Vettori,
McCullum torment Bangladesh
QUEENSTOWN (New Zealand),
Dec 31: Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum
put in record performances as New Zealand
thrashed Bangladesh by 10 wickets with 44 overs
to spare in a one-day international here today.
Bangladesh were
all out for 93 in the 38th over, with Vettori
returning a magnificent five for seven, and then
McCullum blasting the Bangladesh bowlers out of
the park as New Zealand reached their target in
just six overs.
The astounding
performance, where the match was over before the
scheduled first innings break, sealed a 3-0
series clean sweep for New Zealand.
"We asked for
an improvement from our first two performances
and I think we got a complete performance
today," said Vettori, the New Zealand
skipper, downplaying his wicket-taking exploits
in favour of McCullum’s big hitting.
"It was one
of the most destructive innings you could ever
see," he said.
"He was
clearing the ropes with good shots. He
didn’t seem to mishit any.
McCullum’s
unbeaten 80 came off 28 balls and included a
contemptuous nine fours and six sixes.
Along the way he
posted the fastest ODI half century by a New
Zealander, from 19 balls, and he missed equalling
the world record by three deliveries.
At the other end,
Jamie How was a virtual spectator, contributing
only seven of the 95 runs scored.
Vettori had
earlier been the chief architect of
Bangladesh’s dismissal.
Bangladesh’s
stated aim before the match was to restore some
pride by producing a competitive total after
being comprehensively beaten in the first two
matches. (AGENCIES)
India
should open with Dravid, Sehwag: Steve Waugh
SYDNEY, Dec 31: Rahul Dravid’s poor
show in Melbourne notwithstanding, India should
open with the right-hander and send Virender
Sehwag as his partner in the second Test,
suggested former Australia captain Steve Waugh.
Waugh said Dravid
should not be written off after just two failures
and he would prove a perfect foil for Sehwag who
could play his natural aggressive game.
"I would keep
Dravid as an opener but I would bring in Sehwag
to open the batting with him. If Sehwag comes in
and plays his shots, his natural way will take
pressure off Dravid who can work his way back
into a bit of form," said Waugh.
"Every player
is entitled to struggle once or twice in his
career. He probably hasn’t timed his poor
form well but I certainly wouldn’t write him
off," he reasoned.
An admirer of the
former India skipper, Waugh said he was baffled
to see him relinquish captaincy after the UK
tour.
"I was quite
surprised when he did so because I knew he really
valued and cherished that role. There may be one
or two issues going on behind the scenes that
people don’t know about.
"I think he
needs to just enjoy his cricket. He didn’t
really look like he enjoyed it. He has to take in
the attitude that he doesn’t have anything
to prove to anyone. He has done everything you
could possibly do in cricket, just go in with a
clean slate and enjoy yourself," he said.
Waugh, meanwhile,
did not seem too impressed with the other opener,
Wasim Jaffer, and said he should pave way for
Sehwag.
"Jaffer would
have to be the guy that misses out. I think after
his second innings dismissal when he got out on a
no-ball and two balls later played a soft, wafty
shot, that wasn’t really a Test
batsman’s shot."
Waugh also seemed
in awe of Sachin Tendulkar and said the Mumbaikar
might prove the dangerman in the Sydney Test.
"He was very
impressive in the first innings. He looked set
for a big hundred. He has set himself for a very
big series here. It will be his last in
Australia...
"This is an
important series for him. You could see the way
he played in the first innings he was set for a
big score. I think he is the danger man in Sydney
for Australia."
At Melbourne,
Ricky Ponting’s team thumped India to record
their straight 15th win and Waugh said he would
not be surprised if the side went on to win even
30 Tests in a row.
"There is no
reason why they can’t. The way they are
playing at the moment, they are dominating.
"It’s a
fantastic achievement. (I am) more than happy to
see them get 16, then go on and get 20, 25, 30,
32 (wins)," he said.
Waugh also
predicted a bright future for Brett Lee and said
the speedster might end up among Australia’s
all-time best pacers.
"He really
looks the complete bowler now. He has control, he
knows when to up the ante, he can sense weakness
in batsmen and he is just not bowling any
four-balls."
"He
struggled, had a few injuries, working his way
back. But if he can back up this season over the
next four or five years, then there is no doubt
he can be up there." (PTI)
Sangakkara
regains top spot in ICC player rankings
DUBAI, Dec 31: Sri Lanka’s Kumar
Sangakkara regained top spot in the ICC player
rankings for Test batsmen after Australia captain
Ricky Ponting and South African Jaques Kallis
suffered rare batting failures against India and
West Indies respectively.
Ponting was
leading the ICC table at the start of Boxing Day
Test ahead of second placed Kallis and Sangakkara
by one and three rating points respectively.
But he could score
only five and three runs in two innings conceding
19-rating points and fell behind the two on 917
points.
Kallis, who could
not get off the mark in the first innings, did
try to compensate by scoring 85 in his second dig
that was just enough to retain his second spot at
923 rating points.
Sangakkara, on 933
points, had earlier knocked Ponting off the top
spot after his performance of 92 and 152 in the
first Test against England in Kandy earlier this
month.
Sri Lanka now has
players at the top of both the batsman and bowler
categories in the ICC player rankings as world
record-breaking spinner Muttiah Muralitharan tops
the bowling list.
Meanwhile,
Australia’s Stuart Clark replaced Ntini in
second spot while South African Dale Steyn
dropped three positions to allow Kumble and Lee
to rise in the bowling list.
For India, Sachin
Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly climbed one place
each and now have South Africa’s Ashwell
Prince and Australia’s Adam Gilchrist firmly
in their sights. Only five ratings point separate
15th placed Prince from 18th place Ganguly.
Former captain
Rahul Dravid dropped two places to 14th following
his dismal performance in the first Test while
Hussey edged closer to the 900-mark.
Matthew Hayden was
also rewarded for his effort of 124 and 47 when
he jumped two places ahead of Sri Lanka’s
Mahela Jaywardena and England’s Kevin
Pietersen in sixth position.
Chris Gayle, Daren
Ganga, Marlon Samuels and De Villiers moved up
the ladder.
While Michael
Clarke cemented his place in 11th spot following
knocks of 20 and 73, Phil Jaques and Andrew
Symonds made movements in the right direction.
Phil Jaques, who scored 66 and 51, jumped 12
places to 25th position while Symonds climbed
eight places to 32nd spot.
India captain Anil
Kumble and Brett Lee of Australia gained one
place each. Kumble’s match effort of 7-186
puts him in fourth place while Lee’s 6-89
places him in fifth position, just two points
behind the Indian wrist spinner.
Clark’s
effort of 5-48 in the Test helped him jump two
places and placed him 27 points ahead of Ntini
who managed 4-135 in the match and consequently
conceded 13 ratings points.
ICC top Ten test
batsmen: 1. Kumara Sangakkara (sl) 933, 2.
Jacques Kallis (sa) 923, 3. Ricky Ponting (Aus)
917, 4. Mike Hussey (Aus) 882, 5. Mohd Yousuf
(Pak) 880, 6. Matthew Hayden (Aus) 847, 7. Mahela
Jayawardena (SL) 835, 8. Kevin Pietersen (eng)
804, 9. Younus Khan (Pak) 799, 10. Shivnarine
Chanderpaul (WI) 790. Top ten bowlers: 1. Muttiah
Muralitharan (SL) 907, 2. Stuart Clark (Aus) 822,
3. Makhaya Ntini (SA) 795, 4. Anil Kumble (Ind)
754, 5. Brett Lee (Aus) 752, 6. Dale Steyn (SA)
749, 7. Shane Bond (NZ) 724, 8. Matthew Hoggard
(Eng) 695, 9. Shaun Pollock (SA) 694, 10. Shoaib
Akhtar (Pak) 684. Top five all-rounders: 1.
Jacques Kallis (SA) 537, 2. Andrew Flintoff (Eng)
340, 3. Shaun Pollock (SA) 322, 4. Daniel Vettori
(NZ) 316, 5. Chaminda Vaas (SL) 276. (UNI)
PCB to
consider option of shifting home series
LAHORE, Dec 31: Amid security concerns
following the assassination of former Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB) is hopeful that normalcy will be restored
and Zimbabwe and Australia’s tour of
Pakistan will go ahead as scheduled.
Zimbabwe are
scheduled to arrive in Karachi for a five-match
one-day international series on January 14, while
Australia’s tour is to begin in March next
year.
International
Cricket Council’s chief executive Malcom
Speed had proposed the idea of transferring the
series to Australia to save it from a
cancellation.
Following
Speed’s suggestion, PCB officials are
willing to consider the option of
‘conditionally’ allowing the series to
be moved to Australia.
A PCB official was
quoted as saying by ‘The News’,
"we can think about sending our team to
Australia in March-April next year only if
Australia agree to play the return series in
Pakistan next December.’’
Earlier, PCB made
it clear that they would not shift the home
series to any neutral venue.
"For us this
option remains unacceptable,’’ a PCB
official said. He pointed out that Pakistan will
lose both the home advantage and substantial
revenues that are generated through a home series
if it is shifted to a neutral venue.
PCB chairman Nasim
Ashraf said "we are currently in a state of
mourning and all cricket matters have taken a
back seat.
"The
situation in the country is tense but we hope
that normalcy will be restored in the coming
days,’’ he added.
Ashraf sounded
pretty sure that both the tours will go ahead as
scheduled. "We have received no official
word from Australia or Zimbabwe and believe that
both the tours of Pakistan are on.’’
There have been
concerns raised by the two teams about their
security in the country. Australia’s Andrew
Symonds had said that he will not visit Pakistan,
claiming it be a dangerous place. (UNI)
|
