It's important to keep the faith in the unit

Anil Kumble

There has been a lot of talk surrounding our performance in the last Test and that is only to be expected given the way we played. What has been less understandable is the fact that certain individuals have been singled out for criticism. Collectively we did not play to our potential and it is something we are all aware of and have accepted. As captain of the team I have done what I can to tell the squad that I have full faith in each one of them. I have faith not only in their talent and ability but also that have it in them to rise to the challenge ahead and perform in conditions where you are faced with various tough challenges and pressures.

Obviously we were all hurt at what happened in Colombo. Nobody likes to lose and especially the way we did. When you walk out on the field there is a lot of pride involved in representing your country and each player is trying his best to win. But sometimes you have a really bad game and that is what happened. Fortunately this team has the characters in it to bounce back strongly. Everyone is really keyed up to do well. The importance of winning this Test and keeping the series alive is known to all. We've picked ourselves up well and the mood is good going into the Galle Test.

It's certainly not that all is lost. In 2002 in England we went 1-0 down at Lord's and then came back to win the third Test at Leeds. When we last toured Australia we were 2-0 down but fought hard to win in Perth. Against South Africa, at home, we lost in Ahmedabad but turned things around to win in Kanpur. So we have shown in the past that we can overcome setbacks and come hard at the opposition.

Coming to Galle, the surface looks good and because of the windy conditions you can expect some assistance for the fast bowlers as well. There will be assistance for the spinners as the game wears on and spinners will come into the game. We're looking to play positively because we're going out there looking for a win that will square the series.

At the end of the day, no matter what the conditions or the opposition, in Test cricket the basics remain the same. You have to put up a good score and then work out a way to take twenty wickets. Going into this Test that is what our focus will be rather than trying to over-analyse any particular player or strategy. When you have experience under the belt and are proven performers you should go with instinct rather than over-think things. This doesn't mean we don't have clear-cut plans and strategies – at this level everyone has thought about what needs to be done. Once the game begins, though, it's all about delivering on the day and I am confident we'll be able to come good. It's important to keep the faith in the unit.

HAWKEYE COMMUNICATIONS

Trent Johnston back for Ireland ’s campaign

Dubai, July 30 2008

“I don’t think there will be any clear-cut favourites in Belfast ,” says former captain

Former Ireland captain Trent Johnston says he has returned to national duty to help his side qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 to be staged in England next year.

“I made myself available because I want to help Ireland reach next year’s ICC World Twenty20,” he said.

“I didn’t make myself available for the recent ODIs because I thought, when I wouldn’t be around for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, it made no sense in me playing in those matches.

“All I would have been doing was denying someone a place who can be groomed and prepared for the tournament to be held in the Asian subcontinent,” said Johnston , ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier to be staged in Belfast , Ireland from 2 to 5 August.

Johnston stepped back from international action after Ireland ’s tour of Bangladesh in March. He has missed the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and Scotland , ICC Intercontinental Cup and Friends Provident Trophy matches and the ongoing ICC European Championships being played in Dublin .

Johnston has also been recalled for Ireland ’s ICC Intercontinental Cup against Canada to be played in Malahide , Ireland from 6 to 9 August. He is not in the side for the 12 August ODI against the same opposition after again making himself unavailable.

Top seeded Ireland are grouped with Scotland and Bermuda while the other group is formed of Kenya, the Netherlands and Canada as the top six Associate teams go ahead to head in the four-day tournament at Stormont where at stake will be two or possibly three places in the England event.

Both finalists will qualify for that tournament which will take place at Lord’s, The Oval and Trent Bridge next June while the third place, to be decided by a third and fourth-place play-off, is dependent on Zimbabwe Cricket’s Board ratifying a decision taken by its officials during ICC Annual Conference week, to step back from the tournament.

Johnston has an impeccable record as an Ireland cricketer. He has played 23 ODIs, 16 first-class and inspired his side to successive victories in the ICC Intercontinental Cups in 2006 and 2007.

However, Johnston ’s finest cricketing moment came at the Sabina Park in Kingston , Jamaica when he hit the winning runs in Ireland ’s famous victory over Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.

Ireland followed up that victory with a win over Bangladesh in the same tournament that allowed it to enter the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table where it is currently placed 10th, ahead of Bangladesh and Kenya .

The 34-year-old said his own fitness and job commitments were also the combining reasons for taking a step back from one-day and four-day matches. “I decided to step down because my body was telling on me and my job commitments were not allowing me to stay out of the office for longer periods of time.

“I underwent surgery on my bowling arm after the Bangladesh tour and now I am trouble-free. But I completely back my decision to withdraw from one-day matches.

“I can’t have the right to pick and choose the matches. I think my decision has benefitted everyone, especially Phil Simmon (team coach) who can prepare the team for the future,” said Johnston, who also played for New South Wales in Australia ’s Sheffield Shield in the late 1990s.

While one of Johnston ’s finest moments was that victory over Pakistan , one of his worst times came in Nairobi in January-February 2007 when Ireland finished fifth in the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 and consequently failed to qualify for the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa last year.

Johnston admits the Nairobi tournament still hurts him. “It was heart-breaking, demoralizing and devastating. We had left no stone unturned in our preparations but in the tournament, we lost four matches in their closing stages,” he recalled.

Ireland suffered defeats against Scotland (by three wickets), Kenya (by one wicket), Canada (by six wickets) and the Netherlands (by six runs) while its only victory was against Bermuda (by four wickets). The tournament was won by Kenya , which defeated Scotland by eight wickets.

“As a captain it was depressing, while the players also took it to heart. But I guess, the Nairobi tournament made us a better, tougher and stronger team because afterwards we won important matches.

“We buried to ghost of the Nairobi tournament at Sabina Park when we defeated Pakistan . But yes, we still rue the lost opportunity of playing in the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa ,” he said.

Johnston said the Twenty20 format was beneficial to Associate teams. “There is lot of focus and attention on Twenty20 cricket and I think this is the format in which the Associate countries can make a name for themselves.

“I don’t think there will be any clear-cut favourites in Belfast , and we saw that in South Africa where Zimbabwe defeated Australia . The bottom line is the team has to be on top of its game for the entire 40 overs to win the match.

“There is no time to relax. One wrong decision, one bad over and it could be all finished. But this is an exciting format and will definitely help the developing teams,” he said.

Ireland , which has eight players from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, is at full strength for the Belfast tournament.

The side will be by 23-year-old left-handed batsman William Porterfield, who plays for Gloucestershire in the county championship in the UK .

Porterfield has not captained Ireland in an ODI or ICC Intercontinental Cup match but has led his team in five Friends Provident Trophy tournament matches in the UK

Although his side lost four of the matches, Porterfield inspired Ireland to a four-wicket victory over Warwickshire, its first win over a county side in two years. Porterfield scored 69 in that match as Ireland achieved the target of 212 in 46.4 overs in Stormont.

Other players with vital county championship experience are left-handed batsman Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), wicketkeeper-batsman Niall O’Brien (Northamptonshire) and all-rounder Andrew White (Northamptonshire).

Off-spinner Kyle McCallan is Ireland ’s most capped player with 28 ODIs. Fellow spinner Gary Kidd and wicketkeeper-batsman Gary Wilson (currently on Surrey’s staff) are some of the emerging cricketers who have benefited from a trip to India earlier in the year for the ICC European Cricket Academy .

IRELAND - Wiliiam Porterfield (captain), Niall O'Brien, Eoin Morgan, Kevin O'Brien, Andre Botha, Andrew White, Alex Cusack, Gary Wilson, Trent Johnston, Kyle McCallan, Thinus Fourie, Peter Connell, Philip Eaglestone, Gary Kidd.

Tournament Schedule
Saturday 2 August
0930 Kenya v Netherlands
1300 Ireland v Scotland
1630 Netherlands v Canada

Sunday 3 August
0930 Scotland v Bermuda
1300 Kenya v Canada
1630 Ireland v Bermuda

Monday 4 August
0930 Semi-final one: Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B
1300 Semi-final two: Winner Group B v Runner-up Group A
1630 Third and fourth-place play-off

Tuesday 5 August
0930 Fifth and sixth-place play-off
1300 Final

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Davison returns to lead Canada ’s charge

Dubai, 29 July 2008

“It’s the best side that has come together for Canada in a long time,” says wicketkeeper-batsman Ashish Bagai

Canada wicketkeeper-batsman Ashish Bagai says his team will look to all-rounder John Davison to guide it through to next year’s ICC World Twenty20 2009.

“John is rated amongst the best and it is great news that he is back to bolster the side for this important event,” said the 26-year-old Bagai ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier to be staged in Belfast , Ireland from 2 to 5 August.

“All the players are definitely looking to him to guide us through to the next year’s event in England . His return to the side (after a gap of 14 months) gives a totally different look to this talented team,” said Bagai.

The six Associate countries, including Ireland , Kenya , Scotland , the Netherlands and Bermuda as well as Canada , will go head to head in the four-day tournament at Stormont and at stake will be two or possibly three places in the England event.

Both finalists will qualify for that tournament which will take place at Lord’s, The Oval and Trent Bridge next June.

The third place, to be decided by a third and fourth-place play-off, is dependent on Zimbabwe Cricket’s Board ratifying a decision taken by its officials during ICC Annual Conference week, to step back from the tournament.

