Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar today proclaimed himself as a doubtful starter for next month's World Cup with his knee being still a matter of concern. Shoaib, who spent the last week in London apparently to seek medical opinion on his knee problem, said he would again leave for the c

Coach Bob Woolmer today made itclear that injured fast bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif would have to prove their fitness to retaintheir places in Pakistan`s World Cup cricket squad. Woolmer not to take risk with injured players Karachi, Feb 22: Coach Bob Woolmer today made i

Coach Bob Woolmer today made it clear that injured fast bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif would have to prove their fitness to retain their places in Pakistan's World Cup cricket squad. Woolmer said the team has been badly hit by injury worries ahead of next month's mega event

Former skipper Saurav Ganguly has given India an unexpected World Cup boost after a comeback even his most ardent fans would have thought impossible. Ganguly, 34, has been in sublime batting form, oozing with confidence and looking fitter than ever before after his internationalcareer seem

West Indies great Garfield Sobers said on Wednesday he was confident Australia would bounce back from their recent string of losses and make a strong title defence at next month’s World Cup in the Caribbean. The world champions were whitewashed 3-0 in the one-day series against hosts

A quartet of India`s golden generation of cricketers will aim for glory in West Indies in what is expected to be their last World Cup. The game`s ultimate prize is still missing from the trophy cabinets of stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and Anil Kumble. Leg-

Beleaguered cricketer Irfan Pathan stoutly defended himself against criticism, saying he remained positive about a successful performance in the world cup despite question marks over his form and fitness. "I have been answering these queries about the loss of in-swing and drop in pa

Pakistan team manager Talat Ali has not reported any incident of racial abuse by coach Bob Woolmer against any member of the team, including temperamental fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar during the recent tour of South Africa. A PCB official confirmed to PTI that Talat, in his tour report file

India captain Rahul Dravid has urged the younger members of his squad not to be overawed by the World Cup. Six of India's 15-man squad for the March 13-April 28 World Cup in the Caribbean will be making their debut in the tournament, including three of the five-man pace attack. "

In early February, Zimbabwe broke a 13-match losing sequence by beating Bangladesh, leaving their record going into the World Cup standing at 15 defeats in 16 matches. All of those defeats were against Kenya, Bangladesh and South Africa's second string and included a 5-0 whitewash in Ban

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

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

Australia have lost their place at the top of the world ODI rankings after New Zealand batted superbly to register a thrilling five-wicket victory over their rivals in Auckland on Sunday. The home side successfully chased down Australia`s record Eden Park total of 336 for four with eight

Pakistan captain Inzamam ul Haq today refused to believe that fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar could accuse him and coach Bob Woolmer of abusing and insulting him during the recent tour of South Africa. "I don't believe Shoaib can say such a thing. It is utterly nonsense. I don't believe it

After winning his first series award in six years, Sourav Ganguly today said that both his personal form and that of the Indian team were peaking at the right time for the World Cup. "We are going into the World Cup with the right frame of mind. We will get similar wickets in the We

Pakistan dope-tested most of its World Cup cricket squad with the futures of key fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif hanging in the balance. Thirteen of the 15-man squad plus five reserves were tested after flying back from South Africa, officials said on Friday. Akhtar and Asi

The public spat between Shoaib Akhtar and Bob Woolmer has taken a new twist with a newspaper claiming that the Pakistan coach had used abusive language with racial overtones against the fast bowler during a heated argument in South Africa. Woolmer, however, has strongly denied that he had

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

Pakistan Cricket Board would conduct an early dope test on vice captain Younis Khan as the date of his marriage clashes with the pre-scheduled dope tests session. Younis had apprised the PCB of his unavailability for the dope tests session to be conducted in Lahore on Friday, saying tha

Confusion prevailed in the Pakistan cricket circles today after a section of the media reported that fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif had again tested positive for Nandrolone in fresh tests carried out by the Pakistan Cricket Board The newspapers, however, created more confusion b

Confusion prevailed in the Pakistan cricket circles today after a section of the media reported that fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif had again tested positive for nandrolone in fresh tests carried out by the Pakistan Cricket Board. The newspapers, however, created more confusion

Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has termed the four-match ODI ban imposed on him by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as `harsh`, saying a two-match ban would have sufficed. ``I think it was harsh decision. It could have been a couple of ODIs ban,`` he was quoted as saying by the

Pakistan's World Cup hopes suffered a jolt after their cavalier all-rounder Shahid Afridi was today banned for four one-dayers for bringing the game into disrepute. Afridi was charged with a Level 3 offence after an incident which took place following the batsman's dismissal during the first

Under pressure to perform, Virender Sehwag has been advised to be more careful with his shot selection and concentrate on spending more time in the middle to regain his form. Sehwag, who was dropped for the one day series against the West Indies to sort out his batting problems after his

A very busy schedule waits for the Indian cricket team following the World Cup in March-April, with a short tour of Bangladesh setting off a gruelling programme right up to the summer of next year, sources said. Talking to scribes, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said: "The tour to the

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has turned over a new leaf in the last one month or so. He staged a successful comeback in Tests during the recently concluded tour to South Africa and had a great run with the bat during the ODI series against the West Indies which India wrapped up 3-1 tod

In the LG ICC player rankings in Test cricket there is no considerable change in the top five for test bowlers. Mohammed Asif makes his entry into the top 10 and equals a Pakistan record for fewest matches to break into the top 10 - that's nine test matches. Asif is now Pakistan's to

After the defeat at Chennai, Team India will be keen to field their best combination and wrap up the one-day cricket series against the West Indies here tomorrow. The three-wicket defeat in the third ODI has reduced India's advantage in the series to 2-1 and the hosts would like to regai

South Africa paceman Makhaya Ntini was delighted to record his 300th Test wicket before his home supporters. Ntini, in his 74th Test, said: Its been a marvellous day, to take my 300th wicket at home was great. Not all of us get to do that. It means more than anything to do it in front

South Africa closed day two of the second Test with Pakistan still 26 runs behind at 115-3. Pakistan added 130 with their remaining four wickets, skipper Inzamam playing a masterful knock and shielding the tail. Makhaya Ntini notched his 300th Test victim, but Inzamam moved to 9