England Vs Sri Lanka : Lords , England

England tamed by Atapattu and Jayawardene
Stephen Lamb - 16 May 2002

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Sri Lanka confounded their detractors by establishing a commanding position at Lord's on the opening day of their three-match Test series against England. Under bright spring sunshine and on a wicket which played more truly than had been expected so early in the season, the tourists fully justified the decision of their captain, Sanath Jayasuriya, to bat first on winning the toss. At the close Sri Lanka were 314 for three, with both Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene reaching centuries.

As expected, England omitted Alex Tudor from their final eleven, including Dominic Cork, who is listed at number nine in a team that is well stocked with batting. Sri Lanka opted for an all-seam attack, including Charitha Buddika in the final eleven rather than their off-spinning all-rounder, Thilan Samaraweera.

Andy Caddick and Matthew Hoggard shared the new ball for England, and Jayasuriya announced himself in the second over with a cover-driven boundary off Hoggard. Two consecutive fours followed in the sixth over as Hoggard dropped short, first off a thickish edge to third man, then through cover point. It took a run out to split the opening pair, after Jayasuriya was desperately close to lbw in Caddick's fourth over. He pushed Hoggard behind square on the off side and called for a tight second. Michael Vaughan's excellent throw found him just a couple of inches short of his ground.

Caddick made way for Cork at the nursery end after 10 overs, and he had a confident lbw appeal against Atapattu turned down. At the other end Hoggard made England's second breakthrough as Sangakkara edged a lifting delivery to second slip, where Flintoff took a straightforward catch.

It was to be England's last breakthrough until midway through the final session. Mahela Jayawardene got off the mark with a streaky boundary off Hoggard, following up with a more convincing clip through mid-wicket as the Yorkshireman strayed fractionally to leg. Atapattu combined watchful defence with attack, and Sri Lanka's hundred came up at a healthy rate, off 153 balls in the 25th over, swiftly followed by the 50 partnership.

England were within a camera frame of breaking through in the first over after lunch. Atapattu called for a sharp single as Jayawardene pushed Hoggard wide of gully, from where Vaughan pounced, turned and threw down the stumps. The third umpire, Jeremy Lloyds, ruled in the batsman's favour after none of the TV replays was quite conclusive. Atapattu reached his half-century in fortuitous circumstances, edging Cork along the ground to second slip where Flintoff couldn't stop the ball cleanly. Jayawardene continued to flourish, striking Flintoff for two sumptuous strokes either side of the wicket, the first of which brought up his 50.

Jayawardene called for a runner after he was hit on the hip by Flintoff, who had switched to around the wicket to try and restrict the scoring rate. England's need for a wicket was emphasised by the introduction of Mark Butcher, whom Atapattu took for three boundaries from the last over before tea. Shortly after the interval Atapattu hooked Hoggard to the long-leg boundary to reach his century (177 balls, 13 fours). It was the fourth hundred scored by a Sri Lankan batsman in a Lord's Test.

Jayawardene promptly reached the fifth, square-cutting a loosener through cover point on Flintoff's return. By now Michael Vaughan was bowling his off-spin and being pulled disdainfully through mid-wicket by Jayawardene, to post the 200 partnership. Hussain must have been yearning for the absent Ashley Giles. The carnival ended rather tamely, when Jayawardene clipped Flintoff to short mid-wicket, where Trescothick held a straightforward catch. Jayawardene had made 107 (168 balls, 17 fours).

The breakthrough meant an immediate recall for Caddick, whom the new batsman, Arivinda de Silva drove through extra cover for his first boundary. As Vaughan switched to the nursery end, containment was once again the aim as Atapattu and de Silva moved sedately forward. When Caddick made way for Cork, an upper cut to the third man boundary by de Silva resulted. England took the new ball after 83 overs, and Cork was summarily dispatched through extra cover by Atapattu. Hoggard and Flintoff returned for a spirited but unavailing final burst, and there is much work still to be done by England's bowlers tomorrow

West Indies sound like they're playing good cricket at the moment, and Australia got team of the year :).

I might be an aussie, but I have to admit my favourite cricket team is the west indies :D

i think the question needs to be asked ... with the amount of awesome players pakistan have had over the years why have they never fulfilled their potential ? corruption me thinks

yeah maddog u could be close there.
Also grassy, u didnt really make it clear what exactly Australia got.
For those of u who dont know, at Sports equivalent to the oscars, the Australian Cricket team won World Sport Team of the year. Ahead of the LA Lakers, and the Ferrari F1 team.
yes, Australia are just too good at Cricket. its no fun anymore.
Also Grassy, how could u possibly like someone other then ur home country! TRAITOR!!! :)
I cant understand how people do that! U can go for them as ur second team, but as ur favourite! Also West Indies arent as good as they were in the 80's and Early 90's. But then again Australia now are better then West Indies were then imho.
Grassy the worst thing is, that the Australian Cricket team is our nations pride and joy, people say John Howards job is the second most important in Australia, behind the test captaincy...
hmmm anyway im over it.
Cheers
sKIp_E

so, I just like the team . . . I admired Richie Richardson, Brian Lara etc . . . .

I just hate seeing australia win all the time, its boring as hell . . .

Corruption is the main thing in India & Pakistan which impedes the potential of these cricketing countries ...though i live in india but if asked to any indian which is his fav. team , many would say pakistan (including me ) coz' nevermind the corruption , pakistanis have a do or die attitude which is lacking in our team (India ) and thats why guys like abdur razzaq , wasim akram , waqar younis (pak captain ) are among my favourites but on the top spot is the dogged steven waugh who really is a gutsy cricketer...

but i hope that india beat west indies in Jamaica and win the series coz' its been a long time since we won abroad ....

news update :
england in dire straits , sri lanka 468/4

Originally posted by Dhruv
but i hope that india beat west indies in Jamaica and win the series coz' its been a long time since we won abroad ....

news update :
england in dire straits , sri lanka 468/4

england are getting thraashed :D

i think pakistan have a do o die attitude too but their are so many things that smell fishy when they play; world cup final when we bowled them out for 120ish and a couple of games in Aus where they were in winning positions and then capitulated ...

hey dhruv i thought (probably narrowmindedly) that indians and pakis hated each other ...

Originally posted by maddog1983


hey dhruv i thought (probably narrowmindedly) that indians and pakis hated each other ...

I'm atleast one who doesn't hate them , But i cannot forget the terror they(pakistani militants) have put in Kashmir ....and the killings of innocent people is not at all justified.

Kashmir used to be one of the most beautiful places in the WORLD ! now its the most less wanted places ...i hope that in the coming years the kashmir issue gets resolved and india could go to pak to play test matches....

i agree that the world cup match which they lost to bangladesh was fixed but i'm not sure about the aussie tour .

Originally posted by sKIp_E
\
yes, Australia are just too good at Cricket. its no fun anymore.
sKIp_E

Who knocked u guys out of the Tri series in 2001 by going unbeaten against u???????

NZ :D

Originally posted by Dhruv
Corruption is the main thing in India & Pakistan which impedes the potential of these cricketing countries ...though i live in india but if asked to any indian which is his fav. team , many would say pakistan (including me ) coz' nevermind the corruption , pakistanis have a do or die attitude which is lacking in our team (India ) and thats why guys like abdur razzaq , wasim akram , waqar younis (pak captain ) are among my favourites but on the top spot is the dogged steven waugh who really is a gutsy cricketer...

yeah pity steve and mark waugh have both lost it now, it seems with age...
Steve was always just so determined to NOT get out. Mark on the other hand, was just so naturally gifted, If he had half the will of stevem i think he would have went down as one of the all time greats. In form, no better batsmen to watch then mark waugh was, although now gilchrist is coming close.

Who knocked u guys out of the Tri series in 2001 by going unbeaten against u???????
:D

hmmm, just wondering, what are the major tropheys the kiwis have in there cabinet?
yeah we did play bad against u guys, i admit as much, u had us in some area...We shoulda made the final though, and u didnt go unbeaten against us, we won one game against u, and u won 1 against South Africa. All teams were on even wins at the end of it It pisses me off when South Africa say they didnt care who they played in the final match, yet in there last match against Australia, rather then playing for the win, which was most likely out of reach, they played to defy Australia the bonus point which would have taken them thru. Just cos they knew they could beat the kiwis in the final, and not the aussies. So im afraid, South Africa are why we didnt go thru :p
Australia did play bad at the start of that comp, but near the end, we were easily the best team in it...we just ran out of games...
Cheers
sKIp_E

Originally posted by sKIp_E


hmmm, just wondering, what are the major tropheys the kiwis have in there cabinet?
sKIp_E

True, none :mad:

Kiwis are good team , they always manage to get to the knock out stages of the worldcup , be it 96 or 99 world cup.


Now i think aussies won't be on top for long now coz' of the new guys like Jimmy Maher , shane watson etc...
The team to watch out for are England , Nasser has done a good job with them unlike beckham has done with football team ,

I can't wait to see India's tour of England ....it reminds of the two guys who made their debut on last tour , saurav ganguly and rahul dravid , now saurav is the captain and dravid is the vice captain of india

Originally posted by Dhruv
Kiwis are good team , they always manage to get to the knock out stages of the worldcup , be it 96 or 99 world cup.


Now i think aussies won't be on top for long now coz' of the new guys like Jimmy Maher , shane watson etc...
The team to watch out for are England , Nasser has done a good job with them unlike beckham has done with football team ,

I can't wait to see India's tour of England ....it reminds of the two guys who made their debut on last tour , saurav ganguly and rahul dravid , now saurav is the captain and dravid is the vice captain of india

Yes, Nasser is an awesome captain. I went to the England-NZ ODI here in wellington, and two of the test days here, and england are a very good team. Nasser is a very good captain, and the Barmy Army is the best ever!

Every people in India are really crazy in Cricket and all the stuffs...........i wonder Why:rolleyes:

wont be on top long?
the only people wholl retire in the next couple if years, are the waughs, and maybe warne.
Meanwhile, well still have Hayden, Martyn, Gilchrist (who all average over 50 in tests cricket), Langer (who averages unbelievable high opening with Hayden), Ponting (who averages well over 40, and is still young, and most likely our next captain).
Bowlers: McGrath (best fast bowler in the world), Gillespie (one of the best genuine pace bowlers in the world, averages about 22 with the ball in tests), Lee (when in form-which he seems to be getting back to now- an awesome bowler, averages somewhere under 25 with the ball, and is one of the 2 quickest, PLUS can also bat well when needed). MacGill will still be around as a test bowler for a couple of years after warnes gone probably, and he averages about 23, how many countries can say their backup spinner averages that?
Heaps of people are saying we're going to be in trouble, because everyone wil retire at once, but really, I think thats what the ACB are dealing with now...by bringing young cricketers into the squad (Hauritz and Watson)
Cheers
sKIp_E

i agree and plus look at how many excellent young players are coming through

watson , hauritz, Katich (arrrghh), Hussey, but we dont have the best bowling stocks ...

Originally posted by crackerz
Every people in India are really crazy in Cricket and all the stuffs...........i wonder Why:rolleyes:

its because the cricket coverage in india is like HUGE ! , all the sports channel like to cover each and every test match whethger india is playing in it or not.It seems really hard to beleive that Hockey is he National game of india .
Soccer fever has started recently in india (not for me ) coz' of the EPL coverage on ESPN and star sports and many programs like Here WE go ! which help in building up to matches providing info. to a relatively new soccer user.

Most of the Northern , Western and Southern parts of India have cricket crazy people but the Eastern part has quite a lot of football fans .

Recently coach of an indian club : Mohun Bagan was awarded the AFC coach of the month award for the month of April.
great news considering when even a single club hasn't taken any part in a big event , its good to see that AFC are watching quality players and coaches.


As Far as aussie player recruitment is concerned , they are way ahead coz' they have a well defined Domestic League System likewise England , but in India our level of domesic cricket is so poor that the player selected would never match the international standards and this problem needs to be rectified from the grass -root level , then only some improvemet will take place.

Originally posted by Dhruv


its because the cricket coverage in india is like HUGE ! , all the sports channel like to cover each and every test match whethger india is playing in it or not.It seems really hard to beleive that Hockey is he National game of india .
Soccer fever has started recently in india (not for me ) coz' of the EPL coverage on ESPN and star sports and many programs like Here WE go ! which help in building up to matches providing info. to a relatively new soccer user.

Most of the Northern , Western and Southern parts of India have cricket crazy people but the Eastern part has quite a lot of football fans .

Recently coach of an indian club : Mohun Bagan was awarded the AFC coach of the month award for the month of April.
great news considering when even a single club hasn't taken any part in a big event , its good to see that AFC are watching quality players and coaches.


As Far as aussie player recruitment is concerned , they are way ahead coz' they have a well defined Domestic League System likewise England , but in India our level of domesic cricket is so poor that the player selected would never match the international standards and this problem needs to be rectified from the grass -root level , then only some improvemet will take place.

OH IC,
thanx 4 the info

ur welcome:)

your spot on Dhruv about grassroots development thats what i think australia can attribute a long duration at the top not meaning to be disrespectfull but i would imagine the facilities wouldnt be of the highest standards ? hey do you play dhruv .. cricket that is ?

Originally posted by maddog1983
i agree and plus look at how many excellent young players are coming through

watson , hauritz, Katich (arrrghh), Hussey, but we dont have the best bowling stocks ...

yeah the problem is katich and hussey really arent that young. They are past mid 20's, and this is what i was saying about everyone retiring at once.
See once the current players retire, whats the point of replacing them with players only a couple of years younger.
I really think ur under rating our bowling stocks though.
Lee is very young, then Brad Williams isnt that old. Hauritz of course is a bowler, and Watson is one of the first genuine allrounders we've had in a long time.
Anyway thats all
Cheers
sKIp_E

this thread is awesome. Should be round for awhile :mrpimp:

Who is ur fave cricketer???

Mine is brett lee :)

I used to like Mark Waugh.
But now, probably Damien Martyn.
-sKIp_E

My favourite cricketer's are Richie Richardson and Curtley Ambrose

man them too were good in their prime

Originally posted by maddog1983
your spot on Dhruv about grassroots development thats what i think australia can attribute a long duration at the top not meaning to be disrespectfull but i would imagine the facilities wouldnt be of the highest standards ? hey do you play dhruv .. cricket that is ?

yup i used to play a lot of cricket , we used to have our own entry-matches (for those who don't know ) ....a team of 11 guys would challenge another team and each of 22 players contributed 20 RS. and the team which won got double the amount and this way , we got some money...;)
It was a really wired incident that changed my interest from cricket to football ....we have a university near my house and i along with my friend sometimes went to jog or run coz' they had a really well-dveloped track and once we were watching some guys play football and they asked us to join , since then i became a regular and i started liking football alot.

my favourite cricketer is ....hmmmm....currently Rahul Dravid but in the all time list Sir Viv Richards

my favourite cricketer is Justin Langer very closely followed by Adam Gilcrist !

i used to play cricket... i still do actually just cos its getting into winter i've stopped but i bowl medium pace normally first change, bat about 6 or 7 or sometimes open if we play a really good team because most of the guys i play in the same team as want me to cop all the fast bowling and then they'll come in when the bowlers are tired :rolleyes: but yeah what about everyone else ?

well last year, i played for the school team. We won the zone competition, then won the lower north island competition, so we got to go to play in the NZ semi finals, but we lost, so we got fourth in NZ last year. This year i dont play club cricket, but my school team got knocked out first round!

West Indies scent victory at the end of fourth day
Anand Vasu - 21 May 2002


At the end of the fourth day, West Indies have all but won the final Test and sealed the series 2-1. Chasing 408, India are 237/7, with every recognised batsman back in the pavilion. It really, is all over for the visitors. The last rites will be played out when the new ball is taken, early on the final day.

One of the key members in crafting Windies' strong position is Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Top scoring with 59 he took his series tally to 562 runs at an average of over 140 and West Indies to 197.

In the face of a daunting 408, India lost wickets at regular intervals.

Wasim Jaffer was the first to go, flicking hard at Pedro Collins. The ball was pitched on middle and leg stump and cramped the batsman for room. Jaffer made good contact, sending the ball straight at forward short leg. Wavell Hinds, who has showed superb reflexes, hanging on to the sharp chance. Collins had struck in his very first over, pegging India back to 19/1.

In his next over, Collins struck again. Playing across the line to a full delivery, Das was struck on the pad. A loud shout for lbw resulted and umpire Tiffin raised the dreaded finger. Television replays however, suggested that the ball pitched outside the leg stump. Das (10) will consider himself unlucky.

Then came a period of play that raised Indian spirits. Rahul Dravid, coming out to the middle with little on the board began positively. Taking Collins for three boundaries one over, Dravid began to defy the West Indian bowlers.

The hopes of a nation ride on Sachin Tendulkar. While fans have ample respect for Dravid and Ganguly, the rush of blood and the irrational belief that no task is too difficult is inspired by Tendulkar alone.

Adam Sanford, bowling pretty much all over the place was the man responsible for Dravid's wicket. Amidst the half-volleys outside the off stump and the leg-side half-trackers Sanford produced one perfectly pitched delivery. Just short of a good length and on the stumps, with the ball coming in a touch and keeping low, Dravid (30) could not bring the bat down before the ball crashed into the pads. Plumb in front and India were 77/3.

Things could have gone either way at that stage. Ganguly was new to the wicket and Tendulkar was not yet at the top of his game.

They did, however go only one way – India's. Getting into a rhythm we have seen little of this series, Tendulkar unleashed an array of powerful strokes that caused bowlers' shoulders to droop. Precision square cuts piercing the gaps perfectly, vicious pulls scorching the turf and of course the tidy straight drives that give fielders no chance were all on display.

When tea was taken, India's position was shaky at 166/3 and yet a sliver of hope remained.

A complete reversal of fortunes right after tea saw West Indies regain their stranglehold on this game while India's hopes were summarily dismissed. Pedro Collins clean bowled Tendulkar, Sanford scalped Ganguly and India were reduced to 176/5. By the end of the day India were on the verge of defeat at 237/7.

Keeping the ball right up at a driving length and allowing to swing, or seam off the wicket, Collins reaped rich rewards. Going around the wicket to the right handers, Collins created a nagging angle. Coming in with the arm an often straightening after pitching, the ball evaded the middle of the bat.

Once such delivery kept a shade low and evaded the bat altogether. Not quite in position, neither fully back nor forward, Tendulkar got himself into a bit of a tangle as the ball slipped through before he could bring his bat down. Tendulkar had played brilliantly, dominating the bowling, but as it is with this great game, it took just one ball to undo the hard work. Tendulkar's 86 was studded with 13 boundaries.

The wicket of Tendulkar signaled the beginning of the end for India. Pulling a Sanford delivery that hurried onto him, Ganguly (28) only managed to find Ramnaresh Sarwan at square leg.

Laxman was the next casualty. After playing some trademark drives that reached the fence with ease, he miscued a pull shot towards square leg and Merv Dillon back-peddled quickly, kept his eyes on the ball and took a good catch. Laxman's dismissal after he made 23 had opened up the Indian tail to the Windies.

Harbhajan Singh batted steadily for a 17 but could not resist having a go at the gentle offspin of Chris Gayle and only managed to find Cuffy at mid on.

Ajay Ratra batting on 16 and Zaheer Khan on 4 were at the crease when bad light stopped play. India are 237/7 and the final day's play is but a formality. Unless of course it rains and rains and rains.


thats just about the worse news i have had all day , a win for west indies ! c'mon Ratra ...save us

why do we just loose our stepping on the final point . Again India lost away from home and another chance went begging for an overseas win ....damn...i'm really dissappointed:(

could be moral . . .

however well done to the west indies . . . YaY! :)

whatvever it is , i just want west indies to lose and lose by a big big margin in the one days

Originally posted by Dhruv
whatvever it is , i just want west indies to lose and lose by a big big margin in the one days

you should be right their the windies cant play one dayers to save their lives

Originally posted by maddog1983


you should be right their the windies cant play one dayers to save their lives

they used to be good in the one-dayer's

i used to live in jamaica, so i went to games regularly, now i live in atlanta and i dont get much cricket. so me and my dad flew to jamaica to see the two one dayers gainst india, but the f*cking rain screwed us ova. we had to take an early flight out and got back here in the afternoon. really disappointing.
pradyut

one of my cousins studying in Texas also went to see the match but rain screwed everything ....

What cricket matches have u been to in the past?

I have been to:

All wellington firebirds tests/ODI's in 2001/2002. Basin Reserve
Black Caps v Sri Lanka 2001 ODI [/COLOR] WestPacTrust Stadium Wellington
Black Caps v Pakistan 2001 ODI [/COLOR] WestPacTrust Stadium Wellington
Black Caps v Bangleadesh Boxing Day Test 2002 Basin Reserve
Black Caps v England 2002 ODI [/COLOR] WestPacTrust Stadium Wellington
Black Caps v England 2002 Test Basin Reserve

Originally posted by Grassy56


they used to be good in the one-dayer's

The West Indies have always been a better test team then one day team. They have been One Day World Champs, and have been a good one day team previousley, but, they have always been better at tests. I'd like to know what u mean by used to be, because really they havent been for quite a while...They are just another team really..

Originally posted by Grassy56
My favourite cricketer's are Richie Richardson and Curtley Ambrose

man them too were good in their prime

hmmm, i agree that curltey was awesome, but richie richardson was never a world beater. He was a good batsmen, and a good leader, but was never great at either...Sir Viv Richards on the other hand was great...

Originally posted by g-14
What cricket matches have u been to in the past?

I have been to:

All wellington firebirds tests/ODI's in 2001/2002. Basin Reserve
Black Caps v Sri Lanka 2001 ODI [/COLOR] WestPacTrust Stadium Wellington
Black Caps v Pakistan 2001 ODI [/COLOR] WestPacTrust Stadium Wellington
Black Caps v Bangleadesh Boxing Day Test 2002 Basin Reserve
Black Caps v England 2002 ODI [/COLOR] WestPacTrust Stadium Wellington
Black Caps v England 2002 Test Basin Reserve

Too many to name, dude.

But they include:

Every Boxing Day Test since 1993 (excluding last year when I was o/s, I stayed up all night for 5 days to follow it on baggygreen.com.au)

Many many ODIs, my fave being when we beat the sheepshaggers and we nearly got kicked out of the G, best day ever..

Also England vs Sth Africa World Cup 92, my first ever ODI. I was seven and got the day off school to go with my grandpa from England and my English dad. I absolutely loved it.

Too many MM and Sheffield Shield matches to mention.

i haven't been to any matches ....No its not got anything to do with laziness...but the nearest stadium where international matches are held is like 1 hrs drive and even before planning to go to see match , the tickets are all sold out...such is the cricket fever here...even more in Punjab....

did u hear , my state team is going to Kenya to play some matches...this is the 1st time any state is going to play agaisnt an international team....

Originally posted by Dhruv
did u hear , my state team is going to Kenya to play some matches...this is the 1st time any state is going to play agaisnt an international team....

I didnt hear, but that is quite cool. Good luck for them http://images.deviantart.com/emoticons/icon_sheep.gif

Originally posted by sKIp_E


hmmm, i agree that curltey was awesome, but richie richardson was never a world beater. He was a good batsmen, and a good leader, but was never great at either...Sir Viv Richards on the other hand was great...

Maybe so, but he was my favourite :D hehehe

Curtley was awsome . . . hehe . . batsmen were scared of him, no wonder ;)

Originally posted by Grassy56


Maybe so, but he was my favourite :D hehehe

Curtley was awsome . . . hehe . . batsmen were scared of him, no wonder ;)

I remember one time when Mark Waugh hit a Curtley Ambrose yorker for 6...I think it was the last ball of the innings or somethin..It was great! :D

Steve Waugh is definatley not afraid of him. Remember in the Windies, durint a test match steve waugh going face to face (or actually chest to face :)) with the big fellah.
funny, Curtley is really very shy, and they reckon a great bloke...fast bowlers change so much on the field.
Cheers
sKIp_E

Yeah Ambrose really took the **** of the english especially Michael Atherton , Walsh and Ambrose together in their prime were the most Dangerous , even more than Waqar Younis & Wasim Akram and more than Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald...

Latest Score

GANGULY PUTS WEST INDIES IN TO BAT
With the first two matches of this five ODI series washed out at Jamaica, the third game becomes crucial. The Kensington Oval at Barbados plays host to this clash. India will not have good memories of this venue - they were dismissed for 102 in their first innings here in a Test they went on to lose. This is, however, a completely different ball game.
For starters, the wicket is a pale shadow of its former self. Most of the grass that gave the fast bowlers something to steam in for, has been removed. There is still a bit of grass in the surface, but that will do little more than bind the soil and provide decent bounce and carry through to the keeper. The strokemakers will love that as the ball is expected to come onto the bat well.

The second major set of changes comes in the teams. At least for the visitors. There are five new faces in the Indian team - Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Ajit Agarkar, Murli Kartik and Mohammed Kaif. They all bring tremendous excitement to the side, being excellent fielders. Sehwag and Yuvraj are attacking batsmen, both score their runs at a strike rate of over 90.

For the West Indies, seamer Corey Colleymore and all-rounder Gareth Breese have been called up to the ODI squad. The core of their team however, remains the same as the one that played the Tests.

Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly's luck with the toss seems to have changed. On winning the toss here in what is effectively the first one-dayer in a three-game series, Ganguly elected to field first. In an opportunity to make use of the conditions early on, Ganguly lets West Indies take strike.

Tinu Yohannan, who has had to be content carrying the drinks so far, makes his limited overs debut.

53-3 , currently its raining :(

Originally posted by Dhruv
Yeah Ambrose really took the **** of the english especially Michael Atherton , Walsh and Ambrose together in their prime were the most Dangerous , even more than Waqar Younis & Wasim Akram and more than Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald...

Pollock Donald? nah they were never really that great at the same time. I think as far as good opening combos go it has to be ambrose walsh, akram younis, and mcgrath gillespie.
As far as scary goes, when gillespie and lee opened the bowling for aust. when mcgrath was injured, or when curtley (who was never really express pace, but the ball came from such height!) and Ian Bishop opened the bowling a few times for the windies.
Pollock doesnt really scare batsmen, hes just good, and donald hasnt been as good the last couple of years.
Cheers
sKIp_E

1st of all
I have 2 BIG News to give :
Hansie Cronje ( Former South African Captain) is NO MORE ....I post on this soon...

Subhash Gupte a former indian Spinner died.
Javagal Srinath Announced His Retirement From Test Cricket and Says he will only play one-day cricket till the world cup.

Originally posted by Dhruv
1st of all
I have 2 BIG News to give :
Hansie Cronje ( Former South African Captain) is NO MORE ....I post on this soon...

Subhash Gupte a former indian Spinner died.
Javagal Srinath Announced His Retirement From Test Cricket and Says he will only play one-day cricket till the world cup.

Yeah Cronje was one of three people on a plane that crashed into the side of a mountain in Western Cape province of South Africa. It said on the TV about an hour ago that he was killed.

Yeah, i know Hansie was a match fixer, and stuff, but i think the death of anyone of his status is sad. He would have died unhappy, and knowing that the world looked down on him. He WAS a great cricketer, whether he match fixed or not..
RIP. Hansie
Cheers
sKIp_E

Former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje was killed
in a plane which crashed in the country's Western Cape
province on Saturday, the country's Sports Ministry said.

"He (Cronje) was killed. We can confirm that," Graham
Abrahams, a spokesman for the Sports Ministry, told Reuters.

Cronje, 32, was banned from professional cricket for life in
October 2000 for his role in a match-fixing scandal.

He was banned after admitting he had accepted around
$130,000 from bookmakers to influence the course of matches.

The disgraced cricketer's brother Frans Cronje earlier told
Reuters the plane had crashed in bad weather.

"Yes, it's true. It was raining and they crashed into the side of a
mountain," said Frans Cronje, who was speaking before the
Sport Ministry's statement confirming the death.

Cronje made his Test debut in 1992 against West Indies and
was appointed South African captain two years later in a home
series against New Zealand.

In 1996, he led South Africa to 1-0 home victory against
England in their first five-Test series since returning to world cricket after
apartheid.

But the star's meteoric rise came to an abrupt halt in April 2000 when Indian
police charged him with match fixing after a one-day series in March.

He told a commission investigating the allegations: "I tried to live a Christian
life and walk the way the Lord wanted me to walk...I allowed Satan and the
world to dictate terms to me."

He admitted accepting about $130,000 from bookmakers over a four-year
period but denied ever throwing a match.

besides the match fixing , cronje was a great cricketer.he's one of the best captains of all time.it was under his reign that south africa was a super power in both forms of cricket.i especially liked the way he used to sweep the fast bowlers ......... yes sweep .i think he's one of the best sweepers of all time.

greatest sweeper...hmmmmm....i would Jonty Rhodes was a bit better than anyone else in the SA team and certainly Andy Flower of Zimbabwe is one hell of a sweeper also.

Originally posted by Dhruv
greatest sweeper...hmmmmm....i would Jonty Rhodes was a bit better than anyone else in the SA team and certainly Andy Flower of Zimbabwe is one hell of a sweeper also.

yes , i think.....andy flower is the best sweeper of all time.by the way dhruv , i said ONE OF THE BEST sweepers of all time.

Cronje ! :mambo:
no way ...i think jonty is the best sweepers of all time...but then everything cannot be agreed upon...

what do you think of craig mc milan ?

Originally posted by Dhruv
what do you think of craig mc milan ?

hes a good man. ive seen him play heaps. He is so awesome at bowling when on form. He ripped pakistan apart last year :)

oh brother

heres the score update again from yesterdays match between eng vs Sri Lanka


Only 117 minutes of play were possible at Old Trafford on the second day of this Test, but that was long enough for England to consolidate their position by moving the score along to 377 for six when sepulchral gloom enshrouded the ground as a precursor to a deluge of Biblical proportions. Alec Stewart was on 57, while Mark Butcher's innings of 123 was cut short by an lbw decision and Andrew Flintoff was run out backing up at the bowler's end when a Stewart drive was deflected onto the wicket.

Play did not get under way until two o'clock because of heavy overnight rain that persisted well past the scheduled start time. In fact, it was still drizzling when the players took to the field with England resuming on 273 for four. The outfield was slower than on the first day because of all the rain, and there was a suspicion that Butcher was not timing the ball quite as well as he had on the previous day.

There was no problem with the stroke that brought up his fifth Test century. He clipped Chaminda Vaas down to fine leg for his 14th boundary and immediately began his celebrations. Having got another century at Lord's and 94 at Edgbaston, this just confirmed that his innings of a lifetime against Australia at Headingley last year was by no means a fluke and he can now expect to score consistently at this level.

After an hour's play, more rain sent the players off again and when they returned at 4.40, Butcher's excellent innings was ended by a second lbw appeal in consecutive balls. The first impression was that the ball from Vaas was too high, and later television analysis showed that it was missing leg stump as well as being too high. Umpire Dave Orchard did not see it that way and Butcher became the 199th victim for the Sri Lankan bowler in Tests.

The Old Trafford crowd warmed to the prospect of seeing Flintoff batting on his home ground with 354 on the board. However, he had no chance to reward their optimism when backing up at the non-striker's end. A drive from Stewart was deflected onto the stumps and Flintoff could only look ruefully towards the sky.

As he did so, he would have seen the gathering storm clouds, but there was time for Stewart to complete his fifty with a glance off the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan that, in itself, would have given him great pleasure. It was his eighth four, while the ninth – swept high towards mid-wicket – came from the very next ball which was only the 62nd he faced.

The loss of time and England's dominance of what play there has been in this Test has done nothing to suggest that Sri Lanka are likely to win this match and square the series. On the evidence of some of the fielding on view and their general demeanour, it appears that is the way they read it as well.

England 1st innings R M B 4 6
ME Trescothick c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 81 216 152 14 0
MP Vaughan c Vaas b Fernando 36 74 44 5 0
MA Butcher lbw b Vaas 123 313 226 18 0
*N Hussain c Muralitharan b Fernando 16 30 24 3 0
GP Thorpe c Sangakkara b Upashantha 32 56 47 6 0
+AJ Stewart not out 57 130 79 9 0
A Flintoff run out (Vaas) 1 14 8 0 0
AJ Tudor not out 6 31 31 1 0
Extras (b 5, lb 8, nb 12) 25
Total (6 wickets, 100 overs, 435 mins) 377

To Bat: AF Giles, AR Caddick, MJ Hoggard.

FoW: 1-66 (Vaughan, 14.1 ov), 2-192 (Trescothick, 49.2 ov),
3-219 (Hussain, 56.3 ov), 4-262 (Thorpe, 69.5 ov),
5-354 (Butcher, 86.5 ov), 6-361 (Flintoff, 90.3 ov).

Bowling O M R W
Vaas 28 7 73 1 (2nb)
Upashantha 8 0 65 1 (9nb)
Fernando 23 2 118 2
Muralitharan 39 12 103 1
de Silva 2 0 5 0



Pak vs Aus
Live Scorecards from CricInfo - www.cricinfo.com
ODI # 1844
Pakistan in Australia, 2002, 2nd One-Day International
Australia v Pakistan
Colonial Stadium, Melbourne (day/night)
15 June 2002 (50-over match)

Result:
Series:

Toss: Australia
Umpires: DB Hair and RB Tiffin (Zim)
TV Umpire: SJA Taufel
Match Referee: CH Lloyd (WI)
Man of the Match:



Australia innings (50 overs maximum) R M B 4 6
+AC Gilchrist c Rashid Latif b Wasim Akram 0 1 1 0 0
JP Maher c Rashid Latif b Wasim Akram 12 42 25 1 0
*RT Ponting c & b Wasim Akram 0 1 2 0 0
DR Martyn c Imran Nazir b Shahid Afridi 56 87 3 1
DS Lehmann c Rashid Latif b Azhar Mahmood 31 77 58 3 0
MG Bevan not out 11 22 1 0
SR Watson not out 1 4 0 0
Extras (lb 1, w 3, nb 7) 11
Total (5 wickets, 32 overs) 122

To Bat: B Lee, SK Warne, AJ Bichel, GD McGrath.

FoW: 1-0 (Gilchrist, 0.1 ov), 2-0 (Ponting, 0.3 ov),
3-23 (Maher, 8.4 ov), 4-89 (Lehmann, 22.5 ov),
5-121 (Martyn, 31.2 ov).

Bowling O M R W
Wasim Akram 6 1 13 3 (1nb, 1w)
Waqar Younis 7 1 24 0
Azhar Mahmood 10 0 51 1 (6nb, 1w)
Shoaib Akhtar 6 0 23 0 (1w)
Shahid Afridi 3 0 10 1

england are on top form in the 2nd test . they scored 512 and sri lanka again have a follow on (they were all out in 253 !!).

i am tensed of what will happen to india in the test series(not the odi 's cos they r surely gonna win) .

well caddick is having a calf injury , gough has been out for a while so that might be the brighter side for india.
but fact is that if they couldn't play merv dillon and co. in west indies , how the hell are they gonna play dominic cork and alex tudor ( may be ) on pitches which assist bowlers and are more bouncier than w.i.:rolleyes:

but i think dhruv , we have great bowlers especially ajit agarkar who can really swing the bowl and.. is the fastest indian bowler . he has taken 8 wickets in 3 matches in the caribbean and he's in form . i dont think zaheer will prove a threat to england . nehra can but only with his swing and not pace.

oh c'mon you and i know that ajit may well swing and sometimes bowl yorkers but he's really quite expensive in the one-dayers..
zaheer khan is the best of the lot
nehra and yohannan are average....
i can expect tendulkar and sehwag and maybe ganguly to bowl there as well...

but i think that agarkar will come out good if he plays in test matches

i dont think dhruv ,zaheer is a good bowler but hopeless in batting .. (except the 3 sixes that too in 1 match). ajit though lost his batting form in aus is a very good hitter in the last 5-6 overs and a good bowler . yes he's expensive in odi's but he always takes 2-3wickets in every match.

btw , england won the 3rd test match . i think arnold played superbly but had no support . and i really enjoyed the 5 overs of the england inings. :D

i heard india are paying 4 test matches...well thats odd , i mean even they should play 5 matches

yup thats pretty wierd ... but where did u get this info ?

i heard it on sportsline:)

Well NZ beat the Windies bond got lara and heaps others out. He is very good. WHat does every1 think of Shane Bond?

i saw him in the australian tri series and he looks pretty quick...

india lost against kent . i didnt expect this from india. lost against kent , what will happen when they will play against england ....

yeah , what a bad start ?

but yesterday i watched the match between india and leicestershire and ganguly really hit them all over the park.

david lyod at one time said that " our commentary is ltd. to 4 6 and 4 coz' he's not dealing in 1's 2' and 3's "



Indians innings (50 overs maximum) R M B 4 6
*SC Ganguly c Flower b Crowe 68 57 43 12 2
V Sehwag run out 98 117 85 9 3
VVS Laxman c Adshead b Grove 15 38 31 0 0
Yuvraj Singh c Ward b Flower 1 4 7 0 0
M Kaif c Maddy b Grove 52 82 65 4 0
D Mongia c Wright b Stevens 8 29 24 0 0
AB Agarkar c Stevens b Whiley 21 32 29 1 0
+A Ratra not out 8 13 8 0 0
Harbhajan Singh not out 8 8 9 0 0
Extras (b 5, lb 13, w 17, nb 1) 36
Total (7 wickets, 50 overs) 315

DNB: A Nehra, T Yohannan.

FoW: 1-132 (Ganguly), 2-187 (Laxman), 3-190 (Yuvraj Singh),
4-204 (Sehwag), 5-231 (Mongia), 6-294 (Agarkar),
7-299 (Kaif).

Bowling O M R W
Whiley 10 0 57 1 (1nb, 7w)
Grove 10 1 58 2 (2w)
Maddy 4 0 40 0 (2w)
Crowe 10 1 62 1 (1w)
Flower 7 0 34 1 (1w)
Stevens 9 0 46 1

Leicestershire innings (target: 316 runs from 50 overs) R M B 4 6
TR Ward c Ganguly b Yuvraj Singh 95 129 110 8 3
*IJ Sutcliffe run out 50 108 59 6 0
DI Stevens c Kaif b Yuvraj Singh 3 6 7 0 0
DL Maddy c & b Harbhajan Singh 30 53 48 0 1
GW Flower c & b Yuvraj Singh 26 27 35 1 0
RJ Cunliffe not out 28 35 25 1 1
AS Wright b Agarkar 9 14 14 1 0
+SJ Adshead lbw b Mongia 0 3 3 0 0
CD Crowe not out 2 1 2 0 0
Extras (lb 3, w 12, nb 3) 18
Total (7 wickets, 50 overs) 261

DNB: JO Grove, MJA Whiley.

FoW: 1-136 (Sutcliffe), 2-143 (Stevens), 3-167 (Ward),
4-210 (Flower), 5-228 (Maddy), 6-246 (Wright),
7-251 (Adshead).

Bowling O M R W
Nehra 9 0 41 0 (4w)
Yohannan 4 0 24 0 (1w)
Agarkar 8 0 39 1 (1w)
Ganguly 3 0 23 0 (2nb)
Harbhajan Singh 10 0 50 1 (2w)
Yuvraj Singh 10 0 48 3 (1nb)
Sehwag 4 0 18 0 (1w)
Mongia 1 0 5 1
Kaif 1 0 10 0

next match : 29 England v India Lord's

yesterday eng beat sri lanka by 44 runs and flintoof blasted fastest 50 off 28 balls becoming 1st englishmen to hit the fastest 50.

india won the match against england by 6 wickets !!! i thought jammy and yuvraj played very well at the end . even sehwag played superbly during the first 15 overs .

the next match is .tomorrow between sri lankans i hope that it would be a thrilling encounter !

yeah india won...woooohooo !
i was busy watching the wimbledon , the match and the wld cup so i couldn't post
thanks rahul

top class performance from bowlers especially ajit agarkar paved the way towards victory by 4 wickets against sri lanka . sri lankans are struggling in this tournament , i think they have less chances to enter the final , i think ...but anything's possible in cricket though :D

its just like a dream coming true after a really long time...

It's great to see India doing well abroad, even though it's in the one-dayers. All we get to see here in NZ are stupid highlights packages that are so badly presented that one can't make head or tail of what's happening. We lost to England two days ago, but I guess it's good to get the loss out of the way and prepare ourselves to beat England on Saturday:D Our batsmen still seem to have a problem with the faster bowlers, such as Dilhara Fernando and Darren Gough. This does not augur well for he upcoming World Cup on the faster South african tracks. I'm not sure if I'm right in this respect, as I do not have access to live TV coverage of the series, but doesn't Zaheer Khan have a tendency to drop the ball a fraction too short at times? I realise that he does this more during the start of an innings when bowling short of a length would unsettle batsmen, but the line of his short deliveries needs work, as it is not aimed at the batsman, but more often than not sliding away from him, giving guys like Jayasuriya room to cut. He has a lot of pace, but he loses a fair amount when he pitches it that short. His yorkers, in my opinion, are his deadliest weapon. Ashish Nehra has bowled really well this series, as has Agarkar. He's shortened his runup to good effect and is now concentrating on placing the ball on the right spots instead of bowling flat-out pace. This team balance seems to be good, though if Ajay Ratra works on his batting, he would be our ideal wicketkeeper. Rahul Dravid is running an unnecessary risk of injury to his hands if he keeps wicket regularly. Anyway, let's hope we thrash the Lankans and get back in the groove for the final.

P.S. Congratulations on getting admission into the American university Dhruv:)

Man, what a victory! Tendulkar was magnificent! Looking good for the final!

Originally posted by man united forever
Man, what a victory! Tendulkar was magnificent! Looking good for the final!

yes , tendulkar is mangificient . and yes , he's fit for the final. i hope the final should be a cracker of a match . hope the best team wins.by the way , r u NRI (non residental indian)?

Originally posted by man united forever
It's great to see India doing well abroad, even though it's in the one-dayers. All we get to see here in NZ are stupid highlights packages that are so badly presented that one can't make head or tail of what's happening. We lost to England two days ago, but I guess it's good to get the loss out of the way and prepare ourselves to beat England on Saturday:D Our batsmen still seem to have a problem with the faster bowlers, such as Dilhara Fernando and Darren Gough. This does not augur well for he upcoming World Cup on the faster South african tracks. I'm not sure if I'm right in this respect, as I do not have access to live TV coverage of the series, but doesn't Zaheer Khan have a tendency to drop the ball a fraction too short at times? I realise that he does this more during the start of an innings when bowling short of a length would unsettle batsmen, but the line of his short deliveries needs work, as it is not aimed at the batsman, but more often than not sliding away from him, giving guys like Jayasuriya room to cut. He has a lot of pace, but he loses a fair amount when he pitches it that short. His yorkers, in my opinion, are his deadliest weapon. Ashish Nehra has bowled really well this series, as has Agarkar. He's shortened his runup to good effect and is now concentrating on placing the ball on the right spots instead of bowling flat-out pace. This team balance seems to be good, though if Ajay Ratra works on his batting, he would be our ideal wicketkeeper. Rahul Dravid is running an unnecessary risk of injury to his hands if he keeps wicket regularly. Anyway, let's hope we thrash the Lankans and get back in the groove for the final.

P.S. Congratulations on getting admission into the American university Dhruv:)


uhhh...i'm not in complete agreement with your statement when u say that zaheer khan pitches short of length ( even slightly )..what i think is that in an attempt to york batsmen he's been pitching too full and thats why players like jayasurya , trescothick have been smashing him all round the park.
if you watched the match between india and sri lanka day before
yesterday..kumara sangakarra really slogged him and he didn't have to go downthe wicket to smash him , he was just driving in past the fielders....
yeah dravid won't last long being a keeper..he might be enjoying keeping in england with a cold weather but the real test would come for him when he'll have to keep in india in this soaring heat !

i hope they ( BCCI) don't make him keep for the test matches...


P.S. Congratulations on getting admission into the American university Dhruv:)
thanks man ...

today is the final....come on India !
i hope the top 3 batsmen don't fail again...i think dominic cork might be playing today

Well it seems like England have got the advantage in this match:D

wooooooooooooooooooooooow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i cant believe it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

simply AMAZING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well done kaif !!!!!!!!!!!!! *simply overjoyed*

i cant belive India won, we set a good target but India batted very well:mad:

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! Brilliant stuff! Can't wait to see the highlights!!!!!! Fantastic stuff from Kaif, Yuvraj, Sehwag and Ganguly. Ganguly played a great innings when you consider his form in the series so far. Congratulations to my countrymen and hopefully we'll play as well as this in the test matches:).

btw Rahul, yes I'm an NRI, but I support India and the Indian team against every opposition:)

yeeeeeeeeeeah !
biggest and the most terrific victory i have seensince india beat pakistan chasing 315 in dhaka so many years ago....i can't beleive till now as well that they did it...oh man !
kaif is THE Guy! well done man
but when i was supposing that the top 3 might not do well...openers did well and the middle order failed...and youngsters did the job..........


WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO

More bad news for England, Graham Thorpe has announced his retirement from one day internationals:(

THAT MATCH WAS FANTASTIC!


What was Tendulkar doing when he got out? He played all round it. The tail wagged for India brilliantly.:p


HAHA ENGLAND! POMS! :p :D :rolleyes: :crazyboy:

Originally posted by Juventus_theres_next_year
THAT MATCH WAS FANTASTIC!


What was Tendulkar doing when he got out? He played all round it. The tail wagged for India brilliantly.:p


HAHA ENGLAND! POMS! :p :D :rolleyes: :crazyboy:

The Tail !!!
u can't call yuvraj singh and mohammad kaif tailenders...they are goddamn middle order batsmen !
tail included harbhajan ,zaheer khan , nehra , kumble and they just supported kaif...yeah "bhajji" did smash one six but that doesn't qualify as 'wagged'..a couple would have actaully...

Originally posted by man united forever
WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! Brilliant stuff! Can't wait to see the highlights!!!!!! Fantastic stuff from Kaif, Yuvraj, Sehwag and Ganguly. Ganguly played a great innings when you consider his form in the series so far. Congratulations to my countrymen and hopefully we'll play as well as this in the test matches:).

btw Rahul, yes I'm an NRI, but I support India and the Indian team against every opposition:)

cool , & whats u'r real name ? .................... and JAI HIND !~~:D





by chelsea2001
More bad news for England, Graham Thorpe has announced his retirement from one day internationals

but why ? he's fit and a fantastic player

Originally posted by rahulmvora


cool , & whats u'r real name ? .................... and JAI HIND !~~:D







[/B]

My real name is Bhavesh...JAI HIND:D

hi bhavesh , nice to meet u . :D (btw r u gujrati ?cos the name suggests it.)and i am a gujju .

Originally posted by rahulmvora
hi bhavesh , nice to meet u . :D (btw r u gujrati ?cos the name suggests it.)and i am a gujju .

what next ?
Kyunki Saas Bhi KAbhi Bahu Thi !:D ;) :p

lol no I'm actually a Sindhi(a Sindhi with a Gujrati name - go figure:crazyboy: :D).

cool. a sindhi with a gujrati name . and dhruv ? U ? i know that crackerz(vicky) is tamilian . i must say , there are lot of indians in this forum .

cool. a sindhi with a gujrati name . and dhruv ? U ? i know that crackerz(vicky) is tamilian . i must say , there are lot of indians in this forum .

I'm a punjabi
vishal is another one from india too , though i don't see him posting very often nowadays...

Originally posted by Dhruv


The Tail !!!
u can't call yuvraj singh and mohammad kaif tailenders...they are goddamn middle order batsmen !
tail included harbhajan ,zaheer khan , nehra , kumble and they just supported kaif...yeah "bhajji" did smash one six but that doesn't qualify as 'wagged'..a couple would have actaully...


I'm saying that at the end the tail had to stay in with the middle order that's all. The tail eg. Harbhajan got some quick runs too. They played a role, the Yuvraj's and such had already been mentioned in this topic.

Originally posted by Juventus_theres_next_year



I'm saying that at the end the tail had to stay in with the middle order that's all. The tail eg. Harbhajan got some quick runs too. They played a role, the Yuvraj's and such had already been mentioned in this topic.


ooooooohhhhhh kayyyyyyy

Originally posted by Dhruv



ooooooohhhhhh kayyyyyyy


Well screw you A$$hole.:p .........................:D

Originally posted by Juventus_theres_next_year



Well screw you A$$hole.:p .........................:D

watch ur mouth :f***:

hey England got many injury worries for the 1st test match against india

the guys who are injured :::

Marcus Trescothick
AndrewCaddick
Alex Tudor
Darren Gough ( not sure to play )

Mark Butcher ( coming after an injury )

looks like india hold the upperhand....

Yeah, it's looking good, but I don't think Mohammad Kaif will play in the test matches - I think he is just there for the three-day matches. But we have a near full-strangth squad to choose from for the tests. Come on India!!!!!!!

yup , india surely should win the test matches as the danger man trescothick is not there:D . but u never know , its india ........though i think this time they WILL win .......

juvenile bangladeshis showed what cricket is really about ! ;)


MS Atapattu b Talha Jubair 20 34 32 3 0
RP Arnold c sub (Fahim Muntasir) b Manjural Islam 25 48 25 4 0
KC Sangakkara run out (Al Sahariar/Enamul Haque) 75 160 111 12 0
DPMD Jayawardene b Talha Jubair 0 7 3 0 0

PA de Silva lbw b Enamul Haque 206 318 234 28 1
*ST Jayasuriya c sub (Mohammad Ashraful) b Enamul Haque 145 214 164 13 6
HAPW Jayawardene c Al Sahariar b Manjural Islam 5 16 16 0 0
TCB Fernando not out 31 45 4 0
M Muralitharan c Al Sahariar b Enamul Haque 0 1 1 0 0
CRD Fernando c Habibul Bashar b Enamul Haque 15 27 24 2 0
WRS de Silva not out 5 17 1 0
Extras (lb 6, w 2, nb 6) 14
Total (9 wickets, 111 overs) 541

It's not looking too good at the moment for India. Zaheer has been magnificent though.
Latest score:

England 1st innings R M B 4 6
MA Butcher c Jaffer b Kumble 29 113 86 4 0
MP Vaughan lbw b Khan 0 7 5 0 0
*N Hussain not out 144 306 24 0
GP Thorpe b Khan 4 12 8 1 0
JP Crawley c Dravid b Sehwag 64 169 126 9 0
+AJ Stewart lbw b Khan 19 75 65 1 0
A Flintoff not out 30 37 7 0
Extras (b 7, lb 11, w 1, nb 7) 26
Total (5 wickets, 104.2 overs) 316

To Bat: C White, AF Giles, MJ Hoggard, SP Jones.

FoW: 1-0 (Vaughan, 1.5 ov), 2-71 (Butcher, 26.4 ov),
3-78 (Thorpe, 29.5 ov), 4-223 (Crawley, 72.2 ov),
5-263 (Stewart, 93.1 ov).

Bowling O M R W
Nehra 23.2 4 62 0 (5nb, 1w)
Khan 28 11 64 3
Agarkar 13 2 53 0
Kumble 31 8 86 1
Ganguly 3 1 16 0 (1nb)
Sehwag 6 0 17 1 (1nb)

Hussain had a great knock, Jones did superb as well on his debut

the match is not being shown here ....so i have not seen even a single ball but judging by that scoreboard..it'll be a draw....

simon jones ::: isn't he a fast bowler ?

Originally posted by Dhruv


simon jones ::: isn't he a fast bowler ?

yes he is, i THINK his fastest he's bowled is 89mph

ajit agarkar played a fantastic knock of 109 not out , but england won the test by 170 runs . :( i think if nehr would have stayed longer for just half an hour , i think that thunderstroms were predicted . if , if nehra would have stayed :( .

Originally posted by Dhruv
the match is not being shown here ....so i have not seen even a single ball but judging by that scoreboard..it'll be a draw....



well England finished off the job today, Englan won by 170 runs but were made to work for it and were getting very frustrated, Ajit Agarkar's had a great knock, 109 N.O.

Originally posted by rahulmvora
ajit agarkar played a fantastic knock of 109 not out , but england won the test by 170 runs . :( i think if nehr would have stayed longer for just half an hour , i think that thunderstroms were predicted . if , if nehra would have stayed :( .

You beat me to it, just :) Great result though for England

Originally posted by Chelsea2001


You beat me to it, just :) Great result though for England

yup great result for england , but is simon jones fit for the next match , any news abt that ?

thelast man whom i would have thought to score a 50 is ajit agarkar and here he is 109 n.o. DAMN ! i just hope that it was not another knock of uselessness....coz' guys like ratra ,dasgupta make a 100 and then consider themselves permanent in the team and then never even score a 50 again.

congrats to england

Mine r Tendulka, Larra, Mark Waugh, and Aktar.

Richie Richardson
Curtley Ambrose
Brian Lara
Michael Bevan
Chanderpaul
Marlon Samuels (young, seen him play couple of years ago, good ;))

Yeah Richardson was my fav player along with Ian Bishop and a few other West Indies' that are now unfortunately retired.

Lara
Tendulker
Stewart

Warneyyyyyyyyyyyy
Oh, Ah, Glenn McGrath
Gilchrist
Wasim Akram
KLUSENER.

Fredd van Onion, Gay Dadi, Kenneth McKeffy and Bob Cockhead :)

Like my favourite Polish football players:

Frederick Von Fuxalot, Hans McBlowme, Tarquin Ben Doverovski and Mike Hunt de Gayman.

Originally posted by Juventus_theres_next_year
KLUSENER.

heh, new i forgot someone, he's the best hitter in the game if u ask me :)

heres a few other cricket players who were big in their own ways.

metim inagaybar
broke mehandad
G. Whattawacka
Bruce Reid :D
I. Leftmyteethinajarbesidethebed
Y. Mammah

warney. he should take taylors place as tubby.
Yeah, Klusener is pretty good.
Dizzy Gillespie is wicked, and thank god no-one has said Brett Lee. He is a good bowler, but overrated, i think. :)

I dont know many of those funny names,
How about: -
Wayne Ker? (We used to call this loser that at school, his name was Wayne, obviously:D)
Anita Blowjob
Here's one from Austin Powers, Yvona Humpalot


I tried anyway. :)

12th man ones:

Wasee Acrim
Madonna Cantsingh
Rubbish Binni (selectors left him out on Thursday night, but no one came to pick him up, so he's back in the team..:D)
Jarovvegemite Formiandad
Sumjerk Ramdmakar

Umpire Strikes Back
Umpire Hugh Jarse
Umpire Les Beein

second test ended in a draw. Good to see Sachin scoring runs again and Parthiv Patel did well to preserve his wicket late in the innings. Rahul Dravid played a fantastic innings. One man though, who I feel for the most is Saurav Ganguly. He has captained the team magnificently and has come in for more than his fair share of criticism, even when the team has done well. He really deserved a century today to shut the critics up. Full credit to England, though. They bowled really well and batted equally well.

I think I have an answer to our bowling problems. The Indian selectors should pick another 17 year-old in the side - a bowler. Come on, I'm sure I'd fit into the squad well enough:D:D:D

Originally posted by hermolt
Like my favourite Polish football players:

Frederick Von Fuxalot, Hans McBlowme, Tarquin Ben Doverovski and Mike Hunt de Gayman.

s.hite :(

i forgot about Ivan Humpalot, Alota Fa.gina and Alex Bitchykakov :D :crazyboy: Juan Kerr is great too....

Originally posted by K-Man
Fredd van Onion, Gay Dadi, Kenneth McKeffy and Bob Cockhead :)

Ah yes, The greatest of all.:mambo: :D

heres another one

isheaman orawoman

Current batsmen:
1) The Little Master - Sachin Tendulkar
2) Captain Fantastic - Saurav Ganguly
3) The Rock a.k.a Jammy:mambo: - Rahul Dravid
4) Virender Sehwag
5) Adam Gilchrist(just to show I'm unbiased:D)

Current Bowlers:
Zaheer Khan
Glenn McGrath
Shane Bond

All-time Favourite Players:
1) Dennis Lillee (GOD)
2) Sachin Tendulkar

yeah tendulka is an all time favourite of mine too.
Also mark waugh, and larra.

Tendulka is still the best with the bat. What do u's think?

hi bhavesh, nice to see u after a long time ......... yup P.patel palyed v.well . ganguly deserved a 100 but it didnt happen . but the revolution for india has been surely ajit agarkar . he playing superbly . he's batting like a gr8 batsmen . bowling is not bad though in this series at all .he has taken 6 wkts in 2 matches .he troubled most of the batsmen but still ppl critizise him .i dont know why . i think his reputation has been spoiled from the tour down under .but there ,he was the best of the bowlers there . sad the ppl have kept in their minds his tour of australia .they do not see his recent form and ontinue to critizise his past performances .

MUTTI

batsmen :-
tendulkar
viv richards
gary sobers

bowlers :-
ambrose
ajit agarkar
wasim akram

all rounders :-
pollock
kallis
klusener
chris cairns

keepers :-
nayan mongia
gilchrist




















and i almost forgot the god of cricket :-
DON BRADMAN .

My favourite English cricketers are Graham Thorpe and Andy Caddick.

I really like Lara, Dravid, Fleming (the New Zealand one), Hussien, Gillespie, Ponting, Ganguly, Tendulkar and Trescothick.

Also, who can't like Vaughan after his ENG-IND performance the othe week.

Originally posted by ChelseaFan88
Also, who can't like Vaughan after his ENG-IND performance the othe week.
Simple answer - Indian fans :f***: (6) (H) :D

Originally posted by ChelseaFan88
Also, who can't like Vaughan after his ENG-IND performance the othe week.

I know, what an awsome knock:D :p (H)

I like the flower brothers. But has anyone noticed you can actually make a team of zimbabwe with just brothers and cousins like the Strangs, Flowers, Whittals, Matambanadzos, Campbells, (well almost)

yeah the Australians and India are full of superstars but the question is who will win the world cup?

with Namibia, Canada and Holland at a 1000 to 1 that looks like a pretty good bet with a slice of Zimbabwe to be runners up you could make alot of money (or lose abit if you were that stupid).

I think the best keeper is Argun Vasatraed! He's great!:D

my fave cricketers are Brett Lee, James Franklin, Hussain, Pollock and Shoaib Ahktar

Originally posted by g-14
James Franklin

he will be a good good player

;)

3rd test Day 3 Leeds :
India were at the best position in the whole series and they even went to make it better but sadly sachin got out at 193 and couldn't make a double 100.
well they are in a comfy zone and atleast they can't lose the match but to win , they have to take 20 wickets which doesn't seem likely.

PS : hello guys i'm back after sometime
i'm suffering from jaundice which 'll take a 2 months for me to completely recover.

hi dhruv,
nice to see u after a long time . so r u now in US ? & get well soon .

I see the latest test in England is either a victory for India or another draw, thats the only thing wrong with tests its hard to see a result. Its boring especially when they play for five days you expect to see a result.:kader:

Originally posted by rahulmvora
hi dhruv,
nice to see u after a long time . so r u now in US ? & get well soon .

no i'm not in US , my visa got rejected for no reason , i'll be trying for the january session , till then i'm here only plus as i told you i'm having jaundice

Hey Dhruv, read about your johndikes thing, hope you get well soon pal.

India has to bowl well again today to make sure they are on top to win the 3rd test n square the series.

Originally posted by Dhruv


no i'm not in US , my visa got rejected for no reason , i'll be trying for the january session , till then i'm here only plus as i told you i'm having jaundice


hmmmmm.......... many r having this problem dhruv , i dont know why ..... my cousin got admission in australia (dunno which university) ..... he even paid 10 lakhs (his fees) to the university !!!!!! then when he applied for the passport the ppl said the indian students are stopped from giving visa for 6 months to a year ....

India win convincingly

also from cricinfo.....................

Pakistan's Youhana sent home from Nairobi tournament
Reuters - 27 August 2002


NAIROBI (Reuters) - Pakistan batsman Yousuf Youhana has been sent home from the triangular tournament due to start in the Kenyan capital on Thursday, officials said on Tuesday.

no reason givin yet

Originally posted by rahulmvora



hmmmmm.......... many r having this problem dhruv , i dont know why ..... my cousin got admission in australia (dunno which university) ..... he even paid 10 lakhs (his fees) to the university !!!!!! then when he applied for the passport the ppl said the indian students are stopped from giving visa for 6 months to a year ....

i haven't given up yet ,
i'll try again as soon as i get well and hope for the best....

btw what a win for india ....hussain will be without flintoff in last test so he has plenty of worry in the bowling dept.... batting wise he shouldn't coz' flintoff never adds any runs:D

cricket? What is that? :jambo:

MICHAEL VAUGHAN - THE STAR OF ENGLISH CRICKET
http://ca.yimg.com/i/ca/reuters/20020321/i/1946886157.jpg

Now one from the other end.
Glenn McGrath, THE BOWLING STAR OF AUSSIE CRICKET.
http://www-aus.cricket.org/link_to_database/PICTURES/DB/092002/038843.jpg

Originally posted by hermolt
12th man ones:

Wasee Acrim
Madonna Cantsingh
Rubbish Binni (selectors left him out on Thursday night, but no one came to pick him up, so he's back in the team..:D)
Jarovvegemite Formiandad
Sumjerk Ramdmakar

Umpire Strikes Back
Umpire Hugh Jarse
Umpire Les Beein

hehe, yes yes we can sit here and quote Big Bad Billy Birmingham (aka. the 12th man) all day (btw. my brother worked with him on Bruce 2000), but please quote him properly :)
Your Jarovvegemite Formiandad, is a rip off of ex pakistan player Javed Miandad, and so should be made to look as close to it as possible..
I think (considering the way he says it he doesnt really pronounce the "of" that much anyway, and this way still works)
Javedgimite fe Miandad
Also whilst on ex great players that the 12th man uses, i think ill bring up Sunil Gavaskar's name sake
Sunil Havaskar (it came just after Cutiss Arminhalf ;))

Seriousley my favourite player was always Mark Waugh, he is jsut so good to watch when he's in form, he makes it look so easy. He is one of the (if not the) most naturally talented batsmen in the world, but just didnt have the mental toughness of brother Steve to support it. Since his career is looking like ending in the not too distant future, my favourite players now suprisingly both come from Western Australia, Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn. Both average over 50 in test match cricket (Gilchrist i think over 60, and martyn over 60 since Gilchrist has been in the team), so they are both awesome talents.
Looking at the australian test batting lineup, its any wonder we're the best team in the world, most of our batting lineup averages over 50, or atleast over 40, alot of test nations best batsmen only average over 40...anyway enough big noting of australia :p
Bowlers: I used to like Warney but he hasnt been as good ever since the operation, and ppl are starting to firgure him out too much i think. I liked Brett Lee when he first came on the scene, and he has the talent to actually be a good all rounder i think. I think Lee was better when he just bowled as fast as he could. Im also a big fan of dizzy Gillespie...
So there you go, all aussies, and who said i was biased :p Alright ill throw in tendulkar, there u go, he''s not an aussie, and along with gilchrist the best batsmen around at the moment.

Cheers
sKIp_E

Hello John. Its me again. (Hanse Cronje`)

Looks like this test will be drawn, unless something spectacular happens over the next two days. India are fighting back well after the first day's horrors, though.

the match is drawn !
the series is tied 1-1 .
man of the series :- Vaughan & Dravid .
those 2 played superbly !

all the things of ICC have been cleared ! thank God !! i think the favorites will be SAF , AUS , IND & PAK .....

Originally posted by rahulmvora
the match is drawn !
the series is tied 1-1 .
man of the series :- Vaughan & Dravid .
those 2 played superbly !

all the things of ICC have been cleared ! thank God !! i think the favorites will be SAF , AUS , IND & PAK .....
Don't forget Sri Lanka, England and New Zealand. Man, this is going to be the most open series ever. So many teams are playing well. Sri Lanka are playing on home turf and are always strong at home. They did beat South Africa in the Morocco Cup. New Zealand are defending champions and have played well in their warm-up matches, while I think England have put the Natwest Series behind them. First game tomorrow - Sri Lanka vs. Pakistan. COME ON SRI LANKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D:D:D


P.S. how do you think India will do in this series? Semi-finalists in 98, finalists in 2000. Can we go one step further and lift the trophy?

If Australia keep up the form they showed against Pakistan in the Tri-Series, they'll be unbeatable.
But in One Day Cricket, anything can happen.
But really beating Pakistan so convincgly, like they were a non-test playing nation, is a pretty ominous sign for the other teams.
As for the final of the comp, we were chasing under 250, and after 10 overs were 1-67, before rain ended the match, so really it looked like we would have made it 3 from 3, and all convincingly.
Anyway, i may be biased, and as i said, in One Day Cricket, and a knockout comp, one bad run can end ur chances.
Cheers
sKIp_E

Originally posted by man united forever
Don't forget Sri Lanka, England and New Zealand. Man, this is going to be the most open series ever. So many teams are playing well. Sri Lanka are playing on home turf and are always strong at home. They did beat South Africa in the Morocco Cup. New Zealand are defending champions and have played well in their warm-up matches, while I think England have put the Natwest Series behind them. First game tomorrow - Sri Lanka vs. Pakistan. COME ON SRI LANKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D:D:D


P.S. how do you think India will do in this series? Semi-finalists in 98, finalists in 2000. Can we go one step further and lift the trophy?

yes bhavesh , can be that we may win due to the conditions almost same as india(spinning tracks) ....but as we say " india ka kya bharosa?" :D :crazyboy:


u'r right skip_e ...Aussies have a gr8 chance of winning but sri lanka will be a spinning track .... all the world gr8 spinners will be playing in a spinning track ... in my opinoin i dont think that aussies are that well in playing to spinners then to fast bowlers .... but who knows .... best of luck all the teams though !

Yeah, some of our batsmen seem to be weak against Orthodox spin (Off Spin-right hand, or "Slow Left Arm") bowlers, but we usually seem to be better against wrist spin. WE have some good players of spin now though, Lehmann is usually very good against it!
But yeah it should be interesting anyway!
Cheers
Abba

the Australia world champion cricket team!

Originally posted by ChelseaFan88
MICHAEL VAUGHAN - THE STAR OF ENGLISH CRICKET
http://ca.yimg.com/i/ca/reuters/20020321/i/1946886157.jpg

Nice piccie of him being skittled - notice the bail..:D

And Skip, there is nothing better than a bit of 12th Man. Classic non-cricket moment was the restaurant part on 'The Final Dig?'. The waiter had me pissing my pants with laughter..

Originally posted by hermolt
Nice piccie of him being skittled - notice the bail..:D

And Skip, there is nothing better than a bit of 12th Man. Classic non-cricket moment was the restaurant part on 'The Final Dig?'. The waiter had me pissing my pants with laughter..
hehe yeah, Schooner of Drambuie! Holy 5hit! thats a hardcore drink.

And the braised deer pen!s. "they said it tastes like chicken, but to me it was much more like an old cock"
hahaha
And Hansie (RIP), "If i was a betting man..."
"there u go, there's a gorilla right there on the table"

Actually even though that album is so funny, i really dont think its one of his better ones. His other ones were all so awesome, and i think a fair few of them were better...I have them all ;)

Twelth Man u can hear over and over, and still pick up new witty stuff thatu missed last time too. Some jokes are obvious in it, some are heaps well hidden..
Anyway enough of that from me for the moment...
Cheers
sKIp_E

Originally posted by Grassy56
he will be a good good player

;)

Yes, and Paul, he went to that posh school i told u about that im ogin to next year :mrpimp:

Originally posted by jbaseley
the Australia world champion cricket team!

Best team in any sport by that crappy sports awards that no one believes in

And those ESPY awards in America are no different (I know they are only for americans but damn that was as boring as the oscars)

Holland play soon (tonite i think) i hope they do well some of them play in England they wont be like Kenya and Bangladesh but hopefully they wont be out for less than 150

what a win for SAF !!!!!!!!!
i thought they would certainly lose until a stupid full toss ball by a superb bowler M.Dillon in the last over which pollock hit for a six !!!! i think W.I dominated the whole match until the last 4-5 overs were i think they should have tightened thier bowling .

Originally posted by rahulmvora
what a win for SAF !!!!!!!!!
i thought they would certainly lose until a stupid full toss ball by a superb bowler M.Dillon in the last over which pollock hit for a six !!!! i think W.I dominated the whole match until the last 4-5 overs were i think they should have tightened thier bowling .

Poor Verbast Drakes didnt seem to bowl well win i watched it, I thought South Africa only chasing 237, 238 would have comfortably got the runs I dont think it was a big win for them

Originally posted by rahulmvora
what a win for SAF !!!!!!!!!
i thought they would certainly lose until a stupid full toss ball by a superb bowler M.Dillon in the last over which pollock hit for a six !!!! i think W.I dominated the whole match until the last 4-5 overs were i think they should have tightened thier bowling .

Yes, and then that last bowl lost them the match. Gr8 win for SA

Zimbabwe should win tonite (they should be returning to form mark my words) Carlisle Andy Flower and Streak should lead the way

Well i think maybe New Zealand should just put in alot of tailenders as batsmen since they play better then their top order a 50 partnership last wicketstand means its time for a change in the line up

288 / 274 ooh so close for Zimbabwe i think they arnt quite to form yet - they need Madakadza badly

Originally posted by zul-aid
Well i think maybe New Zealand should just put in alot of tailenders as batsmen since they play better then their top order a 50 partnership last wicketstand means its time for a change in the line up


They were missing four key players who didnt want to make the trip.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, OI OI OI!

Missing 3 key players? hmm, the way the Kiwis played Australia A would have beaten them..not that that means much, Australia A beat NZ and SA last year in Australia, but then Australia lost their first matches to these teams!

Cheers
sKIp_E

nice win for aussies but also great win for india ! that andy flower is certainly a thorn for us ! aussies have taken revenge of NZ of the defeat in the previous WC(though the won it finally!) in this tournament .....

Gee watching Holland they play alright for their position, im surprised they reduced the Sri Lankan score like they have (nothing extrodinary i know but just think is this there first one day international in the "Big League" since the world cup that Sri Lanka won.

I think they show alot of promise, But I agree with ICC no longer doing that presidents cup thing were all the lesser countries play to win the right for One day international status we now (I believe) have enough teams for one day status (because then if we keep giving teams one day status, it would take a long time for they play meaning full games like years) but I doubt Holland will ever play in Australia in the next 5 to 10 years since Zimbabwe has only twice and yet to play a test here

One Day Status Teams: Australia, India, England, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Holland (Nambia and Canada only have the right to be in the WC)

This could mean that they maybe reducing the number of teams at the world cup because they have to now breed into the international scene like Holland Kenya and Bangaldesh looking at these countries play the future of Cricket is looking great soon Kenya will play tests (I know they will get thrased, but so did Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe on debut) Im really going to enjoy cricket in the future

I also hope that they do go back to the Presidents (or Nations) cup and let little less countries play for one day international status but not for a long time maybe every 8 years or longer

Originally posted by zul-aid
Gee watching Holland they play alright for their position, im surprised they reduced the Sri Lankan score like they have (nothing extrodinary i know but just think is this there first one day international in the "Big League" since the world cup that Sri Lanka won.

I think they show alot of promise, But I agree with ICC no longer doing that presidents cup thing were all the lesser countries play to win the right for One day international status we now (I believe) have enough teams for one day status (because then if we keep giving teams one day status, it would take a long time for they play meaning full games like years) but I doubt Holland will ever play in Australia in the next 5 to 10 years since Zimbabwe has only twice and yet to play a test here

One Day Status Teams: Australia, India, England, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Holland (Nambia and Canada only have the right to be in the WC)

This could mean that they maybe reducing the number of teams at the world cup because they have to now breed into the international scene like Holland Kenya and Bangaldesh looking at these countries play the future of Cricket is looking great soon Kenya will play tests (I know they will get thrased, but so did Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe on debut) Im really going to enjoy cricket in the future

I also hope that they do go back to the Presidents (or Nations) cup and let little less countries play for one day international status but not for a long time maybe every 8 years or longer

Yeah, how do the lesser teams (Namibia, Canada, Scotland, Ireland and UAE) qualify for the World Cup at the moment?
The Presidents Cup used to decide that, didnt it? (I remember the first year that they had this, Holland, UAE and Kenya were the ones who got thru-1996, then 1999 it was Scotland, Kenya and Bangladesh wasnt it?)
Anyway thats all ive got to ask.

hehe, I cant wait for the Bangladesh vs Australia tests (planned for 2004 in Australia-Cairns and Darwin). heh, should be good, see how many run the Aussies can score ;)
Cheers
sKIp_E

Originally posted by sKIp_E
Yeah, how do the lesser teams (Namibia, Canada, Scotland, Ireland and UAE) qualify for the World Cup at the moment?
The Presidents Cup used to decide that, didnt it? (I remember the first year that they had this, Holland, UAE and Kenya were the ones who got thru-1996, then 1999 it was Scotland, Kenya and Bangladesh wasnt it?)
Anyway thats all ive got to ask.

sKIp_E

They played in the last cup last year in Canada, where they Holland (Champs) and Namibia qualifyed for the world cup, but with Kenya and Bangladesh still not quite ready for test level they haulted it till every team is ready for an extra international team.

Holland are playing really bad now how sad :kader:

Originally posted by zul-aid
They played in the last cup last year in Canada, where they Holland (Champs) and Namibia qualifyed for the world cup, but with Kenya and Bangladesh still not quite ready for test level they haulted it till every team is ready for an extra international team.

Holland are playing really bad now how sad :kader:

Yeah Bangladesh actually have test status atm, but dont have full ICC status.
So yeah they can play tests..
Cheers
sKIp_E

nice win for the windies (though they r out of the champions trophy) . kenyan's fought really hard . tikolo gave his best for the team but in vain .....

also ,brian lara is not well . he is maybe suffering from hepathitis ....

Originally posted by sKIp_E
Yeah Bangladesh actually have test status atm, but dont have full ICC status.
So yeah they can play tests..
Cheers
sKIp_E

I actually thought they did have ICC status since they sit on the 10 test cricketing nations championship, I guess ICC are waiting for the new Test championship to roll around and give them that.

I seriously think that Bangladesh can be as powerful as Sri Lanka are in tests (Sri Lanka are more of a oneday team than a test team) they have the juniors and have been playing cricket for as long India and Pakistan have so they do know how to play

Im really surprised how these Minnows are going Kenya, Hollland (yeah disappointing but still giving their best shot) and Bangladesh, makes me wander why my second faviourite team Zimbabwe havent quite kicked on they sought a had a good start but have done nothing over the past 8 years and their juniors are decreasing :(

Originally posted by zul-aid
I actually thought they did have ICC status since they sit on the 10 test cricketing nations championship, I guess ICC are waiting for the new Test championship to roll around and give them that.

I seriously think that Bangladesh can be as powerful as Sri Lanka are in tests (Sri Lanka are more of a oneday team than a test team) they have the juniors and have been playing cricket for as long India and Pakistan have so they do know how to play

Im really surprised how these Minnows are going Kenya, Hollland (yeah disappointing but still giving their best shot) and Bangladesh, makes me wander why my second faviourite team Zimbabwe havent quite kicked on they sought a had a good start but have done nothing over the past 8 years and their juniors are decreasing :(

ICC status isnt whether ur in the Test Rankins, it is whether u have a place on the ICC decision making board, and I think Bangladesh were the first nation to ever get Test status b4 being given ICC status (usually it happens at the same time). So yeah I think thats whats going on.

Cheers
sKIp_E

Ok cheers for that skip that clears that up,

Medical tests confirm that Brian Lara, pictured above after completing his century against Zimbabwe on Tuesday, is down with hepatitis

http://www.iccchampionstrophy.com/icc.html

Well South Africa have coasted to an easy victory over Kenya. After Pakistan go through the formality of the game against the Netherlands and trudge off home, dejected(always a pleasing sight to the eye:D), the big game is on - India versus England.
I personally rate India's chances as being fairly good here, because England have come to rely a lot on their pace attack, which may not be nearly as effective as it was over in England. However, England cannot be discounted. India's top-order batting still seems to be misfiring in the one-dayers, and we can't forever rely on the middle-order to save us. Hopefully Tendulkar and Ganguly will return to form and Shewag will go on as well as he is currently. The bowling seems to be okay to me. I know the spinners were really hammered in the game against Zimbabwe, but perseverance is required and in Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, India have two fast bowlers who are capable of making an early breakthrough. The early wicket of Marcus Trescothick is an absolute necessity, because if he gets time at the crease, you can bet your life that he will kick on and make a big score. Coming off two successive ODI centuries, his confidence is sky-high. But really, the key to the bowling on Sunday will be the spin partnership of Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. The Premadasa wicket is going to be low and slow, to the best of my knowledge, and they might be able to exploit any weaknesses in the England batsmen's techniques against spinners. It should be a fascinating contest.

Originally posted by man united forever
Well South Africa have coasted to an easy victory over Kenya. After Pakistan go through the formality of the game against the Netherlands and trudge off home, dejected(always a pleasing sight to the eye:D), the big game is on - India versus England.
I personally rate India's chances as being fairly good here, because England have come to rely a lot on their pace attack, which may not be nearly as effective as it was over in England. However, England cannot be discounted. India's top-order batting still seems to be misfiring in the one-dayers, and we can't forever rely on the middle-order to save us. Hopefully Tendulkar and Ganguly will return to form and Shewag will go on as well as he is currently. The bowling seems to be okay to me. I know the spinners were really hammered in the game against Zimbabwe, but perseverance is required and in Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, India have two fast bowlers who are capable of making an early breakthrough. The early wicket of Marcus Trescothick is an absolute necessity, because if he gets time at the crease, you can bet your life that he will kick on and make a big score. Coming off two successive ODI centuries, his confidence is sky-high. But really, the key to the bowling on Sunday will be the spin partnership of Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. The Premadasa wicket is going to be low and slow, to the best of my knowledge, and they might be able to exploit any weaknesses in the England batsmen's techniques against spinners. It should be a fascinating contest.

yup it will be a fascinating match , and i hope india wins !!! :rolleyes: :D :crazyboy:

Seriously - could England win the ashes.

They seem to have a good squad and are scoring freely - but can they actually do it?

I reckon so.

***GANDALF***

no

Thanx for the in depth answer Skip!

***GANDALF***

no

Australia still has a much better team. :p were' gonna win AGAIN!!!

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I want them to win it, but Australia are the better team :(

The Ashes? :confused:

Originally posted by vince15
The Ashes? :confused:
The Ashes is the name coined for the oldest rivalry in cricket - that between England and Australia. Every two years or so, England and Australia play five test matches against each other to determine the winner of a tiny trophy that contains the ashes of a burned stump. I can't be bothered writing about the origins of this tradition right now, though.

Anyway, Chelseafan, I don't think England can win the Ashes just yet, because they are playing in Australia. Australia's bowling attack is much better than India's(at least in the pace department), and on the faster pitches in Australia, frankly, I wouldn't rate any teams chances very highly. If this series was being played in England, I think there would be a fair chance that England could win, but that is not the case

In other words...Will Peter Enckelman win the European Goalkeeper of the Year award this year?:D:mrpimp:

Originally posted by man united forever
The Ashes is the name coined for the oldest rivalry in cricket - that between England and Australia. Every two years or so, England and Australia play five test matches against each other to determine the winner of a tiny trophy that contains the ashes of a burned stump. I can't be bothered writing about the origins of this tradition right now, though.

thx for the info. Cricket is not very popular in Germany, so I didn´t know that.

ENGLAND HAHAAHA!
LOOK AT THE LINEUP!

Hayden and Langer UNSTOPPABLE
Ponting is explosive too
The Waughs...... not that good, but should do good against the England poo bowling attack
Martyn...... he is good.... steady the ship
GILCHRIST! NO.1 BATTING AT SEVEN
Warne 4th best player of the century
Brett Lee, fast, not to accurate but getting better
Gillespie..... accurate, in great form, injury free, world Class
Mcgrath..... you can't score off him, and he will get anyone out.... he is tooooo good. No.1

NOW! WHAT CAN ENGLAND DO?

England have the best team they have had in a long time but so did Pakistan and India when they came here before Australia's 13 test (or was it more) winning streak

Vaughan, Trescothick, Hussien, Butcher and Knight all have to fire and Australia to be in really bad form to win

I watched Gavin Robertson (imo better spinner than McGill) give a run down in the up coming test series he said: "England are finnaly coming back with a good selection of younger players but Australia again will be too strong
4:1 to Australia (which I think was the result last time England came down here).

I just hope this ICC championship isnt any bigger than the World Cup. The World Cup is coming up in South Africa but this ICC format may be to hard to beat and if there is two different champions then who will be the real one day champion, the one who won the original but drawn out competition on a more fast track in Africa or the one who won the quicker much more challenging competiton (must win every game) on a more spinning track in Asia be the unoffical champion

my predictions is that India or Australia will win the ICC Championship and South Africa will win the World Cup (to hard to beat at home).

Originally posted by zul-aid
I just hope this ICC championship isnt any bigger than the World Cup. The World Cup is coming up in South Africa but this ICC format may be to hard to beat and if there is two different champions then who will be the real one day champion, the one who won the original but drawn out competition on a more fast track in Africa or the one who won the quicker much more challenging competiton (must win every game) on a more spinning track in Asia be the unoffical champion

my predictions is that India or Australia will win the ICC Championship and South Africa will win the World Cup (to hard to beat at home).

If you mean that you don't like the current format, I agree with you. The Champions' Trophy gained its prestige because it was a knockout tournament - do or die. Now adding a group stage makes it an unneccesary imitation of the World Cup. We need two distinct competitions, like there are in football with the domestic league and knockout cup. Let's hope the ICC changes the format soon. And why aren't Namibia and Canada in the competition? They qualified for the World Cup, so in my opinion they are definitely good enough to play in the Champions' Trophy.

Originally posted by vince15
thx for the info. Cricket is not very popular in Germany, so I didn´t know that.

Same here in the U.S.

Cricket is only popular for the Commonwealth countries/British colonies.

No. their bowling department is weak . aussies have a great batting line up . i think the bowling department of england in front of aussies is nothing . caddick-hoggard-flintoff-giles Vs mcgrath-Gillespe-warne-bichel-B.lee ....... both sides have a great batting line up though. but aussies have a another advantage and that is playing at home . so i think aussies will win .

No all in all not very likely then!

***GANDALF***

Originally posted by rahulmvora
No. their bowling department is weak . I would disagree with that. I think our bowlers are better than ever. We have some real class in Hoggard. The two old stars Caddick and Gough should be back. We have young talent in Harmison and Jones. Great all rounders in White, Flintoff and Cork and a great spinner in Ashly Gilles - not to mention the spin of Vaughan and Butcher.

***GANDALF***

Originally posted by rahulmvora
No. their bowling department is weak . aussies have a great batting line up . i think the bowling department of england in front of aussies is nothing . caddick-hoggard-flintoff-giles Vs mcgrath-Gillespe-warne-bichel-B.lee ....... both sides have a great batting line up though. but aussies have a another advantage and that is playing at home . so i think aussies will win .

I disagree.

When on form, Darren Gough is very good. And against astralia, all u have to do is get their first 6 batsmen out early, and they become ****, as shown in the tri series :mrpimp:

:Bow: Sehwag
:Bow: Ganguly

That is all I am able to write at the moment - stunning batting performance from India.

Originally posted by g-14
I disagree.

When on form, Darren Gough is very good. And against astralia, all u have to do is get their first 6 batsmen out early, and they become ****, as shown in the tri series :mrpimp:


Oh come on England suck like New Zealand do, but seriously.......
No. 1 Fast Bowler AUS Mcgrath
No. 1 Fast Bowler ENG Gough, hahahaha, no comparison
No.2 Gillespie
No.2 Caddick, ahahahahahahahah, no comparison
No.3 Hoggard
No. 3 Lee, alrite about even.... but Lee has that extra spark
Spinner, WARNEY!
Spinner Eng, Giles, HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No comparison.


The only advantage is Flintoff..... because he can bat and bowl.... but we GOT GILCHRIST!

Yesterday ganguly and sehvag just thrashed england bowling attack.;) .I loved ganguly's batting.
Well today in match between bangladesh as usual playing very bad:D ,37/6,kiwis are just gonna win this match easily for sure.

Originally posted by g-14
I disagree.

When on form, Darren Gough is very good. And against astralia, all u have to do is get their first 6 batsmen out early, and they become ****, as shown in the tri series :mrpimp:

hahaha, sorry for laughing, but look at our batsmen after number 6.
Ok, who is ranked the worlds best test batsmen at the moment? In case u dont know, its our number 7, Adam Gilchrist. He averages over 60 in test cricket, but u rate him as ****?
In comes our number 8, Shane Warne, who last year scored 99 in a test match and in tests averaged 35 for last season (with a career average of around 17).
Then we'll go to our number 9, Brett Lee, with a test batting average of 24.
You mentioned the Tri-Series? I can only assume ur speaking of ODI, because Test Matches arent played in Tri-Series, and in this case the Australian lineup is completely different, but has definatley found form, since the last australian summer. Look at the recent results in Pakistan and the ICC tournament.

Anyway, just saying logic and statistics appear to contradict your statement.

Cheers
sKIp_E

After our first 6 of Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Waugh, Waugh and Martyn (all of whom are unstoppable on their day), we got:

Gilchrist - The best batsman in the world. Most exciting too...
Warne - Got 99 last year, can get quick runs.
Lee - Great batsman for a pace bowler
Gillespie - Can stay in for a while, sometimes gets good scores.
McGrath - :jambo: :kader: :monkey: :D

McGrath thinks he is due for a promotion (where would he bat No. 10 gee that would make a difference) that 30 something he got a couple of years ago was a superb knock, he could do one again in a couple of years:jambo: :monkey::mrt: :mrt:

India lost against SA :(

Oh well..

Have you guys tried my EA Cricket 2002 mod site?

www.cricket2002.tk

:D

India lost against SA
WHO SAID IT??
India had a terrific win over sa.Sehwag again was man of match.India is now in the finals:rockman: :clapwap: :rockman: :clapwap: :D

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
india have won the match !!!!!!!!!!!
what a win for us ! i thought we would lose when gibbs was hitting the ball all over the park but superb catches from yuvraj and our super sehwag have done the trick ! woopie ! we r in the finals ! :crazyboy:

WHO SAID IT??

Some stupid ****** played a prank on me :mad:

Anyway great going INDIA!!! :D :hump: :clapwap:

mate I have been to your site before it is very good unfortunately Im having trouble with your downloads but its only because I have winace instead of winrar (its unfortuate that EA make games with huge bugs in them like FIFA and Cricket 2002 - i have only had the game for 4 days and are still coming to terms with all the bugs that keep on appearing, every time I play there is a new bug :().

Aussies Vs Sri Lanka who will win????

Aussies Vs Sri Lanka who will win????
well i think sri lanka have very good chance as they would be playing in their home ground.;)

Sri Lanka will be in with a chance, definitely, but the game may be decided by the bowlers and fielders. Both sides are full of good batsmen, but Australia have a superior bowling attack and a slightly better fielding side. Muralitharan will be a big factor - will he perform at or near his best? If he does, Sri Lanka will probably win.

To cut a long story short - I have no idea what I'm talking about:D Bring on the game! I play cricket and watch cricket! I don't analyse the blooming game!:D

Originally posted by man united forever
Sri Lanka will be in with a chance, definitely, but the game may be decided by the bowlers and fielders. Both sides are full of good batsmen, but Australia have a superior bowling attack and a slightly better fielding side. Muralitharan will be a big factor - will he perform at or near his best? If he does, Sri Lanka will probably win.

To cut a long story short - I have no idea what I'm talking about:D Bring on the game! I play cricket and watch cricket! I don't analyse the blooming game!:D

Yeah, Muralitharan could be a huge factor. Traditionally Australia havent been the greatest players of offspin bowling, so we will see how big an impact he can have, and whether the relatively new one day batting line up (it hasnt changed heaps at once, but over the last few seasons has steadily been slightly altered), goes against him.
The Aussies have been in awesome form though, and could be hard to beat.
Cheers
sKIp_E

Australia 162 all out:jambo: What happened there? What were Gilchrist and Hayden thinking when they played those shots? Man, let's see how the bowlers perform. Meanwhile, I'm stunned(which is becoming a habit in this tournament)

Australia have had an absolute shocker.. Oh well, better now, then World Cup time!
Sri Lanka really seem to be our bogey team, perhaps because of their strength of offspinning options.
However losing two wickets to run-outs is a real waste, and very dissappointing, esp. for a team which usualyl has very strong running between the wickets!
Anyway, Im happy with Australias form, apart from this match, so bring on the World Cup!!

Cheers
sKIp_E

Originally posted by zul-aid
mate I have been to your site before it is very good unfortunately Im having trouble with your downloads but its only because I have winace instead of winrar (its unfortuate that EA make games with huge bugs in them like FIFA and Cricket 2002 - i have only had the game for 4 days and are still coming to terms with all the bugs that keep on appearing, every time I play there is a new bug :().

Aussies Vs Sri Lanka who will win????

Thanks mate

You just need to get Winrar from

http://www.rarlabs.com/

and you can use all the downloads


As for the bugs Cricket 2002 has got more than 200 listed valid bugs :kader:

Fifa's is nothing compared to that bug count :D

yeah im also at the brian lara cricketforums as well you do very good kits and stuff also I would like to stay that with a bug count like that wouldnt be a patch makers dream because no matter what you make it will always be an improvement

with a bug count like that wouldnt be a patch makers dream because no matter what you make it will always be an improvement

Not really coz the main bugs are in the gameplay which can be modified only to an extent single the main config files are paxked together in a 30MB file feg.dat and config.dat which no one has been able to edit yet :mad:

what would have been a good game Sri Lanka Vs India final was washed out and is going to restart later today (Aust time) 244 would have been a good chase Sri Lanka are bowling well and India are batting superbly, I just hope all teams play like this in the world cup

vineetrad you never know someone might do it, probably by the time Cricket 2004 comes out - I just hope EA learn from there mistakes

sri lanka 222 for 7 !!!! nice bowling by the spinners . lets see how we bat :)

77-4 at one stage not going too good thos Sri Lankys,

Another friggin washout doesnt look too good Pakistan Vs Australia at Colombo:kader: :kader: :kader: :kader:

I don't think we'll win................................... but I certainly think we'll give the aussies a bit of a game of it.

***GANDALF***

What a ***k,india played so well in both matches but due to rain they are joint winners with srilanka of icc champions trophy.:mad: :mad:

yup saurabh :( :( but now india should really (and definitely will) Win aganst the WI . but i think srinath prescence will not be felt a bit . i think he's too old(lost his charm) and gets thrashed by everyone..... but has the experince . so what do u think my friends ? should he be included in the squad for both tests & one dayers ......& should he be there in the WC squad ?

I think people are going a bit hard on Javagal Srinath here. The man had a long plane trip and only landed in Sri Lanka at 5 a.m. on the day of the match. Now how do the selectors expect him to perform under such conditions? Remember, he has been playing county cricket over in England and you seriously cannot expect someone to adapt to such a drastic change in conditions within nine-and-a-half hours,and open the bowling in a crucial match. Don't worry Sri, no pressure at all. I think the people who should take the blame for Srinath's figures on the day are the BCCI, who had three or four days to call in Srinath, or any other replacement bowler, but instead decided to do it at the last minute. As for Srinath being included in the Indian squad for the Windies, my answer is an emphatic YES. Based on his performances in the series and in the series against New Zealand(for which I also think he should be picked), I think we will get a clearer indication of where Srinath stands in the Indian cricket scene than just a one-off performance where things really weren't handled well behind the scenes.

Aravinda retires from Test cricket
Saadi Thawfeeq - 3 October 2002

Aravinda de Silva, one of the finest batsmen produced by Sri Lanka, has
retired from Test cricket.

De Silva, 36, informed national selection committee chairman Guy de Alwis
before they sat down to pick the squad to South Africa that he won't be
available to play Test matches in future for his country.

However, De Silva has indicated that he is available for selection for
one-day internationals.

Sri Lanka are due to play two Tests and five one-day internationals in South
Africa starting later this month and selection committee sources said that
De Silva won't be considered for the Tests, but probably for the one-dayers.

De Silva is currently in England representing a Rest of the World against
the Brits in the first ever indoor 'International' to be played in that
country.

De Silva is the leading run scorer for his country in Tests and one-day
internationals.

this explains so much !! you see now i understand what tony blair has been saying !! about war against Iraq~~!! if we go to war they'll send all the aussies first (like always) then many will fall and thy will have to draft up young blokes ... the cricketers will swallow their pride and go to war thus england touring against our 8th string team ... they may still lose but it gives them a better chance ... nice work Blairy !!

Originally posted by maddog1983
nice work Blairy !!

nice work maddog! but i thought that would happen they are so use to losing that they cant see themselves win

Well it seems somehow Australia saved themselves from certain defeat in the 1st test match...whats everyone think?
To me it looks like Warne has returned to form with the ball.
Mark Waugh is batting ok again (he never really played that bad, Steves form was much worse, look at the last 12months stats if u disagree ;) )
But Mark Waugh, possibly Australias best catcher, was fielding VERY poorly dunno whats happening there!
Steve Waugh said it was the worst he'd seen the Australian team field in the past 5 or so years

Anyway, itll be interesting to see the next few tests, esp. with Gillespie out!

Cheers
sKIp_E

Mate as I said to the other guy put it in the offical Cricket thread

Well I watched the final Innings and I never had a doubt that Australia would lose, Gillespies out but really do we need him?

Muller (what happened to him? I know he cant bowl) Fleming, Kasprowich etc we have good fast bowlers it doesnt matter about Williams or whomever they pick Australia will be too strong again and Sharajah would be perfect for them conditions and pitch wise

Originally posted by zul-aid
Mate as I said to the other guy put it in the offical Cricket thread

Well I watched the final Innings and I never had a doubt that Australia would lose, Gillespies out but really do we need him?

Muller (what happened to him? I know he cant bowl) Fleming, Kasprowich etc we have good fast bowlers it doesnt matter about Williams or whomever they pick Australia will be too strong again and Sharajah would be perfect for them conditions and pitch wise

Gillespie is above those other guys u mentioned though, and after the way we batted in our 2nd innings, and fielded in their 2nd, nothing is certain ;)

Cheers
sKIp_E

West Indies Vs India
1st day went to india but today they have had such a bad day with so slow scoring...the tail again failed...such a boring day of test match cricket

SECOND TEST PAKISTAN VS AUSTRALIA

Pakistan all out for 59 (first nine wickets fell in the first session :| )
Australia 1/60 odd at Tea (Langer got run out from on of those freak rebounds off the bowlers hands)

This looks like another Innings defeat...

WOW!
That really is bad!
What happened!
I might go to cricinfo and check it out ;)

Cheers
sKIp_E

Man when I was watching it on Foxtel, Aussie were playing easy... um Rashid Latif and Shoaib Akthar were off the pitch for a while Umpal or some similar was wicketkeeper for a while and someone else came on for Shoaib but I dont know who he was

Australia at the close of play were 4/196 with Hayden still not out

the pak vs aussie test match seems to be more interesting than india vs west indies

pak making their lowest score ever
steve waugh now unlucky 2nd time round....
boy i'd be looking at shoaib running to bowl to the aussies like he did in colombo

I merged this and the "Pakistan Vs Australia tests" thread...
thought it needed to be done..silly me started a new thread when it wasnt needed. So if ur looking for it, look no further ;)

Cheers
sKIp_E

Currently

Australia 8- 304 Hayden made a century

B Lee is gone for 12 (or 14 cant remember)

Australia finished with their innings

In reply Pakistan are 5-34 :|

AND ITS ALL OVER

9-53

Australia win by an innings and something like 199 runs

Razzaq is out for 6 weeks with a brokern wrist

Nazir made 16 M-Ul Haq made 12
4 ducks

Australia made 312

begs the question where is Wasim Akram, Ijaz Ahmed, Ijaz Ahmed Jnr, Inzaman Ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Anwar? so many others missing not all could be injuried could they be protesting about the location of the tests?

Australia go 2-0 in the three match test series with the last to be played at Sharajah again

HERE IS THE NEWS

Brian Lara will later this month tell the world he is retiring from international cricket.... why you ask ?? recently he left the ICC ournament with a mystery illness ... it is HIV brian lara has aids .. this hasnt been released yet to the press and dont bothe asking me how i know but i believe this is true from the source i got it from

~~

go aussie go

back luck BL

WTF tell me whats you source???????????

wtf ??? he has aids ????

Well a friend of mine has being doing work for the WACA (west australian Cricket Assoc) and they offered him a trip to Sri Lanka for the ICC tournament to view how the tourny was organised and how other stratergies were put into place ... so anyways he went to the official players and coaches functions ... got chatting to the Indian team doctor who said that he heard from the west indian team doctor that Brian Laras tests for hepititas were inconclusive which meant he had to look at other possible viral infections and They were testing him for aids ... and they thought it was it !

yeah well we have to wait and see what happens

the aussie's humped pakistan bowling the out fot 59 and 53:|

Originally posted by Chelsea2001
the aussie's humped pakistan bowling the out fot 59 and 53:|

just wait til you poms come over here ... itll be worse than that :D

:jambo:

what a day for india ! bowled the windies for 167 !!!! india 31 for no loss .... india should make more than 450(or more) to ensure that they will not have to bat again in this test

Originally posted by maddog1983
this explains so much !! you see now i understand what tony blair has been saying !! about war against Iraq~~!! if we go to war they'll send all the aussies first (like always) then many will fall and thy will have to draft up young blokes ... the cricketers will swallow their pride and go to war thus england touring against our 8th string team ... they may still lose but it gives them a better chance ... nice work Blairy !! What a load of bollox...

***GANDALF***

I never realised how many Aussies there were on these forums!

***GANDALF***

Dont count on it Australia bowled pakistan or 59 and only made 303 or so only to leave them with something like 250 lead, probably the pitch plays more of a part then it does team performance (yeah Australia was convincing but I dont their batting was all that impressive).