World Cricket Live Update

India lead Zimbabwe 3-0 in ODI Series
India have been able to beat Zimbabwe in the first three matches without much fuss. The home side have battled hard but some poor patches of play have cost them dearly. They have lost a few wickets in patches which has left them struggling, and the poor form of captain Brendan Taylor isn't helping. For India Virat Kohli and Shitikar Dhawan have both hit centuries.

Results:
1st ODI: India 230/4 (44.5 overs) defeated Zimbabwe 228/7 (50.0 overs) by 6 wickets
2nd ODI: India 294/8 (50.0 overs) defeated Zimbabwe 236/9 (50.0 overs) by 58 runs
3rd ODI: India 187/3 (35.3 overs) defeated Zimbabwe 183 (46.0 overs) by 7 wickets


Pakistan won ODI series 3-1 and T20I series 2-0
After the ODI series being tantalisingly poised at 1-1 after the tied third match, the home fans had belief that a series win could be possible. Unfortunately for them, Pakistan were able to string some consistent performances together to win the last two games. This included a thriller in the last match where they Saeed Ajmal hit the winning run with only 1 ball remaining. Pakistan have also carried over this form in the T20I series winning both matches.

Results:
4th ODI: Pakistan 189/4 (30.0 overs) defeated West Indies 261/7 (49.0 overs) by 6 wickets (D/L Method)
5th ODI: Pakistan 243/6 (49.5 overs) defeated West Indies 242/7 (50.0 overs) by 4 wickets

1st T20I: Pakistan 158/8 (20.0 overs) defeated West Indies 152/7 (20.0 overs) by 2 wickets
2nd T20I: Pakistan 135/7 (20.0 overs) defeated West Indies 124/9 (20.0 overs) by 11 runs


Sri Lanka lead ODI series 3-1 against South Africa with one match to play
Sri Lanka have simply been too good for South Africa in this series with some pretty convincing wins. This included yesterday's match where Sri Lanka bowled out South Africa for 236 and then preceded to chase it down only losing two wickets. Dilshan and Sangakkara were the heroes scoring 115* and 91 respectively. There was an interesting moment in the 3rd ODI when Sri Lanka's Thisara Perera hit Robin Peterson for 35 runs off one over. It went 6wd66646. The over was the second biggest in ODI history, just falling behind Herschelle Gibbs' six sixes of Daan van Bunge at the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Results:
1st ODI: Sri Lanka 320/5 (50.0 overs) defeated South Africa 140 (31.5 overs) by 180 runs
2nd ODI: Sri Lanka 223/9 (49.2 overs) defeated South Africa 104/5 (21.0 overs) by 17 runs (D/L Method)
3rd ODI: South Africa 223/7 (50.0 overs) defeated Sri Lanka 167 (43.2 overs) by 56 runs
4th ODI: Sri Lanka 239/2 (44.0 overs) defeated South Africa 238 (48.4 overs) by 8 wickets

World Cricket Live Update

With plenty of cricket on as well as the Ashes I've decided to combine my analysis all in this post instead of single posts.

Ashes: 2nd Test Day 2
England 361 (100.1 overs) and 31/3 (20.0 overs)
Australia 128 (53.3 overs)
England lead by 264 runs

It's a pretty simple analysis of today's play in the Ashes, and that is that Australia were horrible. Their top-order batting once again failed with some horrendous shots and some even worse uses of the DRS. This all came after Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad put on a 48 run stand for the last wicket. Mind you although they played some good shots, Australia's persistence with a bouncer strategy certainly helped.

After finally dismissing England for 361, the Australian openers started relatively well with Shane Watson playing some nice drives. All went haywire though just before lunch when Shane Watson was struck on the pads and given out. He was deadset plumb but decided to review which has certainly not helped his perception by the Australian fans. Chris Rogers I think has to be partly to blame though as Watson did initially look unwilling to review, but I'm guessing Rogers might have said something to encourage him to do so. This certainly came to haunt Rogers as he was dismissed in ridiculous circumstances after lunch. Swann let go of a wild full toss which slipped out of his hands which Rogers preceded to miss completely while attempting a pull shot. Erasmus gave it out and Rogers decided not to refer with the thought that an incorrect referral would leave Australia with none left. Consequently Rogers was out in spite of HawkEye replays later on showing the ball would have missed leg stump by a fair margin.

The collapse continued as Phil Hughes played an absolute shocking shot to be caught behind, and despite an adamant referral he was sent packing. Usman Khawaja was caught after hitting one straight up in the air, while Michael Clarke was gone lbw to an inswinging Broad delivery. Smith was caught in close off the bowling of Swann and Agar was run out in a mix-up with Haddin just before tea. It didn't change much after tea for Australia with Haddin and Siddle following suit. Pattinson and Harris put on the second highest partnership of the innings which is an indication of just how poor Australia were.

Peter Siddle ensured some sort of respectability for the aussies taking three quick wickets before stumps after Alistair Cook decided to not enforce the follow-on. I've got to say despite all the hype about the pitches being played on, the top-order batting all round has been pretty ordinary so far in the series.

Hero of the day: Graeme Swann
5 wickets - an easy choice here.

Villain of the day: Shane Watson
Watson was the highest scorer of the Australian innings which might then  leave people surprised about my choice here. He again failed to go on with a start, but also decided to review his plumb lbw which ultimately dudded Rogers later on as well. Some people may feel it's too harsh to have him as the 'villain' but talk to any Australian supporter, and they will be struggling to disagree with Mickey Arthur that he is a 'cancer' in the team.

