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

India aims high in Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table

Dubai, 21 July 2008

India will be looking to regain second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship when its goes head to head with Sri Lanka in a three-Test series starting in Colombo from Wednesday.

India is currently ranked third behind Australia and South Africa while Sri Lanka is another couple of places back, behind fourth-placed England .

But that line-up could all change depending how the India – Sri Lanka and England – South Africa series pan out.

These are the potential scenarios:

· To regain second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table, India needs to sweep the series and hope South Africa wins its series in England 2-1. That will leave India on 118 and South Africa on 116.

· If India wins 2-1 and South Africa also wins by the same margin, Anil Kumble’s side will reduce the gap with the Proteas to just one ratings point, 116 to 115.

· A shared series in Sri Lanka while South Africa wins its series in England 2-1 will mean India will have 112 ratings points, compared to South Africa’s 116. It will also mean Sri Lanka swaps places with Michael Vaughan’s side.

· If Sri Lanka wins its series 2-0 and South Africa beats England 2-1, Sri Lanka (110) will leapfrog both India (108) and England (104) into third place.

· Identical 3-0 wins for Sri Lanka and South Africa will leave India on 106 and England on 102 while Sri Lanka (112) will move to third and South Africa (119) will be in second place.

· If Sri Lanka beats India 2-1, it will rise to 108 ratings points while India will drop to 109 points

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, Sri Lanka ’s Kumar Sangakkara is on top of the chart. He will be aiming to return to the 900-point mark he first achieved last year against England in Kandy .

In ranking terms, 900 points marks out a player as truly great. Only 24 players have achieved that tally in the 131 years of Tests.

Sangakkara is only just ahead of second-placed Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies , which means a disappointing series could see him lose the top position he has held since March this year.

Mahela Jayawardena is the other batsman from either side to figure in the top 10 list. He currently sits in ninth position with eighth-placed Australia ’s Matthew Hayden firmly in his sights.

No India batsman figures in the top 10 list but there are five of them inside the top 20 – Sachin Tendulkar (13th), Rahul Dravid (15th), Virender Sehwag (18th), Sourav Ganguly (19th) and VVS Laxman (20th).

Sri Lanka ’s iconic spinner Muttiah Muralidaran leads the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers. The 36-year-old from Kandy is Test cricket’s highest wicket-taker with 735 victims and has been occupying the top spot since February 2006.

Chaminda Vaas, in seventh place, is the other Sri Lanka bowler in the top 10 while India captain Anil Kumble is just behind Vaas, in eighth position.

Zaheer Khan (14th) and Harbhajan Singh (18th) have excellent opportunities to make upward moves. Also eyeing improvements in their currently positions are R.P Singh (40th), Munaf Patel (47th) and Ishant Sharma (53rd).

In the all-rounder listing, Jacques Kallis of South Africa remains top, clear of Daniel Vettori of New Zealand , with Vaas in fifth spot and Kumble and Sehwag in 10th and 11th positions respectively.

Series schedule:

23-27 July – first Test, SSC, Colombo
31 July-4 August – second Test, Galle
8-12 August – third Test, RPS, Colombo

LG ICC Test Championship (as of 21 July, before the start of Sri Lanka – India series)

Rank Team Rating

1 Australia 138
2 South Africa 115
3 India 113
4 England 106
5 Sri Lanka 103
6 Pakistan 100
7 New Zealand 83
8 West Indies 81
9 Bangladesh 0

Note: Zimbabwe has a rating of 12 but has not played sufficient number of Test matches over the new rating period to be included on the main table.

Reliance Mobile ICC Test Rankings (as of 21 July and prior to the conclusion of England – South Africa Test being played in Headingley, Leeds )

Batsmen

Rank Player Team Points Avge 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 Jacques Kallis SA 844 56.59 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
7 Kevin Pietersen Eng 837 51.00 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
8 Matthew Hayden Aus 834 53.51 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002
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 714 48.73 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
13= Ian Bell Eng 704! 44.28 704 v SA at Lord's 2008
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 Andrew Strauss Eng 685 42.30 769 v SA at Johannesburg 2005
18 Virender Sehwag Ind 681 51.75 854 v SA at Kolkata 2004
19 Sourav Ganguly Ind 674 42.71 713 v Aus at Adelaide 1999
20 VVS Laxman Ind 672 43.82 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004

Bowlers

Rank Player Team Points Avge HS Rating

1 M.Muralidaran SL 897 21.95 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 Dale Steyn SA 867 22.38 897 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 769*! 25.27 769 v SA at Lord's 2008
6 Makhaya Ntini SA 743 28.23 863 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 640 32.58 721 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 Matthew Hoggard Eng 612 30.50 795 v SL at Edgbaston 2006
18 Harbhajan Singh Ind 608 31.03 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
19 Andrew Flintoff Eng 597 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
20 Daniel Vettori NZ 591 34.43 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000

All-rounders

Rank Player Team Points HS Rating

1 Jacques Kallis SA 464 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 Daniel Vettori NZ 324 360 v Eng at Lord's 2008
3 Andrew Flintoff Eng 296 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
4 Dwayne Bravo WI 295*! 295 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
5 Chaminda Vaas SL 294 300 v WI at Guyana 2008

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

India aims high in Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table

Dubai, 21 July 2008

India will be looking to regain second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship when its goes head to head with Sri Lanka in a three-Test series starting in Colombo from Wednesday.

India is currently ranked third behind Australia and South Africa while Sri Lanka is another couple of places back, behind fourth-placed England .

But that line-up could all change depending how the India – Sri Lanka and England – South Africa series pan out.

These are the potential scenarios:

· To regain second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table, India needs to sweep the series and hope South Africa wins its series in England 2-1. That will leave India on 118 and South Africa on 116.

· If India wins 2-1 and South Africa also wins by the same margin, Anil Kumble’s side will reduce the gap with the Proteas to just one ratings point, 116 to 115.

· A shared series in Sri Lanka while South Africa wins its series in England 2-1 will mean India will have 112 ratings points, compared to South Africa’s 116. It will also mean Sri Lanka swaps places with Michael Vaughan’s side.

· If Sri Lanka wins its series 2-0 and South Africa beats England 2-1, Sri Lanka (110) will leapfrog both India (108) and England (104) into third place.

· Identical 3-0 wins for Sri Lanka and South Africa will leave India on 106 and England on 102 while Sri Lanka (112) will move to third and South Africa (119) will be in second place.

· If Sri Lanka beats India 2-1, it will rise to 108 ratings points while India will drop to 109 points

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, Sri Lanka ’s Kumar Sangakkara is on top of the chart. He will be aiming to return to the 900-point mark he first achieved last year against England in Kandy .

In ranking terms, 900 points marks out a player as truly great. Only 24 players have achieved that tally in the 131 years of Tests.

Sangakkara is only just ahead of second-placed Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies , which means a disappointing series could see him lose the top position he has held since March this year.

Mahela Jayawardena is the other batsman from either side to figure in the top 10 list. He currently sits in ninth position with eighth-placed Australia ’s Matthew Hayden firmly in his sights.

No India batsman figures in the top 10 list but there are five of them inside the top 20 – Sachin Tendulkar (13th), Rahul Dravid (15th), Virender Sehwag (18th), Sourav Ganguly (19th) and VVS Laxman (20th).

Sri Lanka ’s iconic spinner Muttiah Muralidaran leads the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers. The 36-year-old from Kandy is Test cricket’s highest wicket-taker with 735 victims and has been occupying the top spot since February 2006.

Chaminda Vaas, in seventh place, is the other Sri Lanka bowler in the top 10 while India captain Anil Kumble is just behind Vaas, in eighth position.

Zaheer Khan (14th) and Harbhajan Singh (18th) have excellent opportunities to make upward moves. Also eyeing improvements in their currently positions are R.P Singh (40th), Munaf Patel (47th) and Ishant Sharma (53rd).

In the all-rounder listing, Jacques Kallis of South Africa remains top, clear of Daniel Vettori of New Zealand , with Vaas in fifth spot and Kumble and Sehwag in 10th and 11th positions respectively.

Series schedule:

23-27 July – first Test, SSC, Colombo
31 July-4 August – second Test, Galle
8-12 August – third Test, RPS, Colombo

LG ICC Test Championship (as of 21 July, before the start of Sri Lanka – India series)

Rank Team Rating

1 Australia 138

2 South Africa 115

3 India 113

4 England 106

5 Sri Lanka 103

6 Pakistan 100

7 New Zealand 83

8 West Indies 81

9 Bangladesh 0


Reliance Mobile ICC Test Rankings (as of 21 July and prior to the conclusion of England – South Africa Test being played in Headingley, Leeds )

Batsmen

Rank Player Team Points Avge 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 Jacques Kallis SA 844 56.59 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007

7 Kevin Pietersen Eng 837 51.00 909 v WI at Headingley 2007

8 Matthew Hayden Aus 834 53.51 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002

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 714 48.73 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004

13= Ian Bell Eng 704! 44.28 704 v SA at Lord's 2008

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 Andrew Strauss Eng 685 42.30 769 v SA at Johannesburg 2005

18 Virender Sehwag Ind 681 51.75 854 v SA at Kolkata 2004

19 Sourav Ganguly Ind 674 42.71 713 v Aus at Adelaide 1999

20 VVS Laxman Ind 672 43.82 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004

Bowlers

Rank Player Team Points Avge HS Rating

1 M.Muralidaran SL 897 21.95 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007

2 Dale Steyn SA 867 22.38 897 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 769*! 25.27 769 v SA at Lord's 2008

6 Makhaya Ntini SA 743 28.23 863 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 640 32.58 721 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 Matthew Hoggard Eng 612 30.50 795 v SL at Edgbaston 2006

18 Harbhajan Singh Ind 608 31.03 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002

19 Andrew Flintoff Eng 597 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005

20 Daniel Vettori NZ 591 34.43 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000

All-rounders

Rank Player Team Points HS Rating



1 Jacques Kallis SA 464 616 v Pak at Durban 2002

2 Daniel Vettori NZ 324 360 v Eng at Lord's 2008

3 Andrew Flintoff Eng 296 501 v Pak at Multan 2005

4 Dwayne Bravo WI 295*! 295 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008

5 Chaminda Vaas SL 294 300 v WI at
Guyana 2008

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

July 20, 2008

Football :

Rakhal Memorial Shield knock-out football tournament will be starts from August 01 next. Nine teams will participate in this tournament.
Fixture :
August 01 : Nine Bullets Vs Forward Club.
August 02 : Tripura Police Vs Tripura Sports School.
August 03 : Rest day.
August 04 : Ageya Cholo Sangha Vs Nobodoy Sangha.
August 05 : Reat day.
August 06 : SAI SAG Vs Birendra Club.
August 07 : Lalbadhur Vyamagar Vs winner of August 01 match.
August 08 : First Semi-final.
August 09 : Second Semi-final.
August 10 : Rest day.
August 11 : Final.

Domestic First Division League Football tournament will starts from August 14 next. Seven teams will participate in this league cum super league tournament.
First match : Ageya Cholo Sangha Vs Birendar Club.

Soroj Sangha beat Tripura Sports School by 2-0 goals in the domestic Second Division Super League Football tournament today.

School Sports :
School Games Federation of India (SGFI) and Ministry of Youth Affairs ans Sports Government of India jointly identified a talents list from the participation in the 53rd National School Games with a target for better performance of Indian teams in the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games & Olympics etc. Now the selection list will be sent to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for further action. Seven sports talents were included in this list. They are – Manu Debbarma (Swimming), Prasenjit Biswas (Judo), Prasenta Debnath, Dipa Karmakar, Amrita Shil, Sharmistha Malakar and Ruma Sarkar (all from Gymnastics).

Statement following security briefing on ICC Champions Trophy 2008

Dubai, 20 July 2008

Sunday saw representatives of the eight teams participating in the ICC Champions Trophy 2008, as well as representatives of the ICC’s Broadcast Partner ESPN STAR Sports and various player representatives, receive a security briefing on the situation inside Pakistan, the tournament host.

The briefing, which took place in Dubai, was delivered by the ICC’s security consultants and took in arrangements during the recently-concluded Asia Cup.

The meeting also heard from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on its plans for dealing with security both in the lead-up to and during the ICC Champions Trophy.

While there was recognition the PCB had gone to great lengths to provide a high level of security during the Asia Cup and would do so again during the ICC Champions Trophy, concerns were expressed about the potential for threats beyond the PCB’s control.

These concerns will now be taken to the ICC Board during the course of this week with the Board then arriving at a definitive decision on the location of this year’s ICC Champions Trophy.

Until or unless the Board decides otherwise, the tournament will proceed in Pakistan.

The ICC Champions Trophy, due to take place in September, involves the top eight ODI sides playing 15 matches in a short, sharp tournament with two groups of four teams, semi-finals and a final.

Australia is the defending champions after beating the West Indies in the final of the 2006 event Mumbai, India.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

July 19, 2008

Boxing :

TOP STORY
Famous coach and sports organizer of Tripura Rupak Debroy nominated observer of Indian Boxing team for Beijing Olympics 2008.

Cricket :
Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) will build up an International Cricket Stadium at Polytechnic Ground very soon. Tripura Government handed over this ground to TCA for 20 years lease soon.

Kho-Kho :
State Level Sub-junior Kho-Kho championship will be held at Kamalnagar High School, Boxanagar from August 25-26 next.

Footbal :

Inter State Transfer (Clearance)
Nine Bullets Club : Vannunmawia Vanchhawng

School Sports :

Tripura finished 16th position in the National School Games last year (2007-08). It was published by School Games Federation of India (SGFI). Tripura bagged 31 medals and upgraded from 26th position (2006-07) to 16th last year.

Agartala SAG :

Selected players for Special Area Games (SAG) Agartala Center
Athletics : Prasenjit Datta, Mubarak Hussein, Mithun Sarkar, Rajan Saha, Amjad Hussein, Ferdous Begam, Jafar Ali, Amir Khan Bhuiya, Jiten Debbarma, Priya Dey, Bipula Chakma, Sanjit Chakma.
Football : Surajit Debbarma, Ajoy Jamatia, Anjan Pal, Dhiro Debbarma, Remruat Puia, Diba Jamatia, Vannei Sanga Darlong, Binod Jamatia, Braja Kishor Jamatia, Buddha Debbarma, Keshab Paul, Ranjan Sarkar, Liton Chakraborty, James Reang, Debraj Jamatia.
Swimming : Akkash Mia, Saddam Hussein Podder, Maman Das, Jahanara Begam.
Judo : Pradip Chakma, Bijoy Saha, Prasenjit Biswash, Abu Sayed.
Gymnastic : Ruma Sarkar, Nandita Shil, Amrita Shil.

Sports News

July 18, 2008

Football :
Tripura Sports School beat Blood Mouth Club by 2-0 goals in the domestic Second Division Super League Football tournament.

Tripura will play against Orissa on August 09 and Karnataka August 11 in the National Sub-junior Girls Football tournament for Under-17 girls at Haldiayani, Uttaranchal. Selection trial for Tripura will starts from July 22 next.

Inter State Transfer (Clearance)
Nine Bullets Club : Vannunmawia Vanchhawng

Cricket :
Fitness training camp for women cricketers will be starts from July 25 next. Altogether 29 cricketers were selected for 15 days camp.

Zonal Fixtures :
Vijoy Merchant Trophy (undr-16) three days East Zone tournament
November 20-22 : Tripura – Assam (Guwahati)
November 25-27 : Tripura – Sikkam (Gangtok)
November 30-December22 : Tripura – Jharkhanda (Jharkhanda)
December 05-07 : Tripura – Bengal (Agartala)
December 10-12 : Tripura – Orissa (Agartala)
December 15-17 : Tripura – Manipur (Agartala)

Vinoo Manked Trophy (undr-19) one day East Zone tournament
October 20 : Tripura – Assam
October 22 : Tripura – Bengal
October 24 : Tripura – Sikkim
October 26 : Tripura – Jharkhanda
October 28 : Tripura – Orissa
All matches will be held in Kolkata.

Cooch Behar Trophy (undr-19) four days Zonal tournament
Plate Group - B
November 20-25 : Tripura – Hyderabad
November 28-December 01 : Tripura – Railways
December 04-07 : Tripura – Goa
December 10-13 : Tripura – Madhyapradesh
December 16-19 : Tripura – Gujrat
All matches will be held in Kolkata.

C. K. Nayudu Trophy (undr-22) four days East Zone tournament
October 23-26 : Tripura – Sikkim (Gangtok)
October 30-November 02 : Tripura – Orissa (Agartala)
November 06-09 : Tripura – Jharkhanda (Agartala)
November 13-16 : Tripura – Bengal (Agartala)
November 20-23 : Tripura – Assam (Agartala)

Vijoy Hazare Trophy (Inter State Limited Over) All India Knock-out tournament for seniors
(two teams for each zone)
February 28 : Pre-quarter Finals
March 02 : Two Quarter Finals
March 04 : Two Quarter Finals
March 06 : Semi Finals
March 09 : Final
All matches will be held in Agartala.

Poly Umrigarh Trophy (under 16) Tournament
Inter School Poly Umrigarh Trophy (under 16) Zonal Matches to be held from October 01 to 20 next. Date and Venues shall be finalized later on.