The 38-year-old Davison has been the mainstay of Canada cricket for almost a decade. He was Canada ’s star in the 2001 and 2005 ICC World Cup Qualifiers (formerly the ICC Trophy) where the North American side finished third to secure places in the 2003 and 2007 ICC Cricket World Cups in South Africa and the West Indies respectively.

In 2001 in Canada , Davison scored 145 runs and took 15-298 while in 2005 in Ireland , his contribution was 312 runs and 6-124 with the ball.

In the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 in South Africa , Davison took the world by storm by belting the fastest World Cup century in history when he clubbed six sixes in a swashbuckling 111 from only 76 balls against the West Indies .

He followed this up last year with the third-fastest World Cup half-century against New Zealand on way to becoming his side’s top performer.

Davison has played 25 ODIs and 51 first-class matches and has also attended the Australian Cricket Academy in 1993. He played for Victoria and South Australia and presently works as a coach at the Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence.

Bagai said Davison’s stature was unique within the playing group. “He is more than a player to the Canada team. He is a strategist, an inspiration and mentor to everyone in the side. He is receptive and the players listen to him.

“Whenever he has represented Canada , he has brought all these qualities with him and has played each role to perfection. I think Canada cricket owes him a lot,” said Bagai, who appeared in the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup 2000 for the Americas .

Canada ’s preparations for the Belfast tournament are far from ideal with defeats against Bermuda both in the ODI series and the ICC Intercontinental Cup matches earlier this month. “I think the team prepared itself nicely for the two events but it just couldn’t produce the desired results,” said Bagai, who skipped the four-day match but contributed 149 runs with the bat in the ODI series which Bermuda won by 2-1.

“I also think Bermuda played its best cricket in both the events. But those defeats have given us an opportunity to look at the grey areas, work on them and travel to Belfast better prepared.”

Bagai lives in England and admits it is not the best preparation for any team to assemble just days before an important event. “John (Davison) lives in Australia while I live in England and it is not an ideal situation where you get together as a team only a few days before the start of the tournament.

“But John and I know the players and likewise, the players know us so we can overcome this disadvantage. In our absence, the team is preparing as hard as it can.

“It’s the best side that has come together for Canada in a long time. I am confident that the results in Belfast will echo my views,” he said.

Bagai attended the ICC Winter Camp in 2006 and he went on to win the player-of-the-tournament award at the ICC World Cricket League Division One the following year.

And Bagai was was not affected by the fact he will not be captaining the side. “I think it makes sense when you have a captain who is always available to the team as compared to someone like me who is only available for selected matches because of work commitments.

“There is mutual respect between me and the players and I am motivated and committed to play my role as a senior member of the team. For me, representing or being involved in any role that can help Canada cricket is an honour and a privilege,” he said.

Bagai added his side would not worry about which team was in its group. “It doesn’t matter to us which teams we face or who is likely to be our semi-final opponent. Instead of worrying about that part, we would prefer to focus on our preparations and try to convert those preparations into quality performances.

“We will not show disrespect to any team by taking them lightly. Instead, we will to go match by match and play as hard as possible,” he said.

Canada , seeded fourth, is drawn with Kenya and the Netherlands and play the African side in the opening match of the tournament.

CANADA - Sanjay Thuraisingam (captain), Ashish Bagai, Abdool Samad, Abdul Jabbar Chaudrey, Geoffrey Barnett, Henry Osinde, Harvir Baidwan, Eion Katchay, Sunil Dhaniram, John Davison, Muhammad Qazi, Zubin Surkari, Karun Jethi, Steven Welsh.

Tournament Schedule
Saturday 2 August
0930 Kenya v Netherlands
1300 Ireland v Scotland
1630 Netherlands v Canada

Sunday 3 August
0930 Scotland v Bermuda
1300 Kenya v Canada
1630 Ireland v Bermuda

Monday 4 August
0930 Semi-final one: Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B
1300 Semi-final two: Winner Group B v Runner-up Group A
1630 Third and fourth-place play-off

Tuesday 5 August
0930 Fifth and sixth-place play-off
1300 Final

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Liberian footballer Dominic to play for Ageya Cholo

Saraju Chakraborty

Liberian footballer Dominic (James) arrived here to join local football tournaments. He will play for defending First Division League champion Ageya Cholo Sangha this year. Striker Dominic came from Dhaka Mohammedan Club of Bangladesh.

Not only Dominic, more foreign players are coming here to play in the domestic tournament at Agartala. Ageya Cholo confirmed another Nigerian Igy to their second foreign player. Another big team Nine Bullets Club already included two Liberian striker's Aron Iee Cole and Benjamin. These three foreign footballers will arrive here very soon.

Domestic Rakhal Memorial Shield will starts from August 01 next. Nine teams are participating in this Knock-out tourney. Seven top teams of topper division confirmed their entry to play Shield this year. After then domestic First Division League Football tournament will starts from August 14 next.

Big football clubs like Ageya Cholo, Nine Bullets, Forward Club, Lalbahadur Vyamagar, Nobdoy Sangha, Tripura Police and Birendra Club started their preparation for the upcoming season. Like previous year, various clubs have already initiated process to bring footballers from various states by Inter State Transfer. It is expected that the upcoming season will be exiting season at Dasharath Dev Stadium, Badharghat.

Leverock believes age irrelevant to a sportsman

Dubai, 28 July 2008

Bermuda spinner says he is still passionate and competitive

Bermuda spinner Dwayne Leverock believes age is irrelevant to a sportsman as he heads off to Belfast , Ireland this week to take part in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier to be played at Stormont from 2 to 5 August.

Leverock, who celebrated his 37th birthday earlier this month, is one of the most senior competitors in this short and sharp format of the game along with team-mate David Hemp, Kenya’s Steve Tikolo and Kennedy Otieno, Scotland’s Colin Smith and the Canadian trio of John Davison, Sanjay Thuraisingam and Sunil Dhaniram.

“I am playing cricket because I still enjoy and love the game. I believe a player should continue to play as long as he thinks he is enjoying it and making a valuable contribution to the cause of the team,” said Leverock who weighs in 20 stones (280lbs).

“I don’t see myself ageing. I am still competitive and really enjoying it. My age has nothing to do with how I play, or my attitude,” he said.

Besides sixth seed Bermuda, the teams featuring in the four-day tournament are host Ireland, Canada, Kenya, Netherlands and Scotland and at stake are two or possibly three places in the ICC World Twenty20 2009 being staged in England.

Both finalists will qualify for that tournament which will take place at Lord’s, The Oval and Trent Bridge next June.

The third place, to be decided by a third and fourth-place play-off, is dependent on Zimbabwe Cricket’s Board ratifying a decision taken by its officials during ICC Annual Conference week, to step back from the tournament.

“I am still passionate about the sport. I prepare for every match as best I can and a defeat still hurts me as much as it used to. I still celebrate every victory as much as I used to when I was in my 20s. And it is all because I am thoroughly enjoying the game,” said Leverock.

“As you start getting older, you have to increase your training and workout sessions to keep pace with the youngsters around you and that is exactly what I do to keep myself match-fit.”

Leverock caught the attention of the world with a remarkable one-handed catch to dismiss India opener Robin Uthappa in an ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 match in Trinidad .

Leverock has played 27 ODIs and 14 first-class matches since 2004 and in those forms of the game has taken 32 and 65 wickets respectively.

On Bermuda’s ICC Intercontinental Cup debut in the USA , he took 7-57 with his left-arm spin in a losing cause. A year later he grabbed 11-72 in the same competition against the Cayman Islands . He also played a key role in Bermuda qualifying for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 by taking 4-39 against the USA and 3-34 against the UAE in the 2005 ICC World Cup Qualifier (former the ICC Trophy).

Leverock said his slow bowling could be useful to the team. “I think my low trajectory left-arm spinners can play a big role. I can also be flexible as the situation demands.

“I can play a containment role but at the same time I can bowl aggressively with an attempt to take wickets. All will depend in what situation I am bowling and what the captain wants from me.

“I think all the teams will start on an even keel in this tournament as none of the sides have played enough Twenty20 matches. I think it will all come down to who holds the nerves better,” said Leverock.

Leverock said his team would rely on a team effort in an attempt to earn next year’s ticket to England . “We will play our brand of cricket and rely on each other as much as we do in any match or tournament.

“The experience of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 was tremendous and we also enjoyed the event. For all those who were there, it was the highlight of their careers and we look forward to a similar experience next year in England .”

Leverock is a police officer by profession and admits he enjoys his celebrity status in Bermuda . “I am very well recognized and it is all because of cricket. It is a good feeling to be known amongst the masses.

“When I deal with criminals, I am a different person. I understand it can become complicated but it depends entirely upon you how you deal with the situation, and I don’t allow my celebrity status and my professional role to get mixed-up.”

Leverock paid tribute to team coach Gus Logie, a former West Indies batsman who played 52 Tests and 158 ODIs between 1981 and 1993. “He is a knowledgeable coach and brings with him wealth of experience.

“He gives us information which only helps us become better cricketers. It is an honour and great privilege to work with him.

“Bermuda cricket is heading in the right direction and very recently our U/13 and U/17 teams made successful tours of the West Indies . I am sure our cricket will get better with more opportunities,” he said.

Bermuda, captained by middle-order batsman Irving Romaine, is going through a transitional phase and includes just six players who were part of the squad that played in the ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies in 2007.

