Friday, February 19, 2010

Sehwag No. 1 Test rank

Sehwag has moved top of the ICC Test rankings

Sehwag now has 863 rating points his opening partner Gautam from the number one rank. Sehwag a quickfire 165 in the first innings of the Kolkata.


Sehwag had other impressive scores of late, inclduing the near triple century against Sri Lanka.


Gambhir's poor run has fallen to the fifth spot.

South Africa's Hashim played magnificently throughout the series with three centuries, including a double hundred, Zaheer is top ranked Indian bowlers at sixth while off spinner Harbhajan was instrumental in India winning the Kolkata Test with a five-wicket haul in South Africa's second innings.

Biography of Shoaib Malik and Paul Collingwood

Shoaib Malik
Pakistan

Full name Shoaib Malik
Born February 1, 1982, Sialkot, Punjab
Current age 28 years 18 days
Major teams Pakistan, Asia XI, Delhi Daredevils, Gloucestershire, Gujranwala Cricket
Association, Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan Reserves, Sialkot Cricket
Association, Sialkot Stallions
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Relation Brother - Adeel Malik






















Shoaib Malik swings freely on the way to 58


Paul Collingwood
England


Full name Paul David Collingwood
Born May 26, 1976, Shotley Bridge, Co Durham
Current age 33 years 269 days
Major teams England, Delhi Daredevils, Durham
Nickname Colly
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Height 5 ft 11 in
Education Blackfyne Comprehensive School

















Captains Paul Collingwood and Shoaib Malik pose with the series trophy on the eve of the first Twenty20 international

Pakistan vs England Match scheduled

Pakistan vs England

Match scheduled to begin at 18:00 local time (14:00 GMT)
Current time: 17:27 local, 13:27 GMT

Pakistan squad
Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Fawad Alam, Imran Farhat, Imran Nazir, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Arafat

Captains Paul Collingwood and Shoaib Malik pose with the series trophy on the eve of the first Twenty20 international

England squad

PD Collingwood, TT Bresnan, SCJ Broad, AN Cook, JL Denly, EJG Morgan, KP Pietersen, LE Plunkett, MJ Prior†, A Shahzad, RJ Sidebottom, GP Swann, JC Tredwell, IJL Trott, LJ Wright















Stuart Broad and Paul Collingwood have a chat during a practice session in Dubai

Pakistan vs England 2009 10

Umar Akmal has the bold approach to perfectly suit the Twenty20 generation


The tentacles of Twenty20 cricket wrap ever more firmly around the world game, Pakistan meet England in a hastily arranged two match series that will show just where the two sides lie ahead of the World Twenty20 which starts at the end of April in the Caribbean.

The back of success in the 50 over series against South Africa, there are flickering signs that England's new gung ho approach to the shorter format can bear fruit. Yet their batting has depth, it lacks the match winning class of someone like Yuvraj Singh in this format. Kevin Pietersen possesses an ability that can inspire and frustrate in equal measure and in Eoin Morgan they have one of the brightest prospects in limited-overs cricket.

It's their bowling that looks more vulnerable, lacking decisive pace for the slower wickets in Dubai. You feel Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, Tim Bresnan and Luke Wright may lack the variety and bite to threaten a free-hitting Pakistan team. It's the spinners, who have proved crucial in Twenty20 cricket and Graeme Swann is one of the best in the business.

Pakistan desperately need a positive result from these games after their drubbing in Australia. With the World Twenty20 just over two months away, the repercussions of the disastrous Australian tour are still being felt. Kamran Akmal, vice-captain in Australia, has been dropped, and his comments to the press ahead of the Hobart Test are being investigated by a board evaluation committee.

There is a great deal of work to do if Pakistan are to successfully defend their World Twenty20 title in the West Indies, and though their form in this format has been good in recent times, these games provide a vital chance to build stability and find some confidence ahead of the tournament. Much will depend on how quickly the squad can get past the squabbles which arose in Australia, and gel as a unit.

Australia v West Indies, 5th ODI, Melbourne

Australia 5 for 324 beat West Indies 199 by 125 runs

Australia bask in their 4-0 win over West Indies

In the summer of one-day wins Australia saved one of their victories for last. Ricky Ponting, James Hopes and Shane Watson set up a daunting 5 for 324, Doug Bollinger continued his torment of Chris Gayle and the West Indies top order crumbled again to leave the crowd in no doubt about the approaching result less than five overs in to the chase.

Ricky Ponting with the ODI series trophy

The 125 run triumph maintained Australia's chances of going through the summer undefeated in all forms of the game, with two Twenty20s against West Indies all that remain. Already they have equalled their effort of 2000-01, the only other home season when they did not lose a Test or ODI. Back then the team boasted Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh, and faced West Indies and Zimbabwe.

The developing Australia of this summer will be extra pleased with their record, although their opponents Pakistan and West Indies have been weak. Here West Indies dropped five catches and for the third time in the series they were three down by the end of the fifth over. Little wonder that at the end of a string of such one sided contests, only 15,538 fans turned up the fewest ever for an ODI between the two teams at the MCG.

Dwayne Smith cracks one square during his attacking innings

Two deliveries later Watson tried to work a Sammy full toss into the same region and was taken at deep midwicket for 51. Haddin was the quieter partner but still struck two sixes in his 42-ball 32 before he played on trying to pull Pollard. Watson in particular butchered the bowling and he brought up his half-century from 49 balls with perhaps the best of his three sixes, a searing pull over wide midwicket off Sammy.


Michael Clarke and Ponting calmly compiled a 104-run stand that included a couple of sixes but mostly consisted of push-and-run play with the field back. Ponting fell on 61 from 55 balls when he tried to glide Pollard through the vacant cordon and managed only to find the wicketkeeper's gloves. Clarke's 58-ball 47 ended when he miscued a pull off Rampaul and skied a catch to mid-on, where Deonarine barely clasped the chance.

James Hopes provided some highlights a 24-ball half-century

Deonarine had already dropped Ponting on 47 at square leg when the batsman's sweep off Nikita Miller stayed a bit low. Ponting was given another life on 55 when Hinds' throw missed with Ponting a long way out of his ground. Haddin also enjoyed two breaks. On 7, Dowlin dropped a sitter at second slip before two balls later the bowler Smith couldn't quite hold on to a flat-batted smash back at him. Watson was also grassed on 29 when he flicked Smith to short fine-leg, where Rampaul missed a chance he should have taken.

Gayle predicted at the start of the series that West Indies would beat Australia 4-1; they lost 4-0. But they did win the tosses 4-1. It all combined to mean another easy win for Australia.
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