Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik today described his team's close defeats against India as sheer bad luck and said the players were high on morale as they were not lacking in cricketing terms. "Man to man both teams were equal in strength and balanced. Team to team we fought on an even k

Having made history by winning the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup after a dream final against arch-rivals Pakistan, Indian skipper M S Dhoni attributed the victory to the team work and the desire to do well. "Whatever is destined to happen will happen. But I believe, unless your do the r

Breaking his silence over his surprise resignation as India's cricket captain, Rahul Dravid said today that he was not enjoying the job after two years because "there is a shelf life to captaincy in India". The 34-year-old batsman, who has not said a word in public since his resigna

Traditional rivals India and Pakistan will resume their cricketing hostilities when they square up against each other here tomorrow in a Group D clash of the Twenty20 World Cup at Kingsmead. The two Asian giants could not keep their date in second round clash at the 2007 World Cup in the

Playing down the absence of fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik said the presence of explosive striker Shahid Afridi would provide his team some psychological advantage in the much-awaited Twenty20 clash against India on Friday. After the disastrous World Cup in the Wes

Coach for Team India is expected to be appointed in a month's time, BCCI President Sharad Pawar said today. Pawar also said there is no proposal before the BCCI to pick former coach Greg Chappell for an advisory role at the National Cricket Academy. Asked about the progress made on appoint

Alcohol abuse by some of the South African cricketers was a cause of their poor performance during the recent ICC World Cup in the West Indies, observes Adrian le Roux, the former fitness trainer of the team. "In my opinion, the use of alcohol within the national team is a problem. Th

The hectic international schedule and financial issues are preventing organisers of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) from completing the process of signing players for their inaugural competition slated in October, according to a former Pakistan captain. The ex-skipper, who has been approac

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming may abruptly end his international career to join the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), according to a media report here. Fleming has been approached by the ICL officials and the lucrative offer might prompt the Kiwi skipper to quit international cricke

England fast bowler Stephen Harmison was today ruled out for the entire cricket Test series against India as his hernia injury requires immediate surgery which will keep him out of action for four to six weeks. Harmison, who was looking to postpone his surgery to play against the touring I

Former England captain Allan Lamb has said that lack of discipline was a key factor for the West Indies team's sustained poor performance and a tough coach was needed to discipline the players. Describing the current bunch of players from the Caribbean as the "worst" ever, Lamb b

It looked like a stroll in the park as England blanked the West Indies in the recent Test series but life would be difficult against India, host captain Michael Vaughan warned his teammates. Back in the side after a nagging knee injury that kept him out of action for a whole year, Vaughan

Wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni continued his progress up the rating charts to be fifth in the latest LG-ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen today. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who turned 26 yesterday, has moved one spot up in the rankings issued today. England's Kevin Pietersen s

The cash-strapped West Indies Cricket Board has received a boost with Texas billionaire Allen Stanford announcing a fresh 100-million dollar investment to revive the game's fortunes in the Caribbean. "This won't be just cricket, this will be a life-changing experience," Stanford

Former India skipper Ajit Wadekar today paid glowing tributes to his ex-Test and first-class teammate Dilip Sardesai, who died here last night, giving him a major credit for the historic wins over the West Indies and England in 1971. "It has been one long partnership lasting more than

Sachin Tendulkar says the worst of controversies and sharpest of criticisms only strengthen his resolve and he always lets his bat do the talking. "It is their (the critics') job to have opinions. But when I hold a cricket bat in my hand it's a tougher and bigger job. That is what I wil

Allrounder Chris Gayle will take over the captaincy from Daren Ganga in the 14-man West Indies cricket squad for limited-overs matches against England. Gayle, the powerful left-handed opener and right-arm offspinner, received the leadership yesterday when Ganga was not included in the squa

Australian captain Ricky Ponting today diagnosed the ailments of Indian cricket as "mental pressure" and advised the team to learn to cope with it. "India is playing under a lot of mental pressure. They must learn how to cope with it," Ponting said. Ponting, who led Au

Within two months of his hastily announced retirement, legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara has realised he did not want to lose touch with the game and is contemplating returning to the international cricket as a player. Lara, who surprised everyone by calling it quits in the wake of hi

The ordeal of being treated as "murder suspects" is finally over, but members of Pakistan's ill-fated World Cup squad say it will not be easy forgetting the traumatic experience they had in West Indies after the death of their coach Bob Woolmer. Though, the news that Woolmer was

Cricket Australia Chairman Creagh O Connor today mourned the death of International Cricket Council President Percy Sonn and said the South African did his best to make cricket a better game. O'Connor said Australian cricket was saddened by the death of 57-year-old Sonn, who died yeste

The seven-week long World Cup in the West Indies courted sharp criticism from the Marylebone Cricket Club, which said that the quadrennial event should be played within a month's time. Offering several recommendations for better conduct of the show-piece event, MCC World Cricket Committee,

Pakistan Cricket Board is looking for a tech-savvy and modern coach to fit into the shoes of slain Bob Woolmer. "We are in search of a qualified coach and we will be selecting the most suitable candidate with the help of our search committee and the process will be completed by July 1

After flexing its muscles over the players' contracts, the Cricket Board today made a tame climb down and said the Bangladesh-bound team members can sign the contract even after returning from the tour if they were not happy with some of the clauses. "I don't have a feed back yet from

Simon Katich's surprise omission from the Cricket Australia's list of 25 contracted players has prompted outrage from his state with a senior New South Wales official questioning the credibility of the selection process. "Simon Katich continues to be one of the best performed batsmen

With the World Cup disaster behind them, the Indian team think-tank assembled here today to begin a new innings with a five-day conditioning camp from Wednesday before embarking on the Bangladesh tour. Newly-appointed cricket manager Ravi Shastri and skipper Rahul Dravid flew in here to w

Seasoned middle order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has been appointed the new West Indies captain, succeeding Brian Lara who quit international cricket after the World Cup. According to a CMC report, Sarwan was the unanimous choice during the West Indies Cricket Board's special board meeting y

England's Mr reliable Kevin Pietersen soured Brian Lara's last international match as England survived an edge-of-the-seat thriller to beat West Indies by one wicket in the final Super Eight match of the Cricket World Cup here. According to the sources, Kevin Pietersen's superb 100 help

England captain Michael Vaughan won the toss and elected to bowl against the West Indies in the inconsequential, final World Cup Super Eights cricket one-dayer here today. Both teams are out of the reckoning but the match will be of significance for the hosts captain Brian Lara, the world

Australia cricket skipper Ricky Ponting became the seventh batsman in One Day International cricket history to join the 10,000 run-club. Ponting achieved the milestone while scoring 91 runs against South Africa in St. Kitts on Saturday in a World Cup match. The dashing Aussie batsman n