Besides Romaine and Leverock, those who were in the West Indies are David Hemp, Stefan Kelly, Stephen Outerbridge and Oliver Pitcher while the newcomers are Rodney Trott, Chris Foggo, James Celestine, Oronde Bascome, Tamauri Tucker, George O’Brien, Kyle Hodsoll and Jekon Edness who replace Delyone Borden, Lionel Cann, Malachi Jones, Dean Minors, Saleem Mukuddem, Clay Smith, Janeiro Tucker, Kevin Hurdle and Kwame Tucker.

The 37-year-old David Hemp remains Bermuda ’s star player. Hemp, who captains Glamorgan in the county championship in the UK , has played in 42 domestic T20 matches and has a strike-rate of little under 123 runs per 100 balls.

In Bermuda’s 257-run defeat against India in the ICC Cricket World Cup, Hemp scored an unbeaten 76.

Hemp missed Bermuda’s tour to Canada earlier this month where it played a three-match ODI series and an ICC Intercontinental Cup match. Bermuda won the ODI series 2-1 and also won the ICC Intercontinental Cup by 106 runs.

The ODI series was dominated by middle-order batsman Outerbridge who scored 106 runs while Leverock was the star of the ICC Intercontinental Cup victory as he recorded figures for 10-129 to spin Bermuda to its first victory in the tournament.

BERMUDA - Irving Romaine (captain), David Hemp, Rodney Trott, Oliver Pitcher Jr, Christopher Foggo, James Celestine, Oronde Bascome, Tamauri Tucker, Stefan Kelly, George O'Brien, Jekon Edness, Stephen Outerbridge, Dwayne Leverock, Kyle Hodsoll.

Tournament Schedule
Saturday 2 August
0930 Kenya v Netherlands
1300 Ireland v Scotland
1630 Netherlands v Canada

Sunday 3 August
0930 Scotland v Bermuda
1300 Kenya v Canada
1630 Ireland v Bermuda

Monday 4 August
0930 Semi-final one: Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B
1300 Semi-final two: Winner Group B v Runner-up Group A
1630 Third and fourth-place play-off

Tuesday 5 August
0930 Fifth and sixth-place play-off
1300 Final

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

July 28, 2008

Cricket :

Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) will organise a cricket tournament exclusively for disabled persons of the state. It was decided in the executive meeting of TCA here on Sunday. A six-member sub-committee was formed to conduct this tournament headed by its Joint Secretary Malay Chakraborty. Other five members are Dipak Bhattacharjee, Bhabesh Debbarma, Ramabrata Sen, Jitesh Debbarma and Pradepesh Nath.

In the meeting, the state cricket body has also decided to provide training equipments for continuing follow-up program for spotted talented cricketers of Elite group at the sub-division level.

Former Ranji cricketer Sandip Dahad was appointed as Coach and Video analyst for junior level. He will also conduct training camp for pacers of the state.

It has also decided that the Annual prize distribution ceremony of TCA will be held on last part of August.

On other hand, according to latest circular of BCCI four Umpires – Gourpada Banik, Prasenta Chakraborty, Sontosh Das and Debasish Datta of Tripura were selected to appear in the Umpires examination conducted by the Board.

Football :

Mani Karmakar was selected captain of Tripura Sub Junior football team in National tournament for under-17 girls this year. It was decided by Tripura Football Association (TFA) on Monday last. The tournament will be held at Halduani, Uttaranchal from August 09 next. TFA announced twenty members Tripura team. Selected footballers were,
Sharmala Debbarma, Debi Acharjee, Pritibala Debbarma, Priti Debbarma, Aruna Debbarma, Dipali Begam, Rakhi Bhowmik, Jhanu Debbarma, Rita Karmakar, Mani Karmakar (Captain), Rinku Debbarma, Dipika Mandal, Sumita Debbarma, Rinku Das, Chandramala Debbarma, Sumati Jamatia, Sobharani Jamatia, Nibedita Dey, Lalmoiya Molsom and Rogina Debbarma. Coach : Haripurna Jamatia and Manager Aparna Chowdhury.

Sangakkara falls off top spot in Reliance Mobile ICC Test Player Rankings

Dubai, 28 July 2008

Chanderpaul benefits from Sri Lankan player’s fall

Muralidaran returns to 900-point mark, Mendis enters rankings in 51st place; Laxman rises but Tendulkar and Dravid slip while Sehwag and Ganguly drop out of top 20

Sri Lanka ’s Kumar Sangakkara has slipped off the top of the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Player Rankings for Test batsman following a low score in the first Test against India .

Sangakkarra, who surged to the top of the rankings in December last year, scored only 12 in Sri Lanka’s 600-6 declared and has consequently dropped to second place which he now shares with Australia’s Mike Hussey.

West Indies ’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul has benefited from Sangakkara’s fall to lead the batting rankings for the first time in his career. The Guyanese player averaged 91 against Australia , South Africa and Sri Lanka in the past 12 months but still ended up on the losing side in five out of eight Tests.

However, the margin of difference between the Chanderpaul and Sangakkara is so small that if the Sri Lankan excels with the bat in the second Test, starting in Galle from 31 July, he will regain first place. On the other side of the coin, another low score will mean a further dip in the rankings for him.

Besides the change in the leader, there is also plenty of reshuffling down the order.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena has jumped three places to sixth and has hit his career-best rating (847) following a knock of 136. The 31-year-old batsman has never been ranked higher than fourth in Tests but he now has that mark in his sights.

Jayawardena’s team-mates Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera and Malinda Warnapura have also gained valuable places following their centuries.

Dilshan has climbed seven places to 29th, Samaraweera has lifted eight places to 37th and Warnapura sits in 48th position after jumping 27 spots.

There is no good news for India in the batting list except VVS Laxman has improved his position by three places and is now in 18th spot.

Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 27 and 12, has slipped one place to 15th but still remains India ’s highest-ranked batsman. Rahul Dravid has dropped three places to 19tth while Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly have dropped out of the top 20.

Sehwag has slipped three places to 21st position while Ganguly now sits in 24th place after dropping four spots.

In Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Sri Lanka ’s iconic spinner Muttiah Muralidaran has returned to the 900-point mark in the ratings. In ranking terms, 900 points marks out a player as truly great. Only 19 players have achieved that tally in the 131 years of Tests.

Muralidaran claimed the man-of-the-match award for his 11-110 which means he has extended his advantage over second-placed Dale Steyn of South Africa who, in turn, will swap places with Australia ’s Stuart Clark when he misses the third Test against England starting at Edgbaston from Wednesday. A player loses one per cent of his rating for every missed match.

Ajantha Mendis, who recorded match figures of 8-132 in his debut Test, enters the rankings in 51st position.

There is more bad news for India because its three bowlers in the top 20 list have failed to defend their positions.

Captain Anil Kumble has dropped to ninth, Zaheer Khan has slipped to 16th while Harbhajan Singh moves down to 18th.

In the all-rounder listing, Sri Lanka ’s Chaminda Vaas has dropped one place to fifth. The chart is headed by South Africa’s Jacques Kallis, followed by Daniel Vettori of New Zealand, Dwayne Bravo of the West Indies and England’s Andrew Flintoff.

Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen and bowlers (as of 28 July)

Batsmen

Rank +/- Player Team Points Avge HS Rating
1 (+1) S.Chanderpaul WI 890! 49.08 890 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
2= (-1) K.C.Sangakkara SL 882 54.81 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
(+1) Mike Hussey Aus 882 68.38 921 v WI at Kingston 2008
4= ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 880 58.37 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
( - ) Mohd Yousuf Pak 880 55.49 933 v WI at Karachi 2006
6 (+3) M.Jayawardena SL 847! 52.51 847 v Ind at Colombo (SSC) 2008
7 (-1) Matthew Hayden Aus 834 53.51 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002
8 (-1) Jacques Kallis SA 823 56.28 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
9 (-1) Kevin Pietersen Eng 816 50.39 905 v WI at Headingley 2007
10 ( - ) Yunis Khan Pak 799 49.14 856 v Eng at Headingley 2006
11 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 723 47.06 761 v Ind at Melbourne 2007
12 ( - ) Graeme Smith SA 713 48.71 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
13 ( - ) Ashwell Prince SA 707 43.90 756 v Pak at Centurion 2007
14 (+2) Andrew Symonds Aus 700* 44.65 718 v WI at Antigua 2008
15 (-1) S.R.Tendulkar Ind 684 54.98 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
16 (+1) Ian Bell Eng 683 43.46 703 v SA at Lord's 2008
17 (+2) AB de Villiers SA 679! 41.59 679 v Eng at Headingley 2008
18 (+3) VVS Laxman Ind 674 43.74 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004
19 (-4) Rahul Dravid Ind 673 54.41 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
20 (+2) Andrew Strauss Eng 662 41.67 769 v SA at Johannesburg 2005

Bowlers

Rank +/- Player Team Points Avge HS Rating

1 ( - ) M.Muralidaran SL 907 21.77 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 864 22.51 897 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2008
3 ( - ) Stuart Clark Aus 863*! 21.46 863 v WI at Bridgetown 2008
4 ( - ) Brett Lee Aus 793 29.58 811 v WI at Antigua 2008
5 ( - ) Ryan Sidebottom Eng 761* 25.27 769 v SA at Lord's 2008
6 ( - ) Makhaya Ntini SA 737 28.31 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
7 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 689 29.24 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
8 (+1) Shoaib Akhtar Pak 684 25.69 855 v NZ at Wellington 2003
9 (-1) Anil Kumble Ind 669 29.26 859 v SL at Bangalore 1994
10 ( - ) Shane Bond NZ 668* 22.39 778 v WI at Auckland 2006
11 ( - ) Monty Panesar Eng 641 32.27 721 v WI at Chester-le-St 2007
12 ( - ) Jerome Taylor WI 628*! 34.69 628 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
13 ( - ) Corey Collymore WI 621* 32.30 700 v Eng at Lord's 2007
14 ( - ) Mohammad Asif Pak 619* 23.13 710 v SA at Cape Town 2007
15 (+1) Danish Kaneria Pak 614 33.90 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
16= (-2) Zaheer Khan Ind 605 34.11 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007
(+2) Matthew Hoggard Eng 605 30.50 795 v SL at Edgbaston 2006
18 (-1) Harbhajan Singh Ind 594 31.35 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
19= ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 591 34.43 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000
( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 591 32.24 810 v Pak at Multan 2005

All-rounders

Rank +/- Player Team Points HS Rating

1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 467 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 324 360 v Eng at Lord's 2008
3 ( - ) Dwayne Bravo WI 295 /*! 295 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
4 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 294 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
5 (-1) Chaminda Vaas SL 290 300 v WI at Guyana 2008

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Van Bunge wants another crack at Gibbs

Dubai, 27 July 2008

Dutch all-rounder out to avenge six sixes at ICC CWC

The Netherlands all-rounder Daan van Bunge would love a re-match with Herschelle Gibbs in the ICC World Twenty20 in England next year.

