'We believe we can win' - Sammy

West Indies captain Darren Sammy has said his team has the self-belief to go all the way and lift the ICC World Twenty20 title in Sri Lanka, starting later this month. Sammy said he was touched by the support from the fans and urged them to continue showing faith in the team.

"This is a huge tournament for the team and the fans as well, so we will go to Sri Lanka and give it all we've got," Sammy said before the team's departure for Sri Lanka. "We believe we can win, but it will be hard, tough work. Once we play together and continue to get the backing of the fans, we know we can lift the title."

The squad had been training at the High Performance Centre in Barbados for nine days. The World T20 will be the team's first international assignment after the home series against New Zealand.

"The camp went very well and we are all in the right frame of mind," Sammy said. "We will head off to Sri Lanka believing in ourselves and believing in each other.

No excuses for failed chase - Mohammad Hafeez

Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan's new Twenty20 captain, has said there was no excuse for his team not chasing 132 in the first match against Sri Lanka, despite them returning to the international circuit after a two-month layoff. Hafeez made an encouraging start to his new role by restricting the hosts' strong batting line-up, but his first-ball duck was the start of Pakistan's slide.

After the defeat in his maiden game as captain, Hafeez was philosophical, admitting that Pakistan were beaten by a better team. He said the pitch was difficult to bat on, but didn't offer that as an excuse for his side crumbling to 95. He didn't attribute the loss to Pakistan's lack of match practice over the last couple of months either.

Pakistan had the upper hand at the start thanks to Sohail Tanvir's incisive new-ball spell and some poor shot selection. Sri Lanka were struggling 96 for 7 at one stage but Thisara Perera's late 32 converted a paltry score to a match-winning one.

"As a bowling unit we did well to restrict them to 132. Tanvir was brilliant with the new ball," Hafeez said. "This was a difficult pitch to bat on and we were hoping to restrict them to 110-120 after getting seven wickets. But in the end Perera made the difference. He took the game away from us."

Umar Gul, one of Pakistan's most effective slog-over bowlers, had a poor game, conceding 43 in four overs. "We also thought that on this pitch, had we batted first, we would have posted 140," Hafeez said. "But we did not finish well when we bowled. Umar Gul is usually our match-winner but today he wasn't able to do that job. Having said that, 132 was still chaseable but if your main batsmen fail then it's very difficult to win such games."

Pakistan were jolted early when Hafeez and debutant Shakeel Ansar were dismissed with the first two deliveries of the chase. The number of dot balls in the first half of the innings increased the pressure, as did Sri Lanka's effective fielding. Two experienced batsmen capable of changing the game, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi, were sent back by terrific catching. Commenting on Pakistan's approach, Hafeez said there was no specific plan to be watchful after the loss of two wickets.

"There was no such instruction for the two batsmen [Ahmed Shehzad and Khalid Latif] to be defensive," Hafeez said. "They were trying hard and Angelo Mathews bowled a good spell. I think as a batsman it's up to him to decide how to approach the situation, how to build the innings."

Hafeez is leading an experimental Twenty20 side with a few new players, after Misbah-ul-Haq was dropped from the format. He backed the squad to come good ahead of the World Twenty20 in September.

Clarke eyes all round Aussie improvement ahead of second Test

Port of Spain (West Indies), Apr 13: Australian captain Michael Clarke has stressed on the need of starting better in the second Test match against the West Indies at Port of Spain, and believes his players needs to pull up their socks.

Clarke specifically pointed out Australia’s poor fielding performance, which saw them drop a total of seven catches in both Windies innings, and said no top team can afford to do that.

Australia won the Barbados Test match after looking dead and buried for the first three days of play, but they eventually sealed a victory in fading light as they chased down 192 on the final day.

Clarke also rued the fact that none of his batsman went on to score a century in the match, and has urged his boys to start strongly in the second Test match.

“We need to continue to learn about the conditions here and make sure we start better, whether that be with bat or ball in Trinidad,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Clarke, as saying.

