Chennai lift Champions League trophy

Johannesburg: The Chennai Super Kings created history by winning the Champions League Twenty20 event, the first by any Indian side, after beating the Warriors by 8 wickets in the summit clash on Sunday.


Murali Vijay (58 off 53) and Michael Hussey (51 not out off 46) chased down the 129-run target set by the opponents with an over remaining.Though, Warriors' bowlers created few jitters at the end of Chennai's innings, but the home side was fighting a lost battle since the time their batters finished with a below-par score.


Super Kings' skipper MS Dhoni (17 not out off 12) provided the finishing touch as he hit a huge six and two fours in the penultimate over of Juan Theron.


Earlier, wickets, including the price scalp of skipper Davy Jacobs, at regular intervals derailed the once steady-looking Warriors' innings as the home side struggled to put up a challenging total in the final.


For the IPL champions, Chennai, the spin combination of R Ashwin and Muttiah Muralitharan proved a lethal weapon as the duo shared five wickets between them.


Even though, CSK knew what Davy Jacobs could do once he gets going, and that is what the Warriors' skipper did, hitting a flurry of boundaries from the beginning.


Jacobs took the attack straight away to the opposition, hitting two boundaries off Doug Bollinger in the very first over. The Warriors' skipper followed it up with a spanking cover drive in the next over of Albie Morkel.


He further dented Chennai's plans with four more boundaries in the subsequent overs. But Chennai got the breakthrough in the form of Ashwell Prince (6 off 9), who was castled by Bollinger.


Ashwin, who has been a revelation for the Chennai side in this tournament, provided the wicket of Jacobs (34 off 21) as soon as Dhoni brought him into the attack. The Warriors' skipper misjudged the line of the off-spinner and was strapped in front of the wicket while trying a reverse sweep.


After Jacobs' wicket, the tussle for survival started for the Warriors' batsmen as they struggled to decode the spin of Aswhin and seam-up deliveries of L Balaji.


The pressure did the trick for Chennai as Colin Ingram (16 off 23) lofted a full-length delivery of Morkel which was neatly taken by Suresh Raina while running backward.


Warriors would have expected a lot from Mark Boucher (5 off 11), but the seasoned wicket-keeper stuck in the web created by spin legend Muralitharan.


Raina took the second blinder of the day as he dived in the mid-wicket region to sent Justin Kreusch (17 off 17) back to the dug out.


Craig Thyssen, with his big hitting, damaged the bowling figure of Balaji as the right-handed batsman hit two fours and a six off the medium pace bowler. He was foxed by Muralitharan and with that the Warriors innings finished with 128/7.


In reply, the Chennai openers made a solid start and once seeing off few early overs, both Vijay and Hussey started tearing Warriors' bowlers apart with their free flowing play.


While Vijay was the aggressive between the two, Hussey always kept the required run-rate under control and ensured a thumping win for his side.

CSK VS RCB : RAINA "S THUNDERING BLAST HELPS CSK TO MARCH INTO THE FINALS

Ever since Dale Steyn walked off the field without bowling a ball, events unfolded in Chennai's way. It started from Suresh Raina murdering bowlers and continued into the Bangalore innings that never gained momentum and eventually folded up for 123/9 to concede a comprehensive 52-run win.


After water from the heavens turned the Twenty20 affair into a 17-over showdown, it was fours (5) and sixes (6) from Suresh Raina's bat that stormed the Kingsmead as the big-match player butchered Bangalore bowlers, punishing them for 94 runs in 48 balls.



Bangalore were always behind the eight ball chasing a revised target of 176 as per the D/L method. Rahul Dravid got a golden ball duck, which triggered a procession of Bangalore batsmen that continued until the fall of last wicket.


Only Manish Pandey (52 off 44) put up some fight against a Chennai attack that showed teeth right from the first ball. Both Doug Bollinger (3 for 27) and Albie Morkel (1 for 13) were unplayable and took full advantage of a freshened-up pitch under overcast skies.