South Africa batsman Gibbs clubbed van Bunge for a record six sixes in an over in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in St Kitts, and the 25-year-old has challenged Gibbs to take him on once more.

“It would be great to play Herschelle again in England next year and I wouldn’t mind if he tries to repeat that feat again.

“But I am sure whatever he does, he wouldn’t be able to hit me again for 36 runs in an over,” said van Bunge, currently in Dublin for the ICC European Championships with his Dutch team-mates.

“It will be a great chance for me to play against Herschelle. And if I can take revenge, then it would be a perfect icing on the cake. It goes without saying that whenever I get an opportunity to play against him, I will target him as my prime wicket.”

To earn a re-match with South Africa , the Netherlands has to finish third in the six-team ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier to be held in Belfast , Ireland from 2 to 5 August and then hope the ICC Board ratifies Zimbabwe Cricket’s decision to step back from the ICC World Twenty20 2009 taken during the ICC Annual Conference week.

If that happens, a third place finish in the event will mean a spot in Group B alongside South Africa and New Zealand .

Both finalists in the four-day tournament in Belfast are guaranteed places for the England event which will take place at Lord’s, The Oval and Trent Bridge next June.

Van Bunge said his team had a good chance to reach next year’s event. “As a team, we have to back ourselves because if we didn’t think we had a chance to qualify, we wouldn’t be here. In fact, any team that doesn’t think it has a chance should stay back.

“Our first objective is to qualify for the semi-final and then see what happens. We are still left with three games (in the ICC European Championships) before the main event starts and I am confident that by the time the tournament begins in Belfast , we will be in a good shape,” said van Bunge.

The Netherlands , seeded fourth, has Kenya and Canada in its group. Top seed Ireland , Scotland and Bermuda form the other group.

Van Bunge has represented the Netherlands at various age-group levels, including the U/15 mini World Cup in 1996 in England , and a tour of the same country with the Netherlands U/17 squad in 1998.

He made his ODI debut in 2002 against Sri Lanka and his highest score of 62 came against India at Paarl in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003, while his best bowling figures of 3-16 came in the same tournament against England as he dismissed Michael Vaughan, Nick Knight and Andrew Flintoff.

Van Bunge said Twenty20 cricket was not a new concept to the Netherlands and smaller teams had a good chance to beat the stronger sides in this brand of cricket. “Twenty20 cricket was introduced in the Netherlands two years ago and we love and enjoy playing it.

“I think the shorter version of the game gives the smaller teams a better chance to upset the more fancied and experienced teams as the Twenty20 format really suits the developing nations, which are short of options and lack in experience,” he said.

Van Bunge took a break from cricket after the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 but came back in 2008 and has played in three out of six ICC Intercontinental Cup matches.

“I took the break from cricket because I wanted to sort out my life. I can’t play cricket throughout my life and as an Associate player you don’t make enough money as well. So I wanted to finish my education, take a couple of degrees and secure my future.

“The temptation and feeling to play returned last December and I made myself available. I don’t think I missed much of the action. But the time I spent away from cricket was worthwhile as it gave me a good chance to organize myself and thing about other stuff,” he said.

The Netherlands is captained by the 25-year-old all-rounder Peter Borren, who was a member of the New Zealand side at the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup in 2002. Borren has played 18 ODIs and eight first-class matches and has been in good form in the ICC Intercontinental Cup in which he is his team’s second leading run-getter with 359 runs at 32.63.

Another player in good form this season is Tom de Grooth, who attended the ICC Winter Training Camp in 2005. De Grooth is the Netherlands ’ lead run-getter in the ICC Intercontinental Cup with 384 runs with 42.66.

Alexei Kervezee (Worcestershire), all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate (Essex) and 31-year-old batsman Bas Zuiderent ( Sussex ) are the other players who bring vital experience to the Dutch side.

Edgar Schiferli and Mudassar Bukhari may not have county championship experience but both are in good form with the ball. Schiferli is joint-fourth on the list of most successful ICC Intercontinental Cup bowlers with 19 wickets while Bukhari has claimed 17 wickets in the same competition.

In the ongoing ICC European Championships, the Netherlands bounced back after a surprise eight-wicket defeat against Italy to thrash Norway by 370 runs. The Netherlands ’ 474-8 in 50 overs was dominated by opener Darren Reekers who hammered a 117-ball 196 that included 20 fours and 12 sixes. De Grooth contributed 96 before Schiferli followed up his 44 with figures of 5-52 as Norway was bowled out for 104.

NETHERLANDS - Peter Borren (captain), Mudassar Bukhari, Daan van Bunge, Tom De Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Alexei Kervezee, Geert M. Mol, Pieter Seelaar, Darron Reekers, Edgar Schiferli, Jelte Schoonheim, Eric Szwarzcyniski, Ryan ten Doeschate, Bas Zuiderent.

Tournament Schedule
Saturday 2 August
0930 Kenya v Netherlands
1300 Ireland v Scotland
1630 Netherlands v Canada

Sunday 3 August
0930 Scotland v Bermuda
1300 Kenya v Canada
1630 Ireland v Bermuda

Monday 4 August
0930 Semi-final one: Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B
1300 Semi-final two: Winner Group B v Runner-up Group A
1630 Third and fourth-place play-off

Tuesday 5 August
0930 Fifth and sixth-place play-off
1300 Final

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

It's important to keep the focus and intensity

Anil Kumble

IT WAS a disappointment the way we let Sri Lanka off the hook with our fielding. Having picked up a couple of early wickets and having them at 57 for 2 after being asked to bowl first, we had a chance to put them under pressure but we dropped some important catches.

If you look at the way Sri Lanka went about the game they had a pretty much perfect Test match. They got 600 on the board and then finished off both Indian batting innings in a day and a quarter. The two spinners operating in tandem bowled really well, complementing each other. Ajantha Mendis, even though he was on debut, bowled tight and kept up the pressure. This meant that Muttiah Muralitharan, who is anyway a handful, became that much more dangerous.

There has been some suggestion that we were concentrating only on Mendis but I can tell you that's not true. Even before the start of the Test I did mention that Murali and Chaminda Vaas are the important bowlers and that has not changed. It was only that we were repeatedly asked about Mendis in media conferences. When we answered those questions probably the focus was on him. Having played against Sri Lanka for many years now we knew that Murali and Vaas were the ones to watch out for. Mendis is an exciting development for spin in world cricket but Murali is already a champion bowler

Having said that the Sri Lankans bowled well, the way we batted was disappointing. To lose 20 wickets in less than 120 overs was not something you can explain away, especially losing 14 wickets on Saturday in just 72.5 overs. It was a Test match to forget for us and definitely not the kind of start you look for getting into a series.

We now have to spend the next couple of days thinking about how we can take things forward and the kind of preparation that is needed. People were raising questions about us not playing more warm-up matches before the Test series and our preparation but that was not the problem. What is crucial is attitude and character and we didn't show that in this Test match. We will come out strong, it's not as though all has been lost.

Four of Sri Lanka's batsmen scored centuries and in contrast we had just one fifty from two innings. This clearly does not reflect quality we have in the batting line-up and the same goes for the bowling. You need to score centuries and take five-fors to win Test matches and we have to think seriously of how we can achieve that. It's important to keep the focus and intensity. We've had a poor game but we now need to look ahead.

HAWKEYE COMMUNICATIONS

Sports News

July 26, 2008

Football :

Media Football tournament starts here today. Altogether eleven teams were participating in this two days tournament. President of Tripura Football Association MLA Pabritra Kar opened this tourney. Agartala Press Club organized this tourney.

Syandan Patrika football team 'Young Star Five'.

National Sub-Junior Football Tournament for undr-16 boys will be held in Panjub on September next. Tripura will attand this tournament.

Odoyo happy for Kenya to stay under the radar

Dubai , 26 July 2008

“It’s good to be thought of as a team to be reckoned with but that can bring pressure too,” says experienced all-rounder

Kenya all-rounder Thomas Odoyo prefers an underdog’s tag as the African nation gives final touches to its preparations in England ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier to be held in Belfast , Ireland from 2 to 5 August.

