India A lose to Australia A by 7 runs in a close opening match

Pretoria: Indian batsmen failed to hold their nerves during slog overs as they lost to Australia A by seven runs in an exciting opening encounter of the Tri-Series tournament between `A` teams here on Thursday.

All-rounder Glenn Maxwell`s magnificent unbeaten 145 off 99 balls helped Australia score a stiff 298 for eight as Cheteshwar Pujara decided to field after winning the toss.

In reply, India were restricted to 291 for eight despite half-centuries from opener Rohit Sharma (66), Suresh Raina (83) and Ambati Rayudu (70). Australia got four points from the match and took their tally to eight points from two matches.

Pacers Nathan Coultier-Nile (3/37 in 10 overs) did a brilliant job at the death as he got two wickets in the 49th over which was a maiden.

India were well within sniffing distance of winning the match as they required 16 from last two overs with in-form Rayudu at the crease.

Rayudu who hit five fours and two sixes in his 56-ball knock was dismissed by Coultier-Nile off the first delivery of the 49th over. The burly Stuart Binny (0) wasted three crucial balls before he became Coultier-Nile`s second victim of that over.

With 16 to get off the last over, it was too much to ask from Mohammed Shami and Siddharth Kaul as they managed only eight runs. Rohit (66, 87 balls, 7x4) again did a fine job upfront and was engaged in three crucial partnerships off 47 with Shikhar Dhawan (15), 46 with Cheteshwar Pujara (29) and 58 with Raina (83, 79 balls, 7x4, 1x6).

At 151 for three, Rayudu joined Raina as the duo added 85 runs in only 12.2 overs for the fourth wicket. Just when it looked that India A were in control, Raina tried to hit Maxwell out of the park only to be holed out in the deep by Cummins. After Raina`s departure, Rayudu tried to keep up the tempo as he hit successive sixes off leggie Fawad Ahmed but couldn`t get the team past finishing line.

Earlier Maxwell`s late blitzkrieg that contained 18 fours and six sixes helped Australia A post a healthy 298 for eight from 152 for eight. Maxwell shared an undefeated 146 run partnership for the ninth wicket with Josh Hazlewood (21).

Maxwell`s hundred came off 60 deliveries.

When Australia`s eighth wicket fell at 152 in the form of Pat Cummins in the 37th over, it looked like as if it will be a walk in the park for Pujara`s men. However Maxwell had other ideas as he attacked the Indian bowlers with great gusto.

Out of his six over boundaries, five were hit off pacers Jaydev Undakat (1/66 off 10 overs) and Siddharth Kaul (0/62 off 8 overs). The duo were guilty of bowling length deliveries outside the off-stump which were picked up by Maxwell and sent soaring over deep extra-cover.

The other six was hit over long-off of left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem (2/42)`s blwling who was otherwise steady.

While Indian bowlers kept Aussie top-order under check save Nick Maddinson (52, 56 balls, 4x4, 3x6), who punished the bowlers. Part-time off-spinner Dhawan (2/39) rolled his arm over with some degree of success.

Brief Scores: Australia A 298/8 in 50 overs (Glenn Maxwell 145 no, Nic Maddinson 52)

India A 291/8 (Suresh Raina 83, Ambati Rayudu 70, Rohit Sharma 66, Nathan Coultier-Nile 3/37). Australia A won by 7 runs.

cricket Cook backs Pietersen as he rubbishes `cheat` claims

Chester-Le-Street, United Kingdom: England captain Alastair Cook said a report players in the ongoing Ashes were using silicone tape on their bats to avoid nicks being detected by "Hot Spot" technology was "rubbish".

The allegations were made by Australia`s Channel Nine television yesterday, with England batsman Kevin Pietersen said to be one of the players under suspicion.

But Pietersen took to Twitter on Wednesday to slam the report as "horrible journalism" and "hurtful lies", with Australia captain Michael Clarke insisting none of his players were involved in the practice.

And Cook, whose side have retained the Ashes at 2-0 up with two to play ahead of the fourth Test in Chester-le-Street starting Friday, had no problems with Pietersen`s use of social media.

"When you get called a cheat I think you quite rightly want to clear your name pretty quickly when you haven`t done anything wrong," Cook said Thursday.

The opening batsman added: "Players have been putting tape on their bats for years. I just think the actual story is a load of rubbish in terms of why people are putting tape on their bats. Fibreglass tape on their bats, that`s been going on for years. That`s just to protect the bat to make it last longer.

"I think that whole story we have to rubbish it because it is rubbish."

Nine said the International Cricket Council (ICC) general manager of cricket, Geoff Allardice, would be investigating the matter in Chester-le-Street.

However, the ICC insisted Allardice was coming over solely to speak to the teams regarding their concerns over the Decision Review System, a source of repeated controversy this series, and said it was not investigating any alleged attempts by players to "cheat" Hot Spot.

During the Ashes some nicks have not shown up on Hot Spot, with the system`s inventor, Warren Brennan, admitting the technology can struggle to pick up edges from fast bowling.

"That`s what we`ve found really strange, some clear nicks that haven`t shown up on Hot Spot," said Cook.

"We just can`t quite work out why it`s happening. But like all these things there are always big evolutions and hopefully the technology can get it right.

"At the end of the day we`re just trying to get more decisions right so the umpires have less impact on the game and you`re talking about hundreds and `five-fors` rather than decisions made by the umpire or the third umpire."

Meanwhile Cook insisted the fact England had retained the Ashes in 14 days had not diminished their hunger to win the series.

"We want to go on and win the series. The way the lads are, the way we are as a team and the way (England coach) Andy Flower operates, there will be no let up of the standards we set ourselves," said Cook.

And Cook said the fact Australia upped their game in the drawn third Test at Old Trafford would help England guard against complacency.

"We start from scratch. We keep saying what a good side Australia are and Old Trafford showed that."

Cook, the only England batsman to have scored 25 Test hundreds, dominated the 2010/11 Ashes with 766 runs at an average of 127.66 and three centuries with a best of 235 not out.

