Swann rocks South Africa with double strike

DURBAN, South Africa (Reuters) - Graeme Swann rocked South Africa with two quick wickets as England continued to dominate the second test at tea on the fourth day on Tuesday.South Africa reached the interval on 37 for two in their second innings, still trailing by 195 runs after England declared on 575 for nine.The home side, number two in the world rankings, were under pressure to survive with 134 overs still remaining in the match.South Africa began their second innings just over an hour before tea and captain Graeme Smith and Ashwell Prince survived the first nine overs in relative comfort.But off-spinner Swann's second delivery deceived left-hander Prince (16) by going straight on with the arm, catching the inside edge of the bat and rebounding off the pad to short-leg, where Ian Bell took a fine low reflex catch.The off-spinner then bowled Hashim Amla for six as the batsman drove loosely and the ball turned sharply through the gate.Smith was the not out batsman at the interval with 15.England declared nine overs after lunch, Bell finishing as top-scorer with a pugnacious 141 before falling to Dale Steyn with the third new ball.Morne Morkel, with three for 78, and JP Duminy, three for 89, were the pick of the South African bowlers.England resumed on 386 for five and South Africa claimed just one wicket in the morning session, Matt Prior falling for 60.Bell, whose place in the team has been under great scrutiny, continued to bat with immense focus and energy, stroking 10 fours and a six in his ninth test century.Bell and Prior extended their sixth-wicket partnership to 112 before Prior's stumps were rattled by an inside edge after he tried an ambitious cut at off-spinner Duminy.The day had started badly for the tourists with Paul Collingwood dislocating a finger during fielding practice.The all-rounder went for an x-ray, which showed no fracture, and Collingwood was given the all-clear to continue playing in the test.The first test was drawn.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni bats for Test matches

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said that every country should play a minimum number of Test matches every year.Talking to reporters here on Monday, Dhoni said: "If the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) want them to play more Tests, it would be welcome."I think it should be like in a year's span...these are the minimum number of Test matches we should play and there are the One-Days that we are supposed to play and after that the institutions like BCCI or ECB, if they want to play more matches, they are more than welcome, if they want to play less it can be an issue," he added.Dhoni was awarded the Test Championship mace by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after leading his team to the pinnacle of the ICC Test rankings on Sunday.India jumped from third in the rankings to displace South Africa at the top by clinching a 2-0 series victory over Sri Lanka.Australia and South Africa have dominated the number one spot since the inception of the rankings in 2001.The Indian team is scheduled to play only two Tests - against Bangladesh in January - over the next 11 months, and a proposal is now being considered to include two Tests during South Africa's tour of the country in February.

BCCI scraps Grounds and Pitches Committee

Stung by the fiasco at the Ferozeshah Kotla which led to the abandonement of the fifth and final India-Sri Lanka ODI, the Cricket Board on Sunday disbanded its Grounds and Pitches Committee with immediate effect.

"The BCCI has disbanded its Grounds and Pitches Committee with immediate effect," a one-line statement issued by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, who was present at the venue, said.

The decision to disband the five-member committee headed by Daljit Singh came hours after the final one dayer was called off because of a dangerous pitch. Apart from Daljit, other members of the panel are Dhiraj Parsana (west), PR Viswanathan (south), Rajiv Gokhale (central) and Rahul Das (east).

After India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and asked Sri Lanka to bat first, the visiting batsmen found themselves on a tricky track where the odd ball bounced alarmingly.

Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan was hurt by such a delivery from Ashish Nehra, which had him in pain and receiving on-field treatment. Veteran Sanath Jayasuriya was also at the receiving end of the poor pitch, sustaining many a blow on his upper arm and wrist.

The match was into its 24th over when Sri Lankan batsman Thilina Kandamby complained to the umpires and the match was eventually called off. The Kotla had drawn much flak for its slow and low nature in recent times with most of the Champions League matches being low-scoring affairs and the last ODI, between India and Australia on October 31, was also a low-scoring contest.

