Former Bangladesh skipper Bashar to quit rebel league

Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar has agreed to quit the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) by accepting an amnesty from the national board, an official said on Monday.

“Bashar served a notice on ICL expressing his desire to terminate his contract. He informed us through a letter on Sunday,” Jalal Yunus, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) media spokesman said.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) last month refused the league’s application for recognition followed by the amnesty offer.

Bangladesh slapped a 10-year ban on 14 players after they joined ICL last year with Bashar named to lead a newly formed Dhaka Warriors team.

Bashar, 36, has played 50 tests and 111 one-dayers for the youngest test team.

The BCB offered the reprieve this month, asking the players to terminate contracts with the league by June 15 to have their bans lifted. However, the board has said they would not be eligible for national selection until next year.

Bashar said he had written to the BCB, adding: “It’s a personal decision and I don’t want to make any comments on it at this stage.”

England Win Wisden Trophy Back

Seamers James Anderson and Tim Bresnan ripped through the West Indies batting order to lead England to victory by an innings and 83 runs in the second Test on Monday.

Anderson took four wickets and Bresnan three as West Indies collapsed on the final day and England completed an emphatic 2-0 series win.

West Indies resumed on 115 for three and, after two brief rain delays, Lendl Simmons, on 10, tamely steered a ball from Anderson straight to 19-year-old substitute fielder Scott Borthwick at cover.

Bresnan dismissed Brendan Nash for one when he clipped a wide delivery to Borthwick at square leg and the seamer struck again in his next over, Denesh Ramdin edging a simple catch to Anderson at third slip for a duck.

Anderson ripped out Jerome Taylor’s off stump with a rapid swinging delivery and he produced another fine delivery to bowl Sulieman Benn for a duck.

The ever reliable Shivnarine Chanderpaul was 46 not out at lunch but his brave innings ended on 47 when he nicked Anderson to stand-in wicketkeeper Paul Collingwood who was deputising for the injured Matt Prior.

Bresnan completed the rout when Fidel Edwards skied a catch to long leg where Karl Turner, another substitute fielder, held a tricky steepling catch on the boundary.

Mumbai Indians thrash Kings XI Punjab by 8 Wickets

Mumbai Indians kept their IPL hopes alive with a commanding eight-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab here on Tuesday.

Chasing a lowly 120, Mumbai Indians raced to the target in just 16.2 overs with Dwayne Bravo blasting an unbeaten 70 off 59 balls and Sachin Tendulkar contributing an unbeaten 41.

The victory brought Mumbai Indians back into the semi-final contention, as they jumped two spots to fourth place in the IPL standings with 11 points from 11 matches.

Kings XI Punjab’s chances of finishing among the top four now looks bleak as they are down to seventh place with 10 points and three matches in hand.

It was a must-win situation for both teams, and Mumbai Indians came out with all guns blazing to steal the show.

Mumbai’s promotion of Dwayne Bravo worked wonders as the West Indian ripped apart the bowlers with clean strikes. He struck seven fours and three sixes.

Bravo would have returned without opening his account had Irfan Pathan held onto a caught and bowled chance.

Brett Lee took out Sanath Jayasuriya before Bravo cut loose in S Sreesanth’s only over, which cost 21 runs with two sixes and two fours. Bravo continued in the same vein through the innings.

Piyush Chawla got the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane, but Tendulkar batted around Bravo to see the team through.

Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar played the spin card to perfection to restrict Kings XI to 119-9. His plan was carried out by off-spinners Harbhajan Singh (1-9) and JP Duminy (2-15), who bowled intelligently to bring the downfall of Kings XI batting line-up that had seven left-handers.

Opener Sunny Sohal played a lone hand in Punjab’s innings with a breezy 43 off 23 balls that included three sixes and five fours.

Punjab lost two quick wickets at the top with Simon Katich and Irfan Pathan being dismissed for ducks.

Sunny Sohal counter-attacked to bring Punjab back on the track.

Harbhajan came into the attack and soon got the prized wicket of Kumar Sangakkara. Tendulkar quickly tried his options and used as many as eight bowlers to keep Punjab guessing.

Duminy removed dangerous Yuvraj Singh and Ajinkya Rahane accounted for Luke Pomersbach.