Chess :
Saini Das finished fifth position in School Chess Tournament in Dhaka. Ashim Roy clinched seventh position in boys section.

School Sports :
Tripura will attend following National School tournament this year (2008-09).
Fixture :
November 01-06 : Goa – Football (Under-17, Boys & Girls).
November last week : Hydrabad – Chess (Under-14, 17, 19 Boys & Girls).
December first week : Vishakapattanam – Badminton (Under-14, 17, 19 Boys & Girls).
December first week : Portblair (A&N) – Football (Under-19 Boys).
December third week : Chandigarh– Table Tennis (Under-14, 17, 19 Boys & Girls).
December 23-28 : New Delhi – Yoga (Under-14, 17, 19 Boys & Girls), Kabaddi (Under
17 Boys & Girls), Handball (Under-17 Boys & Girls).
December last week : Nelloer (AP) – Hockey (Under-17 Boys).
January 07-11 : Kochi (TN) – Athletics (Under-14, 17, 19 Boys & Girls).
Date not final : Panjub – Basketball (Under-17 Boys & Girls), Judo (Under 14,
17, 19 Boys & Girls), Weight Lifting (Under-17, 19 Boys & Girls).
Date not final : Delhi – Subrata Mukharjee Football (Under-17 Boys).
Date not final : Kolkata – Kho-Kho (Under-17 Boys & Girls), Volleyball (Under
17 Boys & Girls).
Date not final : Maharastra – Swimming (Under- 14,17, 19 Boys & Girls).
Date not final : Not yet decided – Gymnastic (Under- 14,17, 19 Boys & Girls).

Lockhart and Nel ensure Scots take control

Dubai , 17 July 2008

Scotland took a commanding lead on day two of the ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Canada at King City , Ontario .

An imperious 151 from Dougie Lockhart made sure the visitors reached its total of 374 and then Ross Lyons and Dewald Nel reduced the Canadians to 79 all out. Nel took four wickets and Lyons three as only Sunil Dhaniram (17) put up any kind of defence in the face of the Scotland attack.

Fraser Watts instructed Canada to bat again and, following on, the home side struggled to 36-2 at the close meaning the Scots could wrap up an inning victory on Friday if it bowls well in the second innings.

ICC Intercontinental Cup (day two)
At King City , Ontario
Toss: Scotland
SCOTLAND (first innings)
F Watts lbw b Katchay10
+D Lockhart c and b Dhaniram 151
Qasim Sheikh c Bhatti b Sami 92
R Berrington c Dhaniram b Shakir 17
N McCallum b Dhaniram 45
Omar Hussain c Bhatti b Ali 2
Majid Haq b Sami 30
G Drummond lbw Dhaniram 5
G Goudie lbw Ali 8
D Nel lbw Dhaniram 2
R Lyons not out 0
Extras (b 5, lb 4, nb 2, w 1) 12
TOTAL (all out, 130.5 overs) 374
Fall: 21, 194, 229,304, 311, 359, 361, 364, 374
Bowling: Katchay 28-10-56-1, Shakir 27-10-64-1, Dhaniram 23-4-61-4, Sami 18-1-94-2, Ali 22.5-6-55-2, Samad 4-0-12-0, Jyoti 4-0-12-0, Saad 4-0-11-0

CANADA
A Jabbar lbw Nel 0
S Jyoti c Sheikh b Goudie 8
R Bhatti c Goudie b Nel 4
Qasim Ali b Lyons 10
A Kandappah c Lockhart b Nel 9
A Samad b Nel 8
S Dhaniram lbw Lyons 17
Saad bin Zafar b Lyons 0
E Katchay b Majid 3
Sami Faridi not out 3
Shakir Mohammad run out 7
Extras (b 7, nb 3) 10
TOTAL (all out, 38.2 overs) 79
Fall: 0, 12, 12, 30, 39, 44, 63, 66, 66
Bowling: Nel 10-3-32-4, Goudie 4.2-17-1 Berrington 0.4-0-1-0, Drummond 7-3-5-0, Lyons 9-5-6-3, Haq 7.2-3-21-1

CANADA
A Jabbar c Lockhart b Nel 0
S Jyoti not out 9
R Bhatti b Drummond 20
Qasim Ali no tout 3
Extras (nb 4) 4
TOTAL (for 2, 18 overs) 36
Fall: 0, 30
Bowling: Nel -5-0-20-1, Drummond 7-3-10-1, Berrington 3-1-4-0, Lyons 2-1-1-0, Majid 1-0-1-0
To Bat: A Kandappah, A Samad, S Dhaniram, E Katchay, S bin Zafar, Muhammad Shakir, S Faridi

(Information provided by CricketEurope)

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.
ICC MEDIA RELEASE

CM demand for Assam Riffles ground

Saraju Chakraborty

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar demanded handing over the Assam Riffles ground in Agartala to the state government so that a sports stadium could be built there.

“We will build up a modern stadium here for our sports persons. If a stadium is built many tournaments can be held here,” Sarkar said in various occasions recently.

Earlier, so many competitions- national and state level were held in this ground. Former star sprinter like P. T. Usha, & Saini Abharam also attended national athletics meet here. Local Football and Cricket matches also took place regularly in this ground.

CM said, “We want to use only ground area. We have already placed our demand to Center. But it is quite surprising that nothing has been done by Central Government till today”.

Tripura Sports Council(TSC) also organized a rally and placed a demand letter to the Central Government through Assam Riffles officials recently for transfer of the ground. After that an enquiry was conducted by a Joint Secretary of the Union Home Ministry. However, there was no follow-up after that.

Disappointed by the Central Government’s inaction, chief Minister renewed his appeal to all sports loving people and sports organizations to raise their voice again so that Delhi can hear.

ICC confirms stakeholders to receive security briefing on ICC Champions Trophy 2008

Dubai, 17 July 2008

The ICC today confirmed representatives of all teams participating in the ICC Champions Trophy 2008 in Pakistan have been invited to Dubai to receive a security briefing on Sunday 20 July.

The timing of the briefing was agreed upon during the ICC’s annual conference week, in early July, to allow the ICC’s security consultants to provide a comprehensive report of arrangements at the Asia Cup. This was not possible previously as that tournament was still ongoing.

Representatives of the ICC’s Broadcast Partner ESPN STAR Sports and the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) have also been invited to attend.

Prior to the meeting the ICC will not indulge in speculation and, at this stage, the tournament will proceed in Pakistan, as scheduled.

It is anticipated that an ICC representative will be available for comment subsequent to the security briefing. Further details will be confirmed and released in due course.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

ICC announces revised schedule for ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier

Dubai, 17 July 2008

Includes third and fourth place play-off to cater for possibility of third team going forward to ICC WT20 2009

The ICC today announced the revised schedule for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier (WT20 Qualifier) in Belfast next month.

The tournament, involving the six leading Associate teams – Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, the Netherlands and Scotland – will now take place from 2 to 5 August, with a fourth day included to allow room for a third and fourth place play-off.

That additional fixture has become necessary because a third team will join the two finalists in next year’s tournament, providing Zimbabwe Cricket’s board ratifies Zimbabwe’s decision, taken during the ICC’s annual conference week, to step down from the ICC World Twenty20 2009*.

If that is confirmed then the winner of the Belfast event will take the place of Zimbabwe in the main draw, in Group A, alongside India and Bangladesh.

The losing finalist will take its place in Group B, alongside Pakistan and England and has the prospect of playing the opening match of the tournament, against the host team at Lord’s, London.

The winner of the third and fourth place play-off slots into Group D, with South Africa and New Zealand.

The format for the WT20 Qualifier takes in 11 matches over four days, with the six teams split into two groups based on the sides’ One-Day International rankings.

Group A is made up of Ireland, Scotland and Bermuda while Group B features Kenya, the Netherlands and Canada.

The first two days of the tournament, 2 and 3 August, features round-robin action with the top two sides from each group going forward to the semi-finals.

Those semi-finals will take place on day three, followed by the all-important third and fourth place play-off. A fifth and sixth place play-off – a second additional fixture to the original schedule – will get the fourth day off and running before being followed by the final.

ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier

Groupings (seeding in brackets)

Group A
Ireland (1)
Scotland (3)
Bermuda (6)

Group B
Kenya (2)
The Netherlands (4)
Canada (5)

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 World Twenty20 2009 - Men's tournament groups

Group A
India
Bangladesh
Zimbabwe/Associate 1 (Associate 1 will take this place providing Zimbabwe steps down)*

Group B
Pakistan
England
Associate 1/Associate 2 (Associate 2 will take this place providing Zimbabwe steps down and Associate 1 moves to Group A)*

Group C
Australia
Sri Lanka
West Indies

Group D
New Zealand
South Africa
Associate 2/Associate 3 (Associate 3 will take this place providing Zimbabwe steps down and Associate 2 moves to Group B)*

The ICC WT20 2009 takes place in the UK between 5 and 21 June 2009 and is made up of men’s and women’s tournaments running alongside each other.

The inaugural men’s ICC WT20 took place in South Africa in 2007 and was won by India, which Pakistan by five runs in the final in Johannesburg.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Top players look forward to ICC Women’s World Cup 2009

Dubai, 17 July 2008

Lisa Sthalekar: “A great chance to promote the game at the highest level”

Jhulan Goswami: “We’ve been waiting since 2005 – we want to be number one”

Charlotte Edwards: “We’re in a good position going into the tournament”

Haidee Tiffin: “It’s women’s cricket’s version of The Olympics”

Some of the world’s top women cricketers today looked forward with excitement to next year’s ICC Women’s World Cup in Australia.

The tournament features the top eight sides playing 25 matches at six venues throughout New South Wales over a 16-day period from 7 – 22 March 2009.

Australia is the defending champions after beating India in the 2005 final and its player of the year Lisa Sthalekar said an event of this kind, with at least six matches being televised by the ICC’s Official Broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports, will be the perfect shop window for the game.

“Events like these will enable women’s cricket to promote the game at the highest level,” she said. “The reason for this is that with at least six matches televised it will make the game more accessible to a wider audience.

“Thanks to this exposure it is only a matter of time before cricket will be competing with other high-profile women’s sports.

“Events like the ICC Women’s World Cup and the ICC World Twenty20 2009 (in the UK, with the men’s and women’s tournaments running side by side) are a wonderful opportunity for us to start showing our skills,” added Sthalekar.

India’s Jhulan Goswami, named the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards in September 2007 and a losing finalist in South Africa said: “I am looking forward to the ICC Women’s World Cup.

“After 2005 we have been waiting for it, we came in second and we want to be number one.

“Any sports person wants to participate in the World Cup, it is a dream for them, and I think it is the same for me. A World Cup in Australia is a big thing.”

England captain Charlotte Edwards said: “It’s going to be my fourth World Cup and being captain is going to make it even more special.

“It’s any captain’s dream to win a World Cup and the way we have played over the last twelve months puts us in a good position going into this one.

“A lot of the team has been playing together over the last four years or so, so we’re really gelling as a unit and it’s something that’s in the back of our minds as we go into these NatWest Women’s Series against South Africa and India.

“Playing the tournament in Australia makes it even more special, particularly the fact that it’s in Sydney, a city we all love. We honestly can’t wait to get out there and test ourselves against the best in the world.”

Haidee Tiffin, the New Zealand captain, said: “Everybody wants to be world champions and have that title against their names.

“It is an amazing experience to play at the World Cup – it is our version of The Olympics – and it is a great opportunity to showcase the game and show that it is a fantastic spectacle.

“I really expect that the competition will be fierce as everybody wants to do well, but having played at the World Cup before I know it is a chance to meet some wonderful people and play at some wonderful places.

“All the teams will have had to work hard for four years since the last event and there is great excitement ahead of the tournament.”

The Women’s World Cup has been running for longer than the men’s version and was first staged in England in 1973, when it was won by the hosts.

Since then there have been a further seven tournaments with Australia winning five of them (1978, 1982, 1988, 1997 & 2005), England winning once more (in 1993) and New Zealand triumphing in 2000.

The tournament has been staged twice each in England (1973 and 1993), India (1978 and 1997) and New Zealand (1982 and 2000) as well as Australia (1988) and South Africa (2005).




ICC MEDIA RELEASE

ICC announces fixtures and venues for ICC Women’s World Cup 2009

Dubai, 17 July 2008

The eight best teams at six venues over 16 days to decide the World Champions

At least six matches televised by ESPN STAR Sports

ICC President David Morgan: “This is the pinnacle of the women’s game, the best-of-the-best”

The ICC and Cricket Australia today confirmed the fixtures and schedule for next year’s ICC Women’s World Cup in Australia.

The tournament will see the world’s top eight teams compete at six venues across New South Wales in 16 days from 7 – 22 March 2009.

At least six of the event’s 25 matches will be broadcast by the ICC’s Official Broadcaster, ESPN STAR Sports. All of those broadcast matches, including the final, will take place at North Sydney Oval, a regular one-day venue for the New South Wales men’s team.

Australia is the defending champion after winning the event in South Africa in 2005 and it will begin its campaign with a trans-Tasman clash against New Zealand at North Sydney on 8 March.

Losing finalist in 2005, India, gets underway on the opening day of the tournament, against neighbours Pakistan at the Bradman Oval in Bowral, the same day that England start, against Sri Lanka at Manuka Oval in Canberra.

South Africa and the West Indies, the two other teams in the tournament, play each other in Newcastle on 8 March.

Five of the six venues – Bankstown, Bowral, Canberra, Newcastle and North Sydney – have already staged women’s one-day internationals. The other host ground in the tournament, Drummoyne, will host five matches.

The format sees the teams divided into two groups. The top six teams are seeded on the basis of their finishing positions in the 2005 tournament and they are joined by South Africa and Pakistan, the top two sides from the WWC Qualifier.

Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies and South Africa are in Group A while India, England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are in Group B.

The top three sides in each group go forward to the Super Six stage where each side then plays the teams to have qualified from the other group. The top two sides from the Super Six go forward to the final.

Next year’s ICC Women’s World Cup will be the ninth staging of an event that pre-dates the men’s ICC Cricket World Cup – the women’s version started in 1973, compared to the inaugural men’s tournament in 1975 – but it is the first to come under the control of the ICC following its merger with the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC) in 2005.

ICC President David Morgan said: “The ICC Women’s World Cup is the pinnacle of the women’s game.

“It is a best-of-the-best event that happens once every four years, it showcases all that is great about women’s cricket, and the ICC is delighted to have it under its umbrella for the first time.

“The profile it will have allows us to grow women’s cricket in the same way we have with the men’s game over several years, and we are already starting to see the benefit of the merger with the IWCC through ever-increasing coverage and the financial benefits for the top players that flow from that.

“The ICC’s partnership with ESPN STAR Sports should ensure that exposure and participation increases at all levels.”

ICC WWC Tournament Director Eugénie Buckley said: “Cricket Australia is looking forward to showcasing the global enthusiasm and interest that exists for the women’s game. We hope the successful staging of this tournament will increase the profile of our female cricketers and leave an enduring legacy.”

The Women’s World Cup has been running for longer than the men’s version and was first staged in England in 1973, when it was won by the hosts.

Since then there have been a further seven tournaments with Australia winning five of them (1978, 1982, 1988, 1997 & 2005), England winning once more (in 1993) and New Zealand triumphing in 2000.

The tournament has been staged twice each in England (1973 and 1993), India (1978 and 1997) and New Zealand (1982 and 2000) as well as Australia (1988) and South Africa (2005).



ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Lockhart leads Scots to strong position after day one

Dubai , 16 July 2008

Scotland has set itself up well on day one of the ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Canada at King City , Ontario , reaching stumps at 286-3.

It was not necessarily the most free-scoring of days but a 173-run partnership between Dougie Lockhart and Qasim Sheikh has really put the home side under pressure and the Canada players will know they will have to produce something special to turn it around.

Having dismissed captain and in-form batsman Fraser Watts for just 10, Canada would have felt it had a real chance but Lockhart and Qasim set about making sure that didn’t happen. Qasim eventually fell just eight runs short of would have been his maiden first-class century but Lockhart went on to reach three figures and ended the day unbeaten on 126.

It is the 32-year-old’s first century in first-class cricket and he now has a great chance to push on and make it a really big one.

Although Ritchie Berrington fell reasonably cheaply, Neil McCallum hung around with Lockhart and finished the day on 30 not out.

The Canadian bowling was tight with Eion Katchay bowling 22 overs for just 42 runs while also picking up the wicket of Watts . He was well supported by Shakir Mohammed and Sunil Dhaniram but the Scotland top order remained resolute in the face of their onslaught.

Day two promises to be a painful one for Canada unless it can take early wickets. With Lockhart and McCallum at the crease and with the likes of Omar Hussain, Majid Haq and George Drummond still to come, a big total could be on the cards for the away team.