“But on good wickets against a tough fighting opposition you can''t afford to drop chances. We definitely have to improve in that area,” he added.

The Australians, who arrived in Port of Spain on Thursday, can win the series if they win at Queen''s Park Oval.

Indian seamers make inroads in rain-marred day

West Indies 75 for 3 (Bravo 22*, Chanderpaul 17*, Ishant 2-23) v India

Steady rain blighted a promising start under clear skies and bright sunshine in the first ever Test in Dominica - the 106th Test venue - to reduce the opening day to just 31.1 overs. In that time, India had made good use of their only opportunity to bowl first this series, removing three top-order batsmen on a good batting track. India's decision to bowl was prompted by the moisture in the pitch, but it didn't play a significant role; instead the seamers were persistent against the inexperienced batting that included two debutants. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo then added 40 runs in a rebuilding effort before the rain swooped in.

It was a day of landmarks for West Indies today: Chanderpaul became the most-capped West Indies Test cricketer, overtaking Courtney Walsh, and he fittingly handed out the maroon caps to the two debutants, Kieran Powell and Kirk Edwards. There was wobbly swing for Praveen Kumar early on and, barring a couple of misdirected balls down the leg side, he set about working at the openers outside off stump. Powell left the ball well, and solidly kept out the odd ones that nipped back in. A tall opener from Leeward Islands with a sound defence, Powell had gone along patiently but couldn't resist stabbing at Praveen, who teased him into edging an inducker to second slip.

Barath had negotiated the deliveries bowled in the channel but offered hope to the bowlers with his constant shuffles towards off stump. Ishant had bowled a couple of shortish deliveries at Barath and following a change of ends, in the 13th over, continued hitting that length. Barath hooked a bouncer, played at the next one down the leg side and saw it clip his thigh pad, and then opted to attack again when Ishant delivered a third consecutive short ball. He walked across to swivel and pull one behind square, only to drag it off his glove onto the stumps. Ishant had won the battle.

Sarwan dropped for final Test

Struggling West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has been dropped for the third and final Test against India in Dominica. Kieran Powell, a 21-year-old batsman from Leeward Islands, has been named as his replacement.

Sarwan, 31, back in the Test side for the ongoing home season after nearly one-and-a-half years out, has struggled for form right through, starting with the Pakistan Tests. He managed only 54 runs in four innings against Pakistan, and his form nosedived further in the series against India, where he managed only 29 runs over the first two Tests. Sarwan seemed to have been informed of his axing soon after the second Test in Barbados. An hour after bad light ensured a draw, Sarwan tweeted: "Wishing the guys all the best in Dominica! Miami here I come." Warner Park in Dominica is the venue for the third Test.

Srikkanth backs Yuvraj for Tests

Kris Srikkanth, chairman of the Indian selection committee, has backed Yuvraj Singh to come good in Test cricket. Despite being a fixture in India's limited-overs plans for many years, Yuvraj has not managed to seal a permanent Test spot, but has forced his way back into the squad for England on the back of his starring role in the World Cup.

"We all know that Yuvraj has quality," Srikkanth told the Indian Express. "Yes, I agree that he has so far failed to carry forward his ODI form into Test cricket. But he still has many years of cricket left in him. If he can cement his place in the Test squad, then that will surely augur well for Indian cricket."

Sehwag, Warner star in Delhi win

Delhi finally feels like home for Delhi Daredevils. With players such as Virender Sehwag, David Warner and Morne Morkel in the side, they had been frustrated by lifeless home tracks that made stroke-play and pace bowling difficult. Before this game Sehwag demanded pace, and then in the company of Warner showed just why. They added 146 for the first wicket in 11.4 overs, an ideal platform for a comfortable win despite an equally remarkable innings by Shaun Marsh, and despite the continuing good luck of Kings XI Punjab's openers who were both dropped on nought.

