Mar 26, 2009

Ganguly – always run in front of devil


What happen to Australian skippers. They always target ganguly cahppel and now buchannan

They hurt dadas heart very much, its not a nice think to do infront of a serious, dada do better job in last IPL

"Tomorrow I can jump out and say we need four batting coaches, four John Buchanans and Shah Rukh Khan can say we need six Andy Bichels," Ganguly told NDTV.

Mar 23, 2009

Dream team of Don Bradman


Arthur Morris (Australia) - http://content.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/6644.html

 

Barry Richards (South Africa) - http://content.cricinfo.com/southafrica/content/player/46982.html

 

Don Bradman (Australia) - http://content.cricinfo.com/australia/content/player/4188.html

 

Sachin Tendulkar (India) - http://content.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/35320.html

 

Gary Sobers (West Indies) - http://content.cricinfo.com/westindies/content/player/52946.html

Don Tallon (wicketkeeper) - http://content.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/7913.html

 

Ray Lindwall (Australia) - http://content.cricinfo.com/australia/content/player/6299.html 

Dennis Lillee (Australia) - http://content.cricinfo.com/australia/content/player/6295.html

 

Alec Bedser (England) - http://content.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/9057.html

 

Bill O'Reilly(Australia) - http://content.cricinfo.com/australia/content/player/7020.html

 

Clarrie Grimmett) - http://content.cricinfo.com/australia/content/player/5443.html

 

12th man: Walter Hammond (England) - http://content.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/14022.html

 

Mar 18, 2009

INDIA VS NEW ZEALAND TEST SERIES - 2009 DAY 1 REPORT


Ryder, Vettori centuries spare NZ blushes

A defiant captain's century by Daniel Vettori and a maiden ton for Jesse Ryder rescued New Zealand on the opening day of the first Test here Wednesday but India finished on top. 


The home side were dismissed for 279 on a batsman-friendly wicket and at stumps the tourists had reached 29 without loss off seven overs with the explosive Virender Sehwag not out 22 and fellow opener Gautam Gambhir on six. 

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl, gambling on his bowlers capitalising on the overcast conditions and a green-tinged wicket. 

His choice paid off, with New Zealand in dire straits at 60 for six just before lunch when Vettori joined Ryder in the middle to begin the fightback. 

The pair produced a record-breaking 186-run partnership to take the score to 246, and New Zealand added just 33 more runs before they were all out.

The skipper's 118 was his third century in 90 Tests, while Ryder's 102 was his maiden ton in his seventh Test. 

But that partnership aside, the day belonged to India and Vettori was the first to admit it. 

"Our first thoughts were to get through to 150. It would give us something to play with. Fortunately, Jesse and I batted for a long time and put a competitive score on the board but certainly below par," he said. 

"We created momentum through our partnership, but if you erase that and look at the scores you'd say India's on top." 

At times the match was a battle of wits between the captains, with Vettori looking for runs and forcing Dhoni into frequent field adjustments.

Ryder, at the other end, showed his versatility, shelving his big-hitting one-day role to play a watchful knock. 

Between them they blocked out the spin of Harbhajan Singh at one end while picking off the quicks at the other as the afternoon sun baked the wicket, the ball aged, and conditions became more batsman-friendly. 

Vettori brought up the New Zealand 100, hooking Zaheer Khan for six, and in the first hour after tea the home side raced along at more than five an over with the skipper belting Sehwag over the ropes. 

Vettori's immense effort came to an end after 197 minutes at the crease when Dhoni moved smartly to take an inside edge off Munaf Patel. 

The 164-ball innings produced two sixes and 14 fours, with his century arriving off a single when he top-edged Harbhajan to fine leg. 

He survived two close calls, diving to make his ground when sent back by Ryder two balls before tea and then on 77 he was dropped by Rahul Dravid off Harbhajan.

Vettori's dismissal brought to an end the record seventh-wicket partnership in New Zealand-India Tests and the Indian bowlers were quickly back on top. 

Kyle Mills was yorked by Patel first ball, while Iain O'Brien avoided the hat-trick and reached eight before he was stumped by Dhoni off Harbhajan. 

His departure, with New Zealand 275-9 and Ryder on 98, brought out Chris Martin, who is recognised as one of the worst Test batsmen in the world. 

The look of consternation on Ryder's face was evident as Martin prodded at the five remaining balls in Harbhajan's over. 

Ryder then made sure of his century, hitting Ishant Sharma to the boundary and was out caught by VVS Laxman off the next ball.

