World Of Cricket

London: The International Cricket Council (ICC) is investigating claims that Indian bookmakers are fixing the results of England county games and international fixtures, Britain’s Sunday Times reported.

ICC World Cup 2011 - Semi-Final : India v Pakistan was fixed ::: Sunday Times

The newspaper said it had uncovered evidence that tens of thousands of pounds (dollars) was on offer to players to throw part or all of international matches, including last year’s World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan.

It cited one Delhi bookmaker boasting that English county cricket was also a “good new market”, as it involved “low-profile matches and nobody monitors them. That’s why good money can be made there without any hassle”.

According to the report, batsmen can earn up to £44,000 ($69,000) for slow scoring and bowlers can earn £50,000 ($78,000) for conceding runs in set patterns, with £750,000 ($1.2 million) on the table for a player or official who can guarantee the outcome of a match.

The paper’s undercover reporters cite fixers as saying they had recruited players from countries including England with the help of a Bollywood actress in a honeytrap.

The allegations come just weeks after former Essex bowler Mervyn Westfield became the first English cricketer to be jailed for corruption after admitting accepting money to fix a match against Durham in September 2009.

Last year, Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were also jailed in Britain for their role in an entirely separate ‘spot-fixing’ scandal concerning a 2010 Test match against England.

An ICC spokesman said it would investigate the new allegations.

“We are grateful for the information you have provided and will launch an inquiry into these serious allegations,” he told The Sunday Times.

“Betting on cricket in the legal and illegal markets continues to grow rapidly and, with many, many millions of dollars being bet on every match, the threat of corrupters seeking to influence the game has not gone away.”

In January, after Westfield had pleaded guilty to his corruption charges, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) launched a “reporting window” to encourage players and officials to come forward with information about corruption.

The amnesty allowed them to report past approaches without fear of punishment.

It is usually against ECB regulations not to report any alleged corruption within the sport.

Melbourne: Cricket Australia revealed the names of the players which will play the Boxing day test against India. Hilfenhaus will make a comeback and Starc has been dropped.

Australia's top three - David Warner, Ed Cowan and Shaun Marsh - at a net session © Getty Images

Ed Cowan will make his debut for Australia as Phillip Hughes has been left out because of his miserable performance. Shaun Marsh will replace Usman Khawaja.

Cowan has scored centuries in each of his past four innings for Tasmania and the Chairman’s XI against India in a warm-up match while Marsh returns from a back injury and is fresh an unbeaten 99 for Melbourne Renegades in the BBL on Thursday night.

28-year old Ben Hilfenhaus will make his comeback, he won the spot over young Michael Starc. The ability of Hilfenhaus to bowl long spells and because of his good recent performance in domestic cricket forced the selectors to choose him.

Aussie captain Michael Clarke on talking with reporters said: ”I think it plays a part. He is a very good new ball bowler and he can bowl long spells and he has had success against India as well so there’s probably a few reasons why we decided to go with Hilfy.”

“We feel we have got the right 11 to give ourselves a chance to win the Test match.”

Clarke said 21-year-old Starc was disappointed when told he was dropped.

“Mitch is obviously disappointed. He would have loved a chance but he understands the reasons.”

“He has to keep working hard at his game now to continue to improve. (He needs) to go back to his Big Bash team and New South Wales and continue to take wickets,” he said.

Squad of Australia for the ‘Boxing Day’ test:

David Warner, Ed Cowan, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (capt), Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin (wk), Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Nathan Lyon, Ben Hilfenhaus.

Manchester: The England Test cricket team have won the BBC Sports Personality Team of the Year award after securing a first Ashes series triumph in Australia since 1987.

Andrew Strauss collects the BBC's Team of the Year award © BBC

Captain Andrew Strauss’s side won the final two Tests after Christmas to retain the urn with a 3-1 victory.

England also beat Sri Lanka 1-0 and whitewashed India 4-0 at home to become the world’s number one Test side.

They beat Premier League champions Manchester United and Wales’ rugby union team to win the award.

England have been awarded the accolade three times in seven years – the first two coming after home Ashes series victories in 2005 and 2009.

