10:06 AM
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Shahid Afridi took four wickets and Misbah-ul-Haq notched a second successive half century as Pakistan upstaged Sri Lanka in a highly-charged World Cup Group A match by 11 runs on Saturday.
Afridi, who became the 11th player to take 300 wickets in ODIs, finished with 4-34 to help Pakistan defend a 278-run target, as they restricted Sri Lanka to 266-9 in 50 overs for their second win in the tournament.
Afridi, who recorded Pakistan's best bowling...
10:05 AM
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Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi claimed his 300th wicket in one-day internationals during his team’s World Cup Group A match against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
Afridi picked up the wicket of Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara to achieve the feat in his 314th ODI. He became the 11th bowler in the world to have 300 or more wickets.
Sangakkara holed out to Ahmed Shehzad at mid on after scoring 49 runs and was also Afridi’s third wicket of the innings.
Sri...
10:03 AM
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Australia's twins Steve and Mark Waugh were part of Australia's 1999 World Cup winning squad, a feat many brothers here must be wishing to emulate.
This edition of the showpiece event will see Nathan and Brendon McCullum turn out for New Zealand; Kamran and Umar Akmal for Pakistan and Niall and Kevin O'Brien for Ireland.
Kenya boasts of two sets of brothers in David and Collins Obuya and Shem and James Ngoche. West Indies will have half-brothers...
10:02 AM
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AB de Villiers even offered to give the Proteas’ new spin star half his ‘man of the match’ award after what he described as a fantastically “composed” performance in the biggest game of Tahir’s career so far.
But Tahir said he wasn’t all that calm after all.
He said he couldn’t get any sleep on Wednesday night after learning he would play his first competitive match for his adopted country the next day.
And the former Pakistan ‘A’ bowler said...
10:00 AM
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“We have filed a statement of appeal in the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport against the ban by the International Cricket Council anti-corruption tribunal,” Butt’s lawyer Yasin Patel told AFP by email.
Opening batsman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Aamer were all banned on charges of corruption relating to last year’s Lord’s Test against England.
Butt was banned for 10 years, with five suspended. Asif was banned for seven years, two of which were suspended, with Aamer handed a five-year penalty. All three players are also facing criminal prosecution in Britain.
Butt confirmed his lawyer had appealed.
“This is to confirm...
9:46 AM
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Anyone still out there who thinks Pakistan are not dangerous contenders for the World Cup? The World Cup came alive with a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan propelled Pakistan, who were on a tricky 105 for 2 in the 21st over, to a strong 277 with tremendous poise and skill in the middle overs before Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akthar produced a bit of magic to derail the chase. Chamara...
9:42 AM
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Pakistan were waltzing at 76 for 1 from 13 overs when a moment of madness, which led to Mohammad Hafeez's run-out, cracked open the game. Inevitably, the drama coincided with Muttiah Muralitharan's introduction. Hafeez didn't budge after sweeping to short fine-leg but Kamran Akmal charged across to the other end. Kumar Sangakkara too panicked, and hurled the throw wide over a bewildered Murali, but mid-off was backing up. In the resulting chaos,...
9:40 AM
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When the World Cup comes to colourful Colombo on Saturday, the tournament will begin in earnest for two subcontinent teams. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka opened with massive wins over Associate nations, but this will be their first real test in the competition. None of the smaller teams in Group A seem capable of challenging the Test nations, so the game will be important in terms of placings for the quarter-finals. And in a tournament whose first...
9:37 AM
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9:33 AM
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Football's finished, baseball hasn't started yet, and March Madness and the NBA and NHL playoffs are still weeks or months away.
But for cricket fans, these are the best of times, even if the 2011 Cricket World Cup is on television at some ungodly hours.
The tournament, which takes place once every four years, began last weekend and runs through the beginning of April with matches in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
That means the action begins...
10:00 AM
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If indications from Waqar Younis are anything to go by, Pakistan are unlikely to pick a fourth specialist bowler for Saturday's crunch game against co-hosts Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa. Pakistan comprehensively beat Kenya in their tournament opener on Wednesday, but played, in Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar and Abdur Rehman, with just three specialist bowlers. Shahid Afridi is as good as a specialist bowler but the caution to fill the line-up with batsmen...
9:55 AM
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Bangladesh's bowlers held their nerve to atone for the failures of their batsman, as the pluck of the Irish proved insufficient to overcome the most fervent atmosphere of the World Cup so far. In a gripping, low-scoring encounter at Mirpur, Bangladesh flirted with disaster as they squandered a flying start from Tamim Iqbal to crash to 205 all out, and when Ireland reached 93 for 3 at the halfway mark of their reply, they were well on course for...
9:53 AM
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Shaun Tait. Brett Lee. Mitchell Johnson. The hostile fast men from Australia made an imperious statement in Nagpur. They breathed fire and New Zealand didn't have the heart, and at least today, the skills, to extinguish them. Nathan McCullum and Daniel Vettori revived New Zealand from a disastrous 73 for 6, but a below-par 206 was not enough to avoid a crushing defeat. A flamboyant Brad Haddin and an imperious Shane Watson hit entertaining half-centuries...
9:50 AM
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After a sluggish start to the World Cup with a series of mismatches and one near history-making upset, this weekend provides two games that should whet the appetite.
First is the matchup between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, which provides some fascinating social angles. Many American sports fans would have been aware of a terrorist attack on the Togo team bus in Angola at the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament in 2010, which left three people dead and eight injured. Perhaps it picked up more press than usual in the United States because the FIFA World Cup was only months away.
In the cricket world, an event in March of 2009 that was just...
11:35 AM
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Bangladesh will bank on spin to outwit Ireland in Friday's World Cup match, with skipper Shakib Al Hasan warning the visitors they will struggle in Dhaka.
"I don't think Ireland like to play in these conditions," Shakib said of the leading non-Test nation ahead of the day-night match at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.
"This is not to say we will take them lightly. Ireland have been playing good cricket. But in our conditions, which suit slow bowlers,...
11:33 AM
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Bangladesh captain Shakib-Al-Hasan says his side will be in a "must-win situation" when they face Ireland on Friday in Mirpur.
After a defeat to India in their opening match of the competition, the Tigers would need to get their campaign off the ground if they want to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
Ireland made it through to the second group stages four years ago and a win over Bangladesh - arguably the weakest of the Test-playing nations...
11:30 AM
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Ireland want to put in a display against Bangladesh that will make people "sit up and take notice" in their opening game at the World Cup. The hosts are favourite to win Friday's Group B contest although they were beaten by Ireland at the 2007 World Cup and at the 2009 World Twenty20.
"They're playing at home, so it's to be expected they'll be favourites," said Ireland captain William Porterfield.
"We want a performance that will...
11:28 AM
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Fans queuing outside the Chinnaswamy stadium in the Indian city of Bangalore to buy tickets for the cricket World Cup have clashed with police.Television pictures showed policemen hitting dozens of fans on their legs and backs.
Many of the fans had been waiting since Wednesday night. Reports said they were angered by the shortage of tickets available for purchase at the venue.
Bangalore is to host Sunday's World Cup showdown between India and...
