Smith returns to face bone-breaker Johnson

South Africa captain Graeme Smith returns to action Friday on the ground, and against the same opponents, where he suffered a broken bone in his right hand the last time he played.

A day short of four weeks after being injured in the second Test against Australia, Smith will lead South Africa in the first one-day international at Kingsmead.

It is a clash of the two top-ranked teams in world one-day cricket. South Africa took top spot away from Australia when the two sides met in Australia in January.

South Africa won that series 4-1, with Johan Botha taking over the captaincy from Smith.

Smith said he was not worried about having to make his return against Mitchell Johnson, whose rising delivery off a lively pitch crushed the base of his right hand, above the little finger, in March.

It was the second time Johnson put Smith out of action. The left-arm fast bowler broke a bone in Smith's left hand during the third Test in Sydney early in January.

"As an opening batsman those are things that you learn to deal with throughout your career," said Smith.

"I have travelled pretty much all around the world and faced all the world's fastest quicks. Mentally it is just a case of preparing the right way."

Smith acknowledged that Johnson provided a tough challenge.

"Mitchell has been bowling really well. He is one of the best fast bowlers in the world at the moment and it will be a real challenge facing him," said the skipper.

"It is something I look forward to. We have had a really good battle over the last period of time. I have had a bit of success and he has had a bit of success, so we will see what happens."

South Africa will be without leading all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who is recovering from a groin injury. Kallis is expected to be fit for the second match in the five-game series at Centurion on Sunday.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting, meanwhile, said his team were determined to bounce back after losing the third Test and two Twenty20 internationals against South Africa, after winning the first two Test matches in South Africa.

Kallis cleared for ODIs

South Africa will be boosted with the return of Jacques Kallis after the all-rounder was cleared of a groin strain. He is likely to play in the first ODI against Australia tomorrow.

Kallis captained the Proteas in the absence of injured skipper Graeme Smith in the Cape Town Test, but broke down with a groin injury while bowling on the last day of the third test.

"It was thought that he had a tear. But the scans showed he has no tear which is very good news, just some scar tissue," team spokesman Michael Owen-Smith said yesterday. "Jacques is a chance to play on Friday."

Meanwhile, captain Graeme Smith is also likely to return after a fractured finger kept him out of the third Test and the two T20s.

Mitchell Johnson, who caused Smith two separate injuries on both hands, is targetting the South African opener again. "I'm looking forward to the challenge again," Johnson said. "It's always good to get the opportunity to bowl with the new ball against an opening batsman like Smith. He's such a great player. He's a strong leader and his team look up to him. They will enjoy having him back in the squad and I'm looking forward to trying to get his wicket."

ICC World Twenty20 2009 Fixtures

ICC World Twenty20 2009 Fixtures

05-06-2009
Opening ceremony, Lord's (5pm)
England (B2) v Holland, Lord's (5.30pm)

06-06-2009
New Zealand (D1) v Scotland, The Oval (10am)
Australia (C1) v West Indies, The Oval (2pm)
India (A1) v Bangladesh (A2) , Trent Bridge (6pm)

07-06-2009
South Africa (D2) v Scotland, The Oval (1.30pm)
England (B2) v Pakistan (B1) , The Oval (5.30pm)

08-06-2009
Ireland v Bangladesh (A2) , Trent Bridge (1.30pm)
Australia (C1) v Sri Lanka (C2) , Trent Bridge (5.30pm)

09-06-2009
Pakistan (B1) v Holland, Lord's (1.30pm)
New Zealand (D1) v South Africa (D2) , Lord's (5.30pm)

10-06-2009
Sri Lanka (C2) v West Indies, Trent Bridge (1.30pm)
India (A1) v Ireland, Trent Bridge (5.30pm)

Group E
A1
B2
C1
D2

Group F
B1
A2
C2
D1


Super Eight:

11-06-2009
D1 v A2, Trent Bridge (1.30pm)
B2 v D2, Trent Bridge (5.30pm)

12-06-2009
B1 v C2, Lord's (1.30pm)
A1 v C1, Lord's (5.30pm)

13-06-2009
C1 v D2, The Oval (1.30pm)
D1 v B1, The Oval (5.30pm)

Sunday 14 June
A2 v C2, Lord's (1.30pm)
A1 v B2, Lord's (5.30pm)

Monday 15 June
B1 v A2, The Oval (1.30pm)
B2 v C1, The Oval (5.30pm)

Tuesday 16 June
D1 v C2, Trent Bridge (1.30pm)
D2 v A1, Trent Bridge (5.30pm)

Semi-finals:

Thursday 18 June
Winner of Group E v runner up of Group F, Trent Bridge (5.30pm)

Friday 19 June
Winner of Group F v runner up of Group E, The Oval (5.30pm)

Final
Sunday 21 June Lord's (3pm)

Strauss helps England win damp squib fourth ODI

Andrew Strauss gathered 79 from 61 balls to lead England to a nine-wicket victory under the Duckworth-Lewis Method over West Indies in the rain-affected fourth One-day International at Kensington Oval on Sunday.

Fortune and the D/L Method again smiled on England, following a two-hour long delay for rain which left the tourists with a victory target of 135 from 20 overs.

They got over the line with nine balls to spare, when Strauss guided Dwayne Bravo to third man for his ninth four.

The result means the series is now tied 2-2 and sets up a thrilling conclusion on Friday at the Beausejour Cricket Ground in St. Lucia, if the West Indies players back down from their threat to strike in protest to outstanding issues with the West Indies Cricket Board.

The rain started during the interval between innings, after England sent West Indies in to bat and the home team made 239 for nine from 50 overs.

When play resumed, England were given a solid base of 108 off 87 balls from their captain Strauss and fellow opener Ravi Bopara.

Strauss reached his 50 from 41 balls, when he chipped Kieron Pollard into square leg for a single.

Once he and Bopara set things up with a volley of handsome strokes and nimble running between the wickets, the rest was academic, although they lost Bopara for 35 skying a catch to deep fine leg off Pollard, when 27 were needed from 33 balls.

Earlier, England had been upstaged when Bravo gathered 69 from 72 balls to give a late boost to the West Indies total.

England had recovered from another hammering from Chris Gayle and looked in control when West Indies slumped to 145 for six in the 35th over.

But the tourists were again put on the defensive, when Bravo boosted the West Indies total with an innings that included seven fours and two sixes.

Had Andrew Flintoff held a sharp return chance, when Bravo was on 32 in the 42nd over the script could have been slightly different.

England paid for Flintoff's miss in the late over, when Bravo smote James Anderson over mid-wicket for four to reach his 50 from 61 balls and then struck the next ball in the same direction for a six before Stuart Broad skied Stuart Broad to deep mid-wicket in the 48th over.

England's bowlers had again been savaged early, when Gayle raced to 46 from 39 balls in an opening stand of 72 before Broad made the breakthrough in the 13th over, having caught by ?keeper Matt Prior.

England then reduced West Indies slipped to 83 for three in 16th over, and then Dimitri Mascarenhas claimed Denesh Ramdin for 26, Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 27, and Kieron Pollard for a duck to leave the innings in tatters.

But England failed to get on top of Bravo, and the runs flowed towards the end for the West Indies innings, but fortunately for England, so too did the rain.

Mascarenhas was England's most successful bowler with three for 26 from 10 overs, and Stuart Broad took three for 62 from 10 overs.

Premature for India to confirm tri-series: CSA

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa have yet to decide if they will participate in a tri-series in Zimbabwe later this year, making India's announcement that the event would go ahead premature, Cricket South Africa said on Tuesday.

The Indian cricket board said on Monday that India would join South Africa and hosts Zimbabwe for a one-day series in July.

"It's way too premature for India to confirm that this series is going ahead," CSA chief executive Gerald Majola told reporters.

"Zimbabwe have spoken to CSA about it but our board still needs to decide whether to reinstate bilateral relations with Zimbabwe."

CSA suspended cricketing agreements with its neighbour in June last year because of political turmoil in Zimbabwe.

South Africa's players have not been consulted about a possible tour and South African Cricketers' Association chief executive Tony Irish said the time when it was scheduled to take place had been earmarked as a rest period for them.

Ton-up Strauss can't save England

Andrew Strauss hit his third one-day international hundred, but England still went down to a 21-run defeat at the hands of the West Indies at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday.

The captain made 105 from 129 balls as England, chasing 265 for victory, were dismissed for 243 in 48.2 overs to allow West Indies to draw level at 1-1 in the five-match series.

The third and fourth matches will be contested at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Friday and Sunday, with the final game set for St. Lucia on April 6.

England had won the opener here on Friday when West Indies coach John Dyson embarrassingly miscalculated the Duckworth-Lewis method and handed his opponents a one-run win.

"We lost too many wickets too early and we were always behind the eight ball," admitted Strauss.

"We needed things to go our way in the last powerplay but with the medium pacers bowling, it wasn't easy to get the ball away. It was getting lower and slower, so we had to take risks to get runs.

"It would have been nice to have gone 2-0 in the series, but we have a good chance of winning in Barbados where the wicket might suit us better."

West Indies skipper Chris Gayle said his team had a point to prove.

"We were really down after what happened on Friday," said Gayle. "We wanted to give the crowd something to cheer about and I want to commend the guys for the way they played."

Man-of-the-match Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored his 10th one-day hundred of 112 not out from 134 balls to lead West Indies to 264 for eight from their 50 overs.

Strauss reached his hundred from 126 balls with a drive through cover for two off Kieron Pollard, but England lost wickets steadily.

Their best stands were 50 between Strauss and Owais Shah for the third wicket, and 59 between the England captain and Dmitri Mascarenhas for the sixth.

Mascarenhas made 29 and Shah made 22 and were the only other batsmen that passed 20. Dwayne Bravo and Pollard both collected two wickets for West Indies.

Earlier, England, particularly Paul Collingwood and Mascarenhas, bowling their modest medium-pace, restricted West Indies to 57 runs in the last 10 overs and collected four cheap wickets to scupper the home team's hunt for quick late runs.

The tourists had been under pressure from Chanderpaul and compatriot Ramnaresh Sarwan when they put on 133 from 177 balls for the third wicket, after West Indies elected to bat and lost Lendl Simmons for a duck and fellow opener Gayle, for 20, inside the first six overs.

Urged on by the largest crowd for an international match in Guyana, Chanderpaul and Sarwan hit 74 from 89 balls.

But James Anderson had Sarwan caught at deep mid-off in the 35th over, and Collingwood and Mascarenhas prevailed in the closing overs to limit the damage of the West Indies batsmen.

Anderson captured three for 37 from nine overs, Collingwood took three for 49 from 10 overs, and Dimitri Mascarenhas bagged two for 53 from 10 overs.

India beats NZ by 10 wickets to clinch series

Virender Sehwag sped to a century from 60 balls, the seventh fastest in limited-overs international history, as India beat New Zealand by 10 wickets in a rain-reduced contest Wednesday to clinch the series with a match to spare.

Sehwag's hundred was the fastest by an Indian batsman in one day internationals, beating Mohammad Azharuddin's 62-ball effort against New Zealand at Baroda 21 years ago, and helped clinched India's first win in a limited-overs series in New Zealand.

Sehwag finished 125 not out from 74 ball and Gautam Gambhir was 63 not out as India reached 201 without loss in 23.3 overs, replying to New Zealand's 270 from 47 overs in a rain-affected match. India's unbroken opening partnership was the largest to win a match in one-day international history.

"I love it," Sehwag said. "I know how the pitches behave here. I played here also in 2003 and scored two hundreds that time.

"This time the pitches are so flat and good to bat on."

Sehwag blasted 14 fours and six sixes in an innings which, around three rain interruptions, occupied only 139 minutes. He rushed to a half century from 31 balls and helped India reached 100 in 54 minutes from 69 balls.

Sehwag passed his century in 87 minutes with 13 fours and four sixes, adding his second 50 from only 29 balls.

Two rain interruptions during New Zealand's innings left them facing only 47 overs and they seemed to have achieved a competitive total of 270 for five.

Brendon McCullum made 77 in an opening partnership of 102 with Jesse Ryder (46) then, after a middle order collapse which saw five wickets fall for 73 runs, Peter McGlashan and Grant Elliott added 95 from 61 balls in an unbeaten stand for the sixth wicket.

McGlashan made 56 not out, his maiden international half century, and Elliott 35 not out in a stand which gave New Zealand some hope of arresting India's domination of the series.

India began chasing 280 from 47 overs under Duckworth-Lewis calculations, then 262 off 43 overs and, finally, 220 off 36 as their chase was twice revised after rain interruptions. They were well ahead of New Zealand on Duckworth-Lewis comparisons when rain finally ended the match in the 24th over, shortly after 9 p.m.

"It was a good old fashioned hiding," New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori said. "We didn't really get ourselves in the game. We were a little bit short on the runs and then Sehwag and Gambhir played outstandingly to take the game away from us."

Vettori said New Zealand needed to win the fifth and final match of the series in Auckland on Saturday _ a match which is already sold out _ for "our own credibility and our own peace of mind."

Indian captain M.S.Dhoni was delighted that India had won so comprehensively in its first run chase of the series.

"It was amazing to see the way Sehwag and Gambhir batted," he said.

"They took calculated risks. They targeted a few bowlers to go after and I think that's the key. We wanted to play our natural cricket and that's what they were doing.

"They were rotating the strike, chipping the boundaries and in between Sehwag was at his best."

India won two of the first three matches heading into Wednesday's match and the other was washed out.

Australia clinched the Test series against South Africa

Australia clinched the Test series against South Africa when they won the second Test by 175 runs at Kingsmead here on Tuesday.

South Africa were bowled out for 370 in their second innings with 37.4 overs to spare on the final day.

The series win enabled Australia to bounce back after losing a home series against the same opponents earlier in the season.

The victory was virtually sealed when the tourists dismissed overnight batsmen Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers inside the first hour.

South Africa lost another two wickets before lunch. Although Mark Boucher and Morne Morkel resisted for 79 minutes after the break, the end came quickly after Boucher gave a return catch to part-time spinner Marcus North.

A win for Australia would clinch the three-match series after they won the first Test in Johannesburg by 162 runs.

Kallis and De Villiers made their third wicket stand worth 187 before Kallis was caught at second slip off Mitchell Johnson in the sixth over of the day for 93.

Kallis added just five runs after being dropped by Michael Clarke at point off Ben Hilfenhaus in the previous over.

Three overs later De Villiers was caught behind in Peter Siddle's first over of the day for 84.

With no chance of chasing down a target of 546, Duminy and Boucher resisted for an hour until Duminy was caught behind for 17, gloving a vicious lifter from Hilfenhaus.

Paul Harris was caught at deep midwicket off occasional left-arm spinner Simon Katich, who went on to take two more wickets and finish with figures of three for 45.

Australia took the new ball which was due when South Africa resumed at 244 for two at the start of the day.

IPL auction - As it happened

Shaun Tait was the first player to go under the hammer and went to the Rajasthan Royals for USD 375,000.

Mumbai Indians bought South African sensation JP Duminy for USD 950,000. His base price was initially set at USD 300,000.

But it was the two Englishmen attracted the most attention as well as the highest bids.

Franchises bid fervently for Andrew Flintoff before Chennai Super Kings finally acquired him USD 1.55 million.

As expected, Bangalore Royal Challengers left no stone unturned as they acquired former England captain Kevin Pietersen for USD 1.55 million.

"I think its a very worthwhile investment," said Vijay Mallya, owner of the Bangalore franchise, about his latest acquisition. Mallya said he was ready to dish out a bigger sum to sign on Pietersen.

Fidel Edwards was sold to Deccan Chargers for his base price of USD 150,000.

Chamara Kapugedera found no bidders and remains unsold. He will be up for consideration at the end of the auction. Australian wicket keeper Brad Haddin and Stuart Clark remained unsold as well.

Owais Shah, who was part of Middlesex's victorious campaign last year, found himself being fought over by Kolkata and Delhi before Bangalore joined the fight. But Delhi were certain they wanted the English batsman and outbid Bangalore to acquire him for USD 275,000.

Paul Collingwood, the English all-rounder, was also acquired by Delhi for USD 275,000.
Tyron Henderson, the big-hitting South African all-rounder who also played for Middlesex last year, was the surprise package. His base price was set at USD 100,000 but was sold at USD 650,000 as Rajasthan and Deccan Chargers fought fiercely to outbid one another before Deccan Chargers finally bowed out.

Phil Jacques, the Australian opener with a base price of USD 100, 000, remained unsold.

Ashwell Prince (USD 150,000), Andre Nel (USD 120,000) found no takers either.

Both Bangalore and Chennai fought for English all-rounder Ravi Bopara (base price: USD 150,000) until Punjab joined the race at USD 400, 000 and eventually acquired him for USD 450,000.
Luke Wright (USD 100,000), another England all-rounder, didn't attract any bids. Neither did Sri Lanka paceman Nuwan Kulasekara (USD 100,000).

Another Sri Lankan Thilan Thushara was about to be sold for his base price of USD 120,000 before Kolkata expressed their interest and joined Chennai in the race but Chennai eventually got him for USD 140, 000.

The auctioneer mistakenly declared NZ opener Jesse Ryder (USD 100,000) unsold before realizing that Bangalore had bid for him. As it turned out, there were more than a few parties interested before he went to Bangalore for USD 160,000.

Kyle Mills, the Kiwi all-rounder, was bought for his base price of USD 150,000 by the Mumbai Indians.

Samit Patel (USD 100,000), the England all-rounder, Bangladeshi Sakib-Al-Hasan (USD 75,000), South African wicket keeper Morne van Wyk (USD 100,000),Steven Smith of NSW (USD 75,000), Ashley Noffke (USD 100,000) found no takers.

West Indian Dwayne Smith was brought for his base price of USD 100,000 by the Deccan Chargers.

South African Ghulam Bodi (USD 100,000), West Indian Darren Powell (USD 150,000) remained unsold as well.

There were no bids for Tamim Iqbal (USD 50,000), Victorian all-rounder Jonathan Moss (USD 50,000), leg-spinner Bryce McGain (USD 50,000), Kiwi all-rounder James Franklin (USD 50,000), Victorian Aiden Blizzard (USD 75,000), Ramnaresh Sarwan (USD 100,000), Michael Klinger (USD 75,000), Kaushalya Weeraratne (USD 50,000), Prasanna Jayawardene (USD 50,000) and Dominic Thornley (USD 50,000).

Mashrafe Mortaza (USD 50,000) became the first Bangladeshi to evoke any interest from the franchises as Punjab and Kolkata fought vigorously for him. Kolkata had bought no one at the auction yet and were desperate for a fast bowler after losing Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul. There were discussions among the franchises before they decided to raise the bid every time. The process sped up towards the end as the auctioneer virtually ran out of breath. As the bids went up to USD 500,000 the crowd broke into an applause but neither franchise had given up. After close to twenty minutes of intense bidding, he was finally sold to Kolkata for twelve times his base price, USD 600,000.

South African Yusuf Abdullah (USD 25,000), South African Daniel Harris (USD 50,000), Kemar Roach (USD 50,000), Aaron Bird (USD 45,000), Michael Dighton (USD 50,000), Michael Hill (USD 50,000) and Brett Geeves (USD 45,000) didn't attract any bids.

Tasmanian batsman George Bailey was sold to Chennai for his base price of USD 50,000.

Punjab have asked for Jerome Taylor, who remained unsold earlier, and the West Indian has been sold to Punjab for his reserve price of USD 150,000 while Mumbai got Mohammad Ashraful for his base price USD 75,000. That brings us to the end of the auction.

All the 17 slots that were available at the auction were filled from a list of 50. All contracts have been awarded on a 2-year basis.

Ganguly to play Vijay Hazare trophy

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly will turn out for his state side Bengal in the domestic ODI tournament which starts on February 15. Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, confirmed that Ganguly had agreed to play for Bengal.

Ganguly last played for Bengal when he helped them earn a promotion to the Super League of the Ranji trophy. It is not known whether Ganguly will feature in all matches of the tournament.

The selectors are expected to name the squad later today. Bengal's first game is against Jharkhand on February 15.

Ganguly had retired from international cricket in November, after the home series against Australia.