Salman Butt likely to get the Test captaincy

The Pakistan Cricket Board will announce the teams for next month's Asia Cup and the tour of England on May 22 and opening batsman Salman Butt is likely to get the Test captaincy.

"This is the suggestion that Aaqib gave to the inquiry committee of the board during the hearings in February and March and he had told them to appoint a co-operation candidate for the tests series in England against Australia and England," a source told PTI.

"With Afridi still not inclined to play Tests and the selectors also not too keen to try him out, it appears Salman Butt who has been in good form in recent matches might get the captaincy for the tests in England while Afridi would be retained as ODI captain for Asia Cup," the source said.

Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is also likely to get a nod for the upcoming events from the selectors.

Shane Bond announced retirement in all format of cricket

New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond said Friday he was ending a Cricket career which combined stunning success with a frustrating succession of injuries.

The 34-year-old, who announced his retirement from Test cricket in December 2009 after yet another injury cut short his series against Pakistan, said he was unwilling to concession his standards by continuing in international cricket.

"I know the time is right for me to step down," he said in a statement announcing his retirement from all cricket.

"I dreamed of playing for New Zealand when I was six. The reality of what has unfolded was more than I could ever hope for and I have been extremely proud to represent New Zealand.

"I am going to miss a lot of this but I know now is the time to bow out."

When fit, Bond was New Zealand's best fast bowler since Richard Hadlee and he ended his Test career with 87 wickets from 18 matches at an average of 22.09.

In 82 one-day internationals, he captured 147 wickets at an average of 20.88 and in 20 T20 matches he had 25 wickets at 21.72.

The former police officer combined blistering pace with precise control and swing, but a string of injuries frequently interrupted his career following his international debut in 2001.

Shane Bond told journalists after returning from the T20 World Cup he was feeling his age since ODI series against Australia in March 2010.

"I just felt like I was starting to slow down. The body's obviously been battered a bit and I suppose I'm coming up to 35."

"I noticed getting out of bed in the mornings, getting myself up for training is tougher."

Looking ahead, he was not enthusiastic about doing the work required to ensure he was fully fit for upcoming tours to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India.

Not only injury interrupted Bond's career.

He joined the rebel Indian Cricket League in 2008, believing he had an understanding with New Zealand Cricket that he would be able to continue playing for his country. But he was subsequently banned when the ICL was declared an unauthorized competition.

He returned to the national team last year and insisted Friday there were no hard feelings over the episode.

"I finish happy, no ill-feeling towards anyone. I've been very lucky during my career, I've had ups and downs but I look back with great pride."

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said Bond would be "almost impossible to replace".

New Zealand Skipper Daniel Vettori agreed, saying New Zealand had been lucky to have a player of Bond's stature.

"For me personally it is a big loss - I think he could still be a really good player for us for some time to come," Vettori said.

Sehwag became the “Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2009”

Virender Sehwag became the “Wisden Cricketer of the Year” for the 2nd time in a row, overcoming competition from England captain Andrew Strauss and Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan.

"In 2009, Sehwag broke Test cricket's sound fence by scoring at more than a run a ball," explained Wisden editor Scyld Berry.

The 31-year-old Indian opener was picked for the honour for a 2nd successive year after scoring "more quickly than any specialist batsman in Tests or one-day internationals."

Virender Sehwag also opens in Wisden's 2009 Test XI, led by his India captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a side also containing five players who featured in the 2009 Ashes.

But Australia captain Ricky Ponting, England batsman Kevin Pietersen and South Africa skipper Graeme Smith were among those 'dropped' from the Wisden XI.

This year marks the 147th edition of Wisden which has been published continuously since 1864.

Meanwhile, Australia vice-captain Michael Clarke has been named as one of the Wisden Almanack's Five Cricketers of the Year in the 2010 edition of cricket's “bible”.

The stylish batsman, 29, was Australia's leading run scorer in last year's Ashes with 448 runs at 64 but suffered the disappointment of finishing on the losing side as hosts England triumphed 2-1 in an intriguing series.

India v Bangladesh 1st Test: India win

Indian Stand-in captain Virender Sehwag lavished praise on his bowlers for the team's comprehensive 113-run win over Bangladesh in the first cricket Test here today.

Mushfiqur Rahim's First ton could not prevent defeat for Bangladesh.

Scorecard:

1st innings:

India 243 (Tendulkar 105, Sehwag 52, Shakib 5-62, Shahadat 5-71)
Bangladesh 242 (Mahmudullah 69, Zaheer 3-54, Mishra 3-66)

2nd innings:

India 413 for 8 dec. (Gambhir 116, Laxman 69, Mishra 50)
Bangladesh 301 allout (Mushfiqur 101, Tamim 52, Mishra 4-92, Ishant 3-48)

Man of the Match: Sachin Tendulkar

Australia in New Zealand Tour 2010 Schedule

Date	Match Details	Time (GMT)	Venue
Feb 26 - Fri	New Zealand v Australia, 1st T20I	-	Wellington
Feb 28 - Sun	New Zealand v Australia, 2nd T20I	-	Christchurch
Mar 03 - Wed	New Zealand v Australia, 1st ODI	-	Napier
Mar 06 - Sat	New Zealand v Australia, 2nd ODI	-	Auckland
Mar 09 - Tue	New Zealand v Australia, 3rd ODI	-	Hamilton
Mar 11 - Thu	New Zealand v Australia, 4th ODI	-	Auckland
Mar 13 - Sat	New Zealand v Australia, 5th ODI	-	Wellington
Mar 19 - 23	New Zealand v Australia, 1st Test	-	Wellington
Mar 27 - 31	New Zealand v Australia, 2nd Test	-	Hamilton

India won’t be at No. 1 for long - Ian Chappell

They may be numerous for now but former Australian skipper Ian Chappell says India do not have the bowling strength to keep the top of International Cricket Council's Test rankings on a long-term basis.

"I don't think great teams are built on opening batting partnerships. But to me, there is a far more important thing, and this is one reason why I don't rate India as a long-term No.1, " said Chappell.

"I think you have got to have two world class bowlers in your line-up to be a long-term successful cricket team. That is where India is diminishing down at the moment," he pointed out.

Ian Chappell said Indians do not even have minimum one champion bowler in their line-up.

"When I look at the averages and the strike-rates for India in the last 12 months, I don't see two champion bowlers.

In fact, I am struggling to find one champion bowler in that line-up.

"They have got some good bowlers. Sure, they have got a very good batting line-up, but the bowling is really not good enough to see them win consistently all around the world," he said.

Out of the 20 Tests India have played in the past two years, they have won 9 tests and lost 3. Three of the wins have come against Australia but Chappell said those victory were after the Aussies lost stalwarts like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist.

"I would have thought it was a greater achievement if they had caught up with Australia while Australia was still very much a great side, rather than waiting for Australia to come back to the field," Chappell said.

"That to me has been the disappointing thing. It seems to me that the other teams have almost thrown their hands and said that it's hard to beat them, we will just wait for them to fall back and then we will catch them," he added.

South Africa in India 2010 Schedule

Date	Match Details	Time	Venue
Feb 06 - 10	India v South Africa, 1st Test	-	Nagpur
Feb 14 - 18	India v South Africa, 2nd Test	-	Kolkata
Feb 21 - Sun	India v South Africa, 1st ODI	-	Jaipur
Feb 24 - Wed	India v South Africa, 2nd ODI	-	Kanpur
Feb 27 - Sat	India v South Africa, 3rd ODI	-	Ahmedabad