Ireland Fast Bowler Boyd Rankin Announced his Retirement from International Cricket

Rankin has taken 110 wickets for Ireland and he is the first capped as a teenager in 2003, he came into prominence during the 2007 world cup where he was Ireland leading wicket-taker he has played 37 ODIs for england and has scalped 43 wickets at an average of 32 and he has decided against signing a new ireland contract to expires in december but will be available to play for them in the upcoming twenty20 world cup scheduled to be held in sri lanka in september.

Boyd Rankin says for i have genuine ambitions of playing test cricket and I have to give myself the best chance to do that by reducing my workloads.

He has signed a new three-year deal with english county warwickshire to director of cricket is england selector ashley giles is understood that the county put pressure on the 6'8" bowler to retire from international cricket with Ireland.

Whatmore says no security problems in Pakistan

Pakistan's cricket coach Dav Whatmore Monday voiced disappointment at Bangladesh postponing their tour, saying he had felt no security concerns during his two months in the country.

Last week Bangladesh agreed to visit Pakistan for an ODI Series and a Twenty20 international but the tour was delayed on Thursday by a Dhaka high court ruling over security fears.

Pakistan had hoped the short tour would help restore international cricket in the country, suspended in the wake of deadly terror attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009.

"Like everyone else in Pakistan, I am also disappointed" Whatmore said. "We were close to choosing the team but now Bangladesh not coming everything is finished which is a bit disappointing."

"From my personal view, having born in Sri Lanka and lived through the civil war there, and now staying in Lahore I have faced no security problems," he said.

"I have not seen very many areas in Lahore and if I know some other areas I would like to go there, but I have faced no problems here," he said.

Whatmore, 57, played 7 Tests for Australia and as coach guided Sri Lanka to their famous victory in the 1996 World Cup.

He also coached Bangladesh to the Super Six Stages of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

Under Whatmore, Pakistan last month won the Asia Cup, also involving world champions India.

Afridi is the right person to lead Pak: Imran Khan

Pakistan's former skipper Imran Khan is not sure whether Shahid Afridi has the capability to pull through a team in mess but conceded that if there is anyone capable of achieving something extraordinary, it is the swashbuckling current Captain.

"I am not sure whether Afridi is the right person. Having said that I would like to add that if there's someone who can do it, it is Afridi," Imran told mediapersons during a promotional event organised by ESPN for next year's World Cup in the sub-continent.

Talking about Afridi, Imran said, "He is one player who can pull off something out of the ordinary. If he can hit a purple patch, it does give Pakistan a chance. But then Pakistan are one of the most unpredictable sides in world cricket."

Sachin is a Bharat Ratna: Sourav Ganguly

Former Indian cricket skipper Sourav Ganguly joined the choral group in demanding the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, for batting Little Master Sachin Tendulkar.

"Sachin is a Bharat Ratna. There is no doubt that he should be conferred the Bharat Ratna award," Ganguly told reporters after the practice session of the KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) in the Eden Gardens.

The KKR captain denied the observation from some quarters that his side was pathetic in the bowling department.

"On the contrary, we have a strong bowling side. We have Shane Bond, Brad Hodge, Ishant Sharma, Ajantha Mendis, Ashok Dinda, Ajit Agarkar and Lakshmi Ratan Shukla."

On the 3rd wicket keeper of the IPL franchise, the KKR skipper said it would be decided very soon.

Besides Brendon Mccullum, the New Zealand wicket keeper and batsman who is expected to join late in the tournament, KKR have Bengal's Wriddhiman Saha as their second keeper.

The decision would be taken in couple of days and third wicket keeper could be one among Deep Dasgupta, Tilak Naidu and Rohit Sabharwal.

After a catastrophic campaign in the earlier edition last year in South Africa, KKR will feature in the inaugural match against Deccan Chargers in Mumbai on March 12.

Yuvraj Singh doubtful for first ODI

Yuvraj Singh is a doubtful for the 1st ODI against Sri Lanka due to a finger injury and a final decision on his availability would be taken tomorrow.

"The Indian Team management will take a final decision tomorrow whether Yuvraj would play or not, after looking at the report submitted by the orthopedic surgeon," said Shah told PTI.

The former BCCI secretary refused to comment further on the doctor's report.

However, BCCI sources said they are hopeful that the volatile batsman would be fit to play the 1st ODI on Tuesday.

"Yuvraj seems to have suffered a hairline fracture on his little finger and the team management is hopeful he will be able to play the 1st ODI at Rajkot on Tuesday," BCCI sources said.

Yuvraj was taken to Dr Dinkar Virparia's clinic late in the evening for check-up after the left-hander complained of pain in his little finger on his left hand due to an injury suffered during the 2nd T20i match in Mohali.

Later he was taken to the Rajkot Imaging Centre where an X-ray of his finger was taken.

Earlier in the day, India and Sri Lanka teams arrived at Rajkot for the 1st ODI of the five-match series, beginning Tuesday. The teams arrived on a chartered plane amid tight security.

Herschelle Gibbs may quit International Cricket

South African opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs may quit International Cricket after being left out of the ODI team against England, but will remain available for his IPL side the Deccan Chargers.

Quoting an unnamed basis close to Gibbs, Afrikaans daily 'Beeld' said Gibbs' conclusion had "nothing to do with the fact that he has been omitted from the national side for the umpteenth time."

"Although he still has to weigh up a few choices, Gibbs feels that he has had enough after such a long career," the source was quoted as saying.

Neither Gibbs nor his manager Donne Commins have commented on the report.

South African coach Mickey Arthur too has without any knowledge of the development, remaining adamant that Gibbs was part of his plan for the 2011 World Cup in South Asia.

Gibbs has had an exciting international career of 13 years, often at the centre of controversies ranging from match-fixing to stuff abuse. However, he is still regarded as one of the best opening batsmen in the world.

But Gibbs' batting has been contradictory in recent years, with his last one-day century coming in April this year against Australia in Port Elizabeth.

India can rise with SA fall in ICC ODI Rankings

South Africa's defeat would be India's gain as MS Dhoni's men stand to get back the 2nd spot in ICC one-day rankings if England beat the Proteas in a 5-match ODI series starting Friday in Johannesburg.

India had tripped to 3rd after losing a 7-match ODI series against Australia 2-4 a few weeks ago.

In individual rankings, South African Skipper Graeme Smith has the opportunity to put pressure on top ranked Indian foil MS Dhoni and 2nd-placed Michael Hussey in the list for ICC ODI batsmen.

An all-out triumph for the 6th-placed England would see them rise to 3rd and leave the 2nd-placed hosts 5th.

But if Graeme Smith's side manages to win the ODI series 5-0 it will close the gap with Australia to just two points. However, if the Proteas win 3-2, their triumph margin will not be enough to maintain 2nd place and they will slip to 3rd behind India.

If Andrew Strauss' side win the ODI series 3-2, it would rise to 5th in the ICC ODI rankings and South Africa would drop to 3rd, again providing India with 2nd place.

No victory situation can see either team putting any pressure on the current table toppers Australia.

In the Rankings for ODI batsmen, Graeme Smith is still the highest-ranked player of either side at the 3rd spot.

India eye number one ranking in Sri Lanka

Indian Coach Gary Kirsten said Wednesday India wanted to be consistent in the ongoing tri-series in Sri Lanka to become the world's best one-day team.

India, who have won five successive bilateral series, will top the one-day rankings if they win both Sri Lanka and New Zealand in the league stage and also beat the final on September 14.

"We have set our goals," Kirsten said ahead of the team's departure for Colombo. "One of them is to be the top team in the world. We are headed that way and we are very excited.

"We have to perform well as we continue the quest to be the best. We won the last two series in Sri Lanka and we are confident."

India are without injured opener Virender Sehwag and paceman Zaheer Khan, but Kirsten said the team had the strength to do well.

"Obviously, missing a player like Sehwag is vast," the former South African opener said. "He is an excellent batsman, but we have got a lot of intensity in our cricket at the moment.

"We have done well in Sri Lanka and are well-known with the conditions. We know we are playing against two good teams, but we have been performing well and we need to maintain our performance."

India open their fight against New Zealand on Friday and play the hosts the next day. Each side will play 2 league matches before the top two make it to the final.

Kirsten said the toss would be very important on low, slow Sri Lankan pitches, where chasing a target under lights was not easy.

New Zealand start runs hard to come by on Tuesday when they were bowled out for 119 in reply to Sri Lanka's 216-7 in the opening match.

"Winning the toss is quite important," said Kirsten.

"But if you are going to be a world-class team, you need to win from any situation or condition. We have a good batting line-up which is flexible in the middle order."

He said Rahul Dravid's return to one-day cricket after nearly 2 years also augured well for the team.

"It is good to have him in the team. With that sort of experience, he is always going to help the team," said Kirsten.

Dravid is only the 2nd batsman in the current team after Sachin Tendulkar to have completed 10,000 runs in one-day internationals.

Azharuddin questions Dravid's inclusion

Disparaging the selectors' decision to bring Rahul Dravid back in the One Day International squad, former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin said that a youngster should have been preferred instead.

"It would have been better if instead of Dravid, a young player was given an occasion to play for the Indian team," Azharuddin told reporters during an Iftaar party here.

"The conclusion of the Selection Committee on the issue is wrong," he said.

The veteran of 99 Test matches and 334 ODIs threw his weight after champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar and said there was no question of his retirement as he was playing well.

He said that both VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh impressed him a lot.
Azharuddin said the game would advantage if more players are involved in running sport associations.

However, he said that the BCCI was an exception in this regard as it was committed towards the endorsement of cricket in a professional manner.

Sehwag and DDCA war comes to an end

The players' sedition spearheaded by Virender Sehwag against the all-powerful Sports Committee of the Delhi and District Cricket Association today crackled out to a tame compromise with former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi brokering calm.

DDCA President Arun Jaitley said that Sehwag and his ODI & Test Openning partner Gautam Gambhir met him in Pataudi's presence last night when the cooperation was reached.

Accordingly, Sehwag was not going everywhere and would be representing Delhi, Jaitley said, without disclosing how he managed to calm the star opener who had threatened to move to Haryana protesting nepotism in selection and the high handedness of the Sports Committee.

"Last evening, both the senior players met me and my DDCA colleagues and we were happy to have Mr Pataudi among us."

"We discussed numerous issues and I can tell you that the nature of discussion was not adversarial," Jaitley told reports at the Feroze Shah Kotla.

"They had mainly two concerns - to ensure that selection process is absolutely fair and that no intrusion of any kind would be tolerated. Their suggestions were well-intentioned and I told both the players and my teammates that both the steps should be taken so that the standard of fairness of the highest level is maintained," he said.

Jaitley said he never dreaded the issue would snowball into a crisis and called it an opportunity to set things right.

"I did not see it developing into a crisis. It was not a disagreement of interest. Their and our objectives are same. I rather saw it as an opportunity to reform," he said.

Jaitley also took a tunnel at some of the former players who had sided with Sehwag and criticised the DDCA.

"It was funny to see some of the causes of problems in the past becoming commentator of the problem," he remarked.

Even though DDCA officials were lined in the media as saying that Sehwag was free to gather his No Objection Certificate and move to Haryana, Jaitley completely denied that.

"No body ever said Sehwag can go if he wanted. The moment I came to know about his view on the subject, I told him to meet me on his return to Delhi. He did just that and we determined the issue," Jaitley said.

He said DDCA was toying with the idea of reducing the number of selectors and avoids any conflict of interests following reports of nepotism.

"It was a well discussion and both the players put their point across in a dignified manner," he said.

In the entire exercise, not a single Sports Committee head rolled as Jaitley sprang in support of the panel, which has been in the eye of the storm.

"The Sports Committee only recommends and it's upto the Executive Committee to take the final decision. When it comes to selection, it all depends on the selector's personality discretion," Jaitley explained, adding DDCA would find the right people for the selector's job.

Debutant Warner destroys South Africa

David Warner made one of the most memorable international debuts imaginable as he lit up the MCG with 89 from 43 balls to set up Australia's 52-run win over South Africa. Not even a superb 78 from JP Duminy could rescue South Africa's chase and he watched his partners fall around him as they fizzled out for 130 in the 18th over.

The crowd appreciated Duminy's brilliance, particularly when he scooped a Shaun Tait half-volley over the wicketkeeper's head for six, but it was Warner who was undeniably the star of the show. It was an incredible situation for a man previously so unknown that the scoreboard operators didn't have a photo of him when the teams were displayed.

Warner, 22, had already created history by simply playing the match; he was the first man to debut for Australia in any format without first-class experience since 1877. It's a fair bet he might get a game for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield after this performance.

His innings featured six sixes, including a paddle over fine-leg off Dale Steyn and Warner's personal favourite, a baseball-style slog over midwicket off the same bowler. What made the strikes even more impressive was that they were the first two deliveries Warner faced from Steyn, the man who caused Australia so much trouble in the Test series.

Warner raced to his half-century from 19 deliveries and it was the second-fastest in Twenty20 internationals, behind the brutal 12-ball effort of Yuvraj Singh when he put Stuart Broad away for six sixes in an over. The previous quickest for Australia was a comparatively unhurried 25-ball display from Andrew Symonds two years ago.

South Africa's bowlers simply didn't know where to bowl to Warner. A tiny man at 170 centimetres, he was so strong on the leg-side that one six off Jacques Kallis more resembled a home run as it threatened to reach the second tier of the Ponsford Stand before falling just short. It was a sight that must have pleased the IPL Delhi Daredevils, who signed Warner last month on the strength of a couple of blitzes at state level.

When the fast men tried to force him to play through the off side he demonstrated equal proficiency there. One cut for four off Kallis was so finely placed that Warner, who could hardly see daylight between the men at point and backward point, managed to split them. He also demonstrated his cricket brain by driving twos regularly when the field was back.

His breathtaking effort finally came to a close when he holed out to long-on off Makhaya Ntini, who had been on the wrong end of two consecutive sixes from Warner in the third over of the match. In the end South Africa did well to keep Australia relatively quiet following Warner's departure.

David Hussey (19) and Luke Ronchi, who made 11, were caught before they could reach full flight, and Ntini and Albie Morkel chipped in for two wickets each before Steyn finished things off with 3 for 38. Fortunately for Australia, South Africa's effort was just as uneven.

Apart from Duminy's effort, their chase never quite got back on track following the second over of the innings, a particularly nasty one from Tait in his first international match in nearly a year. No delivery in his first over was slower than 150kph. His first ball was a vicious 152kph bouncer that whacked Kallis on the shoulder but worse was to come for AB de Villiers.

Tait dug in a 155.4kph delivery short of a length, de Villiers looked to pull and bottom-edged the ball onto his hip. As he folded in pain, he lowered his bat in the follow-through and crashed it into his stumps. Hit wicket is an unfortunate dismissal at any time but it was a particularly embarrassing exit for de Villiers as he hobbled off clearly in pain with a bruised hip, although South Africa were hopeful of him making a quick recovery.

Nathan Bracken, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes and David Hussey all chipped in for wickets and the scorecard was so lopsided that besides Duminy, no batsman passed 12. Duminy was outstanding and, apart from his six off Tait, he played much more typical cricket strokes than Warner.

A cover-driven four off Tait proved to Duminy's team-mates that the fastest man in the match was playable, and a straight-drive to the boundary off Hilfenhaus would on most days have been the shot of the match. His half-century took 35 deliveries but as the required run-rate ballooned, so did his risk-taking increase, until he was lbw to Hussey trying a lavish reverse-sweep.

The finish came when Tait rattled the stumps of Lonwabo Tsotsobe with 12 balls remaining. Tait's fiery 2 for 36 was just as impressive a sign for Australia as Warner's display. Australia retained their unbeaten record in Twenty20 internationals at home, and will look to continue their dominance when the teams meet again at the Gabba on Tuesday.