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Sri Lankan cricket contract dispute ends
March 03, 2013 21:56 IST
A row between Sri Lanka [ Images ] Cricket and its centrally contracted players, which had threatened to turn into a major crisis, ended on Sunday following talks, according to chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya [ Images ].

"The matter has been resolved. Captain Angelo Mathews [ Images ] and vice-captain Dinesh Chandimal have informed me that all the players have agreed to sign the contracts," Jayasuriya told reporters in Colombo.

Players were called to meet Jayasuriya in a crisis talk after they had defied SLC's extended deadline today to sign new contracts.

However, SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said that players have been given time till 10 am on Monday to sign fresh contracts.

"We have been told not to say anything to the media," senior player Kumar Sangakkara [ Images ] told waiting reporters outside SLC offices after emerging from the talks.

The players were angered by SLC's decision to deny them 25 per cent of the guarantee money received by the Board from ICC [ Images ] events.

Also, the SLC wanted to slash payments to the players for the time they play in the IPL away from doing national duty.

The third point the players objected to is the scrapping of a facility extended to them to take their wives on tour once in a year at SLC expense.

The previous contracts ended on February 28 and among those who refused to enter new contracts were the 23 top players, including all of the international stars.

All of them except, Mahela Jayawardene [ Images ] who is outside the country now, turned up for the meeting.

Sangakkara, who was to play in the three-day tour opener against the visiting Bangladeshis in Matara, was not allowed to play due to the non-signing of the contracts.

The players maintain that they would fight for due payments and privileges and it is unfair on the part of the SLC to deny them.

 

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Pakistan crush SA to win T20 series
March 03, 2013 22:22 IST
Captain Mohammad Hafeez [ Images ] and bowler Umar Gul put their Test woes behind them as Pakistan beat South Africa [ Images ] by 95 runs on Sunday to win the two-match Twenty20 [ Images ] series 1-0.

Hafeez scored 86 off 65 balls to anchor a strong batting display at Centurion as Pakistan slammed the home side's attack to all corners and finished with 195 for seven from their 20 overs.

Gul then took four wickets in a spell of seven balls to rip the heart out of South Africa's response and condemn them to 100 all out - their lowest total in a T20 international.

The bowler, who along with Hafeez had been poor in the Test series where South Africa completed a 3-0 whitewash, finished with figures of five wickets for six runs to match his best in Twenty20.

"Our mindset was clear, we had to be positive. We were eager to perform well because we didn't have a good time in the Test matches," Hafeez said as he accepted the man-of-the-match award.

Hafeez produced a particularly aggressive innings, flaying the South African attack with four sixes as he became the first Pakistani past 1,000 runs in international T20 cricket.

He also took three wickets in South Africa's reply but his contribution came after Gul, the leading wicket taker in T20 internationals, had decimated the home batting.

Gul took 4-4 in his first two-over spell as three of his victims fell first ball.

Opener Ahmed Shehzad also produced a noteworthy contribution with 46 runs, followed by two outstanding catches at third man.

Friday's opening Twenty20 in Durban was rained off.

Pakistan and South Africa next play a five-match One-Day International series, starting in Bloemfontein next Sunday.

 

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PHOTOS: India dominate Day 2
Last updated on: March 3, 2013 20:17 IST

Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara both hit centuries as India dominated Day 2 of the second Test in Hyderabad on Sunday.

India were sitting pretty on 311 for one in 93 overs to take a lead of 74 runs at close on the second day after Australia had declared their first innings on 237 for nine.

Pujara was unbeaten on a magnificent innings of 162 and Vijay made a solid 129 as the two batsmen put on an unbroken stand of 294 runs in 85 overs to put their team in complete control.

- Scorecard

- Match report

Australia started the day well as they dried the runs in the morning session. The bowlers kept the Indian openers -- Vijay and Virender Sehwag -- under a tight leash, not allowing them to score freely.

Australia's Moises Henriques bowled accurate stump to stump line, James Pattinson did unsettle the Indian pair with some short-pitched stuff and Siddle kept them quiet.


Image: The Indian team lines up for a minute's silence, before start of play on Day 2 on Sunday, to honour those injured in the explosions in Hyderabad last week

 

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NZ seamer Bracewell doubtful for Test
March 04, 2013 08:38 IST
New Zealand [ Images ] seamer Doug Bracewell is a doubt for the first Test against England [ Images ], which starts in Dunedin on Wednesday, after cutting his foot on glass when cleaning up after a house party.

"He's got a cut on the inside of his right foot at the moment," a New Zealand Cricket spokesman said on Monday.

"He's walking, they don't know too much about the injury at this stage.

"It'll be decided tomorrow as to whether he'll play."

The 22-year-old would miss training at Dunedin's University Oval on Monday, but no other player had been called in as cover, the spokesman added.

Following Dunedin, New Zealand host England in the second Test in Wellington from March 14, with the third and final Test in Auckland starting March 22.

 

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West Indies enjoy easy second T20 win over Zimbabwe
March 04, 2013 08:39 IST
Twenty20 [ Images ] world champions West Indies [ Images ] enjoyed a second easy win over Zimbabwe with a 41-run victory in Antigua on Sunday.

Lendl Simmons continued his good form with 41 and Kieron Pollard hit an unbeaten 45 from 39 balls as West Indies made 158 for seven in their allotted overs.

Zimbabwe got off to a poor start in response with West Indies leg spinner Samuel Badree claiming three wickets to have the tourists struggling at 33 for three in the eighth over.

The run chase never looked on from that point, Hamilton Masakadza hitting an unbeaten 53 with little support at the other end.

West Indies won the two-game series 2-0.

Simmons blasted six sixes in an unbeaten 63 on Saturday to lead West Indies to a comfortable eight-wicket victory.

A two-Test series between the teams starts in Barbados on March 12.

 

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India take massive lead after Pujara double ton
Last updated on: March 04, 2013 14:40 IST
It took Australia [ Images ] less than two overs to make a breakthrough on resumption after lunch. It was a vital wicket at that, Pattinson having Sachin Tendulkar [ Images ] (7) caught behind.

It was a delivery down the leg side that the batsman failed to connect well. The third umpire was referred to, and even though the replays were inconclusive, Marais Erasmus ruled Tendulkar out.

The batsman failed to capitalise on a good opportunity and disappointed the many fans who had come just to see him bat, despite the fact that it was a Monday.

- Scorecard

Pattinson’s sixth spell figures of 6-3-10-2 made for an impressive read.

MS Dhoni [ Images ] walked out to bat and made his intentions clear immediately, hitting three successive boundaries off Doherty.

India [ Images ]’s captain continued with his aggression, scoring at more than a run a ball, his boundaries in a Siddle over helping his team extend its lead past the 200-run mark.

Another couple of boundaries in succession by Dhoni, on this occasion off Maxwell, not only helped the team get past the 450-run mark but also helped raise the 50-run partnership for the fifth wicket, the captain contributing 43 of those.

However, Dhoni’s flamboyance eventually led to his dismissal, Doherty catching him on the rebound at mid-off, and Maxwell getting his second wicket as a result.

Dhoni’s 43-ball 44 was inclusive of eight hits to the fence; he and Kohli added 56 runs for the fifth wicket.

Ravindra Jadeja [ Images ] (10) hit Maxwell for a boundary before smashing one again over long-off for maximum. However, the bowler had the last laugh, taking a return catch on a second attempt.

R Ashwin (1) was dropped by Ed Cowan at forward short leg off the first ball he faced. However, the offie survived just four more deliveries before ensuring an otherwise profligate Doherty his first wicket, Phillip Hughes taking the catch at gully.

Harbhajan Singh [ Images ] didn’t bother the scorers, hitting straight to Maxwell at mid-off to give Doherty his second wicket.

A brilliant catch by Cowan at backward short leg cut short Kohli’s (34) stay at the crease, giving Maxwell his fourth wicket.

Doherty then had Bhuvneshwar Kumar (10) stumped to take his third wicket and end the Australian ordeal.

India were eventually bowled out for 503 (in 154.1 overs), an overall lead of 266 runs.

However, in the context of the match it was Australia’s best session.

Morning session (89 runs, 30 overs, two wickets):

Only four runs came off the day’s first four overs. A single off the first ball of the fifth, by Pujara off Doherty, helped raise the 300-run partnership for the second wicket.

Four balls later, Vijay ensured the first boundary of the day.

The first bowling change was affected in the 12th over of the day, Peter Siddle [ Images ] replacing James Pattinson, and six runs from that over helped stretch the home team’s lead to over 100 runs.

Another four runs off Siddle, in the latter’s second over of the day, helped Vijay reach the 150-run mark, the 28-year-old (overnight on 129) requiring 44 balls to score the 21 runs needed to reach the milestone.

When Pujara took a single off Siddle, in what was the 18th over of the day (111th of the innings), it ensured a record new partnership for India for the second wicket, at 345 runs. The previous Indian record for the highest second-wicket partnership was held by Sunil Gavaskar [ Images ] and Dilip Vengsarkar, who put on 344 against the West Indies [ Images ] in 1978.

Australia finally managed a breakthrough, though, Maxwell having Vijay (167) caught by Ed Cowan at backward short leg.

Vijay's 361-ball innings was inclusive of 23 boundaries and two sixes; he helped Pujara put on 370 runs for the second wicket, in what was the fourth-highest partnership for India ever.

A boundary to midwicket, in Maxwell’s next over, helped Pujara complete a well-deserved double hundred.

It was the second double hundred of his fledgling career, having scored an unbeaten 206 against England [ Images ] in his opening Test at Motera last November.

He fell soon after, Pattinson having him caught by Doherty at long leg. The 25-year-old’s 204 came off 341 balls and was inclusive of 30 boundaries and a six.

Virat Kohli [ Images ] began with a boundary, driving Maxwell past cover, the shot helping the home team reach the 400-run mark.

India went into lunch at 400 for three (after 123 overs), an overall lead of 163 runs.

 

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PHOTOS: Pujara scores double ton before India collapse
Last updated on: March 4, 2013 14:41 IST

Cheteshwar Pujara scored his second double hundred as Indian batsmen continued their run feast against Australia on the third day of the second cricket Test, in Hyderabad on Monday.

- Scorecard

- Match Report

The Pujara-Murali Vijay duo punished the lackluster Australian attack as India went into lunch at a score of 400 for three with their first innings lead swelling upto 163.

But they collapsed in the post lunch session, losing their last five wickets for 19 runs, to be bowled out for 503 in their first innings for a huge lead of 226 runs on a pitch offering a lot of assistance to the spinners.

 

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Meet Test cricket's specs stars
Last updated on: March 4, 2013 12:41 IST

Virender Sehwag has started wearing glasses. Have spectacles reduced The Sledgehammer's batting to a dismal spectacle?

Rediff.com looks at other cricketers who played with glasses.

Virender Sehwag turned up for the first time in glasses in a Test, in the Chennai Test against Australia.

The dashing opener, who has been struggling for runs, apparently realised that his eyesight was not 100 percent.

He batted with glasses at the Indian team's preparatory camp in Bangalore just before the Chennai game.

Sehwag joins a small club of Test cricketers who wore glasses at some stages in their careers.

 

[mmadhankumar]

 

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'Problem lies with way spinners are handled in Australia'
Last updated on: March 5, 2013 08:01 IST

Spin legend Shane Warne says there is a "problem" with the way young Australian spinners are "handled" at the domestic level and stresses on the importance of putting more emphasis on aggressive bowling.

"I think the problem lies in what we expect from our young spin bowlers and the way they are handled at domestic level by their captains and coaches," Warne said.

"The attitude should always be about taking wickets and not about economy rates: 4/100 off 25 overs is a good result and better than 2/60 off 25 overs," he added on the sidelines of the ongoing India-Australia Test series, in which the visiting spinners' performances have not been up to the mark.

Warne said it is not easy to be a wicket-taking bowler and an economical one at the same time. "I believe the expectations are too high and the young spinners are put under a lot of pressure to be both attacking wicket takers as well as tight economical bowlers, which is very hard to do," he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"My guidelines on what to look for in a young spinner is pretty simple, someone who can spin the ball. Any fast bowler that can swing or make the ball move has a chance to take wickets; if they bowl straight they will struggle. The same criteria applies for spin bowling."