latest cricket news(legendry England bowler Alec Bedser dies )

Legendary fast bowler Alec Bedser, regarded as one of the greatest English cricketers of the 20th century, has died at the age of 91 after a brief illness, reports said Monday.

Bedser passed away on Sunday in hospital southwest of London, said the BBC and the Press Association news agency.

“Alec Bedser deserves to be remembered as one of the greatest England bowlers of all time, a master of the craft of seam bowling and a true legend of the game,” said Giles Clarke, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board.

“All cricket-lovers in England and Wales will mourn his death and our deepest sympathies go to his family for their loss,” he added.

Bedser took 236 wickets in 51 test matches for England in a career which lasted from 1949 to 1960.He made his debut for England aged 28, taking 11 wickets against India.Over the following decade, Bedser spearheaded England’s attack and helped them to Ashes victory in 1953.

Before his death, he was also the last man alive to have taken the wicket of Australian legend Donald Bradman – something he managed six times, more than any other cricketer. He twice dismissed Bradman for a duck.

As part of the Surrey team along with his twin brother Eric, he helped to secure seven consecutive county championships between 1952 and 1958.“His contribution to cricket in this country as a player and an administrator was immense and he will forever be associated with Surrey’s famous County Championship winning sides of the 1950s,” said Clarke.

He played just two matches and never took a wicket before a seven-year break during World War II. But when he returned, Bedser immediately made an impression by taking over 100 wickets in his first full season at Surrey.

After retiring, he served as a national team selector for 23 years and chaired the selectors from 1969 to 1981.

The Times newspaper paid tribute to the cricketing legend, describing him as “one of the great sporting heroes of post-Second World War England.”

“He was humble, down-to-earth, unspoilt, loyal, always willing to serve,” said the paper.

latest cricket news(England hire former Aussie pacer David Saker)

Former fast bowler David Saker has followed in the footsteps of fellow Australian Troy Cooley and been appointed as England’s new fast bowling coach.


Saker, who spent six years as an assistant coach with Victoria after playing 72 first class matches for the state and neighbouring Tasmania from 1994-2003, is to replace Ottis Gibson, who has taken over as the head coach of the West Indies.

“I’ve long held ambitions of coaching at international level so the prospect of working with the England team is something I’m very much looking forward to and excited by,” the 43-year-old Saker said in an England and Wales Cricket Board statement.

“I believe I can offer the England bowlers a great deal and oversee their development at the highest level.”

Cooley was widely credited with helping England’s bowlers to a surprise Ashes victory in 2005, though he has since joined the Australian team.

England coach Andy Flower said he was looking forward to working with Saker.

“We were sorry to see Ottis Gibson leave the position but we believe we’ve found an excellent successor and look forward to David joining us in the lead up to what will be an exciting and challenging year ahead.” England host Bangladesh and Pakistan before they travel to Australia in November to defend the Ashes.

latest cricket news(Missing IPL a blessing in disguise: Afridi )

Missing the third season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is actually a blessing in disguise for Pakistan cricketers since it has allowed players to gel well as a team and prepare better for the World Twenty20 spectacle, skipper Shahid Afridi said.


The flamboyant all-rounder, who was asked to lead the national team in the West Indies, insists that he has no regrets on missing the lucrative IPL.

"No, I don’t have any regrets at all. In a way it’s a blessing in disguise for all our players that we are not playing in the IPL before the World Twenty20,” Afridi said.

“Given the problems that have besieged Pakistan cricket in recent months it is good that we’ve got time to work together as a team in the training camp. It has allowed us to settle down and focus on World Twenty20 assignment,” he added.

Afridi and several other leading Pakistan cricketers were included in the list who were put up for auction in the IPL but none of the franchises bid for any of the 11 players.

However, Afridi said the issue was now behind him and he was focused on the World T20.

“We really are not following the IPL closely. We don’t know who is playing or who is not playing because the purpose of holding this training camp has been to gel players and allow them to prepare as a team for the World Twenty20,” he added.
Afridi feels his side badly needed a break after the disastrous tour to Australia. So, missing the IPL has actually helped the team

latest cricket news(Sanath Jayasuriya set to become parliamentarian)

Veteran cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya has won a seat in Sri Lanka’s parliament, a local official said Friday.

Jayasuriya contested Thursday’s polls for President Mahinda Rajapakse’s ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and left the island a day before voting to play at an Indian tournament.

The 40-year-old batsman and political novice was given special permission to cast his ballot on Wednesday, a day ahead of the nationwide election.

Jayasuriya garnered 74,352 votes to win his seat in the southern district of Matara, an official with the local election commission told AFP.

Jayasuriya retired from Test matches in 2007 to prolong his career in the shorter forms of the game. He has been included in Sri Lanka’s squad for the World Twenty20 tournament in the Caribbean from April 30-May 16.

Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga was also a candidate in the elections, representing the opposition Democratic National Alliance. He entered politics after retiring from cricket.

With counting still in progress, it was still unclear if Ranatunga would join Jayasuriya in parliament.

latest crciket news

The family of Indian tennis player Sania Mirza denied Friday that they had moved up the date of her wedding to former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik.


The proposed marriage stirred controversy when another woman claimed she was already married to Malik.

Muslim elders brokered a divorce between the pair earlier this week, clearing the way for the wedding.

Earlier in the day, the cleric slated to perform the ceremony, Azamatullah Jafri, said the family had asked him to marry the pair Friday night, instead of April 15 as scheduled. New barricades were erected outside their home in Hyderabad to keep the media away.

But Mirza's aunt ,Hameeda Usman, denied the wedding date had been changed
''There is no function today,'' she said. ''It is scheduled to take place on April 15 according to the original program.''

County Fixtures

Essex v Hampshire at Chelmsford


Apr 9-12, 2010 (11:00 local, 10:00 GMT)

Glamorgan v Sussex at Cardiff

Apr 9-12, 2010 (11:00 local, 10:00 GMT)

Leics v Northants at Leicester

Apr 9-12, 2010 (11:00 local, 10:00 GMT)

Surrey v Derbyshire at The Oval

Apr 9-12, 2010 (11:00 local, 10:00 GMT)

Warwickshire v Yorkshire at Birmingham

Apr 9-12, 2010 (11:00 local, 10:00 GMT)

Worcs v Middlesex at Worcester

Apr 9-12, 2010 (11:00 local, 10:00 GMT)

McCullum replaces Dilshan at Sussex

Sussex have signed Brendon McCullum for the Twenty20 as a replacement for Tillakaratne Dilshan after he was declined permission to play by the Sri Lanka board.




Dilshan had been due to join Dwayne Smith as Sussex's two overseas players for the tournament that starts on June 1, but Sri Lanka have now scheduled tours to USA and Zimbabwe over the same period.



However McCullum, who hit an unbeaten 158 in the opening IPL match three years ago, is a more than decent replacement at the top of the order although is unlikely to be needed with the gloves as Sussex have three keepers - Matt Prior, Andrew Hodd and Ben Brown - on the staff.



"Brendon was always on our short list for 2010 and once New Zealand's tour to Zimbabwe was postponed we made our move," said Mark Robinson, the Sussex cricket manager. "His power at the top of the order can give us the start we need to help us defend our 2009 title success. It is a shame that Sussex supporters will not get to see Dilshan though we hope we can bring him at some point in the future."



Dave Brooks, the chief executive, added: "We are extremely grateful to New Zealand Cricket for their speedy release of Brendon. The international calendar becomes ever more congested, so we understand the difficulties that Cricket Sri Lanka had over Dilshan."

Symonds and Suman keep Deccan alive

Deccan Chargers 186 for 3 (Suman 78*, Symonds 53*) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 184 for 6 (Kallis 68, Kohli 58, Ojha 2-24) by seven wickets


It was just another day at the office for Deccan Chargers until T Suman became their first Indian domestic cricketer to perform, guiding an improbable chase and keeping his team alive in the tournament. Good start with the ball, falling apart at the end - it was a familiar script until Suman wrote new lines, scoring 78 off 57 from No 3. Andrew Symonds, who had conceded 23 in the 17th over, facilitated a 21-run 17th over during the chase en route to 53 off 24 balls, as Deccan went about scoring more than 100 in the last 10 overs.


Deccan bowled well to have Royal Challengers Bangalore at 68 for 4 in the 11th over, but seemed to have forgotten how to bowl when they went for 92 runs in the last six. Once again, during the chase, Adam Gilchrist scored a quick thirty but failed to convert it into anything substantial.

Suman, however, had been promoted to No. 3 and Deccan had reached the 11th over by the time Gilchrist's 19-ball 32 ended. Gilchrist didn't get much strike, and Suman had put his share to good use, reaching 41 off 34. It wasn't the cleanest innings: stylish hits off length balls were offset by streaky boundaries off inside edges.

In the next over Rohit Sharma fell too, leaving Deccan with 90 to get off 50 balls. The turnaround started with a thick edge from Symonds, but he followed with a four off a yorker next ball. Suman followed suit, hitting Anil Kumble for a six to bring up his fifty in the next over, and 62 off 33 didn't read much worse than from where they started.

The streaky shots from Suman had disappeared by then, and he continued with a six off Vinay Kumar in the 16th over, but the symbolic moment was yet to come. Symonds had to make good for his bowling effort, and make good he did by thumping Praveen Kumar. An edge flew over the keeper, a slower ball was deposited over midwicket, and a yorker-gone-wrong hit into the sight screen. Forty-nine from 24 balls had become 28 off 18, and from there it was only a matter of avoiding the famous Deccan choke.

Suman took the lead, hitting Dale Steyn for four after he seemed to have found a good yorker rhythm. Symonds upset Kallis' rhythm when he missed the yorker by about a foot, and finished the game by hitting Vinay for a six and a four off the first two balls of the last over.
It should never have been that big a chase for Deccan. They had Bangalore struggling, but let them double their 14-over score, vindicating their reputation as the worst bowling side at the death, taking their tournament economy-rate in last six overs to 11.44 an over. Next-worst is 9.89.
Despite little support from Harmeet Singh, RP Singh and Mitchell Marsh, Ryan Harris had managed to keep Bangalore down to 46 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay. Harris went for just five in two of those overs. Ojha and Symonds followed Harris' good work with three wickets in three overs, including the massive ones of Robin Uthappa and Ross Taylor.
In the last six overs, though, Jacques Kallis and Virat Kohli went berserk in the absence of yorkers and abundance of length balls and hit six sixes and eight fours in the last six overs, as opposed to two sixes and seven fours in the first 14. Kallis reiterated his importance in the line-up with his sixth fifty of the tournament, and Kohli showed he could dabble in the power-hitting business too, going from 12 off 18 to 58 off 35. One of his sixes hit the roof at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, but by the end of the night their semi-final prospects - almost a certainty before the match started - had taken a hit.