ICC Intercontinental Cup (day one)
At King City , Ontario
Toss: Scotland
SCOTLAND (first innings)
F Watts lbw b Katchay10
+D Lockhart not out 126
Qasim Sheikh c Bhatti b Sami 92
R Berrington c Dhaniram b Shakir 17
N McCallum not out 30
Extras (b 4, lb 4, nb 2, w 1) 11
TOTAL (for 3, 96 overs) 286
Fall: 21, 194, 229
To Bat: Omar Hussain, Majid Haq, G Drummond, G Goudie, D Nel, R Lyons
Bowling: Katchay 22-7-42-1, Shakir 23-8-55-1, Dhaniram 10-1-36-0, Sami 14-1-73-1, Ali 15-5-37, Samad 4-0-12-0, Jyoti 4-0-12-0, Saad 4-0-11-0

Canada: S Jyoti, A Jabbar, +R Bhatti, *Qaiser Ali, A Kandappah, A Samad, S Dhaniram, Saad bin Zafar, E Katchay, Shakir Mohammed, Sami Faridi

(Information provided by CricketEurope)

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

July 16, 2008

Athletics :
TOP STORY
Tripura finished top with 63 medals including 32 Gold in the Second North East Junior Athletics Championship at Guwahati. In two days tournament, Tripura bagged 32 Gold, 19 Silver and 12 Bronze while host Assam managed second position with 19 Gold, 37 Silver and 27 Bronze. North Eastern sports power house Manipur took 13 Gold, 6 Silver and 4 Bronze and finished third position. Altogether 262 athletes’ from six North Eastern states and Sikkim were participating in this championship. Sahanara Begam and Chanki Tripura from under-18 and Pujaita Deb from under-14 section were selected as Best Athletes. It may be mention that Tripura bagged only 23 medals in the first edition of this championship in 2007.
Results :
Under-14 years :
Gold : Jitendra Debbarma (High Jump), Shima Debbarma (Long Jump), Sanjib Chakma (Long Jump), Prinaka Paul (600 mt. Run), Pujayata Dey (100 mt. run).
Silver : Pujayata Dey (Long Jump), Prasenjit Chakma (Long Jump), Amjad Hussein (600 Mt. Run), Sanjib Chakma (100 mt. run).
Bronze : Ripan Chowdhury (600 Mt. Run), Kripa Debbarma (100 mt. run).
Under-16 years :
Gold : Bhanu Pratap Das (High Jump), Amir Khan Baidya (Long Jump), Boby Begam (3000 mt. Run ), Middle Rely boys team, Pabindra Das (400 mt. Run).
Silver : Rekha Nama (Long Jump), Prasenjit Datta (800 Mt. Run), Rekha Nama (400 mt. Run), Parimal Malakar (1500 mt. Run).
Bronze : Sukkur Miah (200 mt. Run), Amir Khan Bhuiya (100 mt. Run).
Under-18 years :
Gold : Litan Debbarma (High Jump), Archna Shukla Das (Hige Jump), Santana Das (Long Jump), Chanki Tripura (Long Jump), Anjana Sarkar (800 mt. Run), Sahanara Begam (200 mt. Run), Nayantara Majumder (200 mt. Run), Shibani Chanda (3000 mt. Run), Middle Rely boys team, Middle Rely girls team, 4X100 mt. rely girls team, Archna Shukla Das (100 mt. hurdle), Chanki Tripura (110 mt. hurdle), Ranjit Debnath (400 mt. run), Nayantara Majumder (400 mt. run), Shibani Chanda (1500 mt. run), Arpita Malakar (Shot Put).
Silver : Bikash Debbarma (Shot Put), Santana Das (100 mt. tun).
Bronze : Amarash Debbarma (200 Mt. Run), Prabindra Das (5000 Mt. Run ), Bikash Debbarma (Discus), Rajesh Debbarma (Triple Jump), Ranjit Debnath (100 mt. run).
Under-20 years :
Gold : Ranjana Singha (800 Mt. run), Iti Debnath (Long Jump), Firoj Miah (800 Mt. run), Sahanara Begam (400 mt. run), Firoj Miha (1500 mt. run), Iti Debnath (100 mt. run).
Silver : Rekha Nama (Long Jump), Jahar Miah (800 Mt. Run), Kishor Saha (200 Mt. Run), Shukla Dey (200 Mt. Run), 4X100 mt. rely boys team, Ranjana Singha (400 mt. run), Jahar Miah (400 mt. run), Kishor Saha (100 mt. run), Shukla Das (100 mt. run), 4X400 mt. rely boys team.
Bronze : Tutan Malakar (Shot Put).

Football :
Soroj Sangha beat Town Club by 5-0 goals in the domestic Second Division Super League Football tournament today. Debasish Harijan scored hat-trick.

Inter State Footballers for 2008 (Clearance)
Nine Bullets Club : Aron Iae Cole (Liberian), Shahid Rahim, Dipak Kumar.
Ageya Cholo Sangha : Joydeep Debnath, Tapan Das, Imtayaj Kasam, Sajal Shil, Saijil Ali, Sukur Ali Mondal, Suchibrata Hait, Rajesh Pashi, Sukalpa Mondal,
Lalbahadur Vyamagar : Raju Roy.
Forward Club : L. Pramchad Sing, Haricharan Amujam, P. Kishan Sing, Joseph Homar, L. Rabi Sing, T. Jiban Sing, Md. Riaj Khan.

ICC announces umpire and referee appointments for Sri Lanka v India Test and ODI series

Dubai, 16 July 2008

The ICC today announced details of umpire and match referee appointments for the upcoming Test and ODI series between Sri Lanka and India.

The three-Test series will be overseen by Alan Hurst of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees. The series opener at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, which gets underway on 23 July, will be officiated by Mark Benson and Billy Doctrove of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires.

Doctrove will be joined by Rudi Koertzen also of the Elite Panel for the second Test in Galle that begins on 31 July. Benson and Koertzen will stand in the third and final Test starting at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo starting on 8 August.

The series will see the umpire decision review system trialed with Koertzen the TV umpire in the first Test while Benson and Doctrove will fill the role in the second and third Tests respectively.

The system will see the fielding and batting sides allowed three unsuccessful appeals to the umpire per innings to change a decision if it is perceived to have been incorrect.

These appeals can be made only by the batsman in receipt of the umpire’s original decision or the captain of the fielding side, in both cases by the player making a “T” sign with both forearms at shoulder height.

The on-field umpire will consult with the TV umpire, who will review available television coverage of the incident before relaying fact-based information back to his colleague.

The on-field umpire will then deliver his decision either by raising his finger to indicate “out” or by crossing his hands in a horizontal position side to side in front and above his waist three times – as per a “safe” decision by an official in baseball.

At the conclusion of the Test series, Hurst will hand over to Chris Board, also of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, for the ODI series that runs from 18 – 29 July to be umpired by Doctrove and Sri Lanka Cricket local appointees.

Please note: The umpire decision review system trial will apply to the Test series only and will not be in place for the ODI series that follows.

Test series match referee – Alan Hurst
23-27 July – Sri Lanka v India, SSC, Colombo – Mark Benson and Billy Doctrove, TV Umpire - Rudi Koertzen
31 July-4 August – Sri Lanka v India, Galle – Billy Doctrove, Rudi Koertzen, TV Umpire - Mark Benson
8-12 August – Sri Lanka v India, R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo – Rudi Koertzen and Mark Benson, TV Umpire – Billy Doctrove

ODI series match referee – Chris Broad
18 August – Sri Lanka v India, Dambulla – Billy Doctrove and local appointment
20 August - Sri Lanka v India, Dambulla – Billy Doctrove and local appointment
24 August - Sri Lanka v India, R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo – Billy Doctrove and local appointment
26 August - Sri Lanka v India, R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo – Billy Doctrove and local appointment
29 August - Sri Lanka v India, R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo – Billy Doctrove and local appointment

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Bell rings the changes in Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings

Dubai, 15 July 2008

England right-hander now at career-best 13th in listing; Pietersen up to seventh spot

Steyn misses chance to go top of bowling ladder but Morkel into top 50; Anderson on brink of top 20 placing

Prince, MacKenzie and Amla all close to top 20 slots in the batting list

How the series result will affect the Reliance Mobile Test Championship table

Ian Bell has chimed into the top 20 of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.

The England right-hander rattled off a Test-best 199 in the drawn encounter with South Africa at Lord’s and that has seen him climb nine spots in the rankings to 13th place, alongside Sachin Tendulkar of India.

It is his highest-ever ranking and it means England now has three batsmen in the top 20 listings.

Highest-placed of the trio is Kevin Pietersen, whose 152 has seen him rise three spots to seventh position, his highest placing this year.

The other England player among that elite group is opener Andrew Strauss, slotting in at 17th in the list, a drop of one place for the left-hander.

South Africa still retains the top ranked batsman among the two sides, Jacques Kallis in sixth position, but the gap between him and Pietersen is a small one and there is every chance of the two swapping places if they repeat their Lord’s performances in the second match, at Headingley, starting on Friday.

Indeed, there is every chance of a ding-dong battle between the duo during the rest of this series to decide which of them is placed higher in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings come the end of the fourth Test at The Oval.

Captain Graeme Smith, a centurion in the Lord’s Test with 107, is the other Proteas player among the top 20 batsmen, in 12th position, but he and Kallis could soon be joined by three team-mates.

Ashwell Prince, Neil McKenzie and Hashim Amla were all hundred-makers in London and they now sit in 21st, 24th and 26th positions respectively.

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 position.

Dale Steyn has missed an opportunity to topple Muttiah Muralidaran from the head of the Reliance Mobile Player Rankings for Test bowlers.

Steyn started the Lord’s Test within touching distance of the peak after an outstanding run of form but figures of 1-117 in the Test means he has slipped back and is now only just clear of Australia’s Stuart Clark, who occupies third position.

Ryan Sidebottom remains England’s highest-placed bowler, climbing one position to fifth slot, overtaking Makhaya Ntini (0-130 at Lord’s) in the process.

Monty Panesar holds firm in eleventh place while Andrew Flintoff, recalled to the England squad for the second Test, may well have a chance to improve on his 19th spot.

Just outside that top 20, England’s James Anderson continues to climb, up four places to 22nd position while further down the list, South Africa quick Morne Morkel has broken into the top 50 for the first time, up 10 places to 46th place after taking 4-121.

In the all-rounder listing, Kallis remains top, clear of Daniel Vettori of New Zealand, but the South African may start to feel some pressure from third-placed Flintoff if the England man is selected in the final eleven for the Headingley Test.

The remaining matches in Test series between England and South Africa are as follows:

18 – 22 July – second Test, Headingley, Leeds

30 July – 3 August – third Test, Edgbaston, Birmingham

7 – 11 August – Fourth Test, The Oval, London

LG ICC Test Championship (for series completed up to 1 August 2006, table updates at the end of each series)

Rank Team Rating

1 Australia 138
2 South Africa 115
3 India 113
4 England 106
5 Sri Lanka 103
6 Pakistan 100
7 New Zealand 83
8 West Indies 81
9 Bangladesh 0

* Figures in brackets denote positions and ratings of teams prior to the annual update

Note 1: Zimbabwe has a rating of 19 but has not played sufficient Tests over the period covered to be ranked on the main table

Possible series permutations:

To retain second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table, South Africa needs to avoid defeat in the series against England.

If England wins the series 1-0 or 2-1, then India and South Africa will swap places.

A win for England by 2-0, 3-1 or 3-0 will leave India second, but see England go third, with South Africa slipping back to fourth.

If the series is tied, South Africa and India would be level on 113 points but the Proteas would retain second place when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

If England wins 1-0 or 2-1, it would be locked with South Africa on 110 points but, again, South Africa would be the side placed higher in the table, again when the rating is calculated past the decimal point. This scenario would see India in second place.


Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen and bowlers (as of 17 June)

Batsmen

Rank +/- Player Team Points Avge 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
( - ) Mohammad Yousuf Pak 880 55.49 933 v WI at Karachi 2006
6 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 844 56.59 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
7 (+3) Kevin Pietersen Eng 837 51.00 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
8 (-1) Matthew Hayden Aus 834 53.51 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002
9 (-1) M.Jayawardena SL 810 51.93 844 v WI at Guyana 2008
10 (-1) Younis 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 714 48.73 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
13= (+9) Ian Bell Eng 704! 44.28 704 v SA at Lord's 2008
( - ) S.R.Tendulkar Ind 704 55.31 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
15 (-1) Rahul Dravid Ind 701 54.88 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
16 (-1) Andrew Symonds Aus 700* 44.65 718 v WI at Antigua 2008
17 (-1) Andrew Strauss Eng 685 42.30 769 v SA at Johannesburg 2005
18 (-1) Virender Sehwag Ind 681 51.75 854 v SA at Kolkata 2004
19 (-1) Sourav Ganguly Ind 674 42.71 713 v Aus at Adelaide 1999
20 (-1) VVS Laxman Ind 672 43.82 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004

Bowlers

Rank +/- Player Team Points Avge HS Rating

1 ( - ) M.Muralidaran SL 897 21.95 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 867 22.38 897 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 (+1) Ryan Sidebottom Eng 769*! 25.27 769 v SA at Lord's 2008
6 (-1) Makhaya Ntini SA 743 28.23 863 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 640 32.58 721 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 (+1) Danish Kaneria Pak 614 33.90 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
17 (-1) Matthew Hoggard Eng 612 30.50 795 v SL at Edgbaston 2006
18 ( - ) Harbhajan Singh Ind 608 31.03 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
19 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 597 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
20 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 591 34.43 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000

All-rounders

Rank +/- Player Team Points HS Rating

1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 464 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 324 360 v Eng at Lord's 2008
3 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 296 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
4 ( - ) Dwayne Bravo WI 295*! 295 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
5 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 294 300 v WI at Guyana 2008

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Scotland still hopeful of place in final after win over Bermuda

Dubai , 15 July 2008

Full points from game against Canada starting tomorrow can put pressure on top teams

Scotland has not lost hope of getting through to the final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup final after a resounding win over Bermuda in Hamilton .

The 2004 champion had been all but written off in this year’s competition after some disappointing early results. But securing the maximum 20 points in Bermuda has given the team a real boost and if it wins its last two games and other results go its way, it could yet make it through.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) Scotland goes head to head with Canada knowing that another maximum return is essential. And it is something in-form opening batsman Fraser Watts is focusing on. The 29-year-old scored 176 runs in the match against Bermuda and will be keen for that form to continue when he faces up to the Canadians in King City , Ontario .

“Things have been going well so far on this trip and we are keen to push on and get maximum points from our remaining two games in the competition,” said Watts, who hit innings of 93 and 83 in Bermuda .

“That was a good match, and the result was by no means a foregone conclusion, even on the final day. I believe our squad adapted well to the hot, dry conditions, and coped with everything the Bermudians could throw at us. Now we are looking to our game against Canada to put pressure on those countries at the top of the Intercontinental Cup table.

“It’s still possible for us to get through to the final and while it won’t be easy, we will be looking to make the teams above us on the table sweat a little bit,” he said.

Scotland coach Peter Steindl was also pleased with his side’s performance in Bermuda and he feels it has what it takes to take on last year’s beaten finalist in King City .

“We were not surprised to find the ball turning square out of the hands of Dwayne Leverock, and our own left-arm spinner (Ross Lyons) also had a good game,” said Steindl.

“But I was particularly pleased with the way our seamers also enjoyed success. It was a pleasure playing at such a well-appointed venue. We didn’t know what to expect in Bermuda because we had not been there before but it is a great place to play and the crowd really know their cricket.

“We are now thinking about Canada and the pitches there should suit our seam attack so if we can hit our right length I think we will be tough to beat. But Canada have some quality players so we know we’ll have to be at our best to beat them.

“At this stage, we have to get full points whenever we play so we’ll be going out there to attack and try to force victory at all times. A draw is no good us,” he said.

Despite a maiden first-class century from Steven Outerbridge Bermuda was unable to avoid defeat at the hands of Scotland in the ICC Intercontinental Cup match played at the National Stadium, Hamilton with the visitors eventually getting home by 107 runs.

Having been dismissed for just 106 in the first innings, it was always going to be tough for the home side to save the match as it chased Scotland ’s opening bid of 282.

But Outerbridge did his best to do just that managing 113 before he was finally caught by wicketkeeper Colin Smith off the bowling of Dewald Nel for an innings that lasted 250 balls and included 13 boundaries.

For Scotland Lyons bowled beautifully in the second innings, finishing with figures of 4-55 off 27.4 overs. He was well supported by Nel (3-64) as Bermuda was all out for 265 in its second dig and fell 107 runs short on the fourth and final day.

In the context of the ICC Intercontinental Cup table, the Scots move up one place past the Netherlands and into fourth position. The Dutch lost their game last week to defending champion Ireland and as such, Scotland , who won this event in 2004, still harbour hopes of a place in the final.

ICC Intercontinental Cup table (as of 15 July)

Team P W L D Pts
Namibia 5 5 0 0 82
Ireland 4 3 0 1 69
Kenya 4 3 1 0 66
Scotland 5 2 1 2 52
Netherlands 6 3 3 0 48
UAE 7 1 5 1 29
Canada 5 1 4 0 26
Bermuda 6 1 5 0 26

Six points for first innings lead
14 points for a win (so, maximum of 20 points per match)
Three points for a draw
Top two sides qualify for the final at a venue to be confirmed

Remaining fixtures:
16-19 Jul – Canada v Scotland , King City , Toronto
7-10 Aug – Ireland v Canada , Clontarf, Dublin
7-10 Aug – Scotland v Kenya , Titwood, Glasgow
16-19 Aug – Netherlands v Kenya , Amstelveen , Netherlands
3-6 Sep – Namibia v Bermuda, Wanderers, Windhoek
5-8 Oct – Namibia v Ireland , Wanderers, Windhoek
12-15 Oct – Kenya v Ireland , Nairobi

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

July 15, 2008

Athletics :

TOP STORY
Tripura bagged 37 medals including 23 gold in the North Eastern Junior Athletics Championship at Guwahati on Monday. The two days tournament started from yesterday. Altogether 42 members Tripura team took part in this tourney.