The team’s success makes it a notable double for England following Andy Flower’s triumph in the Coach of the Year category.

England arrived in Australia to predictions from Australia legends Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath that the hosts could inflict a repeat of the 5-0 drubbing England suffered on their 2006-7 tour down under.

But after Australia had secured a comfortable 237-run win in the third Test in Perth to level the series 1-1, England posted consecutive innings victories in Melbourne and Sydney to retain the urn in emphatic style.

The team have not lost a Test series since May 2009 and their rise to the top of the International Cricket Council’s five-day rankings was confirmed as they took an unassailable 3-0 series lead over India at Edgbaston in August.

Their ascent marks a remarkable turnaround from their position at the bottom of the Test rankings in 1999.

While the team have not lost a Test match in more than a year, their one-day form has not been as strong.

After losing the one-day series against Australia 6-1, they suffered defeats by Ireland and Bangladesh at the World Cup before bowing out with a 10-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka in the quarter-finals.

One-day international series victories over Sri Lanka and India at home were followed by a 5-0 whitewash away to India.

The winner of the award was decided by a panel of sports editors from national and regional newspapers and magazines.

Courtesy: BBC News

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Victoria: Australia pacer James Pattinson is all set to play his maiden India series and insists he will not let the reputation of the Indian batting greats hamper his confidence.

James Pattinson releases the ball © Getty Images

Pattinson claimed five-fors in each of the two Tests he played against New Zealand.

The 21-year-old Pattinson is now raring to have a go at Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVs Laxman in the upcoming Boxing Day Test.

”You respect them really well from who they are, what they have done but, come game day, you can’t be intimidated, you’ve got to be intimidating,” said Pattinson to The Saturday Age.
”So even though I’ve only played two Tests, I think I can do that – I can come with aggression, the same as Sids [Peter Siddle], and we can lead the attack,” said the youngster who has no intention of altering his attack.

Pattinson said the wickets he clinched against the Kiwis will definitely worry the Indians ahead of the first Test.

“It was great to get some performances in my first two Tests to sort of get them thinking about me as well as Sids,” he said.

“It’s going to be a pretty big challenge [but], you know, they’re starting to get a bit older now, so I might hopefully have them at the right time.”

Pattinson admits he has always harboured a dream to feature in the playing XI of a Boxing Day test match.
“It’s basically the pinnacle,” reiterated Pattinson.

“As a kid, you run out in the backyard and pretend it’s a Boxing Day Test, especially with my older brother. I played a lot with him and a lot with my mates.”

He revealed he has been working with the England bowling coach David Saker to work on the line to bowl to the Indians.

“I have spoken to David Saker quite a bit because they had some good success against India over in England, so I spoke to him [about] a few of their plans. I am 100 per cent confident I can do the job and the bowlers can do the job,” he believed.

But Pattinson is not going to make the mistake of underestimating the Indian batting line-up.
“You watched them in England and you felt that [signs of decline] at times. But they went back to India and they’ve played some good cricket,” he said.

“It’s going to be different conditions for them and no doubt they are going to have the England series in the back of their mind as well. They will still be hard to bowl to and hard to get out,” he said.

Courtesy: Cricket Australia

Dhaka: Pakistan just beat the fading light to win the second test against Bangladesh by seven wickets on Wednesday and complete a 2-0 series sweep.

Pakistan's cricket team pose with the winning trophy after they won the cricket series against Bangladesh © Reuters

Short Scores:

Bangladesh 1st Innings: 338/10 in 107.2 overs.

Pakistan 1st Innings: 470/10 in 154.5 overs.

Bangladesh 2nd Innings: 234/10 in 82.1 overs.

Pakistan 2nd Innings: 107/3 in 20.5 overs.

Bangladesh lost its last five wickets for 22 runs in the afternoon session as it collapsed to 234 all out in its second innings, giving Pakistan a target of 103 runs to win with just over a session to play.

Mohammad Hafeez top-scored for the tourists with 47 while Azhar Ali made 34 to lead the Pakistan charge. Both fell late on, leaving captain Misbah-ul-Haq to hit the winning runs with a six over long-off to take the tourists to 107-3.

