Ashes : Englands top orders brilliancy pose the first test to end in a draw

England head to this week's second Adelaide Test with all the momentum after dominating Australia over the final two days of the Ashes opener which ended in a draw at the Gabba on Monday.

England ensured they would not be beaten in the first match of their Ashes defence after conceding a 221-run innings deficit when Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott shared in England's highest partnership in Australia of 329 runs.

Cook became only the fourth Englishman to score a Test double-century in Australia with his unconquered 235, while Trott hit 135 not out before skipper Andrew Strauss called a halt at 517 for one, 40 minutes before tea.

Australia tried to avoid further collateral damage in their 26 overs to the close and were 107 for one when the match finished in a draw.

Ricky Ponting scored his 56th Test half-century to be 51 not out and Shane Watson was on 41.

Records and personal bests kept tumbling for England on the anti-climactic last day as Cook and Trott pummelled the Australian bowlers.

Cook joined Wally Hammond (3), Reg Foster and Paul Collingwood as double centurions with his 625-minute epic off 428 balls in the highest score by either team in 19 Ashes Tests at the Gabba.

Their unbroken partnership surpassed the previous highest stand by England in this country of 323 held by Jack Hobbs and Wilfred Rhodes at Melbourne in 1911-1912.

When Trott's 100 came up it was the first time three English players have scored a century in an innings of a Test match since 1924.

On that occasion the top three batsmen -- Jack Hobbs (211), Herbert Sutcliffe (122) and Frank Woolley (134 no) -- all scored hundreds against South Africa at Lord's.

Cook surpassed his previous highest Test score of 173 and also passed Ian Botham's 138 as the highest English run scorer at the Brisbane ground, set back in 1986.

It was also only the second match in Test match history to feature two 300-plus partnerships following Mike Hussey-Brad Haddin's 307-run stand in Australia's first innings 481.

The other was the drawn Pakistan v India first Test in Lahore in 2006.

England landed psychological blows on the Australians as Cook and Trott had frolicked before a small last-day crowd dominated by England's taunting Barmy Army fans, which made it more like a Test at Lord's.

More salt was rubbed into Australia's wounds with two more embarrassing dropped catches, making a total of five for the match.

Vice-captain Michael Clarke put down a regulation chance off Trott (75) at slip off Shane Watson's bowling and Ponting dropped Cook (222) in the slips.

It only got worse when Simon Katich was caught at first slip by Strauss off Stuart Broad for four in the sixth over of Australia's second innings.

Australia will have plenty to ponder ahead of Friday's second Test at the Adelaide Oval after England came away from the Gabba without losing for the first time since the drawn Test in 1998.

Over the course of the five days only 22 wickets fell, and just seven over the last three days on the bat-friendly flat Gabba pitch.

IPL 4: Sachin, Dhoni's base price 1.84cr

Around 62 Indian cricketers will be up for auction for the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in the top-bracket of cricketers valued at Rs 1.84 crore.


However, Tendulkar and Dhoni are likely to be retained by their respective franchises -- Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.



Former India captains Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid along with VVS Laxman are in the third bracket which has a base price of Rs 92 lakh.


The cricketers who will command the highest base price of Rs 1.84 crore are Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh.


The second bracket is that of Rs 1.3 crore where Twenty20 specialist Yusuf Pathan finds a place alongside speedster Zaheer Khan and the talented Suresh Raina.


Similarly stand-in ODI captain Gautam Gambhir, who didn't have a great IPL 2 and 3, has been priced in the third bracket at Rs 92 lakh along with the likes of Virat Kohli, Irfan Pathan, Robin Uthappa, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar and veterans such as Ganguly, Kumble, Dravid and Laxman.


The fourth bracket is of Rs 46 lakh which consists of domestic cricketers and the fringe India players who have represented the country since 2005.


Bengal players Wriddhiman Saha, Manoj Tiwary, Ashok Dinda along with Saurashtra's Cheteshwar Pujara are some of the players in the fourth bracket.


The fifth and final bracket is of Rs 23 lakh where there are India discards such as Manpreet Gony, Sudeep Tyagi, Sridharan Sriram to name a few.