However, the 28-year-old left-hander has found runs harder to come by this series with Cook having so far managed a meagre 145 runs in three Tests at 24.16 with two fifties and a best of 62.

"Form is one of those things that is a bit of a mystery," he said. "I don`t feel as if I`m doing too much wrong; obviously I`d like a lot more time out in the middle and some runs, but I can only back the fact that I`ve done it in the past and hopefully I can do it again in the future.

"I`ve scored (more than) 7,500 Test runs and been around a while. I`ve had these little dips in the past and come through them."

Virat Kohli defends decision to keep Parvez Rasool on bench

Bulawayo: India skipper Virat Kohli feels it was "unfortunate" that Parvez Rasool could not get a game during the just-concluded ODI series against Zimbabwe but insisted that the Jammu and Kashmir all-rounder just did not fit into the team`s bowling plans during the tour.

"I`m not really bothered about what`s being said about people getting chances, because a lot of people who have played these five games have been sitting on the bench for two months or so," Kohli said when queried about not including Rasool, who could have become the first J&K cricketer to play for the Indian team.

India swept the series 5-0 and in the final ODI, it was expected that Rasool would be given a chance as the side had an invincible lead in hand but Kohli said the 24-year-old would get his break later.

"Parvez realises we had a set bowling combination and we didn`t want to make any changes to that. It was unfortunate he didn`t get a game, but it just didn`t go according to our plans. Maybe in future when he plays more series he`ll get a few games to test his skills out," he said.

Asked if Rasool could have been given a chance in place of another all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja, Kohli said, "It`s very hard to leave someone like Jadeja out because he`s the kind of bowler who can get you wickets at any point in time."

"We didn`t want to take any game lightly and I didn`t want to change too much in the bowling department. Mishra has been sitting out for a while so we wanted to give him four or five games.

"Parveez is going to South Africa now for the India A tour and he`s going to play a lot of games there and pick up more experience. He could have been given a chance but I just didn`t want to take a chance with the bowling line-up, leaving someone like Jadeja out," he added.

Reflecting on the triumph, Kohli said it was heartening to see debutants coming up with solid performances.

"The guys who got a chance for the first time showed a lot of character, especially someone like Mohit Sharma and (Jaydev) Unadkat," Kohli said.

"Ajinkya Rahane coming back into the team, scoring some runs. So it was pretty good to see all the guys performing and playing their roles.

"Amit Mishra sat out for two months on the road regularly and then came out with 18 wickets in this series, so there were a lot of great performances by individuals and some good team efforts as well," he added.

Kohli praised the team`s bowlers for adapting well to the conditions.

"The thing is that we analysed and considered the fact that our bowling line-up is pretty new so we wanted to give them more confidence rather than the batting, because the batting has been doing well for about three months," Kohli said.

"There`s no point in going out there and trying to prove something to ourselves because all these individuals have performed at international level.

"It`s about giving people the right kind of confidence in games, and the new-ball bowlers got a lot of confidence from bowling in the first innings and that was the plan," he added.

"The batsmen have all scored runs in this series, so it was all about making sure the bowlers go back as more confident individuals."

Kevin Pietersen so glad he opted against su

Manchester: England batsman Kevin Pietersen almost never played in this Ashes series because of a knee problem which will always require treatment, making his 113 in the third test on Saturday all the sweeter for the 33-year-old.

He was out for three months and missed June`s Champions Trophy, with knee surgery discussed despite a nine-month recovery period.

Pietersen decided against it with back-to-back series against Australia on the horizon and returned just in time for the first two of five Tests, which England won despite their most explosive batsman failing to fire.

"It was frustrating, nobody likes injuries, I haven`t enjoyed the year, my knee is an absolute shambles," he told reporters after day three.

"Missing three months wasn`t fun but I wanted to make the Ashes, it means too much and it`s proved a wise decision. That`s why I didn`t have surgery, I could`ve had that and it`s proved a right decision from the surgeon`s and from my perspective.”

"I`ll be in rehab for the rest of my career with my knee unfortunately."

A calf injury nearly prevented him playing here at Old Trafford but his century in England`s 294 for seven made him their record run scorer in all forms of the game with 13,242.

"The calf is there or thereabouts - old age I suppose," he joked after passing Graham Gooch and Alec Stewart on the list.

"It`s Ashes cricket. I like performing on the big stage, when the team needs me. For England and Australia players, your career is defined by how you perform in Ashes cricket."

With Australia still 233 runs ahead on first innings, England`s best hope may be for some rain on day four or five to help salvage a draw and retain the urn.

"My century only means something if we get a draw. Now it means nothing unless something positive happens," he said, admitting he would again look to be aggressive against spinner Nathan Lyon if he gets another bat on the turning wicket.

"Every spinner I`ve played against I`ve tried to whack."

Akram says Anderson can surpass his Test wicket record

London: Former Pakistan pace bowler Wasim Akram has tipped England bowler James Anderson to reach 450 Test wickets, who currently needs only six more wickets to pass Bob Willis to become England`s second-highest Test wicket-taker.

According to The Daily Star, Anderson is near Ian Botham`s record tally of 383 and with his control of swing, both ways at pace, Akram expects the Lancashire bowler to reach that target easily.

Akram said that Anderson could even surpass his own national record tally of 414 Test wickets, adding that Anderson was only 31 and if he did not get injured, he should be looking at 450.

The former Pakistan player, now a TV pundit, regards Anderson as the best bowler in the world and one who has mastered the art of reverse and conventional swing, the report said.

Akram feels the presence of his former teammate Mushtaq Ahmed, England`s spin-bowling coach, will also have a positive impact, the report added.

Zimbabwe players take cricketing lessons in Indian dressing room

Bulawayo: Demolished in the just-concluded ODI series against India, Zimbabwean players were sent to the rival dressing room by their coach Andy Waller to gather some cricketing tips from Virat Kohli and his men.

"They`re in the changing room with (India) now, to talk to them," Waller said at the post-match press conference after the fifth ODI here.

"The best time to learn is now in the change room with the best players in the world, and talking one-on-one when you`re not shy talking out in the open. And our guys are quite bad like that.”

"They don`t go up and ask questions about cricket, and that`s how you learn. And I`m hoping we try to change that culture. Hopefully they`ll learn something from what they hear from the guys," he added.

Zimbabwe were mauled 0-5 in the series by a team, which did not feature some of its key players including regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Waller lauded Kohli for both his leadership as well as fine batting.

"You look at someone like Kohli for example," Waller said.

"He doesn`t play risky shots. He plays good, simple cricket and he finds the gaps, whereas I think our guys try to improvise more than they should. That`s something that we`re working really hard at: trying to convince them that that`s the way we should be playing cricket," he added.

Waller, however, said the IPL influence was making his players believe that the best way to score was hitting big shots.

"I think it`s watching all this IPL and that sort of stuff that`s got these guys thinking the only way you can score runs is hitting over the top and hitting sixes and fours," Waller said.

"The Indians have proved to us that that`s not the case. They shoulder arms like they`re playing Test cricket, but they`re still getting the runs on the board, because they`re waiting patiently."

Batsman Sean Williams, whose half-century was the lone bright spot in the poor batting effort by Zimbabwe in the fifth one-dayer on Saturday, said his team is learning.

"I struggled with the bat in the first four games, but it was really a mindset of playing against the world champions," Williams said.

"It`s a lot different to playing against other teams like Bangladesh, Kenya and Ireland. Once I overcame that, everything seemed to gel together. Obviously I`m not happy that I didn`t finish it off, but it`s getting better. I`m looking forward to Pakistan arriving," he explained.

Waller said Zimbabwe`s progress is a long process and results should not be expected too soon.

"It`s not something we can turn over in two or three months," said Waller.

"I`m not trying to make excuses, but it`s a long process. It`s a confidence thing. The guys haven`t played hard, competitive cricket for three or four months now, and I think you`ll find by the end of the Sri Lanka tour, playing more of that standard of cricket, the confidence will build up and we`ll start improving."

BCCI to move Supreme Court, Srinivasan asked to lie low

New Delhi: Indian cricket board president Narayanaswami Srinivasan Friday was forced to abandon his plan to chair the working committee meeting following the BCCI decision to challenge the Bombay High Court`s order in Supreme Court.

More than the Bombay High Court`s adverse ruling Monday, what was more damaging for Srinivasan was that some of his known friends bluntly asked him to keep off the board till he is cleared, both morally and judicially.

It all started with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) senior vice president Arun Jaitley explaining to Srinivasan at a lengthy meeting the legal implications if he tries to brazen out the Bombay High Court observations, which are in the nature of strictures, and by inference asking him to lie low till a legal remedy is found.

Even before the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council meeting started, Srinivasan had a lengthy meeting with both Jaitley and IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla.

As a first step, he appeared before the Governing Council to "recuse" himself from attending it. But it is learnt that even the IPL chairman along with at least five others gathered enough courage to tell him not to disregard the adverse court observation.

The scheduled working committee meeting, which Srinivasan had planned to chair, had to be postponed on technical grounds as the agenda was not set and the notice didn`t mentioned it as an emergency working committee. According to the BCCI constitution, the committee cannot meet twice in a week.

During the Governing Council meeting it was decided that the BCCI will file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court`s order.

Srinivasan and interim BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya were called by the IPL Governing Council after the meeting and were informed about the decision to file an SLP in the Supreme Court.

"Mr. Jaitley read out the Bombay High Court`s order during the IPL Governing Council meeting and it was decided that we will file an SLP in the Supreme Court," said BCCI`s chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty.

The High Court had termed the two-member IPL probe panel as illegal. The panel had given a clean chit to the Srinivasan`s son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings principal Gurunath Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra`s alleged betting and spot fixing activities.

Sources told IANS that some senior members of the board, including two vice-presidents Chitrak Mitra and Niranjan Shah, wanted another independent panel to be set up, but the proposal was shelved once it was realised that it would mean a wait of at least two to three months before Srinivasan could return to the board.

Instead, Srinivasan`s legal advisers felt it was prudent to approach Supreme Court with a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the Bombay High Court`s ruling.

Mitra was the first one to come out and say that board will be challenging the Bombay High Court`s order.

"The BCCI will be challenging the Bombay High Court`s order. And the working committee meeting was postponed on technical grounds. There was no agenda set before the meeting and it was not mentioned as the emergency working committee meeting," said Mitra.

Shetty said the working committee will next meet after the court case is over.

"The next working committee will be after the court case is over. Till then, Mr. Dalmiya will carry on as the interim president," said Shetty.

Former secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke will be replaced by their successors Sanjay Patel and Ravi Sawant in the BCCI ethics committee.

If the Supreme Court gives him relief, Srinivasan would be back within a week to consolidate his position in the board before the September Annual General Meeting, failing which it would be difficult for him to stage a comeback with Dalmiya presiding over the AGM.

Rajeev Shukla firm on leaving IPL post

New Delhi: Despite having resigned in the wake of the spot fixing and betting scandal, Rajeev Shukla chaired the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council meeting here Friday but he made it amply clear that he doesn’t want to continue as chairman of the high-profile league.

“They (BCCI) requested me to chair the meeting and I did so. There were no issues with that. But I have told the board that I do not wish to continue as IPL chairman,” Shukla told.

Shukla, who is also minister of state for parliamentary affairs, quit the IPL two months ago in the wake of the spot-fixing controversy but his resignation was not accepted by interim board chief Jagmohan Dalmiya.

The Congress MP said that he has intimated the board to look for a new IPL chief before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Annual General Meeting in September.

“I took the job for two years and now it is time for someone else. I am sure the BCCI will find a suitable candidate,” said Shukla, who took over from Chirayu Amin as IPL chairman in September 2011.

Interestingly, Shukla along with five other members gathered enough courage to tell BCCI president Narayanaswami Srinivasan not to disregard the adverse court observation and chair the working committee that had to be postponed.

Peter Siddle adds to England agony after Clarke century

Manchester: Peter Siddle took two wickets shortly before stumps on the second day of the third Ashes Test at Old Trafford to cement a strong Australia position built by captain Michael Clarke`s 187.

