Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Saturday, April 10, 2010

20-20 latest news


Jayawardena aiming for World Cup success



Former Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardena is hoping Sri Lanka will build on last years experience in the Twenty20 World Cup in England by becoming a force in the shortest format of the game.

Sri Lanka are one of the favourites to win years Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean after losing out to Pakistan in last years final at Lords.

The middle order batsman believes Twenty20 cricket suits Sri Lanka’s players allowing them to express themselves more freely than in other formats of the game.

"I've always felt that Twenty20 cricket is pretty open. I don't think there're any favourites and I think all the teams competing in the tournament have a pretty good chance. With regards to Sri Lanka, it is a format we enjoy playing as we, as a side, get a chance to express ourselves more freely," said Jayawardena.

"We did have great success in England but I don't think we should get ahead of ourselves. This tournament is going to be another tough challenge and we need to start anew, take each game as it comes but try to go one better and win the tournament."

"I think we've got a really good, young and talented group of players. I think if we can get everyone together and perform, our chances are pretty good," he added.

"Although it is purely down to what happens on the day, most of the surfaces are made for the batsmen and are pretty flat as people like to see sixes and boundaries being hit and big scores being posted."

"Having said that, the bowlers have also come up with plenty of variation these days as they know they need to be different. It's a great tussle between bat and ball but I think the batsmen still have a bigger role and advantage in the game."


India much weaker without their little master



Sachin Tendulkar’s decision not to play in this months Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies will leave India a much weaker team as they look to put last years disappointments in England behind them.

India, who entered the tournament in England as the defending Twenty20 World Cup champions had a torrid time crashing out of the event in the super eight stages after defeats against England, West Indies and South Africa.

With India looking to bounce back in the Caribbean Tendulkar’s decision not to play as caused a great deal of surprise among Indian cricketers and fans a like.

The little master is in splendid form for the Mumbai Indians during the current Indian Premier League scoring 394 runs in just 9 games as the red hot Indians remain on course to finish top of the IPL group stages.

The Indians skipper has played a major role in the teams impressive start in this years IPL but Tendulkar has stuck by he decision not to play international Twenty20 cricket in order to prolong his test career.

With former players trying to talk Tendukar into an about turn his Indians teammate Harbhajan Singh knows his skipper’s decision is final.

"Had Sachin decided to play in the WT20, it would have been good for the team. But since he has decided, we know he is not going to change his decision," said Singh.


Oram included in Kiwis World Cup squad



All rounder Jacob Oram has been included in New Zealand 15 man squad for next months Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies.

Oram, who is currently recovering from a knee injury is expected to be fit by the start of April and will join Aaron Redmond and fast bowler Ian Butler who are also recovering form injury in the World Cup squad.

"We are excited about the side and believe that they will go well in the tournament,” said selectors’ spokesman, Mark Greatbatch. "We have a mix of players who are competitive on the world stage in the Twenty20 format. Obviously we will need to be consistent with our performances and build momentum through pool-play."

"We think we have some very dynamic batters, who can be lethal in this form of the game. Our bowlers are also very effective Twenty20 performers," he said.

"All the players have a programme for the next 18 days prior to leaving for our training camp in Brisbane on the 18th April. The training programme requires the players to undergo rigourous fitness and skill sessions," he added.

"A number of our players, Mills, Oram, Redmond and Butler are coming back from injury, so the training schedule will put all of our players through their paces to ensure that they are fully fit before we depart."

"Ian Butler and Aaron Redmond will also play several matches in the National Club Championship in Auckland during 6-11 April. Other squad members, Hopkins and Styris, will also play in these matches to give them some game time."

"Rob Nicol comes in to the side on the back of some very good domestic form, particularly in the shorter form of the game. Daryl Tuffey and Neil Broom were not considered because of injury."

New Zealand Squad - Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, Ian Butler, Martin Guptill, Gareth Hopkins, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Aaron Redmond, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor.


Tigers include Jahirul Islam in Twenty20 squad



Bangladesh have included top order batsman Jahirul Islam in their 15 man squad which was announced today for next months Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies.

Jahirul, who made his test debut for the Tigers earlier this month against England, is the leading run scorer in Bangladesh’s domestic first class competition.

Rafiqul Alam, chairman of selectors felt the inclusion of Jahirul would add strength to the Tigers top order. "He is capable of playing the big shots and by sheer weight of his consistent performance over the years at first class, academy and club level he has earned his spot. He can also be our back-up wicketkeeper and his fielding is also good."

"From the information we have received on Mortaza he is fit and has been in full rhythm at the training of his Indian Premier League club Kolkata Knight Riders. He will definitely bolster our pace attack and his late-order power batting could come in handy too."

