Pietersen handed England role
England have appointed Kevin Pietersen as their new captain following Michael Vaughan's resignation after the series loss to South Africa.
Pietersen, 28, will lead England against his native country in the fourth Test against the South Africans starting at The Oval on Thursday.
"I am very thrilled and excited to have been given the opportunity to captain England," Pietersen said.
"It's a huge honour for me and a terrific challenge for me at this stage of my international career.
"I have learned a great deal about leadership from playing under both Michael and Paul (Collingwood) and fully appreciate the level of responsibility that comes with the job of captaining your country.
"My immediate priority will be this week's fourth Test and I will be devoting all my energies to ensuring the team is properly prepared and plays to its full potential starting on Thursday."
South Africa took an unbeatable 2-0 series lead when they defeated England in the third Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Saturday.
Vaughan stepped down on Sunday after five years as England's most successful Test skipper with 26 wins from 51 Tests.
Pietersen, who made his Test debut in the 2005 Ashes series victory over Australia, was also named as the England one-day captain in succession to Collingwood, who resigned on Sunday.
"In choosing a new captain, we were keen to identify a player who could lead the team in all three forms of cricket and bring fresh enthusiasm and ideas to the role of captain," said England chairman of selectors Geoff Miller.
"Kevin is a world-class player who will command the respect of the dressing room and I am sure that he will be looking to lead from the front and work closely with both the players and the coaching staff to bring England success in the future."
Pietersen, born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, opted to play for the country where his mother was born because he disapproved of South Africa's racial quota system.
He qualified for England in September, 2004, and was selected to tour Zimbabwe where he averaged 104 in three one-day innings.
Pietersen was selected to play in the one-day series against South Africa early in 2005 and, in the face of unremitting hostility from the home crowds, struck three centuries in five matches.
He was named ahead of Graham Thorpe to play in the first Test of the memorable 2005 Ashes series at Lord's and marked his debut with two confident half-centuries in a losing cause.
In the final Test at The Oval he took the attack to the Australian bowlers in a match England needed to draw to secure the Ashes, hooking Brett Lee off his eyebrows for six on his way to 158 on the final day.
Since then Pietersen has been England's leading batsman, expanding his repertoire to include a reverse sweep of Muttiah Muralitharan for six against Sri Lanka, and striking 226 against
West Indies last year. He was also England's best batsman in an unsuccessful World Cup campaign in the Caribbean last year.
Pietersen has captained England once in a one-day international, losing to New Zealand at Lord's this year.
Ravi Bopara has replaced Vaughan in the squad for Thursday's fourth Test while Samit Patel was called up for the one-day squad with Matt Prior recalled in place of Tim Ambrose.
Test squad: Kevin Pietersen (captain), Tim Ambrose, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss
England one-day squad: Kevin Pietersen (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Samit Patel, Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright
Monday, August 4, 2008
Athers Wants Kevin Pietersen As Captain
Vaughan announced he was to step down with immediate effect this afternoon following the series defeat to South Africa which was sealed at Edgbaston yesterday. Paul Collingwood also revealed he was to follow the Yorkshire batsman by quitting his role as captain of the one-day side. Pietersen, England's star batsman, is one of the the favourites to take over both jobs, with Andrew Strauss and Andrew Flintoff also in contention. And Atherton insists it is the South Africa-born Pietersen who should be given the chance to lead his adopted country. "If you're talking about someone to take on both jobs then Kevin Pietersen becomes the number one candidate because he's one of the few people who can be guaranteed their place in both teams," he told Sky Sports News. Atherton also suggested that Collingwood may have been pressured into quitting the one-day role as England look to revert back to a single captain. "Michael Vaughan's decision is his own decision, but I can't believe that Paul Collingwood made that decision off his own back," he said. "Clearly they want to unite the job and get one bloke in there, and they've given Paul a gentle nudge to say that this is in the best interests of the team." Atherton was glowing in his praise of Vaughan and was sympathetic of the pressures that moved him to step aside. He continued: "He's been a wonderfully successful captain, England's most successful in terms of Test match wins, and is surely one of England's greatest ever captains. "In terms of playing, captaining, leading, decision-making, Michael Vaughan is the best man for the job." He added: "I know what he's been going through. "It's a wonderful job but it's also a job that becomes all-consuming. He said he's not been himself at home and wanted to 'get back to being me'. "The job gets on top of you. It's a great job but you're thinking about it all the time. "When you're supposed to be at dinner with friends or the wife, you're thinking about who should be opening the bowling the next day and how to tell your mate he's not in the next team. "That pressure eventually bears down on you and if you're not getting runs as well then it becomes very difficult." South Africa captain Graeme Smith was sorry to see his counterpart quit after inadvertently delivering the knockout blow to his reign with a match-winning 154 not out yesterday. "It has come as a shock to me," Smith told BBC Sport. "I have the highest regard for him as person, sportsman and leader. It is a great loss for world cricket." 