At Friday’s close Ashes-holders England were 52 for two in reply to Australia`s first innings 527 for seven declared, a deficit of 475 runs, in a match the tourists, 2-0 down with three to play, had to win to stand any chance of regaining the urn.

England captain Alastair Cook, dropped on 15, was 36 not out and Jonathan Trott two not out after Clarke, whose innings was his highest against England, enterprisingly declared not long after tea.

Aggressive seamer Siddle was, surprisingly, the fifth of five Australia bowlers deployed by Clarke on Friday.

But he responded by taking two wickets for two runs in 12 balls.

Siddle removed Joe Root, fresh from his 180 in England`s crushing 347-run second Test win at Lord`s, with the opener caught behind for a painstaking eight off 57 balls.

He then had nightwatchman Tim Bresnan well held by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.

Replays showed Bresnan hadn`t made contact, the ball hitting his trousers, but, following consultation with Cook, there was no review.

Australia came into this match on the back of six straight Test defeats -- their worst run since 1984.

Star batsman Clarke, rather like Allan Border at the start of the Australia great`s captaincy career in the mid-1980s, has often had to compensate for the weaknesses of his top-order colleagues.

Yet this was his 10th century in 27 Tests as captain, with his average as skipper of 65.15 well above his career mark of 52.52.

England`s attack was led by Graeme Swann, the off-spinner`s figures of five for 149 in 41 overs representing his 17th `five-for` in 55 Tests.

But perhaps the most remarkable return of all belonged to England spearhead James Anderson, who finished with none for 116 in 33 overs on his Lancashire home ground.

Australia resumed on yet another sunny day well-placed on 303 for three with Clarke 125 not out, after scoring the tourists` first century this series, and Steven Smith 70 not out.

Clarke, on 136, drove uppishly off Bresnan only for Swann, very close in at short extra-cover, to parry the fast-travelling chance above his head.

A single then saw Clarke, who won the toss, surpass his previous highest Test score against England of 136 at Lord`s in 2009.

But a stand eventually worth 214 ended when Smith top-edged a slog off Swann`s sixth ball of the day and holed out on 89 to Jonny Bairstow at midwicket, leaving Australia 343 for four.

New batsman David Warner was booed by spectators on his way to the middle having missed the first two Tests of this series after being banned for punching Root in a Birmingham bar in June.

Warner did not stay long, the left-hander out for five when an edge off Swann deflected via wicketkeeper Matt Prior`s thigh to Trott at slip.

Warner requested a review, despite a clear nick, and, with replays conclusive, he walked off to yet more jeers.

Clarke`s more than seven-hour innings of 314 balls with 23 fours ended when, cramped for room, he played on to Stuart Broad as the paceman took his 200th Test wicket.

But Haddin, dropped by Prior off Anderson on 10 before making 65 not out, and Mitchell Starc, whose 66 not out was worthy of a top-order batsman not a tailender, added an unbroken 97 for the eighth wicket.

Clarke brought on off-spinner Nathan Lyon, recalled after Australia dropped teenager Ashton Agar following the slow left-armer`s wicketless match at Lord`s, in just the seventh over.

Lyon almost had a wicket with his third delivery when he took Cook`s outside edge only for the ball to hit Haddin on the leg, when the wicketkeeper should have done better, with Clarke unable to grasp the rebound at slip.

Virat Kohli needs to calm down his enthusiasm a bit: Waugh

Mumbai: Virat Kohli is a potential captaincy material but the talented right-handed batsman needs to calm down his enthusiasm to become a good leader in future, feels former Australia skipper Steve Waugh.

"Virat Kohli is a talented player and a potential captain for sure. He is very exciting and has got passion for sure, which is good, but he sometimes needs to pull that enthusiasm inside a bit. He will make a good leader one day," Waugh said here on Friday.

Recently, miffed at being given out to a controversial catch during the second ODI against Zimbabwe, Kohli, who is captaining the side in African nation tour, ended up arguing aggressively with on-field officials even after the third umpire ruled the decision against him.

Waugh also praised India`s regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying he has achieved everything as a captain.

"Dhoni has won every trophy you can possibly win. That is what he can do as a captain. He has done a brilliant job. Very aggressive, very positive and he has been a fine captain for India," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

On senior India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who will be playing his 200th Test match later this year, Waugh said the champion batsman will achieve something that nobody could have ever thought of.

"It`s a great achievement. To play 198 Tests it is amazing. He has broken every record. He will probably hold every record besides the highest average which Don Bradman has. An amazing player and 200 Test matches that is like the holy grail. I don`t think anyone thought they would get to 200," he said about Tendulkar.

With the Indian Cricket Board finding itself in a soup in the recent time, Waugh today asked the BCCI to look at the larger interest of the game.

"They (BCCI) are obviously a very powerful group. They have a big influence on world cricket. They have got to take on board the best interests of the game, obviously Indian cricket is in a good state, the side is going on well, the cricket board makes a lot of money.”

"But at the end of the day, for the good of the sport, the longevity of the sport, the BCCI have got to see the bigger picture," he said.

Australia have found themselves on the wrong side with the use of DRS in the ongoing Ashes Test series but Waugh supported the use of technology in the sport, however, he felt it needed to be complemented by good umpiring.

"I think DRS is pretty good for the game. DRS is good system in conjecture with good umpiring. If the umpire is not of top quality standards then it is going to put more pressure on DRS. And we have seen that in the three Tests so far, which has been the real issue.

"With DRS we have more decisions right than wrong. They have go to definitely improve the technology. It is not a perfect system. But we are getting more right than wrong. Maybe they need to fine tune it," the former Australian great said.

Waugh praised the Australian team for showing some resilience in the ongoing third Test match but said a comeback from 0-2 down looks unlikely.

"I think they are doing okay. We are fighting back in this Test match. Obviously we lost the first two but that is sport. England is playing well, they are a very good team. We are a developing side. The odds are unlikely that we are going to win the series but I am glad we are fighting back at Old Trafford. It`s a good sign," he said.