"Ashraful is a potential match winner and his ability to improvise in limited overs cricket makes him an important part of the team in this tournament. We know that he is trying as hard as anybody to fulfil his enormous promise and we expect him to fire," said Alam.

Masrafe Bin Mortaza and Mohammad Ashraful have been included in the squad after missing out on the test and one day squads which played England earlier this month.

Bangladesh squad - Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Mushfiqur Rahim (Vice-Captain/WK), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Mahmudullah, Naeem Islam, Masrafe Bin Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Syed Rasel, Md. Sohrawordi, Jahirul Islam.


Lee included in Australian Twenty20 squad


Fast bowler Brett Lee will return to international cricket with Australia after enduring a frustrating year out of the game with an ongoing elbow injury.

The 33 year old, who retired from test cricket to prolong his international career was included in the Aussies 15 man squad which was announced today for next months Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies.

Although Lee has only played one game this year Andrew Hilditch, chairman of selectors was happy to include Lee in the Squad.

"While Brett Lee hasn’t played the amount of cricket we would’ve liked him to in preparation for this World Cup, at his best he is one of the best Twenty20 cricketers in the world," said Hilditch.

"He also has the opportunity of continuing to play in the IPL as preparation for this tournament," he added.

"We’ve been preparing hard for this tournament since the last event and we’re pleased with the squad’s performance in recent games, under the captaincy of Michael Clarke."

"The squad has a good mix of experience and exciting young talent and is capable, at its best, of playing competitive and entertaining Twenty20 cricket."

"Dan Christian had limited opportunities in the lead-up to this selection but we see him an exciting Twenty20 cricketer with his all-round skills with bat and ball. Ryan Harris is extremely unlucky to miss selection given his strong performances in all forms of the game in recent times for Australia."

"Travis Birt is also unlucky to miss selection. He also had limited opportunity leading up to selection but we’ve gone with Mike Hussey who brings great international experience and is in fantastic form in all formats of the game right now."

"We’ve also added Tim Paine to give us cover in case of injury to Brad Haddin and of course, Tim’s ability with the bat, which saw him have a great KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, more than warrants his selection."

Australia’s squad - David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Cameron White, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Tim Paine, Steven Smith, Daniel Christian, Brad Haddin (wk), Brett Lee, Dirk Nannes, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Shaun Tait.


India name Twenty20 World Cup Squad



The BCCI meet on Friday to announce the details of India’s 15 man squad for next months Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies.

The biggest surprise is the inclusion of legspinner Piyush Chawla who returns to the international stage after nearly two years in the wilderness while Vinay Kumar is the only new face in the squad.

There are a number of injury concerns to players who have been included in the squad although Kris Srikkanth, chairman of the national selection committee had no worries saying the players had sent in their fitness certificates.

Opener Gautam Gambhir, who is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury he picked up while playing in the IPL and left arm pacer Ashish Nehra, who has been out of action since the end of February, are expected to be fit to play in the Caribbean though.

"We have selected the best team for the Twenty20 World Cup. We are happy with the performance of every member of the team. They have shown consistency," said Srikkanth.

"The Twenty20 World Cup is still one month away and we hope that this team will do well in the event. Batting of our team is very powerful and condition of the wickets in Caribbean is similar to the Indian condition," he added

The team will once again be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni with Virendra Sehwag filling the role of vice captain.

India Twenty20 World Cup squad - Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain and Wicketkeeper), Virender Sehwag (Vice Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Piyush Chawla, Dinesh Karthik, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Rohit Sharma.

Tendulkar turns down World Cup spot



Despite being one of the best batsman in the early stages of this years Indian Premier League Sachin Tendulkar has said he won’t play in next months Twenty20 World Cup.

Fresh from scoring another impressive half century to help the Mumbai Indians cruise to a comprehensive 7 wicket victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Brabourne Stadium Tendulkar remained.

Even though Tendulkar was mot included in India’s initial list of 30 probables for the World Cup former captain Sunil Gavaskar asked Tendulkar to change his mind after the little master enjoyed a fabulous star to IPL 3.0.

"I will not be playing the ICC World Twenty20. I have not played Twenty20 Internationals from 2007 onwards and I don't think it should become an issue now," Tendulkar told CNN-IBN channel.

The finals squad of 15 will be announced by the BBCI on Friday morning.

Afridi named as Pakistan Twenty20 skipper



Pakistan has appointed controversial all-rounder Shahid Afridi as their captain for next months Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies.

The 30 year old is currently on a six-month probation programme and was fined $50,000 by the Pakistan Cricket Board for bring his country into disrepute after he was caught ball tampering in January during Pakistan’s ill fated tour of Australia.

"After a detailed discussion, the PCB have appointed Shahid Afridi as captain for the World Cup," PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said.

The defending Twenty20 World Cup champions have been in turmoil since February after the PCB handed out a number of bans and fines to senior players after holding an internal review of player conduct in Australia

Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan were banned from playing for Pakistan for life because of continuing infighting while Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were both banned for 12 months.


Rankin included in Irish Twenty20 squad



Ireland have included Warwickshire seamer Boyd Rankin in their final squad of 15 for next months Twenty20 World Cup after the 25 year old recovered from a foot injury.

Rankin missed the Irelands Twenty20 World Cup qualifying campaign in the United Arab Emirates last month because he was recovering from injury.

The Irish qualified for the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies after finishing second in the qualifying tournament despite losing the final against Afghanistan.

The squad captain by William Porterfield includes a number of players with World Cup experience including Trent Johnston and Niall and Kevin O'Brien.

The Irish have also included teenagers Paul Stirling and George Dockrell in the squad.

Ireland World Twenty20 squad - WTS Porterfield (captain), AC Botha, P Connell, AR Cusack, G Dockrell, DT Johnston, NG Jones, GE Kidd, JF Mooney, KJ O'Brien, NJ O'Brien, PR Stirling, WB Rankin, AR White, GC Wilson.


Pakistan aiming to defend World Cup title in style



Pakistan Twenty20 opener Salman Butt has said Pakistan will defend their Twenty20 World Cup title in style when they kick start their defense in the West Indies later this month. .

The Pakistan players have been taking part in a training camp in Lahore this week as the players have taken the advantage of being snub during Januarys IPL player auction.

While some of the worlds best players are taking part in the IPL the Pakistan Twenty20 squad have been training together and hope this advantage will help one they reach the Caribbean.

"We will go all out to retain the title and put our best for it. When I look at the Pakistan team, especially in this shortest format, I think anyone who plays to his full potential has the ability to single-handedly win the game for us on any given day," said Butt.

"It's going to be a tough tournament. We're in a difficult and tricky group with Australia, which is a very good side. In the shortest format, it's hard to say who will do well as it is all bout who plays well on the day," he added.

Twenty20 World Cup not outs - Stats

Batting - Totals
Player
Team
Mat
No
Runs
Ave
Balls
SR
100's
50's
0's
4s
6s
IK Pathan
India
8
5
47
5.88
37
126.46
0
0
0
3
3
MG Johnson
Australia
5
4
51
10.2
27
187.27
0
0
0
5
2
Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakistan
11
4
300
27.27
226
132.58
0
1
0
22
11
Shoaib Malik
Pakistan
14
4
339
24.21
294
115.23
0
2
0
27
5
Younis Khan
Pakistan
13
3
299
23
241
123.94
0
2
0
21
8
Umar Gul
Pakistan
4
3
17
4.25
13
129.85
0
0
1
1
1
J Botha
South Africa
3
3
10
3.33
6
163.49
0
0
0
1
0
JM Kemp
South Africa
5
3
173
34.6
124
139.36
0
1
0
13
10
JP Duminy
South Africa
8
3
121
15.13
114
106.1
0
0
1
5
3
AB de Villiers
South Africa
11
3
236
21.45
167
141.05
0
1
0
23
8
AD Mathews
Sri Lanka
4
3
63
15.75
39
160.91
0
0
0
5
2
J Mubarak
Sri Lanka
10
3
140
14
97
143.88
0
0
2
11
6
SL Malinga
Sri Lanka
4
3
16
4
16
100
0
0
0
0
1
RR Sarwan
West Indies
7
3
85
12.14
75
113.21
0
0
0
5
1
S Chanderpaul
West Indies
8
3
99
12.38
88
112.39
0
0
0
8
2
Abdur Razzak
Bangladesh
5
3
14
2.8
28
50.88
0
0
1
0
0
ML Hayden
Australia
6
3
265
44.17
183
144.66
0
4
0
32
10
Mushfiqur Rahim
Bangladesh
5
3
25
5
29
86.44
0
0
0
0
0
AD Mascarenhas
England
6
3
46
7.67
50
92.09
0
0
1
3
0
RP Sharma
India
3
3
88
29.33
61
144.05
0
1
0
9
4
CP Schofield
England
4
3
24
6
20
119.61
0
0
0
2
0
SCJ Broad
England
6
3
27
4.5
18
148.39
0
0
0
2
1
JS Foster
England
5
2
37
7.4
32
115.38
0
0
0
0
1
RP Singh
India
2
2
3
1.5
3
100
0
0
0
0
0
MS Dhoni
India
11
2
240
21.82
209
114.75
0
0
0
17
4
B Lee
Australia
5
2
32
6.4
18
175.68
0
0
0
3
2
Kamran Akmal
Pakistan
12
2
232
19.33
189
122.61
0
1
1
18
9
SB Styris
New Zealand
10
2
151
15.1
127
118.75
0
0
0
3
10
Abdul Razzaq
Pakistan
3
2
32
10.67
32
100
0
0
0
0
1
JDP Oram
New Zealand
10
2
151
15.1
114
132.17
0
0
0
11
6
IG Butler
New Zealand
2
2
3
1.5
3
100
0
0
0
0
0
MR Gillespie
New Zealand
3
2
10
3.33
16
63.19
0
0
0
0
0
S Sreesanth
India
2
2
30
15
13
228.79
0
0
0
4
0
JF Mooney
Ireland
4
2
69
17.25
65
106.12
0
0
0
7
0
DJ Bravo
West Indies
7
2
156
22.29
109
142.84
0
2
1
10
6
TM Dilshan
Sri Lanka
11
2
382
34.73
277
137.76
0
3
2
48
7
KC Sangakkara
Sri Lanka
12
2
281
23.42
273
102.92
0
2
1
28
3
DPMD Jayawardene
Sri Lanka
12
2
313
26.08
241
129.73
0
2
0
33
6
AD Matthews
Sri Lanka
2
2
12
6
10
119.61
0
0
0
1
0
MV Boucher
South Africa
8
2
124
15.5
129
96.15
0
0
0
10
0
JA Morkel
South Africa
8
2
174
21.75
127
136.78
0
1
0
10
9
Yasir Arafat
Pakistan
4
2
48
12
30
159.21
0
0
0
5
1
Shahid Afridi
Pakistan
13
2
267
20.54
171
155.72
0
2
2
25
7
CJO Smith
Scotland
3
1
11
3.67
9
121.51
0
0
1
2
0
GA Rogers
Scotland
1
1
1
1
3
35.48
0
0
0
0
0
JD Nel
Scotland
1
1
13
13
7
184.51
0
0
0
2
0
JH Stander
Scotland
2
1
2
1
7
30.56
0
0
0
0
0
JH Kallis
South Africa
5
1
238
47.6
188
126.53
0
2
0
22
3
JJ van der Wath
South Africa
2
1
10
5
11
91.07
0
0
0
1
0
M Morkel
South Africa
1
1
1
1
3
35.48
0
0
0
0
0
M Ntini
South Africa
1
1
4
4
2
195.24
0
0
0
1
0
BAW Mendis
Sri Lanka
1
1
4
4
1
372.73
0
0
0
1
0
CRD Fernando
Sri Lanka
2
1
0
0
3
6.25
0
0
0
0
0
SM Pollock
South Africa
3
1
16
5.33
13
122.56
0
0
2
0
1
J Murbarak
Sri Lanka
1
1
21
21
12
174.38
0
0
0
1
2
G Wikekoon
Sri Lanka
1
1
1
1
1
100
0
0
0
0
0
LPC Silva
Sri Lanka
11
1
125
11.36
125
100
0
0
0
15
2
WPUJC Vass
Sri Lanka
1
1
12
12
22
54.75
0
0
0
0
0
SJ Benn
West Indies
2
1
13
6.5
13
100
0
0
1
0
0
CH Gayle
West Indies
7
1
310
44.29
204
151.78
1
2
1
28
18
D Ramdin
West Indies
4
1
25
6.25
19
130.93
0
0
0
1
2
DBL Powell
West Indies
1
1
1
1
1
100
0
0
0
0
0
FH Edwards
West Indies
1
1
2
2
2
100
0
0
0
0
0
KA Pollard
West Indies
4
1
37
9.25
31
119.11
0
0
0
3
1
BRM Taylor
Zimbabwe
2
1
107
53.5
84
127.32
0
1
0
8
4
KM Dabengwa
Zimbabwe
1
1
0
0
1
9.09
0
0
0
0
0
P Utseya
Zimbabwe
1
1
13
13
10
129.7
0
0
0
1
0
E Chigumbura
Zimbabwe
2
1
12
6
8
148.78
0
0
0
0
1
KJ O'Brien
Ireland
5
1
69
13.8
56
123.01
0
0
1
5
2
P Connell
Ireland
1
1
1
1
2
52.38
0
0
0
0
0
RM West
Ireland
4
1
11
2.75
11
100
0
0
0
0
0
WB Rankin
Ireland
1
1
5
5
5
100
0
0
0
0
0
WK MaCallan
Ireland
1
1
9
9
7
128.17
0
0
0
1
0
WK McCallan
Ireland
2
1
2
1
8
26.83
0
0
1
1
0
RL Bhudia
Kenya
1
1
11
11
14
78.72
0
0
0
0
1


More links

Total Runs | Average | Balls Faced | Strike Rate | 100's | 50's | Ducks | 4's | 6s | Matches | Not Out

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