Ironically, it was only to address this problem that the Delhi and District Cricket Associated headed by senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley decided to relay the pitch.

The preparation of the pitch was done by its new curator Vijay Bahadur Mishra, who began the process on November 8 which left the organisers with nearly 50 days to ready the track for the match.

Jayasuriya joins Tendulkar

Jayasuriya made his international debut on December 26, 1989 against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

India remain a formidable side at home: Kumar Sangakkara

The series may already have been lost after our defeat on Friday, but we are really keen to finish this long tour with a win today in Delhi. I've been proud of the way our younger players have fought in this series and they deserve the final scoreline to be 2-3 rather than 1-4.

On Friday night, I thought we did really well with the bat to get 315. It was great to see Upul Tharanga scoring his seventh ODI hundred and his first since returning to the team this year. He has grabbed his opportunity at the top or the order and looked really classy.

The rest of the batting was able to bat around him and that ensured we got ourselves a very testing target. Unfortunately, although (Suranga) Lakmal and (Suraj) Randiv bowled well, there was not the back-up in the field that we needed.

Gautam (Gambhir) and (Virat) Kolhi did bat brilliantly and it was a great chase by India, but our fast bowlers needed to be more disciplined. I felt we should have defended the 316-run target and levelled the series.

Unfortunately, we were left to rue earlier opportunities to win, most obviously in Rajkot at the start of the series. Having done all the hard work to get on top of the run rate, we let ourselves down badly by not finishing off India. In Cuttack, too, we sacrificed a strong position.

The big positive is that we have had had so many debutants on this tour due to the never-ending stream of injuries suffered by our bowlers. Some of those youngsters have really stepped up in what have been very difficult conditions for the bowlers.

It is not easy for the bowlers here. The pitches are flat. The outfields are fast. The Indian batting is both strong and explosive. However, the likes of Welegedera, Randiv and Lakmal have put their hands up and shown lots of heart.

In general, while we will return on the losing side and we have performed below expectations, it has been at least pleasing that this has been the most competitive we have been in India since I made my debut. That shows we are still going forward as a team.

My counterpart, MS (Dhoni), will be justly very pleased with his side’s performance. While we were handicapped by injuries, India too lost both Dhoni and Yuvraj for some key games. However, their youngsters, like Kohli at Eden Gardens, really rose to the challenge.

This is a big positive for India. You need solid bench strength if you really aspire to being the best in the world consistently and India definitely have plenty of talent coming through. India remain a formidable side at home.

india win series 3-1

A dangerous pitch led to the abandonment of Sunday's fifth and final limited-overs international between India and Sri Lanka, leading to crowd unrest and immediate recriminations for Indian officials.

Sent in to bat first, Sri Lanka had crumbled to 83-5 on the difficult Kotla pitch before the third delivery of the 24th over, from India's rookie paceman Sudeep Tyagi, rose dangerously and flew past the face of batsman Thilina Kandamby.

It proved the last straw for Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, who complained to match referee Alan Hurst and onfield umpires Marais Erasmus and Shavir Tarapore, and players left the field.

As discussions continued between match officials and local organizers outside the boundary, spectators shouted slogans and abuse at the organizers.

Baton-wielding police were called in to clear the stands of spectators, some of whom had vented their anger by smashing chairs. The teams were whisked away from the stadium before the abandonment was announced more than an hour after the suspension.

Later Sunday, confronted with mounting criticism, the Indian cricket board scrapped its pitches panel.

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has disbanded its grounds and pitches committee with immediate effect," cricket board secretary Narainswamy Srinivasan said in a statement.

Srinivasan did not say if the BCCI would take action against New Delhi's cricket association, but local organizing committee chief Arun Jetlie apologized to fans.

"We deeply regret and offer our sincere apologies, this is a serious matter that we will inquire," said Jetlie, president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) and a vice president of the Indian cricket board.

"We will definitely establish what went wrong, but at this stage we do not want to indulge in any blame game and speculation."

Jetlie, who praised the police for preventing spectator spill over, said the decision to call off the game was justified.