He also felt that it would take at least a year for this Australian side to make it top again.

"England are enjoying the fact that they are beating Australia. I know we beat them in eight Ashes series in a row. They have turned it around now, so good luck to them. It doesn`t embarrass me that we have lost six Tests in a row. It happens in sports. You go through different cycles. We have got enough talent. I am confident that Australia will get towards the top, over the next 12 to 18 months," he added.

Michael Clarke: Captain of a sinking Australian ship

Suyash Srivastava

There was a time when every move made by Cricket Australia seemed perfect. Any player who was brought into the team as a replacement, on account of his performance, made the job even tougher for the selectors. We all wanted our cricket boards to learn from theirs as Australian cricket was at its peak. But of late, the Australian team management has been severely criticised for their actions which have brought the team under the scanner.

A lot has been happening in the Australian team lately, and even though they weren’t routed in the first Ashes Test, more than England, I reckon Australia were lucky to have taken the match that far – losing it by just 14 runs. Apart from Siddle, Agar, Rogers and to an extent Hughes, none of the Aussie players had enough fire in their belly to live up to the pressure and the hype of an Ashes Test.

The drama began during India-Australia series when the then coach Mickey Arthur sacked four veteran players for the second Test after they failed to produce three key points about what led to their downfall in the first game. This was later termed as the ‘homework-gate’ incident. While Cricket Australia has been known to follow discipline, this move by Arthur was heavily criticized.


Media reports said the relation between Arthur and the other players became sour after that incident and it dampened their motivation towards the game. Just ahead of the Ashes series, another incident took place where explosive left-hander David Warner was suspended for punching England batsman Joe Root in a Birmingham bar during the Champions Trophy. It further dented the team’s image and was a big blow just ahead of the all-important Ashes series.

As if all this wasn’t enough Australian cricket board finally decided to sack Arthur 16 days ahead of the much-awaited series and appoint Darren Lehmann, who many believe carries a wise head on his shoulders, as the new coach.

All this could have probably hampered the form the Michael Clarke, the only player in the history of Test cricket to have slammed four double-centuries in one year (2012). He started the Test series against India on a confident note but then Ravindra Jadeja was the man who troubled him a lot, and Pup hasn’t managed to do much with the bat since then.


On the other hand, Shane Watson has had disciplinary issues in the past and his resurrection was seen in IPL 2013 when he resumed his bowling which was followed by several match-winning performances for Rajasthan Royals. But the kind of body language he displayed at Edgbaston wasn’t something we would expect from one of the greatest all-rounders of all time in such a crucial series. Even after Arthur’s sacking, something seems to be still bothering the swashbuckling right-hander.

So all of a sudden, the team that once was an inspiration for players and fans all across the world finds itself amidst plenty of controversies. They have a new coach, a worried skipper, a 19-year-old spinner and a plenty of non-performers.

Arthur has only rubbed salt into the wounds of the Aussies by making shocking revelations where he said Clarke called Watson a ‘cancer’ in the team.

Australia might be able to put some more fight in the next four Tests. But one thing is for sure, it isn’t a happy Australian dressing room out there. And while Lehmann would try his best to galvanize his boys, Australia’s ship is sinking. They are falling short of the likes of Clarke and Watson.

Indian Fielding: Energetic, Enthusiastic and Enviable

Chaitan Papnai

India have won two back-to-back tournaments in the past two months, which helped them retain their ‘numero uno’ status in the 50-overs format. The young and highly talented Indian team gave a scintillating performance in both the departments – batting and bowling. But one more factor that helped India immensely to lift two major trophies in a row was its electrifying fielding.

With the likes of Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, the current Indian squad has six outstanding fielders that can change the course of the game with a crucial run-out or a fine catch. Electric in their reflexes, these live-wires are a sight to watch in action. One common factor among all these fielders is that they are almost of the same age group which creates a healthy competition among them.

In an exclusive chat with Zee Media former Indian fast bowler Javagal Srinath also feels that it’s a fine fielding unit as he said: “Without a doubt this Indian team is by far the best ever fielding unit in the history of Indian cricket. A complete team I must say.”

Another former cricketer Atul Wassan believes that this Indian unit has five to six excellent fielders. “Certainly it’s the best fielding unit for India. Even in the Champions Trophy, Indian fielding played a crucial role. Fitness is the mantra that converted India into a decent fielding unit,” Wassan told Zee Media.


Average fielding has always been one of India’s biggest let downs. Despite a long cricketing history, India always struggled to form a team that could be counted as decent fielding unit. Names like Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Ajay Jadeja, Mohammad Azharuddin, Robin Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Yuraj Singh and a couple more surely fall in the category of outstanding fielders but as a team India was always counted as a lethargic unit when it came to fielding. Now though, one can say that India team has finally broken the shackles to come out as a fine fielding unit.

In fact, Indian fast bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav are fine fielders in the outfield. Now that’s a rare sight to watch in Indian cricket -- fast bowlers coming under the bracket of decent fielders. Javagal Srinath feels the same as he told Zee Media: “These bowlers don’t have heavy legs; they bend their backs and have strong arms. These qualities make them decent fielders.”

In fact, skipper MS Dhoni has also gradually shown quite an improvement in his wicket-keeping. So, if we look at this young unit, it’s certainly the best fielding unit by far in the history of Indian cricket. The only fielders who have to work harder on their fielding are Ishant Sharma and R Ashwin.


At the moment, Indian fielding unit at least stands right next to the teams that are best in the business – Australia and South Africa. But according to Atul Wassan: “If India fielders perform this way for next two to three seasons they can definitely match the standards of South Africa and Australia.”

It’s not just about having a good fielding unit, it’s also about field placements and having the right man at right the position. However, if you have a skipper like Dhoni, who has a tremendous cricketing acumen, it’s not all that tough.

In the last two tournaments that India have played and won, Dhoni made sure that he had right fielders at the right places. Raina is a fielder who can field at any position with the same precision and the skipper knows it quite well. That is why Dhoni places Raina at crucial and busy areas. Raina stands at slip during the initial overs, but then he is shifted inside the ring to stop the singles, and during the death overs, Dhoni places him at either deep mid-on or mid-off to patrol the boundaries.

