England skipper Strauss confident about future

Andrew Strauss heads home from Asia confident his future as skipper is secure after England ended a miserable run in Tests by beating Sri Lanka to draw the series 1-1 and retain their number-one ranking.

The tourists eased to an eight-wicket win in the second and final Test at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Saturday to make amends for the 75-run loss in the first Test in Galle, which was their fourth straight Test match defeat this year.

England's losses, including an embarrassing 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, had left them teetering on the brink of losing their top ranking.

The one blemish in the hard-fought series against Sri Lanka was Strauss's own batting form. He made just 114 runs in four innings at an average of 28.50.

The left-hander appeared to have found his rhythm when he hit 61 in the first innings of the second Test, but he fell for a duck in the first over of the second innings as England chased a modest target of 94.

Strauss has not added to his 19 Test centuries in 25 innings and has just one three-figure knock in his past 50 innings, raising questions about his future in the side. But the skipper said he had never doubted himself or his leadership role.

Kohli should take No: 3 slot: Sourav Ganguly

India's new batting super star Virat Kohli, who has hit three centuries in his last 4 innings, is the ideal batsman to fill in the No: 3 spot in Test cricket left by Rahul Dravid, former captain Sourav Ganguly has said.

Rahul Dravid recently retired from International cricket.

Talking on the sidelines of the launch of a documentary on his cricketing career, 'The Warrior Prince', Ganguly said Kohli is the next big thing to have happened to Indian cricket.

Talking about Kohli's blistering 148-ball 183 in their record win over Pakistan in Asian cup, Ganguly said, "He is the next big thing in Indian cricket. I've never seen a better one-day cricket innings in my 22 years career. I hope he fills up the place of the champion Rahul Dravid at No 3," Ganguly said.

Ganguly also congratulated Sachin Tendulkar for completing 100 international centuries.

"I had always said it was a matter of time. It's a colossal achievement. I congratulate Sachin. I only sent a text message."

Rahul Dravid Announced his Retirement

Rahul Dravid, “The Wall” of Indian cricket team has announced his retirement from all forms of the game with immediate effect. He will however honor his contractual obligations with the Rajasthan Royals in the 5th season of the IPL 2012.

The stylish Indian No. 3 batsman announced his decision at a crowded press conference in the presence of the BCCI president Mr. N Srinivasan and the President of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) as well as one of his former Skipper Anil Kumble.

Dravid used the occasion to thank all his coaches, his family, friends and well-wishers for all the support and encouragement he received throughout his career.

"I hereby announce my retirement from International cricket and domestic as well. It has been 16 years since I started playing. I have many people to thank. My junior coaches at Bangalore have inculcated me a powerful love of the game which has always stayed with me."

"In the Indian team I have been fortunate to have been part of an era where we won home and away". I found support and encouragement from my parents and brother. My wife Vijetha has been a single parent as I travelled all over."

"I have failed at times, but have not stopped trying. I leave with sadness and pride".

Rahul Dravid walked into the press conference at around 12:30 pm IST and was accompanied by his wife, Vijetha as well as his two sons, Samit and Anvay.

Johnson says Test career isn't over

Injured fast bowler Mitchell Johnson believes that "five to six years" of cricket is still left in him and he wants to use the Indian Premier league to regain his place in the Australian Test cricket side.

Johnson had injured the big toe of his left foot while batting Australia to victory in the second Test against South Africa in late November and had to undergo a surgery.

Since then the 30-year-old pacer has been out of the national team and is also been ruled out of the upcoming West Indies tour in March-April.

And with youngsters in Pat Cummins and James Pattinson doing well in Tests it would be difficult for Johnson to regain his spot. But the bowler said he was ready to work hard and was hopeful of making a comeback in the fifth edition of the IPL.

"I'm definitely confident of my ability. I'm only 30 years of age, I've got five or six years left in me so that's my goal," said Johnson on Fox Sports.

"Whether I get back straight away or not we'll have to find out but I'll be working as hard as I can.

"(The IPL) wouldn't be a bad way to get back into it, four over spells, short and sharp. If not I'm happy to start back into grade cricket or back into State cricket," he added.

Johnson has played 47 matches and has taken 190 wickets so far since making his Test debut in November 2007 against Sri Lanka.

I don't want to play for Australia again: Hodge

Consistently ignored by the national selectors despite scoring tons of runs in domestic cricket, out-of-favour batsman Brad Hodge says he is no longer interested in playing for Australia again.

Hodge, who is considered as the most devastating batsman in domestic cricket, played just six Test match for Australia despite averaging 55.88 and also having a double hundred to his name.