In the morning session, Bangladesh’s hopes of a draw looked good after Nasir Hossain and skipper Mushfiqur Rahim made a 117-run partnership for the sixth wicket.

Nasir’s 79 came off 172 balls and with 11 boundaries while Rahim collected his 53 from 143 balls that included seven boundaries.

But some adept spin bowling by Pakistan led to a familiar batting collapse by the hosts and set up the win for Misbah’s team.

Abdur Rehman led the bowling attack by taking 4-51 while Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema and Saeed Ajmal took two wickets each for Pakistan.

The floodlights were already on by the time Pakistan began its run chase. Taufeeq Umar was dismissed for 3 early on when he was caught by Nazimuddin off the bowling of Nazmul Hossain.

Hafeez and Azhar put Pakistan back on the winning trail with a second-wicket partnership of 63. Misbah (16 not out) and man-of-the-series Younis Khan (6 not out) took Pakistan home.

Pakistan has moved up to no.5 in the ICC Test Ranking with this win. Pakistan also won the three one-dayers and the lone Twenty20 game. It next travels to the United Arab Emirates for a three-test series against No.1-ranked England followed by four one-dayers and three Twenty20 matches.

Result: Pakistan won by 7 wickets.

Man Of The Match: Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh).

Winner Of The Series: Pakistan by 2-0.

Man Of The Series: Younis Khan (Pakistan).

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Comments by both captains, man of the match and man of the series:

Mushfiqur Rahim (Captain of Bangladesh): ”The bowlers did a very good job. This is one of the games in which we couldn’t catch properly. After a bad defeat in the first Test the guys showed a lot of character. Nasir also batted really well.”

Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain of Pakistan): ”The players are understanding their roles in Test cricket and that is helping us. The players, management is responding well. Bangladesh did well to put together partnerships and they gave us a tough time in this Test.”

Shakib Al Hasan (Man Of The Match): “Hopefully we will improve. We have two months to improve on many things before the Asia Cup. Personally I’m satisfied with my form.”

Younis Khan (Man Of The Series): ”It’s hardto play back to back series but in the end it was a happy ending. Bangladesh are improving, all they need is to play more Tests and stick with the same guys.”

Brisbane: Melbourne Stars defeated the host, Brisbane Heat by 7 runs. Robert Quiney of Stars scored 97 vital runs off just 60 balls.

Robert Quiney hits out on his way to 97 © Getty Images

White, skipper of Melbourne Stars decided to bat first after winning the toss. Opening batsman Quiney shone with some fireworks, he hit 6 SIXES and 5 FOURS during his stay. He was unlucky to get out at 97.

David Hussey was the other one who contributed with his 45 runs. Captain White himself failed to play big innings and was clean bowled by Nathan Hauritz.

Stars of Melbourne raised a total of 177 with the loss of 7 wickets at the end of 20 overs. Nathan Hauritz was on the top of the list with 3 wickets whereas Ryan Harris and Daniel Christian took 1 wicket each.

For chasing the stiff target, Brendon McCullum and legendary opener Matthew Hayden started things for Heat. Hayden after scoring 22 off 10 went back to pavilion.

Chris Lynn, Peter Forrest and Daniel Christian added 13, 12 and 18 runs respectively. McCullum was clean bowled by the guru of spin Shane Warne at 36. Michael Naser (30) & Ryan Harris (25) tried to win the match for Heat but some good bowling in the last two overs took the match away from them.

Brisbane Heat ended with 9 runs short of the target. They lost 7 wickets in 20 overs. Clint McKay took 3 wickets for 22 runs. Faulkner, Dernbach and Warne shared 3 wickets.

With this win, Melbourne Stars is now at no.5 with 2 points. Brisbane Heat is still without any point and currently ranks at no.6.

Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Sixers will face each other tomorrow at Hobart. The match will begin at 19:00 (local), 08:00 (GMT), 11:00 (AST).

Result: Melbourne Stars won by 8 runs.

Man Of The Match: Robert Quinny (Melbourne Stars).