If we leave the recent scuffle between Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja behind (when Raina dropped two catches in the bowling of Jadeja), whenever Indian team comes to field there is an altogether a different energy among the fielders, which is hopefully here to stay...

Duncan Fletcher likely to retain the crease

Pankaj Sharma/Zee Research Group

Duncan Fletcher’s unprecedented success with India winning the Tri-nation series in West Indies has settled the debate over foreign coach vs Indian coach at least for now. This means that the likes of Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman are unlikely to get the coveted job of Team India coach any time soon. While the success of the young cricket team has laid the foundation for India to retain the ICC World Cup title in 2015, continuity of Fletcher and the team is unlikely to be questioned.

Fletcher’s extended run will also continue the drought of local coaches for Team India for about 15 years. The last Indian to coach the national side was Kapil Dev who quit in October 2000. However, Ravi Shastri temporarily coached the team for a month-long Bangladesh tour in 2007. Interestingly, if Zimbabwean Fletcher continues his tenure till March 2015, he will become the second longest served foreign coach of India after John Wright.

A Zee Research Group (ZRG) study of records of Indian coaches over their foreign counterparts reveals that the latter have an upper hand. According to the analysis, whilst the winning per cent average of Indian coaches in Tests stand at 25.41, foreigners have a winning average of 42.35 in the longer format of the game. More so, in One Day Internationals (ODIs) 53.07 is the winning per cent average of Indian coaches and 57.11 is of foreign based coaches.


India has won 18 of the total 62 Tests played with local coaches. On the other hand, out of 127 Tests played under foreigners, India has clinched victory in 54 games. Moreover, India has emerged winner in 126 out of 263 ODI matches played under local coaches and 192 out of 339 under foreign coaches.

A study of foreign coaches’ record during their stint with Team India finds former South African opener, Gary Kirsten on the top followed by Fletcher. During Kirsten’s tenure India won 48.48 per cent of their Test matches followed by 41.66 per cent with Fletcher so far. With John Wright and Greg Chappell India registered victory in 40.38 per cent and 38.89 per cent matches respectively.

Similarly, in ODI’s Fletcher’s performance stands below Kirsten but is above his other foreign counterparts. During Kristen’s three-year stint as team’s coach, India won 59 out of 93 ODIs and thus registering a winning percent age of 63.44. Fletcher, Wright and Chappell followed with 61.11 per cent, 52.31 per cent and 51.61 per cent respectively. Fletcher was appointed after the Indian team`s historic victory at the 2011 World Cup.

Interestingly, at a time India is giving a long run to foreign coaches, many cricket playing countries are relying on locals to coach their national sides. With Darren Lehmann recently replaced South Africa’s Mickey Arthur as coach of Australian cricket team five out of nine cricket playing nations other than India have local coach.


Presently, Australia, West Indies, New Zealand, South Africa and Zimbabwe have a local coach for their national cricket teams. On the contrary India with other sub-continent teams including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have appointed a foreigner for the job. England is the only non-Asian cricketing country to have a foreign coach.

India vs Zimbabwe 2013 Live Score: 4th ODI

Zee Media Bureau

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Over 25 || Score 98

Both the batsmen are looking comfortable at the crease and are hitting boundaries on their will. Williams was introduced by Taylor in the 21st over. Raina collected a boundary off the 21st over and that was the only boundary scored till the end of 25th over. Less than fifty runs are required for India to win the match. Raina crossed 40 runs mark and Rohit is 39 by the end of 25th over.


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Over 20 || Score 78/1

Both the batsmen at the crease are now looking to spend some time in the middle and are taking singles. In the 18th over Raina scored a boundary off Utseya by hitting the ball on the on side between two fielders. In the following over Raina opened full face off the bat and send the ball over the bowlers head for a four.

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Over 15 || Score 53/1

After the dismissal of Pujara, Suresh Raina came to the crease. On the third ball of the 11th over Raina played a scintillating cover drive and pierced the pack off side field for four off Chatara. From the 12th came eight runs. In the following over came two boundaries. First, Raina stepped out to Utseya’s second ball and hit it over bowlers head and on the fifth ball Rohit collected a boundary over the cover area. India scored ten runs of this over. With the single of the last ball of the 14th over India touched the mark off 50 runs. Suresh Raina is looking in no mood to drag the match unnecessarily and is scoring swiftly. Though in the 15th over India only managed to score three runs.


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Over 10 || Score 23/1

So far both the strike bowlers – Chinouya and Vitori bowled decently. They are not giving too much of room to the Indian openers. On the other hand Indian batsmen are also not looking in a hurry to finish off the match quickly. Seventh over bowled by Vitori was a maiden. In the following Pujara sent a loose ball towards the point boundary. Zimbabwean fielders are looking all charged up. Tendai Chatara has been introduced into the attack in the 10th over. Out. And in the second ball Chatara gave Zimbabwe its first breakthrough. A perfectly pitched delivery went through the gates of Pujara.

CA Pujara b Chatara 13 (24b )

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Over 5 || Score 12/0

After playing first over quite carefully, in last ball of the second over Pujara played a cracking shot off the back foot for four in the cover area. In the third, India only managed to score a single off the fifth ball. In the following, Indian openers once gain scored just a single but in the fifth over Rohit Sharma played a beautiful cover drive on the third ball of the over for four.


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Indian innings

Mohit Sharma made an impressive ODI debut by scalping two wickets in his ten over quota and spent just 29 runs. Now it’s time for another ODI debutant Cheteshwar Pujara to make his first match quite special. Though, not much runs on the scoreboard to chase, but he can still showcase his class by playing a solid knock.



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Once again a dismal performance with the bat by the host team and this time around they not even managed to cross the mark of 150 runs. Now it would be interesting to see how soon the Indian batsmen will finish the game and take the lead of 4-0 in the series.