Punjab batsmen were guilty of sloppy running between the wicket with as many as four players, including Sohal, being run-out.

Karan Goel’s 20 took Punjab past the 100-run mark.

Taylor heroics help Royal Challengers pull off six-wicket win

Bangalore Royal Challengers kept their hopes of making the Indian Premier League (IPL) semi-final alive with a six-wicket victory over bottom-placed Kolkata Knight Riders at the Centurion Park here on Tuesday.

Riding on skipper Brendon McCullum’s unbeaten 84 off 64 balls, Knight Riders made 173 for four in 20 overs. But Man of the Match Ross Taylor blasted a 33-ball 81 as Royal Challengers posted 176 for four in 19.2 overs.

With the win, Royal Challengers moved to the fifth spot in the IPL with 10 points from 11 matches. Knight Riders’, who have no chance of making the semis, slumped to their ninth overall and seventh consecutive loss.

Having set a 174-run target for Royal Challengers, Knight Riders looked in sight of a win, but poor bowling let them down once again. Spinners Ajantha Mendis (1-21) and Murali Kartik (2-28) were successful, while quickies Ishant Sharma, Ajit Agarkar and Angelo Matthews were punished hard by the Royal Challengers’ batsmen for their wayward bowling.

Jacques Kallis (32) and Jesse Ryder (22) gave Royal Challengers a runaway start as 50 runs came by the seventh over. Kartik picked up Kallis and Uthappa (7) to pull back things a bit in Knight Riders’ favour.

Ajmal sent to Australia for review of action

Pakistani off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has been sent to Australia for a review of his bowling action under the supervision of biomechanic
experts.

The spinner, whose bowling action was reported after the second One-Day International against Australia in Dubai on April 28, will undergo a scrutiny of his bowling by Dr Bruce Elliot.

Elliot has worked in the past with other Pakistani bowlers with bowling action problems including Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed and Shoaib Malik.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has made it clear that although Ajmal has been picked in the squad for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup, he would be replaced by a reserve player if his bowling action is not cleared by Elliot.

“Basically, his chances for the World Cup depends on what report the biomechanic experts give to us after the tests in Perth,” one board official said.

Ajmal was reported for his action while bowling the ‘Doosra’ delivery, which had the Australians in a spin in the first two matches.

If the biomechanic tests prove inconclusive, Ajmal cannot play until his bowling action is cleared by the ICC Bowling Action Review Committee.

Pakistan steps up appeal against World Cup match bans

Pakistan cricket’s board said Tuesday it had written to the International Cricket Council, stepping up its challenge against a decision to strip the troubled country of World Cup matches.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Saturday it was mounting a legal challenge to an ICC decision to move matches for the World Cup 2011 out of the country over security fears.

The PCB has branded the decision legally flawed and said Tuesday it had written to Michael Beloff, president of the ICC disputes resolution committee.

The letter was written “to refer the matter to the arbitration tribunal appointed in accordance with the rules of Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) to be held in United Kingdom,” said the PCB.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat, speaking after a meeting of the global governing body’s world cricket committee at Lord’s, was non-commital when asked about the PCB’s action. “It is the subject of a dispute and we will have to deal with it,” he said.

The ICC last month stripped Pakistan of 14 World Cup matches, including a semi-final, citing the “uncertain security situation” in the country.

Co-hosts India will now have 29 matches including a semi-final and the final, while Sri Lanka will host 12 matches with one-semi-final, and Bangladesh will hold eight matches and the opening ceremony.

The PCB said the decision to remove Pakistan as a co-host contravened ICC articles and the 2006 agreement that awarded the competition jointly to Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“The decision was taken by ICC executive board therefore PCB deems it appropriate that in the interest of justice, equity and fair play the matter should be adjudicated by CAS,” said the PCB.

CAS is an international body based in Switzerland.

“As time is of essence, PCB expects the ICC to expedite the matter.”

Former ICC president Ehsan Mani has also criticised the ICC decision, saying the manner in which it had been taken was “ill-conceived” and “made in haste” — a charge denied by the ICC.

Pakistan’s already dented reputation as a safe venue was in tatters after attacks by gunmen on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore on March 3 left seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach wounded and eight policemen dead.

Even before the attacks, foreign teams refused to tour Pakistan over security fears in a country locked in an increasingly bloody conflict with Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists.

In February, the ICC moved the eight-nation Champions trophy from Pakistan to South Africa after several teams refused to tour Pakistan.

Pakistan to tour Sri Lanka

After a gap of nearly 20 months, the Pakistan cricket team will finally be playing a full Test series when it tours Sri Lanka in July.

The cricket boards of both the countries finalised the itinerary for the tour from June 27 to August 12 which will include three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 international.

According to sources, Pakistan will leave for Sri Lanka on June 27 and play the first Test in Galle from July 4.

The second Test would be held from July 12 in Kandy followed by the final Test in Colombo from July 20.

The two teams will then engage in a one-day series with the first three matches scheduled in Dambulla on July 30, Aug. 1 and 3 followed by two games in Colombo on Aug. 7 and 9.

The Twenty20 match would also be held in Colombo on Aug. 12, the sources added

Soth Africa Bowler Botha cleared for T20 WC

Proteas’ off-spinner Johan Botha has received the green light to play again, but has not been given permission to bowl his variety of ‘Doosra’.

Botha was recently cited for his bowling action, but tests in Australia found that, with one exception, there is no problem. The exception is Botha’s doosra, the delivery that turns away from the right-hand batsmen. He has been banned from bowling this delivery.

Botha was cited in the recent One-Day series against Australia and he underwent the tests at the University of Western Australia in Perth. Had he been found guilty of chucking, he would have been suspended for a year.

Botha is a very important member of the Proteas’ One-Day and Twenty20 sides and his ability to slow the tempo is one of the reasons for the Proteas’ recent successes in the abbreviated versions of the game, reports Sports 24.

Since 2007, he has established himself as one of the top One-Day bowlers in the world and his absence would have left an enormous void in the Proteas’ attack.

Botha did not want to comment on Monday before being officially informed of the outcome of the tests.

However, South African assistant coach Vincent Barnes, who has been working hard on Botha’s action the last few weeks, was over the moon.

“We were confident that he was not chucking, but it’s still a relief. Now we can concentrate on the Twenty20 World Cup,” he said.

Proteas coach Mickey Arthur said he was also relieved. He does not believe the banning of Botha’s doosra will be damaging.

Ajay Jadeja alleges racism in Kolkata Knight Riders Camp

In a shocking revelation, former Indian Cricketer Ajay Jadeja made a sensational claim that some Indian players are being subjected to racial discrimination in the Kolkata Knight Riders camp by the foreign staff. Ajay Jadeja said claimed that he had definite proof of Indian players being ill-treated by the foreign support staff.

According to Jadeja’s version, when one player was asked to leave the field by a member of a support staff, he just wanted to know the reasons. But he was rebuked by one of the coaches, who said, “You Indian, you do what I ask you to do”. The incident reportedly happened two weeks ago and the issue was sorted out after the intervention of Shah Rukh Khan.

Jadeja also named the Indian player and the assistant coach, who were involved in the brawl. He said the bowler was Ajit Agarkar and the coach who took on him was Andy Bichel.

Jadeja made this revelation to an Indian TV Channel. He also added that there is a clear divide in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) camp and Indian players are being treated badly.

BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla has denied the knowledge of any such incidents, saying the board has not received any official complaint on this issue. The KKR team management also refused to comment on this issue.

The KKR has been playing badly in this tournament and is currently placed at the bottom of the table. They have lost eight of 10 matches played so far and one match was washed out. They have only a single match in the IPL Season 2. The Kolkata Knight Riders is playing Royal Challengers Bangalore today.

Injured Warne out of IPL for 10 days

Defending Champion Rajasthan Royals, received a huge setback, as their captain Shane Warne was ruled of action at least for 10 days because of an injury. Shane Warne’s hamstring injury may prove costly for the Rajasthan Royals, which is struggling to make it to the semi-finals.

It is most likely that Shane Warne will sit out of the rest of the IPL Season 2. The Rajasthan Royals have already lost their key bowlers Kamran Khan and Amit Sing for suspected bowling action.

The Rajasthan Royals now have 11 points and are struggling to make it to the semi-finals. They have strong opponents like Delhi Daredevils, Chennai Super Kings, Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab to fight with. Graeme Smith may take over the new skipper of the Rajasthan Royals in the absence of Shane Warne.

« Previous Page — Next Page »