His ODI career lasted just 25 matches during which he scored three fifties and a century at an average of 30.26.

"There's two 37-year-olds (Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey, who is actually 36) doing pretty well now. If I was still there I'd be doing pretty well, I reckon," said Hodge, who turned 37 last week and has not played international cricket since mid-2008.

"But I don't want to play for Australia again, no way," he was quoted as saying by 'The Age'.

Hodge, instead, said he would like to spent the rest of his career as a freelancer in various Twenty20 tournaments around the world and represent his state team Victoria in domestic circuit.

"This is my life now. It's enjoyable, stress free. It's time for the youngsters to step up and do something," said the right-hander, who is the leading run scorer in Australia's domestic limited overs competition this season with 312 runs.

Ready to bat at No. 4: Ricky Ponting

Ex-Captain Ricky Ponting has revealed that Shaun Marsh's elevation to the 1st down in the Australian Test team was a part of skipper Michael Clarke's 'long-term plan'. Ponting added that he had no problem in moving down the order as long as he is part of the playing XI.

Australia shuffled its batting order to squeeze in Marsh at the No.3 position, which means former captain Ponting, his successor Clarke and Michael Hussey had to slip down one spot each.

"It was a long-term plan of Michael's to have Shaun move to No 3 and me move to No 4 and Michael move to five and Hussey to No. 6" Ponting said.

"So that wasn't just something I don't think as a one-off for that game. Michael sees that in the best interests of the team going forward for a period of time. So I'll be three this week, probably three in the one-dayers in South Africa and then probably drop back to four for the Test Cricket matches," he added.

Ponting also said that playing at number four spot would give him some more time to think on how to go about his batting.

"When I first came into the Australian side, batting at six was hard. Waiting that amount of time to bat for me was something that was very foreign to me.

"But three to four I don't think is as big a change as three to six, or it certainly wasn't in the last Test because I was in pretty early both times. Slight adjustment. It just gives me a little bit more time once our fielding's over to get my head around what I have to do to bat," Ponting was quoted as saying in the Australian media.

Clarke had earlier made it clear that all-rounder Shane Watson will not be moving down the order from his original opening slot.

India are scheduled to host play 90 Tests and 166 ODIs in next 8-year

A day after the BCCI announced dates for IPL next season, the ICC on Tuesday virtually left an unofficial window for the cash-rich Twenty20 event, making it possible for players from most nations to participate in it.

The ICC on the third day of its annual conference left gaps in the FTP for most nations during April and May for the eight-year period from 2012-20.

The FTP, which was approved by the ICC Executive Board on Tuesday on the recommendations of Chief Executives' Committee, contains an official two-week window in September for the Champions League Twenty20 each year and leaves space for an unofficial IPL window in April and May.

Under the new FTP calender, India are scheduled to host Pakistan for a Test series in 2013, the first time after 2007.

But, beyond that, particulars of other series between the two countries were vague with neither the host nation nor the number of games was specified. They would also play 90 Tests and 166 ODIs within the eight-year span.

India also plays fewer Test matches than England and Australia in the 8-year period though the world champions would be the busiest team in ODIs.

The FTP has a clear division among the Test playing countries with England, Australia and India scheduled to play the most Tests, followed by Sri Lanka and South Africa.

England will play 99 matches, Australia 92, Sri Lanka 76 and South Africa will play 74 Tests respectively. They are followed by the West Indies and New Zealand with 66 Tests each and Pakistan 65 followed by Bangladesh 42 and Zimbabwe 41.

The ODIs are more evenly distributed. India will play 89 away ODIs among its 166 matches. Zimbabwe have the fewest at 64, of which 37 are at home. All other countries play between 100-160 games.

In the Twenty20 format, most teams are scheduled to play between 30-55 matches.

India get rewarded for finishing as No.1 in Test

India will be handed USD 175,000 for finishing as the No.1 Test side while also pocketing one more USD 75,000 for finishing as 2nd-ranked ODI team this season, the ICC said today.

India has been sitting on top of the Test Championship table since December 2009 with 128 points. South Africa (117 points) will pocket USD 75,000 for ending in 2nd position in the Test Championship table at the cut-off date of April 1.

Australia earns USD 175,000 for finishing on top of the ODI table with 128 points at the cut-off date. It has been occupying the number-one position on the ODI Championship table since leapfrogging South Africa and India in September 2009.

In the latest ODI rankings issued today, Australia has 129 points, eight points more than India's 121 points.