It was an innings delivered with class and determination, something that was missing from the relatively inexperienced top order, who appeared to lack the resolve to bide their time in the middle. 

Zaheer Khan did the early damage, removing Martin Guptill (14) and Daniel Flynn (0) in the space of three balls. Sharma added the scalps of Tim McIntosh (12), Ross Taylor (18) and James Franklin (0). 

Munaf Patel claimed the sixth wicket when he sent Brendon McCullum back to the pavilion for three shortly before lunch. 

In contrast, Indian attacked from the start of their innings, with Sehwag continuing the form which saw him star in the one-day series, in which India beat New Zealand 3-1. 

Sehwag hit five boundaries in his unbeaten 22, while New Zealand new ball bowler Mills conceded 18 runs off his two overs. 

Scoreboard

 

 

New Zealand 1st innings

 

 

M. Guptill

c Dravid b Khan

14

T. McIntosh

c Sehwag b Sharma

12

D. Flynn

c Dhoni b Khan

0

R. Taylor

b Sharma

18

J. Ryder

c Laxman b Sharma

102

J. Franklin

c Dhoni b Sharma

0

B. McCullum

c Laxman b Patel

3

D. Vettori

c Dhoni b Patel

118

K. Mills

b Patel

0

I. O'Brien

st Dhoni b Harbhajan

8

C. Martin

not out

0

Extras

lb1, nb3

4

Total

for all out

279

 

 

 

 

Fall of wkts

1-17, 2-17, 3-10, 4-51, 5-51, 6-60, 7-246, 8-246, 9-275

 

 

 

Bowling

 

 

Khan 16-3-70-2 (2nb), Sharma 19.2-4-73-4, Patel 18-4-60-3, Harbhajan Singh 22-7-57-1, Sehwag 3-0-18-0 (1nb)

 

 

India 1st innings

 

 

Gautam Gambhir

not out

6

Virender Sehwag

not out

22

Extras

b1

1

Total

for no loss

29

 

 

 

 

Bowling

Martin 4-1-9-0, Mills 2-0-18-0, O'Brien 1-0-1-0

SOURCE; CRICBUZZ 

Highlights of Tendulkar's ODI (One Day Internationals) career


    * Highest ODI run-scorer in the world with 16,007 aggregate ODI runs (as of 05-Feb-2008)

    * 41 ODI centuries - highest in the world

    * Played most number of ODIs (409) (as of 05-Feb-2008)

    * Played most number of consecutive ODI matches (185 matches from Sharjah, 1989/90 to Sharjah, 1997/98)

    * Most Man of the Match (53!) awards

    * Appeared on the most grounds (90 different grounds)

    * Most ODI runs by any batsman in any given calendar year - 1,894 runs (34 Matches Avg :65.31  SR :102.15) in 1998

    * Most Centuries by a player in one year - 9 ODI centuries in 1998

    * Most centuries vs. Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

    * Holds the record for scoring 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year. He has done it six times - 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003.

    * First and the fastest cricketer to cross 10,000-run mark, 11,000-run mark, 12,000-run mark, 13,000 run-mark and 14,000 run-mark in ODIs. The only player to have scored over 16,000 runs till-date

    * Only cricketer to cross 14,000-run mark in ODIs

    * One of only six players to pass 10,000 runs in ODIs (Sanath Jayasuriya, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, and Inzamam ul Haq are the others)

    * Highest individual score among Indian batsmen (186* against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999) 

Mar 17, 2009

Its like a war India vs. New Zealand Day 1


Everyone enjoy from the first delivery to last ball. And the nice performance from Indian pacers, they do their best with in 25 over’s. But after that Dani and Jesse do a fine job. If they didn’t do that, they loss the game. And now they have some hope to restrict India under 300.

Dani prove that he is a nice captain and score a ton in hard time. 60/6 and then they reach 7/246. What a time u have captain.

Sehwag has made a start already. Indians are wish to continue at least more 20 overs. Nice work guys.

Who is the Fourth Bowler for the New Zealand series?


Indian point of view Baji, Khan and Ishanth will be the finest bowlers for test cricket. But who is the fourth bowler?

If u took Munaf he is not the man of fire. He pitches the ball in right areas. But most of time it won’t give wickets. And batsman left alone the nice balls because most of his balls are outside the off stump.

Amit Mishra is a nice bowler. He is capable of doing lot of damage in Indian soil. But the major question is whether he is capable of do those in seam friendly pitch?