With the ball coming on well on this green pitch, Warner and Sehwag let the bowlers feel their wrath. They were like beasts who had been uncaged after years of confinement, gorging on anything remotely loose. It is a scary thought to imagine what Sehwag would have managed had he not got out for 77 off 35, trying a fourth successive six off the fourth delivery of a David Hussey over. Sehwag even dived into his crease, one of the very few times he has committed that unbecoming act while batting, to bring up his half-century off 28 deliveries, one fewer that Warner took to reach his.

Warner got to his landmark with a trademark pull deep into the stands, his second pulled six and third overall. Sehwag was on only 36 then. It takes some special hitting to dominate the strike and still not frustrate Sehwag. Warner managed that nicely. He began in earnest in the first over, pulling and cutting Praveen Kumar for fours. Ryan Harris managed to trouble him for a bit with the extra bounce, but Warner's comeback was emphatic: a huge pull over midwicket to end Harris' spell of 2-0-13-0 in a score of 35 for 0 after four overs.

The floodgates had just begun to open then. Sehwag tucked into Praveen with three fours in the fifth over, Warner went down on a knee and lofted Shalabh Srivastava's medium-pace over the sightscreen. The middle overs and spread fields mattered little as both batsmen moved to 59 each by the end of the 11th over. Enter Hussey, Punjab's expensive signing, playing his first game this IPL. Sehwag showed his famous disdain for spin through sixes over long-on, cow corner and midwicket. A mis-hit off the fourth ball brought some decorum to the proceedings, with only 38 coming in the next 5.2 overs.

That phase included Warner's wicket for 77 off 48 balls. Temporary relief. Lull between storms. Harris came back to have his figures rearranged, ending with 48 off four to join two other colleagues with 40-plus aggregates to their names. Venugopal Rao and Naman Ojha took 47 off the last three overs to post the third-highest total in IPL history, and Delhi's biggest.

Gayle's century in IPL is a special one

Chris Gayle has arrived. He smashed his way to his first IPL century, the second-fastest in this edition of the competition, and was the architect of Bangalore's victory over his former team, Kolkata. Gayle formed powerful partnerships with Tillakaratne Dilshan and Virat Kohli as Bangalore were untroubled in their chase of 172, winning by nine wickets.

The pitch was proving to be tricky for the quicks and Kolkata opted to start with a spinner after having posted 171. Yusuf Pathan, who was battling a knee niggle, opened the bowling. After three good deliveries, Yusuf strayed on the leg stump and Dilshan cashed in with four through square leg. With that, the flood gates were opened.

In the fourth over, Gayle had scored just three singles - while Dilshan had notched up 19 - when he was offered a full toss. He drove it down past the non-striker for the first of his 17 boundaries. It didn't matter what Bangalore tried after that. Jaidev Unadkat was dispatched with disdain as Gayle went down on one knee, smacking him for six over long-on. Shakib Al Hasan was tossed around like a limp ragdoll, slogged over midwicket and mowed over deep square. Yusuf was smoked through the covers. Gayle even showed a touch of deftness, playing one fine to the third man boundary.

It didn't matter who was given the ball, even though spin proved difficult to get away during the Kolkata innings. Manoj Tiwary was slapped over long-on and even mishit for six. Medium pacer Rajat Bhatia was hit for 17 runs in his second over, 16 off Gayle's bat. At the end of 12 overs, Bangalore were cruising on 123 for 1 when Dilshan was bowled by L Balaji, who controlled the swing admirably.

The Gayle force blew on though. Together with Kohli, he brought the required run rate down to less than a run a ball. Kohli was given some room to express himself too, taking advantage of full balls offered by Balaji and showing off his wrist work against Bhatia. Kohli almost had too much fun and denied Gayle a century with a boundary off the first ball of the 18th over, that left Bangalore with just two to win. He blocked out the rest of the over to make amends.

Even a wide from Iqbal Abdulla couldn't stop Gayle, who ended the innings with a smashing shot through the covers, winning the match with 11 balls to spare. Gayle, who was picked up by Bangalore as a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes, wore a jersey with 333 - his highest Test score - on the back and made light work of a total that Kolkata should have been able to defend.

Paul Valthaty gives Punjab comprehensive win

Don't shake Paul Valthaty's hand any time soon. You might just turn to gold. He followed up his century in Kings XI Punjab's previous game by surprising everybody with his split-finger slower balls, in the Dilhara Fernando mould, taking 4 for 29, the best figures by any Punjab bowler, and then - with a 47-ball 75 - made a mockery of a target he had himself kept down to 165.

The turnaround for Punjab began with a good piece of fielding, and then a fortuitous lob off what should have been a leg-side wide. Until then Kumar Sangakkara and Shikhar Dhawan had put up a fine display of driving in a 75-run second-wicket stand, Deccan's best for any wicket this season, but both fell within three runs to send the hosts into rebuild mode for the best part of the second half of their innings.

Deccan Chargers had reached 88 for 1 in the 11th over, and the set batsmen were just looking to open up further when a diving Shaun Marsh at extra cover made sure Sangakkara stayed on strike. Sangakkara slog-swept the next ball to deep midwicket where Ryan McLaren took a good, low catch. In the next over, Valthaty's slower ball went wrong, and was going way down the leg side until Dhawan decided to try and clear short fine leg. Instead, the ball landed in the fielder's lap. Two starts had been wasted, Deccan had to become circumspect.

Valthaty's next over featured two similar slower balls. Bharat Chipli escaped long-off off the first, but the other was picked up near long-on. Daniel Christian's 30 off 14 threatened a major assault towards the end, but Valthaty once again pulled Deccan back with two wickets in two balls: Christian was bowled attempting a slog, and Amit Mishra then missed a scoop over the keeper's head and was trapped lbw.

Valthaty didn't get a chance to finish a hat-trick: the wickets came off the last two deliveries of the 19th over. However, he would get a chance to make the match his own when opening the innings. And how he owned the game. Carrying the confidence that he could do no wrong, Valthaty upper-cut and flicked Dale Steyn, then cut Ishant Sharma for a six, and took Manpreet Gony apart with some merciless hitting in the fifth over, which went for 23 runs.

Gambhir, Kallis set up outstanding win

Kolkata Knight Riders won by nine wickets and with nine deliveries to spare. It shouldn't have been that easy but Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis starred in a supremely well-paced chase as Kolkata successfully hunted down a potentially tough 160-run target on a sluggish track in Jaipur.

The first game-seizing moment of the chase came in the sixth over, bowled by Amit Singh. Kolkata were 44 for 1 from five overs and it was obvious that they had to fully utilise the new ball and the Powerplay on this slow track. It was an over that could have tilted the game either way: Amit tried to keep it tight, Gambhir took risks, two shots eluded palms of fielders in the off side but not by much, and Gambhir looted 18 runs. He flat-batted the first ball past the diving Ross Taylor at extra cover, slashed the third past the diving Abhishek Raut at point, glanced the fourth to fine-leg, and crashed the final delivery over mid-off.

The second turning point was Gambhir's contest with Shane Warne, who introduced himself in the seventh over. Gambhir cut his third delivery through the covers, and slog swept the first ball of the 10th over to collect another four. When Warne gave himself another over, to try and pick up a wicket, Gambhir sashayed down the track and scythed a flighted delivery through extra cover. By the end of that over, Kolkata only needed 58 runs from 48 balls and Gambhir and Kallis stayed till the end to achieve a comfortable win.

Gambhir found great support in Kallis, who was instrumental in starting the chase in a positive fashion. He lifted Ashok Menaria's left-arm spin for a four and a six over long-off in the third over, whipped Shane Watson to midwicket and slashed Nayan Doshi through backward point. He dropped anchor once Gambhir took over the baton

Sachin's first IPL Century

Two weeks ago, the crowd at the Wankhede was delirious though a fervently anticipated Sachin Tendulkar century didn't materialise. On Friday, the same crowd went home dejected despite Tendulkar crafting his first Twenty20 century, as Kochi Tuskers Kerala busted their party with one of the most memorable chases in IPL history.

Two of the world's finest Twenty20 batsmen, Brendon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardene, constructed chalk-and-cheese half-centuries to power Kochi's pursuit of 183. Both perished to Lasith Malinga's deadly deliveries but Kochi, who had stumbled in the final stretch of their first two games, didn't slip up this time as Ravindra Jadeja and Brad Hodge muscled boundaries to finish the game with an over to spare.

Tendulkar's effort checked off another item on his ever-shrinking to-do list, and Mumbai ran up a tall total without needing contributions from Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds and Kieron Pollard. It was then assumed that the bowlers would make the rest of the game a formality, but McCullum firmly put that assumption to rest by muscling three boundaries between mid-off and cover in Malinga's second over. The next big jump came in the sixth over from Pollard as McCullum swatted a four past midwicket and Jayawardene eased boundaries behind square on either side of the wicket.

The Mumbai fielding made things worse for the home team. Rohit Sharma dropped McCullum at first slip off the first ball, and Jayawardene was given a life by Ali Murtuza at backward point.

McCullum kept skating out of the crease and lashing the ball through the off side right through his innings, while Jayawardene was content shuffling across and using the bowler's pace, rarely powering the ball. The difference between the two batsmen's innings was highlighted in the ninth over as McCullum smashed the first ball over long-off, and Jayawardene reverse-paddled the fifth ball off the back of the bat for four.

Paul Valthaty ton stunned Chennai Super Kings to clinch a maiden win for Kings XI

The IPL's northernmost franchise found a hero with roots in the south, as Paul Valthaty stunned Chennai Super Kings to clinch a maiden win for Kings XI Punjab this season after a disappointing performance in their opening game. Valthaty was a surprise promotion to the opening slot, instead of the regular Shaun Marsh, and he answered the call with a blistering start, keeping his team on par with the required-rate in the middle overs and surging again at the death to complete victory after achieving a spectacular century.

At 27, with just one List A game and 13 Twenty20 matches, Valthaty had been on the sidelines of the Mumbai team on India's domestic circuit. His previous highest in the IPL was 6, but whatever he must have done at the practice sessions ahead of this game sparked a potentially career-changing turn of events. Punjab had been deflated at the end of the Chennai innings, after they had squandered the perfect start of two wickets off the first two balls to concede 188. The sight of an unfamiliar face walking out with Adam Gilchrist raised eyebrows, but it didn't take too long for Valthaty to justify his promotion.

Sachin Tendulkar named Wisden's leading cricketer in the world for 2010

Sachin Tendulkar added one more to his already bulging cap of feathers when he was named Wisden's leading cricketer in the world for 2010. Tendulkar enjoyed what was even by his standards an outstanding year in 2010, hitting over 1500 Test runs with 7 hundreds. He also went past the previously unthinkable mark of 50 Test match hundreds in 2010. In ODIs, he became the first batsman to hit the 200-run mark, doing it against the might of the South African attack.

The master batsman, who began this month with what he described as his proudest moment when he helped India win the World Cup on his home ground in Mumbai, is the seventh recipient of the Wisden award.

Unlike the winners of Wisden's coveted five cricketers of the year, it is possible to be named the world's best in the almanack more than once - and Tendulkar made it an Indian hat-trick, after Test opener Virender Sehwag took the honour in each of the last two years.

Tendulkar's citation concludes: "Wisden acknowledges his greatness by naming him as the leading cricketer in the world for 2010."

who has hit maximum number of sixes in an ODI?

 Shane Watson hits 15 sixes in an ODI

Shane Watson knocked Bangladesh's bowlers senseless with a world record tally of sixes as the Australians galloped to a nine-wicket victory in the second limited overs match in Mirpur to seal the series.

The target of 230 had appeared a possible banana skin on a slow pitch offering some turn, but Watson made such light work of it, that his unbeaten185 from 96 balls now stands as the highest ODI score by an Australian, overtaking Matthew Hayden's 181 against New Zealand in 2007.

Xavier Marshall's 2008 mark for most sixes fell when Watson swung his 13th over the rope, the second six in as many balls off the bowling of Abdur Razzak. Watson added two more for good measure, laying claim to one of ODI cricket's more enduring records, for the highest individual percentage of runs in a completed innings. His 79.74% bested Viv Richards' 69.48% in his momentous 189 not out, out of 272 for 9, against England in 1984.

Mushfiqur Rahim's unbeaten 81 helped Bangladesh to score 229

A significant rally by Bangladesh wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, with the help of the lower order, allowed the hosts to set Australia a target of 230 in order for the visitors to seal the limited-overs series in the second match in Mirpur.

Australia dropped Cameron White for Callum Ferguson as they sought a second victory in three days and were in total command when Bangladesh slid to 88 for 5. But Rahim, allrounder Mahmudullah and left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo pushed Bangladesh to 229 for 7, a total that will require a diligent pursuit on a slow pitch that offers turn.

Shahriar Nafees had done his best to keep the first half of the innings from petering out entirely but he was not helped by the funereal approach of opener Imrul Kayes, who lingered 41 balls to gouge out five runs. Mitchell Johnson and Steve Smith shared five well-deserved wickets, while Brett Lee was short of luck during a spell that was damaged after he leaked 17 runs in his final over.

Seeking parity at 1-1 after Shakib Al Hasan won the toss, Tamim Iqbal offered a flashy drive at Johnson in the second over and sliced to the left of the solitary slip where Shane Watson held an excellent catch.

In the next over Lee and the rest of the Australians were convinced they had Imrul gloving a well-directed short ball behind, but a vociferous and sustained appeal went unheeded, decision reviews not being used during the series. Australia's disgust at not claiming the wicket would be alleviated across the next eight overs, as Imrul crawled to five from 41 balls, draining the innings of all momentum and then compounded his sin by swinging unwisely at Johnson to sky a legside catch.

The next man in, Raqibul Hasan, played down the wrong line at Hastings and was bowled for a duck, before Smith ripped a leg break between Shakib's bat and pad in his first over, leaving Shahriar to attempt to repair the damage. He had reached 56 when Smith flighted a leg break and was rewarded with the tamest of return catches, as the hosts slid to 88 for 5.

Fastest Century in World Cup by Kevin O'Brien

Dashing Kevin O'Brien (113) smashed the fastest World Cup century to set up Ireland's scintillating three-wicket win over England at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. The right-handed batsman completed his century off just 50 balls to beat Matthew Hayden's record of century in 66 balls in the 2007 tournament.
Man of the match Kevin O'Brien lashed 13 boundaries and six sixes in his memorable One-day century to silence the spirited, in majority, English supporters at the Bengaluru stadium. The stadia were all on their feet after witnessing a stunning display of sportsmanship by the Irish team over their old enemy.
Kevin, a lookalike of Andrew Flintoff from the stands, played his strokes fearlessly on a wicket where the ball came nicely on to the bat. The destructive middle-order batman played a typically attacking innings, racing to his century with a flick towards the mid-wicket. The crowd and Irish box went up in roar to celebrate Kevin's second One-day hundred.
O'Brien alongwith Alex Cusack (47) made the most of an ordinary English attack to bring the match from a no-contest zone to a winning one in a roller-coaster day-night match.
The pair added 162 runs for the sixth wicket with much ease and exposed the limitations of English bowlers in containing runs on a track like Chinnaswamy. Kevin and Alex gave an outstanding exhibition of power-hitting under extreme situation to remind England team of their strength.
Ireland lost their five top-order batsmen cheaply but O'Brien and Cusack dug in to lend firmness and force an improbable win.
Chasing 328 runs to win, Ireland got off to forgettable start when they lost their most experienced campaigner and skipper William Porterfield in the first ball of the second innings. Jimmy Anderson, who has had a tough time in India, bowled the opposition skipper in the first over to spark some doubts about the huge chase.
Paul Stirling tried to up the ante after losing his skipper early with some forceful boundaries before falling to Tim Bresnan. Stirling smacked five fours and a six during his 32-run stay at the crease.
England poor fielding contributed in their defeat as they manage to drop at least six catches in the middle. Generous England bowlers also helped with 33 extras.
Paul Stirling (32), Ed Joyce (32) and Niall O'Brien (29) were the other main contributors in Ireland's stunning victory.
Earlier, Jonathan Trott (92) and Ian Bell (81) propelled England to 327 against Ireland in their Group B World Cup match at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The experience duo added an invaluable 167 runs for the third wicket to help England to an imposing total.
Skipper Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen continued from where they left last Sunday at Chinnaswamy against India. The English openers, electing to bat first, got off to a flourishing start scoring seven runs per over. Pietersen, in his opening role, looked rather impressive today with some exquisite strokes to light up the afternoon.
The former England captain took the Irish bowling to the cleaners with some lusty hits to the fence and over it. The naturally aggressive player completed his 22nd half-century, fourth in World Cups, off just 41 deliveries. Andrew Strauss was more than happy to give the strike to Pietersen, who was having a beautiful time with the willow. The duo shared a first-wicket stand of 91 runs before Ireland fired the first salvo.
Seeing his pace bowlers being smacked all over the park, skipper William Porterfield introduced spinners in the 12th over. Teenager George Dockrell in his second over obliged his captain by claiming Andrew Strauss with a beauty. The England skipper was bowled out for 34 on his 34th birthday.
Three overs later, a confident Pietersen tried to do something unusual with disastrous results. Offie Paul Stirling pitched the ball outside off-stump and KP, itching for a switch-hit, tried a reverse sweep but miscued it completely for an easy catch to keeper Niall O'Brien. His 59 runs included seven fours and two huge sixes.
England's run-rate dropped from 7 to 5 once England had lost their openers but Trott and Bell overcame a subdued start once they got the feel of the pitch. The Englishmen dominated Irish attack with impressive strokeplay from 17th over to 43rd over before Bell's stay was cut short by John Mooney during a batting powerplay.
Trott and Bell both fell within sight of a century; however the former equalled the record for the fastest 1,000 runs in ODI's. He needed 64 runs at the start to equal the record of Vivian Richards and Kevin Pietersen, when he came to bat. Trott struck nine fours before being dismissed by Mooney.
England lost some quick wickets at the end before posting a huge target for Ireland. John Mooney finished with the best figures claiming four wickets in nine overs for 63 runs.

Why Ponting break LCD during World Cup

Box broke TV, not bat, says Ponting

Australia captain Ricky Ponting said it was his box, employed to protect a batsman's most sensitive area, and not his bat which damaged a World Cup dressing room television set.

Ponting accepted an International Cricket Council reprimand after he reacted angrily to being run out in his team's 91-run win over Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad on Monday.
But he insisted on Thursday that the incident had been blown wildly out of proportion.
"Just to clarify, the television wasn't hit by me with my bat at all, it was hit by my box that I'd thrown down at the end of cricket kit," said Ponting, ahead of his team's clash against New Zealand on Friday.
"I'm not sure where a lot of those stories have come from but I have accepted what the ICC have come up with as far as a reprimand is concerned from the incident."
"There was some small damage to the TV set and I went and reported it to the team manager straight away. They actually replaced the television set there and then."
"Some of the stories I have been hearing the last couple of days have been a little bit different to what the list of events actually were."
"Hopefully we can put this all behind us and start worrying about a big game of cricket. There's a limit I guess (to how much) you can let off steam in a dressing room. It is a pretty sacred sort of place in international cricket."
"But there's a line you can't over-step. I accept responsibility for that happening, albeit by total accident and with no malice involved whatsoever."
"What's happened has happened, I'd like to be able to take it back but I can't."
As far as Friday's match is concerned, Australia, despite their overwhelming win against Zimbabwe, found batting tricky when left-arm spinner Ray Price took the new ball.
Ponting said his side were ready for more of the same from either Vettori, also a slow left-armer, or off-break bowler Nathan McCullum.
"We know New Zealand will probably have two good spinners in their side and we know as tournament goes on we are going to have to play spin well if we want to be there when the big games come around. I've got total confidence in the players that they can all do that."
"Our record in the subcontinent over a long period of time shows we can do that. We are also prepared for New Zealand opening the bowling with spin and we are ready for that."
Ponting is bidding to win his third straight World Cup as a captain and Australia their fourth in a row, both unprecedented achievements.
Yet with stars such as Adam Gilchrist, Mattew Hayden and Shane Warne having retired, many feel now is the best time for another team to topple Australia.
"We haven't been spoken about much as being contenders for this World Cup, which sits pretty well with me," Ponting said.
"We can just go along and get our work done and prepare well and hopefully play well."
"We'll let the other teams such as India worry about the pressure of being favourites for a tournament like this."
"All I can do is prepare well and prepare the team well and hopefully go out and play and we'll see how far our talent takes us."
"But I think we've got a talented enough team here at the moment to be able to give the World Cup a really good shake."

Why Australian batsmen need to go back to the basics

Australia coach and to a 30-year-old former Shield player recently was to understand the challenges currently faced by those responsible for directing the game in this country. As in other arenas, a battle is on between the classical and the contemporary. Suffice to say the classical is in retreat. Wise nations and activities seek to strike a balance between the eternal and the present, seek to take the best from both.

The coach spends his time instructing selected youngsters in the techniques of the game. Except that those skills seem to have changed. Coaches chide any batsman allowing a ball to pass, and teach them to use the bottom hand not as an assistant but as the driving force. Youngsters are taught to open their hips and lift the ball.

Ignoring the traditions of local batsmanship, they are told to go forwards, anticipate and punish full deliveries. Is it any wonder that Australians keep hooking off the front foot or that the captain keeps losing his wicket to the shot?

Spinners are to be played from the crease. Hardly any of the younger brigade and previous few of the seniors can step down the pitch to dictate length to the tweakers. Most sit back and search for anything off line. Some of the batting against spin seen in local Twenty20 tournaments has been embarrassing, and the new Test men were often the worst offenders. Michael Clarke has dancing feet but the rest seem to be bogged in mud. Meanwhile the Poms use their feet confidently.

Kirsten has done wonders to my game: Gambhir

When Gautam Gambhir was struggling to cement his place in Team India, the appointment of Gary Kirsten as India coach proved to be a godsend. The Delhi batsman gives the former South African opener a lot of credit for understanding him both as a cricketer as well as a person.

Gambhir, 29, feels Kirsten's presence in the India dressing room has done a world of good to his game as he has given him a lot of confidence.

Kirsten, who joined the India team in March 2008, carried it to the top of Test rankings, and Gambhir says he is one of the players to prosper in the process.

"Kirsten worked on my game, he has helped me a lot. Unlike other coaches, he has never asked me to make changes in my game. Importantly, he understood me both as a player and person," Gambhir

"Kirsten worked on my basics and tried to improve on them. It was quite encouraging coming from a person who has played 100-odd Tests."

The left-hander, who made his debut in 2004, had only one Test century to his name till 2007, but hit two more and a double century in 2008 and four centuries in five Tests in what turned out to be an incredible 2009, the year in which he was voted the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Player.

Gambhir, who returned home after the South Africa Test series following a hand injury, said Kirsten, himself being a left-handed opener, worked on key areas to better his performance.

Who will be the next Coach for Team India.

The team India has to search for new coach after the World Cup.Kirsten had said that he will not continue as coach after World Cup.Still now lot of discussions are taking place on Kirsten.Every one wants Kirsten continued as coach but due to his family only he is leaving the Indian team.So Lets wait Who will be next Coach for India.