Kenya , seeded second in the competition behind the host nation, is being tipped as the team to come on top because of its vast international experience, including the exposure it got in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa where it was placed along with New Zealand and Sri Lanka .

In the ODI arena, it has played the most matches amongst the participating teams – 99 as compared to Ireland ’s 27, Scotland ’s 29, Bermuda’s 30, Canada ’s 38 and the Netherlands ’s 35.

But despite the evidence that suggests Kenya must be highly fancied, Odoyo said he prefers to slip under the radar. “It is good to be considered as favourites but I have always preferred an underdog’s tag because I don’t want to carry avoidable pressure on my shoulders.

“We want to play as hard as we can without unnecessary pressures. But it is good to know that people consider us a team to be reckoned with and I hope we come out with flying colours,” said Odoyo, who won the Associate ODI player of the Year at the ICC Awards in Johannesburg in 2007.

The teams featuring in the tournament, besides Kenya and host Ireland, are Bermuda, Canada, Netherlands and Scotland and at stake will be two or possibly three places in the ICC World Twenty20 2009 being staged in England.

Both finalists will qualify for the tournament which will take place at Lord’s, The Oval and Trent Bridge next June.

The third place to be decided by a third and fourth-place play-off is dependent on Zimbabwe Cricket’s Board ratifying a decision taken by its officials during ICC Annual Conference week, to step back from the tournament.

Kenya is grouped with The Netherlands and Canada and plays the Dutch in the opening match of the tournament.

“We are working extremely hard and our warm-up trip to England is providing us the real platform from where we can deliver our best performance,” said Odoyo, who last year became the first Associate player to complete a double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in ODIs.

“The pre-event tour is helping us to acclimatise as the weather in Belfast will be close to what we are presently experiencing here. Let’s not forget that we are coming from Africa where the weather is hot.

“This leg of the tour is extremely important to our chances in the tournament because everything in Stormont will happen so fast that there will be very little time to recover. We have to enter the tournament fully prepared and equipped,” said Odoyo who has played in all the four ICC Cricket World Cups that Kenya has participated in.

Odoyo also highlighted the importance of this tournament for the development of the game in Kenya . “Every international tournament or match we play only helps Kenya cricket. While the team gets stronger and tougher, more youth get attracted to the sport that helps to increase the pool of players.

“We played in the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa and although we didn’t performance well, we learnt plenty of things. It was a new format for all of us and since then we have followed and tried to learn from watching most of the twenty20 matches that have been played across the globe.

“The team would love to translate the experience it gained in South Africa into the Belfast tournament so that we can come to England in 11 months time as an even better team.

“We are not short in motivation but I agree that the dream of playing in England is quite fascinating. I played in the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1999 and it is one of the highlights of my career.”

Odoyo said the players needed to be mentally tougher to excel in this brand of cricket. “Since twenty20 cricket is played at a fast pace, the mindset has to be sharp to cope with the proceedings and that’s where it can sometimes become mentally tiring.”

The 36-year-old Steve Tikolo will lead Kenya which includes 11 players who participated in the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007.

Captain since 2002, Tikolo was instrumental in not only securing an ODI status for Kenya but also a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup in England in 1999 when he scored 147 against Bangladesh in the ICC World Cup Qualifier (formerly the ICC Trophy) in 1997.

There are some other exciting players in this multi-talented Kenya side and one of them is Collins Obuya who shot to fame for his 13 wickets, including 5-24 against Sri Lanka, in the ICC Cricket World Cup where Kenya played in the semi-final.

Obuya, the all-rounder-turned-batsman, also represented Warwickshire in the twenty20 competition in the UK in 2003 but missed the ICC Champions Trophy in England in 2004 due to appendicitis. Obuya’s brother, David, is also part of the Kenya squad.

Peter Ongondo is another player who brings value to the side. The fast bowler was the leading wicket-taker in the ICC World Cricket League Division One in 2007 with 15 wickets, and is one of the three Kenya bowlers to take 50 or more ODI wickets. He is in the top 20 of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers and was also tried as pinch-hitter in the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2003, against India .

KENYA - Steve Tikolo (captain), Thomas Odoyo, Kennedy Otieno, Collins Obuya, Peter Ongondo, Ondik Suji, Hiren Varaiya, Rakep Patel, Morris Ouma, James Kamande, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Elijah Otieno, Alex Obanda, Ragheb Aga, David Obuya

Tournament Schedule
Saturday 2 August
0930 Kenya v Netherlands
1300 Ireland v Scotland
1630 Netherlands v Canada

Sunday 3 August
0930 Scotland v Bermuda
1300 Kenya v Canada
1630 Ireland v Bermuda

Monday 4 August
0930 Semi-final one: Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B
1300 Semi-final two: Winner Group B v Runner-up Group A
1630 Third and fourth-place play-off

Tuesday 5 August
0930 Fifth and sixth-place play-off
1300 Final

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

July 25, 2008

Football :
Soraj Sangha lifted the champion trophy in the domestic Second Division League Football title 2008. In the last match of Super League Soraj Sangha beat Blood Mouth Club by 4-1 goals on Thursday. Tripura Sports School bagged runner-up trophy. Soraj Sangha confirmed to entry in the First Division for next season. Debasish Harijan finished top scorer with 10 goals in this tournament.

Swimming :
Tripura will participate in the National Junior Swimming Championship at Amritshwar Punjab from August 31 to September 04 next. A selection trial for state team will be held on July 26 at Umakanta Pool next.

Cricket:
Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) starts fitness cum coaching camp from today. Altogether 29 women cricketers were selected for 15 days camp. The selected cricketers are,
Anita Debbarma, Annapurna das, Rima Chakraborty, Priyanka Acharjee, Moutoshi Dey, Indrarani Jamatia, Shilpi Debbarma, Rita Debbarma, Bina Jamatia, Tagori Debnath, Ruma Das, Sravani Debnath, Sujaita Roy, Mouchaiti Debnath, Pampi Das, Sumitra Koloi, Sutapa Das, Sushmita Chakraborty, Riju Saha, Sulakhana Roy, Ritarani Debbarma, Tanupa Debbarma, Kabita Debbarma, Papia Akhtar, Iti Jamatia, Laxmi Majumder, Singdha Singha, Shymali Deb and Alivia Singha. The camp held at Maharaja Bir Bickram Stadium. Coach : Rajat Kinti Sen and Shyamal Das.

A meeting of Tripura Cricket Association will be held on July 27 next.

Carrom:
Basabi Debbarma fo Tripura AG clinched the title of Women section in the East Zone AG Carrom championship. In the Final match Basabi defeated Madhabi Biswas of Bengal AG.

Blain bubbling for Belfast

Dubai, 25 July 2008

Scots bowler confident for ICC WT20 Qualifier

Watson and Hamilton add to experience

Scotland fast bowler John Blain is bubbling with confidence and believes he can play a leading role in his side’s campaign in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier to be held in Belfast , Ireland from 2 to 5 August.

“I know I can change the game on any given ball or given over. I have done it in the past and I am confident I can do it again, if required,” he said.

“Twenty20 is an exciting format and the general perception is it is batsman-dominated format, but it’s the bowlers who can turn the match on its head.

“However, to make it happen, you should know how to handle pressure, need to be confident of your abilities, have to be aggressive and continue to show variation in your bowling,” said the 29-year-old fast bowler who had stints with Northamptonshire and Yorkshire in the UK county championship.

The six Associate countries will go head to head in the four-day tournament at Stormont and at stake will be two or possibly three places in the ICC World Twenty20 2009 being staged in England.

Both finalists will qualify for the tournament which will take place at Lord’s, The Oval and Trent Bridge next June.

The third place to be decided by a third and fourth-place play-off is dependent on Zimbabwe Cricket’s Board ratifying a decision taken by its officials during ICC Annual Conference week, to step back from the tournament.

Scotland is grouped with Ireland and Bermuda and takes on its top-seeded neighbours on the opening day.

Blain captained Scotland in the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup in 1998, participated in the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia the same year, has appeared in two ICC Cricket World Cups in 1999 and 2007, and in total, has played 47 first-class matches, 21 ODIs and two T20Is, including the rained out game against India. These statistics make him one of the experienced hands in this Scotland side.

“I think experience has made me a more knowledgeable person in cricket terms. I have seen various situations with teams getting into serious troubles or pulling themselves out of those troubles.

“These experiences only make you a better and tougher sportsman. And now I am happy to carry this experience into this tournament and provide whatever assistance I can to my team and my captain,” he said.

According to Blain , Scotland will enter the tournament in a positive frame of mind. “We had a couple of excellent results in the ICC Intercontinental Cup where we convincingly beat Bermuda and Canada earlier this month and these victories can only give boost to our morale and confidence.

“Twenty20 is quick and sharp but confidence is the key as none of the teams have enough experience of this format.

“Every time we step onto the field we go with a positive approach and with a game plan and the four days in Stormont will be no different. We know our strengths and weaknesses and I believe Scotland will qualify for the main event but where we will finish will obviously depend on how we play in these matches,” explained Blain.

Third seed Scotland has opted for continuity and has named a squad that has just three changes from the side that participated in the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa last year.

Scotland is captain by Ryan Watson who also led the team in the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa . The 31-year-old opener has played 23 ODIs, 13 first-class matches and two T20Is, including the match against India .

One of Watson’s most inspiring performances was against Ireland in the ICC World Cup Qualifier (formerly the ICC Trophy) final in 2005 when he scored a match-winning 94. He also made 123 not out against Canada in the ICC World Cricket League Division One match against Canada last year.

