West Indies crush Pakistan in final ODI

Reuters, PROVIDENCE, Guyana, May 6: An unbeaten 77 from Lendl Simmons led West Indies to a 10-wicket victory with 26.3 overs to spare in the fifth and final one-day international against Pakistan on Thursday.

Pakistan had already wrapped up the series with victories in the first three encounters but wins in the last two games will boost West Indies' confidence ahead of the forthcoming two test matches.

Seamer Ravi Rampaul did the damage with the ball for the Caribbean side, who bowled out Pakistan for just 139 in 41.2 overs with the Trinidad and Tobago seamer taking 4-45. Captain Darren Sammy's medium pace claimed three victims.

Opener Mohammad Hafeez's 55 was the only real bright spot in a poor Pakistani batting display on a slow track.

Hafeez, who also made a century and another half-century in the series, was named man of the series.

Simmons took charge from the outset of the reply and showed again that he has been a worthy introduction to the team for this series.

The nephew of former West Indies opener Phil Simmons, has struck half centuries in each of the last four games and said he was benefiting from the input of new West Indies batting consultant and former test opener Desmond Haynes.

"I have been trying to focus more on my batting, working on fitness and working with Desmond Haynes. I have been out of the team for a while but I knew my chance would come again, so I had to capitalise," he said.

Simmons was ably supported by another new face, Barbadian Kirk Edwards, who after a largely disappointing series produced a disciplined 40 not out at the other end.

Skipper Sammy said he was encouraged by the result and the display.

"This is the type of performance we have been looking for and it was good to see a total team effort. Looking at the last game, it seems we might be more comfortable chasing. Looking back at the series, we created opportunities, but didn't take them. You will take confidence from any victory".

The first test starts in Guyana on May 12.

West Indies beat Pakistan in Guyana ODI

ANI, Guyana, May 6: The West Indies inflicted a defeat on Pakistan by 10 wickets in the fifth one day international held at Providence in Guyana on Thursday.

Replying to Pakistan's score of 139 all out, the West Indians scored 140 for no loss.

West Indies opener Lendl Simmons scored 77 with seven boundaries and three sixes, while K. Edwards scored an unbeaten 40 with three boundaries.

Earlier, Pakistan was bundled all out for 139 in 41.2 overs. The highlight of the Pakistaninnings was a solid 55 off 83 balls by opener Mohammad Hafeez. Middle order batsman Uman Akmal scored 24.

For the West Indies, fast bowler Ravi Rampaul took four wickets for 45,while skipper Darren Sammy snared three wickets for 30.

"We played as a team, and got the result that we wanted. This was the type of performance for which we have been searching for a very long time" said West Indies skipper Darren Sammy.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi blamed poor batting for loss.

Pakistan has already won the five match series by 3-2, with three consecutive victories.

RCB still has a good chance to make it to semis: Vettori

ANI, Bengaluru, May 6: Daniel Vettori, captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, has said that they still have a good chance of making it to the semi-finals of the Indian Premier League tournament.

Vettori said this while talking to mediapersons after a practice session at Bangalore's Chinnaswamy stadium.

"No strategies as such. We're trying to win every game. If we look at the points table, then right now we have a good chance of making it to the semis but there are some apprehensions as nothing is guaranteed. So the best thing you can do is try and win every game you play," said Vettori.

He also lauded the bowling skill of Virat Kohli and said that Kohli has been an asset for the team throughout the tournament.

"He (Virat Kohli) might be having some experiences of his own. His bowling has been quite crucial in the last two ones against Delhi. He got some important wickets. And in the last couple of overs with Yuvraj Singh (of Kings XI Punjab) can really seal the game for us.

"He (Kohli) bowled in the hardest times in the last innings, and (batting wise) there is always a chance for us to go for more runs. But he is a guy I look to when I want a wicket. So I don't think that it will change throughout the competition," he said.

The Royal Challengers will face the Kings XI Punjab at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Friday (May 06).

I played one of my best T-20 innings: Sehwag

ANI, Hyderabad, May 6: Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag, who played one of his best T-20 innings against Deccan Chargers, said that scoring his first hundred in this format of the game is very special to him.