"The players' security was uppermost in our mind," he said.

The International Cricket Council was to hold discussions with Hurst about the abandonment.

Former India captains Bishan Singh Bedi and Dilip Vengsarkar slammed the DDCA for the fiasco, with Bedi urging strong action against officials.

"The DDCA has made a mess out of the pitch, they should own up the responsibility," said Bedi.

"I wonder how the organizers used a use a pitch for an international match when it had not even been used for domestic Ranji Trophy games."

Vengsarkar said the now-disbanded BCCI pitch panel was responsible.

"It's shameful that such a pitch was prepared for an international match," said Vengsarkar. "Some deliveries were rearing up even from good length."

Nearly two months ago, a one-day international between India and Australia was played on the newly laid Kotla pitch, which India won by seven wickets.

This is the second time and India-Sri Lanka one-dayer has been abandoned due to a dangerous pitch. In 1997, a limited-overs international in the central Indian city of Indore was stopped after just three overs.

The International Cricket Council then banned Indore from hosting any international match for two years.

On Sunday, steeply rising deliveries caused problems to the batsmen from the start and one such delivery from paceman Ashish Nehra struck opener Tillakaratne Dilshan on his elbow. The batsman was given onfield treatment before play resumed.

Failing to cope with the bounce, Sri Lanka slumped to 63-5 as pace ace Zaheer Khan claimed 2-31 from his eight overs, while debutant Tyagi got 1-15. Spinner Harbhajan Singh (1-12) claimed the fifth wicket.

Former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya, who also featured in the abandoned Indore match 12 years ago, was his team's top-scorer with 31 off 51 balls.

India won the series 3-1

virat kohli first 100

Home » News England wrest control from SA with triple strike

Durban: England grabbed three wickets after tea to wrest control from South Africa on the first day of the second Test at Kingsmead on Saturday.

South Africa were 175 for five when bad light stopped play with 29 overs remaining to be bowled.

The host nation looked firmly in command when their two most experienced batsmen, captain Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, put together a third wicket stand of 150. But both batsmen were out for 75 in quick succession after tea

Sehwag batsman of the decade, says Pringle

London: Highly impressed with Virender Sehwag's pyrotechnics, former England cricketer Derek Pringle has rated the dashing Indian opener as the greatest batsman of the decade.

"Dashing openers have always been with us, and Chris Gayle may yet take violence against the new ball a step further, but nobody yet has managed to do it with the audacity and frequency of Sehwag," Pringle said.

"To many, the choice will appear controversial. Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar, have all excelled over the past 10 years. They all announced their brilliance in the 90s, so were discounted," he added.

The Delhi batsman, who has over 6,248 Test runs to his credit from 72 matches, has cracked two triple hundreds and four double centuries so far.

According to Pringle, Sehwag scores over other candidates Ricky Ponting and Kevin Pietersen over the way he had redefined the role he plays. "Statisticians and the government policy-makers trust figures, wise men, facts, but I'm going to apply another measure: that of redefining the role they play, something Virender Sehwag has done for opening the batting in Test matches," Pringle wrote in his column for 'The Telegraph'.

"While Ricky Ponting and Kevin Pietersen, the other candidates for best player of the decade, have not really changed perceptions as the Delhi-born Sehwag has," Pringle wrote

5th one-dayer to be abandoned

A dangerous pitch has caused the final one-day international between India and Sri Lanka to be abandoned.

Sent in to bat first after losing the toss Sunday, Sri Lanka was 83-5 in 23.3 overs when a delivery from India's rookie paceman Sudeep Tyagi rose dangerously and flew past the face of batsman Thilina Kandamby.

Players left the field after Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara complained to match referee Alan Hurst and onfield umpires Marais Erasmus and Shavir Tarapore.

Discussions continued between match officials and local organizers outside the boundary as spectators shouted slogans against the organizers.

Police began clearing the stands before the official announcement of abandonment was made.

Top Indian performers in 2009

Bangladesh Captain Mortaza Set For Return

Mashrafe Mortaza is set to return to Bangladesh's side as captain for their One-Day International tri-series with India and Sri Lanka provided he passes a fitness test.