Football :

Two footballers – Amitabh Das and Prasanta Das - were suspended by Tripura Football Association this year. The decision was taken after a serious incident in the domestic Second Division League Football tournament on July 7 last. Footballer and team management of Town Club attacked referee and beat him brutally.

Soroj Sangha, Tripura Sports School , Blood Mouth Club and Town Club entered in to Super League of domestic Second Division Football tournament. Super will starts from July 16 next.

Cricket :

Tripura will play Buchibabu Trophy this year.
Fitness and coaching for Women cricketers will starts very soon.

Sports Council :

Annual General Meeting & felicitation of Tripura Sports Council will be held on July 22.

Connell’s dream debut keeps Ireland on course for a hat-trick

Dubai , 14 July 2008

“It doesn’t get much better,” says 26-year-old fast bowler; Coach Phil Simmons is glad to exorcise the demons of recent defeats

Ireland’s Peter Connell burst on to the first-class scene this week taking 10 wickets, including a hat-trick in the second innings, in his team’s demolition of the Netherlands in the ICC Intercontinental Cup match at Rotterdam .

Right-arm pace bowler Connell became just the 16th bowler in the long history of first-class cricket to capture three wickets in three balls on debut. It is a moment the 26-year-old North Down CC player will never forget.

“It doesn’t get much better than that,” he said.

“It was a dream first-class debut for me, taking 10 wickets, and of course finishing with a hat-trick.”

Connell’s hat-trick was just the third by an Ireland player since the first recognised international match in 1855. Former captain Trent Johnston took one against Gloucestershire in 2007 while TH Hanna was the first to manage the feat back in 1877 against I Zingari.

Connell’s match figures are the best by an Ireland player in a first-class game since former Lisburn, Middlesex and Ireland left-arm slow bowler Dermott Monteith took 12-95 against Scotland at the Mardyke, Cork in 1973.

“It was a job well done as far as the Ireland team are concerned, and obviously while I’m pleased with my own performance, it’s the team that matters most,” said Connell.

“The longer form of the game helped me get into the groove and there will be worse pitches than that to have as a fast bowler. There was good carry, a bit of pace and movement. Having put 400 on the board, the skipper (Kyle McCallan) was able to exert pressure, and we had four and five slips most of the time. I grew in confidence as the game went on, and it’s great to contribute after I took a bit of tap against New Zealand (in a recent ODI at Aberdeen ).

“Hopefully I’ve done enough to feature for the rest of the year, and I’d like to repeat this form in the important games ahead, especially in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Belfast at the start of August. It’s a massive competition for us, and there’s so much at stake for all the Associates.”

Ireland national coach Phil Simmons was also delighted with the way things went for his team in Rotterdam and is now eyeing a hat-trick of a different kind. Having won this competition on the previous two occasions, the Irish are going for three in a row.

“It’s very satisfying when things go to plan,” said Simmons.

“We had a shaky start in the first hour, but after that we were positive and controlled every aspect of the game. The innings by Andre (Botha) was exceptional, but he’s a quality, consistent performer and this form of the game seems to bring out the best in him.

“We built big partnerships, which is the key in any form of cricket. I thought Kevin (O’Brien) batted with great maturity after his comeback from injury, and Andrew Poynter played an innings beyond his years.

“Once we got to 400, we were able to set attacking fields and the bowlers all did well. While Peter Connell will take all the plaudits – and rightly so – it was a real team effort and we never allowed our intensity to drop. The Dutch battled well in the second half of their response, but the second new ball did the trick, and what better way to finish than with a hat-trick? That was the icing on the cake for me.

“We’ve a big few months ahead of us - we will try to defend our European Championship title in Dublin and then of course we’re right bang in to the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. There is another ICC Intercontinental Cup game against Canada , and also ODIs against Canada and Kenya .

“We’ve played a lot of cricket this past couple of years but that has allowed our fringe players to get a lot of experience under their belts. We took a bit of a hammering in Aberdeen but this result will get a lot of that out of our system, and give us confidence for the challenges that lie ahead,” said Simmons.

Apart from Connell’s 10 wickets Ireland benefited from an imperious 172 by veteran Andre Botha earlier in the game which made sure the team claimed all 20 points on offer at Rotterdam .

Having taken four wickets in the first innings, Connell then really got into his stride second time around, removing six Netherlands batsmen to finish with the impressive match figures of 35-14-69-10.

Only Peter Borren (53) and Mudassar Bukhari (59 not out) put up any resistance for the Netherlands on the final day as the home side struggled in vain to save the match. In the end, the home side managed just 206 all out, falling 67 runs short of making Ireland bat for a second time.

The first time around, man of the match Andre Botha was the star hitting 172 out of his side’s total of 400-6 declared.

With Ireland claiming maximum points, this victory moves it up one spot to second place, leap-frogging Kenya in the process. It now lies just 13 points adrift of leader Namibia but with one game in hand.

The Netherlands now sits in fifth position as Scotland has just overtaken it following its 107-run victory in Bermuda . The Dutch have little or no chance of making the final as they have played more games than all those teams ahead of it. Scotland has an outside chance but it looks like it’s down to a three-horse race with Namibia , Ireland and Kenya left to fight it out for places in the final.

ICC Intercontinental Cup table (as of 14 July)

Team P W L D Pts
Namibia 5 5 0 0 82
Ireland 4 3 0 1 69
Kenya 4 3 1 0 66
Scotland 5 2 1 2 52
Netherlands 6 3 3 0 48
UAE 7 1 5 1 29
Canada 5 1 4 0 26
Bermuda 6 1 5 0 26

Six points for first innings lead
14 points for a win (so, maximum of 20 points per match)
Three points for a draw
Top two sides qualify for the final at a venue to be confirmed

Remaining fixtures:
16-19 Jul – Canada v Scotland , King City , Toronto
7-10 Aug – Ireland v Canada , Clontarf, Dublin
7-10 Aug – Scotland v Kenya , Titwood, Glasgow
16-19 Aug – Netherlands v Kenya , Amstelveen , Netherlands
3-6 Sep – Namibia v Bermuda, Wanderers, Windhoek
5-8 Oct – Namibia v Ireland , Wanderers, Windhoek
12-15 Oct – Kenya v Ireland , Nairobi

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Outerbridge ton not enough for Bermuda

Dubai , 14 July 2008

A maiden first-class century for Steven Outerbridge was not enough to save Bermuda from defeat at the hands of Scotland in the ICC Intercontinental Cup match played at the National Stadium, Hamilton.

Having been dismissed for just 106 in the first innings, it was always going to be tough for the home side to save the match as it chased Scotland ’s opening bid of 282.

But Outerbridge did his best to do just that managing 113 before he was finally caught by wicketkeeper Colin Smith off the bowling of Dewald Nel for an innings that lasted 250 balls and included 13 boundaries.

For Scotland Ross Lyons bowled beautifully in the second innings, finishing with figures of 4-55 off 27.4 overs. He was well supported by Nel (3-64) as Bermuda was all out for 265 in its second dig and fell 107 runs short on the fourth and final day.

In the context of the ICC Intercontinental Cup table, this result changes little as Bermuda cannot qualify for the final and Scotland is still unlikely to do so. The Scots, however, do move up one place past the Netherlands , which lost its game last week to defending champion Ireland and as such, the 2004 champion’s slim hopes are kept alive by this comprehensive win.

With two matches remaining, Scotland knows it will have to gain maximum points from them and then hope that other results go its way.


ICC Intercontinental Cup table (as of 14 July)

Team P W L D Pts
Namibia 5 5 0 0 82
Ireland 4 3 0 1 69
Kenya 4 3 1 0 66
Scotland 5 2 1 2 52
Netherlands 6 3 3 0 48
UAE 7 1 5 1 29
Canada 5 1 4 0 26
Bermuda 6 1 5 0 26

Six points for first innings lead
14 points for a win (so, maximum of 20 points per match)
Three points for a draw
Top two sides qualify for the final at a venue to be confirmed

Remaining fixtures:
16-19 Jul – Canada v Scotland , King City , Toronto
7-10 Aug – Ireland v Canada , Clontarf, Dublin
7-10 Aug – Scotland v Kenya , Titwood, Glasgow
16-19 Aug – Netherlands v Kenya , Amstelveen , Netherlands
3-6 Sep – Namibia v Bermuda, Wanderers, Windhoek
5-8 Oct – Namibia v Ireland , Wanderers, Windhoek
12-15 Oct – Kenya v Ireland , Nairobi
TBC - Final

Full match scorecard
ICC Intercontinental Cup
At: Hamilton , Bermuda
SCOTLAND (first innings)
F Watts c Outerbridge b Leverock 93
D Lockhart c Edness b Leverock 22
Qasim Sheikh c Edness b O’Brien 13
R Berrington st Edness b Trott 11
C Smith c and b Leverock 17
N McCallum b Leverock 25
Majid Haq b Leverock 46
S Weeraratna c Bascome b Trott 7
G Goudie c Pitcher b Kelly 7
D Nel c Romaine b Leverock 22
R Lyons not out 12
Extras (2b, 1lb, 4nb) 7
TOTAL (all out, 111.3 overs) 282
Fall: 42, 65, 113, 145, 181, 209, 227, 242, 262
Bowling: O’Brien 16.3-5-35-1, Kelly 20-5-52-1, Leverock 44-10-120-6, Pitcher 3-0-6-0, Trott 20-4-56-2, Romaine 0.3-0-1-0, Outerbridge 5-2-9-0

BERMUDA (first innings)
C Foggo b Majid 53
O Bascome c Lyons b Weeraratna 6
J Celestine b Weeraratna 0
S Outerbridge c Smith b Weeraratna 4
O Pitcher c Weeraratna b Lyons 4
I Romaine c Watts b Lyons 0
J Edness c Lockhart b Nel 22
R Trott c Smith b Nel 3
D Leverock c McCallum b Nel 5
S Kelly not out 0
G O’Brien c and b Nel 2
Extras (1lb, 6nb) 7
TOTAL (all out) 106
Fall: 44, 49, 64, 68, 73, 74, 95, 103, 104
Bowling: Nel 12.2-2-27-4, Goudie 9-2-16-0, Majid 20-7-33-1, Weeraratna 5-1-14-3, Lyons 7-1-15-2

SCOTLAND (second innings)F Watts c Pitcher b Kelly 83D Lockhart lbw O'Brien 1Qasim Sheikh b O'Brien 9R Berrington c Edness b O'Brien 0C Smith b Kelly 38N McCallum not out 42Majid Haq c Romaine b Trott 5S Weeraratna c sub (Hollis) b Trott 5G Goudie run out (O'Brien) 6D Nel st Edness b Leverock 1Extras (1w, 2lb, 2b, 1nb) 6TOTAL (for 9 declared, 53.3 overs) 196
Fall: 1-1, 2-22, 3-22, 4-125, 5-158, 6-170, 7-186, 8-195, 9-196Did not bat: R Lyons
Bowling: O'Brien 12-2-39-3, Kelly 15-3-47-2, Leverock 20.3-3-76-1, Trott 5-0-22-2, Outerbridge 1-0-8-0

BERMUDA (second innings)
C Foggo c McCallum b Lyons 4O Bascome c McCallum b Goudie 3J Celestine lbw b Nel 11S Outerbridge c Smith b Nel 113OJ Pitcher lbw Lyons 6J Edness c Smith b Lyons 0R Trott c Watts b Majid 28
I Romaine b Berrington 27
D Leverock not out 19
S Kelly c Lyons b Nel 2
G O’Brien c Berrington b Lyons 32
Extras (2b, 7w, 6lb, 5nb) 20Total (all out, 102.4 overs) 265
Fall: 1-4, 2-20, 3-65, 4-65, 148, 153, 204, 217, 220
Bowling: Nel 23-7-64-3, Goudie 10-3-14-1, Weeraratna 9-2-23-0, Majid21-4-69-1, Lyons 27.4-13-55-4, Berrington 3-1-6-1

Scotland (20 points) beat Bermuda (0 points) by 107 runs
The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

July 13, 2008

Football :

TOP STORY

United BST clinched the title of Third Division League Football tournament. BST bagged seven points from three matches of Super League and confirmed top of the tally. Amara Kajana finished second position with five points and bagged runner’s trophy. Altogether ten teams took part in this group league cum Super league tournament. United BST, who are compiled by totally remote village Killa of South District, routed all the urban team. Some new faces emerged from the tournament. Striker Abhijit Jamatia scored ten goals in this tournament. Another player Nityajala Jamatia from Killa bagged seven goals.

In the last match at Police ground, United BST beat Youth Club by 5-0 goals. Earlier, BST beat Umakanta Coaching Center by 5-0 goals and they draw against Amara Kajana by 1-1 goals.

Tripura Football Association (TFA) show-caused five footballers and manager of Town Club for attack referee in side the field on July 7 last. After final blow of this match footballer and team management of Town Club attacked referee and beat him brutally. This incident was occurred for a comment of match referee. It was reported that referee used ‘all football are bastard’. For this comment TFA decided to show-cause referee Jayanta Roy also.

Sports :

Refresher course for Physical Instructor’s and Coaches were concluded here today. Altogether 110 PI’s and Coaches took part in this course.

Cricket :

Samir Dighe will come to take Tripura senior team on middle of the August. Tripura senior team will play some tournament out side the state for preparation of Ranji Trophy for upcoming season.

ICC statement on adverse analytical finding in IPL

Dubai, 13 July 2008

The ICC is aware of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) from the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL).

When an AAF arises, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory that has tested the sample sends a report to the commissioning body (IPL) and copies in WADA and the International Federation, in this case the ICC.

As with any AAF that arises during a testing programme organised by one of the ICC’s Members, it is the responsibility of that Member, in this case the BCCI, to deal with the process in a timely and fair manner.

The ICC is proud of its status as a WADA signatory and will be closely monitoring the situation to ensure the correct action is taken by the BCCI. The ICC retains a right of appeal if any penalty that may be imposed is inconsistent with the WADA Code.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Outerbridge the key as Bermuda faces uphill struggle

Dubai , 13 July 2008

Bermuda has it all to do on the final day of its ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland , needing another 250 runs for victory with just six second-innings wickets remaining.

Set a target of 373 runs to win, Bermuda has lost four cheap wickets – not to mention Chris Foggo retired hurt – and at the close of play on day three had moved up to 123-4, still a long way from victory.

The only real possibility it has of winning the game depends on Steven Outerbridge. The 25-year-old left-hander has been batting well and finished unbeaten on 71 having shared an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 58 with Rodney Trott.

Outerbridge’s first job will be to pass 80, his highest score in first-class cricket, and then he will be looking to make it to three figures for the first time in his career. But even that will not be enough and he will be expected to bat for most of the day on Sunday if the home supporters in Bermuda are to have anything to shout about.

Earlier, Scotland had declared on 196-9 as Fraser Watts top scored with 83. That brings Watts ’ total run-haul for the match to 176, an impressive effort when very few of his team-mates seemed capable of adapting to the conditions.

George O’Brien (3-39) was the pick of the Bermuda bowlers but he was well supported by Trott (2-22) and Stefan Kelly (2-47) as Neil McCallum (44 not out) was the only Scotland batsman to find his feat at the National Stadium.

ICC Intercontinental Cup (day three)
At: Hamilton , Bermuda
Umpires: Shahul Hameed, Roger Dill
Scotland 282 all out, 96 overs) (F Watts 93, Majid Haq 46; D Leverock 6-120)Bermuda 106 all out, 53.2 overs (C Foggo 53; D Nel 4-27, S Weeraratna 3-14)
SCOTLAND (second innings contd, 83-3 overnight)F Watts c Pitcher b Kelly 83D Lockhart lbw O'Brien 1Qasim Sheikh b O'Brien 9R Berrington c Edness b O'Brien 0C Smith b Kelly 38N McCallum not out 42Majid Haq c Romaine b Trott 5S Weeraratna c sub (Hollis) b Trott 5G Goudie run out (O'Brien) 6D Nel st Edness b Leverock 1Extras (1w, 2lb, 2b, 1nb) 6TOTAL (for 9 declared, 53.3 overs) 196
Fall: 1-1, 2-22, 3-22, 4-125, 5-158, 6-170, 7-186, 8-195, 9-196Did not bat: R Lyons
Bowling: O'Brien 12-2-39-3, Kelly 15-3-47-2, Leverock 20.3-3-76-1, Trott 5-0-22-2, Outerbridge 1-0-8-0

BERMUDA (second innings)
C Foggo retired hurt 0O Bascome c McCallum b Goudie 3J Celestine lbw b Nel 11S Outerbridge not out 71OJ Pitcher lbw Lyons 6J Edness c Smith b Lyons 0R Trott not out 21Extras (2w, 4lb, 5nb) 11Total (for 4, 51 overs) 123
Fall: 1-4, 2-20, 3-65, 4-65Still to bat: I Romaine, D Leverock, S Kelly, G O'BrienBowling: Nel 13-2-37-1, Goudie 10-3-14-1, Weeraratna 7-2-14-0, Majid9-1-34-0, Lyons 12-4-20-2
Bermuda needs 250 runs for victory with six wickets remaining.