Former England captain Mike Atherton believes Kevin Pietersen is the natural choice to succeed Michael Vaughan as skipper.
Injured Steyn out of fourth Test
South Africa paceman Dale Steyn is out of the fourth Test against England but should return for the one-day series.
The 24-year-old has a broken thumb and will have it kept in plaster for another week, which rules him out of match at the Oval starting on 7 August.
Steyn missed the third Test with the injury and was replaced by Andre Nel as South Africa claimed a series victory.
The tourists will play England in a Twenty20 game on 20 August before the one-dayers start two days later.The limited overs series will see England play South Africa five times as the hosts aim to rebuild a battered reputation after losing to New Zealand home and away in the shorter form of the game this year.
Paul Collingwood, who has stepped down as captain of the side, will miss the first three games through suspension.
He was handed the ban because of England's slow over-rate in the penultimate match of the home one-day series against New Zealand.
Gilchrist champions cause of Twenty20 in 2020
Former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist is leading the campaign to get Twenty20 cricket into the Olympic Games in 2020.
Gilchrist played in the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) this year and he said the success of Twenty20 cricket around the world should be used as a springboard to develop the game.
"Many of us who`ve experienced international Twenty20 cricket and the IPL are convinced that cricket should bid to become an Olympic sport in time for the 2020 Olympic Games, wherever they`re held," Gilchrist told Indian newspaper, the Deccan Chronicle, on Monday.
"With Twenty20 cricket here to stay, now is the time for the 10 full member nations of the International Cricket Council to plan for the development of the sport over the next 100 years," Gilchrist said.
"The challenge for all of us who love the game is to spread the word of cricket to parts of the globe that have never heard of it and currently don`t play our sport.
"I believe the Olympic Games is the vehicle the sport should use to aggressively sell the message of our sport to all 202 competing Olympic nations." The last three sports to enter the Games were triathlon, taekwondo and badminton, and cricket will face stiff competition to get into the Olympics.
Golf, rugby, karate, roller sports and squash are all keen but with the people of cricket-crazy India, Pakistan and Bangladesh accounting for 22 percent of the world`s population, cricket`s potential value to the International Olympic Committee is huge.
Cricket was recognised as an Olympic sport last year, the first stage in the process for getting full admission to the Games, and Gilchrist said the players would jump at the chance to take part.
"Take it from someone who has won almost everything cricket has to offer -- the Olympics is the absolute pinnacle in sport," Gilchrist said.
"Cricketers won`t care about the money. The chance to stand on top of the Olympic podium, to wear an Olympic gold medal and the pride of belting out your national anthem would be a life-changing money-can`t-buy experience."
India level series with Sri Lanka
Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma bowled India to a series-levelling 170-run victory on the fourth day of the second Test against Sri Lanka.
Off spinner Harbhajan claimed four for 51 from 14 overs and paceman Sharma took three for 20 from 15 overs, bowling with hostility on an easy-paced pitch.
Harbhajan's haul gave him match figures of 10 for 153, the sixth "ten-for" of his career.
Sri Lanka, set 307 to win after bowling out India for 269 in the morning, were dismissed for 136 in 47.3 overs.
India's brave fight-back from a humiliating innings and 239 run defeat in Colombo leaves the series tied 1-1 with the final Test starting on Friday in Colombo.
Local hopes of a successful run chase were delivered early blows after India's Sharma and Zaheer Khan reduced Sri Lanka to 10 for three before lunch.
The only major resistance came from middle order batsman Thilan Samaraweera who scored 67 not out. He and Tillakaratne
Dilshan (38) added 76 for the fifth wicket, a partnership that gave Sri Lanka a glimmer of hope before a final collapse when five wickets went for six runs.
Earlier, Ajantha Mendis claimed four for 92 from 27.2 overs as India, who resumed the day on 200 for four, were bowled out for 269 in their second innings.
Mendis's second innings performance gave him match figures of 10 for 209, his first 10-wicket match haul in only his second test.
