Daily Sports News

James Taylor batsman of Leicestershire honored with the Young Cricketer of the year by the Cricket Writers Club. Taylor 19-year-old accepted his prestigious award in London.He became the youngest Leicestershire player since George Dawkes in 1983 and is likely to be added in winter’s England Academy programmer to be added to the England Under-19 honor he won earlier this year.

Taylor played in this abundant season with his bat scoring 1,177 runs in 16 matches with an average of 58.88. He scored three centuries, six half centuries, and 207 highest score not out. He became the first teenager to make a double century for the county. Former winner included are Fred Trueman, Sir Ian Bothman and Andrew Flintoff. David Smith county chief executive uttered as a special moment for the club and a special story, lot of people can be proud of James achievement.

After loosing the Test and the ODI series, luck has turned in favor of the visitors. They have not only won the last two ODI’s but also beaten the host in style in the last T20 game. Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka in the only T20 game of the tour with a 52 runs. Last time the two countries had played a T20 match was in the final of the T20 world cup, and the results again went in favor of Pakistan.

Shahid Afridi was the reason for the Lankan loss, he scored a brilliant half century, bowled a very tight spell taking one wicket and then a run out to send back Kapugedera to the pavilion. Pakistan was excellent in all the departments of the game. There were some excellent batting performances by Imran Nazir, Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq scoring 40, 30 and 25 runs respectively. Although it was not the perfect start what visitors would have expected as opening batsman Kamran Akmal was bowled out on the very first delivery of the match. Pakistan quickly recovered for the early loss and compiled a challenging target of 172 runs with the loss of 5 wickets in there required 20 overs at a run rate of 8.60 runs per over. The Pakistani approach to batting was simple, hitting boundaries at regular intervals and that is what they precisely did.

Sri Lankan chase started in a good was and as expected Jayasuriya came out firing in his true style. First to go back to the pavilion was Udawatte on the fifth delivery of the third over and just two balls after that Jayasuriya was out as he tried to pull a delivery which turned much quicker then his expectation. Jayawardene and Sangakkara tried to get the chase back on track but Jayawardene gave a leading edge to Razzaq of the bowling of Iftikhar Anjum. The last hopes for a Lankan victory were over when Sangakkara was bowled by Saeed Ajmal. Sri Lanka was bowled out in 18.1 over’s and could just score 120 runs, still short by 52 runs.

Shahid Afridi was declared man of the match. One can just say in the end – Pakistan is one team that has a habit of throwing surprises.

Everything went right for Sri Lanka, as they put runs on the board, bowled efficiently and fielded perfectly to comfortably beat the Kiwis by 48 runs. The side has topped Group ‘F’ in the Super Eight to enter the semifinals of the ICC World Cup Twenty20. Pakistan is the second team to qualify from the group. The Kiwis failed to unravel the “M” magic- ‘M’urali, ‘M’alinga, ‘M’endis and ‘M’ahela. The Kiwis miserably failed to stop these for as they ran riot on the field.

New Zealand landed an early blow when Sanath Jaysuriya was caught off the third ball of the innings, offering a simple chance to Ross Taylor after top-edging a delivery from Nathan McCallum to be out for a golden duck. The decision to move Chamara Silva up the order to No. 3 then backfired when he mishit a ball from Kyle Mills straight to Jacob Oram in the fourth over.

Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara steadied the innings with a 50-run partnership from 32 balls, until the former was caught by Brendon McCullum off Vettori in the 12th over. Jayawardene smashed Vettori into the top tier of the pavilion two overs later, and Mills went for 14 in the 16th as Sri Lanka accelerated.Sangakkara was out straight after the pair had completed its half-century stand in 37 balls, caught by Scott Styris off Vettori in the 17th over. Jehan Mubarak tried to restore the impetus, but was lbw after making 8 to Ian Butler in the 19th over.

Under pressure to win the last game, Sri Lanka, defending 158, responded well. The defining moment of the game arrived in the ninth over when New Zealand’s finest batsman, Ross Taylor, was out-thought by the young Ajantha Mendis. Taylor, bravely, took stance well outside the crease, but Mendis surprised the batsman by delivering a quicker delivery outside the off-stump and Kumar Sangakkara removed the bails.In the same over, Scott Styris, playing for the turn, was castled by one that went through straight. The Kiwis were not picking Mendis’ variations.

New Zealand was 64 for four in the ninth over and it never recovered. The big-hitting Jacob Oram was deceived by a slower one from left-arm medium-pacer Isuru Udana.Martin Guptill (43, 35, 4×4, 1×6) was impressive in the manner he hit Lasith Malinga over his head and drove the paceman down the ground. However, the right-hander departed as things hotted up, miscuing a sweep off Sanath Jayasuriya.

