Dravid slammed the first six of the match when he picked up the googly from Ajantha Mendis and lofted it straight down the ground in the 17th over. (Agencies)

Shorten ODIs to 40 overs: Kumble

NEW DELHI, Sep 12: Former India captain Anil Kumble is the latest to join the debate on the future of One-dayers and has suggested that the 50-over version be shortened to 40 overs a side to save it from extinction.

With the advent of Twenty20 cricket, the future of ODIs is in jeopardy. The England and Wales Cricket Board recently scrapped a 50-over competition from its domestic calendar in 2010. “I don’t think ODIs are going to get extinct, but there is a little bit of threat on the development of the format. You need such innovations as Sachin (Tendulkar) suggested but my thought is to shorten ODIs from 50 to 40 overs,” Kumble said last night on the sidelines of Van Huesen India Men’s Fashion Week.

Tendulkar recently suggested that to infuse new life into ODIs, the format should be split into four innings of 25 overs a side. Kumble is part of an ICC panel formed to resolve the ongoing deadlock between the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) and Indian cricketers over the whereabouts clause. In the ICC’s International Registered Testing Pool (IRTP) working group, Kumble is working alongside BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, ICC principal advisor I S Bindra, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and Tim Kerr, the chairman of the ICC’s Anti-Doping Panel.
Kumble, however, refused to comment on the players’ concern on WADA’s contentious ‘whereabouts clause.’ “I am representing ICC in WADA so I can’t really say anything,” he said. Incidentally, Kumble is also the cricketers’ representative on WADA’s Athlete Committee. The talismanic former national captain, who guided Bangalore Royal Challengers to the final of the second edition of the Indian Premier League in South Africa, feels Rahul Dravid’s inclusion in the Indian ODI team will add balance to the already strong batting order. The 38-year-old former spinner, who has 619 Test and 337 ODI wickets in his 18-year career with the Indian team, also said that the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side will face a transition problem once the trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman bids adieu to the game. “They (Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman) are still young and keen to play, so I think it's too early to predict anything, but any team will find it difficult to replace them. It is never easy to replace a Sachin Tendulkar,” Kumble stated.

Sehwag wants out of vice captaincy role

Current India vice-captain, Virender Sehwag has asked the selectors to not consider him for the captaincy of the Indian side. He has also requested them to discontinue with him as the deputy skipper to M.S.Dhoni, and get in a vice-captain who could probably be groomed into the role of a captain in the years to come. Australia has the same policy with Michael Clarke being the vice-captain, having taken over from Adam Gilchrist, and is not being groomed for the future as captain, once Ricky Ponting ends his career.

Sehwag was being interviews by a news channel, and he said that he made this decision known to the selectors, and that he expected them to take a decision to replace him with someone with a long term plan to become the captain. He said that he would love to continue scoring the runs for his side and win them the games!

Sehwag was the vice-captain of the side before the injury hot him and he will miss out on the Champions Trophy because of that. In his absence, in all probabilities, the vice-captaincy will be taken over by Yuvraj Singh. And given Sehwag's reluctance, Yuvraj could be made a long term vice captain as well. Earlier, Yuvi had been appointed the vice-captain, but given his failure to cement his place in the test side, the position was offered to Sehwag. However, with Sourav Ganguly having retired from international cricket, Yuvraj could expect a more permanent place in the test match side as well, and that would allow the selectors to confer the role onto his shoulders. Sehwag had been first made the deputy when Rahul Dravid had been appointed the skipper, but loss of form and his subsequent ouster from the side meant that the position was then taken up by VVS Laxman. Sachin Tendulkar also had a shot at it for some time, thereby fuelling rumours that he could be the next captain of the side, but Anil Kumble was made the captain. Incidentally, Sehwag has said that Ganguly was the best captain that he played under.

It was after the appointment of Dhoni as the captain in all the three formats of the game, Sehwag was given the position of the vice-captain. However, there have been enough rumours to suggest that not all is well between Dhoni and Sehwag, and that could be one of the reasons for Sehwag's change of mind.

Hayden checks into Cricket Australia with his suggestions

Mathew Hayden has made a suggestion that should warm the cockles of the IPL hearts. Only recently drafted into the Cricket Australia board, Hayden has said that the ICC should consider stopping the Champions Trophy altogether and instead, create a two month long window for the Indian Premier League.

Hayden also said that playing the ICC World T20 tournament every second year was expecting too much as well as if there was a World Cup of cricket that existed then, there was no necessity to have the Champions Trophy, which could very well be termed as a miniature version of the World Cup. This time around, the Champions Trophy will have only eight teams playing 15 games to decide the winners, but it has been a tournament that always remained under the scanner of the critics ever since its inception.

He said, "Playing the World Twenty20 every other year is too much. And why have the Champions Trophy when you've already got a 50-over World Cup?"

Supporting the IPL, he said that the tournament had brought the cricketing world to a tipping point. He favoured the IPL because, according to him, it had the capability to generate fan base, of the likes of the soccer tournaments like the English Premier League, which is only good for the game.

Hayden also supported the cause for the MCC's concept of test championship which will pit the top teams of the world against each other, whilst creating a two-legged league. According to Hayden, there have been too many meaningless test matches around, especially those involving sides like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Bangladesh has yet to win a test series against a main opposition, apart from a second-string West Indian side, in fact having barely managed to draw a handful of games.

He said that while the major series like the Ashes and the India Pakistan test series could be played over five test matches, the others could be divided into two groups and play against each other, with points for wins, losses and draws. He proposed that the top teams could then play in the semi-finals and finals to decide the winner of the test championship winner.

Hayden's proposal, which he outlined in his column while writing for a newspaper included having test matches in indoor stadiums, which will reduce the chances of a match ending in a draw due to rain and bad weather.

http://www.action8cricket.com/cricket_news-hayden_checks_into_cricket_australia_with_his_suggestions-1571.htm

Dyson was sacked because he did not sign contract

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has revealed that the former coach of the national side, John Dyson, was sacked from the side, because he had postponed signing the contract with the WICB for the 18 months that he was here.

The director of the WICB, Conde Riley said that the WICB was left with no option other than sacking the coach after he refused to sign a contract with the board while getting remunerated in accordance with what the contract had said. Dyson had been asked to leave after losses to Bangladesh in both, the ODI and the test series after the mainstream West Indian team had elected to boycott the series. The second-string side was stream-rolled by the Bangladesh is 3-0 and 2-0 in the two series.

Riley said that while the people may call the West Indian board weak for not making him sign the contract, the fact of the matter was that there had been two other CEOs of the board who had tried to make him sign the dotted line. He said that there had been discussions about the issue in November in Antigua where Dyson was present. However, with nothing having changed after Dyson came back from the tour, the directors took the decision.

Riley said that it was a serious issue when people did not sign the contracts and were paid in accordance with the contract. He added that he believed that the person could not be serious if he hadn't signed the contract for this long despite the constant reminders. He added, "When an employee has not signed a contract for 18 months, he cannot be serious and therefore you don't have to have a reason, it's a straightforward case."

There had been speculations that Dyson had been sacked because of his performances, and the last straw had been an ODI against England where he had called his players in, after misreading the Duckworth-Lewis sheet passed on to him. The West Indian team was trailing at that point and went on to lose the game.

Dave William, who was Dyson's assistant coach during the time he was here has been handed over the reigns now. He will be the part-time coach of the side in the Champions Trophy, where, incidentally, the WICB has decided to send a second-string side due to the ongoing feud with the West Indies Players' Association. Floyd Reifer will be the captain of the side.

http://www.action8cricket.com/cricket_news-dyson_was_sacked_because_he_did_not_sign_contract-1581.htm

Kolkata, Sep 10 (IANS) India's dashing willower Virender Sehwag walked the ramp at the Kolkata Fashion Week (KFW)-II here, sending the audience into raptures.

Wearing a hand-woven sherwani suit, Sehwag exuded oodles of confidence as he walked the ramp for designer Rocky S. here Wednesday night.

'Sehwag was perfectly chilled out in the attire. He was happy about what he was wearing,' Rocky S. told mediapersons after the late night fashion event at a city hotel.

'When a person is confident about what he is wearing, it's half the battle won,' he said.

Talking about his new collection, Rocky S. said, 'This time I focused on colour and textile-based comfort oriented fashion wear. I tried to keep my collection very light so that it becomes more wearable.

'I used silk, hand-woven fabric mainly adopted from Benaras, and linen in my collection. I made this collection, especially keeping in mind the culture of Kolkata where hand-woven and colourful textiles are popular among people.'

Asked why he had chosen a sportsman like Sehwag as a showstopper, Rocky S. said: 'Sports is very important in India. So I've chosen a cricketer for the role.'

Ganguly wants to play Ranji Trophy

Kolkata, Sep 9 (IANS) In his effort to return to top fitness before next year's Indian Premier League, former captain Sourav Ganguly Wednesday expressed his wish to play some Ranji Trophy matches for Bengal this season, nearly a year after bidding goodbye to international cricket.

'I am considering playing a few matches. If I see that some match practice will help me, then I shall play,' Ganguly told reporters at the Eden Gardens here.

The third edition of the IPL is scheduled for March-April 2010

White inspires Australia to six-wicket win over England

SOUTHAMPTON, England (Reuters) - Australian batsman Cameron White scored a trouble-free century to consign England to a six-wicket defeat in the third one-day international in Southampton on Wednesday.

Chasing England's 228 for nine, White (105) put on 143 for the third wicket with captain Michael Clarke (52) to take Australia to the brink of victory and the tourists rounded off the win with nine balls to spare.

Australian opener Tim Paine contributed with 29 and Callum Ferguson (20 not out) sealed the result as England's bowlers struggled to capture wickets under the floodlights.

England captain Andrew Strauss once again led from the front with a solid 63 though he was poorly supported by the top order, and only Eoin Morgan (43) batting at six and Tim Bresnan (31 not out at eight) really took any fight to the Australian attack.

Mitchell Johnson bowled a controlled 10 overs, taking two scalps for 39 runs, while Shane Watson picked up three wickets later on in England's innings.

The tourists now lead the seven-match series 3-0 and a win in the fourth one-day international at Lord's on Saturday would clinch the series.

BCCI, PCB in touch to revive cricket ties

Karachi: Cricket boards of India and Pakistan are in touch to discuss resumption of bilateral cricket ties in the near future at neutral venues. Sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board told PTI that a BCCI official had spoken to PCB this week and some discussion revolved around the possibility of revival of bilateral cricket ties between the two countries.

"The PCB is very keen to push this idea forward as a series against India will improve its financial health considerably and also allow it to meet its commitments with the broadcasters who are paying a lot of money for the television rights of Pakistan cricket," one source said.

The source also confirmed that Pakistan was keen to convince the Indians to resume bilateral ties by even agreeing to play a short series of one or two one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match at some neutral venue.

"The ice can be broken with a short series which can happen if the Indian Government gives the go ahead to its board," one source said. He said they were some positive signals coming from BCCI which had also assured the PCB that it was keen to see Pakistani players in the Indian Premier League next year.

The PCB has already given clearance to all-rounder Abdul Razzaq and some other players to sign up with IPL franchises. India suspended bilateral ties early this year after the Mumbai terror attacks by calling off a scheduled Test tour in January that cost PCB USD 25-30 million.

Gautam Gambhir out of Sri Lanka tri-series with injury

CHENNAI (Reuters) - India's in-form opener Gautam Gambhir will miss the ongoing one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka with a groin injury, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) said on Thursday.

Left-handed Gambhir strained the muscle and will return home to rest for 10 days, the BCCI said in a statement.

India open against New Zealand on Friday and play Sri Lanka the following day with the final slated for Sept. 14 in the short series -- their build up to the Champions Trophy in South Africa later this month.

The BCCI is yet to name his replacement.

India is already without explosive opener Virender Sehwag and bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan. Both are recovering after shoulder surgery and will be sidelined until after the Champions Trophy.

Dhoni fails

RANCHI, Sep 8: He has redefined success in Indian cricket but Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s college results had ‘fail’ written against his name on Tuesday due to a “clerical error”.

Despite marking him ‘absent’ way back in July, Dhoni was shown to have ‘failed’ the B Com part I exams before the authorities of his St Xavier’s College removed the list from the college notice board.

“It was a clerical error. The list has been removed immediately. When he did not give examination how can he fail?” the Principal, Nicholas Tete, said. Dhoni’s course is of five years and he can complete the semesters during that period, he added.

On July 11, the Controller of Examination, AK Sinha, had said that Dhoni’s result would be shown as ‘absent’ because the cricketer missed both his semesters. After completing his schooling from the DAV school nearly a decade ago, Dhoni took admission to the college last year to complete graduation. He is entitled for flexi-attendance due to his busy international cricketing schedule. (PTI)

Dhoni world’s top earning cricketer: Forbes

NEW YORK Sep 6: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has topped the list of world’s 10 top earning cricketers compiled by Forbes, which also features four other players from the sub-continent – Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. Raking in $10 million, Dhoni is at the top of the chart followed by Tendulkar at the second spot with earnings worth $8 million in the list of ‘The World’s Top-Earning Cricketers’. While Singh and Dravid are at the third and fourth spot, respectively, Ganguly and Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting share the sixth place.

“Paycheck figures include club and national team salaries and commercial endorsement income over the last 12 months,” Forbes said. According to the magazine, Singh earned $5.5 million while Dravid and Ganguly raked in $5 million and $3.5 million, respectively. Ponting also earned $3.5 million. “With its deep-pocketed owners and global appeal, nine of the 10 highest-paid cricket players call the Indian Premier League (IPL) home”, the publication added. At the fifth spot is England’s Andrew Flintoff with earnings of $4 million followed by Australia’s Brett Lee and English cricketer Kevin Pietersen – both at eighth place – and Australian Michael Clarke is ranked tenth. While Lee and Pietersen raked in $3 million each, Clarke earned $2.5 million. “Take Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who plays for the Chennai Super Kings and tops our list as cricket’s first $10 million-a-year man (that’s $5,426 for each run scored). (PTI)

Younis making efforts to form players' association

Karachi, Sep 4 (IANS) Pakistan captain Younis Khan is in the process of forming a players' association for national cricketers and is in touch with the Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA).

Younis said in an interview Friday that he met FICA chief Tim May in London during the World Twenty20 championship in June to seek details about the formation of players' association.

The skipper said he has exchanged several emails with May over the last few weeks, adding that the formation of a Pakistani players' association is now very much in the pipeline.

Younis disclosed that he has discussed the issue with current and former players in Pakistan and plans to meet Pakistan Cricket Board

officials.

He made it clear that the association is not being formed as a rival to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

'I don't want any sort of confrontation with anybody,' he said. 'I want to work for the betterment of cricketers in Pakistan because there are several players who are in a lot of financial problems,' he added.

Younis said he is expecting to have another round of talks with May on the sidelines of the ICC Champions Trophy which kicks off in South Africa from September 22.

Pakistan is among the few major Test playing countries that doesn't have a cricketers association.

Former Test captain Majid Khan formed a players association during the 1980s but it failed to take off.

Younis and several other current players began making efforts to form a players' association last year.

Clarke defends coach Nielsen's decision to take a break

London, Sep 4 (ANI): Stand-in Australian captain Michael Clarke has defended coach Tim Nielsen's decision to take a break after the fourth game of the seven-match series against England, saying he deserves it.

Nielsen will rejoin the team for the Champions Trophy in South Africa later this month. During this period, bowling coach Troy Cooley will be the coach.

"He's been away from home for a long time. Like the players, who get the opportunity to have a break every now and then, I think it's just as important for our support staff, not just the coach, but all the support staff," Fox Sports quoted Clarke, as saying.

"There's going to be various times throughout everybody's career that they need a bit of time away from the game," he added.

Clarke further said that due to the back-to-back international series since last September, Nielsen was looking forward to spending some time with his family and friends back home.

"The players have the upmost respect for the coach and within the team we know we can continue to perform when Vinny (Nielsen) is gone, but he's a huge part of our team and giving him what's probably going to be a week off, I think it's the least we can do," he added. (ANI)

Sehwag will be missed by Team India, says Gautam Gambhir

Chennai, Sep 4 (ANI): Cricketer Gautam Gambhir on Friday said that swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag, who is sidelined due to injury, will be desperately missed by the team during the tour of Sri Lanka as well as the Champions Trophy.

"Any team will miss Sehwag (Virender Sehwag) because he was in such a form, that would have been a great advantage for any team," Gambhir said.

Gambhir said this on the sidelines of ceremony held in Chennai, where he was appointed the brand ambassador of MRF.

India has announced the squad for the Sri Lanka tri-series followed by the Champions Trophy, in which they have recalled Rahul Dravid and left out Sehwag due to his shoulder surgery.

Gambhir further sad that international cricket was all about handling pressure, and you have to continuously deliver for the team.

"When you are playing international cricket it's all about the pressure. You should know how to handle it and you should be able take that responsibility, which is very important and the responsibility only comes when the team starts expecting that you can deliver," he said.