L Balaji is a fine man. He got Hat trick in IPL also. But the think is whether he is fit for 5 days encounter? And he has bad average of 37.18 in test cricket.

Dhawal Kulkarni, a right-arm medium-pacer, he has some Impressive performances at the U-19 state level also.

Finally Amit Mishra and Dhawal Kulkarni are the two choice for India. I belive Dhoni choose Amit Mishra.

COME ON BOYS CREATE ANOTHER HISTORY

Mar 16, 2009

Miss u Gangly on this New Zealand Test series?


Every one think that Ganguly is not the man on this track. But the fact is we miss him. Because we know what happen in last tour of South Africa.

 

DADA came back after 1 yr and score runs freely on the bouncy tracks. No one believe that. Who knows Greig Chappel also don’t believe that.

 

Don’t forgot that Dravid, Laxman and even Little master also not able to get the runs freely. So I think that DADA we miss u.

 

This is the right time to find a place in top of the test cricket ranking. But I don’t think we can do that without DADA.

Mar 15, 2009

Can india Repeat the same in Test series also?


Indian cricket lovers are celebrate the success in New Zealand. But the major ques is,

CAN INDIA REPEAT THE SAME MOMENTUM?

But everyone from India thinks that India will easily find a way to stop vetories mans.

Mostly I think Dani and Brendan leads the damage of India.

But I believe they won’t stop Dravid and Laxman, Because these two guys are easily find a solution that how to score runs,

But the major problem is Ishanth’s overconfidence, everyone knows that He is a nice bowler but he is not good for last 1 month.

But Baji and Khan play a major role

Mar 13, 2009

India determined to whitewash Kiwis: Kirsten

PTI, March 13,2009

Joseph Hoover

 

Auckland, Mar 13 (PTI) The Indian team is in a dilemma on whether to field a full-strength team in their bid for a 4-0 sweep or give the reserve players a chance in the fifth and final cricket one-dayer against New Zealand here tomorrow.

 

India coach Gary Kirsten said there is a temptation to rest key players from the match but the team was also eager to continue with the winning momentum going into the Test series starting April 18.

 

India has a 3-0 lead in the series, the second match of which was washed out in Wellington.

 

"We would be tempted to rest some players, but we also want to make sure we keep the momentum going. It is important on a tour to set yourself up to win games of cricket on a consistent level, and momentum is very important on a tour".

 

"So we haven't made a decision. We have spoken about a little bit," said Kirsten, addressing the media in the absence of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had set out for deep-sea fishing.

 

Asked whether Sachin Tendulkar, whose abdomen injury kept him out of the fourth one-dayer in Hamilton, could return to action in tomorrow's match, Kirsten said, "We are not sure yet. We will have to wait and see." PTI

 

Top 10 ODI Performance in cricketr world

10 - Saeed Anwar (Pak) 194 v Ind at Chennai in 1997


Still the World record score in One Day Internationals more than a decade later, and achieved against their deadliest rivals, the next-highest score in the innings was just 39. It could have been even higher too - Pakistan added another thirty runs after he was dismissed in the 47th over.

9 - Brian Lara (WI) 139 v Aus at Port-of-Spain in 1995


Another masterclass from Brian Lara as he scored his first century for the West Indies in his native Trinidad. His innings came from just 125 deliveries against an Australian attack which featured McGrath, Fleming, Reiffel and Warne, before the visitors fell away to be dismissed for just 149.

8 - Allan Border (Aus) 127* v WI at Sydney in 1985


He may have scored only three ODI hundreds, but this one was described by opposing captain Clive Lloyd as the best One-day innings he had seen. Rescuing his side from 64 for four against the might of Garner, Holding, Marshall and Davis, he helped lift them to a 26-run triumph.

7 - MS Dhoni (Ind) 183* v SL at Jaipur in 2005


After Kumar Sangakkara had set the tone with an unbeaten 138 to set the home team nearly 300 to win, the Indian wicket-keeper played a career-defining innings - the highest ever by a ODI wicket-keeper - from just 145 deliveries before sealing the victory with his tenth six.

6 - Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) 151* v Ind at Mumbai in 1997


India’s batsmen had found it heavy going as they managed to score just 225 in their fifty overs. Most of the Sri Lankans struggled in a similar manner; however Jayasuriya seemed to be playing a different game to everyone else. He slammed his runs from just 121 balls to win the match with nine overs to spare.