The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Ten wickets including hat-trick – not a bad debut for Peter Connell

Dubai , 12 July 2008

Ireland completes innings victory over the Netherlands to move up to second in table

A 10-wicket haul and a hat-trick from debutant Peter Connell to follow up on an imperious 172 from veteran Andre Botha earlier in the game made sure Ireland claimed all 20 points on offer on the last day of its ICC Intercontinental Cup match against the Netherlands at Rotterdam .

Connell became only the 16th bowler in first-class history to take a hat-trick on debut when he blitzed through the Netherlands tail to wrap up the match. The 26-year-old medium-pacer is the first player to do it in an international match with all the others coming in county, state or provincial games.

Having taken four in the first innings, Connell then really got into his stride second time around, removing six Netherlands batsmen to finish with the impressive match figures of 35-14-69-10.

Only Peter Borren (53) and Mudassar Bukhari (59 not out) put up any resistance for the Netherlands on the final day as the home side struggled in vain to save the match. In the end, the home side managed just 206 all out, falling 67 runs short of making Ireland bat for a second time.

The first time around, man of the match Andre Botha was the star hitting 172 out of his side’s total of 400-6 declared.

With Ireland claiming maximum points, this victory moves it up one spot to second place, leap-frogging Kenya in the process. It now lies just 13 points adrift of leader Namibia but with one game in hand.

The Netherlands now sits in fourth position but with little or no chance of making the final having played more games than all those teams ahead of it. It looks like it’s down to a three-horse race with Namibia , Ireland and Kenya left to fight it out for places in the final.

Defending champion Ireland is looking for its third victory in a row in this competition and judging by today’s performance, its players are no strangers to hat-tricks.


Final scorecard

ICC Intercontinental Cup
At: Rotterdam
Toss: Netherlands
Umpires: Paul Baldwin and Steve Davis
IRELAND (first innings contd)
R Strydom c Borren b Bukhari 1
P Stirling c Smits b Bukhari 11
A Cusack lbw b Bukhari 8
A Botha c Smits b Bukhari 172
K O’Brien c Jonkman b Seelaar 79
A Poynter not out 76
+G Wilson c Mol b Jonkman 27
K McCallan not out 12
Extras (b 6, lb 6, w 2) 14
TOTAL (for 6 dec, 99 overs) 400
Fall: 7, 20, 25, 184, 323, 367
To Bat: +G Wilson , *K McCallan, T Fourie, G Kidd, P Connell
Bowling: Schiferli 25-4-93-0, Bukhari 22-6-85-4, Mol 11-3-32-0, Seelaar 12-3-61-1, Borren 20-1-76-0, Jonkman 9-0-41-1

NETHERLANDS (first innings)
T de Grooth b Fourie 7
G Mol lbw Connell 0
N Statham c Kidd b Connell 4
D van Bunge c Wilson b Connell 12
E Szwarczynski c Wilson b Connell 9
P Borren c Poynter b Cusack 13
M Jonkman lbw McCallan 13
Mudassar Bukhari lbw McCallan 23
*+J Smits not out 10
E Schiferli c and b Kidd 3
P Seelaar c Wilson b Botha 27
Extras (b 4, lb 2) 6
TOTAL (all out, 53.4 overs) 127
Fall: 3, 11, 13, 32, 37, 49, 71, 84, 89
Bowling: Connell 17-4-41-4, Fourie 11-3-25-1, Cusack 7-2-16-1, Kidd 7-2-20-1, McCallan 7-3-11-2, Botha 4.4-2-8-1

NETHERLANDS (second innings)
T de Grooth b Connell 8
G Mol c McCallan b Botha 0
N Statham c Fourie b Botha 6
D van Bunge c Connell b Fourie 25
E Szwarczynski c and b Connell 10
P Borren c O’Brien b Connell 53
M Jonkman c Stirling b McCallan 17
Mudassar Bukhari not out 59
*+J Smits b Connell 12
P Seelaar b Connell 0
E Schiferli lbw Connell 0
Extras (b 4, lb 7, w 5) 16
TOTAL (all out, 81 overs) 206
Fall: 13, 13, 23, 54, 54, 105, 158, 206, 206
Bowling: Connell 18-10-28-6, Fourie 15-3-46-1, Botha 11-2-33-2, Cusack 7-0-15-0, McCallan 19-4-28-1, Strydom 1-1-0-0, Kidd 9-2-43-0, Poynter 1-0-2-0

Ireland (20 points) beat the Netherland (0 points) by an innings and 67 runs
Man of the match: Andre Botha

(Information provided by CricketEurope)

ICC Intercontinental Cup table (as of 12 July)

Team P W L D Pts
Namibia 5 5 0 0 82
Ireland 4 3 0 1 69
Kenya 4 3 1 0 66
Netherlands 6 3 3 0 48
Scotland 4 1 1 2 32
UAE 7 1 5 1 29
Canada 5 1 4 0 26
Bermuda 5 1 4 0 26

Six points for first innings lead
14 points for a win (so, maximum of 20 points per match)
Three points for a draw
Top two sides qualify for the final at a venue to be confirmed

Note: the match between Bermuda and Scotland at the National Stadium, Bermuda , is ongoing


The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Bermuda has it all to do after day two against Scotland

Dubai , 11 July 2008

Scotland threatened to rain on Bermuda’s parade on Friday as the visitors took a strong lead on day two of the ICC Intercontinental Cup match at Hamilton .

Having been dismissed for 282 in the first dig thanks chiefly to a six-wicket haul by veteran left-arm spinner Dwayne Leverock, Scotland looked like a side under pressure. But four wickets from Dewald Nel and three from Sean Weeraratna skittled Bermuda for just 106, securing the first-innings points for Scotland by a handsome margin.

Only opening batsman Chris Foggo (53) put up any sort of resistance for the home support as his team-mates’ wickets tumbled around him. Jekon Edness (23) was the only other batsman to make double figures.

When the Scots went back into bat they built on their first-innings lead to finish day two on 83-3, some 259 runs ahead. Mind you, they did not have it all their own way and were 22-3 at one stage with George O’Brien claiming the early wickets of Dougie Lockhart, Qasim Sheikh and Ritchie Berrington.

But Fraser Watts (43 not out), who scored 93 in the first innings, and wicketkeeper-batsman Colin Smith (26 not out), steadied the ship and have ensured that Scotland go into the weekend in a very strong position.

Bermuda will know that it will have to take wickets early and often if it is to have any chance to winning this game in front of its passionate home supporters.

ICC Intercontinental Cup (Day Two)
At: Hamilton , Bermuda
Umpires: Shahul Hameed, Roger Dill
SCOTLAND (first innings contd, 240-7 overnight)
Majid Haq b Leverock 46
G Goudie c Pitcher b Kelly 7
D Nel c Romaine b Leverock 22
R Lyons not out 12
Extras (1lb 2b 4nb) 17
TOTAL (109 overs) 282
Fall: 1-42, 2-66, 3-114, 4-141, 5-182, 6-208, 7-237, 8-242, 9-262,
Bowling: O'Brien 16.3-6-35-1, Kelly 20-5-52-1, Leverock 44-10-120-6, Pitcher 3-1-6-0, Trott 20-4-56-2, Romaine 0.3-0-1-0, Outerbridge 5-2-9-0

BERMUDA (first innings)
C Foggo b Haq 53
O Bascome c Lyons b Weeraratna 6
J Celestine b Weeraratna 0
S Outerbridge c Smith b Weeraratna 4
OJ Pitcher c Weeraratna b Lyons 4
I Romaine c Watts b Lyons 0
J Edness ct Lockhart b Nel 23
R Trott c Smith b Nel 2
D Leverock c McCallum b Nel 5
S Kelly not out 0
G O'Brien c Sheikh b Nel 2
Extras (1lb, 6nb) 7
TOTAL (53.2 overs) 106
Fall: 1-43, 2-48, 3-63, 4-67, 5-72, 6-73, 7-94, 8-103, 9-104
Bowling: Nel 12.2-4-27-4, Goudie 9-4-16-0, Majid Haq 20-7-33-1, Weeraratna 5-1-14-3, Lyons 7-1-15-2

SCOTLAND (second innings)
F Watts not out 43
D Lockhart lbw O'Brien 1
Qasim Sheikh b O'Brien 9
R Berrington c Edness b O'Brien 0
C Smith not out 26
Extras (1w, 2lb, 1nb) 4
TOTAL 83
Fall: 1-1, 2-22, 3-22,
To bat: N McCallum, M Haq, S Weeraratna, G Goudie, D Nel, R Lyons
Bowling: O'Brien 10-2-31-3, Kelly 7-1-19-0, Leverock 7-1-23-0, Trott 1-0-8-0

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Ireland on the verge of resounding victory

Dubai , 11 July 2008

Botha stars with bat and ball as defending champion looks to claim maximum points

Ireland is firmly in the driving seat heading into the final day of the ICC Intercontinental Cup match against the Netherlands in Rotterdam having forced the home team to follow on chasing a first innings total of 400-6 declared.

The Netherlands is still 224 runs behind with just seven wickets remaining in its second innings and Ireland is sensing that an innings victory could be on the cards.

The star for the defending champion so far has been Andre Botha. Ireland ’s Mr Dependable with both bat and ball has been living up to his name, having scored 172 runs and taken three wickets in the match so far.

Kevin O’Brien (79) and Andrew Poynter (76 not out) also excelled with the bat as Ireland eventually closed its rain-interrupted first innings on 400-6 declared. With time being of the essence, the Irish bowlers wasted none of it getting into the swing of things, dismissing the Dutch for just 127 and enforcing the follow-on.

Young left-arm pace bowler Peter Connell was the pick of Ireland ’s bowlers, taking a first-class career-best of 4-41 with none of the Netherlands ’ batsmen able to resist the consistent line and length of the Irish attack.

Then, before the close, the Netherlands slumped to 49-3 with Botha picking up two wickets late in the day. Unless the Dutch middle order can fashion a Lazarus-style recovery or unless the fickle Rotterdam weather comes to the home team’s rescue, it looks like Ireland (seeking to win the ICC Intercontinental Cup for the third time in a row) will claim maximum points.

ICC Intercontinental Cup (day three)
At: Rotterdam
Toss: Netherlands
Umpires: Paul Baldwin and Steve Davis
IRELAND (first innings contd)
R Strydom c Borren b Bukhari 1
P Stirling c Smits b Bukhari 11
A Cusack lbw b Bukhari 8
A Botha c Smits b Bukhari 172
K O’Brien c Jonkman b Seelaar 79
A Poynter not out 76
G Wilson c Mol b Jonkman 27
K McCallan not out 12
Extras (b 6, lb 6, w 2) 14
TOTAL (for 6 dec, 99 overs) 400
Fall: 7, 20, 25, 184, 323, 367
To Bat: +G Wilson , *K McCallan, T Fourie, G Kidd, P Connell
Bowling: Schiferli 25-4-93-0, Bukhari 22-6-85-4, Mol 11-3-32-0, Seelaar 12-3-61-1, Borren 20-1-76-0, Jonkman 9-0-41-1

NETHERLANDS (first innings)
T de Grooth b Fourie 7
G Mol lbw Connell 0
N Statham c Kidd b Connell 4
D van Bunge c Wilson b Connell 12
E Szwarczynski c Wilson b Connell 9
P Borren c Poynter b Cusack 13
M Jonkman lbw McCallan 13
Mudassar Bukhari lbw McCallan 23
*+J Smits not out 10
E Schiferli c and b Kidd 3
P Seelaar c Wilson b Botha 27
Extras (b 4, lb 2) 6
TOTAL (all out, 53.4 overs) 127
Fall: 3, 11, 13, 32, 37, 49, 71, 84, 89
Bowling: Connell 17-4-41-4, Fourie 11-3-25-1, Cusack 7-2-16-1, Kidd 7-2-20-1, McCallan 7-3-11-2, Botha 4.4-2-8-1

NETHERLANDS (second innings)
T de Grooth b Connell 8
G Mol c McCallan b Botha 0
N Statham c Fourie b Botha 6
D van Bunge not out 21
E Szwarczynski not out 9
Extras (w 5) 5
TOTAL (for 3, 24 overs) 49
Fall: 13, 13, 23
Bowling: Connell 7-3-12-1, Fourie 7-1-21-0, Botha 5-2-14-2, Cusack 2-0-2-0, McCallan 2-2-0-0, Strydom 1-1-0-0

(Information provided by CricketEurope)


The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Morgan confirms Lord’s as host for ICC annual conference 2009

Dubai, 10 July 2008

ICC President reveals unanimous decision by ICC Board

Will act as focal point for ICC’s centenary celebrations as well as final of ICC World Twenty20

Morgan also promises to travel to Members to find out what sort of ICC they want

ICC President David Morgan today confirmed that the organisation’s annual conference in 2009 will be held at Lord’s.

This year’s week of meetings was held in Dubai, the first time the ICC had moved its annual gathering away from its former London headquarters.

Detailing arrangements for next year, Mr Morgan said: “We had an excellent week in Dubai this year but I’m delighted to announce that the ICC Board* has confirmed unanimously that we will return to Lord’s for annual conference week in 2009.

“It is perfect timing as it will allow Lord’s, the ICC’s home for the first 96 years of its existence, to play a central role in our organisation’s centenary celebrations, as 2009 is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the ICC.

“That central role will involve not only the hosting of our biggest ever annual conference week, with all 60 Affiliate Members invited for the first time alongside the Associate and Full Members, but also the staging of matches in the ICC World Twenty 2009, including the finals of both the men’s and women’s events on 21 June.”

The centenary celebrations are intended to touch all 104 ICC Members at some point during the year and Mr Morgan said they would reflect all that is good about the game.

“The ICC’s centenary will be a time to look back at the legends who have shaped the game over the previous 100 years,” he said.

“It will also provide an opportunity to look forward and celebrate the thousands of volunteers who sustain the game’s grassroots and, at the same time, the ICC will use the year to highlight the special spirit of cricket on and off the field of play.”

Further details of the ICC’s centenary year will be announced in due course.

Looking forward to his two years at the helm of world cricket, Mr Morgan said he would be spending much of the next year meeting Members – their officials and their stakeholders.

“We are a members’ organisation and so we need to know what type of ICC our Members want,” he said.

“Do they want a toothless tiger that is only useful to blame for any failings when things go wrong? Or do they want a strong governing body invested with the power to run, and make decisions based on the best interests of, the game, and a body they can trust to do just that?

“Haroon Lorgat (the ICC’s new Chief Executive Officer) and I will travel to Full Members, Associates and Affiliates over the next 12 months to seek some answers.

“But we also want it to be a two-way street. We want to meet Boards and key stakeholders including players, ex-players, media, sponsors, even governments.

“We want those stakeholders to know what the ICC does and to ask if we can do anything differently or better. And, at the same time, we will ask what they can do for the ICC.

“Last week Rahul Dravid came to our annual conference and saw a video of the ICC World Cricket League Division 5, where Afghanistan and Jersey took the next step on the road to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

“He was enthralled but said he had no idea such a tournament existed. We have to make sure more people know about what we do, spreading and encouraging the game at all levels.

“By this time next year, when I report back to the ICC’s annual conference, we should have a better idea of how we can help our Members – and how our Members can help the ICC to ensure cricket remains a strong sport, growing stronger.”

*The ICC Board is made up of the 10 ICC Full Members (Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Zimbabwe) plus three representatives of the 34 Associate Members. The ICC President, President-Elect/Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer also sit on the Board.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Well-armed Leverock still has plenty to offer

Dubai , 9 July 2008

Patience, hard work and experience are the three things Bermuda ’s Dwayne Leverock rates as the most valuable arrows in his quiver. The left-arm spinner took 10 wickets as he bowled his side to victory against Canada at King City , Ontario on Tuesday.

Although he will turn 37 next Monday, the big prison officer is still the go-to guy for captain Irving Romaine and is probably bowling better now than at any other time in his career.

“A lot of what I do is about patience,” said Leverock as he prepared for the ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland at the National Stadium, Hamilton, which starts on Thursday.

“It’s about being able to assess the wicket and the batsman and being able to exploit flaws in each. I like to vary my length just ever so slightly so that the batsman plays the wrong shot without knowing it. A little up, a little back, I have a look at the pitch and work out what it can do for me,” said Leverock.

In the second innings of the game against Canada , Leverock took 5-60 to help skittle the home side for 151, earning the visitors a 106-run win, Bermuda ’s first in the latest staging of this tournament.

Leverock’s haul also gave him match figures of 10-129, the second 10-wicket haul of his career following on from the 11-72 he captured against the Cayman Islands in August 2005. He also made a vital 29 not out in Bermuda ’s second innings to help turn the tide in his side’s favour and was deservedly named man of the match.

The win has breathed new life in Bermuda ’s campaign. It remains bottom of the table and is out of the equation for a top two finish and a place in the final but it is now level with Canada on 26 points and only 22 points behind the fourth-placed Netherlands .