Who won the day? England
No point even really answering this as England are well in the box seat. Despite being three wickets down for not many, with Australia's batting line-up even the current lead will probably be way more than enough.

3rd ODI: West Indies v Pakistan
Pakistan 229/6 (50.0 overs)
West Indies 229/9 (50.0 overs)
Match tied

In another incredible close match of ODI cricket (who the hell said ODI's aren't exciting) the West Indies have managed to tie with Pakistan. This is amazingly the fourth tie in ODI's in the past two months and Pakistan's second having tied with Ireland in May. The West Indies needed 39 runs off the last three overs at eight down. Enter no.11 Jason Holder who hit 19 off only 9 balls including a six and a four off the last over bowled by Wahab Riaz.

Earlier Misbah-ul-Haq steered the Pakistani innings with 75 while keeper Umar Akmal chipped in with a valuable 40. Lendl Simmons scored 75 for the West Indies in what was a slugglish run chase until the fireworks at the end from Sunil Narine (14 off 5 balls) and Jason Holder (19* off 9 balls).

The series is delicately poised at 1-1 with two matches to play.

ODI Series Preview: Sri Lanka v South Africa 
5 ODI Matches

Sri Lanka and South Africa are about to kick-off a 5 match series, which again has disappointingly left no room for the test series which has been postponed until 2015. This is even more telling now that the Sri Lanka Premier League which was one of the major reasons for this postponment has now been cancelled. Nonetheless its still an important series in the ODI scheme of things with the Cricket World Cup only a year and a half away. 

I read an interesting stat on Cricinfo which was that South Africa haven't played a bilateral ODI series in Sri Lanka since 2004 which is quite incredible really in the current international cricket climate. Therefore South Africa will be wanting to play well in their first ODI series encounter in the country in nearly a decade. The teams are neck and neck in the ODI Rankings with South Africa narrowly holding onto a top four spot with a rating of 110, while Sri Lanka are 5th on 108. Therefore this series will be crucial for rankings points especially for Sri Lanka who will be looking to break into even the top three possibly with a strong series. 

Sri Lanka have just come off the tri-series in the West Indies where they made the final, and before that the semi-finals in the Champions Trophy. South Africa also made the semi's in the Champions Trophy which further consolidates just how close these two sides are. South Africa will be without spearhead Dale Steyn which will certainly help Sri Lanka. South Africa have numerous inexperienced players in their squad, and with home conditions, I reckon Sri Lanka may be have a huge shot of taking this series.

Squads
Sri Lanka (1st and 2nd ODI's): D.Chandimal (c), T.Dilshan, S.Eranga, R.Herath, M.Jayawardene, S.Lakmal, L.Malinga, A.Mendis, J.Mubarak, A.Perera, T.Perera, K.Sangakkara, S.Senanayake, U.Tharanga, L.Thirmanne

South Africa: AB de Villiers (c), H.Amla, F.Behardien, Q. de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, C.Ingram, R.Kleinveldt, R.McLaren, D.Miller, M.Morkel, C.Morris, A.Petersen, R.Peterson, A.Phangiso, L.Tsotsobe

Fixtures
20th July: 1st ODI @ R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
23rd July: 2nd ODI @ R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
26th July: 3rd ODI @ Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
28th July: 4th ODI @ Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
31st July: 5th ODI @ R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

First Class Match: Zimbabwe Select XI v Australia A

Australia A 226 and 156
Zimbabwe Select XI 142 and 160

This match received some increased publicity due to David Warner being sent from England to play in it. Well, that certainly backfired with Warner being dismissed cheaply in both innings for only 6 and 11. The Australian selectors certainly have a conundrum on their hands with Warner's poor form and limited match practice along with Australia's poor batting form so far in the tests.

Meanwhile Fawad Ahmed bowled well to take 8 wickets for the match to further boost his chances of mid-series call-up to the Ashes. Pat Cummins made a reasonable comback, while for Zimbabwe Kyle Jarvis and Elton Chigumbura impressed with the ball. Zimbabwe next take on India in a 5 match ODI series which they will be hoping to spring an upset or two in.

__________________________________

It certainly is a jam-packed international calender at the moment with lots of cricket on. Obviously the Ashes is taking the majority of the spotlight, but the other nations have some important cricket to play, unfortunately in ODI's only, and not in tests.

Awesome Afridi dominates in comeback match

Pakistan 224/9 (50.0 overs)
West Indies 98 (41.0 overs)
Pakistan won by 126 runs

After an absence in the Pakistani team until their tour to South Africa earlier this year, Shahid Afridi returned to dominate against the West Indies. He scored a quickfire 76 with the bat including 54 runs in boundaries which steered Pakistan to a score of 224/9. The West Indies would have been confident of chasing the moderate target, however Afridi snuffed their hopes with an incredible 7/12 - which is in fact the second best bowling figures in ODI history. With 3 maidens and an economy rate of 1.33, Afridi's bowling was simply remarkable. The West Indies were flattened for 98 and were forced to linger away for 41 overs.

Amazingly it was the first time Afridi took a wicket in ODI's since playing Australia in the UAE last year. It was also his first five wicket haul in 21 matches going back around 18 months to the ODI against Afghanistan. I'm sure all Pakistan fans will be hoping for this to be the beginning of some consistent form from Afridi. He is an incredibly dangerous player when he's on but he's gone through some long patches of poor form in his career, and at 33, he wouldn't want to be having too many of those stretches again.

