Hobart will not host a Test or ODI next summer for the first time in 25 years after Cricket Australia confirmed the schedule for its pared-back limited-overs fixtures against England. However, Bellerive Oval will hold one of three Twenty20 internationals against England as part of the longest bilateral T20 international series ever held in Australia, a three-match battle that will follow a series of five one-day internationals.

The dates for the Ashes Tests were announced in November and at the time Cricket Australia said the number of ODIs would be cut back to five, which would be the fewest one-day games in a home summer in 34 years. On Thursday, Cricket Australia released the fixture for the limited-overs portion of the summer, which will run from January 12 to February 2. Read more
Courtesy : www.espncricinfo.com

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday extended its full support to the BCCI who earlier in the day decided to suspend the three Rajasthan Royals players – Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila – who were arrested for their alleged involvement in corruption in the IPL. Cricket’s governing body, via a statement, also agreed to wholly support the Delhi Police in its investigations into spot-fixing in IPL 6.

In a statement, the ICC CEO David Richardson said: “The ICC will provide full support to the BCCI and Delhi Police in this investigation. The BCCI’s decision to suspend its three cricketers on corruption charges is a clear indicator of the ICC and its Members’ zero-tolerance approach. The ICC and its Members have collectively taken measures to tighten vigilance, strengthen our anti-corruption codes and increase player education programmes as well as offering strict penalties to those found guilty of illegal conduct.

“As such, it is disappointing to see that despite the extensive education programmes delivered by the ICC and the BCCI, there still appears to be some players who remain vulnerable to temptations. We have always maintained that the real battle is against the unscrupulous individuals who are preying on the susceptible players.” Read more
Courtesy : ibnlive.in.com

Three Indian cricketers have been arrested over allegations of spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League.

The players – S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila – are all from the Rajasthan Royals team.

The team said it had “a zero-tolerance approach to anything that is against the spirit of the game”, and India’s cricket board suspended the players.

There has been no word from the cricketers themselves, but Sreesanth’s family said he was innocent. Read more
Courtesy : www.bbc.co.uk

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has confirmed the itinerary for Russell Domingo’s first assignment as head coach. South Africa will play five ODIs and three Twenty20s in Sri Lanka between July 20 and August 6.

The tour was initially supposed to include three Tests but SLC asked for those to be postponed to accommodate the Sri Lankan Premier League. That means Domingo will not have to worry about the defence of the No.1 Test ranking until October, when South Africa are scheduled to play Pakistan in the UAE.

The limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka is likely to be an experimental one for South Africa. They would have just completed the Champions Trophy and may toy with combinations as they look to build towards the 2014 World T20 and 2015 World Cup. Read more
Courtesy : www.espncricinfo.com

India’s Yusuf Pathan became the first batsman in the Twenty20 history, and sixth overall, to be ruled out for obstructing the field. Test cricket has seen only one batsman, Briton Len Hutton, getting out in that fashion while four players so far have been ruled out in the ODIs, the latest being Pakistan’s Mohammed Hafeez against South Africa early this year.

Pakistan’s Rameez Raja (1987) and Inzamam ul haq (2006) along with India’s Mohinder Amarnath (1989) are the other three batsmen who were out in similar fashion in ODIs. Pathan earned the dubious distinction of becoming first batsman to get out in that way in the shortest version of the game while playing for his IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders against Pune Warriors. Read more
Courtesy : ibnlive.in.com

The last time Delhi Daredevils played, Mahela Jayawardene remembered all the six changes at the toss. Going by the toss interviews during the IPL, it must have been an exhausting effort. So exhausting in fact Delhi Daredevils – already out of the playoff reckoning – sent David Warner for the toss. There have been no over-rate violations to report of.

Previously Warner has captained only once in a match that counts towards official statistics. In that BBL match, he scored a century. He began well here, winning the toss and asking Royal Challengers Bangalore to bat first. Warner remembered all the three changes their side made: CM Gautam, Pawan Negi and Ajit Agarkar went out for Unmukt Chand, Shahbaz Nadeem and Irfan Pathan.

At the start of the match, Royal Challengers were tied on fourth spot with Sunrisers Hyderabad. Virat Kohli, playing at his home venue in first-class cricket, made two changes. RP Singh was finally kept out for Jaydev Unadkat, and specialist keeper Arun Karthik made way for left-arm spinner J Syed Mohammad. Read more
Courtesy : www.espncricinfo.com

Kings XI Punjab host Rajasthan Royals in a very important IPL 6 tie at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here on Thursday. Punjab, who have won five of their 11 encounters so far, need at least three wins out of their remaining five encounters to have a realistic chance for the play-offs.

David Hussey’s men must be worried as Rajasthan has gone from strength to strength this season. Having won eight of their 12 matches, Rajasthan will aim to finish on 20 points to secure a place in the play-offs.

Punjab sure face an uphill task but what gives them hope is a gentleman by the name of David Miller. The South African mesmerised one of the tournament favourites Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday night scoring 101* off 38 balls as Punjab chased down a mammoth 191 with two overs to go. Punjab needed that win badly to put their campaign back on track following three straight losses. Read more
Courtesy : ibnlive.in.com

At 41 years and 212 days, little-known legspinner Pravin Tambe on Tuesday became the oldest debutant IPL history – having never played a single first-class match. Tambe, who hails from Maharashtra, was handed his IPL cap at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here and performed creditably by conceding 30 runs from four overs.

It marked a rare occurrence where an IPL team handed a debut to someone at that age and who has never played competitive first-class, 50-over or Twenty20 cricket. The closest that Tambe came to playing Ranji Trophy cricket for his native Mumbai was in 2000 when his name was featured in the probables.

In all, the 41-year-old has represented 12 different teams: Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Cricket Association XI, Parsi Gymkhana, Shivaji Park Gymkhana, St Helens Recreation in Merseyside, England, Victory Cricket Club, Rainford in the Liverpool Premier League and four different teams the DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. He was named in Mumbai’s squad for the 2012-13 Vijay Hazare Trophy knock-outs this year but did not get a game. Read more
Courtesy : ibnlive.in.com

Sussex have announced West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Smith will return to Hove as their second overseas player for their FL t20 campaign.

The 30-year-old previously featured for the county between 2008 and 2010.

Sussex cricket manager Mark Robinson said: “Dwayne has the ability to win games by himself with the bat.

“He is [also] a more than useful bowler and he is one of the best fielders ever seen at Hove. Everybody is excited about his return.” Read more
Courtesy : www.bbc.co.uk

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma’s inspiring captaincy is also being reflected in his batting in the sixth edition of the ongoing Indian Premier League. Rohit, who has found a place in the 15-member squad for the Champions Trophy, has been one of the most prolific scorers in the IPL and the additional burden of captaincy had no bearing on his batting.

“It’s a very good start that I have got. Out of five games I have won four and lost one. I would take that result as a captain. But I am not going to relax. We still need to play good cricket for the next five games and get to the Play-Offs comfortably,” Rohit told IPLT20.com. Rohit said he prefers to keep things simple while leading Mumbai Indians. Read more
Courtesy : ibnlive.in.com