The series in Sri Lanka, which also involves New Zealand, will be held from September 8 to 14. (ANI)

Split innings will spice up one-dayers, says Tendulkar

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Sachin Tendulkar wants one-day cricket to be split into two innings of 25 overs each to bring more balance into the matches.

The premier Indian batsman, who holds the records for most one-day runs and hundreds, backed the format despite doubts whether it would survive Twenty20's increasing popularity.

"I'm for 50-over cricket," he told Times Now channel on Friday at a bat endorsement function. "I was thinking of probably 25 overs each to start with and again you go and play 25 overs."

Tendulkar recalled the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy final in Sri Lanka where the hosts batted their full innings for two days in a row only for rain to force the match to be abandoned both times. The teams were declared joint winners of the tournament.

"This is also because in certain places, in day-night matches the conditions are completely different when you bat or bowl second," he said.

"So both sides (will) get to bat when the lights are not on. Then both bat when the lights are on, 25 overs," he said. "So it is not so heavily dependent on toss."

In the Indian sub-continent, slow pitches can render chasing a target tough or dew in the night can make fielding difficult in the later stages.

The debate over one-day cricket's future has intensified after the England board last month dropped 50-over cricket from the domestic calendar for the next season.

(To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Dhoni nominated in three categories for ICC awards

Mumbai: India's recent superb run in Test and One-day cricket on Wednesday was reflected in the ICC's annual awards nominations as captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was listed in three categories for honour.

Dhoni was nominated for ICC Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year awards.

Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh were the other Indian nominees for the prestigious Cricketer of the Year award.

VVS Laxman joined the trio of Dhoni, Gambhir and Harbhajan to be in the line for the Test Player of the Year award while Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag were also in the fray for the honour of ODI Player of the Year.

Dhoni has already been the ODI Player of the Year in 2008 besides being named in the ODI Team of the Year.

Zaheer Khan was nominated for Twenty20 Performer of the Year award while Amit Mishra will be vying for the honour in the Emerging Player of the year category as Indians led the overall nominations for the award.

Mithali Raj was nominated for the Women's Cricketer of the year award.

The nominations were announced by dashing Indian opener Virender Sehwag and former captain Ravi Shastri in the presence of International Cricket Council Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat while the awards will be presented on October 1 in Johannesburg, South Africa during the Champions Trophy.

PTI

Injured Haddin ruled out of Champions Trophy

Sydney: Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has been ruled out of cricket's Champions Trophy in South Africa this month while he recovers from finger surgery.

Haddin, who broke his finger during the recent Ashes test series in England, had hoped to join his team mates in South Africa after returning home for the operation but has been told to wait.

"While the surgery was a success and there have been no complications, the timeframe for recovery is not sufficient and therefore he cannot be considered for selection," Australia's team doctor Trefor James said in a statement Thursday.

Haddin said he hoped to be available for Australia's tour of India this year while team officials have asked the International Cricket Council to allow Tim Paine to replace Haddin in the Champions Trophy squad.

West Indies unearth 'next Tendulkar'

ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands: If former player Keith Arthurton is to be believed, West Indies have unearthed the next Sachin Tendulkar in a seven-year-old hailing from Hannah Estate in Tortola.

Arthurton conducted a three-day coaching clinic this weekend on the islands of Tortola and Virgin Gorda and he had no doubt whatsoever that he has seen the next Tendulkar in Aidan Gorege.

"While he was batting, I heard someone in the crowd shout out that he looked like Sachin Tendulkar and I thought the same thing because of the way he bats, his stance and his attitude," said Arthurton, who represented West Indies in 33 Tests and 105 ODIs between 1988 and 1999.

"You don't really see that in kids who are that young but he has something special in him and the local coaches should work with him so that he can develop his cricket skills," Arthurton said of Aidan, who is originally from Dominica.

Youngest participant of the camp, Aidan looks older than his age and has a stance which is almost a replica of Tendulkar's, according to a report in the 'Anguilla News'.

Talking about the kid's technique, Arthurton said, "His stance is very good and he moved his feet at the right times and with ease. I certainly would like to work with him in future as I think he has the potential to develop into a very good player," Arthurton said.

Star players Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dinesh Ramdin also turned up in the camp to share their experience with the kids.

A 20-over match at the H Lavity Stoutt Community College marked the end of the camp.