Afridi should return to Test cricket: Imran Khan

Pakistan's ODI & T20 skipper Shahid Afridi should return to Test cricket and captain the national team in all three formats of the sport, former skipper Imran Khan said.

Afridi pulled out of a Test series against Australia last year in England after losing the 1st Test at Lord's as skipper.


Since then he has only captained Pakistan in one-day internationals and Twenty20 cricket matches. Senior batsman Misbah-ul-Haq led Pakistan in their last two Test series against South Africa and New Zealand.

Afridi, who led Pakistan to the semi-finals of the World Cup that ended on Saturday, has made himself available for this month's tour to the West Indies after previously planning on missing the series.

"There should be just one captain for all three formats of the game," Imran told reporters at a function held in Lahore to honour Pakistan's World Cup umpire Aleem Dar.

"The main reason for India winning the World Cup is that their captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni leads them in Tests, ODIs and T20 cricket," the cricketer turned politician said.

Imran said that Dhoni had matured quicker as a captain because he had developed the temperament to handle the different pressures of the three formats.

"Afridi must also be captain in all three formats of the sport. My belief is that unless you captain in Test cricket you can't really be at the top of your game," he said.

I missed being a part of the test squad: Gambhir

Indian opening batsman Gautam Gambhir has said that he is happy with his fitness and cannot wait to start batting again. Gambhir's show has been hampered by knee problems, which also saw him sit out Tests against Sri Lanka and Australia. The left-hander has been named in India's Test team against New Zealand and he will be eager to prove his critics wrong and get back to rhythm.

"It's important to get back into the rhythm," Gambhir told the Indian Express in an interview. "I have increased my batting time at the nets and am happy with my fitness."

"I watched every bit of the Visakhapatnam game and I missed being part of the team. To be frank, missing out on a game after being dropped feels bad but to sit out with injury and watch other people play feels even worse."

Gambhir admitted that it will be a challenge for him to get into groove after a long break. "When you go out to bat in a match after a long break, you just try to test if you still have the old touch. When you come back from a break, you need time to get used to things around you. If you look, I haven't played much in the last three months. It's a challenge that I am now looking forward to meet."

He added that he was focused on the World Cup and wants to use the upcoming series against the New Zealand and the Proteas to provide him with the impetus to play at the peak in the WC. "It is not just about playing the World Cup but it's about being in good form and being absolutely fit. I plan to build on it from this Kiwis series, then to South Africa series and so on."

Chris Gayle axed, Darren Sammy Named New WI Skipper

The West Indies Cricket Board axed Chris Gayle as the captain of the national side, and replaced him with Darren Sammy, while installing Brendon Fraser as the vice-captain.

The West Indies will tour Sri Lanka for a 3 match Test series in November, and though Gayle has kept his place as part of the team, he is no longer the skipper. The move came after Gayle and Dwayne Bravo refused to sign central contracts with the WICB. Bravo was before the vice-captain under Gayle.

Gayle, Bravo and Pollard have all got profitable Twenty20 contracts, and are likely to be in high demand in the IPL Twenty20 auctions too, which has led to their refusing the WICB central contracts, which stipulated availability at all times for the West Indies.

Sammy, who is the Windward Islands captain, was not a regular member of the Test starting XI, but he now finds himself in the hot seat. His appointment as skipper and Fraser's as vice-captain will run till the end of the West Indies' home series in 2011. Sammy said he regarded the appointment as a distinction and an honour.

"Being appointed West Indies captain is an honour and distinction which I will treat with the highest regard and dignity," Sammy said. "I believe my captaincy of the Windward Islands, a young team which I have been molding into playing consistently spirited cricket, will stand me in good stead as West Indies captain as we work on building a team for the future.

Sachin crosses the 14,000 landmark

In yet another first, India's all time great Sachin Tendulkar became the only person to scale the 14,000 landmark in Test cricket during their 2nd test match against Australia.

Needs 27 runs to reach the landmark, the 37-year-old cut Nathan Hauritz through cover point for a four and accomplished the feat in his 171st Test.

A packed Chinnaswamy Stadium crowd rose and gave the Indian little maestro a standing applause as Australian captain Ricky Ponting came up to congratulate Tendulkar. At 12178, Ponting remains Tendulkar's next-door rival.

Misbah-ul-Haq named Test skipper

Misbah-ul-Haq has been appointed skipper of Pakistan's Test side a day after he was recalled to the squad. Misbah-ul-Haq, who has been in and out of the Pakistan side was axed following the catastrophic tour of Australia in 2009-10, is Pakistan's 4rth Test captain this year. Shahid Afridi has been retained as the captain of the ODI and T20 team.