5 - Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) 189 v Ind at Sharjah in 2000


The Sri Lankan dynamo was at it again three years later as his national-record innings led his side to an imposing 299 for five in the Coca Cola Champions Trophy Final. Only Russel Arnold of his team-mates managed to score more than fifteen. A shell-shocked Indian side was humbled for just 54 in response.

4 - Kapil Dev (Ind) 175* v Zim at Tunbridge Wells in 1983


Another match to have entered cricketing folklore, With qualification for the semi-finals in some doubt, India slumped to 17 for five before Kapil began his assault, slamming sixteen fours and six sixes from just 138 deliveries. Not content with that, he followed up with an economical spell to lead India to a narrow victory.

3 - Desmond Haynes (WI) 145* v NZ at Berbice in 1985


The opener’s seventh ODI century was made against a strong bowling attack featuring Richard Hadlee and Ewen Chatfield - second and fifth in the bowling charts at the time. Eight Kiwis were dismissed bowled as they were all out for just 129, less than Haynes managed by himself.

2 - David Gower (Eng) 158 v NZ at Brisbane in 1983


The first Englishman on the list, and it is often forgotten what a successful batsman the languid left-hander was in the shorter format of the game. He entered in the ninth over and faced just 118 balls to lift England to a 54 run victory over a Kiwi side featuring five of the world's top twenty bowlers at the time.

1 - Viv Richards (WI) 189* v Eng at Manchester in 1984


So - twenty-five years on and still no-one has bettered Viv’s monumental effort. It could have been so different as he was on 96 with his team struggling at 166 for nine when last man Michael Holding strode to the crease. What followed is now history as the last wicket pair added 106 in fourteen overs and England were beaten easily.

Tendulkar in the same league with Bradman: John Wright

PTI, March 12,2009

 

Hamilton, Mar 12 (PTI) Sachin Tendulkar is in the same league with Don Bradman and the batting maestro has it in him to become the first cricketer to hit 100 international centuries, former India coach John Wright said today.

 

Wright said he expects Tendulkar to continue at least till the 2011 World Cup and retire only when he desires.

 

"I always felt he is in the same line as Bradman and he has the potential to possibly get a 100 international hundreds combining Tests and One dayers," said Wright, who had a successful five-year stint with the Indian team.

 

"To do something like that would be truly Bradmanesque," the former New Zealand captain told NDTV.

 

Incidentally, Bradman himself found some similarity between his own and Tendulkar's batting.

 

Tendulkar will turn 36 on April 24 but Wright said going by form -- the Mumbaikar hit a sublime 163 off 133 balls before retiring hurt in the third India-New Zealand ODI at Christchurch -- he expects the Indian to continue tormenting the bowlers. PTI

 

Wright reckons India coach Kirsten better than him

PTI, March 12,2009

 

Hamilton, Mar 12 (PTI) Former India coach John Wright reckons incumbent Gary Kirsten is better than him as a motivator and says Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men have what it takes to become the top team in both Tests and one-dayers.

 

Former South Africa opening batsman Kirsten joined the Indian team as coach last year, replacing the controversial Greg Chappell, and steered the side to Test series wins over Australia and England apart from a number of series triumphs in one-dayers.

 

"Oh he's (Kirsten) probably better, well I know he did score more runs than me. He is very thoughtful and very passionate and I think he understands the importance and the privilege of coaching India," said Wright, who was India's coach from 2000 to 2005.

 

"And you have to understand how things work. You bring some ideas from outside India but there is also an understanding of how things are best handled and getting to know your players and keeping them contented and happy and confident and being able to correct them when they need to," Wright told reporters.

 

Wright, currently a New Zealand selector, also felt the support staff that works with Kirsten has given the team a professional approach. PTI

Mar 12, 2009

Pietersen attributes India's one-day success to IPL

March 13, 2009

 

England batsman Kevin Pietersen has said the IPL contributed in a big way to India's recent success as a one-day team. He said greater participation by England players in the annual Twenty20 tournament would help improve their consistency in one-day internationals.

 

"I think the reason why India have gone through the roof is because of the Indian Premier League," Pietersen told BBC Sport. "After missing out last year, there is no way we can get up there if we don't play."

 

Pietersen is among five England players - Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara are the others - who will play in the IPL which is scheduled to begin on April 10. The inaugural season in 2008 featured only one England player, Dimitri Mascarenhas, that too for one game, because it clashed with the start of the county season. However, the ECB eased the restrictions by clearing its players to play in the 2009 IPL for three weeks.