The middle and lower order of Bangalore tried to use the long handle but were doing that in a losing cause and in that endeavour became victim to Muralitharan (2 for 38), R Ashwin (1 for 32) and L Balaji (1 for 13).


The turn of events started in the Chennai innings when Steyn hurt himself after the rain delay while taking a catch to dismiss Michael Hussey (6). The premium fast bowler hit his head and back badly on the ground, which left him dizzy and not in a state to bowl a single ball.


Bangalore became a bowler short and that too of the quality of Steyn who could run through an opposition with his sheer pace.


From that point on, it was exclusively a Suresh Raina show. The southpaw feasted on Bangalore bowlers who had no answers to Raina's prolific stroke play. Watching Raina go berserk, Bangalore almost resigned to the fact that they would be chasing a mammoth total and looked like waiting for their turn with the bat.


Murali Vijay was the other notable contributor in the Chennai's 174-run effort, scoring 41 off 32 balls in an 81-run second-wicket partnership with Suresh Raina.


Chennai will now face the winner of second semifinal between South Australia Redbacks and Warriors to be played on Saturday.

SHOAIB BALL TAMPERING CAUGHT ON THE CAMERA

Pakistan troubled England tour ended with another controversy as their premier fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was caught on television allegedly tampering with the ball during the last ODI at Rose Bowl, the Daily Mail reported on Thursday.


The pacer could be seen apparently running his left thumb along the ball's seam before dropping the ball on the ground and standing on it with his spiked right boot during the game on Wednesday.Pictures were taken in the 41st over of England's innings as Shoaib prepared to bowl to Paul Collingwood.


It is not the first time Shoaib, 35, has come under the spotlight at the Rose Bowl. Four years ago, he was filmed by Sky cameras flicking at the ball with his thumb during a one-day international here against England.


On that occasion Shoaib was cleared but was warned about his behaviour after being accused of tampering with the ball during a Test match in Zimbabwe in late 2002.


The following year he was banned for two ODIs and fined 75 per cent of his match fee after being found guilty of the same crime against New Zealand in Sri Lanka.

CSK VS WARRIORS: CHENNAI MARCH TO THE SEMIS TO FACE RCB

Chennai went on to beat the Warriors by 10 runs on Wednesday and set up a semifinal clash with Bangalore in the Champions League. The spinners played an instrumental role in defending a paltry 136 by claiming six of the eight wickets to fall.

Warriors' chase never gained momentum, more so against the spinners than the faster men. The South African club never looked in against R Ashwin who opened the bowling with Doug Bollinger. And later spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, Shadab Jakati and part-timer Suresh Raina joined Ashwin to have Warriors in knots.

They kept losing way with wickets at regular intervals. Ashwell Prince (9) fell to a superb one-handed diving catch from fellow South-African Justin Kemp at the slips. It started the slide with the score at 24, which soon became 63/3 once Davy Jacobs (32) and Colin Ingram (17) fell to Shadab Jakati and Suresh Raina respectively.


It was clear that Warriors had one eye on 109, a score which would ensure a semifinal outing for them. But in doing that, they almost conceded the match to Chennai.


Once Warriors had 109 on board, Boucher did try to press home for a win, which in the end proved a little too late on a spinning track.


With 15 needed off the 20th over, bowled by Murali, the Warriors had their backs against the wall facing the wily Sri Lankan legend.


All-rounder Johan Botha looked at sea against the turning ball and in the end Warriors were found 10 runs short of the target.


Earlier in the evening, Justin Kreusch's 3/19 raised serious question marks over Chennai registering a win and qualifying for the semifinals in the must-win encounter against tournament favourites Warriors.


Chennai openers backed skipper MS Dhoni's decision to bat first with an opening stand that went from steady to authoritative as Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay registered fifty of the partnership.