Nonetheless his performance in the 1st ODI was amazing, and probably one of the best all-round performance in an ODI ever. Hopefully he will be able to back it up in the next ODI starting tonight which if so will put Pakistan in a strong position to take a 2-0 lead in this 5 match series.

Chris Gayle to play his 250th ODI

Chris Gayle is set to play his 250th ODI in the match against Pakistan tonight. An incredible achievement for arguably one of the best ODI batsmen in the last decade. He has scored 8682 runs at an average of 38.24 with a strike rate at an amazing 84.51. He's scored 21 centuries as well as 45 fifties in what has been a great career so far. Congratulations to Chris Gayle on notching this milestone!

West Indies v Pakistan ODI Series set to begin

In the midst of the Ashes, this limited overs series is likely to be overlooked quite easily, and considering the series was originally supposed to include test matches, I can understand its neglect in the cricketing world. Nonetheless the Cricket World Cup is only 19 months away and ODI matches are going to become key for that preparation.

West Indies will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing end to their tri-series with Sri Lanka and winners India. They won their first two matches before losing the next two to miss the final. Before that they missed out on the semi-finals for the Champions Trophy, despite some close matches. The West Indies defeated Zimbabwe earlier in the year but a 5-0 smashing to Australia in February, and a 3-2 series loss to Bangladesh late last year has meant they have had a disappointing time of it in ODI cricket. All of this is on the back of their World Twenty20 which led many people to believe a resurgence in West Indies cricket was happening.

Pakistan meanwhile have just finished a disappointing European tour where they were comprehensively outplayed in the Champions Trophy. Before that they only just beat a determined Irish side 1-0 (including a tied match) as well as beating Scotland 1-0. Before that though they just loss against South Africa 3-2, and beat India 2-1 late last year. They will be hoping to bring some back some of that form against the West Indies in this series.

These sides are ranked 6 and 7, although there is an 11 disparity with Pakistan on 101 and West Indies on 90. Pakistan will be looking to gain some ground on Sri Lanka who are 5th on 108, while the West Indies will want to give themselves some breathing space from New Zealand who are only one point adrift in 8th.

The West Indies did defeat Pakistan in the Champions Trophy by 2 wickets so they will take some confidence from that going into the series. They've only played one bilateral series against each other in the last four years and that was after the Cricket World Cup in 2011. Despite West Indies being the hosts Pakistan prevailed 3-2, which they will hoping to do again this time.

I think this will be a closely fought series as both sides are evenly matched. They are also both severely inconsistent as evident by their recent results I mentioned above, and therefore I think it will be the team to show the most consistency both in matches and over the whole series who will win.

Squads
West Indies (ODI #1 and #2): Dwayne Bravo (c), T.Best, Darren Bravo, J.Charles, C.Gayle, J.Holder, S.Narine, K.Pollard, K.Roach, D.Sammy, M.Samuels, L.Simmons, D.Smith
Pakistan: M.ul-Haq (c), A.Rehman, A.Shehzad, A.Ali, A.Shafiq, H.Sohail, J.Khan, M.Hafeez, M.Irfan, M.Rizwan, N.Jamshed, S.Ajmal, S.Afridi, U.Akmal, U.Amin, W.Riaz

Fixtures
ODI #1: 14th July @ Providence Stadium, Guyana

ODI #2: 16th July @ Providence Stadium, Guyana

ODI #3: 19th July @ Beausejour Stadium, St Lucia

ODI #4: 21st July @ Beausejour Stadium, St Lucia

ODI #5: 24th July @ Beausejour Stadium, St Lucia

India and Sri Lanka to play-off in Tri-Series Final

India have defeated rivals Sri Lanka in the final league game in the West Indies to qualify for the final against the same opponents. In another rain affected match India made 119/3 off their 29 overs before routing Sri Lanka for 96 after the target was boosted to 178 from 26 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers with an amazing 4/8 off 6 overs.

In a tri-series with plenty of twists, hosts West Indies who won their first two matches, now miss out on the final. It will be disappointing for them as they would have expected to make it at the halfway stage of the tournament. The West Indies will now focus on their limited over series of Pakistan featuring 5 ODI's and 2 T20I's. Meanwhile India will be hoping for some more silverware after their Champions Trophy win last month, while Sri Lanka will be hoping to exact some revenge after losing to India in the semi-final in England.

ODI Tri-Series Final: India v Sri Lanka @ Port of Spain
July 11 2013 
 

Tri-Series set to begin

On the back of the Champions Trophy, West Indies, Sri Lanka and victors India have flown to the Carribbean to take part in this ODI Tri-Series. Unfortunately it does replace a test series between the home side and Sri Lanka. Nonetheless it should be a fiercely competitive series with the majority of each team's squad consisting of their Champions Trophy teams.

India are undoubtedly favourites for the tournament after their impressive winning performance in the Champions Trophy. India have also consequently extended their lead on top of the ICC Rankings to 10 points. Sri Lanka meanwhile made the semi-finals in the Champions trophy and lost to India. Their performances have been patchy of late with a 2-2 draw with Australia followed by a disappointing 1-1 draw with Bangladesh at home. They sit at #5 in the rankings and a successful tournament here could propel them into the top four for the first time in quite a while. West Indies meanwhile exited the Champions Trophy in the group stages after a win against Pakistan, a loss to India, which preceded a tie to South Africa which ultimately sealed their fate in the tournament. The West Indies have a lot of potential in the ODI format, however apart from their drubbing of Zimbabwe earlier this year, their form has been disappointing with a series loss in Bangladesh and a clean sweep in Australia occurring in the past 6-8 months. They will look to play well in front of their home fans and try and re-establish their ranking at 7th, after falling behind New Zealand.

It should be a pretty good contest and I think West Indies and Sri Lanka will be battling each other to meet India in the final.

Squads:
West Indies (Jamaica matches): Dwayne Bravo (c), T.Best, Darren Bravo, J.Charles, C.Gayle, S.Narine, K.Pollard, D.Ramdin, R.Rampaul, K.Roach, D.Sammy, M.Samuels, D.Smith

India: MS Dhoni (c), R.Ashwin, S.Dhawan, R.Jadeja, D.Karthik, V.Kohli, B.Kumar, A.Mishra, S.Raina, S.Ahmed, I.Sharma, R.Sharma, M.Vijay, V.Kumar, U.Yadav

Sri Lanka: A.Matthews (c), D.Chandimal, D.Lokuhettige, S.Eranga, R.Herath, M.Jayawardene, N.Kulasekara, L.Malinga, A.Mendis, J.Mendis, K.Perera, K.Sangakkara, S.Senanayake, U.Tharanga, L.Thirimanne

Fixtures:
28th June
West Indies v India @ Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

30th June
India v Sri Lanka @ Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

2nd July
West Indies v Sri Lanka @ Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

5th July
West Indies v India @ Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

7th July
Sri Lanka v India @ Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

9th July
West Indies v Sri Lanka @ Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

11th July
Final @ Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

Last edition of the Champions Trophy all set to go!

The Champions Trophy has been  a much maligned competition over its duration. It started off as a knock-out tournament, went on to include heavily underprepared associates (cough...cough... USA), and has finally settled on its best format. The top eight teams, the major cricketing nations in a short and sharp tournament where all games matter. This last edition wasn't even meant to be in the schedule for 2013, however remained due to the inability for the World Test Championship to get up and running. In 2017 though, the Test event will occur (we think) which has caused the ICC to signal that each format of the game should have one major tournament. It's definitely the right move, however the fact that now there will only be a one-day tournament every four years means greater potential for more T20 matches.

Anyway I move back to the Champions Trophy, and there is much excitement around this year's tournament. All the sides are relatively closely matched and any team could win especially in the tournament format where every game counts. Below I run through the teams and their chances.

England
The hosts are one of the favourites, however their series loss to New Zealand will increase the doubts around them. Home conditions will help especially over the subcontinent teams. Good chance for the final I reckon.

India
They mauled Australia in their last warm-up match a couple of days ago, and will use this tournament to try and take some of the spotlight off the drama back in India. Should make the semis.

Australia
With Michael Clarke in severe doubt with a back injury, and their frailty against swing bowling being highlighted against India, I sense they might struggle. Don't think they will make the semis to be honest.

South Africa
The perennial under-achievers in global tournaments, however they have won a Champions Trophy. Expected to do well and could challenge for the final, although Steyn's potential absence will hurt.

Sri Lanka
In contrast to above, Sri Lanka have over-achieved to an extent (to outsider's expectations) in global tournaments, however I don't think they'll make the semis here though.

Pakistan
Pakistan were lucky to get away against Ireland and are unpredictable; so are therefore quite difficult to assess. Could be anywhere from first-round losers to finalists.

New Zealand
Darkhorses as usual. Series win over England will give them huge confidence. Will be looking at the group match against Australia to try and land a semi-final spot.

West Indies
Their T20 World Cup win last year has so far failed to translate into any dominant ODI form as of yet. Don't think that will turn around yet.

Full Fixtures

Group A

Saturday 8^th June

England VS Australia @ Edgbaston, Birmingham

Sunday 9^th June

New Zealand VS Sri Lanka @ Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Wednesday 12^th June

Australia VS New Zealand @ Edgbaston, Birmingham

Thursday 13^th June

England VS Sri Lanka @ Kennington Oval, London

Sunday 16^th June

England VS New Zealand @ Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Monday 17^th June

Australia VS Sri Lanka @ Kennington Oval, London

Group B

Thursday 6^th June

India VS South Africa @ Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Friday 7^th June

Pakistan VS West Indies @ Kennington Oval, London

Monday 10^th June

Pakistan VS South Africa @ Edgbaston, Birmingham

Tuesday 11^th June

India VS West Indies @ Kennington Oval, London

Friday 14^th June

South Africa VS West Indies @ Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Saturday 15th June

India VS Pakistan @ Edgbaston, Birmingham

Finals

Wednesday 19^th June

Semi Final #1 @ Kennington Oval, London

Thursday 20^th June

Semi Final #2 @ Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Sunday 23^rd June

Final @ Edgbaston, Birmingham

 

Test Rankings Update

With the New Zealand and England series ending the other day in an incredible draw, there is now a bit of a break until the next test assignments. Zimbabwe do host Bangladesh in April for a two test match series in a bottom of the table clash, but for the test purists, they will have to wait until May for any substantial action.

With this in mind, I thought now would be a good time to reflect on each team's form in the past five months (since November) and their current positions on the ranking table. I'll also detail the test series which will be played later this year.

South Africa
8 matches
6 wins 2 draws 0 losses
Captain Graeme Smith has just received the test mace and the $450,000 cheque that goes along with it. They thoroughly deserve these accolades as they have comprehensively beaten all team that they have played. The critical series against Australia in Australia was a challenge but a superb performance at the WACA sealed a hard fought 1-0 win. Their home summer was flawless with a 2-0 and 3-0 thumping of New Zealand and Pakistan respectively.

India
8 matches
5 wins 1 draw 2 losses
All of India's 8 matches have been played at home, and their results can be split into two categories. Their 1-2 defeat to England was disappointing and it showed that they had some things to address. Meanwhile their 4-0 hammering of Australia, although helped by the implosion of Australia, showed that they are still a force to be reckoned with in their home conditions.

West Indies
4 matches
4 wins 0 draws 0 losses
These results look sensational, but some context is needed. Their matches were played against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. So they were expected to win these four matches, but the ruthlessness they displayed at times is a sign that West Indies may be on a significant rise in test cricket.

Australia
10 matches
3 wins 2 draws 5 losses
Australia have come through an incredible rough trot after being hammered by India. Players being sent home, selection inconsistencies an rumoured player unrest have destabilized the team. The retirements of Ponting and Hussey would not have helped. All this was on the back of a decent home summer with a narrow 0-1 loss to the South Africans and a 3-0 cleansweep of Sri Lanka.

England
7 matches
2 wins 4 draws 1 loss 
England's win over India was a historic achievement and they thoroughly deserved their win with some outstanding performances. They have crashed back to Earth though, with a 0-0 draw against New Zealand. They were only one wicket away from losing the series, which would have been a major disappointment for England.

Sri Lanka
7 matches
2 wins 1 draw 4 losses
Sri Lanka's form has not been good, and there are signs that they may be on a downward trend in test cricket (their board's cancelling of tests will not help this). They were upset by New Zealand in Sri Lanka to draw the series 1-1, and were completely outplayed by Australia down under. The fact that they could only just beat Bangladesh shows where they are at.

New Zealand
7 matches
1 win 3 draws 3 losses
Despite only 1 win from the past 7 matches, things are starting to turn around for New Zealand. Their win in Sri Lanka was amazing, although was overshadowed by the Ross Taylor captaincy saga. Despite being smashed by South Africa, their performance against England showed that they have some good players coming through the ranks.

Bangladesh
4 matches
0 wins 1 draw 3 losses 
Bangladesh's form has actually been quite impressive. They posted their then highest test score in the first match against the West Indies and should have probably won that game. Their draw in the first match against Sri Lanka (while making 638) was a major highlight for them.

Pakistan
3 matches
0 wins 0 draws 3 losses
Pakistan have only played the one series which was against South Africa away. They were destroyed by the no.1 side with a real low-light coming when they were bowled out for 49 in the first test.

Zimbabwe
2 matches
0 wins 0 draws 2 losses
Zimbabwe played tests for the first time in over a year with a series away against West Indies. As expected they were brushed aside with relative ease, but the experience shall be good for them.

Some statistics from this in general are:
30 matches played (over the last 5 months)
2 four match series
4 three match series
5 two match series
Thought I'd include this breakdown as I really hate two match series. Who wouldn't have loved an extra match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand or even between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, giving Bangladesh the opportunity to play for a drawn series.

Of the 30 matches played, 7 have been drawn, which is around 23%. I reckon most of these were on roads of pitches. Adelaide comes to mind, as does matches played in Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

The current rankings are as follows: (up to date as of now)

1 - South Africa    128
2 - England           114
3 - India                112
4 - Australia         110
5 - Pakistan          104
6 - Sri Lanka         92
7 - West Indies      92
8 - New Zealand   83
9 -  Bangladesh      1

The divide between South Africa and the rest is really prominent now, and really proves just how dominant they have been over the past five months. Australia have slipped from nearly being no.1 to now down to no.4. While West Indies have improved their ranking to 92 and are now within striking distance of leap-frogging Sri Lanka into 6th position. Bangladesh picked up a ranking point, while Zimbabwe are still unranked, although they could find themselves on the table after the Bangladesh series.

Test Calendar for the rest of 2013:
April: Zimbabwe VS Bangladesh (Zimbabwe) - 2 match series
May: England VS New Zealand (England) - 2 match series
July/August: West Indies VS Pakistan (West Indies) - 2 match series
July/August: England VS Australia (England) - 5 match series
October: Bangladesh VS New Zealand (Bangladesh) - 2 match series
October: Zimbabwe VS Sri Lanka (Zimbabwe) - 2 match series
October: Pakistan VS South Africa (UAE) - 2/3 match series
November - January: Australia VS England (Australia) - 5 match series
December/January: South Africa VS India (South Africa) - 3/4 match series
December/January: New Zealand VS West Indies (New Zealand) - 3 match series
December/January: Pakistan VS Sri Lanka (UAE) - 3 match series

The two Ashes series are the main highlight, although Australia's problems could mean the series' aren't as closely fought as everyone would like. All the other nations are left to pick up the scraps with a glut of two match series. Although there is hope that Pakistan could play South Africa in a three match series, while Cricket South Africa are considering a four match series against India. The Bangladesh VS New Zealand series should be closely fought with the improvement of Bangladesh.

Let's hope for some exciting matches as well as some brilliant individual performances. On a side note it will be interesting to see whether Sachin Tendulkar continues playing, as India do not play another test series until South Africa in December. 

World Cricket Live Update

Apologies for the break in posts so below I have summarised the most recent results on the international cricket scene:

• New Zealand and England drew Test Series 0-0
• India whitewashed Australia 4-0 to end a horrendous tour for the visitors
• Sri Lanka secured a 1-0 series victory in their home test series against Bangladesh
• Sri Lanka lead their ODI series against the same team 1-0 with one match to play, after the second encounter was rained out
• West Indies completed their series whitewash with a 2-0 result in the test matches, after a 3-0 and 2-0 win in the ODI and T20I series respectively
• South Africa won the deciding game to seal a close ODI series with Pakistan 3-2

 

• Ireland clean-swept their tour of the UAE with a win in their Intercontinental Cup match, two World Cup Qualifiers and single T20I
• Kenya won both both WCL Championship matches against Canada, as well as the first class match, while the T20I series was drawn 1-1
• Scotland were smashed by Afghanistan with the Afganistan team winning the two WCQ's, the Intercontinental Cup match and the two T20I's

World Cricket Live Update

Plenty of international cricket happening at the moment, so let's get straight into it.

New Zealand - 63/3 off 22.3 overs (ODI #3)
In the deciding ODI, Alastair Cook decided to bowl first, confident in his side's ability to chase down a total to win the series. While the English are unchanged, New Zealand replaced Trent Boult with Andrew Ellis. The kiwis got off to a very shaky start as they lost 3 wickets for only 11 runs. Finn was the chief destroyer with 2 wickets, while Anderson picked up Williamson. Since then though, the home side have recovered somewhat as Ross Taylor and Grant Elliot have shared an unbeaten 52 run stand. They would like to pick up the scoring rate though, as a run rate of 2.8 per over, is well under par on the small Eden Park ground in Auckland. Currently the score is 63/3 off 22.3 overs.

Live scorecard here on Cricinfo: http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-new-zealand-2013/engine/current/match/569242.html

Australia - 316/7 (Stumps Day 1)
Starting with the first test between India and Australia, Michael Clarke's unbeaten 103* helped save Australia's blushes (once again) on Day 1 in Chennai. Australia got off to an alright start with David Warner and Ed Cowan putting on 64 for the first wicket. Cowan then got stumped for 29 trying to repeat a six he hit the previous over. Hughes chopped on for not many, which left Watson and Warner to try and get a partnership going. After being 126/2 at Lunch, Watson fell almost straight away after the interval for 28, while Warner was gone lbw for 59, giving Ashwin his fourth wicket. Wade gave Ashwin his five-for, which left Australia reeling at 153/5.

Step in Michael Clarke, as once again the captain rescued his side with some brilliant strokeplay and resilience. Moises Henriques was exceptional on debut making a well composed 68, proving the selectors right in picking him. Unfortunately though he fell towards the end of the day, while Mitchell Starc (newly promoted to no.8) also was dismissed. Peter Siddle hung around to allow Clarke to post his 23rd Test century off the second last ball of the day. For India, Ashwin was the hero claiming six wickets with some really intelligent spin bowling. Jadeja also chipped in with the wicket of Starc. At Stumps on Day 1, its an incredibly even game, but if Australia's tail can hang around and support Clarke, then Australia could get an advantage with a score over 350.

Full scorecard here on Cricinfo: http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-australia-2013/engine/current/match/598812.html

South Africa - 334/6 (Stumps Day 1)
In the third and last test match of the series, Graeme Smith won the toss and decided to bat first. There were some team changes though, with injuries to fast bowlers Umar Gul and Junaid Khan, forcing Pakistan to debut Eshan Adil and also play second gamer Rahat Ali. Kallis for the home side was also left out with a calf problem. Despite an attack light on experience, it was Pakistan who started the game better, dismissing Petersen and Smith inside 10 overs. Amla and du Plessis settled the ship putting on 69 for the third wicket, before Faf gave the debutant his second wicket of the morning. Amla made 92 before being caught behind off Rahat Ali. Elgar didn't last long, while Robin Peterson was run out after getting a start.

At 248/6, South Africa had some work to do, and it was AB de Villiers who took the home side to Stumps unbeaten on 98*, while Vernon Philander did well to get to 45* in support. It was a good recovery by South Africa, but Pakistan should not be too disheartened. They would be hoping to limit South Africa to under 400, and then getting off to a good start with the bat in their first innings.

Full scorecard here on Cricinfo: http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-pakistan-2013/engine/current/match/567365.html

West Indies (337/4) defeated Zimbabwe (181/9) by 156 runs
After not playing an ODI for around 12 months, and lacking any form of competitive cricket, it is hard to expect a side to play well in their first outing back. The fact that it is Zimbabwe makes it even harder to imagine. Therefore things went as expected in the first ODI of the series in Grenada overnight. Zimbabwe were simply outplayed from the first to last ball of the match. They were no match for the powerful West Indies batsmen, with Johnson Charles and Kieran Powell sharing a 168 run opening stand. It came in only 28.4 overs as well! Powell was dismissed, but Darren Bravo carried off where he left off. Meanwhile Charles was finally dismissed for 130 (his highest ODI score) which sparked a mini collapese as both Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo fell for not many. Darren Bravo continued on and smacked his way to his first ODI century off only 71 balls. It included 9 fours and 2 sixes. Its incredibly difficult to find the best bowler for the Zimbabweans, as although Mpofu took 2 wickets, he was smashed for 83 off his 10 overs. Legspinner Natsai Mushangwe (in only his second ODI) bowled alright and finished with 1/56 off 10 - the lowest economy rate out of all the bowlers.

Zimbabwe had no hope in the chase of the mammoth 337, and were 34/4 at one stage. Captain Brendan Taylor needed to contribute, if any hope of an upset could eventuate, but he was dismissed by Tino Best for 8. Craig Ervine made 41, while Malcolm Waller posted a half century and therefore top-scored for his team. I guess the fact that they weren't bowled out could be taken as a plus for the African side, alongwith Ervine and Waller's performances. Narine picked up 3 wickets for the West Indies, while Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell picked up two apiece. No-one is expecting Zimbabwe to win the next game, but hopefully for their sake, they can improve on this performance.

Full scorecard here on Cricinfo: http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-zimbabwe-2013/engine/current/match/593983.html

Zimbabwe playing cricket … what?!?

In the international cricket scene at the moment, series’ between Australia and India, New Zealand and England, and South Africa and Pakistan are taking the focus. Only diehard cricket fans (like myself) would be aware that another tour is about to begin. The West Indies are to host Zimbabwe for 3 ODI’s, 2 T20I’s and 2 Test matches.

Zimbabwe has not played any substantial international cricket for 12 months. They were eliminated from the World T20 after two matches, they played in (and won) an unofficial T20 series between themselves, Bangladesh and South Africa in June 2012. They played in New Zealand in January 2012 and were beaten comprehensively in each format of the game. I really do though have some empathy for Zimbabwe cricket, as the best thing for them would be for regular competitive cricket. If the ICC wants a competitive Zimbabwe team in the future, then they need to help them out to get consistent fixtures. Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe is supposed to be rescheduled to sometime this year, and let’s hope that it goes ahead. For the benefit of both sides, a full tour of 3 test matches and 5 ODI’s would be great. Anyway, I am digressing from this series.

Considering Zimbabwe hasn’t played any significant cricket for a long time, it is difficult to consider their form. No amount of nets sessions could prepare them for a full tour, although they did manage to win the warm-up game against the University of West Indies Vice Chancellor’s XI. West Indies have just arrived back from Australia, where they were whitewashed in the ODI series, albeit they managed to win the T20 International. Before that the Windies lost to Bangladesh 3-2 in November 2012. Therefore they have only won 8 out of their last 10 ODI’s. This would give Zimbabwe some hope of pinching a win in the ODI series.

In the last ODI series between these two teams, West Indies won 4-1 after the Zimbabweans managed to win the first match. This series was played as a stand-alone limited overs tour in the Caribbean in March 2010. That has been the only time these two sides have met in the last 5 years in ODI cricket.

West Indies have decided to rest Chris Gayle and captain Darren Sammy from the first two ODI’s which is probably a sigh of relief for the away side. Meanwhile Zimbabwe have dropped Ray Price from the limited overs games, while he will return for the two test matches.

Squads

West Indies (ODI #1 and #2): Dwayne Bravo (c), Best, Darren Bravo, Carter, Charles, Deonarine, Narine, Permaul, Pollard, Powell, Ramdin, Roach, Russell, Sarwan

Zimbabwe: Taylor (c), Chakabva, Chatara, Chibhabha, Ervine, Jarvis, Masakadza, Mawoyo, Meth, Mpofu, Mushangwe, Mutombodzi, Sibanda, Utseya, Waller

Controversially Zimbabwe Cricket decided that key support staff will not tour with the squad. This means that batting coach Grant Flower, bowling coach Heath Streak and fitness trainer Lorraine Chivandire will not be with the team on tour. This is severely disappointing, but with Zimbabwe’s limited finances, I guess one cannot criticise too much

My guess for these matches is a quite comprehensive 3-0 win to the West Indies. You cannot expect a team without any decent cricket in 12 months to all of a sudden play well. In fact, I’m guessing that this whole tour is going to be a white-wash.

ODI Series Fixtures

ODI #1 – 22^nd February @ St. Georges

ODI #2 – 24^th February @ St. Georges

ODI #3 – 26^th February @ St. Georges

I will post a specific preview of the test series in due course.

World Cricket Live Update

These past few days have been filled with lopsided results with West Indies and Pakistan getting destroyed by Australian and South Africa respectively.

Firstly, in the 1st ODI in Perth, the West Indies were shot out for 70 within 23.5 overs. Only 3 batsmen scored above 7, with 'extras' being the unofficial highest scorer with 17. Mitchell Starc swung his way beautifully to best figures of 5/20 off 6.5 overs including 3 bowled. Clint McKay also bowled superbly with 3/10 off 7, while debutant James Faulkner picked up 2/14. It really was an abject performance by the West Indians, which was made worse when Glen Maxwell (promoted to opener) smashed a quickfire 51* off only 35 balls. Amazingly 48 runs out of the 51 came in boundaries (9 fours and 2 sixes). Finch was the only batsman dismissed going for 10, enabling debutant Jason Holder to pick up his first international wicket. The chase was completed within 9.2 overs.

This match produced some incredible records including:
- West Indies' score of 70 is their third lowest in ODI's (lowest against Australia)
- The match only lasted 199 deliveries, which is the shortest completed match in Australia, and second shortest overall (only top 8 nations included)



Meanwhile in the 1st Test between South Africa and Pakistan, there were high hopes for Pakistan to provide the hosts with a stern challenge. This was looking likely after they bowled South Africa out for 253. Kallis was the only batsman to score a 50, while part-time spinner Mohammad Hafeez incredibly managed to pick up four wickets. Even Younis Khan picked up what was his 7th wicket (in 79 tests). Pakistan managed to claw to Stumps on Day 1 unscathed, suggesting that the home side could have a fight on their hands.

Enter Dale Steyn
6 wickets for 8 runs off 8.1 overs with 6 maidens

This caused Pakistan to be bowled out for 49. Yes that's right 49.

Yes they are the correct figures, 6/8 off 8.1 overs with an amazing 6 maidens. In fact there was only three scoring shots off his bowling. It really was an incredible spell of test match bowling with some superb outswingers obliterating the Pakistan top order. Azhar Ali and Misbah ul-Haq managed to put on 24 for the fourth wicket. There was some controversy though with the dismissal of Misbah ul-Haq. There was a half-hearted appeal for a caught behind off Kallis, with keeper AB de Villiers not even appealing initially at all. South Africa reviewed it, and a miniscule edge appeared on Hot Spot, before disappearing almost instantly. Amazingly the decision was overturned, which infuriated Misbah, as well as the Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore. Pakistan had the wrong end of the stick in relation to the DRS, with there appearing to be some inconsistent decisions made by third umpire Steve Davis.

Nonetheless, despite this controversy, Graeme Smith decided not to enforce the follow on, and by Stumps on Day 2, South Africa are 207/3. De Villiers is not out on 63*, while Amla is also not out on 50*. Smith made 52 before edging to the keeper off Umar Gul.

Pakistan's total also produced some records which they probably don't want to learn of:
- Their score of 49 was their lowest in tests (after 53 in 2002 against Australia, where they also scored 59 in the same match)
- Since the beginning of 2009, Pakistan have been bowled out for under 100 six times.
- The completed number of overs (29.1) is their fifth shortest


Scorecards here:
Australia VS West Indies
http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia-v-west-indies-2013/engine/current/match/573022.html

South Africa VS Pakistan
http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-pakistan-2013/engine/current/match/567363.html

Full list of statistics and records from these matches
AUS VS WI
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/current/story/603007.html

SA VS PAK
http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-pakistan-2013/content/current/story/603147.html

*Stats and scorecards courtesy of Cricinfo

Australia VS West Indies ODI Series starts today!

On the back of a tour from Sri Lanka, a third nation for the summer comes to Australia, this time - the West Indies for a limited over series. The teams will play in 5 ODI matches, as well a one-off T20 International.

Both sides have had indifferent ODI form over recent months. Australia drew 2-2 with Sri Lanka and were lucky not to go down 3-1 in Sydney in the 4th match. With constant shuffling of players it was hard to gain a solid team chemistry. That is not going to improve much in these matches with reports that several players will be flown to India midway through the series. This could include Phil Hughes, David Warner (who is actually injured at the moment), Mitchell Starc and wicket-keeper David Warner. Meanwhile for the West Indies their last ODI series was against Bangladesh which they lost 3-2. They will want to perform to a better standard against the Australians, as otherwise they might find themselves in some trouble. Australia is currently ranked 3rd in ODI cricket, while the West Indies languish in 7th. Many media commentators have been mentioning West Indies' T20 World Cup win as a limited overs formstick, but so far the Windies' T20 form has yet to translate to the 50 over game.

These two sides actually played each other in a bilateral ODI series only last year in the West Indies. The series was closely fought and ended up being drawn 2-2. Nonetheless the previous time they played in Australia was in February 2010 where Australia won 4-0. West Indies would hope to put a good fight in this series and should be aiming to win. Meanwhile the aussies will be looking to show some much needed consistency which was lacking in the previous series against Sri Lanka.

Interest in this series is hard to find though in Australia, with most eyes looking ahead to the India tour. It seems that these West Indies matches have just been tacked on to a summer for no apparent reason. The local broadcaster Channel 9 have been trying to drum up interest with advertisements highlighting the West Indies of 'old' mentioning names such as Lara, Holding and Ambrose. To be honest it really is a desperate plea to the public. Hopefully though some good crowds can come out to these matches, with the 3rd match in Canberra to be special, with it being the first time the Australian cricket team has played an international cricket match in the nation's capital. The redeveloped Manuka Oval should look awesome under the new floodlights.

Squads:

Australia (ODI 1-2): Clarke (c), Bailey, Cutting, Doherty, Faulkner, Finch, Hughes, Johnson, Khawaja, McKay, Maxwell, Starc, Wade

West Indies: Sammy (c), Dwayne Bravo (vc), Best, Darren Bravo, Charles, Deonarine, Gayle, Holder, Narine, Pollard, Powell, Roach, Russell, Sarwan, Thomas

Special mention has to go to Ramnaresh Sarwan who has been recalled to the West Indies team after an absence of 19 months. He gets his opportunity after the unfortunate injury to Marlon Samuels in the Big Bash League. For Australia Warner is out of the first two matches after injuring his hand, which means Usman Khawaja gets another chance to cement his spot. David Hussey it out, while James Faulkner gets his chance after an impressive showing for the PM's XI a couple of days ago.

Fixtures:
Friday 1st February: ODI #1 @ WACA, Perth
Sunday 3rd Feburary: ODI #2 @ WACA, Perth
Wednesday 6th February: ODI #3 @ Manuka Oval, Canberra
Friday 8th February: ODI #4 @ SCG, Sydney
Sunday 10th February: ODI #5 @ MCG, Melbourne