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Over 42.4 || Score 144
Out. In the 41st over of the innings, Mishra took his first wicket. When Chatara tried to score a big shot over square leg boundary and managed to get the leading edge off the bat and handed over a simple catch to Jadeja at covers. In the following over Vitori smashed a six to Jadeja over square leg boundary. In the following over Amit Mishra took the last two wickets of the Zimbabwean side.

MT Chinouya c Kohli b Mishra 0 (1m 1b)
BV Vitori b Mishra 8 (7m 6b)
TL Chatara c Jadeja b Mishra 1 (6b)

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Over 40 || Score132/7
Batting power play started. And Kohli reintroduced Mohammad Shami into the attack in the 36th over. But in the comeback over, first Chigumbura smashed his first ball towards the boundary for a four. And then on the fourth ball Waller launched him for a six over the deep square leg boundary. Eleven runs came off it. Out. In the following over Mohit Sharma took his second wicket. A hint of away swing for Sharma and the ball kissed the outside edge of Waller’s bat and went into the gloves of wicketkeeper Karthik. Waller gutsy knock of 35 runs finally came to an end and with that a crucial partnership of 80 runs as well. Prosper Utseya came in after the fall off sixth wicket. Another bowling change by Kohli in the 37th over when Jadeja replaced Shami. Jadeja gave just two runs. In the following Sharma bowled a maiden over, it was his last over as well. He made an impressive ODI debut with these figures -- 10-26-2. Out. P Utseya went back to the pavilion after trying to hit Shami’s short ball towards the boundary and only managed to gave a simple catch to R Sharma at covers.

P Utseya c RG Sharma b Mohammed Shami 1 (12b)
MN Waller c †Karthik b MM Sharma 35 (77b)

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Over 35 || Score 111/5
Elton Chigumbura and Malcolm Waller are playing sensibly. Slowly but steadily they are trying to fight back in the match. In the 33rd over they took the scoreboard to three figures. In the 34th over Waller sent a short ball by Mishra towards the boundary. And in the following over both the batsmen managed score five runs off Unadkat’s over.


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Over 30 || Score 94/5

Waller scored a boundary off the penultimate delivery of the 26th over. Five runs came in it. The following over by Mishra saw the home team adding three more runs to their total. Mohit Sharma was brought back in the next by Kohli in which Waller and Chigumbura scored a single apiece. Chigumbura began the 29th over with a boundary to long-off. He failed to score off the remaining five. Waller scored his second boundary in the next bowled by Sharma.
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Over25 || Score 74/5

In the 21st over, Indian skipper introduced Amit Mishra. Now both the spinners are in tandem. Mishra gave five runs in his first over. In the following Jadeja gave just a single run. Mishra is mixing up his deliveries well. A packed off side field for both the spinners, just to stop giving easy singles. The 24th over bowled by Jadeja was a maiden. In the following Mishra spent just two runs.


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Over 20 || Score64/5
Out. Jadeja took his second wicket of the innings in the first ball of the 21st over. Sibanda missed the ball completely which was slightly drifting in after pitching and hit the stumps. Sibanda was just clueless. Zimbabwe lost their last three wickets in as many overs. Half of the team is back in the pavilion. Zimbabwe finally managed to add 50 runs on their score board in the 18th over, when Chigumbura guided Jadeja’s third ball towards the third man boundary. Elton Chigumbura and Malcolm Waller are at the crease. In the 19th over of the innings Chigumbura scored a boundary off Jadeja’s ball. Zimbabwe badly need a partnership here.


V Sibanda b Jadeja 24 (75m 45b)

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Over 15 || Score47/4
Out. Zimbabwe lost their second wicket in the eleventh over. When Masakadza and Sibanda tried to steal a single, Ravindra Jadeja standing at gully collected the ball in a flash and hit the wickets at the bowler’s end. Masakadza fell short by a couple of inches and walked towards the pavilion. The following over was a maiden by Shami. First bowling change for India. J Unadkat was introduced into the attack in the 13th over. In the following over Kohli introduced Ravindra Jadeja as well. Out. Jadeja took a wicket in fifth ball of his first over. The Zimbabwean skipper Taylor trapped in front of the wicket when Jadeja angled the ball into the right-hander. A big blow for the host team. Out. It’s a double blow for Zimbabwe, when in the following over J Unadkat bowled a beauty and knocked off the off stump of Sean Williams.
SC Williams b Unadkat 0 (2b)
BRM Taylor lbw b Jadeja 0 (9b)
H Masakadza run out 10 (15b )

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Over10 || Score 35/1
In the sixth over Sibanda scored his first boundary, when he played a straight drive on a fuller length delivery by Shami. Raza Out. In the seventh over, Mohit Sharma took his first ODI wicket by sending Raza back to the pavilion. A hint of out-swing and Raza who tried to attempt a defensive shot only managed an outside edge and the ball went inside the gloves of the wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik. Raza has been replaced by H Masakadza. In the following over Shami gave away five runs. In the ninth over of the innings, Sibanda drove Mohit Sharma’s fourth ball towards the cover boundary. This shot must have given Sibanda a much needed confidence. Zimbabwean batsmen need to put a price tag on their wickets if they really need to give India a tough fight in this match. In the tenth over Masakadza launched Shami towards the long leg boundary for a maximum.

Sikandar Raza c †Karthik b MM Sharma 7 (17b )

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Over 5 || Score 12/0
First run from bat came in the last ball of second over bowled by Mohammed Shami when Raza flicked the ball off his hips behind square for a single. A hint of swing for the Indian seamers. In the fourth over by Shami came just two runs. Both the openers – Sibanda and Raza – are playing cautiously. First ten-fifteen overs are crucial for both the teams. Mohit Sharma is bowling wicket-to-wicket. Raza scored the first boundary of the Zimbabwean innings in the fifth over when he cut the short ball bowled by Mohit Sharma towards the cover point area.


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Over 1 || Score 1/0

Mohit Sharma has started the proceedings for India. First ball, right on the money. Almost grabbed the wicket of Sibanda, when the ball jagged back into him after pitching at good length. Zimbabwe opened its account with a wide ball bowled by Mohit after the second ball.