The five brackets of base price: 1st: Rs 1.84 crore; 2nd: Rs 1.3 crore; 3rd: Rs 92 lakh; 4th: Rs 46 lakh; 5th bracket: Rs 23 lakh


List of Players up for auction


Andhra: Yelakka Venugopal Rao; Assam: Sridharan Sriram Baroda: Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Ambati Rayudu, Munaf Patel;


Bengal: Sourav Ganguly, Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha, Ashok Dinda;


Delhi: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma


Gujarat: Parthiv Patel, Siddharth Trivedi Haryana: Joginder Sharma, Amit Mishra


Hyderabad: VVS Laxman, T Suman, Pragyan Ojha


Jharkhand: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Saurabh Tiwary


Karnataka: Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Manish Pandey, Abhimanyu Mithun, R Vinay Kumar, Robin Uthappa


Kerala: S Sreesanth


Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Wasim Jaffer, Abhishek Raut, Rohit Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Ramesh Powar


Madhya Pradesh: Naman Ojha


Punjab: Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Manpreet Gony, VRV Singh


Railways: Murali Kartik Rajasthan: Pankaj Singh


Saurahstra: Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara


Tamil Nadu: Dinesh Karthik, S Badrinath, R Sathish, R Ashwin, M Vijay, L Balaji


Uttar Pradesh: Mohammed Kaif, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar, Sudeep Tyagi, Piyush Chawla, Rudra Pratap Singh


Vidarbha: Umesh Yadav.

ASHES : COOK FIGHTING BACK THE AUSSIES

Centuries from Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook set up a dominating fourth day for England as the tourists reached 309-1 at stumps on Sunday and closer to a likely draw with Australia in the first Ashes Test.


England came into the day 202 runs behind Australia, but enters the final day leading by 88 with Cook unbeaten on 132 and Jonathan Trott on 54.



Strauss and Cook shared a 188-run opening stand to produce England's best ever partnership at the Gabba ground before the England captain was dismissed for 110, stumped by Brad Haddin off Marcus North.


Cook needs seven more runs to record England's best score at the Gabba and surpass Ian Botham's innings in 1986-87.


The opening partnership surpassed the stand of 160 by Graeme Hick and Graham Thorpe in 1994.


Strauss was dominant in the morning session, being particularly severe on Shane Watson who he hit for four boundaries in five overs. He brought up his first century in Australia with a superb late cut off Xavier Doherty.


Strauss then seemed to lose his rhythm, scoring just 10 from his next 40 deliveries, before a rash cross-batted shot caused his demise.


Cook looked less assured, but ground his way to his second century against Australia.


Although England toiled in the field for much of the previous day against centurions Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin, their bowlers produced a much better comeback at the end of the day, taking five wickets for 31 runs. In contrast, Australia's bowling attack failed to make an impact Sunday and, despite overcast conditions, there was no discernible swing.


In a day of few opportunities for the Australians, Trott gave a slight chance to Michael Clarke at point off the bowling of Peter Siddle.


Australia's hero in England's first innings, Siddle was also unlucky in the morning session as Cook edged just wide of third slip and later Strauss missed his leg stump from an inside edge.


Strauss was given a reprieve before lunch while on 69 when he hit a Doherty ball to Mitchell Johnson at mid-on, but the chance was dropped.


England scored 260 in the first innings before Australia notched 481 in reply with centuries from Hussey and Haddin.

IND VS NZ 1st ODI: INDIA CLINCH A EASY VICTORY OVER KIWIS

Virat Kohli's sparkling century helped India script a 40-run win against an injury-hit New Zealand in the first ODI to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series here on.


Chasing a challenging target of 277 at the Nehru Stadium here, New Zealand were short on experience with skipper Daniel Vettori and explosive opener Brendon McCullum missing out due to back injuries as the visitors were all out for 236 in 45.2 overs.



Stand-in skipper Ross Taylor top-scored for the Kiwis with a fighting 66 from 69 balls studded with three sixes and three boundaries.


At 169 for eight, New Zealand looked to give up easily but Nathan McCullum (35 from 35 balls, 4x4) and Kyle Mills (32 from 28 balls, 2x4, 2x6) produced a 67-run ninth wicket stand to give India some tough time in the middle.


But Sreesanth (three for 67) broke the partnership dismissing Nathan and Mills with te former being brilliantly caught by skipper Gambhir as India won the match with 28 balls to spare.


Under intense scrutiny, Yuvraj Singh failed with the bat but he was really effective with his bowling claiming three for 43 from his full quota of 10 overs, while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took a career-best three for 50 to help India take the series lead.


Thanks to a compact 105 by in-form Kohli, the new look Indian side under Gautam Gambhir put on 276 as they were bowled out in 49 overs after the hosts were sent in to bat.


Fresh from his back-to-back centuries in Ranji Trophy, the Delhi lad played a neat and chanceless knock from 104 balls with 10 boundaries for his second consecutive and fourth overall one-day century.


But Kohli's dismissal brought in a stunning Indian collapse as the lower-order managed 26 runs from last six overs something that exposed the new look side's inexperience at this level.


At 250/4 in the 44th over, with Kohli going great guns, a total in excess of 300 looked within easy reach but it was not the case after the centurion's dismissal by Andy McKay.


But New Zealand fought back with a planned and calculated bowling in the fag-end especially by left-arm seamer McKay who returned with a career-best figures of 10-1-62-4.


New ball bowlers Kyle Mills and Daryl Tuffey claimed three for 42 and two for 56 respectively.


With no McCullum, the New Zealand openers of Jamie How and Martin Guptill lacked the firepower as the visitors were slow and cautious to start with.


Nehra broke the opening stand for 32 scalping How (9) as his partner Guptill, after being dropped twice by Murali Vijay, did not last long departing for 30.


Stand-in skipper Taylor held the fort even as wickets kept falling in at the other end with Yuvraj doing a great job for India with his slow left-arm orthodox spin.


Taylor and Kane Williamson (19) looked good during their 67-run third wicket stand but Yuvraj did not let the partneship going.


Just when Taylor was beginning to look dangerous with his towering sixes, Ashwin gave the crucial breakthrough as New Zealand were reduced to 154 for seven after 33.3 overs.


Earlier Kiwi new ball bowlers, Mills and Tuffey, extracted some fine seam movements early on as openers Vijay (29 from 32 balls, 5x4) and Gambhir (38 from 38 balls, 6x4) survived some anxious moments in the early morning start.


The Indian duo however did not look under any pressure in absence of Virender Sehwag as they stitched 44 for the opening wicket before Vijay was done in by Tuffey with wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins taking a brilliant catch running backwards.


Kohli settled soon his second-wicket partnership of 48 did not last long with Gambhir falling in a soft dismissal to McKay.


Due for a big knock, Yuvraj was slow and watchful to start that saw India scoring just 17 in the five overs in the bowling powerplay from 10-15 overs.


Having consumed 28 balls for his first eight runs, Yuvraj opened up to the New Zealand spin attack that missed Vettori sorely as Nathan McCullum and Kane Williamson bowled their conventional off-breaks.


Kohli, meanwhile, raced to his ninth half-century in a rather nondescript way but he ensured that they were on track for a big total.


In their 88-run stand for the third wicket, Kohli was compact and flexible in rotating the strike while Yuvraj looked to score in boundaries before he edged one behind the stumps.


A jaded Suresh Raina (13, 1x4) continued with his poor Test run into the ODIs, as the southpaw lasted 18 balls before becoming Mills' victim.


After Kohli's dismissal for 250 in the last ball of 44th over, the Indian inexperience showed as the lower order collapsed.


Yusuf Pathan played a cameo of 29 from 19 balls laced with three fours and one six, as debutant Wriddhiman Saha (4), Ravichandran Ashwin (0), Ashish Nehra (0) and Sreesanth (1) were dismissed cheaply.


But the total was enough to rattle New Zelanders who missed their regular skipper Vettori and opener McCullum badly to trail in the five-match series 0-1.


India have rested their star performers including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh who were not considered due to injury concerns.

Three months to go - inspire your CWC team

 

To mark three months to go to the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, fans from across the globe are being asked to pick which inspirational images should go on the dressing room walls of their favourite team at the event.

Repeating the concept that proved to be very popular with players and supporters at the ICC World Twenty20 2010, supporters are being asked to choose their favourite images and leave good luck messages for the team.

Using this feedback, the most popular images will then be selected to go on the dressing room walls for the tournament.

Fans can select their favourite images and leave their inspiration messages on the ICC’s official Facebook page which is accessible from www.facebook.com/cricketicc.

Photos will be added during the course of the next month, with India fans having the first chance to have their say on 19 November.

Haider urges ICC to increase its vigil

Runaway Pakistan wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider has admitted that he deserted his team midway through a series as he feared for his life and has asked the ICC to monitor suspected players phone calls and movements to eradicate corruption from the game.

In a hurriedly convened press conference at a restaurant in Southall on Wednesday, Haider confirmed that he had met ICC's Anti Corruption and Security Unit and spoke at length about his decision to abandon his team in the middle of an ODI series against South Africa in Dubai earlier this week after receiving death threats.

"It was very hard for me when I got threats from one person in Dubai. I just felt very nervous that he gave me threats," he said.

"The best way is to record all the players' phones and where they are going. I've heard back in Pakistan that a lot of people are involved in fixing but I think the ICC is doing a good job," he said.

"I just want cricket to be clear of any fixing and all bad things," he added.

Haider reiterated the threat made to him before the fourth ODI against South Africa in Dubai but said the person who issued the warning was not known to him.

"I was told if you work with us, we will give you a lot of money; if not, we will not select you again in cricket and if you go back home, we will kill you and your family," he said.

"I think they were interested to 'book' me for the fourth and fifth ODI."


The 24-year-old stumper fled to London, where he sought temporary asylum and later retired from international cricket citing threats to his life from match-fixers.


"This country is very humane, very co-operative and there are very nice people here and there are very good rules here for my safety. That's why I came here," Haider said.


He, however, insisted that he had no plans of seeking permanent asylum in the UK.


"I don't want any aid from the British government. I want to be a good citizen and I am a good citizen also in Pakistan. I want to live in peace."

The 24-year-old stumper refused to accuse any of his team-mates of fixing matches and explained why he took the extreme step without informing anyone.

"I didn't want to explain all things to my management because if I tell them, maybe it would create problems for my teammates and my management," Haider said.

He mantained that he was clean and had never involved himself in any wrongdoing.

"Check all my accounts around the world."

Haider also said that he had a meeting with Pakistan High Commission in London on Wednesday and have sought protection for his family back home.

"I wish they will protect my family because I have two daughters and a wife. So I want to be safe," he said.

INDIA VS NEWZELAND 2nd Test:KIWIS HARD DAY AT THE NETS

India batsman V.V.S. Laxman will play his first ever Test in his home city of Hyderabad on Friday when Test cricket returns there for the first time in 22 years as the hosts take on New Zealand.


India will be hoping they will not need to rely on Laxman as much in the second Test of the series as it did in the first, when he scored a resolute 91 to help the hosts salvage a draw after being reduced to a humiliating 15-5 in their second innings.



Though Harbhajan Singh outscored him with 115, he acknowledged that Laxman had played the pivot during their match-saving partnership of 163 for the seventh wicket.


"I knew I needed to just stay there and things were made easier because Laxman was there with me," Harbhajan said as India escaped with a draw after starting the series as clear favorite against the eighth-ranked Test side.


Laxman has played decisive roles in his last three Test appearances.


The 115-Test veteran had scored 103 not out against Sri Lanka at Colombo earlier this year for a five-wicket win and then made 73 not out in a dramatic one-wicket victory over Australia in Mohali. He had missed the next test that India played against Australia due to an injury before returning for the New Zealand series.


"We know we can always rely on Laxman," said India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was positive about his team's prospects despite the mediocre display in the first Test. "It was for just one hour at Ahmedabad that we did not play well."


New Zealand paceman Chris Martin's spell on the fourth day, when he accounted for Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar among others in his five-wicket haul, helped the Black Caps quickly forget a shock 4-0 loss to Bangladesh in a limited-overs international series last month.


He had little support from a depleted bowling attack that missed debutant pace bowler Hamish Bennett and useful seamer Jesse Ryder due to injuries during the match.


Bennett, who had a groin injury, has subsequently been replaced in the tourists' squad by James Franklin.


"We are happy with the way we played at Ahmedabad," New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor said after Wednesday's practice session.


"Martin's spell has given us a lot of confidence, but it would be wrong to say that we held the edge in the match. It was an even contest and a good match of test cricket," added Taylor.


Taylor felt there would be a better chance for bowlers here.


"Spin might play a big part and this pitch will not be as flat as the one at Ahmedabad," said Taylor.


The Rajiv Gandhi Stadium is a new addition to the list of Test grounds, as the previous three tests in the city had been held in the older Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium. Those three tests were also against New Zealand.


Test cricket returns to the city at a time when Hyderabad is struggling in domestic cricket, having been bowled out by Rajasthan for a record low of 21 in the national Ranji Trophy championship earlier this month.

Tendulkar named as ICC's ambassador ICC CWC

With exactly 100 days to go, the ICC today announced the appointment of India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar the official event ambassador for cricket's flagship event, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

Throughout his long and successful career to date Tendulkar has inspired hundreds of millions of cricket lovers around the world with his personality, skill, temperament and love for the game.

Since making his debut for India in 1989 at the tender age of 16, on the field he has scored more international runs than anyone else in history while also adhering faithfully to the spirit of cricket. Off the field he has always carried himself as a true champion, making him a perfect role model and one of the most recognisable and popular sportsmen of his generation.

In his role as ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 ambassador he will be called upon to promote and support a variety of ICC initiatives for the tournament, which is the third biggest sporting event in the world and will take place in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka from 19 February to 2 April next year.

"There are just 100 days to go and I am really looking forward to playing in another Cricket World Cup," said Tendulkar, who will join Pakistan's Javed Miandad as the only other player to take part in six World Cups.

"In terms of limited-overs cricket, the ICC Cricket World Cup is the highest level you can play so it is always a thrill to take part in such an important and widely followed event.

"The fact that the 2011 event will be staged here in the sub-continent makes it even more special for me and I am keen to ensure we play well. As a team we would be doing everything we can to win the world cup on home soil " he said.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: "We are very lucky to have such an extraordinary player as Sachin supporting our flagship event.

"I don't think any other player has inspired a nation like he has and the respect and affection he enjoys goes way beyond his native India. Many other athletes and sports fans around the globe admire what he consistently achieves and what he does for cricket."