Gavin Hamilton is another player who brings vital experience to the Scotland side. The 33-year-old left-hander played his only Test for England against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1999 and has played 95 first-class matches, 24 ODIs, five T20 matches and has the experience of county championship action with Durham and Yorkshire .

Besides Blain, Watson and Hamilton, the other players who were in South Africa for the ICC World Twenty20 are Gordon Drummond, Majid Haq, Gregor Maiden, Neil McCallum, Dewald Nel, Navdeep Poonia, Colin Smith and Fraser Watts.

Kyle Coetzer, the 24-year-old right-handed batsman, is one of the three players along with Glenn Rogers and Richard Berrington, who was not in South Africa 10 months ago.

Coetzer comes with strong credentials after making significant contribution to Durham ’s finish in the county championship in 2007 when it was runner-up behind Sussex . Coetzer has played just three T20 matches, but has a healthy batting average of 33.14 in 27 first-class matches.

SCOTLAND - Ryan Watson (captain), Gregor Maiden, Navdeep Poonia, Colin Smith, Gavin Hamilton, Fraser Watts, Richard Berrington, Majid Haq, John Blain, Kyle Coetzer, Glenn Rogers, Dewald Nel, Neil McCallum, Gordon Drummond.

Tournament Schedule
Saturday 2 August
0930 Kenya v Netherlands
1300 Ireland v Scotland
1630 Netherlands v Canada

Sunday 3 August
0930 Scotland v Bermuda
1300 Kenya v Canada
1630 Ireland v Bermuda

Monday 4 August
0930 Semi-final one: Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B
1300 Semi-final two: Winner Group B v Runner-up Group A
1630 Third and fourth-place play-off

Tuesday 5 August
0930 Fifth and sixth-place play-off
1300 Final

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Result of ICC Board teleconference – ICC Champions Trophy remains in Pakistan

Dubai, 24 July 2008

Task team set up to manage concerns, liaise with embassies and Governments

The ICC Board today held a teleconference to discuss the location for this year’s ICC Champions Trophy, at the end of which it reiterated its decision of 2006 to stage the event in Pakistan.

In arriving at that position the Board considered various security reports and discussed at length the concerns of some Members and stakeholders as well as the perceptions of Pakistan that may exist in some quarters. Those discussions lasted two-and-a-quarter hours.

In recognizing those concerns and perceptions, the Board agreed they needed to be managed going forward, both before and during the tournament.

In order to do this, the Board decided to establish a task team whose terms of reference are as follows:

To ensure the effective implementation of the recommendations of the ICC’s independent security advisors; and

Liaise with various stakeholders, including embassies within Pakistan and other Governments, on an ongoing basis to ensure effective communication and the management of any concerns that may exist

Those individuals and groups that will be invited to be part of the task team are the ICC President David Morgan, Sharad Pawar, the ICC President-Elect, ICC Chief Executive Officer Haroon Lorgat, the ICC Principal Advisor Inderjit Singh Bindra, Nasim Ashraf, the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and representatives of ICC’s Broadcast Partner ESPN STAR Sports, the ICC’s independent security advisors and the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA).


The ICC Board consists of the Chairman or President from each of the ten ICC Full Members plus three Associate Member representatives, as well as the ICC President, who chairs proceedings, the ICC Chief Executive Officer and the ICC President-Elect.

Those individuals on the conference call were as follows:

David Morgan OBE ICC President
Sharad Pawar Vice-President
Haroon Lorgat ICC Chief Executive Officer

Creagh O’Connor Australia
Major General Sina Ibn Jamali Bangladesh
Giles Clarke England
Shashank Manohar India
Dr Justin Vaughan (alternate for Sir John Anderson KBE) New Zealand
Dr Nasim Ashraf Pakistan
Arjuna Ranatunga Sri Lanka
Norman Arendse South Africa
Dr Julian Hunte OBE West Indies
Peter Chingoka Zimbabwe

Associate Member Representatives

Neil Speight Bermuda
Samir Inamdar Kenya
Imran Khawaja Singapore

Inderjit Singh Bindra, the ICC Principal Advisor, was also present on the call.

The ICC Champions Trophy, the game’s second “major” after the ICC Cricket World Cup, is a short, sharp event involving the top eight teams in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table as of 11 March 2008.

Those teams will be divided into two groups with three round-robin matches for each, before the top two line-ups from each of those groups go forward to semi-finals and a final.

The defending champion is Australia, which beat the West Indies in the 2006 final, in Mumbai, India.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Result of ICC Board teleconference

Dubai, 24 July 2008

The ICC Board’s teleconference on the location for this year’s ICC Champions Trophy has concluded.

The decision of the Board is that the event remains in Pakistan.

Further details will follow as soon as possible.

The ICC Champions Trophy, the game’s second “major” after the ICC Cricket World Cup, is a short, sharp event involving the top eight teams in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table as of 11 March 2008.

Those teams will be divided into two groups with three round-robin matches for each, before the top two line-ups from each of those groups go forward to semi-finals and a final.

The defending champion is Australia, which beat the West Indies in the 2006 final, in Mumbai, India.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

All six squads confirmed ahead of ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Ireland

Dubai, 24 July 2008

Chris Broad to oversee the tournament to be staged in Belfast from 2 to 5 August

The best cricketers in the six Associate countries are gearing up for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier to be held in Belfast , Ireland from 2 to 5 August.

The teams featuring in the tournament are Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland and Kenya and at stake will be three places in the ICC World Twenty20 2009 being staged in England.

Both finalists and winner of the third and fourth place play-off from this event will qualify for the tournament which will take place at Lord’s, The Oval and Trent Bridge next June.

The third place in the ICC WT20 2009 is dependent on Zimbabwe Cricket’s Board ratifying a decision taken by its officials during ICC Annual Conference week, to step back from the tournament.

Top seed Ireland will be led by 23-year-old left-handed batsman William Porterfield who plays for Gloucestershire in the county championship in the UK . Porterfield succeeded Trent Johnston after the tour of Bangladesh earlier this year.

Porterfield has not captained Ireland in an ODI or ICC Intercontinental Cup match but has led his team in five Friends Provident Trophy tournament matches in the UK . Although his side lost four of the matches, Porterfield inspired his team to a four-wicket victory over Warwickshire which was Ireland ’s first win over a county side in two years. Porterfield scored 69 in that match as Ireland achieved the target of 212 in 46.4 overs in Stormont.

Porterfield missed Ireland ’s last two Friends Provident Trophy matches against Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire and the tri-series in Aberdeen against New Zealand and Scotland earlier this month as he was on duty with Gloucestershire.

Johnston, who masterminded Ireland ’s greatest cricket success with wins over Pakistan and Bangladesh in the ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies in 2007, is also staging a comeback after announcing he was taking a break from international following the tour of Bangladesh in March.

The 36-year-old Steve Tikolo will lead second seed Kenya which includes 11 players who participated in the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007. Captain since 2002, Tikolo was instrumental in not only earning an ODI status for Kenya but also a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup in England in 1999 when he scored 147 against Bangladesh in the ICC World Cup Qualifier (formerly the ICC Trophy) in 1997.

Thomas Odoyo, who won the Associate ODI Player of the Year award at the ICC Awards in Johannesburg in 2007, is the other most experienced player, having played in all four ICC Cricket World Cups that Kenya has participated in.

Third seed Scotland , like Kenya , has opted for continuity and has named a squad that has just three changes from the side that participated in the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa last year.

The Scots will be led by 32-year-old batsman Ryan Watson who scored a 43-ball century for Scotland against Durham in a National League match in 2003 and also played a match-winning knock of 94 against Ireland in the final of the 2005 ICC World Cup Qualifier (former the ICC Trophy).

The side includes former England batsman Gavin Hamilton who played his only Test against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1999.

Others with county championship experience in the UK include fast bowler John Blain (Northamptonshire and Yorkshire), Dewald Nel (Worcestershire), Kyle Coetzer ( Durham ) and Navdeep Poonia (Warwickshire).

The Netherlands are seeded fourth in the tournament and will be captained by 25 year-old all-rounder Peter Borren, who was a member of the New Zealand side at the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup in 2002.

Other experienced names in the squad are Tom de Grooth, who attended the ICC Winter Training Camp in 2005, Alexei Kervezee, who also plays for Worcestershire, all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate, who plays for Essex, 31-year-old batsman Bas Zuiderent, who has played for Sussex , Mudassar Bukhari and Edgar Schiferli.

38-year-old John Davison returns to bolster an inexperienced Canada which will be captained by Sanjay Thuraisingam. Davison last played for Canada in May 2007 and works as a coach at Australia ’s Centre of Excellence.

Davison scored a century off 67 balls against the West Indies at the ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa in 2003. He also took 10 wickets in that tournament.

Another player in the squad, Sunil Dhaniram, played first-class cricket for Guyana in the 1992/93 season.

The squad also includes talented wicketkeeper-batsman Ashish Bagai who represented the Americas in the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup 2000. Bagai attended the ICC Winter Camp in 2006 and went on to win the player-of-the-tournament award at the ICC World Cricket League Division One the following year.

Bermuda, the sixth team in the event, is undergoing through a transitional phase and includes just seven players which were part of the squad that played in the ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies in 2007.

The squad is led by 36-year-old all-rounder Irving Romaine and also includes 37-year-old left-arm spinner Dwayne Leverock.