Muttiah Muralitharan bowled with immaculate control giving away little and there was no escape route for New Zealand.Upfront, Aaron Redmond fired New Zealand to a terrific start smashing Jayasuriya’s left-arm spin for three fours and a six over long-off in the second over. Redmond (23 off 13) succumbed to Malinga’s slower ball. The slinger worked up pace, swung the sphere and employed the short ball judiciously. Udana also struck a massive blow upfront for Lanka when Brendon McCullum attempted to swing him from out-side off and mistimed to mid-wicket.

And with the Lankans possibly facing the Windies and the Pakistan facing S.A this tournament seems to be heating up.

Pakistan managed to avenge their loss to Ireland in the 2007 World Cup, which knocked them out. Now they have ended Ireland’s dream run in the T20 World Cup and have joined S.A in the semis.

Wicket-keeper Kamaran Akmal, scored a sparkling half-century. He scored 57 off 51, as is partners frequently changed at the other end to propel Pakistan to 159 for five in their stipulated 20 overs after skipper Younis Khan elected to bat. Afridi scored a blistering 24 off 13 balls which included 3 fours. Captain Younis Khan failed to score as hr just managed 10 off 8 balls! But still they managed to put up a challenging total for Ireland.

Ireland, in reply, never really got going. Ireland lost opener Niall O’Brien early in their chase when the wicket-keeper was caught and bowled off a miscued hook by 17-year-old paceman Mohammad Amir.Paul Stirling, himself only 18, came in for his first match of the tournament with Ireland 13 for one but got off the mark first ball with a superb cover-driven four off left-armer Aamir.But the teenager, on 16, became the latest batsman to be bowled playing across the line against leg-spinner Shahid Afridi, who struck with his sixth ball and Ireland were 42 for two off seven overs. Despite a brave 36-ball 40 from their captain Williams Portersfield as the fiery pace of Pakistan bowlers Saeed Ajmal (4-19) and Umer Gul (2-19) proved too hot to handle.

With six overs left Ireland needed 72 more runs to win, John Mooney, trying to keep Ireland up with the rate, also fell to Ajmal after he was caught in the deep by Abdul Razzaq. Then Umar Gul, who took a Twenty20 international record five wickets against New Zealand, got in on the act by bowling Trent Johnston for a duck. At 99 for five in the 17th over the game was up for Ireland, who later saw four tailend wickets tumble for three runs in six balls.

Although pleased Pakistan were in the last four, Younus said their batting required improvement.

“We were still 20 runs short. It’s not possible all the time to score 150 and restrict the opposition,” he added.

“Especially against teams like South Africa, England and the West Indies, we need 170 plus.”

So, with this, Pakistan have kept their title hopes alive…. But they didn’t put up a great show against the Irish. So will Pakistan be able to hold on till the very end?

The experienced duo of Ramnaresh Sarwan & Shivnarine Chanderpaul put up a fine show at the end of the day to help Windies reach the final four. The game brought memories of 2004 Champions Trophy win over England which helped the team take their first major tournament home since the 79 World Cup also in England, seems UK is their favourite hunting ground. But after their horrific show in England this summer who gave them a chance as they were blown away two nil in both the test & one day series & failed to win a single game on this tour. The partnership of 37 from 20 balls helped them reach a target of 80 easily in the end even though the loss of five early wickets left them in more than a spot of bother. It might well be another pointer of things to come as Windies might just relive their glorious past in England where they’ve won 2 World Cups in a row, including the inaugural One Day World Cup in 1975, before their juggernaut came to a halt against the mighty Indians, who had won a single match in the previous two editions of the tournament, ending their reign at the top.

The result came as no surprise as the Windies’ captain was vindicated in his views of upholding T-20’s as his preferred format of the game. The match though was even shorter as the game was curtailed in the end with heavy showers which persisted throughout the match. England scored 161 for 6 in their allotted 20 overs after winning the toss & electing to bat. They never had any momentum to their innings as wickets fell regularly in their laborious effort at the end of which Ravi Bopara was the top scorer with 55 off 47 balls. England were hit hard as Luke Wright failed yet again at the top of the innings falling to Pollard in the second over scoring 6 runs. Pieterson was in form though as he scored 31 off 23 before Simmons got him out. There onwards wickets fell regularly as the batsmen to follow failed to convert their starts into big score especially since the next five batsman went to double figures without getting past 20 runs. In the end this might have been the thing which helped Windies as they chased a revised total of 80 from 9 overs successfully, M/S Duckworth Lewis favouring them this time.

The English football team was having a field day against Andorra but the same couldn’t be said for their cricket team. Well, it was the opposite as they were completely outplayed, as South Africa won the match comfortably by 7 wickets.

