Australian team fined again!

The Australian team again was fined by the match referee for slow over rate against New Zealand in the first test match. The team was fined 30% of the match fee though they have won the first test comfortably.

Ponting's Take On Bowling, Over Rates, and Symonds

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting's comments in Australia after the 0-2 loss to India in the four match series in India.

Ponting has written in his "Captain's Daiary 2008" about bowling in India, the over rates and also about Symonds.

On Bowling in India:

"I have said since I got back that there are a host of things that conspire against you in India. It is a hard place for fast bowlers to get through their overs."

On Slow Over Rates:

"There is a great responsibility for everyone around the world to look at this over rate issue and make sure each team is doing the right thing by the game."

On Andrew Symonds:

"I don't expect him to be the model citizen when he comes back into the side, I expect him to be the Andrew Symonds of old. That's what we all love about him."

India v. England Test Venue Changed to Chennai!

With the recent terror attack in Mumbai, England team called off the remaining 2 ODI matches supposed to be played at Guwhati and Delhi. They wanted to go back to England. In a metting between BCCI and ECB Team Management, the decision to call off the ODIs was taken.

They have also decided to postpone the two test series. The first test will be played in Ahemadabad as planned, but the second test venue was changed from Mumbai to Chennai. Both the teams have two weeks before they start the first test on December 11.

All the cricketing personalities are of the view that no player should be forced to stay or play cricket in India for now. ECB and Kevin Pietersen are also of the same view and are not forcing anybody to stay or play the matches.

As of now, the test matches will be played as scheduled except the venue of second test changed to Chennai.

5th ODI: Ind v. Eng: Sehwag put India 5-0 Up!

In the 5th ODI played in Kanpur, India beat England one more time and lead the series 5-0. With two more matches to go, England has to find some tactics to handle the Indians.

Kevin Pietersen was surprised when Dhoni elected to field and expressed it during the interview after the toss.

Cook replaced Bell and opened the innings with Bopara. England started slowly and also lost wickets in between. Kevin Pietersen played a captain's innings and scored an unbeaten 111 off 128 balls with 10 fours and a six. He built a good 89-run partnership of with Collingwood and took the score to 157 at the end of 30 overs. Flintoff out for a duck on the third ball he faced. He was caught by Tendulkar of Ishanth Sharma. Pietersen then built another partnership with with Shah (66 not out) took the score to 270.

Once though to be a 300+ score was restricted by the Indian bowlers who really bowled well. The spinners curtailed and in the later overs, the pace bowlers helped India to have a reasonable target.

Chase started with Sehwag and Tendulkar opening the innings. Gambhir was given rest and replaced by Rohit Sharma. Tendulkar and Sehwag added another 100-run partnership to their list of partnership. They added 136 runs for the first wicket with Sachin bowled one more time between the bat and pad. He scored his 90th fifty.

Sehwag was smashing the ball to boundaries at the other end. He reached his 33rd ODI fifty in just 41 balls with 10 fours and a six. He hit 20 runs of Swann's first over which included 3 fours, a six and a two.

Yuvaraj was promoted to No. 3, but could not stay in the crease for long. He checked his shot of the ball pitched on middle and gave a return catch to Bopara. Sehwag got out in the next next ball, unlucky to be given leg before. The ball was clearly missing the leg stump but Broad was lucky to get the wicket.

Dhoni and Rain scored fifty each and took the score closer to the target. Dhoni was leg before to Swann, but Rain and Rohit completed the formalities with 6.2 overs to spare.

Sehwag was declared man of the match for his swashbuckling innings of 91 in 72 balls with 15 fours and a six.

Scoreboard:

Match: 5th ODI
Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
Teams: India and England
Captains: MS Dhoni and Kevin Pietersen
Toss: India won the toss and decided to field
Match Result: India won by 6 wickets with 38 balls remaining
Series Result: India leading by 5-0
Man of the Match: Virendera Sehwag (India)

England 270 for 4 in 50 overs (RS Bopara 24, AN Cook 11, KP Pietersen 111 not out, PD Collingwood 40, A Flintoff 0, OA Shah 66 not out, Extras--18 (lb 14, w 4), Irfan Pathan 10-1-57-0, Zaheer 10-1-60-2, Ishanth Sharma 10-0-54-1, Harbahajan 10-0-47-1, Yuvaraj Singh 10-0-38-0)

Fall of Wickets: 1-33 (Cook, 5.5 ov), 2-68 (Bopara, 9.5 ov), 3-157 (Collingwood, 29.6 ov), 4-158 (Flintoff, 30.4 ov)

India 273 for 4 in 43.4 overs (Sehwag 91, Tendulkar 50, Yuvaraj Singh 6, Dhoni 50, Raina 53 not out, Rohit Sharma 8 not out, Extras--15 (lb 5, w 8, nb 2), Harmison 10-1-50-1, Broad 8.4-0-54-1, Flintoff 9-0-43-0, Patel 3-0-23-0, Swann 7-0-56-1, Bopara 6-1-42-1)

Fall of Wickets: 1-136 (Tendulkar, 19.5 ov), 2-156 (Yuvraj Singh, 22.6 ov), 3-156 (Sehwag, 23.1 ov), 4-250 (Dhoni, 40.6 ov)

Modi says Test Match Stays!

Lalit Modi, in an interview to the television channel said that the remaining ODI matches stands cancelled due to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the financial hub of India.

It was decided in the meeting between England Team Management and the BCCI. Lalit said that Test Match schedule remains the same. The test matches will be played as scheduled except that the venue of the second test to be played in Mumbai will be changed.

The new venue will be identified in 24 hours time.

England ODIs Called Off

After the recent bomb blast and terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, England team management met the BCCI officials. Looks like the England Team Management discussed with every player about the current situation and their stand.

It was decided to call of the remaining 2 ODI matches and postpone the Test matches.

The matches to be played in Guwathi and Delhi were cancellled with the tour ending with India winning the series 5-0.

Hayden May Retire After Ashes

Hayden who is believed to have been told by the CA selectors that his career will not last longer than a year from now, has said that he is no certainty to be around once this summer is over.

He said, "I reckon there is a chance of that always. When you get to my age, you get to a point where the next 12 months is a long, long way away."