Bermuda will be relying heavily on the experience of David Hemp who captains Glamorgan in the county championship in the UK . Hemp has played in 41 T20 matches in which he has a strike-rate of little under 123.

Squads:
BERMUDA - Irving Romaine (captain), David Hemp, Rodney Trott, Oliver Pitcher Jr, Christopher Foggo, James Celestine, Oronde Bascome, Tamauri Tucker, Stefan Kelly, George O'Brien, Jekon Edness, Stephen Outerbridge, Dwayne Leverock, Kevin Hurdle; Lionel Thomas (manager), Augustine Logie (coach), Herbert Bascome (assistant coach).

CANADA - Sanjay Thuraisingam (captain), Ashish Bagai, Abdool Samad, Abdul Jabbar Chaudrey, Geoffrey Barnett, Henry Osinde, Harvir Baidwan, Eion Katchay, Sunil Dhaniram, John Davison, Muhammad Qazi, Abdus Sami Faridi, Karun Jethi, Steven Welsh; Miokje Henry (manager), Pubudu Dassanayake (coach), Dan Kiesel (physiotherapist)

IRELAND - Wiliiam Porterfield (captain), Niall O'Brien, Eoin Morgan, Kevin O'Brien, Andre Botha, Andrew White, Alex Cusack, Gary Wilson, Trent Johnston, Kyle McCallan, Thinus Fourie, Peter Connell, Philip Eaglestone, Gary Kidd; Roy Torrens (manager), Phil Simmons (coach), Peter Johnston (assistant coach), Kieran O'Reilly (physiotherapist)

KENYA - Steve Tikolo (captain), Thomas Odoyo, Kennedy Otieno, Collins Obuya, Peter Ongondo, Ondik Suji, Hiren Varaiya, Rakep Patel, Morris Ouma, James Kamande, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Elijah Otieno, Alex Obanda, Ragheb Aga; Davinder Singh Bharij (manager), Andrew Kirsten (coach), Martin Armon Suji (assistant coach), Joseph Mutisya Muthike (Physiotherapist), Alfred Njuguna Njoroge (match analyst)

NETHERLANDS - Peter Borren (captain), Mudassar Bukhari, Daan Van Bunge, Tom De Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Alexei Kervezee, Geert M. Mol, Pieter Seelaar, Darron Reekers, Edgar Schiferli, Jelte Schoonheim, Eric Szwarzcyniski, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Bas Zuiderent; Ed Van Nierop (manager), Peter Drinnen (coach), Thijs Risselada (physiotherapist)

SCOTLAND - Ryan Watson (captain), Gregor Maiden, Navdeep Poonia, Colin Smith, Gavin Hamilton, Fraser Watts, Richard Berrington, Majid Haq, John Blain, Kyle Coetzer, Glenn Rogers, Dewald Nel, Neil McCallum, Gordon Drummond; Jim McClymont (manager), Peter Steindl (coach), Andrew Rasselli (physiotherapist)

Meanwhile, the ICC has also confirmed details of umpire and match referee appointments for the tournament.

The tournament will be overseen by Chris Broad of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees while the on-field duties for the 11 matches will be split between Darrell Hair of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Paul Baldwin (Germany), Sarika Prasad (Singapore) and Niels Bagh (Denmark) of the ICC Associate and Affiliates International Umpires Panel.

Individual match appointments will be made in due course.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

July 23, 2008

Sports Council :
Tripura Sports Council (TSC) stressed for scientific coaching through out the state. It was decided in an Annual General Meeting of TSC on Tuesday night. Council also passed the audited statement of Rs.79 lakhs 34 thousands 613 of TSC for 2007-08 years. Members were discussed about the upcoming North Eastern Sports Festival 2009, which will be organized by Tripura. It may be mention that Tripura already send proposal for hosting NE Sports Festival.

Tripura Sports Council felicities 136 medal holders through out the state in 79 categories for the year 2007-08. In a function at Netajee Subhas Regional Coaching Center Sports Minister Tapan Chakraborty, Vice-president of Tripura Sports Council Amitabh Datta and Radha Charan Debbarma, Sports Secretary Madhusudhan Bhattacharjee, Sports Director Samarjit Bhowmik, Commissioner B. K. Roy, former Chairman of council Nihar Sengupta and Secretary of council Kamal Saha were present in this function. Altogether six International, Footballer Mumpi Bhowmik, and Nidhawj Jamatia, Gymnast Prasenta Debnath, Chess player Saini Das, Kabaddi player Ritarani Nath and veteran Power Lifter Ratanmani Roy Chowdhury were also felicities in this function.

Cricket :
Former Ranji cricketer Samir Dahat was appointed as junior coach and bowling expert of Tripura cricket team this year.

Football :
Tripura Sports School beat Town Club by 3-0 goals in the domestic Second Division Super League football tournament today.

Bhagya Laxmi Jamatia was selected for Indian camp of under-19 girl’s team. All India Football Federation announced this on Wednesday.

Registration of footballers for Rakhal Memorial Knock-out football tournament will be on July 30 next.

Veteran defender and former Sontosh Trophy member of Tripura team Jibendra Mitra announced retirement from club football.

Hockey :
Tripura will host North East Sub-junior (under-16) Hockey championship on December next. It was decided in an Executive Meeting of Tripura Hockey Association (THA) today. In this meeting THA also decided to stress in sub-division level for improve the standard of Hockey. THA will celebrate birth day of Dhyanchad the magician of hockey on August 29 this year also.

Carrom :
Tripura bowed out from East Zone AG Carrom championship. Assam beat Tripura in Semi-final match in team even.

After almost ten years it's good to be playing Test cricket in Sri Lanka

Anil Kumble

AFTER ALMOST ten years it's good to be playing Test cricket in Sri Lanka. Over the years we have come here on many occasions to play one-day triseries and headed back home, but it has been a long time since we played Tests here and it's a really nice feeling. At this time of the year in Sri Lanka the weather does pose a bit of a concern and there has been some rain around. What would be ideal is to have five clear days so we can get a rain-free, complete Test match and some good cricket.

I'm comfortable with the way our team has shaped up. The balance looks good and since most of us have played here we're well aware of the kind of conditions to expect. Obviously the heat and humidity mean that we have to prepare accordingly, especially when it comes to hydration. But we're all experienced enough and preparations are already under way.

We had a good work out in the practice match, with all the bowlers putting in some good overs. When it comes to the batting you often can't read too much into what happens in a practice match. I'm sureour batsmen will come good when it comes to the five-day game. It was important for the bowlers to hit their straps and this has happened. Zaheer Khan was coming back into international cricket after aboutseven months and I thought he bowled exceptionally well.

When we last played Sri Lanka at home we won 2-0, winning in Delhi and Ahmedabad with the Chennai Test being washed out. The conditions here are similar in many ways and having won the last Test series we played against Sri Lanka the mood in the camp is upbeat. Over here it's important to dominate Sri Lanka early on. We have to bat well in the first innings, put a big score on the board and put pressure on them. I know they have a good record at home, but we're going into the Test looking at how to maximise our potential in terms of batting, bowling and fielding.

The referral system has also been talked about in detail over the last few days and I think it's going to be a new thing for all involved – the players, the officials and those watching on TV in their homes.

It's a first time for everyone and it will obviously be helpful for the umpires. We're only looking at the positive things. It's meant for the obvious errors that sometimes happen. There are times when theymay not pick up a certain edge and the ball hits pad and you are given out lbw. Those kind of referrals may matter and might change the course of the game as well. At the same time I don't think it's correct to say this will reduce the authority of on-field umpires. We need to change with the times as with everything else. The technology is there and we're only using the technology that we feel confident with. The traditions of the game are important and we all respect that. But it's also a fact that millionsare watching on television. In tennis line decisions are accepted now. In cricket we have already accepted the third umpire ruling on run outs and stumpings. Umpires are an integral part of the system and this is not taking something away from them, it's only a mode of assistance.

HAWKEYE COMMUNICATIONS

Sports News

July 22, 2008

Football :
Blood Mouth Club beat Town Club by 4-0 goals in the domestic Second Division Super League Football tournament on Monday.

East Zone Inter University Football tournament will be held at Agartala from October 19 next.

Inter College Football and Swimming will be held at Udaipur on August 27 to 31 next.

Altogether 36 girls were attending in the first day of trial camp of Tripura under-17 girl’s football team.

Kho-Kho :
State Level Sub-junior Kho-Kho Championship will be held at Boxnagar on August 25-26 next. An Executive meeting of Thipura Kho-Kho Association will be held on July 27 next.

Gymnastics :
State Level Gymnastics Championship will be held on August 1-2 next. Tournament will be held at Netajee Subhash Regional Coaching Center. A meeting of Organizing Committee will be held on July 28 next.

Hockey :
An Executive meeting of Tripura Hockey Association will be held on July 23 next.

Carrom :
AG East Zone Carrom Championship will be held at Agartala on July 23 to 25 next.

Prince and de Villiers storm into top 20 of Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings

Dubai, 22 July 2008

Ashwell Prince and AB de Villiers have stormed into the top 20 of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after outstanding performances against England in the second Test, which finished on Monday.

Prince scored 149, de Villiers contributed 174 and the two featured in a 212-run fifth-wicket partnership that laid the foundation of South Africa ’s mammoth 522. That total set up a 10-wicket victory which gave it a 1-0 lead with two Tests of the four-match series remaining.

Prince has climbed eight places to 13th spot in the rankings and now has 12th-placed Graeme Smith firmly in his sights while de Villiers has jumped six places to 19th position.