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Zimbabwe innings:

India have done few changes in the team. Shikhar Dhawan has been rested, Cheteshwar Pujara is in. Apart from that in place of Vinay Kumar, Mohit Sharma is getting a chance. It’s a debut ODI match for both the players. But spinner from J&K, Parvez Rasool has to wait for some more time to get his first international match.


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TOSS: India have won the toss and will bowl first.

Having already clinched the series with an unassailable 3-0 lead, a dominant India may look to test their bench strength when they take on minnows Zimbabwe in the fourth cricket one-dayer here on Thursday.

The convincing seven-wicket win in the third ODI gave India the series title, reducing the remaining two ODIs to academic interest and that could prompt the team management to experiment with the combination.

The Indians may look to rest some of the key players and give an opportunity to Cheteshwar Pujara, Parveez Rasool, Mohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane as they have not played a single match in the series.

READ THE COMPLETE PREVIEW HERE»

PLAYING XIs

India: Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik(w), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Shami Ahmed, Jaidev Unadkat, Mohit Mahipal Sharma

Zimbabwe: Vusi Sibanda, Sikandar Raza, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor(w/c), Sean Williams, Malcolm Waller, Elton Chigumbura, Prosper Utseya, Tendai Chatara, Brian Vitori, Michael Chinouya

Bookies tried to corrupt players during 2011 World Cup: Delhi Police

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Delhi Police has claimed that bookies tried approaching players during the 2011 ICC World Cup that was jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

According to a leading daily, Dharamveer Singh Yadav, regional security manager of Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) of International Cricket Council (ICC), in his statement to Delhi Police has revealed that he had seen bookies in a hotel in the national capital where international teams were staying during the 2011 World Cup.

"It was the year 2011 during the World Cup, when I was staying in Taj Palace Hotel in Delhi along with some of the international teams, when I noticed Bhatia, Baburao and two more companions (one of them was Azmal alias Afzal from Hyderabad and another was a Sikh gentleman), who were making attempts to corrupt some of the players staying in the hotel,” he was quoted as saying in the report.

The Police have also accused ICC of not doing enough even after being aware of bookies meeting international cricketers in their attempt to involve them in spot-fixing.

Ashes 2013, 3rd Test Live Score: England vs Australia

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Zee Media Bureau

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ALSO READ Only if Clarke could wow and not just vow»

Have a look at the Players to watch out for in 3rd Test»

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Australia, 1st innings:

Over 25 || Score 86/2

Another controversial decision in Ashes 2013. Swann’s ball went past Khawaja’s bat and was collected by Prior as the entire team went up and the umpire raised his finger. Khawaja immediately asked for a review and once again, the hot spot had no signs of an edge, but the final decision was out! Thus the DRS continues to baffle the Aussies. Michael Clarke comes to the crease.

UT Khawaja c Prior b Swann 1 (19b)

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Over 20 || Score 77/1

Australia got off to a good start as Chris Rogers played some magnificent shots to increase the run-rate before Shane Watson was dismissed by Tim Bresnan. And it wasn’t lbw this time as Watto edged a delivery straight to Cook at first slip.

SR Watson c Cook b Bresnan 19 (49b)

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Over 15 || Score 58/0

Tim Bresnan was introduced into the attack in the 11th over and his first over was a maiden. Off the sixth delivery of the next, Rogers scored his fifth boundary. Off the sixth of the next, Watson got an edge that went safely between gully and point. Off the next came two runs while the 15th over fetched them nine runs thanks to consecutive boundaries by Rogers off the first and second delivery.
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Over 10 || Score 39/0

Rogers scored his second boundary through midwicket region in the sixth over bowled by Broad. Eight runs came in that over including a boundary, a triple and a single. Australia managed to score at least one boundary in the each of the following three overs. Off the 10th came just two runs. This has been a good start by the visitors.
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Over 5 || Score 16/0

Shane Watson and Chris Rogers are in the middle for Australia. James Anderson has the new ball. Watson takes a single off the third delivery to begin the scoring. Rogers opens his account with a boundary off the fifth delivery. Stuart Broad will share the new ball with Jimmy. Watson scores his first boundary off the fourth delivery. Two runs came in the next over while the fourth was a maiden. Off the fifth came five runs – all from the bat of southpaw Rogers.
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TOSS: Australia have won the toss and elected to bat first.

Australia are pondering whether to recall controversial batsman David Warner for their must-win third Ashes Test against England at Old Trafford starting from Thursday.

Top-order batting has long been Australia`s Achilles heel and so it proved in a crushing 347-run second Test defeat at Lord`s, where the tourists were skittled out for just 128 in their first innings.

England lead the five-match series 2-0 and Australia need to win in Manchester if their hopes of regaining the Ashes are not to be extinguished -- a drawn series would see holders England retain the urn.

Australia, following a 4-0 series reverse in India earlier this year, have suffered six successive Tests defeats for the first time since 1984 -- they last lost seven in a row in the 19th Century.

Warner missed the first two Tests of the current series having been suspended in the run-up to the Ashes for punching England`s Joe Root in a Birmingham bar after Australia lost a Champions Trophy match to their arch-rivals last month.

Sri Lanka recall Kulasekara for T20s vs South Africa

Colombo: Fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara was recalled to Sri Lanka`s 15-man squad on Thursday for the three-match Twenty20 series at home to South Africa.

Kulasekara missed the five-match one-day series against the Proteas, which the home team won 4-1 on Wednesday, due to a dislocated finger he suffered during the tri-series in West Indies last month.

Batsman Mahela Jayawardene and fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who were both rested for the fifth one-day game, were also recalled but there was no place for left-arm spinner Rangana Herath.

The spin bowling will fall to Ajantha Mendis, Sachitra Senanayake and leg-spinner Jeevan Mendis, who was also recalled to the side after being left out of the one-day series.

Sri Lanka are the current number one ranked Twenty 20 team.

The first Twenty20 match will take place in Colombo on Friday, with the second and third on Sunday and Tuesday in Hambantota.

Sri Lanka Twenty 20 squad: Dinesh Chandimal (captain), Lasith Malinga, Kusal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis.