Bangladesh's first overseas series win....

Bangladesh 232 (Rahim 48, Raqibul 44, Roach 6-48) and 217 for 6 (Shakib 96*, Raqibul 65, Sammy 5-55) beat West Indies 237 (Dowlin 95, Richards 69) and 209 (Bernard 69, Shakib 5-70) by four wickets.MoM,MoS: Shakib Al Hasan.

History was calling and Bangladesh showed they were all ears in Grenada. Raqibul Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan shared a thrilling 106-run partnership to charge Bangladesh to their first overseas series win. On an enthralling afternoon's play, Darren Sammy threatened to do the improbable but Raqibul lifted Bangladesh with a plucky innings before the equally aggressive Shakib joined him to clinch a euphoric win.

Set a target of 215, a counterattacking Raqibul, who had walked in at 29 for 2, was joined by Shakib at 67 for 4 and the pair batted bravely to seize back the initiative. Though Sammy took out Raqibul and Mushfiqur Rahim, 14 runs away from the win, Shakib held his nerve to steer the team home. The winning moment came at 5.38 pm and in some style, with Shakib lofting Kemar Roach over long-on.

England leads 1-0 in ashes!!!

England 425 and 311 for 6 dec (Prior 61, Collingwood 54) beat Australia 215 and 406 (Clarke 136, Haddin 80, Johnson 63, Flintoff 5-92, Swann 4-87) by 115 runs.MoM: Flintoff

In his final act at the home of cricket, Flintoff broke England's 75-year Lord's curse with his first five-wicket haul since the Ashes-clinching Oval Test of 2005. It was, unquestionably, a performance that will enhance his already mythical status within English cricket, but more pertinently for now, delivered England to a 1-0 series lead heading into Edgbaston.

Lord's Test is Koertzen's 100th appearence...

Rudi Koertzen, who on Thursday became the second umpire to officiate in 100 Tests, said Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara are the two cricketers he has highest regard for.

He became the only person after Steve Bucknor to officiate in 100 Tests by taking the field in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.

Looking back on his career, the 60-year-old South African said he was fortunate to have seen Tendulkar and Lara bat from close quarters.

“I have been fortunate and privileged to have seen some of the greatest modern day cricketers very closely. It would be unfair to pin-point one or two players but I have to name Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar for whom I have the greatest respect and I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing them bat,” he said. “

“They had amazing reflexes and used to pick up the ball as soon as it left the bowler’s hand which helped them make batting look very graceful and elegant due to their superb timing, excellent footwork, ability to hit the gaps and score runs off good balls, ” Koertzen said.

As regards bowlers, Koertzen said: “I have always admired fast bowlers like Glenn McGrath and Allan Donald but the bowler who stands out is Shane Warne.

“He used to get the best out of the umpires by putting a lot of pressure on them.”

courtesy-Agencies

Another feather in Ganguly’s cap

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly added another feather to his cap when he was awarded an honorary fellowship by the University of Central Lancashire.

Ganguly, who retired from international cricket late last year after playing 113 Tests and 311 ODIs, was conferred the fellowship for his “unparalleled determination coupled with grit and talent.”

“It is a huge honour,” Ganguly said after receiving the fellowship at Lancashire on Wednesday.

courtesy-PTI

Gambhir climbs to top of ICC Test rankings

Gautam Gambhir became the number one batsman, replacing Pakistani run-machine Mohammad Yousuf in the latest ICC Test Player rankings issued on Wednesday.

Incidentally, Gambhir reached the top when the ODI batting chart is also led by an Indian, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Yousuf, who had returned to the batting table last week in number one position after his century in the first Test at Galle, flopped in the second Test to drop to fifth position. Accordingly, Gambhir became the sixth India batsman to lead the batting table in this version of the game.

The 27-year-old left-handed opener is the first Indian batsman after former captain Rahul Dravid to top the batting chart. Dravid had briefly become the number-one batsman after hitting centuries in each innings (110 and 135) of the Kolkata Test against Pakistan in March 2005. Dravid had first achieved the top batting ranking in January 1999 and has been number-one for 36 Tests between 1999 and 2005.

Sachin Tendulkar is the other India batsman in the last 15 years who has topped the batting chart. He first led the table in November 1994 while last time he occupied the number-one position was in August 2002 after the Leeds Test against England. Overall, Tendulkar has been the number-one batsman for 125 Tests between 1994 and 2002.

The other India batsmen to have achieved number-one positions in their careers are Gundappa Viswanath (seven matches in 1975), Sunil Gavaskar (46 matches between 1978-80) and Dilip Vengsarkar (17 matches between 1987-88).

Pakistan captain Younis Khan was able to retain his second position in the Test batting rankings but fell nine points behind Gambhir who, without hitting a ball, has gone ahead of both the Pakistan batsmen for the first time in his 25-Test career in which he has scored 2,271 runs at an average of over 54.

Gambhir's 847 points is relatively low for a number-one position in modern times as usually a batsman nearer to the 900-point mark goes to the top, which reflects that he has benefited from some of the other top batsman being off their peaks.

With only 10 points separating Gambhir from third-placed Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka, the top order is expected to change again, of course depending how the Pakistan and Sri Lanka captains perform in the third and final Test which starts in Colombo from July 20.

The only big movers in the latest rankings are Pakistan opener Fawad Alam, who has entered the table in 52nd position after his 168 on his Test debut, and Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal whose century in the second innings has helped him rocket 22 places to 62nd spot.

There is also a change at the top of the bowlers' chart for the first time in more than three years with Muttiah Muralitharan handing over the baton to South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn.

Steyn had briefly joined Muralidaran in number-one position after the second Test against India in Ahmedabad in April 2008. However, Steyn had failed to go top of the table on his own after a disappointing third Test in Kanpur.

For Muralidaran, it is the first time that he has dropped to second position since February 2006. This is because he missed both the Tests of the ongoing series due to injury and a player loses one per cent of his ratings for every match he misses.

Freddie to retire from Test cricket.... ... ..!!!

Andrew Flintoff has announced that he will retire from Test cricket at the end of this Ashes summer, although he still intends to make himself available for Twenty20 and ODI cricket, and is expected to be fit for tomorrow's second Test against Australia.

Flintoff, who has missed 25 of England's last 48 Tests through a variety of injuries, suffered another fitness scare on the eve of the Lord's Test, when he reported soreness and swelling in the same right knee that required surgery back in April, after he tore his meniscus while playing in the IPL.

"It's not something I have just thought of overnight, it's something that's been on my mind for a while regarding this series," said Flintoff. "With the knee flaring up again and getting the injections on Monday, now is a time I felt comfortable with doing it. There's been a lot of speculation over my future for the past few weeks, so I wanted to get it out there, and concentrate on playing cricket.

"I've had four ankle operations and knee surgery, so my body is telling me things, and I'm actually starting to listen. I can't just play games here and there while waiting to be fit. For my own sanity, and for my family's, I've got to draw a line under it. I've been going through two years of rehab in the past four, which is not ideal."

A decade of frustration

• 1999 Returns early from South Africa with broken foot.
• 2000 Back injury ends Pakistan tour.
• 2002 Delays a hernia operation to try and complete India Test series but still misses final Test. Later returns from Ashes tour with groin problem.
• 2003 Plays in the World up, but misses Zimbabwe Tests back in England with shoulder injury after being hit in the nets by Sajid Mahmood.
• 2003 Ruled out of the two-Test series in Bangladesh, but returns for the one-dayers.
• 2005 Returns from South Africa in January and misses one-day series to have ankle surgery. Is fit in time for the home season including the Ashes.
• 2006 After captaining England against Sri Lanka in Test series he is out for 12 weeks after ankle surgery and misses rest of the summer. Returns in Champions Trophy as a batsman and leads England in the Ashes.
• 2007 More surgery to his left ankle after the World Cup and misses most of home season before returning for the one-day series against India. However, he can't play all seven games due to a recurrence of the problem.
• 2007 Takes part in the ICC World Twenty20 but barely limps through it. Following the tournament he goes under the knife again and misses rest of winter.
• 2008 Was set to return against New Zealand in the home series but strains his side playing for Lancashire. Comeback delayed until second Test against South Africa at Headingley.
• 2009 Returns from WI after the third Test with a hip injury but rejoins the tour for the one-day series.
• 2009 Returns from SA after his IPL stint with Chennai Superkings was cut short by a torn meniscus in his right knee. Subsequently misses the World Twenty20.
• 2009 Injury Scare following the first Ashes Test in Cardiff after Flintoff has soreness and swelling in the knee.

Sri Lanka wins series!!!!!

Sri Lanka 240 (Sangakkara 87, Gul 4-43, Ajmal 4-87) and 171 for 3 (Warnapura 54) beat Pakistan 90 (Kulasekara 4-21) and 320 (Fawad 168, Younis 82, Herath 5-99, Kulasekara 4-37) by seven wickets.. MoM:Fawad & Kulasekara

A match in which fortunes swung wildly finally ended in an emphatic seven-wicket win for Sri Lanka, as they sealed their first home series win against Pakistan with a convincing performance at the P Sara Oval. Pakistan were left to rue another batting collapse of monumental proportions, one in which they lost nine wickets for 35 to go from a commanding 285 for 1 to 320 all out. That left Sri Lanka with a target of just 171, which they knocked off in a mere 32 overs to ensure a three-day result.

Bangladesh sealed a historic second test victory...

Four years and six months after their first Test win, Bangladesh sealed a historic second victory when they beat West Indies by 95 runs in St Vincent. Bangladesh's spin twins Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah weaved a tantalising web to consign a weakened West Indies to defeat. The only resistance came from David Bernand, who defied everything thrown at him for 134 balls to remain unbeaten on 52.

The champagne moment arrived at 4.40 pm local time when Shakib, the stand-in captain, nailed last man Tino Best in front with a dipping full toss with only ten overs left in the day. Best put up his bat as if to suggest he had edged it but the finger was up and the Bangladeshi fielders converged in a huddle of joy, soon joined by a limping Mashrafe Mortaza.

It was an enthralling last couple of sessions in a beautiful setting, the Kingstown stadium ringed by the sea. The cricket was almost sub-continental in its elements. Spinners operated with several close-in men prowling near the batsmen waiting for a mistake, and an over-excited chirpy wicketkeeper, Mushfiqur Rahim, applying immense pressure on the batsmen and the umpires with his appeals exclamations. And when the seamers came on, it wasn't seam but reverse swing on view with the slinging Rubel Hossain and the grunting Shahadat Hossain trying their best to break through.

The plot thickened in the last session, as Bernard found a willing partner in Nikita Miller, suggesting a replay of Cardiff, where England pulled off a great escape on Sunday. But Mohammad Ashraful, who failed in both innings with the bat, stamped his presence on the game by removing Miller, who'd stayed on his back foot to defend stoutly for 54 balls, with one that straightened to get the edge. Mahmudullah returned to trap Ryan Austin and take out Kemar Roach before Shakib sealed the finish.

Anderson and Panesar thwart Australia’s push for victory

CARDIFF: The last wicket pair of Monty Panesar and James Anderson played 69 balls without being separated to enable England to cling to a dramatic draw against Australia today in the face of defeat in the opening Test of the five-match Ashes series.

England having conceded a first innigns lead of 239 runs was in deep trouble when Panesar joined Anderson at the wicket in the final session of the fifth and final day.

The two tailenders kept the Australian bowlers at bay till the scheduled end of the match in the opening Test at Sophia Gardens.

The last wicket stand of 19 in 69 balls between Anderson (21 not out in 53 balls) and Panesar (seven not out off 35 balls) helped the hosts to a draw as they finished on 252 for nine.

Earlier, Paul Collingwood scored a painstaking 74 in nearly six hours to set the stage for the heroics by the last wicket pair.

England, who had made 435 runs in the first innings, reached 252 for nine at the close of play. Australia had scored 674 in the first innings.

The second Test of this five-match series starts at Lord's where Ashes-holders Australia have not lost a Test since 1934 on Thursday.

big mouth John Buchanan

John Buchanan, the former Australia coach, has said India's 'Fab Four" batsmen - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman - are not suited to Twenty20 cricket. Buchanan, who worked closely with several Indian players during his stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, made these and other observations in his new book, The Future of Cricket: The Rise of Twenty20.

Buchanan was otherwise in praise of Tendulkar - who has opted out of Twenty20 internationals but not the IPL. "Tendulkar has been lauded, and rightly so, as one of the very top batsmen in the history of cricket," he wrote. "But is he an effective T20 player at this stage of his career?

"In the position he plays - as an opener or No. 3 - the T20 game requires not only the finesse and skills he has, but also the power and domination, an ability to take the bowlers on while being creative. You have to be inventive and fearless. And I don't see those qualities as part of Sachin's makeup at this stage of his career. Sachin Tendulkar is still a great player but not in this arena of T20."

Buchanan had similar views on Tendulkar's contemporaries, none of whom featured in the ICC World Twenty20 in England.

"Homegrown heroes such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman, were expected to influence, and on some occasions single-handedly win IPL matches," Buchanan said. "Yet their subdued performances highlight that Test match temperament does not necessarily ensure prolonged success in the T20 game.

"The same could be said about Rahul Dravid. Dravid is a great representative of Indian cricket, a team man, humble, a well-spoken gentleman. But unfortunately he could not score a single run in the early rounds of the IPL, and in my opinion, is not suited to this form of the game. I am certain Dravid's performances were also affected by the off-field drama created by his franchise owner Vijay Mallya."

His opinions weren't restricted to India's ageing stars. He went on to question Yuvraj Singh's attitude, though he later clarified that there was no malice involved in his comments.

"Yuvraj Singh in a sense tries to be a modern-day Sourav Ganguly, but I don't think he has the charisma or the dignity with which Ganguly carries himself," he said.

However, Buchanan was full of praise for Ganguly, though the pair didn't have the best of times with Kolkata during the IPL. Buchanan's multiple-captain theory didn't go down well with the team at the start of the tournament and a host of off-field and selection issues saw the team finish at the bottom. It also cost Buchanan his job as coach.

"Ganguly was the model for the new breed of confident and combative Indian cricketers. Ganguly showed that Indian cricket could stand up for itself. He is similar in that way to Ian Chappell who stood up for what he believed and was not afraid to take on the administration."

Sri Lanka 292 (Paranavitana 72, Aamer 3-74, Younis 2-23) and 217 (Ajmal 3-34, Aamer 3-38, Younis 2-27) beat Pakistan 342 (Yousuf 112, Misbah 56, Kulasekara 4-71) and 117 (Herath 4-15, Thushara 2-21, Mendis 2-27) by 50 runs. MoM : Rangana Herath

A collapse of Pakistani proportions led to a complete U-turn in the fate of the incredible Galle Test, the match eventually decisively going Sri Lanka's way. Pakistan started the day needing 97 with eight wickets in hand, and Salman Butt and first-innings centurion Mohammad Yousuf resuming after comfortably negotiating the last half hour yesterday. But Thilan Thushara and Rangana Herath bowled exceptional spells of varied left-arm bowling to help Sri Lanka take the last eight wickets for just 46.

Dravid among Champions Trophy probables!!!

Rahul Dravid is the surprise inclusion among India's probables for the ICC Champions Trophy in September this year. The selectors picked a longlist of 30 players for the tournament, to be held in South Africa, including Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan.

Dravid played his last ODI in October 2007 against Australia in Nagpur, where he managed seven runs. He averages 39.49 from 333 games with a strike-rate of 71.22 and is the third Indian to accumulate more than 10,000 runs in ODIs.

His inclusion follows the recent struggles of Indian batsmen against short-pitched bowling, brutally shown up in the ICC World Twenty20 where Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan were troubled by bouncers from the West Indian and England fast bowlers. The problem continued in the subsequent ODI series in the West Indies.

Dravid played a key role in the success of Royal Challengers Bangalore during the IPL's second season, scoring 271 runs at a strike-rate of 115.81 as the team finished runners-up in the tournament held in South Africa.

Probables: MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Nayar, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, M Vijay, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, S Badrinath, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh.

INDIA WINS DIGICEL SERIES 2-1.....

India won the series 2-1 after torrential downpour terminated the fourth ODI. With this victory, India have won their fifth straight ODI series.

The game got off to a delayed start and Dhoni made the obvious decision to bowl on a damp pitch that offered some help to the seamers. Ishant Sharma, bowling a fuller length here, removed Chris Gayle and along with Ashish Nehra, didn't allow West Indies to get off to a breezy start. Ishant hit the good length and pinged the off-stump line and Nehra got some seam movement into the right-handed batsmen. Sarwan hit a gorgeous on-the-up square drive against Ishant in the sixth over to break free but just as he started to find his rhythm, the rains came down again to kill the contest.

India Wins A Thriller @ Gros Islet

IND 159 for 4 (Karthik 47, Dhoni 46*, Gambhir 44) beat WI 185 for 7 (Sarwan 62, Nehra 3-21) by six wickets (D/L method). MoM:M S Dhoni

M S Dhoni and India kept their nerve on a frustrating day of rain delays to take a 2-1 series lead in St Lucia. It was still anybody's game when India needed 11 off the final over, but Dhoni slammed the second ball over deep midwicket to put the visitors on course for victory.

India threatened to lose their way in the chase after a solid start provided by Dinesh Karthik before Dhoni hauled them past the line. The rain-breaks initially readjusted their target to 195 in 27 overs before a further shower reduced it to 159 in 22 overs.

When Karthik fell after a fine 47 India needed a relatively comfortable 111 from 89 balls, and at the next rain-break they needed 64 from 51 balls with nine wickets in hand, but a succession of wickets left India requiring 34 in four overs. It came down to the last over. Curiously, Chris Gayle turned to Jerome Taylor, who had a poor game, instead of Ravi Rampaul, who had bowled a pretty decent 20th over. Dhoni killed the contest in the second ball with a six over deep midwicket. He picked the slower one and used his bottom-hand to swipe it with the wind over midwicket boundary. Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan got the remaining four runs with a ball to spare.

DO U KNOW "Ball-tampering" ? ! ?

Players are barred, by Law 42.3, from rubbing the ball on the ground, interfering with its seam or surface, or using any implement that can alter the condition of the ball to thereby gain unfair advantage. There have been plenty of ugly incidents centring on accusations of ball-tampering through cricket's history: the John Lever "Vaseline" affair in 1976-77; the times England and New Zealand accused Pakistan of it in the early 1990s; Michael Atherton's admission that he used dirt to treat the ball against South Africa in 1994; and perhaps most infamously, the Oval Test of 2006 when Pakistan forfeited the match because they were accused of having tampered with the ball.

Gayle gonna play for Western Australia.....

Chris Gayle has signed with Western Australia and Tasmania is close to securing the services ofLasith Malinga for next season's domestic Twenty20 tournament. The high-profile moves come as Cricket Australia announced plans to expand the Big Bash competition - including the possible adoption of a city-based franchise model - after talks with South Africa and New Zealand on the proposed Southern Premier League stalled.

Gayle will join West Indies teammate Dwayne Bravo, who has already signed with Victoria, in next season's Big Bash. The domestic tournament falls between West Indies' Test and one-day series in Australia, and has been made possible by CA's move to provide states with an additional $50,000 for the sole purpose of luring overseas stars for the Twenty20 tournament

ICL player in IPL team!!!!!

Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, the Bengal batsman who recently cut ties with the ICL, could become the first player from the rebel league to take up an IPL contract. Cricinfo has learnt that Jhunjhunwala has been asked by Rajasthan Royals to represent them in the exhibition match against Middlesex at Lord's on Monday which could be followed by a permanent deal with the franchise.

Jhunjhunwala was among the 79 ICL players who accepted the BCCI's amnesty offer which allowed them to return to the domestic fold. After the November ICL tournament was scrapped due to the non availability of Pakistan players in the league, Jhunjhunwala headed to England to play for the Essex leagues. He was called by Rajasthan to attend a training camp in Jaipur which began on Sunday for the benefit of the England-bound players for the exhibition match. The camp was conducted under the supervision of Darren Berry, the team's coach, and former Indian team physio John Gloster.

Jhunjhunwala will stay back in England to finish his league stint and then return to India to attend the Ranji camp for Bengal, his former state team. He joined the ICL during its inception in 2007 and represented the Royal Bengal Tigers.

The best bowling figures in Twenty20 internationals

The best bowling analysis in a Twenty20 international is 5 for 6, by Pakistan's Umar Gul in last week's World Twenty20 match against New Zealand at The Oval. That broke the New Zealander Mark Gillespie's previous record, 4 for 7 against Kenya in Durban during the inaugural World Twenty20.

the oldest and youngest players in the 2009 World Twenty20 championship

The oldest was Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya, who was born in June , 1969 . And the youngest was Pakistan's left-arm fast bowler Mohammed Aamer, who was born in April 1992 (more than two years after Jayasuriya played his first one-day international).

West Indies don't have a national anthem. So what tune was played at the beginning of their games in the World Twenty20 championship?

The song played for the West Indies before their matches is called "Rally Round the West Indies". It was written and originally performed by the Trinidadian calypso artist David Rudder.

Yuvraj beats de Silva's record

Sri Lanka's Aravinda De Silva hit 10 of his 11 one-day international centuries from No. 4 in the batting order, while the Pakistan pair of Javed Miandad and Mohammed Yusuf made seven each. de Silva also made more runs (6870) at No. 4 than anyone else (Miandad is second with 5678). The most hundreds scored from No. 5 is seven, by Yuvraj Singh of India, while Australia's Andrew Symonds is second with five. The most runs from No. 5 in ODIs is 4675 (including two centuries), by Sri Lanka's Arjuna Ranatunga, while Steve Waugh of Australia is second with 4117. Putting Nos 4 and 5 together, Yuvraj overtook de Silva's record of 10 centuries with his 131 against West Indies in Kingston last week. Yousuf follows them with nine.

2009 SA Cricket Awards

Full list of awards

South Africa team

SA Cricketer of the Year: Graeme Smith
SA Newcomer of the Year: Roelof van der Merwe
Standard Bank One-Day International Cricketer of the Year: AB de Villiers
Standard Bank International Pro20 Cricketer of the Year: JP Duminy
Castle Test Cricketer of the Year: Graeme Smith
KFC Taste the Action Performance: JP Duminy
SA Players' Player of the Year: JP Duminy
SuperSport Fans' Cricketer of the Year: AB de Villiers

Domestic

MTN Domestic Championship Cricketer of the Year: Roelof van der Merwe
Standard Bank Pro20 Cricketer of the Year: Charl Langeveldt
SuperSport Series Cricketer of the Year: Imraan Khan
Domestic Newcomer of the Year: Dane Vilas
SACA Most Valuable Player: Claude Henderson
Domestic Players' Player of the Year: Claude Henderson

Operations

Coach of the Year: Richard Pybus
Groundsman of the Year: Louis Kruger
Scorers' Association of the Year: Gauteng
Umpire of the Year: Marais Erasmus