The fast bowler underwent knee surgery after injury ruled him out of the majority of his country's tour of the West Indies, after which Shakib Al Hasan assumed captaincy duties for the rest of the tour and two subsequent series against Zimbabwe.

Mortaza had surgery on both knees in Australia and has recently returned to training ahead of the tri-series which begins on 4th January when Bangladesh play Sri Lanka.

We will aim for a 4-1 series win: Dhoni

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni ruled out wholesale changes in the playing XI and said the home team would go for the jugular in the inconsequential fifth and final One-dayer against Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Back in the side after serving a two-match ban for his team's slow overrate in the second ODI, Dhoni and his men go into the match with an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

Dhoni said Sri Lanka should not expect any concession on Sunday as India would put their best foot forward.

"There will not be too many experiments with the side," Dhoni told reporters after the team's net session at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.

"Of course one or two players might be changed but we will go into the match with a strong team. Yes, we have won the series but 4-1 always looks better," Dhoni said.

Refusing to disclose the playing XI, Dhoni said both S Sreesanth and Ashok Dinda were available for the match, as was Sachin Tendulkar, who opted out of Saturday's practice.

Back in the saddle after missing the last two matches, Dhoni said the team looked in good rhythm.

"I think everything went perfect. We got the wickets when we needed them and had partnerships when we required. We did drop a few catches but fielding still looked better than the first two matches. Intensity was there and I think overall everything went fine," the Indian skipper said.

Dhoni patted Virender Sehwag for leading India to convincing victories in the last two ODIs saying, "He has done a great job, won both matches and we are now playing the last match without any pressure.”

The star stumper-batsman said the team needed to lift its fielding standards and already he was seeing improvements.

"See, fielding is something that cannot improve overnight or in a week's time. We have to work on our basics and then it would start improving, gradually. We dropped catches in the Twenty20 matches and in this series. It's important not to spill chances and I can already see slight improvements," Dhoni said.

The skipper was particularly happy with the way youngsters like Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli had made their mark in the series.

"We never doubted their (Jadeja and Kohli's) talents. It was just a matter of getting exposure and making the most of it. We always knew they would do well.

"In long series we are certain to miss some regular players. While we would miss them individually, it's for the youngsters to come and perform to ensure that the team doesn't miss anyone on the field," Dhoni said

2009 was a good year overall, says skipper Dhoni

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni ruled out wholesale change in the playing XI and said the home team would go for the jugular in the inconsequential fifth and final one dayer against Sri Lanka in New Delhi on Sunday.

Back in the side after serving a two-match ban for his team's slow overrate in the second ODI in Nagpur, Dhoni and his men go into the match with an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

Dhoni said Sri Lanka should not expect any concession on Sunday as India would put their best foot forward.

"There would not be too much of experimentations with the side," Dhoni told reporters after the team's net session at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground.

"Of course one or two players might be changed but we will go into the match with a strong team. Yes, we have won the series but 4-1 always looks better," Dhoni said.

Refusing to disclose the playing XI, Dhoni said both S Sreesanth and Ashok Dinda were available for the match, as was Sachin Tendulkar, who opted out of Saturday's practice.

Back in the saddle after missing the last two matches, Dhoni said the team looked in good rhythm.

"I think everything went perfect. We got the wickets when we needed them and had partnerships when we required. We did drop a few catches but fielding still looked better than the first two matches, intensity was there and I think overall everything went fine," he said.

Dhoni also patted Virender Sehwag for doing an excellent job as the stand-in skipper and guiding India to victory the last two ODIs.

"I'm not going to give him marks; that's your job. But he has done a great job, won both matches and we are now playing the last match without any pressure," Dhoni said.

The star stumper-batsman said the team needed to lift its fielding standards and already he was seeing improvements.

"See, fielding is something that cannot improve overnight or in a week's time. We have to work on our basics and then it would start improving, gradually. We dropped catches in the Twenty20 matches and in this series also. It's important not to spill chances and I can already see slight improvements," Dhoni said.

