This time around it won't be easy for the beleaguered Australians to defend their World Cup title for more than one reason. First, their successive defeats at the hands of New Zealand that made them lose number one spot in the ICC ranking must have discouraged them. Secondly a sea cha

Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh today emphasised on the need for the tail-enders to contribute with the bat. "It is important for bowlers to bat and contribute. As we bat down the order, the 20-odd runs that we can contribute is very important. All the bowlers have been working

Plagued by a lackluster form and niggling injuries, Irfan Pathan admitted that things were not going his way but was keen to prove his form and fitness before the World Cup. Pathan, who is part of the World Cup squad, has been asked to play for West Zone in the Deodhar Trophy one dayer a

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. "

Young middle order batsman Dinesh Karthick said his match-winning half-century that helped India beat the West Indies at Cuttack was crucial in winning him a berth in the World Cup squad. "Definitely my chances increased after I got runs (top-score of 63) in the Cuttack game (on Jan

S Sreesanth says his own expectations after a successful Test series in South Africa may have resulted in a patchy performance in the recent One day games against the West Indies and Sri Lanka. Sreesanth said in trying too hard to take wickets, he forgot the basics and thus returned with

Virender Sehwag should be used as an opener rather than as a middle-order bat in the World Cup, feels former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin. "I have always felt that Sehwag should be used as an opener along with Sourav Ganguly because he will not be much successful playing in

The forthcoming World Cup provides a a great challenge and opportunity for his team members as it was the pinnacle of one day cricket in the world and is a quadrennial event, India skipper Rahul Dravid said here today. "It's an exciting opportunity and a great challenge for us as i

The Pakistan Cricket Board's move to invite former greats for delivering pep-talk to the World Cup-bound players has not found favour from former captain Javed Miandad, who thinks it's too late to organise such meetings. A PCB official confirmed that chairman Naseem Ashraf had contacted g

The long-awaited Players' Contract will be implemented after the Indian team's return from the March 13-April 28 World Cup in the West Indies. This was the agreement reached between the Cricket Board with Indian captain Rahul Dravid after a meeting was held here today, the BCCI said i

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

Former Indian cricket captain, Sourav Ganguly, today expressed his willingness to bowl in the World Cup. Talking to reporters, Ganguly said: 'Of course I would like to bowl. I have bowled a lot in ODIs and I see no reason why I won't like to bowl.' 'But it depends on captain Rahul Drav

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

The BCCI president, Sharad Pawar, will address the Indian World Cup team here on February 27 before it leaves for the West Indies. The BCCI chief will talk to players after the official media conference at the Board's headquarters in the Wankhede Stadium, Board sources said today. Dep

Ramesh Powar says he did not expect to be picked for World Cup after not getting enough opportunities to prove himself in the lead up matches but rues that he never got a chance to show his all-round ability. Powar, who narrowly missed the flight to the Caribbean for the quadrennial event

Medium pacer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth today said India had peaked at right time, brightening it`s chances to win the prestigious Cricket World Cup beginning in the West Indies from next month. "The team has peaked at the right time and everyone has shown fine touch," said the 2

Pakistan completed dope tests on all but three of their World Cup 15-man squad and five reserves, but tests on Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were deferred, an official said. Asif is in England for a reassessment of his elbow injury and on his return will give a test, in the next few day

After a brilliant performance in the India Sri Lanka ODI series, former skipper Sourav Ganguly returned home today to a warm welcome from fans. Ganguly, who arrived from Visakhapatnam by Cormandel Express, was received at the Howrah station by his family and friends even as hundreds o

Ramesh Powar says he did not expect to be picked for World Cup after not getting enough opportunities to prove himself in the lead up matches but rues that he never got a chance to show his all-round ability. Powar, who narrowly missed the flight to the Caribbean for the quadrennial event

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

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

It was a dream start for Sreesanth as he delivered his first ball and saw the wickets spatter all over the ground. Attapatu was taken off-guard as he tried to defend but unfortunately got an inside edge. He lost his off-stump and the Sri Lankans were left stranded with their top 4 batsme

Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer threatened legal action against a leading Pakistani newspaper for accusing him of making racist remarks against paceman Shoaib Akhtar. The daily Dawn, quoting unnamed sources, reported Friday that Woolmer called Akhtar "blacky" during a hea

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

Legendary spinner Shane Warne has launched a fresh attack on Australian coach John Buchanan`s heavy training workload, saying it exhausted the team before the finals leading to its failure in the recent cricket triseries. "If you are playing international cricket, all you wan

With the one-day cricket series tantalisingly poised at 1-1, India`s ability to perform in a crunch situation will be tested when they go into the series decider against Sri Lanka on Saturday without the services of Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar, who had shown glimpses of his vintage fo

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