However, Jacques Kallis has slipped in the rankings and is now placed seventh dropping one spot after scoring four at Leeds , his third failure of the series. The 33-year-old from Cape Town has dropped five places since January this year.

South Africa opener Neil McKenzie has also slipped two places to 26th but Hashim Amla has improved by one and now sits in 25th spot.

England ’s batsmen had a forgettable Test and this is clearly reflected in the latest rankings. Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Andrew Strauss and captain Michael Vaughan have all dropped down the ladder.

Pietersen, who lifted to seventh after his knock of 152 at Lord’s, has dropped one position to eighth while Bell has also failed to defend his career-best 13th position, which he achieved following his career-best 199 at Lord’s, and has slipped four places to 17th spot.

Andrew Strauss has taken a dive of five places and is now placed 22nd while Vaughan is in 35th spot after sliding three positions.

The batting list is still headed by Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka, ahead of the West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Mike Hussey of Australia and his captain Ricky Ponting, along with Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan, the latter two sharing fourth place.

The top 20 list in the Reliance Mobile Player Rankings for Test bowlers has remained unchanged except Matthew Hoggard, who is yet to play in the series, dropping and swapping places with India ’s Harbhajan Singh in 17th and 18th spots respectively.

Monty Panesar holds firm in eleventh place while Andrew Flintoff, who played in his first Test in almost 18 months, stays in 19th spot.

England ’s James Anderson has improved his ranking by one place and he is now just outside the top 20 list in 21st position while the biggest mover in this category is South Africa ’s Morne Morkel who climbs eight places to 38th position after recording match figures of 7-113.

The list is headed by Sri Lanka ’s Muttiah Muralidaran while South Africa ’s Dale Steyn is just clear of Australia ’s Stuart Clarke, who occupies third place.

In the all-rounder listing, Kallis remains top, clear of Daniel Vettori of New Zealand , but Flintoff has dropped one place to share fourth position with Sri Lanka ’s Chaminda Vaas while West Indies ’ Dwayne Bravo has climbed to third place.

Reliance Mobile ICC Test Rankings (as of 22 July, post second Test between England – South Africa at Leeds and pre first Sri Lanka – India Test in Colombo )

Batsmen

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) K.C.Sangakkara SL 893 55.19 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 890! 49.08 890 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
3 ( - ) Mike Hussey Aus 882 68.38 921 v WI at Kingston 2008
4= ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 880 58.37 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
( - ) Mohd Yousuf Pak 880 55.49 933 v WI at Karachi 2006
6 (+2) Matthew Hayden Aus 834 53.51 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002
7 (-1) Jacques Kallis SA 823 56.28 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
8 (-1) Kevin Pietersen Eng 819 50.39 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
9 ( - ) M.Jayawardena SL 810 51.93 844 v WI at Guyana 2008
10 ( - ) Yunus Khan Pak 799 49.14 856 v Eng at Headingley 2006
11 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 723 47.06 761 v Ind at Melbourne 2007
12 ( - ) Graeme Smith SA 713 48.71 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
13 (+8) Ashwell Prince SA 707 43.90 756 v Pak at Centurion 2007
14 (-1) S.R.Tendulkar Ind 704 55.31 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
15 ( - ) Rahul Dravid Ind 701 54.88 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
16 ( - ) Andrew Symonds Aus 700* 44.65 718 v WI at Antigua 2008
17 (-4) Ian Bell Eng 683 43.46 704 v SA at Lord's 2008
18 ( - ) Virender Sehwag Ind 681 51.75 854 v SA at Kolkata 2004
19 (+6) AB de Villiers SA 679! 41.59 679 v Eng at Headingley 2008
20 (-1) Sourav Ganguly Ind 674 42.71 713 v Aus at Adelaide 1999

Bowlers

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave Econ HS Rating
1 ( - ) M.Muralidaran SL 897 21.95 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 864 22.51 897 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2008
3 ( - ) Stuart Clark Aus 863*! 21.46 863 v WI at Bridgetown 2008
4 ( - ) Brett Lee Aus 794 29.58 811 v WI at Antigua 2008
5 ( - ) Ryan Sidebottom Eng 761* 25.27 769 v SA at Lord's 2008
6 ( - ) Makhaya Ntini SA 736 28.31 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
7 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 709 29.09 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
8 ( - ) Anil Kumble Ind 708 29.06 859 v SL at Bangalore 1994
9 ( - ) Shoaib Akhtar Pak 684 25.69 855 v NZ at Wellington 2003
10 ( - ) Shane Bond NZ 668* 22.39 778 v WI at Auckland 2006
11 ( - ) Monty Panesar Eng 641 32.27 721 v WI at Chester-le-St 2007
12 ( - ) Jerome Taylor WI 628*! 34.69 628 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
13 ( - ) Corey Collymore WI 621* 32.30 700 v Eng at Lord's 2007
14= ( - ) Zaheer Khan Ind 619 33.60 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007
( - ) Mohammad Asif Pak 619* 23.13 710 v SA at Cape Town 2007
16 ( - ) Danish Kaneria Pak 614 33.90 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
17 (+1) Harbhajan Singh Ind 608 31.03 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
18 (-1) Matthew Hoggard Eng 606 30.50 795 v SL at Edgbaston 2006
19= (+1) Daniel Vettori NZ 591 34.43 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000
( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 591 32.24 810 v Pak at Multan 2005

All-rounders

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating
1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 467 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 324 360 v Eng at Lord's 2008
3 (+1) Dwayne Bravo WI 295 /*! 295 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
4= (+1) Chaminda Vaas SL 294 300 v WI at Guyana 2008
(-1) Andrew Flintoff Eng 294 501 v Pak at Multan 2005

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

ICC and ECB reaffirm support of mandatory release of Associate players for international matches and respect for FTP events

Dubai, 22 July 2008

The ICC and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today reaffirmed their support for the mandatory release of top Associate players from county cricket duty to take part in international matches and the priority of FTP events.

This followed discussions and correspondence between ICC President David Morgan and new ICC Chief Executive Officer Haroon Lorgat with Giles Clarke, the ECB Chairman, and ECB Chief Executive David Collier.

“The full commitment of the ECB to work with counties to support the ICC Board’s mandatory release policy for Associate players is great news and very welcome,” said Mr Morgan.

“It will help to ensure that when the top Associates have ODIs against Full Members or compete in next month’s ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Belfast they have their top players available.

“In terms of the ICC WT20 Qualifier, that will make sure the best teams reach next year’s event, rather than the teams with the most top players available on that weekend in August, something that will then have a knock-on effect of enhancing next year’s event.

“And with all county-contracted players available for a ODI against Full Members it will make the Associate side that much more competitive, making for a worthwhile experience for that Full Member as well as a great career-enhancing one for all the Associate players, even those playing regular county cricket.

“After all, runs or wickets against a top ODI team will obviously stand any player in good stead moving forward.”

Mr Clarke said: “The ECB recognizes that nation versus nation is the lifeblood of cricket and its integrity must be protected at all costs

“One way of protecting that integrity is by ensuring that the top Associate players currently playing county cricket are available for their countries in all their mandatory commitments with Full Members and in prestigious events such as the ICC WT20 Qualifier. The ICC further recognises that this must also embrace and enforce the priority of all FTP events and ECB welcomes that position.

“Whilst we recognize the individual choice of players we will continue to proactively remind counties of their mandatory obligations in this regard and this will help to ensure our strong sport grows ever stronger,” he added.

The summary of the ICC’s position on this matter is as follows:

The ICC’s Executive Board has stressed that the concept of nation-versus-nation cricket is the lifeblood of members and this must always be given the highest possible priority

It has further agreed that all parties compromise or fail to protect this belief at their peril

This stance applies to all ICC Members

The ICC has a Player Release Policy that counties/states/provinces must provide mandatory release for Associates players for certain matches including all ODIs against Full Members and the upcoming WT20 Qualifier event. This policy was first adopted by all Full Members in February 2005 and also goes on to encourage release for other matches, including the ICC Intercontinental Cup

The ICC and its Members have been disappointed and concerned that the Player Release Policy has thus far not always been able to achieve its express aim of ensuring that Associates are at full strength for vital international matches. This has been unfortunate. The idea that an Associate Member is not at full strength when playing an ODI against a Full Member that is at full strength does not match the ICC’s development objectives and is obviously not good for the development of the game

The ICC’s significant investment in the globalisation of the game across all of its 104 Members, and especially in regard to targeted assistance to the High Performance Associate Members, means that the nation-versus-nation priority principle must stand and that the aims of the Player Release Policy must be achieved

The ICC would like to see all counties/states/provinces take a public and private position that a) players’ careers would benefit greatly from representing their countries in such matches and events, b) those players’ developing or on-going careers would not be adversely affected in any way by missing county/state/province matches for those internationals and c) performances in such matches – especially those against Full Members – would be held in even higher regard than performances in domestic cricket

The ICC would like to see all relevant players and their clubs support the position as all of the above is in the best interests of the sport

The ICC WT20 Qualifier takes place in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 2 – 5 August.

The tournament involves the top six Associate sides – Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, the Netherlands and Scotland – going head-to-head for three places in the ICC WT20 2009 in the UK next June.

After that tournament Scotland plays a ODI against England on 18 August, eight days later Bermuda plays a ODI against the West Indies in Canada and then two days after that there is a ODI tri-series between Bermuda, Canada and the West Indies, again in Canada.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE