Idea Cup renews advertiser interest in cricket

According to media planners Doordarshan is commanding a rate of Rs 2 lakh for a 10 second spot and Ten Sports, which had reserved some inventory for the last few matches, has hiked its rates to Rs 2.5 lakh from its earlier rates, which hovered between Rs 1.80-2 lakh.

“There is almost 20 per cent of inventory left with Ten Sports and it has jacked up its asking rate to Rs 2.5 lakh for the 4th and 5th one day international (ODI) of the Idea Cup,” says Mr Venkat Subramanian, Vice-President, Lintas Media Group.

Having sold spots for clients such as Maruti and Sony Bravia, Lintas Media Group believes it has got good rates having bought spots earlier in the series.

Renewed interest

“Initially there was poor response from the advertisers, but considering India won the last ODI, there was interest shown by advertisers. Now the last two matches are going to be crucial for both the teams and Ten Sports will be jacking up its rates for its left over inventory,” added Mr Subramanian. The fourth match to be played on Tuesday was washed out due to rain and will be played on Wednesday, August 27.

However, the Idea Cup has been attracting the regular set of cricket advertisers with companies such as LG, Airtel, Vodafone, Coke and Pepsi buying airtime on its matches.

But advertisers who booked early had to pay much less and the going rate at the beginning of the series during the test matches hovered at Rs 40,000 for a ten second spot.

“India did not fare well during the first test match and the ad spots would have fetched the channels at least Rs 40,000,” observes Mr Navin Khemka, Vice-President, Zenith Optimedia. The media buying agency has clients such as Hewlett Packard, which was the animation sponsor for the series.

“Ten Sports would be asking a rate of Rs 2 lakh for its ODI matches and would be commanding a 10 per cent premium for the saved inventory in the last two matches which would be full by now,” added Mr Khemka.

At the same time, cricket has not been the flavour of the season on television as new general entertainment channels (GEC) have earmarked huge media spends for their launches.

For instance, of late the new GEC channel Colors has been flooding the media with its new shows such as Big Boss. As Mr Tarun Nigam, Executive Director, Starcom Media, observes, “Today media buying agencies are influenced by the hype created by new GEC channels. There is not much buying happening for cricket right now compared to the reality shows on the GEC channels. It is possible that there was not much media buying for the Idea Cup as there seemed to be sustained hype about the newly-launched GEC channels.”

Australia-India Test in Bangalore will go on

Australia's high-profile cricket Test series in India will begin as scheduled in Bangalore in October, even though a tennis tournament was called off there over security fears, officials said Wednesday.

"There is no change in the itinerary. Bangalore will host the first Test," said Indian cricket board secretary Niranjan Shah.

India's four-match series against world champions Australia opens in Bangalore from October 9-13. The remaining Tests will be played in Mohali, New Delhi and Nagpur.

A string of bomb blasts last month in Bangalore, the country's high-tech hub in the south, left one person dead and a dozen injured.

Australia last week joined a boycott of next month's Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan due to security concerns, forcing the International Cricket Council to put off the eight-nation tournament till 2009.

The ATP confirmed in a statement issued Wednesday that the tournament, due to begin on September 29, had been cancelled.

"The ATP board can confirm that it has regrettably accepted a petition from the Bangalore Open to suspend the 2008 event due to the local promoter's security concerns," the statement said.

"The total event prize money of 400,000 dollars will now be paid into the ATP player pension fund."

Local media reports speculated that tennis organisers had cited security fears because they had failed to attract top players for the event.

India's only other ATP event, the Chennai Open in January, attracts star players like world number one Rafael Nadal, who use it to prepare for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam event of the season.

England cricket's deadly weapon: Murray Mints

The Australians have rumbled us. England's cricketers, all appointed MBEs by the Queen, apparently cheated when they won the Ashes in 2005. It wasn't superior bowling or more dogged batting - or even luck - that won England the little urn. Instead, it was their secret weapon: Murray Mints.

According to Marcus Trescothick, the opening batsman, England's bowlers used the sugary saliva from sucking on the sweets to moisten the surface of the cricket ball, making it swing through the air. Trescothick was the go-to man when a gobbet of spittle was needed and always kept a packet of mints in the pocket of his whites for such occasions.

Once this became known through the serialisation of Trescothick's autobiography in a Sunday newspaper, the Australian media gleefully leapt on the news. “The secret behind the devastating swing bowling that took England to its historic 2005 Ashes win has been revealed. They cheated,” wrote The Australian. Former players were dredged up to complain about perfidious Albion.

But bowlers have always tried to give themselves an advantage and generally, unless it has been blatant, umpires have turned a blind eye. Suncream-laden sweat or lip balm has the same effect on leather as mint-infused saliva. Why do you think so many bowlers in the 1950s wore Brylcreem? In 1921, Johnny Douglas, the England captain, threatened to report Arthur Mailey, the Australia leg spinner, for using resin to grip the ball. Mailey countered by pointing out that Douglas's thumbnail was worn to the bone by picking at the ball's seam to aid his own bowlers.

England's Murray Mint strategy is a continuation of a long history of bowlers trying to get away with it. And why not? Cricket is a battle between poachers and gamekeepers. The laws of the game, aided by modern pitches, are biased towards the batsmen, so bowlers have to be cunning, even dastardly, in finding ways to get them out.

Seventy-five years ago England invented Bodyline - bowling fast at the batsman's head - to counter the batting of Don Bradman (born, coincidentally, 100 years ago today). That was against the spirit of the game but not the rules as they then stood. Attacking a ball with mint-spit is against the rules, which say you can't use any artificial substance on the ball, but not the spirit.

Anyway, the Sunday newspaper got the story wrong. As Trescothick's autobiography makes quite clear, the mischief with the Murray Mints did not happen in 2005 but during the Ashes summer of 2001. England lost that series 4-1, proving that when it comes to cheating, we suck.

‘Mendis has not been exposed’

Australia’s John Buchanan has been one of the most successful coaches of this era. Since he joined the Australian team as a coach, the bar has only risen. It has become one of the toughest team to beat.

After his term ended with the Australian team, he was approached by IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, however, he failed to recreate the same magic in the first edition. Buchnan is in the city for a two-day talent hunt program organised by Omtex for the IPL francisee at the Goregaon Sports Club, where he will select the best players
from U-19 and U-22 category and train them.

“We want to reach out to the grass-root level and build up an infrastructure, pick up talented players for the future. We are going to select a few players and send them to
Australia for training,” Buchanan said. He also revealed that some might get an opportunity to play for KKR in the next season. “If we find good players, they might play for us next season. We are not only looking at the current scenario but also the future.”

The 55-year-old also expressed his views on cricket’s latest debate, the game being included in the Olympics. He said the game needs to clean its image before making in it.
“Cricket ought to initially clean its own backyard and then strive to secure a place in the Olympics,” he added.

india vs srilanka 4th odi

Rain delays 4th ODI between India and Sri Lanka

Intermittent drizzle today delayed the day-night fourth and penultimate cricket one-dayer between India and Sri Lanka here.
It started raining around half an hour before the match was scheduled to begin, leaving the outfield of the R Premadasa stadium damp. The covers were still on.

India is leading the five-match rubber 2-1 and looking to seal the match while the home side would be trying to keep the series alive. PTI

NZ Cricket names A team for Australia, India tour

New Zealand Cricket has named the A team which will tour Australia and India over the next two months.

The team's selection was delayed while the future of Pakistan's Champions Trophy was in doubt over security fears. It has now been postponed until next year.

New Zealand coach John Bracewell said players were selected with an eye to the future.

"We have taken the opportunity to assemble a team of emerging talent and players who will benefit from the experience of touring and playing in Australia and India.

"The tour is helping to build the experience of these players and is part of a programme to build greater depth at the international level."

The team leaves on Friday for Brisbane where they will play warm up matches against the Queensland Bulls before heading to India next week for a one-day tri-series against India A and Australia A.

The New Zealanders will then stay on for two first class matches against India A.

Black Caps Jeetan Patel and Mark Gillespie will take part in the one-day matches while Iain O'Brien joins the team for the first class games.

Otago's Mike Hesson takes the reins as coach with Glenn Turner as manager.

New Zealand A Team: Brent Arnel, Neil Broom, Grant Elliott, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Iain O'Brien, Martin Guptill, Greg Hay, Nathan McCullum, James Marshall, Michael Mason, Jeetan Patel, Trent Boult, Aaron Redmond, Bradley Scott, Reece Young, BJ Watling.

CRICKET BRIEFS

Lillee wants rotation policy for pacers

Chennai: Expressing concern over increasing workload of the fast bowlers due to more one-day and Twenty20 cricket, former Australian speedster Dennis Lillee said on Monday that genuine pacers need to be rotated and preserved if they are to prolong their careers.The pace ‘guru’ said, “the genuinely quick have to be preserved and if it means they have to miss a few games it should not bother.”

Saheba to officiate

Calcutta: The ICC on Monday appointed Jawagal Srinath as the Match Referee for the upcoming ODI series between Australia and Bangladesh, says A Staff Reporter. Jawagal Srinath, who is in the elite panel of ICC Match Referees, will oversee the series while the on-field umpire would be India’s Amish Saheba, an ICC release said. Umpires: Aug: 30: Amish Saheba & Peter Parker (local); Sept. 3: Amish Saheba & Bruce Oxenford (local); Sept. 6: Amish Saheba & Peter Parker (local).

Clarke’s view

Brisbane: Stand-in Australian captain Michael Clarke has played down the furore over former England opener Marcus Trescothick’s revelation that he illegally used a breath mint to help his bowlers gain extra swing during the 2005 Ashes series.

Hayden to miss

Brisbane: Opening batsman Matthew Hayden will miss Australia’s limited overs cricket series against Bangladesh starting Saturday because of an Achilles tendon injury. Michael Clarke will lead the team in Ponting’s absence.

Ryan out

Calcutta: England bowler Ryan Sidebottom will miss the last four one-day Internationals against South Africa because of groin and hip problems, says A Staff Reporter. Tim Bresnan had already been called up as cover, while Steve Harmison rescinded his retirement from one-day cricket to take two wickets at Headingley on Friday.

Asif inquiry

Karachi: Mohammed Asif and his lawyer Hamid Karim are coming to India next week to appear before the drugs inquiry tribunal of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Karim said on Monday that he had asked for some clarifications from the IPL on the Asif doping case and they would travel to India next week to attend a tribunal hearing.

Kapil’s take

Thiruvananthapuram: Sreesanth should concentrate on cricket instead of fiddling his hand in off-field activities if he wants to continue to make a mark in cricket, says former India captain Kapil Dev.

Sreeshant should focus on cricket not acting: Kapil

India pacer S Sreeshant should concentrate on cricket instead of fiddling his hand in off-field activities if he wants to continue to make a mark in cricket, says former India captain Kapil Dev.

Stating that Sreeshant was a very enterprising cricketer, Kapil said the young Kerala pacer alone would be responsible if his performance suffers because of his off-field activities.

"The boy should come back to cricket, otherwise he will be the sufferer and nobody else," Kapil said referring to his acting and singing ventures.

The country's only World Cup-winning captain said Sreeshant's aggression should be constructive and should be for his own good and for the team.

"Aggression on the field is very good. But, that should help you deliver," Kapil said.

"You should perform and that is the bottom line," he said.

On the criticism that cricket in the country was getting more encouragement than other sports, Kapil said corporates and media should focus more on the development of sports events other than cricket.

"Cricket will survive. I want the corporates to put money on other sports. That did not mean that cricket should be pulled down," he said.

On Indian Premier League and Indian Cricket League, Kapil said the people of the country would judge after watching both though he said IPL was a success in terms of marketing.

Kapil, also Brand Ambassador of West Bengal-based SRMB Udyog Ltd, was talking to reporters after signing an MOU between Kerala Small Industries Development Corporation Ltd and SRMB.

Welcoming the proposed new rules of BCCI for appointing selectors, Kapil said BCCI's move would do good to the game.

"That will bring back cricketers to cricket," he said. The MOU was for marketing the products of SRMB through SIDCO's 140 outlets across the state.

Playing the lead to perfection

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has adapted his game superbly to the needs of his team over the last couple of years and it was again evident in a bristling 76 that helped leave India a win away from their first ODI series triumph in Sri Lanka. On a tough tour like this, India needed their captain to get into some sort of form to lift their spirits. Dhoni delivered, with a different yet no less effective approach.

Coming in with India at 91 for 4 in the 22nd over after another failure by the middle order, Dhoni knuckled down, didn't take any risks, ran like a hare, and finished with a match-winning effort. From the start, his primary focus was on survival. He had to make do with what he had, and had to make it work. Not being a natural cutter and puller, he had to graft for his runs, but showed he was up for the challenge.

Dhoni has said before that the more batsmen faced Ajantha Mendis the more they could establish some sort of command over him. Having faced him twice in three days, handling him well the second time in Dambulla, Dhoni went out to the middle and began in earnest.

Crouched, bat coming down repeatedly, Mendis was watched until the ball spat off the track, and then, with a huge stride, pushed it gently onto the off side. When Mendis once erred in line, Dhoni's bat flashed the ball away for four. "Till now Mendis was never under any pressure and was bowling at his best," Dhoni said. "You need to punish him if he bowls a bad ball. If you continue to defend him, he will always be on top."

There was turn in the track but Dhoni's footwork was positive and he carried an intent that suggested he wanted to give it back to Sri Lanka. He drove the ball handsomely while also showing ingenuity in finding the gaps, and displayed great application in hanging in to make sure that India would reach a good score despite the regular fall of wickets. In Suresh Raina, whose promising knock was kept down to 53 after a bizarre call for a single ran him out, and Rohit Sharma, Dhoni found adequate support.

In his first couple of years in international cricket, Dhoni would usually attack the bowling regardless of the match scenario, scoring at nearly a run a ball. But he has since altered his method; he now scores runs with greater precision and care. Dhoni doesn't hit as many boundaries, but still gets them at a brisk rate, and while his reputation as a finisher is well known, he's now started, as captain, to play smart innings with an eye on the result.

"I'm giving myself a chance," Dhoni said. "I had a different role when I started playing international cricket, batting at a different slot. We had players to play long innings but I was one of those to go out and accelerate and even if I got out, it was okay. There was a transformation, and in the last two years I've been under a little pressure to be more responsible. That's what I'm doing, and I've got a strike rate of nearly 90."

Once Dhoni crossed fifty, he upped the tempo with consecutive boundaries off Muttiah Muralitharan, who went wicketless. A single-run, double-wicket over from Mendis in the 49th took the sheen over how well India had handled him for nine overs. A competitive total was ensured when India passed 220 and Dhoni's effort went a long way in India winning the game.

It wasn't an easy win. India had Sri Lanka at 59 for 6 but allowed them to get within striking distance, dropping five catches along the way. The top order blues continued, but Dhoni showed the way admirably.

"If there's commitment, that's victory for me," he said earlier this year when asked about leading a bunch of young players. When they get it right India are a treat to watch, but this team often hangs back when you most expect them to sting. Dhoni must now focus on getting the message through to his embattled batting order.

Terror fears stump cricket

THE International Cricket Council yesterday postponed for a year the Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan, after teams expressed security concerns and threatened to pull out o f the event .

After meeting in Dubai, the ICC board announced their decision on the most important one-day cricket tournament after the World Cup.

South Africa withdrew on Friday — unwilling to travel to Pakistan for the September 12-28 event .

It had become clear to Pakistani cricket authorities that Australia, England, New Zealand and the West Indies would also pull out .

“There was unanimious decision to postpone it until October 2009 ,” ICC president David Morgan said . “India were quite influential in persuading some other nations .”

Pakistan is fighting Taliban and al-Qaida militants and has endured a string of suicide bomb attacks in the last year that have killed more than 1000 people

Sri Lankan cricketers land Bollywood roles

Sri Lanka's top cricketers had a shot at Bollywood stardom when they were filmed for an upcoming movie that features some of the best players in the world.

Scenes for "Victory," a story of a small town boy who dreams of playing cricket for India, were shot in Colombo last week, with actor Harman Baweja playing against Sri Lanka's national team.

Sri Lankan stars Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya were among those filmed at one of Colombo's oldest cricket venues, the Oval.

Also starring in the 10-million-dollar movie will be the Indian team, plus Australian paceman Brett Lee, England bowlers Sajid Mahmood and Simon Jones, and New Zealander Craig McMillan.

"The film combines what Indians love best - cricket, music and Bollywood movies," Sri Lankan producer Chandran Rutnam, who handled the Colombo leg of the shooting said.

Rutnam said Bollywood names such as Baweja and Amrita Rao play key roles in the movie, but the biggest draw would be 40 international cricketers from seven countries, who all play themselves.

"This was more difficult than actually playing cricket," Sri Lankan paceman Dilhara Fernando told reporters here, after his first Bollywood experience.

The plot centres around a father who dreams his young son (played by Baweja) will rise from a small village in Rajasthan to play cricket for India.

"Luckily, I've always been a cricket fan, but then I think every Indian is born loving cricket," Baweja, 27, told reporters.

Selectors to get paid Rs 25 Lakhs per year

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at its working committee meeting on Saturday have decided to pay an annual honorarium of Rs 25 lakhs to each of the five selectors, who would be chosen once the present selection committee completes its tenure that ends on September 30.

The meeting also decided to appoint those who have played for India, or those who have played more than 25 first-class matches as selectors while appointing a senior selector. It will be ensured that he should have retired at least ten years ago.

The meeting also made it mandatory that the selector, at the time of appointment, will not be an office-bearer of the BCCI or any of its affiliated units.

Several key decisions, including distributions of prize money to sportspersons from other game, were also taken during the meeting.

However, all the decisions will come into effect only after the Annual General body Meeting (AGM) to be held here at the Cricket Centre on September 27 and 28.

The BCCI and the Sports Ministry have set up the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) with a corpus of Rs 50 crores, and as per the communication received from the Sports Ministry, Rs 5.34 crores have been utilized from the NSDF to support the sportspersons who had been selected for the Beijing Olympics.

The BCCI reiterated its commitment to participate in the development and promotion of other sports. The Working Committee accordingly decided to increase the Board’s contribution to the corpus from Rs 25 crores to Rs 50 crores for the next three years.

ICC will need a week to reschedule CT venue

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will require at least seven days to reschedule and reorganise the Champions Trophy from Pakistan to Sri Lanka, fuelling speculation that it will announce a tournament shift tomorrow night.

A senior Australian official was told yesterday that the tournament could be successfully shifted on one week``s notice.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Cricket Australia is awaiting the announcement of the tournament``s destination, which will be done after a phone hook-up between ICC member nations tomorrow.

It is also understood that security checks of Sri Lanka could be completed to the satisfaction of the countries unwilling to tour Pakistan - Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa - in seven days.

The ICC apparently has realised that it cannot convince these four teams to tour, given that in the last three days there have been bomb blasts across Pakistan, leading to the deaths of over 100 people.
Though ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has said it would be too late for a shift, Australian officials said that they had been told that there was still a "50-50 chance" it could be played in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan cricket board has said that it would be ready at a moment``s notice to host the games.

Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appears entrenched in its view that the tournament should be held in Pakistan.

BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah refused to predict the outcome of the phone hook-up of ICC presidents, but pledged full support for the Pakistan cricket board.

"We are supporting Pakistan. The event must be in Pakistan. I don``t think we will change our stance at the moment. I don``t think the Indian board will change [its view] in the present circumstances," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Shah, as saying.

Pressed on whether a refusal to shift the trophy to Sri Lanka would split the cricket world, he said: "I don``t think it will be divided. I think there will be a solution on this."

Cricket ponders Olympic declaration

When veteran Chinese leader Zhou Enlai was asked in the early 1970s what he thought of the impact of the French Revolution of 1789, he replied: "It is too early to say."

How much harder then to speculate on the future.

And when it came to cricket's possible inclusion as an Olympic sport, International Cricket Council (ICC) president David Morgan, in Beijing for the ongoing Games, weighed his words with a care that would have appealed to both Zhou and the opening batsman deciding on what to play and what to leave.

It is not so much too early as too easy to say that while Adam Gilchrist is in favour of Twenty20 cricket, the shortest international form of the game, becoming an Olympic sport and Ian Chappell is very much against, Morgan is very much sat on the fence.

Unlike the two Australians, Morgan leads a large multi-national organisation which finds it difficult to make decisions without the consent of its most powerful members, who do not always see eye-to-eye.

Add in the fact that the earliest likely date for the return of cricket, which did feature in the 1900 Games, to the Olympics is 2020 and Morgan's caution is all the more understandable.

ICC board to discuss fate of Champions Trophy

The International Cricket Council (ICC) executive board will hold a teleconference on Sunday to decide the fate of the Champions Trophy, amid concerns by players about travelling to Pakistan for the event.

An ICC task force set up to allay the safety concerns of the Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa boards will hold its own teleconference first, on Friday, an ICC press release said on Wednesday.

Serious doubts remain over the Sept. 12-28 event, the most important one-day event after the World Cup, due to concerns raised because of a spate of suicide bombings in Pakistan over recent months.

On Wednesday, senior ICC officials reviewed feedback received by its task force from Australia, New Zealand and England officials before calling for the teleconferences, it said.

ICC president David Morgan, chief executive Haroon Lorgat and vice-president Sharad Pawar attended Wednesday's meeting. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Shafqat Naghmi was also present.

The ICC's independent security consultants have reviewed the safety arrangements for the tournament. Rawalpindi has been removed as a venue with matches scheduled to be staged only in Lahore and Karachi.

Lorgat told Reuters last Friday that the tournament would be cancelled rather than relocated if security and safety conditions deteriorated significantly because there was little time left.

India skittles Sri Lanka for 142 in Dambulla ODI

The Dambulla wicket is known for producing low scoring games and it lived up to the reputation as India bowled out the Sri Lankans for 142 runs in less than 39 overs in the second one-day international at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium here Wednesday.

The strong winds here in Dambulla ground, aided by the adjoining ancient Ibankatuwa tank, encourages swing bowling.

The left-arm seamer Zaheer's initial spell of eight overs in the morning gave Indians the edge as he claimed the wickets of Sanath Jayasuriya (13), Kumar Sangakkara (2), Mahela Jayawardene (2) and Chamara Kapugedara (0) to swing the game in India's favour.

Bowling from the Press Box End, with the wind behind his arm, Zaheer got one to seam back which had Sangakkara's off stump disturbed. He then claimed the wicket of captain Jayawardene with a full delivery that took the outside edge and flew to first slip where Yuvraj Singh juggled and took the catch. Kapugedara became Zaheer's next victim when he edged one to M.S. Dhoni behind the stumps.

Praveen Kumar was brought in place of left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, and he pushed the Sri Lankans further by claiming Chamara Silva for no score to leave the host in tatters at 11 for four at the end of the seventh over.

Sri Lanka had moved up to 33 before Zaheer struck with the prize scalp of the dangerous Sanath Jayasuriya when the left-hander shuffled across and was ruled leg before wicket.

Irfan Pathan came on and picked up the last recognised batsman Tillekeratne Dilshan for 16 before the tail wagged.

Nuwan Kulasekara added 74 runs in 95 balls with Thilan Tushara Mirando taking the total past 100. Mirando top scored for the Sri Lankans with a career best 44 in 46 balls with seven boundaries while Kulasekara went on to score 25 in 62 balls with the help of two boundaries.

Phatak makes sure India’s cricket capital remembers the Don on his birth centenary

BMC to sponsor function; also felicitated will be Bhausaheb Nimbalkar who scored 443 not out for Maharashtra in 1948-49 Ranji match, just missing Bradman’s then record of 452

In this age of media frenzy over small time celebrities and reality show winners, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is upset that ‘not much is being done’ to celebrate the birth centenary of the ‘greatest cricketer ever’ Sir Donald Bradman, who was born on August 27, 1908. Municipal Commissioner Jairaj Phatak, a great fan of the Don, has taken the lead to sponsor a function on behalf of the civic body, with other cricket lovers, on Saturday.

Also felicitated during the Bradman celebrations will be Bhausaheb Babasaheb Nimbalkar, the batsman who in 1948-49 just missed surpassing the Don’s then record score of 452 not out. He had scored 443 not out for Maharashtra against Kathiawar in a Ranji Trophy match at Pune, which is still the fourth highest in first class cricket.

Dwarkanath Sanzgiri said that, through his trust ‘Tirkat Dha’, Nimbalkar will be given Rs 44,300 as a mark of respect for his feat. “Nimbalkar is 90 now and stays at Kolhapur but he has agreed to make it to the function. It will be truly memorable to celebrate Bradman’s birth centenary in the presence of Nimbalkar, who was deprived of a world record when the opposition did not come back to play and, instead, conceded the match,” he said.

Bradman’s stupendous Test batting average of 99.94 has been claimed to be statistically the greatest achievement in any major sport. But for Phatak, Bradman is much more than the greatest ever sportsman — he is “an administrative and management Guru”.

“The BMC will provide the rent for the auditorium and pay for the arrangements. We will spend a small amount of Rs 50,000 for the celebrations,” Phatak told Newsline. Mayor Shubha Raul is expected to attend the function. Phatak is himself a former chess champion — he won the national inter-varsity chess championship from the IIT-Mumbai team in 1974 and the Nagpur District Open Chess Champion in 1976.

The idea of the Bradman centenary celebrations was mooted by the municipal commissioner after Sanzgiri introduced him to cricketer Vinod Kambli. “Why is nothing being done on Bradman’s 100 th birth anniversary... just because he is not in the news today? People go crazy about celebrities and film actors, but 100 years of this greatest batsman definitely needs a salute,” Sanzgiri opined recalling Phatak’s words.

Sri Lanka all out for 142 in second cricket one-dayer

DAMBULLA, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Sri Lanka were bowled out for 142 in the second one-day international against India at the Rangiri International Stadium here on Wednesday.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had elected to field after winning the toss against Sri Lanka in the second one-day international here on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka were leading 1-0 in the five-match series following their eight-wicket win in the opening one-dayer on Monday.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Fernando.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Irfan Pathan, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Subramaniam Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar.

Umpires: Billy Doctrove (WIS) and Gamini Silva (SRI)

TV umpire: Tyron Wijewardene (SRI)

Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

Cricket Australia awaits ICC meeting

Australia hope an International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Dubai on Wednesday will provide some "clarity" on security issues which threaten the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

Australia are defending champions in the biennial event but the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) has recommended to its players that touring Pakistan for the eight-nation tournament starting on September 12 is not safe because of civil unrest.

Sri Lanka is a possible alternative venue but ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the tournament would be staged in Pakistan as scheduled and it was too late to make a switch.

ACA chief Paul Marsh said if the tournament was to go ahead in Pakistan, Cricket Australia (CA) would be likely to decide on behalf of its players to abandon the tour.

"If not it will come down to a decision from the players," Marsh told AAP.

"Our position is that we can't recommend that our players should tour Pakistan.

"Our safety concerns are very much based on the report that was supplied by the ICC and the report of the FICA (world players' body) Commission which the Pakistan board has and the report that Reg Dickason completed for Cricket Australia."

CA spokesman Peter Young said Australia had yet to make a formal decision on contesting the tournament.

"We have considerable reservations, as do our players and the Australian Cricketers' Association," Young told AAP.

"The ICC understands the considerable reservations that we, New Zealand, England, South Africa and perhaps some others hold.

"We have been advised that they (ICC) will meet on the 20th of August to consider that situation.

"We're hoping that the ICC will give us some advice ... some sort of certainty within the next 24 hours about what the next step in this process is.

India's batting under scrutiny again

Since the Asia Cup final, India's acclaimed batsmen have had to endure a dreadful ego hammering. There seems no quick solution in sight and time is certainly not at India's disposal with just a day's gap between the first two games. Traditionally sound players of spin, the Test and ODI specialists are still groping for answers when Ajantha Mendis comes on to bowl, and an eight-wicket drubbing at the same venue on Monday only reinforced his threat after the two defeats in the Tests.

The woeful situation is compounded by Virender Sehwag's departure after twisting his ankle at practice. His double-century was the key to India's victory in Galle and the two captains were only stating the obvious yesterday by stating his absence would be a big blow. That puts additional pressure on Gautam Gambhir as the man in form at the top, and it's anybody's guess as to who his opening partner will be. No replacement has been sought for Sehwag and questions will be raised over the omission of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have no such issues and will go in as firm favourites. The decision to play five specialist bowlers worked for them and not one bowler looked like a weak link.

Form guide (last 5 ODIs)

Sri Lanka WWLWW
India LLWLW

Watch out for

Gautam Gambhir: His second-ball duck notwithstanding, Gambhir is India's form batsman after Sehwag - his 310 runs was the second-highest aggregate in the Tests among batsmen of both teams. His ploy of walking down the pitch before a delivery may have an element of risk, but it only speaks of his confidence and intention of putting the bowler off his rhythm. Dhoni spoke about the importance of getting good starts, so it would fall upon Gambhir to bat responsibly without getting bogged down. With the limited resources available, Gambhir is probably India's best bet at the moment.

We misread the wicket, says Dhoni

It’s for a good reason that Sri Lanka are considered very tough to beat at home. They play hard in these stifling conditions and given the opportunity, go for the jugular. Though the Indians have played a fair bit at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, they misjudged the wicket as Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted after an eight-wicket hammering in the series opener here on Monday.

Beginning on a losing note doesn’t help matters but the Indian skipper was man enough to admit that they had blundered on the turf.

"To start with, we misread the wicket. We did not think it would seam or swing that much. There was a fair bit in the wicket to start off and the Sri Lankan bowlers bowled really well. They got the first two batsmen out, it was not like the batsmen played bad shots and got out. Credit goes to their fast bowlers, they got wickets. Later on, (Ajantha) Mendis put the pressure," said Dhoni.

All through the Test series, it’s been Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan versus the Indian batsmen. The two Lankan spinners have been really on top but it is Mendis’s mystery deliveries that have befuddled the Indians.

"It’s difficult to pick him. He is a very different bowler. Even if you pick him, by the time you realise what ball it is, it gets really late to play a big shot. In one-day cricket it is not only about playing him, you have to rotate the strike because you don’t want a bowler to end up with ten overs for 20 runs. We will need to find a way by which we can rotate the strike, if not play big shots.

"The trouble is in picking him; I have not seen any bowler like this. He is an unusual bowler. (We need) to take singles off him and Murali and look to attack the others because you have got to have something on the board. You can’t score 180 or 200 and look to defend that. You have to get a decent score for which we will have to score off each and every bowler."

The Indian skipper rued the absence of Virender Sehwag due to injury and said Gautam Gambhir’s early exit compounded their misery. "He (Sehwag) was the batsman in top form. Gautam also got out early. We lost the top two performers of the Test series.

"But that’s the way it is. It’s important to get a good start. In the last two finals, we lost quick wickets. We may look at a different composition as well, but it is at a very initial stage. But whatever fits the team best, we will decide on that."

'India will come back strongly'

Mahela Jayawardene is a cool, unruffled man. A good leader of men, the Lankan believes in leading from the front. On Monday, with the Indians having hit the self-destruct button, he showed the way with a composed, unbeaten half-century to set up the eight-wicket victory.

Having said that, Jayawardene admitted that he was surprised that the Indians keeled over in the manner they did. "When we started the game we didn’t expect it to be like this but I will take it. It’s important that when you start a five-match series you start well. I thought we bowled pretty well in the right areas and kept a lot of pressure on the Indian batsmen and created opportunities," said Jayawardene.

Gauging the conditions well, the Lankan skipper said that the Indians were 80-90 runs short of what could have been a difficult target.

"If they had gotten through that (initial) period and got 225 on the board it would have been a tough score to chase down than this. With the new ball it’s always going to do a bit; these wickets are like that, there’s bit of bounce in it and probably a bit of juice in the first eight overs (or so) and after that there is a bit of seam movement. There was seam movement when we were batting as well. (But) it was a very good one-day wicket."

Going up 1-0 is pleasing but the Lankan believes there is a lot of cricket left in the series and that the Indians are capable of hitting back.

"They will come back strongly. They have a very good side and they have a lot of talented individual players who can change the match for them. So we will make sure we will play the same brand of cricket that we played."

MAHENDRA VED: India lacking in strong sports culture, infrastructure

WHEN a young Indian shot to success, literally, at the ongoing Olympic Games in Beijing last week, he gave his countrymen, and the world, a reason to be proud of what a resurgent India could do.

I often use the expression "resurgent India" in this space. It is not in the gung-ho spirit, although that can be forgiven this time amid the celebrations at the feat of Abhinav Bindra.

The context here is the ability of an individual to surge ahead, irrespective of support from the system in which he is supposed to function.

Bindra's 10m air rifle Olympic gold, the first-ever by an individual Indian, is more an outcome of his single-minded pursuit, supported by his family. His industrialist father has afforded him a shooting range in the backyard of his sprawling house, complete with a computerised target transportation system.

He has seven rifles, top-of-the-line ammunition and other shooting gear on which he spends Rs10 million (RM80,000) annually. How many Indians can afford this?
The institutions have failed to create a sports culture and infrastructure. After a century of participation in the Olympics while still under British rule, Indians have won few medals in the international games. The total Olympics medals tally is 17, of which eight gold, a silver and a bronze came from hockey, which is now in total disarray.

But they have produced an elaborate network of central and state level bodies, both official and autonomous, and a sports bureaucracy.

Officials, often at loggerheads with each other when not squabbling with the government, outnumber sportsmen at international games year after year. When results are dismal, no one takes any responsibility.

It required a decade of defeats in hockey and disqualification from even entering the Beijing Games to remove the top honcho, and that too by sacking. Not that the next panel did any better.

Sehwag ruled out of ODIs

Virender Sehwag was on Monday ruled out of the one-day series against Sri Lanka due to an ankle injury.

Dilip Vengsarkar, chairman of national selectors, said that since there are 15 players still in the squad they are not looking for a replacement. The team management, too, hadn’t asked for one.

“Let’s see how the next match (in Dambulla again) goes… We can then take a call,” Vengsarkar said.

“Sehwag’s injury is bad and he will miss the remainder of the series,” team manager Sanjay Desai said.

Sehwag, who sustained the injury during a practice session, was ruled out of the opener in the five-match ODI series on Sunday itself. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni during his press conference after the defeat in the first ODI, said the team would miss the in-form opener.

“He was the batsman in top form. Gautam (Gambhir) also got out early. We lost the top two performers of the Test series. But that’s the way it is…

“You can’t really stop and think about the guys you will be missing in the series. Rather than that you will have to fill in that space. Because that is the only way your team can win,” the Team India captain added.

Former Indian Under-19 captain Virat Kohli, who replaced Sehwag at the top of the order for the opening match, made just 12 before he was trapped leg before wicket by Nuwan Kulasekara.

Sehwag’s missing out on the series will come as a huge blow to the Indian team already reeling under the Test defeat and another comprehensive loss on Monday.

The Indian opener stayed put at the hotel on Monday and Dhoni told the media that he was in bad shape.

Sehwag was India’s top scorer in the Test series and played a big role in India’s win the Galle Test with an unbeaten double century.

Recognise tennis cricket ball: Sportbodies re-appeal HC

So is cricket played with a tennis ball, cricket after all? This is an issue that Gujarat High court will decide on, again besides the larger issue of whether someone playing such cricket can be called a sportsperson!

This after the Tennis Ball Cricket Federation of India and the Gujarat State Tennis Ball Cricket Association filed an appeal against an earlier order ruling out this form of cricket as a recognized one.

Both the sports bodies have challenged observations made in May by Justice Bhagwati Prasad that "cricket with tennis ball is not cricket, and playing the gentleman's game with a tennis ball would not make you a sportsperson". So playing tennis ball cricket could not fetch you a job. The single bench of the high court had said so in a plea by one Jignesh Patel from Modasa urging the court to direct the education department to approve his certificate of participation in National Tennis Ball Cricket Championship as of recognized sportsperson. Patel was looking for a job of vidya sahayak in Banaskantha district after completion of his CPEd. He produced this certificate thinking that if he was considered a Sameer sportsperson, he Mahoolkar would get the benefit of additional 5 per cent marks in merit list fetching him the job. But the government refused to do so and the dispute reached high court with Justice Prasad observing that if tennis ball game is included in cricket, it would open a Pandora's box and people playing cricket in streets would also become entitled to get the benefits.

The sports bodies are aggrieved with this decision and have filed an appeal claiming that the order has damaged the reputation of the organizations and people associated with them are demoralized, said their advocate.

Moreover, the petition also seeks direction to the government to consider tennis ball game as regular cricket.

Cricket should not be welcomed into Olympics: Christie

New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) Cricketers might be excited at the idea of competing in Olympics but former champion Linford Christie has strongly opposed it, fearing the sport would "hamper" prospects of individual disciplines which wait for the Games to showcase their talents to the world.

"Team sports like cricket should not be included in the Olympics. Olympics is a personal game where sportsman tries to excel within himself," the 48-year-old 100 metre champion told PTI.

"It would be unfair to include cricket in the Olympics as the players of other sports, especially of individual events wait for the single day to happen and show their talents," he added.

Christie, the only British athlete to win 100 metre race gold medals in Olympics, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and European championships, feels including cricket in the Olympics could be detrimental to other disciplines.

Cricket wherever is popular, "hampers other sports, but it is the governments who should take corrective measures to ensure that individual sports also get their due," said Christie, who won the gold in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in 100 metre.

The Jamaica-born British sprinter, who also won silver medals in Seoul Olympics in 100 metre and 4x100 metre relay, said Olympics was for individual sportsman.

"Olympics is the lifeline. The player waits for this day after long four years to showcase his talent and also to let the world know about him," he said. PTI

India crash to Murali and Mendis in cricket one dayer

Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan shared six wickets as Sri Lanka shot India out for 146 in the first one-day international on Monday.

Spin sensation Mendis finished with 3-21 and off-spinner Muralitharan with 3-37 to ensure India remained under pressure throughout their innings after making a disappointing start.

Mendis grabbed two key wickets in his opening spell when he removed hard-hitting batsmen Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, while Muralitharan made short work of India's lower order.

The tourists suffered a setback even before the first ball had been bowled as in-form opener Virender Sehwag was ruled out of the match due to an ankle injury, sustained during a practice session on Sunday evening.

The middle-order batsman started aggressively against Mendis as he lofted the bowler over long-on for a six before being dismissed in the same over, bowled off an inside-edge while attempting to defend.

Skipper Dhoni (six) was caught by Jayawardene at lone slip while trying to cut Mendis to leave his team wobbling at 87-6.

India and Sri Lanka will play five one-day internationals, with the first two matches to be held here and the remaining three in Colombo.

Scoreboard

India:

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Gambhir), 2-23 (Kohli), 3-36 (Raina), 4-73 (Yuvraj), 5-75 (Sharma), 6-87 (Dhoni), 7-87 (Pathan), 8-107 (Zaheer), 9-117 (Harbhajan), 10-146 (Patel).

Overs: 46

Toss: India

Umpires: Billy Doctrove (WIS) and Asoka de Silva (SRI)

TV umpire: Gamini Silva (SRI)

Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

Cricket Australia concerned about preparation for Indian Test series

Cricket Australia is desperate to ensure that doubts about playing in Pakistan do not leave the side under-prepared for the important Test tour of India that follows, with fast bowler Stuart Clark prepared to take an early passage to India to prepare for the series.

If the ICC’s last-ditch effort to convince Australia to play in Pakistan is unsuccessful today, the Australians will be dreadfully short of match practice ahead of the sequel to last summer’s engrossing series against Anil Kumble’s men starting in October.

“It’s always hard going to India, you really need to go there and familiarise yourself with the country, the wickets and the conditions,’ said Clark.

“It’’s all good and well to train here but the conditions are so different sometimes that if we go a few days early that wouldn”t bother me because I think it will be very important for my preparation to get acclimatised to those conditions,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.

Only one tour match is scheduled before the first Test against India, which begins in Bangalore on October 9. The CA is ready to swing into action at short notice to ensure its players have enough time to adapt to sub-continental conditions in the event of a Champions Trophy boycott.

“We’re looking at it. At the moment the Champions Trophy is still going ahead, so we can only plan as if that is going to happen,” coach Tim Nielsen said.

“The ideal situation won’t be that we go to Darwin for one-dayers then home for two-and-a-half weeks then go to India. We will certainly have some other things on the go if CA does not send a team to Pakistan,” he added. (ANI)

Finally... Cricket Spitting

After developing a little too much spit around her cricket, Kellie only spit 6 feet and 8 inches.

"It doesn't taste bad, but you can tell it's a bug," she said.

It is free to participate in the competition, since the volunteers working the event have a hard enough time convincing people to spit crickets even without having to pay. As a vegan, I was exempt from participating, which I can't say I'm sad about.

The spitting will continue until 2 p.m. on Main Street in front of the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand.

Watch IndyStar.com for daily blog postings from this year's State Fair. Want to read about something fair-related? Send Bess your idea and she'll check it out. E-mail her at bess.davis@indystar.com. Click below to leave comments about blog postings and videos.

I can't think of life without cricket: Sanath Jayasuriya

It will be 19 years of cricket for Sri Lankan batting stalwart Sanath Jayasyriya in December. At 39, his contemporaries are long gone but Jayasuriya, still feared by bowlers the world over, is as passionate about the game as a fledgling. The opener says it is the pride to represent his country that keeps him going.

"When I was growing up I only wanted to do one thing and that was to play for my country. I have come a long way since playing my first game, which was at the MCG of all places. I have had the honour of captaining my country and I just can't think of a life without cricket," Jayasuriya said in an interview.

"A lot of people ask me for how long I will continue. I say I don't know. It all depends on my fitness and whether I am still good enough to play for Sri Lanka. The day I feel I haven't got it any more in me I will quit."

After hanging his gloves in the longer version of the game in December last year, Jayasuriya made his last Test match a memorable one by hammering six successive boundaries in an over by James Anderson as he scored a thrilling 78 in the last innings.

However, he was soon dropped from the one-day side after averaging around 15 in his last 20 innings since the World Cup final in April last year, with selectors focusing more on the next edition.

But the explosive batsman made a strong statement with his performance towards the latter part of the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he represented Mumbai Indians. He earned a well-deserved call for the Asia Cup.

Sri Lanka went on to win the Asia Cup and Jayasuriya's blitzkrieg capped him as the highest run-getter in the six-nation tournament. His statistics in the tournament were hard to ignore as he averaged 75.60 and had a strike rate of 126.00, scoring two hundreds and one fifty.

"There were a few things that I worked on after the Australian series early this year. It was the off-season and there were no domestic competitions, so I had a few sessions with the bowling machine and worked ever so harder on my physical fitness," he said.

New Zealand remain concerned over Pakistan security

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (Reuters) - New Zealand's cricketers remain concerned over the security situation in Pakistan ahead of next month's Champions Trophy, players' association chief Heath Mills said on Saturday.

An International Cricket Council (ICC) taskforce and Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson spoke to the New Zealand squad in Christchurch on Thursday to update them on the state of affairs in the host country.

However, Mills told The Press newspaper that nothing the taskforce or Lawson said had allayed the players' fears, adding that the situation in Pakistan was changing daily and had worsened even after the delegation had visited New Zealand.

He conceded the security plans were impressive on paper and some of the best he had seen.

"But the fact remains they are untested and we have doubts whether Pakistan could deliver on those plans," he said.

"Getting eight teams around to training and games in two centres is a massive logistical exercise and with the current situation there I don't know if the military could handle it."

Mills said Lawson talked about his year living in Pakistan and generally painted a positive picture.

"Our guys listened patiently and asked some very pertinent questions I thought, but I didn't get the impression that any of them were convinced about the safety of the situation," he said.

(Writing by Andrew Stevens in Brisbane; Editing by John O'Brien)

Cricket-Clarke to lead Australia in Bangladesh series

BRISBANE, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Michael Clarke will captain Australia in the one-day cricket series against Bangladesh while Ricky Ponting continues his recovery from wrist surgery.

Cricket Australia announced a 14-man squad for the series on Friday, naming Mike Hussey as Clarke's deputy for the matches to be played in Darwin on Aug.30, Sep.3 and 6.

"While it is disappointing not to have Ricky Ponting available, we are confident continuing his recovery and missing this series will assure Ricky is ready for the demanding cricket schedule ahead for the Australian team," chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said.

Opener Matthew Hayden has been selected subject to fitness.

Squad - Michael Clarke (captain), Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, James Hopes, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson, Cameron White. (Reporting by Andrew Stevens, editing by N.Ananthanarayanan)

Strang joins Auckland cricket coaching team

Former Zimbabwe cricket international Paul Strang has been appointed high performance coach for Auckland Cricket.

The leg-spinning all rounder played 24 tests and 95 one-day internationals for Zimbabwe between 1994 and 2001.

At one stage he was ranked in the world's top 10 bowlers, and his innings analysis of eight for 109 against New Zealand is still a Zimbabwe test record.

Strang moved to New Zealand four years ago and in recent times, has been attached to the East Coast Bays Cricket Club.

His presence will add to the resources on offer to elite cricketers with the potential to become future New Zealand internationals.

Strang admits that it will be a challenging role but is confident his understanding of the local game, and his international experience will bring a fresh perspective to player development.

Strang will initially be working with a high performance squad of 16 players who have been identified by New Zealand Cricket and Auckland Cricket as having the potential to become internationals.

Players in this group range from established Auckland players such as Reece Young, Rob Nicol and Martin Guptill to current New Zealand under-19 representatives Jimmy Neesham and Craig Cachopa.

"Each player will have different needs so the process will be slightly organic to begin with, but the bottom line is I'm here to make certain they are getting the appropriate assistance to ensure their full development as cricketers," Strang said.

Stanford squad for multimillion dollar cricket

Four players with no international experience were named to the Stanford Superstars squad for the US$20 million (€13.4 million) winner-takes-all Twenty20 cricket series against England.

The Nov. 1 match, the first of five, will be played in Antigua and was created and sponsored by Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire who lives in Antigua. He staged the successful Twenty20 regional tournament in 2006 and 2008 on his property adjoining the island's international airport.

The match has been sanctioned by the West Indies and England and Wales cricket boards but will not have official international status. The five matches will be played annually for US$20 million (€13.4 million).

Fast bowlers Lionel Baker of Montserrat and Chad Hampson of Antigua, wicketkeeper Lyndon James of St. Vincent, and allrounder Lennox Cush of Guyana were announced alongside more established stars on Thursday by chief selector Viv Richards, the former West Indies captain and batting star.

"There are several familiar faces in this Stanford Superstars squad, but there are some exciting new additions," Richards said. "There were some high quality performances from these individuals in the Stanford Twenty20 tournaments."

India will hit back hard, warns Jayasuriya

India's Test team did not have to face Sanath Jayasuriya but the One-Day side would not be fortunate enough as he is back for the limited overs. However Jayasuriya insists that Indian ODI team would be looking to come back hard at the hosts.

"It will be an exciting series. Although, we have beaten them in the Tests, but complacency is the last thing we want to see. Their pride will be hurt, so they'll want to make sure they go home with a win in the One-Dayers," Jayasuriya was quoted as saying in Hinduatan Times

Jayasuriya also told the newspaper that he is all set to take the field and has no rustiness despite he having not played competitive cricket since the Asia Cup final, more than a month back.

"There hasn't been any domestic cricket, so I haven't spent time in the middle," he conceded. "But that's part and parcel of the game. You've got to be prepared for the challenge. These are the demands of international cricket."

The One-Day Internationals will start on August 18 in Dambulla.

India's famed batting line-up came under much criticism after their failure in the three-match Test series, but the left-hander begged to differ and came out in support of the beleaguered middle order.

"These things happen, you've got to expect that. I can't understand how one bad series can make them no good anymore, and how people can start speculating about their futures?," asked Jayasuriya.

He also had special praise for his Sachin Tendulkar.

"Sachin has had a long career and when you play for that long, you are bound to have a series like this. He was scoring all those runs in Australia not too long ago. He sets high standards for himself and I am sure he will bounce back. The unfortunate thing was that India had a few players going through a bad patch at the same time."

The legend also made it a point to mention about Virender Sehwag, who was the only saving grace with the bat for the Indians in the Test series.

"Sehwag is completely different. His hand-eye coordination is exceptional. It's good that he didn't change his style after a disappointing outing in the first Test."

Carter named new Canterbury cricket coach

Black Caps assistant coach Bob Carter has been appointed as the new Canterbury cricket coach.

Carter replaces Dave Nosworthy, who has coached the team for the three seasons and is now leaving to coach the Highveld Lions in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Canterbury Cricket chief executive Lee Germon said Carter was an outstanding applicant and that, having been with the New Zealand side for four seasons, his international experience would be beneficial to the team.

"Bob will contribute enormously to the State Canterbury Wizards and Canterbury Cricket and is the ideal person to continue the great work Dave Nosworthy has done ," Germon said.

Under Nosworthy, Canterbury won the one-day State Shield and Twenty20 competition in 2005-06 and the State Championship in 2007-2008.

Carter said he was honoured to be appointed.

"Christchurch is my family's home and I am passionate about seeing Canterbury at the forefront of cricket in New Zealand," he said. "I have a strong desire and drive to coach at the international level and know that succeeding with Canterbury will help me to achieve this goal."

Carter was expected to start at the beginning of September.

India vs Sri Lanka

With the humiliating loss in Colombo still rankling the Indian cricket team, Indian opener Gautam Gambhir on Monday asserted that the visitors will find a way to tackle the menacing spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis in the second cricket Test starting July 31 in Galle.

“We had a bad Test but now we are very positive. We wantto come hard at the Sri Lankans. They have a quality spin attack… Muralitharan is a legend. It will be a fantasticbattle because we have guys who can play good spin,” Gambhir said.

The Indians lost the match in less than four days after collapsing against Mendis and Muralitharan but Gambhirinsisted that the spin duo was “not unplayable.”

“You have to bat according to your strength. Mentally you have to be very sound when your are playing at this level. Thewicket looks similar to the one in Colombo,” he said. Gambhir said he would looking to improve upon hisperformance in the first Test and build on the starts that he has been getting.

“As an opener, my priority is to give a good start andconvert it into a long innings. The previous match, I got agood start but could not convert it. However, in the forthcoming match, I want to convert my start into a big innings,” he said.

“What has happened (in Colombo) is history. We want tojust focus on the next Test match with an aim to win it,” he added.

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