Off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan chipped in with three for 107 as India lost their last eight wickets for 69 runs.
Vaughan stands down as England captain
Michael Vaughan has decided to step down as England Test captain in the wake of the series defeat by South Africa, while Paul Collingwood has also resigned as one-day skipper.
Vaughan ended five years in charge after England's five-wicket loss to South Africa on Saturday, which left the hosts trailing 2-0 in the series with one Test remaining.
It was the first run of back-to-back defeats during Vaughan's reign.
"Today I have decided to stand down as England captain," he said. "To be honest it is the hardest decision I have ever had to make - but also the easiest."
Vaughan had been replaced as one-day captain by Collingwood in 2007 as he sought to concentrate increasingly upon the five-day side.
A captain will be named on Monday for the final Test against South Africa, along with the squad - although it is not known whether the appointment will be short- or long-term.
The 33-year-old Vaughan said he wanted to carry on playing for his country, although he would be unavailable for the Test starting on Thursday so he can take a short break from the game.
"I am giving away the job I have loved for five years," he continued. "I put my heart and soul into it; but my mind has told me to pack it in."
Vaughan, who looked on the verge of tears, had been under pressure due to his personal form. He had scored just 40 runs in five innings; however he expressed confidence he could recover his best form with the bat.
"I feel if I kept going [as captain] my career could come to an abrupt end. Hopefully, this decision will prolong my career. I am going to carry on playing - I believe there are a lot more runs in me and I hope this decision will help that."
Vaughan took over the captaincy in 2003 and two years later led England to a first Ashes victory over Australia since 1987.
In 2004 he helped England achieve a record of eight successive Test wins.
Michael Vaughan Factfile
1974: Born in Eccles, Manchester, on October 29.
1992-93: Tours with England Under-19 in India.
1993: Makes Yorkshire debut and is voted the Cricket Society's most promising young cricketer.
1995: Awarded county cap.
1999-2000: Makes his Test debut for England against South Africa at Johannesburg.
2000: A broken bone in his hand rules him out of the two-Test series against Zimbabwe.
2000-01: Tours with England in Pakistan and Sri Lanka but plays in just one Test - the series decider in Colombo - because of a calf strain.
2001: Hits his maiden Test century in the Old Trafford Test defeat to Pakistan. Helps his county win their first Championship title for 33 years.
However, a knee injury rules him out of the entire Ashes summer.
2002: Makes 115 in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's.
Misses the ICC Champions Trophy to have an operation on his troublesome knee.
2002-03: Returns in time to be fit for the start of the Ashes series and makes 177 on the first day of the second Test at Adelaide and adds another century at Melbourne, 145, his sixth of an amazing year.
Records two half-centuries in five World Cup innings.
2003: May 6 - Named captain of England's one-day team.
July 28: Appointed new England Test captain after Nasser Hussain steps down.
September - Although he struggles for form with the bat, Vaughan's first experience of Test captaincy ends on a reasonably high note as England draw series with South Africa 2-2.
November 14 - Scores 105 over seven-and-a-half hours and 333 balls to help England save the second Test against Sri Lanka in Kandy. His monumental innings was his 10th Test century and his first as captain.
2004: Victory within three days secures England's first Test series win in the Caribbean for over 30 years as an eight-wicket success in Barbados wraps up the series.
July-August - Whitewash of West Indies in four-Test series.
2005: September - Vaughan leads England to historic 2-1 Ashes series win with a rain-affected draw in the fifth Test, thanks to centuries from South Africa-born duo Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen.
November 7 - Injures knee and retires hurt on day two of the second tour match against Pakistan A, which England lose by six wickets.
November 11 - Ruled out of first Test in Multan with Marcus Trescothick taking over as captain.
November 20 - Returns for second Test in Faisalabad which England draw. Also plays in third Test in Lahore which England lose to suffer a 2-0 series defeat.
December 6 - Announces he is to undergo exploratory knee surgery and will miss the five-match one-day series in Pakistan.
2006: February 27 - Having been cleared to lead England on the tour to India, Vaughan is ruled out of the first Test and returns home from Nagpur after a recurrence of his knee injury.
March 2 - Ruled out of entire series against India following a visit to his specialist.
May 29 - Returns to action in Yorkshire's C&G Trophy game against Scotland, scoring 67. Comeback too late to feature in either Test or one-day series against Sri Lanka.
June 29 - Told he needs a fourth operation on his knee, ruling him out for four to six months.