The home side never got going and was all out for 111 as they lost their last seven wickets for 33 runs!!!!!!! For a side which appeared to be doing so well in the series against the Windies before the start of the T20 World Cup, this is a total shocker. South Africa gave an all-round performance, as they bowled, fielded and batted well, proving once again why they are favorites for the trophy. This puts S.A in a commanding position and their pace attack seems to resemble that of the Windies which struck fear in the heart of every opponent. This leaves England in a precarious position because they have to beat India and West Indies if they are to progress and even so these two victories doesn’t guarantee them a position in the semis…..

Steyn took Bopara with an inside-edge from the batsman hitting the stumps. K.P on the other hand started with boundaries off his first two deliveries but hit an Albie Morkel full toss straight to Vd Merwe who caught it in an extraordinary fashion. This came in the 6th over and England’s score at the end of it was 25-3. This is the lowest score in the powerplay section in T20 history! The English batting managed to put up an insignificant total of 111 as the rest of the batting fizzled out….Wayne Parnell, the new weapon in S.A’s pace arsenal ended up with 3/14. As S.A began their batting they looked out-of-sorts as Smith top-edged Broad to James Foster, who had to dive to take the skier, and Herschelle Gibbs looked out of sorts – and could have been run out twice. And the batsmen struggled against the English spinners as the required run rate went up for more than a run-a-ball.

It was good for the English until Kallis decided to crash their party. Any pressure on S.A disappeared then, and even Gibbs made a few shots to the rope and Swann over the rope for a maximum as they seem to call it in this format of the game. Then it ended as Kallis cut Anderson to the point fence to end up with 58 from 49 balls. The English pace attack seems to be toothless and their over dependency on Swann isn’t paying them any dividends either. They have ways to go if they are to succeed in the shorter format of the game.

It is a feeling of deja vu with memories of 92 World Cup coming back to haunt to Australia as they are out of a major ICC event, in the very first round mind you, for the first time in 15 years barring their loss to INDIA in the inaugural Champions Trophy which was a knockout tournament by the way. But now coming back to yesterday’s match which went to the last over, a farcry from their thrashing at the hands of the Windies just last weekend, thanks mainly to Australia’s wagging tail & incredible slogging by Mitchell Johnson & later by Brett Lee giving them a respectable total of 159 for 9.

The day started off brilliantly for Sri Lanka as Angelo Mathews struck in his very first over getting rid of the dangerous David Warner. Australia’s top scorer of last match not was able to replicate his earlier success in the tournament & instead getting out on a duck with Tillakaratne Dilshan taking a simple catch at point. An over which was a precursor of things to come & the radical changes that Sri Lanka put in against Australia which the latter was simply not prepared for. Kumara Sangakkara in his very first match as captain was to excel with his batting being the cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s innings during their successful pursuit of 160 at the end of the day. Sri Lanka knowing the importance of slow bowlers, having witnessed their stranglehold over batsman in the earlier matches, left the likes of Nuwan Kulasekara & Farveez Maharoof in the process as was evident with Sanath Jayasuriya coming on to bowl the second over of the match.

Lasith Malinga, their premier fast bowler, came on to bowl only as a second change after which Ajantha Mendis was introduced in the powerplay. After getting a single run of the very first over Ponting & Watson took the attack to the opposition smashing debutant Udana & Malinga for 15 runs in each of the fourth & the fifth over respectively. Enter Mendis, who got rid of Ponting as he tried to smash him losing his leg stump in the process. This started a period of 10 overs in which Australia lost 5 top order wickets adding just 47 runs. Mendis picked up Watson in his next over as he tried to sweep him but fell leg before wicket on 22. Mendis took care of the top order with Mike Hussey was trapped lbw before Johnson took over his possible role as an allrounder remaining unbeaten in the end.

Some might say that Sangakkara was the man of the match but Mendis was the X-factor in the match which went Sri Lanka’s way.

Last world cup they were not favorites at all but they manage to turn the odds in their favor, India now have a humongous task in England. They start the round one with low ranking teams and are sure to qualify to the next level. MSD and his men will face the first major challenge when they reach the supper eight. Dhoni’s men have an excellent track record on paper, but the question remains- Can they do it again?

They were defeated in the first warm-up game but won the second game easily, to MSD’s respite came in Rohit Sharma who filled in for the injured Sehwag. There has been some positives on the bowling front too with some good performances by the likes of Ishant Sharma. To all Indian fans we have just one thing to say,

“Hope that MSD’s magical captaincy run continues”.