 

Pietersen was the England captain when they lost 5-0 in India last year. India continued their good form in Sri Lanka, winning the series 4-1, and now in New Zealand, where they have won the five-ODI series with a match in hand. All three ODI victories in New Zealand were set up by the top order, with Virender Sehwag leading the way with a blazing hundred in Hamilton, and Sachin Tendulkar smashing an unbeaten 163 in Christchurch.

 

"India are taking one-day cricket to a different level," Pietersen said. "Have you seen the way they are playing in New Zealand? Then compare that to what we did out there last year - India are on a different level.

 

"It's important for our players to learn how to hit fours and sixes. You can do that in Twenty20 cricket and you can practise it. You must practise it in order to play it. In the middle, when you try to play like that you have to know you've practised it, and Twenty20 is a boundary fest. I'm afraid to say it but they have taken the game to a new level because of the IPL and I think the players recognise that."

 

England are scheduled to play a Twenty20 international against West Indies in Trinidad on March 15.

 

Lee banks on quick return to new-ball duties


Alex Brown

 

March 13, 2009

 

Brett Lee expects to be immediately reinstated to the role of Australian pace spearhead, and believes his new-ball combination with the vastly improved Mitchell Johnson will cause "carnage" among opposition batsmen throughout the Ashes and beyond. Fitter and stronger after his recovery from foot stress fractures, Lee was in a bullish mood when assessing his chances of returning to an attack that has won three consecutive Tests against South Africa since he limped from the scene during theBoxing Day Test.

Australia's selectors face a difficult decision ahead of this year's Ashes campaign. Lee, the 2008 Allan Border medallist, and Stuart Clark are nearing the end of their recoveries from foot and elbow surgery respectively, and will attempt to force their way back into a young and in-form attack. Johnson and Peter Siddle lead all-comers on the current tour of South Africa with a combined 23 wickets at 19.78, but Lee hopes his imposing record of 310 dismissals from 76 Tests will convince selectors to restore him to new ball duties for the Ashes.

 

"I'm not embarrassed to say that I expect to lead the pace attack and take that brand new ball again for Australia," Lee told Cricinfo. "I think it will add another dimension to our attack to have a right- and a left-hander out there capable of bowling over 150kph and swinging the ball in and out to the batsmen. Australian cricket is obviously in a very healthy state at the moment with the way the likes of Mitch and [Siddle] have been bowling, and I can't wait to be involved again. I hope that my record speaks for itself - I've worked hard to achieve ten years at the top of the game - and I can be out there creating a bit of carnage again alongside Mitch."

 

Lee, 32, revealed for the first time he was carrying two separate foot stress fractures towards the latter stages of the Australian summer. He required as many as eight painkilling injections to complete 10 second-innings overs at the MCG, with surgery later revealing he had not only broken the fourth metatarsal in his left foot, as suspected, but also a bone in the back of his foot as well.

 

Lee has employed the services of a six-day-a-week personal trainer since the operation, and has added 10kg of lean muscle mass to a frame that had suffered from the effects of the giardia bug. The illness hampered him throughout Australia's unsuccessful Test tour of India and subsequent home series against New Zealand and South Africa, and resulted in his weight falling to 82kg during the domestic summer.

 

"The hardest thing was that I had no momentum behind the ball," he said. "I had nothing to drive myself through the crease with and I just wasn't able to consistently bowl fast, no matter how much I wanted to. It wasn't a great feeling.

 

"I am back up around 92-93kg now, and I'm feeling much stronger and energetic. My strength is up, my skin folds are down and I'm feeling much better for it. I am viewing the time off as a positive, as much as I can. It has helped me get my foot, ankle and general health back, and when you've built a great base like this, it can only create longevity."

 

Despite security issues stemming from the recent terror attacks on Lahore and Mumbai, Lee expects to make his competitive comeback for the Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in April. When asked whether the IPL governing body's move to block FICA from the security process would sway his decision in any way, Lee was coy.

 

"The best way to answer that is to say that we do get guidance every single day as to what is recommended from a safety point of view," he said. "There are several places where that information comes from, and it gives you the basis to make an informed decision about certain places. But I am looking forward to going to India. I have been going there since 1994, and I can't wait to unleash a couple of thunderbolts at the IPL ahead of the Ashes series."

 

South Africa set to host Champions Trophy

NEW DELHI - South Africa should host this year's Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka ruled out due to possible rain interruptions in September-October, an International Cricket Council (ICC) committee has recommended. 

Pakistan was originally due to host the one-day international competition last year but after several teams voiced security concerns about playing there, the ICC reacted by postponing the event before switching venues to Sri Lanka last month. 

The ICC chief executives committee recommendation will go before its executive board for a final decision on Monday, the ruling body said in a statement on Wednesday. 

South Africa is set to be confirmed as the venue for the eight-team tournament scheduled from Sept. 24 to Oct. 5 if certain financial terms are agreed, the release said. 

Sri Lanka Cricket told the meeting it could not guarantee clear weather in Colombo during the period. In 2002, the event was held around the same time in Colombo and Sri Lanka and India were declared joint winners after rain marred the final. 

"The CEC agreed the need to do everything possible to ensure this year's Champions Trophy is a successful event," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said. 

"On that basis it was felt that it would be too great a risk to stage the tournament in Colombo at a time of year when there was a distinct possibility of rain. 

"This was especially relevant given the length of this year's Champions Trophy has been reduced to 12 days, part of our desire to make it a short, sharp event, as on that basis there would be no room for reserve days. 

"South Africa was a successful and excellent host of the World Twenty20 at much the same time of the year two years ago and the weather pattern in the area around Johannesburg in September and October is stable and ideal for cricket." 

Security concerns have increased in South Asia after gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore last week, injuring six players and killing seven Pakistanis. 

The ICC panel also recommended dates for next year's World Twenty20 in West Indies, now planned from Apr. 30 to May 16. The ICC board will give the final approval.

Sri Lanka names Sangakkara as skipper

 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:36 GMT

 

Sri Lanka on Wednesday promoted Kumar Sangakkara to captain for the upcoming World Twenty20 series in England, the sports minister said. 

The former vice captain will have spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan as his deputy, Gamini Lokuge said. 

Sangakkara, a stylish left-hand batsman and wicket-keeper, was the front-runner to succeed Mahela Jayawardene. 

Jayawardene stepped down as skipper after the two-Test Pakistan tour this month, which was abandoned because an attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.

Chasing revised target was not easy: Dhoni

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:29 GMT

Mahendra Singh Dhoni said after India's successful run chase in the 4th ODI that with the victory target being revised after every rain interruption it was far from easy. 

"It was a difficult chase with the rain interruptions. The way Viru and Gautam batted, it looked easy but it was never easy," Dhoni said after India's series-clinching win here. 

"The wind was very strong all through. Overall, we got a good start and capitalised on it later on," Dhoni said. 

Dhoni said the team no longer relied on individuals to do the job as every member "chips in". 

"We are not relying on individuals. For instance, we were without Sachin (Tendulkar) on Wednesday but still performed well. That's the plus point that we are not relying too heavily on individuals," he said. 

Man of the Match Sehwag, gave away 500 dollars out of the 1000 from his prize money to the local Hamilton Star Wars Cricket Club.

Australian cricket retains ICC Championship mace

MAR 11, 2009

 

WHEN Ricky Ponting arrived in Johannesburg, he was escorted straight to a press conference where the ICC Test Championship mace lay on the table.

Asked to front more press conferences at Johannesburg's Wanderers Stadium a week later to promote the first Test, Ponting was again questioned several times about the importance of the trophy and his team's bid to hold onto the No.1 ranking.

The ICC even sent one of their media men to do shopping-centre promotions in Johannesburg to stir up interest in Test cricket and the home team's chances of being the ace team with the silver-and-gold mace.

Local journalists joked that Cricket South Africa was clearing a special space in their trophy cabinet for the 90cm mace, which was valued at STG30,000 ($A64,000) in 2001.

Australia have held the trophy since 2003 and after winning the first two Tests of their three-match series in South Africa, Ponting's men are hanging onto it thanks very much.

Although the ICC Test Championship table is only updated at the end of each series, the Proteas needed to win the series to overtakeAustralia before the annual cut-off date of April 1.

"Australia can breathe easy in the knowledge that the ... ICC Test Championship mace will be returning with them to CricketAustralia's headquarters in Melbourne along with a cheque for US$175,000," the ICC said in a statement.

Ponting insisted it had not been his side's main goal and it shouldn't have been South Africa's either.

"If they have been focusing on that for the last couple of weeks, it might be the reason why they haven't performed as well as they would have expected," Ponting said.

"I haven't mentioned the trophy once around this whole group because it's not the reason we play.

"We play to win games of cricket for Australia and to do the best that we can for each other as a group of players.

"Whatever happens as a result of that, happens.

"If silverware comes your way then great. But that's not the reason that we play the game."