July 29 - Admits he "might never play again".
November 29 - Made a playing return for an Academy team against a Western Australia XI in Perth, coming through a spell in the field unscathed before making a seven-ball duck.
December 21 - Selected in the one-day squad for the triangular series with Australia and New Zealand.
2007: January 6 - Named captain for the triangular series.
January 17 - Ruled out of triangular series match against Australia after tearing his left hamstring in a match against New Zealand.
April - Returns to captain England at the World Cup, but a series of unconvincing displays from the team and Vaughan individually culminate in elimination at the Super Eight stage.
May - Suffers broken finger batting for Yorkshire. Expected to be sidelined for three to four weeks, making him a doubt for the start of the Test series against West Indies.
May 25 - After missing first Test, he returns for the second, scoring his first Test century for almost two years.
June 11 - Becomes England's most successful captain in terms of wins with 60-run victory over West Indies in the third npower Test at Old Trafford to wrap up the four-match series 2-0.
June 18 - Stands down as captain of England's one-day side with immediate effect.
August 13 - England lose their first home Test series since 2001 at the hands of India.
September - Named in ICC's Test team of the year.
2008: January - England lose Test series in Sri Lanka to relinquish second place in the ICC Test rankings.
February-March - First overseas Test series win for England in three years in New Zealand.
May-June - Black Caps defeated once again at home.
July-August - England lose two of the first three Tests against South Africa to suffer a home series defeat for the second summer in succession. Vaughan struggles badly with an average of just eight.
August 3 - Announces he is to step down as captain.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Pakistan to send two teams in Champions League
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to field in two teams in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 tournament to be held in India from September 29 to October 8.
Although ICC has expressed reservations over the event, PCB Chief Operating Officer, Shafqat Naghmi made it clear that Pakistan would support every decision on the Indian Cricket Board-backed Twenty20 tournament.
Naghmi confirmed that Pakistan`s domestic Twenty20 champions will definitely participate in the event and the Board was even contemplating of fielding in another team.
"The Sialkot Stallions have been invited for the event," he said, adding, "we are also thinking of sending two teams, but we still don`t know as so far we have not seen the details."
Interestingly, flamboyant opener Imran Nazir and pacer Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who featured in the rebel Indian Cricket League, was a part of the Stallions squad last year and helped the side, led by Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik to win the Twenty20 title. Incidentally, IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi and BCCI are strongly opposed to the idea of fielding in teams which has links with ICL players and this has even led to a dispute with the England and Wales Cricket Board.
However, sources close to PCB said this won`t act as a hindrance in Stallions` participation in the Champions League as the moment Nazir and Rana signed up with the rebel league, the Board has banned the duo from all domestic competitions.
"They (Nazir and Rana) are no longer eligible to play for Stallions. So there is no real problem. Stallions will only field players who have no connections with the ICL," a PCB source said.
Naghmi also expressed ignorance about ICC`s reported letter to the member boards warning them that if the Champions League went ahead from September 29, a day after the Champions Trophy ends in Pakistan, it could lead to a lawsuit from the broadcasters who have a television rights deal with the world body.
"No I have seen no such letter so I don`t know anything about it at the moment," he said.
The PCB COO added that Pakistan was itself preparing to launch the Pakistan Premier League next year and have had consultations with the IPL authorities on this matter.
Bradman family sues over name exploitation Adelaide, Aug 02
The family of Sir Donald Bradman is suing a legal firm over commercial exploitation of the late cricketing great`s name, saying the misuse allowed it to be portrayed like "Mickey Mouse." Solicitors for Bradman`s son John Bradman filed a statement of claim in the Supreme Court of South Australia.
It seeks unspecified damages from the law firm Allens Arthur Robinson for alleged failures of "due care, skill and diligence" in the assignment of the cricketer`s name to the Bradman Foundation, The Australian newspaper reported Saturday. In the suit filed Friday, the family described Bradman as "a loved and missed family member, not a brand name like Mickey Mouse.
The foundation licenses the name to help support the Bradman Museum and Bradman Trust. Allens has provided the foundation with free legal advice and also advised Bradman, according to the statement of claim.
In its complaint, the family says that Allens, while serving the foundation, disregarded Bradman`s repeated instructions that his successors and heirs enjoy right of veto over the foundation`s commercial uses of the Bradman name. Three years ago, the foundation licensed a food company to market "Bradman" chocolate chip cookies in India to help raise funds for underprivileged children. Then, the Bradman family used the same "Mickey Mouse" comparison to oppose the plan, adding: "Sir Donald would be adamant in his opposition to his use of his name. So is his family.
Bradman, who died in 2001 aged 92, is one of the greatest Australian sportsmen of all time, and perhaps the world`s greatest cricketer. He scored 6,996 runs in 52 cricket tests spanning 20 years, and his average of 99.94 runs per test innings is far superior to any other batsman.
Kallis exposes official blind spot
All-rounder's angry reaction to lbw decision is understandable in light of refusal to remedy sightscreen problem.
Jacques Kallis was well within his rights to complain to umpire Steve Davis after he had been given out lbw to Andrew Flintoff yesterday afternoon. For the second time in the match Kallis had lost his wicket to Flintoff because he had failed to see a full ball coming out of a dark area of seating above the sightscreen at the Pavilion End of the ground. In South Africa's first innings a superb yorker knocked out his off stump; yesterday a high full toss hit him flush on the right thigh in front of the stumps while he was taking evasive action.
The reason for Kallis' ire was that South Africa had asked Michael Vaughan, the England captain, and the match officials to place white sheeting over the blind spot at the end of the first innings. Vaughan, realising that the situation was giving his team an advantage, refused to succumb to the tourists. The officials, those wise old birds who prefer to quote regulations from a book than show the slightest hint of common sense, also refused, saying that they were not allowed to change conditions once a match had started. The bowler in me rarely has much sympathy for those pampered prima donnas who wield the willow but this was a ridiculous response to a reasonable request. Surely it is the role of officials to enable rather than hinder a player seeking to perform to his full potential. What the hell are sightscreens for if they do not assist the batsman in seeing the ball? When a bowler moves from over the wicket to round, the sightscreen moves with him. What is the difference between this and whitening an area where the batsman is struggling to see the ball?
Examples of what the South Africans were asking for have already taken place in this Test. At each end of the ground the groundstaff have covered red advertising boards in front of a sightscreen for fear of them acting as a distraction.
There was a famous delay in a Test at Old Trafford in 1995 when the sun was shining on a greenhouse at the DIY centre to the side of the sightscreen, causing a blinding glare. The problem was resolved, after a half an hour, when sheets were put over the offending glass. What is the difference between that incident and the one that took place yesterday?
No doubt the International Cricket Council, the game's governing body, will amend their regulations at the end of this Test. That will bring no consolation to South Africa, as it failed to for New Zealand, who were penalised by another contentious regulation here at Edgbaston earlier in the season. Then, in a rain-interrupted one-day international, the umpires kept the interval between innings at 30 minutes rather than reduce it to 10, only to see the game end with no result when one more over needed to be bowled for a positive conclusion to be achieved.
England supporters will accuse the South Africans of whinging, saying that it was only Flintoff who was causing problems and that was because they could not cope with big Freddie's hostility. There is an element of truth in that, but one bowler can cause a unique set of circumstances.
It is all about where Flintoff releases the ball from and the trajectory of it as it comes down the pitch towards the batsman. Morne Morkel is a taller bowler with a higher action and he probably releases the ball from above the blind spot, causing it to spend very little time in it. James Anderson is shorter and the ball probably never enters it. Flintoff's height and his positioning on the crease obviously result in the ball spending a greater time in this area at the moment when a batsman is judging line and length.
Kallis' reaction, like that of Neil McKenzie, who was dismissed in similar fashion yesterday, was understandable but it would not have helped the mood of his team-mates. When a leading player reacts in such a way it transmits negativity through the team. "If Jacques, with 30 Test hundreds and an average of 57, can't cope, then what chance have I," the batsmen to come might say.
Kallis' hostile, bat-swinging, four-letter reaction to his dismissal will undoubtedly result in a visit to Ranjan Madugalle, the match referee. It is hoped common sense will prevail. Kallis has an impeccable record and we all want to see sport at this level played by humans who show emotion, not robots incapable of thinking for themselves.
Sri Lanka bounce back in India Test with late strikes
Sri Lanka grabbed three big wickets in the closing session to throw the second Test against India wide open on the third day here on Saturday.
India were strongly placed at 144-1 before slipping to 200-4 in their second innings at stumps, with Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Chaminda Vaas sharing wickets. The tourists are now only 237 ahead with six wickets in hand.
Sourav Ganguly and Venkatsai Laxman had yet to open their accounts when bad light stopped play.
India appeared to have seized the initiative after attacking knocks from Gautam Gambhir (74), Virender Sehwag (50), Rahul Dravid (44) and Sachin Tendulkar (31) before losing their way.
"We are in a better position at the moment and need to look at one good partnership tomorrow and try to win the Test," said Gambhir.
"I think anything above 350 will be a difficult target to chase. It is not an easy wicket to bat on and it is deteriorating. Harbhajan (Singh) and Anil (Kumble) will not be easy to play."
Sri Lanka were bowled out for 292 in their first innings on the stroke of lunch in reply to India's 329, with skipper Mahela Jayawardene top-scoring with a stylish 86.
Off-spinner Harbhajan played a big role in India gaining the lead as he grabbed 6-102 for his 22nd haul of five or more wickets in a Test innings. He was brilliantly supported by leg-spinner Kumble (3-81).
"The Indians are slightly in front at this stage, but getting those late wickets was crucial for us," said the Sri Lankan captain.
"It is an evenly-balanced Test. If we can get a few early wickets tomorrow that will be ideal. The pitch is turning, but we need to bowl in the right areas and put pressure on them."
Left-handed Gambhir and Sehwag gave India a flying start for a second successive time in the match, adding 90 for the opening wicket. They had put on 167 in the first innings.
Sehwag again showed the way as he followed his first-innings 201 not out with a blazing fifty, blunting the Sri Lankan spin attack with his aggressive approach.
He reached his fifty off 49 balls before he fell playing an uppish drive off paceman Vaas, with Tillakaratne Dilshan timing his jump to perfection to take a superb catch in the covers.
Gambhir, who made 56 in the first innings, also used his feet remarkably well against spinners Mendis and Muralitharan to complete a second successive half-century.
He had been batting fluently before being bowled by Mendis, attempting to pad away a delivery that turned in sharply to hit the off-stump.
Sri Lanka bounced back into the match when they dismissed Tendulkar and Dravid in the space of eight deliveries.
Tendulkar was caught in the slips driving an away-going delivery from Vaas, while Dravid was adjudged leg-before off Muralitharan.
Dravid was initially given not out by umpire Billy Doctrove of the West Indies, but the Sri Lankan captain requested the official to review the decision under a new experimental rule which is on trial in the series.
Doctrove changed his decision after consulting TV umpire Gamini Silva of Sri Lanka.
The Indian spinners earlier shattered Sri Lanka's hopes of gaining the lead by sharing five wickets, with Kumble taking three and Harbhajan two. The hosts could add only 77 to their overnight total of 215-5.
The teams observed a two-minute silence before the match in memory of former India batsman Ashok Mankad, who died in Mumbai on Friday.
Sri Lanka lead 1-0 in the three-match series following their win by an innings and 239 runs in the opening Test in Colombo.
Smith inspires South Africa to series
Graeme Smith plundered a fighting 154 not out to lead his South Africa team to a five-wicket victory over England that clinched the Test series at Edgbaston.
South Africa, set 281 to win the third Test and with it the four-match series after they went 1-0 up at Headingley, reached 283 for five in fading light on day four after the pendulum had swung both ways.
Mark Boucher hit 45 in a crucial stand of 112 with his skipper.
The Proteas claimed their first series win in England since 1965, though they did not play international cricket from 1970 to 1991 because of the country's isolation. They surrendered series leads in 1994, 1998 and 2003.
England had gone six years without losing a Test series at home until India won in 2007 and now they have lost their second at home in the last three.
Captain Smith was a doubt coming in to the match because of a back injury but elected to play with pain-killing tablets to ease his discomfort. His 16th Test century, scored in 246 balls, and fourth against England steered his team home.
South Africa started brightly when reaching 65 for no loss but they slumped to 93 for four.
AB de Villiers' stand of 78 with Smith settled his team's nerves as they closed on their target. He was eventually caught at slip off spinner Monty Panesar for 27.
Smith batted fluently throughout, though he did enjoy moments of fortune. When on 74, he played no stroke to a ball from Panesar that turned square and would have hit middle stump but umpire Aleem Dar saved him.
On 79 he should have been run out when Ian Bell, standing over the wickets, failed to catch a throw bounced in from wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose. Smith was yards short.
His luck continued when on 85. Replays suggested he got a deflection off his glove from Panesar to Ambrose, but half-hearted appeals from England failed to convince Dar to send him to the pavilion.
Next ball Smith chose to be more aggressive and swept towards the midwicket boundary where James Anderson was fielding, but the ball bounced once before it reached him.