The skipper was particularly happy with the way youngsters like Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli had made their mark in the series.

"We never doubted their (Jadeja and Kohli's) talents. It was just a matter of getting exposure and making the most of it. We always knew they would do well. In long series we are certain to miss some regular players. While we would miss them individually, it's for the youngsters to come and perform to ensure that the team doesn't miss anyone on the field," Dhoni said.

"It was great to see them doing so well. They are the youngsters who lift the fielding standard. Their basics are correct and you have the luxury of fielding 4-5 brilliant fielders inside the circle. Even at death, it's great to have such agile fielders manning the boundary," Dhoni explained.

Looking back at the series, Dhoni reckoned India's superior middle order made all the difference.

"For us, Sehwag and for them, (Tillakaratne) Dilshan -- all depends on what kind of start they give to their team. More often than not, it depended on whichever opener lasts long. But when both failed, it's the middle order which mattered. Even when Sehwag got out, we scored 300-plus. Take the openers out and we have a better middle order," Dhoni said.

Asked to sum up India's ODI performance this year, Dhoni said he was happy even though it could have been better. "It was a good year. Of course we did not do well in the Champions Trophy and the (home) series against Australia but we did well both at home and abroad. Individually also, we did well and I would say it was a good year overall," he said.

India will be without Sachin Tendulkar in Bangladesh

Sachin Tendulkar has opted out of the tri-series in Bangladesh starting on January 4. He will be replaced by Rohit Sharma in the 16-man squad. Yuvraj Singh has also been included despite a finger injury scare that kept him out of four ODIs in the five-match series against Sri Lanka.

Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar have been dropped and replaced by Sreesanth and Ashok Dinda, who made his Twenty20 debut for India earlier this month. Amit Mishra displaced Pragyan Ojha in an inexplicable game of musical chairs for the back-up spinner's role. Ravindra Jadeja retained his spot as the lone allrounder.

Sreesanth, who did not play a role in the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka due to swine flu, has recovered and been named in the squad. The rookie Sudeep Tyagi, a part of the current ODI squad, has kept his place despite not playing a game. Dinesh Karthik has been named as the second wicketkeeper in the squad to Bangladesh.

Rohit, 22, who was dropped from India's ODI squad after an extended run of disappointing scores in limited-overs cricket, last played in the West Indies in July and was pushed aside by Virat Kohli in the batting line-up. Kohli took his chances with both hands, scoring half-centuries in the Champions Trophy and against Sri Lanka before hitting his maiden ODI century to seal the series win against Sri Lanka. Rohit paved his way back through a triple-century in the last round of Ranji Trophy league matches.

Ishant, who was dropped for the first two ODIs against Sri lanka, failed to impress on his return - thanks to Sreesanth's illness - for the later half of the series. In 14 overs in those two matches, he went for 130 runs, and failed to keep up the pressure along with Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra. He managed just two wickets at an average of 65.00 and an economy rate of 9.28. Before that, during the series against Australia at home, he managed five wickets in four matches at 30.00 each. Praveen, who played the first two matches of the Sri Lanka series, managed just one wicket and went at 6.76 runs per over.

India play their first match in Bangladesh in Dhaka on January 5, against Sri Lanka, followed by fixtures on January 7, 10 and 11. The finals will be held on January 13.

Meanwhile, the selectors named the squad for the final ODI against Sri Lanka to be played in Delhi on December 27. MS Dhoni, who missed the last two matches due to ban over slow over-rates, has returned alongside Dinda for the last game. Virender Sehwag, who stood in for Dhoni and oversaw two consecutive wins, has been named vice-captain. He has earlier stressed on the need for the selectors to groom a younger leader.

Squad for tri-series: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Yuvraj Singh, Sudeep Tyagi, Dinesh Karthik, Sreesanth, Ashok Dinda, Amit Mishra

Squad for final ODI v Sri Lanka: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Sudeep Tyagi, Dinesh Karthik, Sreesanth, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha.