Carnival and cricket will combine next month for the ninth World Cup spread over as many Caribbean nations and climaxing with the final in Barbados on April 28. "There`s so many different things in the Caribbean that we can enjoy," former West Indies captain Viv Richard said

Australian stand-in skipper Mike Hussey has asked the national selectors not to panic on the string of loses ahead of their World Cup title defense and show trust in the team to fight its way back to the top. Australia slumped to their second consecutive One-day defeat against New Zealand

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said the collapse in Australia`s one-day form meant the World Cup starting next month is wide open. The five-wicket defeat of the world champions in Auckland on Sunday was the first time in ten years that Australia had lost four one-day matches in a r

Blaming the International Cricket Council for a heavy schedule in the build up to the World Cup, former Australian captain Ian Chappell has said the teams comprising the fittest players had a chance to win the coveted trophy in the Caribbean. "Will we see a spectacular cricket World C

New Zealand cricket allrounder Jacob Oram was in doubt for next month's World Cup after suffering a serious finger injury in the emphatic 10-wicket victory over Australia. Oram will definitely miss the remaining two matches of the Chappell Hadlee Series against Australia and his futur

Kenyan cricket chiefs have settled a pay row with World Cup-bound players who staged a one-day sit-in earlier this week. Kenya captain Steve Tikolo said on Friday the players held a meeting with Cricket Kenya officials on Thursday where the dispute which threatened World Cup preparati

England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar said the side remains focussed on performing well at next month`s World Cup and will not be distracted by last week`s tri-series finals success over world champions Australia. England recovered from a 5-0 Ashes series drubbing to overcome Aus

Australian batsman Michael Clarke has been ordered to return home from his team's short tour of New Zealand because of a hip problem. Clarke, who was originally selected as vice-captain for the three-match tour, missed Friday's series opener in Wellington after feeling pain in his hip the

New Zealand crushed Australia by 10 wickets in the first Chappell Hadlee one day match in Wellington on Friday. Shane Bond captured five wickets for 23 runs as New Zealand bowled the Australians out for just 148 inside the 50 overs. Mike Hussey top-scored for the visitors with 42.

Riding on the back of his powerful comeback, left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan has jumped ten places to 27th position in the latest LG ICC ODI rankings. Another Indian pacer Munaf Patel leaped eight spots to 39th to record his career best haul of rating points. Zaheer was rewarded for his m

Australia are in danger of losing their top position to a resurgent South Africa in the International Cricket Council (ICC) One-day International (ODI) Championship table following the Proteas' series win over Pakistan. ICC said Thursday that if Australia (120 points) lose their up

Australia's stand-in captain Mike Hussey is determined the world champions will not lose their position at the top of the one-day rankings under his leadership. Australia's shock tri-series finals defeat by England and South Africa's win over Pakistan have put Hussey's side under pres

Australian captain Ricky Ponting is trying hard to be in shape for the World Cup by taking cortisones injections to ease the inflammation in his spine and avoid a surgery. Ponting said he had three cortisone injections in his spine on Wednesday as he played throughout most of the summer

Australia's World Cup squad is believed to have received a major jolt with speedster Brett Lee injuring his left ankle and knee. Lee, training with the Australian squad ahead of the Chappell-Hadlee series opening match, received treatment on the ground for 10 minutes and was in visibl

Michael Vaughan did his best to allay fitness fears after being named as captain of England's 15-man squad for the World Cup, which starts next month in the West Indies. The 32-year-old Yorkshire batsman must undergo two weeks' of "intensive treatment" on a hamstring injury be

Even though Canada are rank outsiders for next month's World Cup in the Caribbean, coach Andy Pick believes his side are capable of pulling off an upset or two. "I'm happy that if we play our best game we will put a lot of pressure on (Group C rivals) England and New Zealand beca

Australian fast bowler Brett Lee is a doubt for Friday's opening Chappell-Hadlee Trophy one-day match against New Zealand after rolling his ankle in training on Thursday. The 30-year-old paceman was taken to hospital for scans on his knee and ankle after tripping over during fielding practice

Canada's cricket World Cup squad includes a forklift driver, accountant, salesman, and teacher. With just two pros among the 15 players named yesterday, Canada will be rank underdogs in its Group C matches against England, New Zealand and Kenya in the Caribbean next month. But coach Andy

Veteran Australian pace spearhead Glenn McGrath has conceded that thoughts of retirement crossed his mind during the tri-series finals against England. "When you announce your retirement, the last thing you want to do is actually retire before you play your last game. I think I did l

Adam Gilchrist will miss the warm-up matches when the defending champions begin their icc cricket world cup west indies campaign in the Caribbean starting next month. Gilchrist has reportedly been allowed to take compassionate leave as his wife Mel is due to give birth to their third chil

Pace cricket bowler Daryl Tuffey has earned a surprise recall to the New Zealand cricket squad for the icc cricket world cup west indies 2007 starting next month. Tuffey was included in a 15-man New Zealand cricket squad announced on Tuesday after paceman Kyle Mills was ruled out of the t

SYDNEY - Australian cricket coach John Buchanan has defended the use of a walkie-talkie headset to communicate with his coaching staff alongside the boundary during the one-day clash against New Zealand. He pointed out New Zealand already operated a similar scheme. Channel Nine commentator

Wellington, Jan 26: Veteran batsman Nathan Astle announced his retirement today, shocking his New Zealand team-mates and further weakening their fragile batting line-up just weeks away from the World Cup. The 35-year-old, New Zealand`s second most prolific one-day scorer behind ski

If Australian and New Zealand fans thought they were facing problems in obtaining visas for the World Cup in the West Indies, then they should spare a thought for their Pakistani counterparts. Anyone from Pakistan will have to apply to an embassy in India, a country with which relations are

Michael Vaughan has been ruled out of Englands next two one-day internationals with a torn hamstring. The captain suffered the injury in the win over New Zealand and he missed Fridays defeat to Australia. The 32-year-old will now sit out the games in Adelaide, against New Zealand on Tu

Sri Lanka won the fourth one-dayer against New Zealand by 189 runs here on today, squaring their 5-ODI series at 2-2, sources said. According to the sources, Sri Lanka bundled out the Kiwis for a paltry 73 -- their second-lowest total in one-day internationals. Sri Lanka made 262 f

Nathan Astle remained unbeaten as New Zealand reached their target of 116 with nine balls remaining to secure victory in their Twenty20 match against Sri Lanka. Astle struck an unbeaten 40 off 37 balls to guide the home side to victory, while opener Brendon McCullum contributed 28

Chairman of selectors David Graveney refused to be drawn on whether Michael Vaughan will captain England in the one-day series in Australia after the Yorkshire player was included in the squad. The 32-year-old has not played international cricket since being forced home from the to

Left-arm Chinaman bowler Paul Adams was today named in the South African squad for the first Test against India starting in Johannesburg from December 15. Adams joins Nicky Boje, who will be the other spinner, in the 15-member squad. "We have selected a 15-man squad that includes t