Former Test Captain Younis Khan however failed to get the nod of the selectors, something that was seen as a surprising choice by the cricketing fraternity in Pakistan.

Taufeeq Umar makes a surprise recall to the squad, after a long gap of 4 years and will be looking to cement his place in the squad.

Zulqarnain Haider, who daunted on his debut in England Test Series, has been included at the cost of Kamran Akmal.

Pakistan Test team: Misbah ul Haq (capt), Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Yousuf, Umar Akmal. Azhar Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Danish Kaneria, Abdur Rehman, Zulqarnain Haider, Umar Gul, Tanvir Ahmed, Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir.

Pakistan ODI & T20 Squad: Shahid Afridi(Captain), Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Tanveer Ahmed, Zulqarnain Haider.

Kumble appointed the chairman of the NCA

Anil Kumble on Wednesday was appointed the chairman of the National Cricket Academy (NCA)by the BCCI.

"Kumble is an excellent cricketer. He has the knowledge of the game and is Bangalore-based. So he can look after the academy very well," BCCI president Shashank Manohar said on the assessment taken at the annual general meeting.

"The Board has purchased about 50 acres of land in Bangalore where the Board is developing its academy. According to all of us, Kumble is the excellent choice for that post," Manohar said.

When asked about his commitments when playing for IPL, Manohar replied "He does not work for 365 days for the Bangalore franchise; neither will he work for 365 days for the NCA. We have a director in Sandeep Patil to look after cricket."

Shahid Afridi hinted at a return to Test Cricket

Pakistan ODI skipper Shahid Afridi hints at test return Friday as the team returned from what he called the ‘most difficult’ tour of his 14 year career in England.

The corruption-tainted tour ended Wednesday with England taking the ODI series 3-2 after an Afridi-led Pakistani fightback had levelled the series. Pakistan also lost the Test series, 3-1.

"The best part of the whole tour was that the players showed unity even in difficult times and gave a good fight in the ODI series against England," Afridi told a scrum of reporters outside Karachi airport.

"I will think about it and if the team needs it, I may consider playing the Test series against South Africa," added the explosive all-rounder.

After a 4 year break, Afridi came out of Test retirement this summer only to quit after one game when Australia won Pakistan by 150 runs at Lord's in July.

Flintoff announced retirement from all cricket

English All-rounder Andrew Flintoff announced his retirement from all forms of the game in a statement after being told by his doctor that his knee could no longer stand the rigours of top level sport.

"It is with both disappointment and sadness that I am today (Thursday) announcing my retirement from all forms of cricket," former England captain Flintoff said in a statement released by his agents, International Sports Management.

"The decision to end my career came yesterday after consultation with medical advisers," added the 32-year-old all-rounder, who quit the Test format after helping England regain the Ashes last year.

Flintoff underwent knee surgery last August and needed a second operation in January before returning to training with Lancashire in June. Hopes of an early comeback were shelved, however, and he missed the entire county season.

He will always be remembered for his performances in the 2005 Ashes when his destructive bowling helped England beat Australia in a series for the first time since 1987.

Flintoff made his England debut in 1998 and went on to play 79 tests and 141 one-day internationals, scoring 3,845 test runs, including five centuries at an average of 31.77.

He took 226 test wickets and scored 3,394 runs in ODIs, taking 169 wickets in that format.

He captained his country for the first time in 2006 in India but was also in charge for a disastrous 2006-7 tour when Australia gained revenge for their 2005 series defeat -- thrashing England 5-0.

At the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean he became embroiled in controversy when he had to be rescued from the sea after taking out a pedalo after a night out. He was subsequently stripped of the vice-captaincy.

His popularity never waned, however, and despite ankle surgery he was selected for the 2009 Ashes squad.

Panicky Pakistan end England with winning streak

Pakistan won the 3rd Test at The Oval by beating England by 4 wickets - the hosts lead the four match series 2-1 in Test Series.

Pakistan's triumph was their 4th at The Oval - but only their first over England since Lahore in December 2005 - and sets up a mouthwatering contest next week at Lord's for the 4th and final test.

Chasing 148 to succeed the tourists had reached 115 for 3 at lunch with experienced person Mohammad Yousuf 22 not out and looked well set for an easy victory.

England given a twinkle of hope just before the break when Graeme Swann had skipper Salman Butt caught at slip for 48, to give him his 2nd wicket of the innings.

Swann blocked up one end with his off spin but at the other runs were coming freely as Butt and Imran Farhat looking determined to finish things early got Pakistan past 50 in the eight over after they had lost opener Yasir Hameed to the fourth ball of the innings and the first he had faced.

Pakistan were directly put on the back foot when Hamed edged James Anderson to second slip, Swann wanted two attempts to hold on to the chance and leave Pakistan 5 for 1.

Farhat made 33 before he was leg before to Swann, the only bowler who gave skipper Andrew Strauss any control whatsoever. Butt nearly saw his team home, making his 48 runs from 64 balls but he was neatly caught by Paul Collingwood, again off Swann, just before lunch.

Mohammad Aamer recorded his Test best figures of 5-52 to give Pakistan a good chance of pulling one Test back in the series.

England who lost six wickets for 26 runs in a frantic period on Friday night could only add one run to their overnight total of 221 with Steve Finn getting off the mark.

Winning Ashes 5-0 “absolutely possible”: Ricky Ponting

Australian captain Ricky Ponting said Monday it was "absolutely possible" that his team could reclaim the Ashes with a 5-0 sweep against England later this year.

Ponting, who lost the Ashes for a 2nd time as a skipper in the 2-1 series defeat in England last year, said the Australians had learnt from their mistakes and were a better side than the last Ashes contest.

Australia have slipped to 4th, narrowly ahead of England, in the Test rankings after their 1-1 drawn Test series against 6th ranked Pakistan in England last month.

But Ponting, who met Cricket Australia officials in Melbourne on Monday to map out preparations for the November-January Ashes series, is unconcerned.

"It's absolutely possible. There's no reason why not," Ponting told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when asked about a 5-0 Ashes sweep. "It's all in our hands. It's how well we play and how well we take charge of different situations.

"We've learnt from a lot of the mistakes that we've made. There's no doubt we made some mistakes in the last Ashes series in England that probably at the end of the day cost us the series.

"We know now that we're a more experienced and probably a better team now than we were then. We put that together plus we're playing in our conditions, we hope to win this series and win it well.

"I've got confidence in the squad of players that we've got that they are going to be good enough to win an Ashes series."

I have never taken anything for granted: Sachin

Sachin has played five cricket World Cups in a career spanning over 20 years and Sachin Tendulkar says he has never taken anything for granted in life and always depended on his hard work.

Sachin, who gears up for his 6th World Cup to be held in the sub-continent, said he can't thank the massive more for all that he has achieved in his life.

"I'm very lucky to have played in five World Cups so far. God has been very kind to me to have given me good health and with that, fair amount of runs as well. I'm very happy and very grateful with whatever has come my way," said Sachin on this week's ICC Cricket World Cup Radio Show.

"I treasure each and every moment as I have not taken anything for granted. I have worked hard for everything I have achieved and will continue to do so. I'm just very happy, excited and extremely thankful to the Almighty," he added.

Flat pitches made Ind-SL series dull: Akram

Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram feels apart from Sachin Tendulkar's fabulous form the just-concluded Test series between India and Sri Lanka turned out to be a rather "dull" matter due to placid tracks.

Akram was disappointed with the way the fast bowlers were hammered during the three-match test series in Sri Lanka.

"Fast bowlers got murdered and it was not fun at all, believe me. The 1-1 draw is a fair result but it has to be said that apart from two or three brilliant performances, it was a dull series," said Akram.

But the former left-arm pacer praised Tendulkar for his performance in the series, during which he also became the most capped Test player in the world.

"Sachin was tremendous in the series. He scored those runs in the hour of need. Also, his double ton in the second game at the SSC, that helped India save the Test, was one of the highlights of the series," Akram said.

"Laxman got an amazing hundred under pressure, India were struggling at 62 for four and his contribution went a long way towards the successful Indian chase. Experience is very important in Test cricket and Laxman executed it by staying right there till the end," he added.

Akram was felt a strong batting line-up gave India the decisive edge in the series.

"India have got a very strong batting attack with Rahul Dravid and Sachin coming in at three and four, Laxman comes at five, Suresh Raina at six and Mahendra Singh Dhoni at seven.

So this experienced line-up augers well for them," he said.

Besides, Akram said dashing opener Virender Sehwag once again redefined aggressive batting in the series.

"Sehwag is a phenomenal player. It does not matter whether he is playing Twenty20s or ODIs or Tests, he never changes his game and that's where his strength lies. He has such strong and quick reflexes.. He judges the line and length of the ball to perfection and plays positive attacking strokes," he said.

"He has almost single-handedly changed the approach of an opening batsman. Instead of the conventional thinking that openers have to weather the new-ball storm, Sehwag takes the attack to the bowlers and forces them on the backfoot," he added.