MS Dhoni: Age – 27 Captain Cool – Current ICC ODI Batsman Ranking – 1. One of the most deadly batsman in the world and not to forget his wicket keeping skills. He has changed the way India plays ODI and is also known for his out of the box thinking.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
13	215	45	23.88	0	103.86	-	-	-		-

Virender Sehwag: Age – 30 – Current ICC ODI Batsman Ranking – 7.Is rated amongst the most devastating opening batsman in the world, can hit an excellent delivery to the boundary with ease. The only danger he faces, is from himself as at times he goes after the wrong deliveries. He is also an excellent part-time bowling option.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
12	223	68	20.27	1	144.80	0	-	-		20.0

Gautam Gambhir: Age – 27 – Current ICC ODI Batsman Ranking – 16. A complete T20 player, he can change his role according to the requirement and is excellent on the field. He opens the innings for the country in all forms of the game. His consistency will be key to India’s success in the tournament.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
12	328	75	29.81	4	126.64	0	-	-		-

Yuvraj Singh: Age – 27 – Current ICC ODI Batsman Ranking – 4. A complete T20 player and is best remembered for his 6 sixes in one over in the last world cup against England. Once Yuvi starts hitting, there is nothing that can stop him, certainly one of the most dangerous batsman in the Indian side.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
10	262	70	32.75	3	164.77	2	36.00	1-17		12.00

Suresh Raina: Age – 22 – Current ICC ODI Batsman Ranking – 31. An excellent middle order batsman and also considered as one of the best fielders in the Indian squad. His also an excellent part-time bowling option. He is coming to the world cup after an impressive performance in the recently concluded IPL.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
5	5	61	36.33	1	126.75	-	-	-		-

Rohit Sharma: Age – 22 Current ICC ODI Batsman Ranking – N/A. An excellent middle order batsman and in the last two T20 warm-up games has proved that he can open the Indian innings too. He was one of the key contributors towards the Hyderabad side which lifted the IPL. His also an excellent part-time bowling option and has had good success on that front too in IPL.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
8	107	50*	35.66	1	122.98	-	-	-		-

Yusuf Pathan: Age – 26 – Current ICC ODI Batsman Ranking – N/A. He is someone who can tarnish the bowling attack and is very effective in the ending over’s. He can hit the ball really big and is an effective bowling option.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
4	57	22*	19.00	0	203.57	2	32.50	2-23		8.29

Harbhajan Singh: Age – 28 – Current ICC ODI Bowler Ranking – 23. Terbinator was confused about his role in the Mumbai side in the concluded IPL but under MSD he has always risen to the occasion and performed. Bhaji is also a good striker of the ball and comes handy in the slog over’s.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
12	30	21	7.50	0	85.71	11	23.81	2-24		6.55

Praveen Kumar: Age – 22 – Current ICC ODI Bowler Ranking – 27. Bowls wicket to wicket and keeps his line tight which sometimes make him difficult to play. He also has the ability to swing the ball at a descent pace and also comes handy with the bat.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
1	6	6	6.00	0	60.00	1	15	1-15		7.50

Zaheer Khan: Age – 30  – Current ICC ODI Bowler Ranking – 16. He the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack but at present recovering a shoulder injury he received during an IPL match. He might be fully fit by the start of the tournament and will provide an edge to the Indian attack.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
4	-	-	-	-	-	4	24.75	2-1		6.19

Ishant Sharma: Age – 20 – Current ICC ODI Bowler Ranking – 41. He has not been impressive in the IPL but had a great outing in the warm-up game against New Zealand where he took four wickets. He is the fastest bowler in the Indian attack and is expected to perform better on English pitches.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
4	3	3*	-	-	50.00	2	51.00	1-35		9.00

RP Singh: Age – 23 – Current ICC ODI Bowler Ranking – 67. He has been the most successful bowler in the recently concluded IPL. He is an effective user of the new ball and gives MSD options to use him in the absence of Zahir Khan.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
8	1	1*	-	-	100.00	13	14.69	4-13		6.82

Irfan Pathan: Age – 24 – Current ICC ODI Bowler Ranking – 66. Had a good show at the IPL with both bat and the ball. Irfan is trying to make a comeback and is trying to get back to his old bowling speed and swing. But if he has to cement his place in the side he has to show consistency.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
13	120	33*	30.00	0	120	15	22.93	3-16		7.81

Ravindra Jadeja: Age – 20 – Current ICC ODI Bowler Ranking – N/A. He is an excellent fielder, a useful bowler and can be effective in the slog over’s. But with so many options in front of MSD, it is difficult for him to find a place in the playing eleven.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
2	24	19	12.00	0	104.34	-	-	-		6.25

Pragyan Ojha: Age – 22 – Current ICC ODI Bowler Ranking – 83. He is an excellent left-arm spinner and has shown good results in his last few appearances, but will MSG find a place in the playing eleven is a tough question.
Matches	Runs	Hs	Avg	50	SR	Wkts	Avg	Best		ER
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-