But the hero of Warriors' bowling lineup, Justin Kreusch, struck in the nick of time by removing Vijay (35 off 27). It triggered a mini collapse for Chennai who lost 4 wickets for 36 runs after being 63 for no loss.


Suresh Raina (6) and S Badrinath (2) too fell prey to Kreusch's dream spell of 4-0-19-3. But the scorecard wore a worried look when Johan Botha got rid of top-scorer Hussey (50) soon after.


From there on, Warriors tightened their grip on the proceedings, stifling Dhoni and Anirudh Srikkanth for runs that came in ones and rare twos.


Just when it seemed the Warriors were executing their death-bowling plans to perfection, arrived a 17-run penultimate over that gave Chennai hope to finish with a flourish but it wasn't to be.


Rusty Theron removed Srikkanth (7) in the last over, followed by Justin Kemp's one-ball stay at the wicket that ended with him sacrificing his wicket to get Dhoni on strike.


The desperation didn't work for Dhoni and Chennai as Theron finished with a five-run last over that restricted Chennai to a paltry total of 136/6.


Chennai now face Bangalore and Warriors take on the Redbacks in the semifinals.

Short-lists announced for LG ICC Awards 2010

Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag of India, Hashim Amla of South Africa and England's Graeme Swann have all been short-listed for the top honour at the LG ICC Awards 2010.

The votes have now been cast by the independent 25-person academy and these four men are the ones in the running to receive the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Cricketer of the Year at a glittering ceremony in Bengaluru on 6 October 2010.

In addition, Tendulkar, Sehwag and Amla are also short-listed for the Test Player of the Year alongside South Africa's Dale Steyn at the seventh annual LG ICC Awards, presented in association with the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA).

Tendulkar is also in contention for the ODI Player of the Year award as he is short-listed in that category with Australia duo of Shane Watson and Ryan Harris as well as South Africa's AB de Villiers.

The Twenty20 International Performance of the Year sees New Zealand's Brendon McCullum short-listed alongside Australia's Michael Hussey, Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardena and South Africa's Ryan McLaren.

This year's LG ICC Awards includes nine individual prizes, including the new LG People's Choice Award and also features the selection of the Test and ODI Teams of the Year and the award to the side that has adhered most to the Spirit of Cricket.

The long-lists of nominations were made by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by former West Indies captain and current chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee Clive Lloyd. The panel also includes former players such as India's Ravi Shastri, Matthew Hayden of Australia, Angus Fraser of England and Zimbabwe's Duncan Fletcher.

The short-lists were created after the individual player awards were voted for by an academy of 25 highly credentialed cricket personalities from around the world*. The academy includes a host of former players, respected members of the media as well as representatives of the Emirates Elite Panels of ICC Umpires and ICC Match Referees.

The nominations from the Women's Cricketer of the Year were decided after a committee of former players, current administrators and journalists created a long-list. This in turn was broken down into a short-list by a separate 25-person voting academy.

This year's short-list for the Women's Cricketer of the Year sees two of Australia's victorious World Twenty20 team nominated for the top honour. Shelley Nitschke and Ellyse Perry are joined by West Indies Stafanie Taylor and England's Katherine Brunt.

The Spirit of Cricket award was voted on by all international captains as well as all members of the Emirates Elite Panels of ICC Umpires and ICC Match Referees. The Umpire of the Year award was voted on by the captains and the match referees based on the umpires' performance statistics.

The Emerging Player of the Year nominees short-list features England's Steven Finn, Australia's Tim Paine, as well as Angelo Matthews of Sri Lanka and Pakistan's Umar Akmal.

To qualify for that award a player must be under the age of 26 and have played fewer than five Tests and/or 10 ODIs at the start of the voting period.

The Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year award serves to recognise and reward the efforts in all international matches of the outstanding cricketers from the teams outside the ICC Full Members.

This year's short-list sees the return of 2008 winner, Ryan ten Doeschate of the Netherlands, who is joined by Ireland pair of Trent Johnson and Kevin O'Brien while Afghanistan's Mohammed Shahzad completes the list.

Based on the period between 24 August 2009 and 10 August 2010, the LG ICC Awards 2010 - presented in association with FICA - take into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game.

That period includes such high-profile events as the ICC Men's and Women's World Twenty20 2010 in West Indies, the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 in Australia and the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 2010 in the Netherlands, as well as several bilateral Test and ODI series.

The LG ICC Awards ceremony is now in its seventh year and this year is being held in Bengaluru. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007 and 2009) and Dubai (2008).


LG ICC Awards 2010

Short-lists of nominees (in alphabetical order)

Individual Awards



Cricketer of the Year

Hashim Amla (SA)

Virender Sehwag (Ind)

Graeme Swann (Eng)

Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)



Test Player of the Year

Hashim Amla (SA)

Virender Sehwag (Ind)

Dale Steyn (SA)

Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)



ODI Player of the Year

Ryan Harris (Aus)

Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)

AB de Villiers (SA)

Shane Watson (Aus)



Emerging Player

Umar Akmal (Pak)

Steven Finn (Eng)

Angelo Matthews (SL)

Tim Paine (Aus)



Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year

Ryan ten Doeschate (Ned)

Trent Johnson (Ire)

Kevin O'Brien (Ire)

Mohammed Shahzad (Afg)



Twenty20 International Performance of the Year

Michael Hussey (Aus) for his 60 not out in 24 balls against Pakistan in the semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20 2010 in St Lucia on 14 May

Mahela Jayawardena (SL) for his 100 in 64 balls against Zimbabwe in Guyana on 3 May and his 98 not out in 56 balls against West Indies in Bridgetown on 7 May 2010 both during the ICC World Twenty20 2010

Ryan McLaren (SA) for taking 5-19 against the West Indies on 19 May in Antigua

Brendon McCullum (NZ) for his striking of 116 not out in 56 balls against Australia in Christchurch, New Zealand on 28 February



Women's Cricketer of the Year

Katherine Brunt (Eng)

Shelley Nitschke (Aus)

Ellyse Perry (Aus)

Stafanie Taylor (WI)



Umpire of the Year

Aleem Dar

Steve Davis

Tony Hill

Simon Taufel



Spirit of Cricket

India

New Zealand

Sri Lanka

Zimbabwe



*Note: Specifically, the 25-person independent voting academy is made up of:


Former players - Ian Healy, Moin Khan, Athar Ali Khan, Shaun Pollock, Bob Willis, Sidath Wettimuny, Kris Srikkanth, Ian Bishop, Jeremy Coney, Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Roland Lefebvre.


Media - Jim Maxwell (Aus), Osman Samiuddin (Pak), Sayeed Uzzaman (Ban), Neil Manthorp (SA), Mike Selvey (Eng), Ramil Abeynaike (SL), Sharda Ugra (Ind), Fazeer Mohammed (WI), Richard Boock (NZ), Enock Muchinjo (Zim), Ian Callender (Associate Representative).


Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Referees Representative - Roshan Mahanama.

Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires Representative - Rudi Koertzen.

Chairman of ICC Cricket Committee - Clive Lloyd.

Short-lists announced for LG ICC Awards 2010

ICC CEC Committee recommends Test league

The ICC Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) met in Cape Town on Monday (13 September) and Tuesday (14 September) with the following results.

Context and Content of International Cricket, schedule of ICC events post-2015 and the proposed Future Tours Programme 2012-2020

The CEC endorsed a series of recommendations from a CEC working group which was set up to identify ways of introducing context for international cricket within the Future Tours Programme (FTP) after 2012 and also to consider future ICC events.

Coming from this meeting, the CEC will make some key recommendations to the ICC Board to consider. They are:

1) The FTP should consist of a Test league to provide context for all Test matches. The league would determine the top four teams to qualify for an ICC Test play-off

2)The play-off should be held once every four years to determine the Test champion team with a request to hold the first such play-off in 2013

3)The FTP should also consist of a One-Day International league, the first to run from April 2011 until April 2014, culminating in the crowning of an ODI league champion. This would run separate to the ICC Cricket World Cup

4)That the ICC Board should consider a 10-team format for the ICC's flagship event, the ICC Cricket World Cup, from 2015

5)That the ICC Board should consider a 16-team format for the men's ICC World Twenty20 from 2012, with the women's event continuing to run alongside

6)The introduction of Twenty20 International rankings table as soon as this is justifiable.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: "I am really excited by what the CEC has proposed.

"Restructuring international cricket is a significant strategic challenge and one that must be dealt with. I am grateful to the CEC and its working group for making such far-reaching proposals to tackle this important issue.

"Achieving balance and unanimous agreement is not easy but it is a very important piece of work that requires a strategic response. The holistic set of proposals, especially introducing more meaningful context, means we now have the potential to follow international cricket that is even more exciting.

"Protecting and promoting all three formats at international level is viable and I believe the CEC has shown itself to be forward thinking in tackling the challenges. I am now encouraged to engage with the ICC Executive Board to consider these proposals as soon as possible."

Bad light

The CEC continues to support the promotion of Test cricket by promoting initiatives to enhance play. In this regard, the CEC received a clarification from David Richardson (ICC General Manager - Cricket) following recent discussions at the Elite Umpires and Match Referees Seminar on the question of when players should leave the field due to bad light.

Mr Richardson said: "There is a clear instruction to match officials that the players should only go off the field when conditions are considered dangerous or unreasonable. In addition, players should not go off the field when the ground floodlights are switched on and these were deemed before the series to be adequate."

Balance between bat and ball

The CEC also discussed the need to ensure that Test match pitches provide a fair balance between bat and ball and approved a revised guideline to the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

Mr Lorgat said: "In recent years there have been many more results in Test matches but there are still a few instances where the pitches do not provide a fair balance between bat and ball. This must be addressed to ensure that the enduring charm and attraction of Test match cricket is not endangered by pitches which do not produce a true contest."

Additional update reports

The CEC received a detailed progress report on preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, including the release of the next phase of match tickets on 15 October.

Mr Lorgat said: "It is satisfying to see all the hard work undertaken by the host nations paying off. I am not expecting the ICC final inspections to reveal any significant concerns."

The CEC also received an update presentation on the progress in developing the ICC Strategic Plan 2011-15.

Mortaza to continue as skipper

Fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza will continue to lead Bangladesh. Mortaza was named skipper of the team that will take on New Zealand next month in a five-match one-day international series.

Mortaza's confirmation as skipper goes with what team coach Jamie Siddons had announced a few days ago. Siddons opined that Mortaza was the best man to lead Bangladesh at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Mortaza returned as captain on the recent European tour.

Promising opener Tamim Iqbal is out of action owing to a surgery, but the biggest surprise is the fact that one-time captain and promising batsman Mohammed Ashraful is now a standby for the series. Shahriar Nafees makes a return after not being chosen for the European tour. Injured duo of Mushfiqur Rahim and Roqibul Hassan have also made a return following a lengthy rehabilitation.

The chosen players will start for the series from 15 September at Dhaka's Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. The first match in the five-match series is scheduled to be held at the same venue on 5 October.

Team: Masrafe Bin Mortaza (Captain), Shakib Al Hasan (Vice Captain), Shahriar Nafees, Imrul Kayes, Zunaed Siddique, Roqibul Hassan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Jahirul Islam, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Md. Sohrawordhi; Stand by: Mohammad Ashraful, Nazim Uddin, Nazmul Hossain, Dollar Mahmud, Shuvogoto Hom

Classic ODI matches at CWC 2011 venues - Delhi

South Africa and West Indies get their 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup underway in Delhi on February 24.

Here we look back at five classic ODIs at the ground.

Indian batting fires

Sri Lankan Roy Dias christened the Feroz Shah Kotla with a century in the first ODI played at the stadium, yet India won out comfortably in a high-scoring encounter in September 1982.

The visitors posted 277-8 from their 50 overs with Sidath Wettimuny joining the centurion in a stand of 170 for the second wicket. India made light work of their target, however, finishing their chase in the 41st over with Kris Srikkanth (95 off 66 balls) and Sandeep Patil (64 off 48 balls) leading the way.

India get back on track

India gained revenge for losing an earlier group match against Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup 1987 with a comprehensive victory over the same opposition in Delhi.

Four half-centurions saw India reach 289-6 after being put into bat. That figure always seemed likely to test Australia and so it proved as it was unable to post any sizeable partnerships after a first-wicket stand of 88. Mohammad Azharuddin was the unlikely destroyer of the lower order with 3-19 – to go with his 54 not out – as the hosts got home by 56 runs.

Richards the unlikely bowling hero

Viv Richards has won many ODIs with his bat yet few will recall the day he destroyed India with the ball in a Nehru Cup game in October 1989.

The West Indies skipper had already posted his team's second top score – 44 – in its 196-9 total in a match reduced to 45-overs-per-side. India was well-placed in its reply on 91-2 but Richards then removed Mohinder Armanath to trigger a collapse that saw the last eight wickets fall for 85 runs.

Richards fittingly ended the match when he bowled Arshad Ayub to record the astonishing figures of 6-41 – unsurprisingly his best ODI figures - in a 20-run win.

Sri Lanka stun hosts

Sri Lanka gave notice of the flamboyant batting approach that would take them all the way to ICC Cricket World Cup glory when it defeated India by six wickets in a group match in March 1996.

India's 271-3 was underpinned by a third-wicket stand of 175 between Sachin Tendulkar (137) and Mohammad Azharuddin (72). Sri Lanka were given a flying start in their chase by openers Sanath Jayasuriya (79 off 76 balls) and Romesh Kaluwitharana (26 off 16 balls).

An unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 131 between captain Arjuna Ranatunga (46 not out) and Hashan Tillakaratne (70 not out) then saw the team home by six wickets with eight balls to spare.

A Knight's tale

England claimed a nail-biting two-run victory over India in 2002 to begin a fightback that saw them draw a six-match ODI series.

Nick Knight (105) and Nasser Hussain (49) got their side off to a decent start in England's 271-5 with Andrew Flintoff issuing a final flourish with 52 off 39 balls.

Just 61 were needed by India in the run-chase with seven wickets in hand, only for the wickets of Sourav Ganguly (74) and Mohammad Kaif (46) to then fall in the space of four Ashley Giles deliveries. The England spinner finished with 5-57 as a late charge from Ajit Agarkar (36 off 24 balls) was not quite enough for the batting team.

PAK PLAYERS MATCH FIXING SCANDAL:Veena hands over proof to ICC

Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Asif's ex-girlfriend, actress-model Veena Malik, has handed over "proof" of his alleged links with Indian bookies to an official of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit.

Hasan Raza, who is a top official of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit for South Asia, met Malik at her residence here last evening after she alleged that Asif was involved in match-fixing and she had "ample" proof of this.

"I handed over Asif's voice recordings with the bookie and some other related information to the ICC official," Malik told a TV news channel.

"From head to toe, Pakistani players and officials are involved in match-fixing. I had gone with Asif to Bangkok before Pakistan's tour of Australia. Asif told me he was offered USD 40,000 by an Indian bookie to under-perform in Australia but he demanded USD 200,000.

"The Pakistan Cricket Board had evidence of this but no action was taken against him," she said.

Asif, his fellow pacer Mohammad Aamir and Test captain Salman Butt are at the center of an alleged 'spot-fixing' scandal exposed by British tabloid News of the World.

The tabloid reported it had paid 150,000 pounds to a fixer for three no-balls bowled by Asif and Aamir during a Test match against England.