“We have been playing very well in the past few weeks and we’re definitely moving in the right direction,” he said.

“There are a lot of good young players coming through now but also there are a few of us older guys around to show them the ropes. I want to teach them the value of hard work. It doesn’t come easily and if you want it, you really have to work for it. I think the young guys realise that and we have a good gel in the team,” he said.

“I am not finished playing this game yet. I feel I still have a lot to offer the team. My body will tell me when it’s time to give up but that time is not now.”

Leverock is expecting a big crowd to come out to support the national side for the game against Scotland , particularly because it is the first time an ICC Intercontinental Cup match has been staged in the country since July 2004.

“I am just concentrating on my preparations for the match – that is what I am working towards – but I hope there will be a big crowd out to support us. There is no reason why we can’t get 6,000-8,000 people there to watch at the weekend. It could be a great atmosphere,” he said.


ICC Intercontinental Cup table (as of 9 July)

P W L D Pts
Namibia 5 5 0 0 82
Kenya 4 3 1 0 66
Ireland 3 2 0 1 49
Netherlands 5 3 2 0 48
Scotland 4 1 1 2 32
UAE 7 1 5 1 29
Canada 5 1 4 0 26
Bermuda 5 1 4 0 26

Six points for first innings lead
14 points for a win (so, maximum of 20 points per match)
Three points for a draw
Top two sides qualify for the final at a venue to be confirmed

Upcoming matches:

9 (today) – 12 July – Netherlands v Ireland
10 – 13 July – Bermuda v Scotland
16 – 19 July – Canada v Scotland

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Botha shines as rain has last laugh on day one

Dubai , 9 July 2008

His 159-run partnership with O’Brien saves Ireland ’s blushes as Mudassar rips through top order

A classy century from Andre Botha has put defending champion Ireland into a strong position after day one of the ICC Intercontinental Cup against the Netherlands at Rotterdam .

Looking for a hat-trick of victories in this competition, the Ireland players will feel they need maximum points from this match if they are to keep the pressure on the two teams ahead of them, Namibia and Kenya .

And in Botha , Ireland has a proven performer with both bat and ball. Today, the North County all-rounder excelled with the blade in his hands smashing 15 boundaries on his way to an unbeaten 103, his fourth first-class century.

Ireland finished a rain-shortened first day on 226-4 after Botha and Kevin O’Brien put on 159 for the fourth wicket. That partnership could not have come at a better time as Ireland looked like it might struggle having been put into bat by Jeroen Smits.

When O’Brien joined Botha in the middle, the visiting side had stuttered to 25-3 as pace bowler Mudassar Bukhari tore through the top order. When O’Brien finally fell for 79 (114 balls, 12 fours, two sixes) the Irish were in a much healthier position on 184-4.

Andrew Poynter (19 not out) is still there to keep Botha company and with the likes of Gary Wilson, Kyle McCallan and Thinus Fourie to come, Ireland will be hopeful of building significantly on its overnight score, provided the Rotterdam rain can stay away.

Meanwhile, the Dutch will know that a couple of quick early wickets will get them right back into this nicely poised game.

ICC Intercontinental Cup
At: Rotterdam
Toss: Netherlands
Umpires: Paul Baldwin and Steve Davis
IRELAND (first innings)
R Strydom c Borren b Bukhari 1
P Stirling c Smits b Bukhari 11
A Cusack lbw b Bukhari 8
A Botha not out 103
K O’Brien c Jonkman b Seelaar 79
A Poynter not out 19
Extras (lb 4, w 1) 5
TOTAL (for 4, 58 overs) 226
Fall: 7, 20, 25, 184
To Bat: +G Wilson , *K McCallan, T Fourie, G Kidd, P Connell
Bowling: Schiferli 12-1-46-0, Bukhari 12-4-45-3, Mol 8-2-24-0, Seelaar 9-2-45-1, Borren 12-1-36-0

NETHERLANDS: T de Grooth, N Statham, E Szwarczynski, D van Bunge, P Borren, G Mol, Mudassar Bukhari, *+J Smits, M Jonkman, E Schiferli, P Seelaar

(Information provided by CricketEurope)


The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Scotland without big names for ICC Intercontinental Cup clash with Bermuda

Dubai, 9 July 2008

Youngsters now have chance to make their mark

Bermuda’s Logie sees “shift for the better” in recent win over Canada

A Scotland side shorn of many of its big names has made its way across the Atlantic to take on Bermuda in Hamilton in a four-day first-class match in the ICC Intercontinental Cup, starting on Thursday 10 July.

The Scots are without regular captain Ryan Watson, along with Gavin Hamilton, Glenn Rogers and John Blain, all of whom, according to a Cricket Scotland media release, are being rested for matches later in the season.

Former captain Craig Wright is also absent with http://www.cricketeurope.net/ reporting the player has a back injury.

There is certainly plenty of cricket to come in the second half of July and into August for the Scots, starting with another ICC Intercontinental Cup match with Canada, which gets underway on 16 July.

From there it’s on to the European Division 1 tournament at the back-end of July, including ODIs against the Netherlands and Ireland, the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Ireland at the beginning of August, another ICC Intercontinental Cup match, this time against Kenya, two ODIs against the Africans, and then another one against England, in Edinburgh on 18 August.

Given that volume of action there is plenty of scope for sympathy for players that also have full-time jobs but with the increase in funding announced by the ICC on Tuesday (http://icc-cricket.yahoo.com/media-release/2008/July/media-release20080708-13.html), with each top Associate receiving US$500,000 for each of the next two years, there could well be the opportunity for contracts that offer players the chance to work and play without missing out to too great a degree.

As Cricket Scotland Chief Executive Officer Roddy Smith told the BCC website on Tuesday: “There will be more money in the pot to pay players.”

That, however, is for the future. The present is that Scotland has the chance to make significant progress up the eight-team table.

It currently lies fifth and, in truth, to qualify for the final by finishing in the top two places, it needs not only to win its three remaining matches but also hope that other results go its way.

That is all unlikely but not impossible given two of Scotland’s matches are against the bottom two sides, Bermuda and Canada, and the other is against Kenya, one of its rivals for the second final berth, with Namibia looking well-placed for the other spot after five successive wins.

The Scots’ head coach Peter Steindl appears to have given up the ghost already, quoted in that Cricket Scotland media release saying: “Although Scotland cannot now hope to win the I-Cup itself, we will certainly take these matches seriously, and the players know that they represent an excellent platform for their talents.”

The two matches in Bermuda and Canada are definitely a chance for the players that have come in for the missing quintet to make their marks.

Gordon Goudie, Qasim Sheikh and Richie Berrington are all included in a 13-man squad, captained by Fraser Watts in the absence of Watson.

Cricinfo reported that subsequent to the squad announcement, left-handed batsman Omer Hussain was drafted into the squad (http://content-gulf.cricinfo.com/scotland/content/story/360273.html).

The Bermuda Royal Gazette has indicated coach Gus Logie, the former West Indies batsman, will keep faith with the same squad that produced his side’s first win in the latest staging of this tournament, a 106-run success over Canada earlier this week.

The man who made the big difference was the larger-than-life left-arm spinner Dwayne Leverock who bagged match figures of 10-129, including 5-60 in the second innings as Canada foundered chasing 258 for victory.

But even though it was Leverock, Steven Outerbridge (79 in the first innings) and captain Irving Romaine (84 in the second innings to rescue the side from 78-5) that took many of the plaudits, Logie was delighted with the youngsters in the squad.

Quoted in the Royal Gazette, he said: “I think we’ve definitely seen a shift during this tour . . . a shift for the better.”
“I'll retain these players for the Scotland match and hopefully we can put on a good performance in front of our home supporters. There’s no danger of any of the players getting carried away… we must look to build upon our recent success.”
The match is a historic occasion because it is the first four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup match in Bermuda since July 2004, against the United States of America (USA). Since that point Bermuda has been working to produce a surface worthy of international matches and earlier this year the ICC deemed it fit for purpose.
Bermuda lost that match against the USA by 114 runs and will hoping for a different result this time.
Bermuda (from): Irving Romaine (captain), Oronde Bascome, James Celestine, Jekon Edness, Chris Foggo, Kyle Hodsoll, Stefan Kelly, Dwayne Leverock, George O'Brien, Stephen Outerbridge, OJ Pitcher, Samuel Robinson, McLaren Smith, Ryan Steede, Rodney Trott, Tamauri Tucker.
Scotland (from): Fraser Watts (captain), Richie Berrington, Gordon Drummond, Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Dougie Lockhart, Ross Lyons, Gregor Maiden, Neil McCallum, Dewald Nel, Qasim Sheikh, Colin Smith (wicketkeeper), Sean Weeraratna.


ICC Intercontinental Cup table (as of 9 July, after Canada v Bermuda, ahead of the Netherlands v Ireland and Bermuda v Canada)

P W L D Pts
Namibia 5 5 0 0 82
Kenya 4 3 1 0 66
Ireland 3 2 0 1 49
Netherlands 5 3 2 0 48
Scotland 4 1 1 2 32
UAE 7 1 5 1 29
Canada 5 1 4 0 26
Bermuda 5 1 4 0 26

Key:
Six points for first innings lead
14 points for a win (so, maximum of 20 points per match)
Three points for a draw
Top two sides qualify for the final at a venue to be confirmed

ICC Intercontinental Cup form guide

Bermuda:
Lost to the Netherlands by innings and 44 runs, Amstelveen, August 2007
Lost to Ireland by innings and 145 runs, Dublin, August 2007
Lost to Kenya by eight wickets, Nairobi, November 2007
Lost to UAE by 138 runs, Abu Dhabi, November 2007
Beat Canada by 106 runs, Toronto, July 2008

Scotland:
Drew with UAE, Ayr, June 2007 (weather-affected, no first innings points, both sides take three points each)
Beat Netherlands by innings and 59 runs, Aberdeen, August 2007
Drew with Ireland, Belfast, August 2007 (Ireland secured first innings points)
Lost to Namibia by one wicket, April 2008

Current and upcoming matches:

9 – 12 July – Netherlands v Ireland
10 – 13 July – Bermuda v Scotland
16 – 19 July – Canada v Scotland

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception four years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Gulti wants to play for country

Saraju Chakraborty

Gulti Chowdhury, a girl of a remote unknown village, Brahmacherra in West Tripura's Teliamura sub-division was like a hidden treasure until she was discovered by a physical instructor while playing a football match at a town.


She used to play football in the village with boys in her teen because girls did not play football in the village. Now she is a celebrity of the state, who represented India two times. She is the only women international footballer of Tripura.


"I love to play football. So I played with boys, because girls did not play football in my village", she said


Born in a poor farmer's family she was the youngest of five children she was brought up uncared, but had a dream of playing football for the country.


"My aim in life was to play football for country. So, I worked hard in the field and tried to play like a boy", she remarked.


Gulti was spotted as a footballer by Sunil Sarkar, Physical Instructor of Teliamura School in 1999 while playing an exhibition match at Khowai town. "There Ranjan sir spotted me for his team New Millennium Soccer Club. This was turning point of my life", Gulti said.


After then Gulti played first time in Women Football Tournament at Agartala in 2000. For her brilliant show she was selected as a member of Tripura team for National Tournament
"When I got selection for state team, I set my target to represent our country. I was very confident of hitting the target", the woman footballer said.


In 2005, Gulti was selected first time for Indian Junior team for Asian Women Football Tournament in Seoul, South Korea. "I was delighted because it was my dream which came true. I can't forget this moment of my life", Gulti added.


After two years, Gulti represented Indian Senior team for Asian Tournament in 2007. She Said, "My next target is to play as a playing member of Indian Senior team. I want to play for my country".

Seminar for celebration of World Sports Journalists Day by Tripura Sports Journalists’ Club.

Seminar for celebration of World Sports Journalists Day by Tripura Sports Journalists’ Club.

Seminar for celebration of World Sports Journalists Day by Tripura Sports Journalists’ Club

South Africa the main beneficiary of annual update of Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table

Dubai, 8 July 2008

Graeme Smith’s side climbs into second place, India and England drop to third and fourth respectively

India can regain second spot if England beats Proteas in upcoming series

South Africa is the main beneficiary of the annual update of the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table.

It has moved above India and England into second place, although it is still 23 rating points behind runaway leaders Australia.

But if it sweeps the four-match series with England that starts at Lord’s in London on Thursday 10 July then it will gain six rating points to move within 17 of Ricky Ponting’s men.

The annual update is carried out to ensure the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table continues to reflect recent and current form with older results being discarded.

The new table no longer reflects series concluded before 1 August 2005 and that benefits South Africa because it means losing series against Sri Lanka (0-1), India (0-1) and England (1-2) no longer feature in the calculations.

For India, a narrow series loss at home to Australia (1-2), that series win over South Africa and a drawn series with Pakistan (1-1) no longer count.

The update means the table reflects recent form while also taking into account results over the past three years.

India will be watching the England – South Africa series closely because, dependent on the result, Anil Kumble’s side could move back into second place in double-quick time.

The permutations are these:

To retain second place, South Africa needs to avoid defeat in the series against England.

If England wins the series 1-0 or 2-1, then India and South Africa will swap places.

A win for England by 2-0, 3-1 or 3-0 will leave India second, but see England go third, with South Africa slipping back to fourth.

A 4-0 clean sweep for England would lift its rating to 114 and into second place, with India third (at its current mark of 113 points) and South Africa further adrift on 106 points. The comforting fact for South Africa and India is that England has not enjoyed a series sweep since 2004 when it won all seven home Tests against New Zealand (3-0) and the West Indies (4-0). It did beat Bangladesh in 2005, but that was a two-match series.

If the series is tied, South Africa and India would be level on 113 points but the Proteas would retain second place when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

If England wins 1-0 or 2-1, it would be locked with South Africa on 110 points but, again, South Africa would be the side placed higher in the table, again when the rating is calculated past the decimal point. This scenario would see India in second place.

South Africa, India and England are the only sides to alter their rankings thanks to the update, although the West Indies is now just two rating points behind seventh-placed New Zealand thanks to series losses against England (0-4), South Africa (0-2) and Sri Lanka (0-2) dropping out of the equation.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test cricket, England and South Africa are very closely matched, something that mirrors all the series between the sides since the Proteas’ return to international cricket in the early 1990s.

Both line-ups have two batsmen inside the top 20 with Jacques Kallis (sixth) and Graeme Smith (12th) balanced out by Kevin Pietersen (10th) and Andrew Strauss (16th).

And just outside the top 20 the balance is still maintained with three South Africans, AB de Villiers (25th) the in-form Hashim Amla (26th) and Neil McKenzie (32nd) facing off against Alastair Cook (21st), Paul Collingwood (24th) and England captain Michael Vaughan (30th).

England has more players – four – inside the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, but South Africa has the two highest ranked players from the two line-ups.

Fast man Dale Steyn is within a whisker of replacing Muttiah Muralidaran in top slot as he starts the series just five rating points behind the Sri Lanka spin wizard.

And in fifth spot is Makhaya Ntini, with 344 Test wickets, 16th in the list of all-time Test wicket-takers and with Dennis Lillee’s 355 wickets his next target to chase down.

Steyn, incidentally, made his Test debut against England in 2004-05, taking eight wickets in three matches, but since returning to the South Africa side in April 2006 he has taken 108 wickets in 20 matches and is one of world cricket’s in-form men.

England’s quartet inside the top 20 are Ryan Sidebottom, just behind Ntini in sixth slot, spinner Monty Panesar in 11th place, then Matthew Hoggard – still searching for a return to the starting line-up – in 16th and Andrew Flintoff, on his way back from ankle and side injuries, in 19th position.

England’s leading wicket-taker in its recent series with New Zealand, James Anderson (19 wickets in three matches) is 26th in the bowling list, with his best-ever rating.

Kallis is the top all-rounder in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings with Flintoff in third place. Sandwiched between the two is New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori.

The matches in Test series between England and South Africa are as follows:

10 – 14 July – first Test, Lord’s, London

18 – 22 July – second Test, Headingley, Leeds

30 July – 3 August – third Test, Edgbaston, Birmingham

7 – 11 August – Fourth Test, The Oval, London


LG ICC Test Championship (for series completed up to 1 August 2006)

Rank (previous*) Team Rating (previous*)

1 (1) Australia 138 (141)

2 (4) South Africa 115 (109)

3 (2) India 113 (111)

4 (3) England 106 (110)

5 (5) Sri Lanka 103 (106)

6 (5) Pakistan 100 (94)

7 (7) New Zealand 83 (88)

8 (8) West Indies 81 (77)

9 (9) Bangladesh 0 (1)

* Figures in brackets denote positions and ratings of teams prior to the annual update

Note 1: Zimbabwe has a rating of 19 but has not played sufficient Tests over the period covered to be ranked on the main table

Note 2: The table takes into account the alteration of the result of the 2006 Oval Test match.

Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen and bowlers (as of 17 June)

Batsmen

Rank Player Team Points Avge 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
Mhd Yousuf Pak 880 55.49 933 v WI at Karachi 2006
6 Jacques Kallis SA 877 57.14 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
7 Matthew Hayden Aus 834 53.51 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002
8 M.Jayawardena SL 810 51.93 844 v WI at Guyana 2008
9 Yunus Khan Pak 799 49.14 856 v Eng at Headingley 2006
10 Kevin Pietersen Eng 795 49.55 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
11 Michael Clarke Aus 723 47.06 761 v Ind at Melbourne 2007
12 Graeme Smith SA 712 48.57 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
13 S.R.Tendulkar Ind 704 55.31 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
14 Rahul Dravid Ind 701 54.88 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
15 Andrew Symonds Aus 700* 44.65 718 v WI at Antigua 2008
16 Andrew Strauss Eng 686 42.28 769 v SA at Johannesburg 2005
17 Virender Sehwag Ind 681 51.75 854 v SA at Kolkata 2004
18 Sourav Ganguly Ind 674 42.71 713 v Aus at Adelaide 1999
19 VVS Laxman Ind 672 43.82 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004
20 R.R.Sarwan WI 659 40.40 697 v Eng at Old Trafford 2004

Bowlers

Rank Player Team Points Avge Econ HS Rating

1 M.Muralidaran SL 897 21.95 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 Dale Steyn SA 892 21.60 897 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 Makhaya Ntini SA 777 27.85 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
6 Ryan Sidebottom Eng 748*! 25.11 748 v NZ at Trent Bridge 2008
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 647 31.99 721 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 Matthew Hoggard Eng 618 30.50 795 v SL at Edgbaston 2006
17 Danish Kaneria Pak 614 33.90 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
18 Harbhajan Singh Ind 608 31.03 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
19 Andrew Flintoff Eng 603 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
20 Daniel Vettori NZ 591 34.43 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000

All-rounders

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating

1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 495 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 324 360 v Eng at Lord's 2008
3 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 302 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
4 (+2) Dwayne Bravo WI 295*! 295 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
5 (-1) Chaminda Vaas SL 294 300 v WI at Guyana 2008

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

ICC to pump US$300m into the worldwide development of cricket below Full Members

Dubai, 8 July 2008

New Chief Executive Officer Haroon Lorgat hails move as “biggest investment in global development by any sport outside football”

“We want to see results that challenge world cricket’s existing order. And we want to develop better players and better structures on and off the field, giving everyone the chance to be the best they can be.”

In his first week as ICC Chief Executive Officer, Haroon Lorgat has announced the most significant funding package for the development of cricket in the history of the game.

Mr Lorgat said the ICC would be pumping almost US$300million into the development of cricket outside the 10 Full Members in a massive investment to further strengthen the game around the globe.

“Thanks to agreements with our commercial partners, foremost among them the one we signed in December 2006 with ESPN STAR Sports, the game is financially secure,” said Mr Lorgat.

“The promise that brings means we can confirm we are making the biggest-ever investment in the game from top to bottom over the next seven years. From 2009, the ICC will pump almost US$300 million into our 94 Associate and Affiliate Members that make up the developing cricket world.

“That’s at least US$40 million per annum, compared to US$18 million in 2008, a 120 per cent increase. We believe this is the biggest investment in global development by any sport outside football,” he added.

“It forms a key part of our current strategic plan, to consolidate and to strengthen the game where it is currently played.

“We want to see results that challenge world cricket’s existing order. And we want to develop better players and better structures on and off the field, giving everyone the chance to be the best they can be.

“All Full Members will also benefit from substantial increases in funding from the ICC over the coming years and this is in keeping with one of my aspirations for the game while I am the ICC’s Chief Executive Officer – strengthening the game horizontally across the world, throughout our Full, Associate and Affiliate Members.

“This fresh cash injection highlights we are a not-for-profit organisation. All the revenue we generate from our events, broadcast and commercial agreements is ploughed back into the game.

“It is also an indication of how strong this great game is at present. Participation is at an all-time high in all our members at all levels. Thanks to the ICC World Cricket League, all Associate and Affiliate Members now have a clear pathway through to one of the crown jewels of the game, the ICC Cricket World Cup.

“A month ago, Afghanistan and Jersey finished as the top two sides in the WCL Division 5 event and have progressed to the Division 4 event in Tanzania, to be held in November. From there, for the top sides, it’s on to Argentina in January for Division 3.

“The top two sides from there go forward to the ICC World Cup Qualifier in the UAE next March and April and the top four sides from there will go forward to the ICC Cricket World Cup in Asia in 2011.

“It is quite a prize and I am thrilled to be coming into the ICC at this very exciting time for the world game,” said Mr Lorgat.

Mr Lorgat took over as ICC CEO on Friday 4 July. He succeeds Malcolm Speed in the top job.

The ICC now has 104 Members, including 34 Associates and 60 Affiliates as well as the 10 Full Members. Turkey, Estonia and Bulgaria are the latest to join the ICC family having been granted Affiliate Member status at ICC Annual Conference in Dubai last week. It was an important week, too, for cricket in Guernsey as the former Affiliate was upgraded to an Associate Member after it fulfilled the qualification criteria.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Netherlands in the last-chance saloon in ICC Intercontinental Cup

Dubai, 8 July 2008

Win against Ireland in Rotterdam is a must to retain hopes of reaching final but missing key players including Ryan ten Doeschate

Ireland also without English county cricket trio

The Netherlands are in the last-chance saloon going into the ICC Intercontinental Cup clash with defending champions Ireland in Rotterdam starting on Wednesday.

While a win could lift the fourth-placed Dutch into second spot above Kenya in a table in which only the top two qualify for the final, defeat would leave it 18 points adrift of the African side and having played two games more.

So it really needs a huge effort from Jeroen Smits’ team to keep alive that hope of a spot in the final.

And fate has not dealt the Netherlands a kind hand going into the make-or-break encounter. Talented batting all-rounder Alexei Kervezee has damaged a hamstring and so will have to sit out the match.

Add to that the absence of Eric Szwarczynski, recovering from a broken toe, and, most importantly of all, Ryan ten Doeschate due to English county commitments with Essex and there are some significant holes to fill for the home line-up.

http://www.cricketeurope.net/ reports that Rifaiz Bakas replaces Kervezee while another batsman, Lesley Stokkers, is also drafted into the squad.

The scenario for Ireland, two-times defending champion, is slightly different. It has played two games less than the Netherlands – and one less than Kenya, the side directly above it – and is only 17 points behind the Africans in the race for that second place in the table.

Indeed, the listing already seems to be shaping up for a battle between Kenya and Ireland for a place in the final with Namibia well clear at the head of affairs after five straight wins.

What makes matters all the more enticing is that the two teams will go-head-to-head in the last round-robin match, a repeat of the 2005 final, when Ireland beat Kenya by six wickets in Windhoek.

With Scotland, in fifth place but with two games coming up against the bottom two sides Bermuda and Canada, the table should become a lot clearer by the end of August.

That, of course, is for the future. And in Ireland’s case, in order to get to the point where it has a chance of reaching this year’s final, it needs to get some wins under the belt, starting with the game in Rotterdam.

And Ireland, just like the Netherlands, is missing key players.

Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Niall O’Brien (Northamptonshire) and captain William Porterfield (Gloucestershire) are all absent on English county duty, while another first choice player, former captain Trent Johnston, is ruled out through work commitments and Andrew White misses the match for personal reasons.

Ireland does have the consolation of welcoming back the increasingly influential all-rounder Kevin O’Brien, Niall’s brother, after injury, another all-rounder, James Hall comes in for White, leg-spinner Greg Thompson also slots into the squad and off-spinner Kyle McCallan takes over as captain.

Netherlands (from): Jeroen Smits (captain, wicketkeeper), Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari, Daan van Bunge, Tom de Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Alexei Kervezee, Geert-Maarten Mol, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Nick Statham, Bas Zuiderent.

Ireland (from): Kyle McCallan (captain), Andre Botha, Peter Connell, Alex Cusack, Thinus Fourie, James Hall, Gary Kidd, Kevin O' Brien, Andrew Poynter, Paul Stirling, Roger Strydom, Greg Thompson, Gary Wilson (wicketkeeper).


ICC Intercontinental Cup table (as of 8 July, after Canada v Bermuda, ahead of the Netherlands v Ireland)

P W L D Pts
Namibia 5 5 0 0 82
Kenya 4 3 1 0 66
Ireland 3 2 0 1 49
Netherlands 5 3 2 0 48
Scotland 4 1 1 2 32
UAE 7 1 5 1 29
Canada 5 1 4 0 26
Bermuda 5 1 4 0 26

Key:
Six points for first innings lead
14 points for a win (so, maximum of 20 points per match)
Three points for a draw
Top two sides qualify for the final at a venue to be confirmed

ICC Intercontinental Cup form guide

Netherlands:
Beat Canada by 45 runs, Toronto, June/July 2007
Lost to Scotland by innings and 59 runs, Aberdeen, August 2007
Beat Bermuda by innings and 44 runs, Amstelveen, August 2007
Lost to Namibia by seven wickets, Windhoek, March 2008
Beat UAE by 64 runs, Sharjah, April 2008

Ireland:
Drew with Scotland, Belfast, August 2007 (Ireland secured first innings points)
Beat Bermuda by innings and 145 runs, Clontarf, August 2007
Beat UAE by nine wickets, Abu Dhabi, March 2008

Upcoming matches:

9 – 12 July – Netherlands v Ireland
10 – 13 July – Bermuda v Scotland
16 – 19 July – Canada v Scotland

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception four years ago and now the ICC’s premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members’ cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada in the 2006-07 event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

It's never nice to lose in a final

Anil Kumble

It was disappointing to see India go down in the final after having played so well all tournament. Through the Asia Cup India played good, strong cricket and to see them lose so comprehensively in the final was not a happy moment. But, if I have to draw some consolation, it is the performance of Ajantha Mendis, a fellow spinner, and all credit to him for the way he bowled. On flat pitches bowlers have had a tough time and for someone to run through a batting line-up was a big achievement.

India's top-order has made runs all tournament and going by the way they played Mendis it's obviously not easy to pick him. When you're struggling to pick a bowler out of his hand the usual thing is to play him off the wicket. What was surprising was that many Indian batsmen did not pick his length early enough. The safest option, when you're not quite sure which way the ball will turn, is to play straight and some of our batsmen made the mistake of playing across the line and paid the price. Mendis uses a grip that you see quite often in tennisball cricket but to master this with a cricket ball takes some doing and he's obviously managed that. He bowled wicket to wicket and employed subtle variations. It's not that he spun the ball appreciably but he showed that when you are accurate, all it takes is small movement to beat the stroke.

With India going to Sri Lanka next for a full series we need to watch Mendis. But in Test cricket it's a completely different ball game as batsmen have more time to assess a bowler and come up with a method to tackle him. In limited-overs cricket you're always looking to score and this can induce the mistake. The scoreboard dictates how you bat, but in Tests a batsman has more time to adjust, to get the hang of just how to tackle a certain bowler.

Taking 6 for 13 in a final is a great spell, but the match was not about Mendis alone. When India picked up Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene cheaply they had made the ideal start but Sanath Jayasuriya showed just how big a part he can play. India bowled well but Jayasuriya ensured that even the early breakthroughs did not hamper their progress. He's the kind of batsman who can hit boundaries even in the middle overs, when the bowlers are trying to keep things a bit quiet, and this made a difference.

I thought Ishant bowled really well up front and we have been talking about how important it is to do the damage with the new ball. But India faltered in that they did not back up this start in the middle overs. They needed to keep getting wickets and ensure the pressure was on Sri Lanka but instead partnerships developed and Tillakaratne Dilshan, although playing second fiddle, made an important contribution. Sri Lanka might have only reached 273, but in a final that's like scoring 300. There's always that extra bit of pressure for the team batting second, once the runs are on the board, and that makes totals look that extra bit bigger in matches like a final.

All credit to Sri Lanka but I feel for the Indian team because it's never nice to lose in a final. When you've done all the hard work in a tournament you want to sign off on a high note, but this time around it just wasn't to be.

HAWKEYE COMMUNICATIONS

Sports News

July 07, 2008

Football :
Town Club beat Umakanta SAI by 2-1 goals in the domestic Second Division League Football tournament today.

School Sports :
Refresher course for Physical Teachers starts here today. Sports Commissioner B. K. Roy opened this course. 110 PI’s were took part in this seven days training.

Yoga :

New committee of Tripura Yoga Association

President :
Dr. Rupen Kumar Bhowmik

Vice-president :
Subrata Biswash
Jishu Chakraborty
Arindam Chakraborty

General Secretary :
Haripada Chakraborty

Assistant Secretary :
Subhash Chakraborty
Niranjan Bhattacharjee

Treasure :
Haridas Debbarma

Dhoni within touching distance of top spot in Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings

Dubai, 7 July 2008

Bracken takes over at head of bowling list, Johnson into top 10, Murali’ on the march again

Symonds and Sangakkara back among top 10 batsmen

Australia consolidates lead in Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table

India’s one-day captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is within touching distance of regaining top spot in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Player Rankings.

And there is a new name at the top of the bowling list with Australia’s Nathan Bracken taking over the number one position from Daniel Vettori of New Zealand.

Dhoni was last at the head of affairs among the world’s top one-day batsmen for one week in April 2006 and now, at the conclusion of the Asia Cup in Pakistan, he has only South Africa’s Graeme Smith ahead of him.

Dhoni moved up two places in the rankings as a result of his 327 runs during the tournament. He was dismissed just twice in five innings and had a strike-rate of 91 runs per 100 balls.

Dhoni’s gain is Sachin Tendulkar’s loss as the little master, who missed the tournament, drops four places to number six in the listings.

But heading in the other direction are Andrew Symonds and Kumar Sangakkara. Both players climb fours spots with Symonds now in ninth position and Sangakkara a place further back.

Veteran Sri Lanka batsman Sanath Jayasuriya, whose blazing 125 from 114 balls against India in Sunday’s Asia Cup final was the climax to a superb series, has returned to the top 20.

Jayasuriya, who finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 378 runs, rises 10 places and now lies in 16th slot while his captain, Mahela Jayawardena drops three positions to 27th place.

Further down the batting list there are significant moves in the right direction for three players – Misbah-ul-Haq, Tamim Iqbal and Suresh Raina.

Misbah climbs 24 places to 37th position, Tamim rises seven slots to 42nd (a career-high which also makes him Bangladesh’s top-ranked batsman) and Raina shoots up 17 spots to 53rd position.

Bracken’s rise to number one in the Reliance Mobile ODI Player Rankings for bowlers comes off the back of an impressive series against the West Indies.

Bracken was the joint-leading wicket-taker in that series with eight scalps in five matches, the same as fellow left-armer Mitchell Johnson, who is the other significant Australian mover in the top 20.

Johnson climbs eight places to seventh in the listing, and with a career-high rating too.

The same is true of Pakistan’s Rao Iftikhar, into the top 20 as he gains eight spots to 15th.

Rao was the fourth highest wicket-taker in the Asia Cup with nine wickets and the three men above him are also making all the right moves in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings.

Sohail Tanvir (10 wickets) is up six places and now shares 20th spot on the ladder with Kenya’s Peter Ongondo.

Muttiah Muralidaran’s 11 wicket haul sees him rise seven slots to seventh place while fellow spinner Ajantha Mendis, whose 6-13 in the Asia Cup final wrecked India’s batting line-up, climbs a remarkable 65 places to 85th position.

His fellow Sri Lankan, seamer Nuwan Kulasekara climbs 11 spots to 54th and is at his best ranking and rating.

In the Reliance Mobile ODI Player Rankings for all-rounders, Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik remains top but a quiet Asia Cup for Shahid Afridi sees him drop two places to fourth and that means Jacob Oram and Jacques Kallis both move up one position and within touching distance of first place.

The Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table sees Australia move two rating points clear of its nearest rival, South Africa, following its 5-0 demolition of the West Indies in the Caribbean. The home side now languishes in eighth, six rating points behind England.

Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup win has Jayawardena’s men lying in sixth, four points behind Pakistan and seven back from India. New Zealand is third but it and the rest of the teams are quite some distance behind both Australia and South Africa.


Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship (as of 7 July)

Rank Team Rating

1 Australia 129
2 South Africa 127
3 New Zealand 115
4 India 113
5 Pakistan 110
6 Sri Lanka 106
7 England 103
8 West Indies 97
9 Bangladesh 45
10 Ireland 19
11 Zimbabwe 18
12 Kenya 0

ICC One-Day Rankings (as of 7 July)

Batsmen

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating

1 ( - ) Graeme Smith SA 792! 41.11 792 v Ban at Dhaka 2008
2 (+2) MS Dhoni Ind 773 48.00 806 v WI at Kingston 2006
3 (+1) Ricky Ponting Aus 751 43.24 832 v NZ at Hobart 2007
4 ( - ) Mike Hussey Aus 750 54.92 863 v NZ at Perth 2007
5 (+2) S.Chanderpaul WI 744 40.49 754 v SA at Durban 1999
6 (-4) S.R.Tendulkar Ind 743 44.33 887 v Zim at Sharjah 1998
7 (-4) Moh’d Yousuf Pak 738 43.19 777 v SA at Rawalpindi 2003
8 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 733! 37.66 733 v Ban at Dhaka 2008
9 (+4) Andrew Symonds Aus 730 40.34 778 v Ind at Nagpur 2007
10 (+4) K.C.Sangakkara SL 729 36.43 760 v Ind at Rajkot 2007
11 (-3) Matthew Hayden Aus 722 43.80 854 v Ind at Centurion 2003
12 (-2) H.H.Gibbs SA 718 36.53 750 v SL at Durban 2003
13 (-2) Kevin Pietersen Eng 717 47.14 834 v Aus at Antigua 2007
14 (-2) Michael Clarke Aus 703 43.40 756 v SL at Melbourne 2008
15 (-1) Yuvraj Singh Ind 699 36.56 739 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2006
16 (+10) S.T.Jayasuriya SL 697 32.87 838 v Ban at Pietermaritzburg 2003
17 (+1) Chris Gayle WI 693 38.84 804 v Aus at Mumbai 2006
18 (-2) Jacques Kallis SA 688 45.21 816 v WI at Johannesburg 2004
19 (+1) Gautam Gambhir Ind 682 39.02 696 v SL at Karachi 2008
20 (-3) Shoaib Malik Pak 676 35.75 685 v Ind at Lahore 2006

Bowlers

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave Econ HS Rating

1 (+1) Nathan Bracken Aus 769 21.78 4.35 806 v SL at St George's 2007
2 (-1) Daniel Vettori NZ 761 31.70 4.17 790 v Eng at Christchurch 2008
3 ( - ) Shane Bond NZ 711 19.32 4.20 811 v SA at St George's 2007
4 (+7) M.Muralidaran SL 707 22.86 3.87 913 v NZ at Sharjah 2002
5 (-1) Chaminda Vaas SL 686 27.40 4.19 861 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2004
6 ( - ) Andre Nel SA 682 26.95 4.61 685 v Ban at Dhaka 2008
7 (+8) M.G.Johnson Aus 674*! 24.77 4.76 674 v WI at St Kitts 2008
8= (-1) Brett Lee Aus 667 22.96 4.71 853 v SA at Melbourne 2006
(-1) Jerome Taylor WI 667 27.38 4.68 688 v SA at Cape Town 2008
10 ( - ) Kyle Mills NZ 663 26.74 4.68 694 v Ban at Queenstown 2007
11 (-6) Daren Powell WI 655 31.73 4.60 686 v Aus at St George's 2008
12 (-3) Shahid Afridi Pak 654 34.90 4.63 685 v Ind at Dhaka 2008
13 (-1) Stuart Broad Eng 646*! 28.04 4.85 646 v NZ at Lord's 2008
14 ( - ) Makhaya Ntini SA 635 24.12 4.46 782 v WI at Cape Town 2004
15 (+8) Iftikhar Anjum Pak 632! 32.49 4.87 632 v Ban at Karachi 2008
16 (+2) Jacob Oram NZ 627 30.70 4.44 768 v Aus at The Oval 2004
17 (-4) M.F.Maharoof SL 625 24.39 4.65 671 v Eng at Dambulla 2007
18 (-2) Brad Hogg Aus 620 26.84 4.52 687 v Ind at Nagpur 2007
19 (-2) Andrew Flintoff Eng 619 25.10 4.37 755 v Ban at Dhaka 2003
20= (-1) Peter Ongondo Ken 610! 25.14 4.34 610 v Ber at Nairobi 2007
(+6) Sohail Tanvir Pak 610* 28.11 4.92 619 v SL at Karachi 2008

All-rounders

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating

1 ( - ) Shoaib Malik Pak 349 402 v WI at Brisbane 2005
2 (+1) Jacob Oram NZ 342 353 v Eng at Auckland 2008
3 (+1) Jacques Kallis SA 334 505 v WI at Bridgetown 2001
4 (-2) Shahid Afridi Pak 331 360 v Ind at Dhaka 2008
5 ( - ) Chris Gayle WI 329 511 v Zim at Harare 2003

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Now all these young talents should get opportunity to develop in test cricket

Anshuman Gaekwad

Watching the Indian team in the tri-series and Asia Cup I can say Indian Cricket got next generation of cricketers as far as the ODIs are concerned.While watching India matches we were also talking about the senior cricketers.It that the team did not miss the likes of Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid. Under M.S Dhoni's captaincy, the Indians came together as a fighting unit to outplay any team in the world.Don't judge any team on the basis of a single performance or couple of failures.There are enough indications to suggest that we have the makings of a terrific ODI squad. After World Cup , Indian Cricket has changed a lot and now it becomes one of the best team in cricket world.Thanks to BCCI for IPL and also selectors for keeping faith on youngstars and on captain.

Sachin will be back in the team and it would be a pity that a youngster would have to make way. Nevertheless, the core of the Indian team that would serve the country in the coming seasons can be more or less identified. It is to be hoped then that the National selectors would repose faith in the young guns and give them a long run to establish their positions.

What we have seen in last few months? Indian team boasted great depth in batting line-up and also in the bowling attack.Captain and Coach have got lots of variety and options while selecting final eleven or on the field.It's True that the team could be more accurately judged when they will play against Australia and South Africa, but for the moment, there is every reason to feel optimistic of the future.Same time don't forget that this team won Tri Nation tournament in Australia beating world Champions and Sri Lanka.

In case of our batting, Sehwag, Gambhir and Yuvraj – top three are in good form and capable of providing early momentum to the innings.Followed by Raina ,Captain Dhoni , Rohit, I believe that these youngsters would be worthy carriers of India's batting legacy.Apart from them Uthappa , Yousuf Pathan are there.Although Yousuf Pathan failed to deliver his best but I am sure he will prove his talent soon.After a long period Indian team got lots of talented batsman.In this team there are ten players who can contribute with bat.Same time apart from for-five specialist bowlers, another four-five cricketers can do the job of part time bowler.Irfan Pathan failed due to injury but I hope that this young man would continue to develop into a leading all-rounder. In the ODIs, he play a key role.In my opinion , Selectors should consider Suresh Raina in test squad also.Hopefully Raina and few others will be in the test team soon.

Leggie Piyush Chawla also impressed us. In the IPL games, he has proved his big-hitting ability besides a daring to give the ball more air rather than sticking to just a restrictive line and length. During longer spells Piyush will be more effective with his bowling and he is bound to cement his position in the Test squad too once Kumble decides to retire.But in ODI's he should learn some variation in his bowling specially in flat pitches where bowlers are not getting any help.

In the bowling department we have Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, RP Singh , Ishant Sharma.Also in the line Praveen Kumar,Manpreet Gony, VRV Singh , Ojha ,Munaf Patel.It will be really very difficult for Munaf and others to get back their position in the team.

Now all these young talents should get opportunity to develop in test cricket.The Onus is on Borad Officials to nurture these youngstars for not just ODI's or T20 but also for Test Matches.Along with One Day International They should get a scope to play test matches by rotation.And in this case I fully agree with Indian Coach Gary Kirsten who is in favour of rotation policy.Everyone will be benefited by this kind of system-Players will get rest , others will get an opportunity to play and Coach will get a scope to try various combinations.

HAWKEYE COMMUNICATIONS

ICC confirms security process for ICC Champions Trophy

Dubai, 6 July 2008

ICC Chief Executive Officer Haroon Lorgat today confirmed that, in the course of ICC annual conference week, a security process had been agreed ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

“During annual conference week the Chief Executives’ Committee and the ICC Board came together to receive a presentation by the security consultants hired to oversee that matter both before and during the ICC Champions Trophy,” said Mr Lorgat.

“During the course of that presentation a process was agreed upon to deal with any incidents that may occur between now and the end of the tournament.

“The process involved an exchange of information between the competing teams, the ICC and the security consultants.

“The ICC will not compromise the safety and security of any individual at one of its tournaments and if it is not appropriate to play in any country then we will not do so.

“Our security consultants have been working with the Pakistan authorities during the Asia Cup, assessing security, and will report back as soon as possible with their views.

“At this stage we are working towards the ICC Champions Trophy being held in Pakistan in September,” he added.

The ICC Champions Trophy will involve the top eight sides in the Reliance ODI Championship table as of 11 March playing 15 matches in a short, sharp event with two groups of four teams, two semi-finals and a final.

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

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Sports News

July 06, 2008

Football :

Rakhal Memorial Knock-out Football tournament will be starts from first week of August. Last Date of entry July 17.

The match between Youth Club and Umakanta Coaching Center were ended 1-1 goals in the domestic Third Division Super League Football tournament today

Tripura Sports School holds hot favorite Soroj Sangha by 0-0 in the domestic Second Division League Football tournament today.

Tennis :

Three days Summer Coaching camp finished at Agartala today. This is the first time Tripura Tennis Associaiton organized summer camp. Two Bangladeshi trainers Amdadul Huk Milan and Raihan Bhuia were attend this camp.

July 05, 2008

Football :

Amara Kajana upset United BST by 1-1 goals in the first match of domestic Third Division Super League Football tournament today.

School Sports :

Refresher course for physical teachers will be held on July 07 next. 127 teachers from eight disciplines will take part in this seven days course.

One bowler needs to take responsibility

Anil Kumble

Bangladesh might have got blown away by Pakistan in the one match of the tournament that did not matter that much, with the finalists already decided, but that's an aberration in a tournament where the pitches have been flat all along. I expect the pitch to be flat in the final as well, and at the risk of repeating myself this makes it extremely hard work for the bowlers.

The thing is, the boundaries get shortened irrespective of the nature of the pitch and the batsmen can then go at the ball fearlessly, knowing that even a mis-hit will clear the ropes. All that the bowlers can do is vary their pace and angles and keep the batsmen guessing. Bowlers have to be assigned clear roles and if someone's job is to take wickets then the captain needs to back him even if he goes for runs. On these pitches you can't succeed if all five bowlers are just looking to restrict the batsmen. You have to find a couple of bowlers who can pick up wickets. In times like this strategy becomes very important, because taking wickets is the only way to keep the run-rate down.

You can't bowl in set patterns and I think the spinners definitely have a role to play even when the field restrictions are on. These challenges sometimes get the best out of a spinner. When a fast bowler is bowling the men in the deep, usually fine-leg and third-man, are in a defensive role, saving runs. But if a spinner is bowling, and you have long-on and square-leg out, then they also become catching positions.

The other thing the spinner must do when bowling with the field restrictions on is resist the temptation to experiment. Sometimes when you bowl three dot balls you begin to think that the batsman is going to take a chance and come down the wicket and by anticipating this you end up bowling short. In my experience it's best to postpone this thought, and do what has worked for you. If the batsman comes down the pitch then automatically there's something in the computer in your head that makes you shorten the length. It's best not to get too far ahead of the game and just stick to what's working.

You have to identify a couple of bowlers up front who can take wickets and then another one in the middle overs whose role is mainly to pick up wickets. To this end the fielding has to back things up, and moreso in a final. The fielders in the circle have to be in positions where they save the single because it is wickets and dot balls that will build the pressure.

In this tournament captains have backed their batsmen to go out and there and score more than the opposition because even making six runs an over has not been difficult. When batting first you have to score at more than six. Even when India lost four wickets fairly early against Pakistan, we managed to get past 300, so that shows that scoring quickly has been possible.
In the final it will be important for teams to hold their nerve and to that India are in a good position. The disappointment of the Kitply Cup notwithstanding, this Indian team has tasted success in finals over the last year and are equipped to handle the situations that might be thrown at them in a big match. With some strong results in the last year I think this team has the upper hand because they have the belief that they can get out of any situation that they might be in.

For Sri Lanka the key will be Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene at the top of the order and I'm sure India's discussions will revolve around how to ensure these players don't have a big impact. We'll have get two of these three cheaply and not give too many to the other guy. They're all class players and this is asking a lot of the bowlers, but that will hold the key to the final.

The two best teams in this tournament have made it to the final and I think it's going to take a bowler to stand up and win the game for his side. The batsmen have been scoring at will, and one bowler – it might be a fast bowler, or a spinner, or even a part-timer who chips in – needs to take responsibility and pull the game back for his side. If one of our bowlers does that, we will come out on top.

HAWKEYE COMMUNICATIONS

World cricket needs three formats, and to respect players, says Cricket Australia

A new format for Test cricket and the phenomenal popularity of Twenty20 offer them both strong futures, but world cricket should not lose sight of the fact that its prosperity has been built on 50-over one day cricket.

Cricket is in great shape and was probably the world’s second biggest sport – but its success depends on three formats.

This was the message of Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland when he spoke to an International Cricket Council (ICC) Members’ Forum which ended a week of major world cricket meetings in Dubai overnight Friday Australian time.

“Unfortunately, in my view, there is currently too much talk of ODI cricket as the problem child or the ugly duckling,” he told world cricket leaders.

“The financial success of the modern game has been built on ODI cricket.

“Within this current bundle of commercial rights, our short term future includes pinnacle (ICC Cricket) World Cup events in 2011 and 2015; we owe it to ourselves to ensure that ODI cricket continues to be a popular force in the game”.

Mr Sutherland also strongly supported the Test Championship concept showcased to ICC members’ chief executives and the ICC Board during the week.

The end of the current Future Tours Program (FTP) in 2012 provided a tremendous opportunity to deliver improved structure and context to the schedule of international cricket.

“Let’s face it, generally speaking, the FTP is currently a hotch-potch of bi-lateral tour arrangements that, given the current volume of international cricket, produces matches that no longer linger in the memory or have lasting meaning,” he said.

The Championship concept, leading to semi-finals and a final, and an unambiguous world champion in each four-year cycle, offered a chance to provide fans with context without damaging the essential character of Test cricket, which is the premier form of the game.

Meanwhile, Twenty20 (and most recently IPL) had only reinforced the cricket’s strength and popularity.

“In Twenty20, we have a vehicle that can take the game anywhere and everywhere,” he said.

It was a bite-sized piece of entertainment designed to bring new and different people to the game and was achieving all that, in spades.

“Twenty20 is a format of the game that is popular in traditional cricket markets but it may well make its biggest mark in new and emerging markets…hopefully in markets that can make a material contribution to the global interest in our game…and ultimately impact favourably on cricket’s economy,” he said.

“Twenty20 is a winner…it’s here to stay and the challenge for us is to find the context and the balance to ensure that we don’t trip over our self (or each other) in our enthusiasm to ride the wave and capitalise on it.

“In this context, we should never lose sight of the fact that international cricket is the foundation on which this game has been built.

“It is not only our foundation, but for all members, possibly with the exception of India, we couldn’t survive without it. International cricket is our lifeblood…we compromise it at our peril.

“To that end, Twenty20 cricket…whether it is IPL, Champions T20, Pro20, The Big Bash, whatever…Twenty20 must be designed, structured and promoted so as to complement, not compromise international cricket. I repeat…complement, not compromise.

“We also must understand and accept that the introduction of private ownership is likely to see them often at odds with the interests of international cricket.

“This is a real threat and is likely to provide us with many challenges in the future.

“Given the significance of IPL and its relationship with the BCCI, it is not unreasonable for us all to expect that IPL will seek to preserve and protect international cricket on behalf of all ICC members.

Mr Sutherland also called on administrators to respect the role of players and to listen to their views.

“They make the game a joy to watch…they were once just sportsmen but in this day and age they are now professional entertainers,” he said.

More than anyone, they dictate how cricket’s brand is perceived in the market.

As professionals, they had more opportunity and more options than they have ever had.

“We need to look after our players. We need to keep them close. We need to understand them. We need to respect their advisors and their member associations,” he told the ICC Members’ Forum.

“We don’t have to always agree with them, but we should respect their views, as they should respect ours”.

In concluding, Mr Sutherland noted a new FTP with a Test Championship and an ODI League were an important exercise in brand management.

They would provide a framework and structure for world cricket to live with, and a way to manage and grow the public’s growing fascination with Twenty20 cricket.

“Twenty20 is a brilliant addition to cricket’s portfolio. By exceeding even Lalit Modi’s wildest dreams, IPL showed that cricket can be anything,” he said.

“It has reminded us that it is entirely reasonable for cricket to have lofty ambitions and the highest aspirations”.

Speech given by CA Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland to the ICC Members’ Forum in Dubai on Friday (4 July), the final event of the ICC’s annual conference week.

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The first 10 overs will be crucial

Anil Kumble

As we've seen all through this tournament big scores, even those in excess of 300, are being chased down easily. Nothing at all has changed as we come into the business end with the wickets remaining flat and playing exactly as predicted.

Younis Khan's knock against India was a really strong one and he seems to do well in pressure games against us. The manner in which he batted in what was a must-win game for his team was commendable.

That said India will be comfortable facing Sri Lanka in the final having just beaten them. We were chasing a big total and it was crucial that the openers got the team off to a good start. That has been a feature of chasing down big scores and India have been helped by the fact that both Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have been among the runs. It also helps that they score so quickly, taking the pressure off the batsmen who follow.

I have been impressed by the manner in which Mahendra Singh Dhoni has used himself in a floating position up and down the order. Not only has he batted well, he has also been spot on in choosing when to come up the order. Perhaps his experience in the Kitply Cup, where he came down the order, taught him something.

Dhoni will also take heart from the fact that all of India's batsmen have spent time out in the middle at different times in this tournament and they are all among the runs.

For the bowlers it has been desperately hard work and you can't fault the effort they have put in. When you play in Pakistan, whether it is Test cricket or ODIs, there's nothing for either the fast bowlers or the spinners. With the ball change coming into effect even the reverse swing aspect is taken out of the equation. In this context I thought RP Sing