Category: Sports

MELBOURNE, Feb 29, 2008 (AFP) – Australia’s Adam Gilchrist smashed a blistering 83 in his farewell appearance at the MCG but his teammates collapsed to hand Sri Lanka an unlikely 13-run win here on Friday. The tourists, in their final match of the tri-series, made 221, and Australia looked well set when Gilchrist launched an […]

HOBART, Australia, Feb 26, 2008 (AFP) – Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday accused Australia’s Andrew Symonds of provoking young paceman Ishant Sharma in their tri-series clash at the SCG.However, Dhoni conceded that wasn’t necessarily the case, saying: “Cricket can never be friendly. There will always be aggression on the field but as long […]

HOBART, Feb 26, 2008 (AFP) – India claimed a spot in the tri-series finals with a crushing seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their one-day match here on Tuesday.A spectacular middle-order collapse saw Sri Lanka make just 179 from 47.1 overs and India had few problems reaching the target in 32.2 overs, scoring 180 for […]

DHAKA, Feb 26, 2008 (AFP) – South African paceman Dale Steyn was fast closing in on number one Test bowler Muttiah Muralitharan after an impressive performance in the opening Test against Bangladesh here.Steyn picked up 38 valuable ratings points in the first Test, which his team won by five wickets on Monday, and is now […]

MELBOURNE, Feb 22, 2008 (AFP) – Australia’s top order woes continued as they made 184 for seven against Sri Lanka in the tri-series one-day match here on Friday.The home side slumped to 54 for four before Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey again came to the rescue to help them build a competitive total. Hussey held […]

MELBOURNE, Feb 22, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s chances of reaching the tri-series finals were dealt a serious blow when Australia beat them by 24 runs in a rain-shortened one-day match on Friday. The visitors’ gamble to bowl first — expecting the match to be shortened by the weather — looked to have paid off […]

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20, 2008 (AFP) – The 2011 World Cup in South Asia should be shorter and with fewer teams, an International Cricket Council (ICC) panel recommended on Wednesday.The 10 chief executives were joined here by ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed, ICC president-elect David Morgan of England and India’s Sunil Gavaskar, who heads the […]

MELBOURNE, Feb 21, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene said Thursday he didn’t think Australia would be affected by recent off-field distractions when the two sides meet in their tri-series match on Friday.Sri Lanka must beat Australia to revive their tri-series finals hopes and the home side has had plenty to consider this […]

MUMBAI, Feb 20, 2008 (AFP) – India one-day captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni went for a huge 1.5 million dollars on Wednesday as some of the world’s best players were auctioned off for the Twenty20 Indian Premier League (IPL). . Chennai paid nearly four times the wicketkeeper-batsman’s base price of 400,000 dollars in the opening round […]

ADELAIDE, Australia, Feb 19, 2008 (AFP) – The class of Kumar Sangakkara once again revived Sri Lanka after a dismal start with the bat in their crucial tri-series clash with India here Tuesday. The Sri Lankan cause wasn’t helped by three runs outs, two dreadfully unlucky, but Sangakkara’s polished 128 helped them recover from a […]

ADELAIDE, Australia, Feb 19, 2008 (AFP) – The class of Kumar Sangakkara once again revived Sri Lanka after a dismal start with the bat in their crucial tri-series clash with India here Tuesday.The Sri Lankan cause wasn’t helped by three runs outs, two dreadfully unlucky, but Sangakkara’s polished 128 helped them recover from a disastrous […]

Feb 19, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan cricket selectors here Tuesday dropped Sanath Jayasuriya for the tour of the West Indies starting next month and brought back left-arm fast bowler Thilina Thushara Mirando.The full Sri Lankan squad: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Michael Vandort, Malinda Warnapura, Thilan Samaraweera, T M Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Muttiah Muralitharan, […]