Michael Clarke: fitting is not the Aussie way

Australian Test and one-day captain, Michael Clarke, has come out in protection of his mates next to match-fixing allegation.

Mazhar Majeed, exciting with getting bribes to fix matches, has maintain that the Aussies fixed "brackets", a set period of a match on which punter bet, a London Court heard on Monday.

Clarke, however, rubbishes such allegation on Friday, saying he was "very sure" no Australian players were involved.

"For me, personally, it's not the Australian way," Clarke told journalists in Sydney before boarding a plane for the tour of South Africa.

"Never in my time have I knowledgeable a conversation with anybody about any such thing.

"There's clearly been a couple of occasions when guys have been approach and that's been report to our team manager and the ICC, so all the boys in the Australian team are aware that it is occurrence, it is going on.

"But it's never concerned me and I'm very sure it's never concerned any of the Australian players."

Clarke's comments come in the wake of the trial that involve spot-fixing allegation against former Pakistan captain, Salman Butt, and bowlers Mohammad Asif continue in London.

Prosecutors allege that Majeed conspire with Butt and fast bowlers Asif and Mohammad Amir to fix parts of the Lord's Test between England and Pakistan last August.

Clarke will guide Australia in three one-day internationals and two Tests against South Africa in October and November.

Read more »

England cricket team prepared to change play in India

England will look to get better on their miserable one-day record in India when they conflict with the injury-ravaged world champions in a five-match series starting Friday.

England have beaten India just once in their last 10 one-day internationals on Indian soil, which built-in a exciting tie during the World Cup in Bangalore in March.

Alastair Cook's side will be cheerful after a leading home season when they strike India 4-0 in the Test series to take over as the world's number one team, and also won the one-dayers 3-0.

Cook, however, refuse to take victory for decided against a exhausted home team misplaced key players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh due to injury or poor form.

"I don't see any relation between what happen in England and what's going to ensue out here," Cook said in front of the first one-dayer at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

"India is historically very strong at home, and we have a very tough challenge on our hands. It's a great chance for an England side to play the world champions in their back yard."

England, who at home in India on October 4 to acclimatize to local conditions, warm up for the series by winning both do matches next to Hyderabad teams.

On Tuesday, they routed the local side by 253 runs after Jonny Bairstow cracked an unbeaten 104 off 53 balls and uncapped leg-spinner Scott Borthwick pulled out up five wickets.

The new-look Indian team has just four survivors -- skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina -- from the side that beat Sri Lanka in the World Cup final in Mumbai on April 2.

Tendulkar, Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel are getting better from injury, while Harbhajan and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was drop due to unfortunate form.

India's 15-man squad for the first two one-dayers include three players -- leg-spinner Rahul Sharma, 24, left-arm seamer Sreenath Aravind, 27, and fast bowler Varun Aaron, 21 -- who have yet to play international cricket.

Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Sharma are the three spin option, while Praveen Kumar will lead a new-ball assault that also includes Umesh Yadav and Vinay Kumar.

Kevin Pietersen proceeds for England after being absent for the one-dayers next to India at home, but the tourists are with no pace spearhead James Anderson who is being rested, and Stuart Broad who is injured.

Tim Bresnan, Jade Dernbach and Steven Finn will top the tourists' pace attack, which also include 22-year-old uncapped Surrey bowler Stuart Meaker.

Despite injury to star players and the embarrassing defeats on English soil, India appears unfazed.

"England played very well in England and deserve to win, but we will do well at home," said middle-order batsman Raina.

The residual four matches after the Hyderabad opener will be played in New Delhi on October 17, Mohali on the 20th, Mumbai on the 23rd and Kolkata on the 25th.

England will around off the tour with a Twenty20 game in Kolkata on October 29.

Read more »

Lendl Simmons star in West Indies won

Lendl Simmons stimulated the West Indies to a 40-run win in their first ODI with Bangladesh in Mirpur.

The Trinidadian scored a maiden international hundred as the tourists, in Bangladesh for three ODIs and two Tests, posted a powerful total of 298 for four batting first - their second highest limited-overs score next to the Tigers.

Simmons contributes 122 of those runs, with Marlon Samuels (71) and Kieron Pollard (41) making breezy assistance on a pitch that accessible little.

It did when the home side came out to bat, though, with Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell and Samuels all captivating two wickets each as the home side finally ended on 258 for seven.


They had never been in control of their run chase, with the loss of trailblazing opener Tamim Iqbal for 21 off the bowling of Devendra Bishoo a big blow.

Naeem Islam (52) and Imrul Kayes (42) then joint for a place of 78 for the second wicket, but when the duo, all along with Mohammad Ashraful (two) fell in quick series to Russell, Rampaul and Samuels, Bangladesh`s chances begin to dwindle.

A knock of 67 from just 58 deliveries by Shakib Al Hasan at least ensure the innings went the distance, but with Mushfiqur Rahim, Alok Kapali and Nasir Hossain not capable to stay with him, the West Indies ease home.

Prior to that ineffective chase, Simmons had been the star of the show. The 26-year-old, who’s previous highest ODI score had been 77, hit two maximums and also cross the boundary eight more times during an imposing display, which saw him record his maximum international score across all three forms of the game.

The right-hander's 124-ball knock was chanceless waiting it was finished when a failed paddle off Rubel Hossain land in the hands of Alok Kapali.

Simmons had in progress well and was concerned in a 67-run stand with opening partner Adrian Barath, who was going well himself on 21 when his worrying hamstring gave way and forced him to go away the field.

That bring Samuels to the fold and he exhausted little time in making his mark, predatory 71 from 78 balls as well as two sixes and half-a-dozen fours in a whirlwind innings - marred only by a nick throughout the keeper's legs - that broken three balls after Simmons, when he misjudge a hook off Hossain and also selected out Kapali.

That discharge saw Pollard and Darren Bravo connect forces and, with wickets in the bank, they thrash at everything, with Pollard creation 41 off 25 balls and Bravo 20 off 19 before the former fell to Hossain (three for 65) and the latter was clean up by Shafiul Islam.

Read more »

Piyush Chawla spit with bat in tied final

India Green 238 for 8 (Harbhajan 49*, Kaif 41) tied with India Red 238 (Chawla 92, Harbhajan 3-37, Abdulla 3-37)

Piyush Chawla was run out off what twisted out to be the last ball of a staged final, as India Red matched India Green's score of 238 to share the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy.

India Red were out of the game when they misplaced their fifth wicket in the 23rd over with just 102 on the board, but Chawla held the lower order jointly and whittle down the target. When Bhargav Bhatt was ninth out, they still wanted 26 off 16 balls, and Chawla's dare-devilry approximately got them over the line.

The match boiled down to the last over with Chawla chasing 17 off left-arm seamer Samad Fallah, who was lasting an unpleasant night. A dot ball, a slog pair and a wide summary it to 14 off 4, with Chawla having to hit a border to keep on in the game.

He respond by loft Fallah over mid-off to make it 10 off 3, before nearly two more all the way through long-on. Fallah's last but one ball was fuller on off stump, and Chawla launched it over the sightscreen for a six that made India Red favorites for the first time in the last district of the game.

With two desired off the last ball, Chawla was set on running, in spite of of what happen. As it transpires, Fallah bowled a wide down the leg side. The non-striker Jaydev Unadkat correctly declines the single but Chawla had exciting across to the bowler's end, allowing CM Gautam to break the stump and tie the game.

The ending was suggestive of the finish to an India-Zimbabwe ODI in 1997, when Robin Singh was the last man out off a wide, which left the scores level. The finish also had similarity to the famous tie connecting Lance Klusener and Allan Donald in the 1999 World Cup semi-final against Australia.

That such an electric end was likely was down to Chawla's second score in the 90s in a century-less List-A career. By the time he took guard, Abhimanyu Mithun and Harbhajan Singh had made incision during the top order to push the chase into freefall. Chawla kept fighting, though Iqbal Abdulla kept arresting at the other end.

Chawla work the fields to move to 40 off 48 balls by the end of 40 overs before step up. His first six came off T Suman in the 41st over, and he begins to goal Fallah towards the closing stages, picking up two fours in the 46th over. Bhatt's way out in the 48th left India Green a wicket away from victory, but Chawla required them to share the trophy.

India Green's batting attempt was a regularly up-and-down matter on a pitch that obtainable spins and bounces. S Anirudha and Mohammad Kaif were the only top-order batsmen to come to terms with the surface, before a triple-strike from the seamers in the middle overs abridged India Green from 134 for 3 to 151 for 6. Harbhajan Singh hauls his side out of the sadness with a accountable innings, where he overcame his tendency for flashy strokes.

Tail-enders Sumit Narwal, Abdulla and Abhimanyu Mithun played approximately Harbhajan, who made an unbeaten 49 off 54 balls despite not slog till the very end. The headlines, however, were stolen by the batting hard work of an opposition spinner.

Read more »