Sehwag made a blistering 119 runs off just 59 balls. Delhi Daredevils won the match by four wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday (May 05).

"It was one of the best innings I had played in T-20s because I had never got a hundred and people were talking that I should get a hundred in T-20 because the game belongs to me, the way I bat. For about six overs things didn't go our way.

"We lost three wickets and stood at 29 runs for the first six overs. I thought they don't have a fifth bowler. So if I could target the fourth and fifth bowler then the target could be achievable. When I hit 22 runs in Ishan Malhotra's over, I thought now I had got the momentum," said Sehwag.

Kumara Sangakkara, captain of the loosing Deccan Chargers team, said that they could not capitalize on the opportunities that came their way.

"We batted excellently today. Bowled the first six overs magnificently. And when the opportunities came our way to put pressure on Delhi, we couldn't. Veeru (Sehwag) was the only chance they had to try and win the game.

"We created the two opportunities by bowling really well. When you .. a batsman of his class on a wicket like this (he) will make you pay. And he batted excellently after that," he said.

Now, an automated umpire to keep cricket matches moving

ANI, London, May 6: An inexpensive computer vision system has been developed that can judge whether a batsman has been "run out" or not without the need for the time consuming video replay.

Tariq Mahmood of the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences in Karachi has created a system called A-Eye to automate decisions in cricket such as a run out.

A-Eye combines a low-cost video camera sitting at ground level with open-source software called AForge.NET that scans a video feed for moving objects.

A-Eye automatically identifies the position of the crease and the wicket, and tracks the motion of the bat. If the system detects any movement of the wicket while the bat is outside the crease, it deems the batsman to be run out.

Mahmood tested the system on a series of video clips, two-thirds of which showed the batsman being run out.

A-Eye proved to be three per cent less accurate than a human umpire.

But whereas the video umpire took about a minute to decide, A-Eye produced its judgements in less than a second.

The system was due to be presented at the International Conference on Information Science and Applications on Jeju Island, South Korea, this week.

IPL schedule involves too much travelling: Hodge

IANS, Kochi, May 6: Kochi Tuskers' Australian batsman Brad Hodge has criticised the demanding schedule of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), saying that the tournament involves 'too much travelling'.

The cash-rich event is seven-weeks long and requires the players to travel all across India to feature in a minimum of 14 games. Hodge said the scheduling could have been better.

'We could have done better in the IPL this time. The schedule I think is hectic,' said Hodge. 'There are 10 teams and they have done their best to make a good schedule, but it involves too much travelling.

The nature of pitches have been another talking point of the IPL and Hodge feels that pitches used in Kochi in the earlier games in Kolkata and Jaipur were sub-standard.

'We could have won a few more matches but got struck on a few sticky wickets. Some of the pitches like the one in Calcutta (Kolkata) and Jaipur could have been better,' said the 29-year-old Australian.

Cook to lead England in ODIs, Broad Twenty20

IANS, London, May 6: Opening batsman Alastair Cook was appointed England's new One-day International captain following Andrew Strauss's retirement from the shorter version to focus on the Test captaincy.

England all-rounder Stuart Broad is England Twenty20 skipper, taking over from Paul Collingwood, who piloted England to a seven-wicket victory over Australia in the ICC World Twenty20 final last May.

Cook, 26, has played in just three ODIs since November 2008. He led England's victorious tour of Bangladesh in 2010 when Strauss was rested.

Strauss's decision was not surprising after England's disappointing performance in the World Cup.

'I have enjoyed my time as England One-day captain immensely and I am extremely proud of the strides we've made in limited-overs cricket over the past two years,' Strauss, 34, said.

'We still have a long way to go if we are to achieve our goal of winning ICC global events and I feel now is the right time for me to step aside and ensure someone else takes up that challenge.'

Strauss, who has been the ODI captain for the past two years, said England leadership is in right hands.

'I look forward to working closely with both Alastair and Stuart as we work together to progress England's development across all forms of the game. Both Alastair and Stuart are proven world-class cricketers and both have outstanding leadership qualities which will ensure England's success for many years to come,' he said.

'Retiring from One-day cricket will also enable me to focus solely on the Test captaincy and our ongoing development in the Test arena as we strive to be the top-ranked team in world cricket.'

Cook was the outstanding batsman during their 2010 Ashes success in Australia when he scored 766 runs, but he was not included in the squad for the subsequent One-day series against Australia or the World Cup.

The Essex batsman, who made his Test debut in 2006, played in only 65 Tests, 26 ODIs and four Twenty20 internationals. His only ODI century came against India in 2007.

However, he impressed as stand-in skipper in Bangladesh last year, scoring 64, 60 and 32 during 3-0 ODI series win and hit centuries in both Tests to guide England to a 2-0 victory.

'Andrew Strauss has led the One-day team to continued success over the past two years and I'll be looking to continue that progress as captain. I'm excited by the challenge of taking our 50-over cricket to new heights and I believe I can play an integral role with the bat as well as captain,' Cook said.

'I've worked hard on my limited-overs cricket in recent times -- I've never seen myself as a Test batsman exclusively and I know I have a lot to offer strategically and as a top-order batsman in one-day cricket.'

Arthur dismayed at customary three Tests being cut to two against Proteas

ANI, Sydney, May 6: Former Proteas coach Mickey Arthur has said that Australiaand South Africa deserved better than the two-Test series.

Champions League Twenty20 tournament to be held in India in September and early October has relegated this Test rivalry to minor league status.

Arthur, who orchestrated Australia's first home series defeat in 16 years and is now coach of Western Australia, is dismayed that the customary three Tests have been cut back to two, not enough for the sort of epic battle fought between the two countries in recent series.

Test nations have been working for two years on a new Future Tours Program for 2012 to 2020, which is now being finalised with the structure of global Test and ODI championships, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

But there are fears the system will remain flawed while individual countries can negotiate their own tours.

Cricket Australia agreed to tour South Africa in November in exchange for the Proteas playing in the Boxing Day and New Year Tests in 2005 and 2008.

Because of the crowded calendar, including the rich Champions League Twenty20 in which CA and CSA have shares, one Test was shaved off the tour, and will be replaced duringAustralia's next visit.

Champions League forces Australia-South Africa Test series to two matches

ANI, Melbourne, May 6): Cricket 

South Africa is all set to announce the program forAustralia's October-November tour on Friday and for the first time there will be room for only two Tests, along with two Twenty20 matches and three one-day internationals.

Champions League Twenty20 tournament in India during September and early October is the main reason for relegating this Test rivalry to minor league status.

CA refused to comment on the detail of the tour until it was released by South Africa but chief executive James Sutherland has claimed that Test cricket remained Australia's priority, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Negotiations are taking place to add a fourth Test to Australia's 2014 tour. "It is our premium format of the game and we're committed to it," Sutherland said.

CA showed a strange way of enforcing that commitment last year when it demanded thatMike Hussey and Doug Bollinger stay with their IPL team Chennai in South Africa instead of joining the Australia team on tour in India for a two-Test series.

With India owning 50 per cent of the tournament, Australia 33 per cent and South Africa 17 per cent, that is an enormous amount of money. Leading domestic Twenty20 teams from around the world compete, with Australia's top two Big Bash teams playing off.

Shane Warne to call it quits after IPL season

Reuters, MUMBAI, May 6: Shane Warne will quit professional cricket after the Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the Australian spinner said on Friday.

The spin great, who took 708 test wickets before retiring from international cricket at the end of the 2006-07 Ashes series, has been Rajasthan Royals' captain-cum-coach in the four editions of the cash-rich tournament.

"Yes this is my last year playing IPL," Warne posted on his Twitter account. "I will miss the IPL but it's been fun for the last 4 seasons... I've had a great time - but it's time to say goodbye to IPL.

"Thanks for kind words re my bowling - but it's 100 percent my last four games of professional cricket unless we make finals," the 41-year old added.

The flamboyant leg-spinner, who led Rajasthan to victory in the inaugural IPL, did not rule out the role of a mentor or coach next season.

Warne, who also grabbed 293 wickets in ODIs, has still managed to spin a web around batsmen with his flight and turn and has taken 11 wickets in nine matches this season.

Rajasthan Royals are currently ranked fourth in the table with five wins from 10 matches.