Earlier, Friday's batting hero Paul Collingwood took his overnight century on to 135 before he was the last man out as England lost their last three wickets for two runs.
Ryan Sidebottom (22), at least, did put up some fight with his eighth-wicket partnership of 65 with Collingwood. Morne Morkel finished with 4-97.
The fourth Test, now a dead game, starts at The Oval on Thursday.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Middlesex to participate in Twenty20 Champions League
Middlesex, England's Twenty20 champions, will be part of this year's Champions Twenty20 League, Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, has confirmed.
David Collier, the ECB chief executive, informed Cricket Australia, one of the three founding partners of the Champions Twenty20 League, that Middlesex will be participating in the tournament starting September 28, and added that they would be interested in sending two teams for the tournament from next year.
"It's very good news for world cricket," Modi said. "We are extremely happy to have Middlesex on board. This makes the tournament complete in every manner."
Physio admits he feared for Flintoff future
Dave Roberts, the Lancashire physio who shepherded Andrew Flintoff back to full fitness, admitted for the first time yesterday that he wondered whether the England all-rounder would ever recapture his old swagger following the fourth and most recent operation on his left ankle in Amsterdam last October.
Roberts was oozing pride after Flintoff's hair-raising spell to Jacques Kallis on Thursday evening, a passage of play the physio described as "the culmination of all the hard work we've put in over the last few years". But his pleasure was tinged with anxious memories as he recalled his own uncertainty of 10 months ago. "I've never said this to anyone before but after that last operation I did think, 'Will he ever be the same again?' I could never share that with Fred because you have to be upbeat. So to see him come in the other night was fantastic and a massive relief."
Roberts has been Flintoff's physical - and at times mental - guru ever since he underwent his first ankle operation in 2005, although the latest period of rehab began with the less than fearsome sight of Roberts pushing his patient out of Schipol airport in a wheelchair last autumn. But optimism grew when the Dutch ankle specialist Professor Niek van Dijk removed a tiny piece of bone fragment from the troublesome joint, after which it was a case of nursing Flintoff back to health.
"Part of the problem was the muscle wasting that went on, so we had to build him up all over again," said Roberts. "It was really important to get a full six months with him this time rather than just three, but it was still quite a journey. After the operation we went to Florida for eight weeks before Christmas, where he still couldn't run. That meant a lot of spinning, weights, cross-training and reshaping his body to get more definition in his lower limbs.
"By the time we got to Cape Town, where we spent 10 days in January, he was running again but we had to gradually reintegrate him. It was also a question of mentally moving him away from being my patient to being a cricketer. The Lions tour to India in February helped that process, as did Lancashire's pre-season trip to Dubai. Thursday evening was a moment of huge pride for me but I've had great support from the ECB, especially Hugh Morris [the England team's managing director]."
Roberts described the side strain that ruled Flintoff out for six weeks earlier in the summer as "a nightmare" but believes the setback added to his desire to return. "In some ways it got him hungrier and he trained harder again," he said. "I'm very proud of the fact that he can now bowl like that but I'll be happier once he's got through a full series and had no reaction. I am optimistic. He's fitter and stronger than ever. If he keeps fit, keeps doing his rehab and prehab and looks after the ankle, he can be around for a long time."
Collingwood leads England fightback
Paul Collingwood reached his sixth Test century with a six to keep England afloat on the third day of the third Test against South Africa at Edgbaston.
Collingwood, who has scored only 96 first-class runs this season, demonstrated his strength of character with an unbeaten 101 in England's 297 for six at the close.
They lead South Africa by 214 runs on a pitch which still looks full of runs. South Africa, seeking their first series win in England since 1965, lead 1-0 in the four-match series.
Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen, who stroked a majestic 94, put on 115 in just 138 deliveries after England had been reduced to 104 for four 30 minutes before tea.
After Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff (2) had fallen in quick succession, Collingwood and Tim Ambrose (19 not out) then put on an unbeaten 76 for the seventh wicket.
Collingwood reached his fifty from just 61 balls and three figures in 133 after scoring just four in 44 minutes in the first innings.
His finest moment came when he lofted left-arm spinner Paul Harris over long-on for six to reach a century which has probably saved his Test career.
Pietersen looked set to complete his 14th Test century until he tried to loft Harris once too often and drove him to AB de Villiers at mid-on to end his 136-ball innings. He smashed his bat into his pads twice in disgust with himself.
In Harris's previous over, Pietersen had played two audacious switch-hits to the cover boundary in three balls.
Poor top-order batting placed England in a difficult position after they dismissed South Africa for 314 in their first innings. Mark Boucher cracked 40 from 49 deliveries to ensure the tourists gained a useful lead of 83 while Flintoff finished with four for 89.
Alastair Cook (9) and Ian Bell (20) were both caught after top-edging pull shots, while Andrew Strauss (25) was caught from Morne Morkel going around the wicket and Michael Vaughan (17) was brilliantly held low down at cover by Hashim Amla.
Sehwag and Harbhajan give India the edge
Harbhajan Singh rested the initiative for India taking four wickets to leave Sri Lanka at 215 for five after Virender Sehwag's unbeaten double century the visitors to a first-innings score of 329 on the second day of the second cricket Test at the Galle International Cricket Stadium Friday.
The Test looked more a battle between the hosts and Sehwag (201 not out) instead of Sri Lanka and India as the opener single-handedly gave the tourists a respectable score in their first innings before Harbhajan joined the party to rock the Sri Lankan innings.
Sri Lanka were threatening to take a big lead riding on half-centuries by Malinda Warnapura (66) and Kumar Sangakkara (68) when Harbhajan (four for 71) made the ball talk on the dusty pitch.
After losing Michael Van Dort for four off the third ball of their innings, Sri Lanka progressed to 126 for one by tea, but lost wickets in a rush due to some poor shot selection.
Both Sangakkara and Warnapura looked set for big scores before Harbhajan removed the duo in the space of 13 deliveries.
Warnapura batted with confidence up until his dismissal, hitting ten fours and a six before he sliced one straight to Gautam Gambhir who had been positioned at short square point.
Sangakkara trying to whip the off-break on the on-side got a leading edge and was picked up by the bowler.
Thilan Samaraweera then added 48 runs for the fourth wicket with Mahela Jayawardene (46 batting) before being ruled leg before wicket and three balls later Tillekaratne Dilshan too departed without scoring to give Harbhajan his fourth wicket.
Earlier, the Indian batsmen's nightmares against the Sri Lankan bowlers continued, but Sehwag took the attack to the hosts to give India a good platform.
Freak spinner Ajantha Mendis once again proved to be their nemisis as he took his career's maiden five-wicket haul with figures of 6-117.
It was Sehwag's show in the morning as he extended the fifth wicket partnership with V.V.S. Laxman for 100 runs. Laxman, who had joined Sehwag at a precarious 178 for four, added 39 before falling prey to Mendis for the third time in the series.
India's lower order collapsed like a pack of cards losing their last six wickets for just 51 runs.
Sehwag became the first Indian to score a double hundred against the Sri Lankans and the first overseas player to score a double hundred at the Galle International Cricket Stadium.
Mohammad Azharrudin had made 199 against the Sri Lankans in 1986 while the highest individual score by an overseas batsman here was 178 by Brian Lara in 2001.
He also became the second Indian after Sunil Gavaskar to carry his bat through and the 42nd player overall in Tests to do so. Gavaskar had achieved his feat in 1983 against Pakistan in Faisalabad.
Sehwag also passed 5000 Test runs and is the tenth Indian batsman to do so after Sachin Tendulkar (11.826), Sunil Gavaskar (10,122), Rahul Dravid (10,101), Dilip Vengsarkar (6868), Sourav Ganguly (6819), Mohammad Azharuddin (6215), Gundappa Vishvanath (6080), V.V.S. Laxman (5892) and Kapil Dev (5248).
Sehwag has had a penchant for big scores in Tests and this was the 11th consecutive time he had converted a hundred into a score over 150.
Sehwag had a few anxious moment during his knock and had a tough chance off Mendis put down by Chamara Silva at long leg when the fielder tripped over the rope with the batsman on 156.
Then he nicked Mendis to wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene when on 188, but umpire Billy Doctrove turned down the appeal and the Sri Lankans couldn't ask for a referral as their three referrals had exhausted by then.
Umpire Gamini Silva, the third umpire, was asked to function in the role of Television Referral Umpire after colleague Mark Benson had to move on filed with Rudi Keortzen indisposed and he had a busy day as six referrals were made during the day.
Sehwag was on 195 when last man Ishant Sharma came to the crease, but he managed to get to the milestone before Sharma was ruled leg before wicket to Mendis.
Muralitharan bowled 24 overs before claiming his first wicket in the innings. He finished with two for 93.