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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Pakistan Beat Sri Lanka By 11 Runs After Tense Finish


Shahid Afridi took four wickets and Misbah-ul-Haq notched a second successive half century as Pakistan upstaged Sri Lanka in a highly-charged World Cup Group A match by 11 runs on Saturday.

Afridi, who became the 11th player to take 300 wickets in ODIs, finished with 4-34 to help Pakistan defend a 278-run target, as they restricted Sri Lanka to 266-9 in 50 overs for their second win in the tournament.

Afridi, who recorded Pakistan's best bowling figures of 5-16 in all World Cup matches in the 305-run win against Kenya, completed his 300-wicket career landmark in his 314th match by dismissing Kumar Sangakkara for 49.

Chamara Silva, who made a 78-ball 57, gave Pakistan a scare with a 40-run stand with Angelo Mathews (18) before the 1992 champions held their nerve to win.

The win gave Pakistan four points from two matches and top spot in the table.

At a ground which traditionally favours the team batting first, Sri Lanka failed to better the highest run-chase here, registered by India when they chased 270 against England in the 2002 Champions Trophy.

It was 30-year-old Afridi who kept Pakistan on track by bowling dangerous opener Tillakaratne Dilshan (41) and Sangakkara before having Thilan Samaraweera (one) stumped and Mathews caught in the deep.

Pakistan could have finished the match earlier had wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal not missed stumping Sangakkara on two occasions off spinner Abdur Rehman while Rehman also dropped a simple chance off Silva.

Sri Lanka had raced to 76 without loss by the 15th over before losing four wickets in the space of 20 runs.

Pakistan were earlier set on course for a big total by in-form Misbah-ul-Haq, who finished with an unbeaten 83 and Younis Khan (72) who added 108 during a fourth-wicket stand of 108.

With Pakistan looking set for a 300-plus total, Sri Lanka's bowlers, especially Muttiah Muralitharan, kept a tight line and length, only allowing Pakistan 36 runs in the five-over batting power-play.

The wily off-spinner, who finished with 1-35 off his 10 overs, conceded just five runs in his two overs with only three fielders outside the circle.

Misbah hit six boundaries during his 91-ball knock.

Pakistan, who won the toss and batted, lost Ahmed Shahzad (13) in the sixth over, before Mohammad Hafeez (32) and Kamran Akmal (39) steadied the innings during their second wicket stand of 48.

Hafeez opened up, hitting paceman Nuwan Kulasekara for a well swept six, but a crazy run out accounted for his downfall when he swept Muralitharan to backward square-leg without noticing Kamran running down to his end.

Wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara's throw went over the bowler's head but Hafeez, leaving his crease late, had no time to recover.

Hafeez hit four boundaries and six during his 31-ball knock.

Kamran, who hit five boundaries in his 48 balls, was stumped off Rangana Herath who finished with 2-46.

Younis top-edged Herath in the 41st over, and was smartly caught by Jayawardene after hitting four boundaries during his sedate 76-ball innings.

Pakistan now play Canada on March 3, while Sri Lanka, who now have two points in as many games, meet Kenya on Tuesday.

Afridi Takes 300th ODI Wicket


Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi claimed his 300th wicket in one-day internationals during his team’s World Cup Group A match against Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Afridi picked up the wicket of Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara to achieve the feat in his 314th ODI. He became the 11th bowler in the world to have 300 or more wickets.

Sangakkara holed out to Ahmed Shehzad at mid on after scoring 49 runs and was also Afridi’s third wicket of the innings.

Sri Lanka offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan holds the world record with 522 wickets. Pakistan’s Wasim Akram (502) and Waqar Younis (416) are at second and third place respectively.

Brothers In Arms At Cricket World Cup


Australia's twins Steve and Mark Waugh were part of Australia's 1999 World Cup winning squad, a feat many brothers here must be wishing to emulate.

This edition of the showpiece event will see Nathan and Brendon McCullum turn out for New Zealand; Kamran and Umar Akmal for Pakistan and Niall and Kevin O'Brien for Ireland.

Kenya boasts of two sets of brothers in David and Collins Obuya and Shem and James Ngoche. West Indies will have half-brothers Dwayne and Darren Bravo perking each other up.

Darren paid tribute to Dwayne, who is older by five years and vastly more experienced.

"He has played in all different formats of the game, in all different parts of the world and he always gives me encouragement," 22-year-old Darren told www.cricinfo.com

"He works out a game plan quite nicely and he tends to make it a bit easy for me and I really appreciate that. Dwayne is always willing to giving me 100 percent support and I can't ask for anything but that."

If injury and selection decisions had not got in the way, there would have been two more sets of brothers at the tournament.

India's explosive batsman Yusuf Pathan won't have the younger Irfan for company while Australian David Hussey will be without the more experienced older brother Mike.

Irfan made his debut before Yusuf but was dropped from the team in 2009 for poor form and fitness.

Mike Hussey failed to recover from a hamstring injury in time for the World Cup.

A peek into the history of the game shows Australia have a kanck of producing a number of cricketing brothers.

Two of them represented Australia in the very first international Test match, played between England and Australia in 1877.

Dave Gregory, who captained the side, and his brother Ned both played in that match, although neither enjoyed a long career. Instead, that distinction went to David's son, Sydney Gregory, who went on to play 58 Tests.

Greg and Ian Chappell played for the great Australian team of the 1970s and ended their careers with impressive statistics.

A third brother, Trevor, also represented Australia, although he only played a small number of matches and is remembered mostly for his notorious 'under-arm' delivery against New Zealand in a one-dayer in 1981.

Trevor, as he admitted later, was only following the instruction of his elder brother Greg who was captain.

More recently, Steve and Mark Waugh played for Australia in long and distinguished careers. Steve was a fighting cricketer and one of the most valuable middle-order batsmen ever.

Mark, the more stylish of the two but less prolific, was once at the receiving end of a verbal barb thrown at him by England fast bowler James Ormond.

"There’s no way you're good enough to play for England," Mark told Ormond who retorted: "Maybe not, but at least I’m the best cricketer in my family."

Ireland have brothers who play for different teams.

Dominick and Ed Joyce made their debuts for Ireland and England respectively.

Ed Joyce has since returned to the Irish fold and will pad up against England in Bangalore on March 2.

Pakistan's brotherly tale is no less fascinating.

Brothers Hanif, Mushtaq and Sadiq Mohammad all played against New Zealand at Karachi in 1969-70. Another brother Raees was once the 12th man for Pakistan.

Sleepless Night Urged Imran Tahir To His Best


AB de Villiers even offered to give the Proteas’ new spin star half his ‘man of the match’ award after what he described as a fantastically “composed” performance in the biggest game of Tahir’s career so far.

But Tahir said he wasn’t all that calm after all.

He said he couldn’t get any sleep on Wednesday night after learning he would play his first competitive match for his adopted country the next day.

And the former Pakistan ‘A’ bowler said it was nervous energy, instead, that carried him to figures of 4-41 to lead South Africa’s bowling effort in its seven-wicket win over West Indies in Group B.

“It’s been a great day,” Tahir said. “They told me that I’m playing today, yesterday, we had a meeting. I think that was the worse thing because I didn’t sleep the whole night, even in the morning.

“But I think I had energy and I was just praying that I would have a good day … I was very excited.”
Tahir’s was the standout bowling performance from South Africa and was good enough to be noticed by De Villiers, whose unbeaten century carried South Africa to an opening win along with Tahir’s bowling.

“He’s an amazing talent and it’s great to have him in the side,” De Villiers said of the 31-year-old who was born in Lahore and only qualified to play for the Proteas on Dec. 31.

“It’s amazing to see how composed and calm he was today for a debutant, in a World Cup game… He can have half the man of the match medal,” De Villiers added.

Tahir captured the crucial wickets of the experienced Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul among his four scalps, and said he had enjoyed his debut. “I had a good day,” he said.

Proteas’ skipper Graeme Smith also said it was a strong start from his new spinner, who is also playing in India for the first time in his career.

“He bowled really well,” Smith said. “I tried to use him in short spells and tried to get the timing right to use him and obviously that was good today.

“He responded superbly well. He picked up key wickets for us, every time he came on he made an impact for us.”

Tahir is making the most of his late chance at international cricket having played in Pakistan, England and South Africa, and finally settling in the South African coastal city of Durban after marrying a local woman.

“Everything came out from my hand very nicely,” he said of his promising start at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground on Thursday.

Butt, Aamer Appeal Against Corruption Ban


“We have filed a statement of appeal in the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport against the ban by the International Cricket Council anti-corruption tribunal,” Butt’s lawyer Yasin Patel told AFP by email.

Opening batsman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Aamer were all banned on charges of corruption relating to last year’s Lord’s Test against England.

Butt was banned for 10 years, with five suspended. Asif was banned for seven years, two of which were suspended, with Aamer handed a five-year penalty. All three players are also facing criminal prosecution in Britain.

Butt confirmed his lawyer had appealed.

“This is to confirm that today my legal team served a statement of appeal upon the Court of Arbitration for Sport to appeal against the tribunal’s findings in relation to the Lord’s Test and the sanctions imposed at the recent hearing in Doha,” Butt said in a statement to AFP.

“Full grounds for the appeal will be lodged in due course. Due to the pending proceedings in the UK, my barrister… has advised me against saying anything further at this stage in relation to the appeal.”
“I can also confirm that it is my intention to attend the hearing at the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court on the 17th of March. At this stage I have no further comments to make in relation to that matter,” said Butt.

Aamer has also appealed against his ban, while Asif hinted at challenging the punishment before the March 2 deadline.

Aamer’s lawyer Shahid Karim said he filed the appeal on Friday.

“We have filed an appeal against the ban on Friday. We are challenging the judgement on various grounds,” Shahid Karim said.

Misbah And Afridi Sink Sri Lanka


Anyone still out there who thinks Pakistan are not dangerous contenders for the World Cup? The World Cup came alive with a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan propelled Pakistan, who were on a tricky 105 for 2 in the 21st over, to a strong 277 with tremendous poise and skill in the middle overs before Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akthar produced a bit of magic to derail the chase. Chamara Silva threatened to pull off a thrilling heist, with a flurry of boundaries in the end, and Nuwan Kulasekara made one heroic last-ditch effort to reduce the equation to 18 runs from the final over, but Umar Gul held his nerve to steer Pakistan home.  

25 overs Sri Lanka 109 for 4 (Afridi 2-10) need 169 runs to beatPakistan 277 for 7 (Misbah 83*, Younis 72)


 


Shoaib Akhtar hit strangling lines and lengths and Shahid Afridi produced a bit of magic to leave Sri Lanka staring down the barrel at the half-way mark of the chase. Sri Lanka's hopes rested on their captain Kumar Sangakkara, who was trying hard to prevent them from disintegrating on a slow pitch that was increasingly aiding turn. There was just one bad over from Pakistan - Umar Gul leaked 16 runs the 12th over- as the bowlers seemed determined to ensure the good work of the batsmen didn't go waste.

The new-ball bowlers Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq didn't give any width to Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sri Lanka reached 28 from seven overs. Dilshan seemed to go hard at deliveries and couldn't find any elbow room to manufacture his trademark off-side hits and though Upul Tharanga was marginally better with his timing, the runs were hard to come by. Perhaps, they should have tried to take singles but it has to be said that the bowling was asphyxiating.

To their credit, Sri Lanka didn't panic and didn't gift any early wickets. The openers gradually began to find some touch and recovered to 48 from 11 overs before breaking free in that Gul over. Dilshan upper cut the first ball past backward-point boundary, upper cut the fourth for another four, and there was a high bouncer that yielded five wides off a free-hit delivery. Suddenly, Sri Lanka were up and running but Pakistan reacted equally quickly to place the speed breakers.

Mohammad Hafeez drew first blood by luring Tharanga to drive straight to extra cover where Afridi pouched the catch, looked up to the skies, and roared. Soon Afridi was involved in yet another potentially game-breaking moment when introduced himself into the attack in the 18th over. He got one to skid on, just outside off and Dilshan made a fatal error of cutting, and dragged it onto his stumps.

Akthar returned to deliver a vital blow with a skilful, and slightly slower off cutter, to breach the defences of Mahela Jayawardene in the 21st over. Afridi's fire wasn't extinguished yet. He produced a gorgeous leg break to remove Thilan Samaraweera in the 22nd over. He followed a delivery that held its line with a loopy leg break that dipped rapidly on Samaraweera, who was sucked out of his crease, only to be left stranded as Kamran Akmal effected a smart stumping.

50 overs Pakistan 277 for 7 (Misbah 83*, Younis 72) v Sri Lanka




The World Cup came alive with a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq propelled Pakistan, who were on a tricky 105 for 2 in the 21st over, with superb poise and skill in the middle overs, before Muttiah Muralitharan pulled them back in the end to leave the game fascinatingly poised. This innings had everything: rapid start, brain fade, tranquil middle overs and finally fabulous end-over bowling. Shahid Afridi said at the toss that he would be happy with 280 and Kumar Sangakkara said he would be happy to chase that total.

Pakistan's innings stood out for its handling of the middle overs. Serenity blew across the ground after the fall of Kamran Akmal. Mohammad Hafeez had run himself out after a moment of madness and Kamran, who inexplicably withdrew into his shell after that mix-up, soon combusted, going for an ugly slog against Pakistan's bogeyman Rangana Herath to leave Pakistan in a tricky spot. It wasn't quite a crisis situation but it definitely needed calm heads. Luckily for Pakistan, you can't find better men than Misbah and Younis to handle these moments. What followed was a perfect advertisement for the much-abused middle overs in an ODI.

Two of the oldest members of the side ran beautifully, worked the angles intelligently, pinged the gaps frequently with the nudge-drive-and-sweep routine, and breathed life into an innings that could have, perhaps otherwise, succumbed to adrenalin rushes. If Misbah pressed back to play Murali, Younis leaned forward to tackle him; If Misbah backed to leg to create room, Younis shuffled to off to work to the leg; if Misbah tapped wide of midwicket for the quick single, Younis nudged just wide of backward point; if Misbah deployed the reverse-sweep, Younis stayed conventional. They always ran well; the runs kept ticking over, the opposition grew increasingly restless, and Pakistan secured ownership of the innings.

What further spiced up this partnership was the knowledge that the imperious lower order were waiting in the dressing room. When Younis fell in the 41st over, with Pakistan on 213 for 4, it even seemed like good news for Pakistan - Shahid Afridi and co to follow, unleash violence and 300 would be a formality. Or so it seemed. Here is where Sri Lanka sparkled. Here is when that man Murali and the doughty Nuwan Kulasekara stepped in to do damage control.

If Pakistan's handling of middle overs was a treat to watch, Sri Lanka's skill in the end overs was awe-inspiring. Murali ripped his off breaks, altering the trajectory, pace, and the extent of turn, and Kulasekara punctuated his yorkers with slower cutters to keep Pakistan in check. Murali gave just two runs in the 44th over, the first of the batting Powerplay, and only three, including the wicket of Umar Akmal in 46th and Kulasekera gave away just five in the 47th, keeping Afridi quiet with a series of yorkers.

Misbah responded to Murali's magic by growing more innovative. He shuffled to the off and whipped Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews for boundaries as Pakistan collected 32 runs in the last three overs. Only time will tell whether the total will be enough.

Misbah, Younis Power To 277


Pakistan were waltzing at 76 for 1 from 13 overs when a moment of madness, which led to Mohammad Hafeez's run-out, cracked open the game. Inevitably, the drama coincided with Muttiah Muralitharan's introduction. Hafeez didn't budge after sweeping to short fine-leg but Kamran Akmal charged across to the other end. Kumar Sangakkara too panicked, and hurled the throw wide over a bewildered Murali, but mid-off was backing up. In the resulting chaos, Hafeez wandered out his crease, and was run out. Inexplicably, Kamran changed his game after that, withdrawing into a shell and Sri Lanka closed in. Kamran combusted soon, going for an insane slog against Pakistan's bogey man Rangana Herath to leave the game tantalisingly poised at the half-way mark in Colombo.

Until that misunderstanding, Kamran and Hafeez were scripting a charming partnership, filled with dare and skill. Hafeez, as ever, looked compact and was in the mood to take ownership of the innings. He shrugged off the fall of his opening partner and unfurled a series of classy hits. He warmed up with a punchy drive through cover point off Thisara Perera and began to flow with a delectable late steer to the backward-point boundary against Nuwan Kulasekara. He turned imperious in the seventh over, again off Kulasekara, with an audacious heaved six over deep midwicket on a bent knee and a cheeky lap shot past short fine-leg.

The runs were coming easily, especially with Kamran too looking in flowing form. Everything from Kamran's repertoire was showcased: the crispy square drive, the cut, the punch through cover point and he even threw in a skilful flick over square-leg after walking across the stumps.

Everything was looking good for Pakistan but then that run-out happened, Kamran grew defensive, Sri Lankan spinners seized the moment, and the game slowly returned to balance. 

Heavyweights Clash at R Premadasa


When the World Cup comes to colourful Colombo on Saturday, the tournament will begin in earnest for two subcontinent teams. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka opened with massive wins over Associate nations, but this will be their first real test in the competition. None of the smaller teams in Group A seem capable of challenging the Test nations, so the game will be important in terms of placings for the quarter-finals. And in a tournament whose first week has been loaded with one-sided matches, two teams packed with dynamic players also promise some high-voltage entertainment.

Past records might suggest Pakistan have an edge - they have beaten Sri Lanka in each of their six encounters in the World Cups and have won their previous five games at the R Premadasa - but that will count for little. The two sides have not faced each other in cricket's showpiece tournament since 1992, and the Premadasa has undergone extensive redevelopment. What will help Pakistan, though, is the relative lack of controversy surrounding the current team, a low-profile lead-up and the confidence of a recent series win, in New Zealand, behind them.

Sri Lanka's advantage is that most of their players have had a taste of how the new track will fare during the domestic limited-over tournament held in January. Traditionally, this has been a bat-first venue, especially in day-night games where the team chasing has won only one of the past 13 matches, but it remains to be seen how the re-laid pitch fares .
The pitch will be the centre of attention since it's a re-laid track, and Saturday's game will be the first international game to be played on it. It may not be too high scoring a game, if the domestic matches played since the stadium was re-developed are anything to go by. The highest score batting first in the one-dayers played in January was 225, a total which was easily defended. Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, though, expects the bare surface to be good for batting.

Thisara Perera was outstanding with the ball against Canada, and picked loads of wickets whenever he got a chance in 2010 as well. He worked up real pace in Hambantota, and has provided the team management with the welcome headache of working out how to accommodate him, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara and Angelo Mathews in the XI. He also adds muscle to Sri Lanka's lower-middle order.

Shoaib Akhtar has weathered stacks of controversies and fitness problems to become one of the few constants in Pakistan's team. There has not been any talk of injuries for eight months, a minor miracle given his past record. Age hasn't slowed him down too much either; even at 35 he remains among the quickest bowlers in the world.
Pakistan have hinted they will stick to the same combination that played Kenya, which means Wahab Riaz and Saeed Ajmal are likely to remain on the bench. Waqar Younis has said Pakistan are pondering how to use Abdul Razzaq better, but for now he will continue to be an impact batsman at No. 8 and opening the bowling.

Pakistan (probable):
1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Kamran Akmal (wk), 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Abdur Rehman, 11 Shoaib Akhtar

The main concern for Sri Lanka is the fitness of their pace spearhead, Malinga, who has a back strain. He missed Sri Lanka's opening game, but he did bowl in the nets on Friday. The physio will take a call on Saturday whether Malinga will play. If he doesn't, Sri Lanka could stick to the same XI that beat Canada.

Sri Lanka (probable):
1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Chamara Kapugedera, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan

Muttiah Muralitharan needs one more wicket to move past Wasim Akram's tally of 55 wickets to become the second highest wicket-taker in World Cups.

Sri Lanka have never beaten Pakistan in six World Cup matches, though the two haven't met in the competition since 1992.

One more stumping will take Sangakkara's tally to eight, moving ahead of Adam Gilchrist and Moin Khan, with whom he current shares the record for most stumpings.

This is Afridi's fourth World Cup, but he is yet to make a half-century.

"In the past we've played really well against him in this country. I don't think we should worry about him that much; he is not 28 anymore. It is not going to be easy though. We're prepared not only for him but the entire team."

Waqar doesn't think Pakistan should be scared of Murali
"I find it surprising that their name is not bandied about in the mix of potential World Cup winners as they have brilliant match winners with both bat and ball."

Mahela Jayawardene thinks Pakistan are among the favourites for the tournament.

Sri Lanka Wary Of Dangerous Pakistan


Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka's captain and vice-captain respectively, have both warned that Pakistan are a dangerous side that other teams will be wary of in the World Cup. Not too many people have tipped Pakistan to win the tournament, after a tumultuous year for them in which they have been plagued by off-field issues, but Jayawardene said he was surprised by the lack of hype around them.

"I find it surprising that their name is not bandied about in the mix of potential World Cup winners as they have brilliant match winners with both bat and ball," Jayawardene wrote on his blog.

Sangakkara echoed that sentiment, saying Pakistan's batsmen were dangerous. "Any opposition is wary of them and we're not going to take anything lightly or for granted," he said. He was, however, confident that his bowlers would be up to the task, particularly with what he described as a "vastly improved" pace attack. Lasith Malinga has been Sri Lanka's most successful bowler in the one-day format over the past year, and Thisara Perera, who seemed to have added a couple of yards of pace to his bowling in Sri Lanka's opening match against Canada, has been the second highest wicket-taker.
"We understand how dangerous the Pakistani batsmen are and that's the beauty of playing a side like them," Sangakkara said. "Those challenges I think the bowlers will enjoy. There's been a vast improvement for us actually to have good fast bowlers in our squad. We've got guys who bowl over 140[kph] and we've got guys who swing it as well. Both sides have good pace and good spin and I think it's going to be a battle between two teams who are looking forward to a very keen contest. Every side has a different approach and we've got our own, which we're trying to fine tune as we go along. "

Sri Lanka, along with co-hosts India, are being touted as one of the favourites to win the World Cup, but Jayawardene said even though Pakistan may not be hosting any games, they still know the conditions well. "Pakistan are just as familiar with the conditions, so they pose a huge danger to any side, especially in the knockout stage and it should be a good match," he said. "Despite what people may write or not write, we certainly are fully aware of what this Pakistan side can do to any team with seemingly little effort."

One possible setback for Sri Lanka is that there are still doubts over the readiness of Malinga for the game. He missed the match against Canada with a back strain, though Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara did the job in his absence.

"Lasith is improving very fast and we'll have to look at him," Sangakkara said. "We don't want to rush him into a big tournament like this. He is the most important player for us so we want to make sure that he is comfortable and everyone is comfortable with the decision."

The pitch at the R Premadasa has been completely re-laid ahead of the World Cup, but Sri Lanka's players have the advantage of having played on it during the domestic one-day tournament in January. Sangakkara, who praised the new pitch in Hambantota, said he thought the wicket in Colombo would be as good for batting. "In the match against Canada the wicket was good and we think even this surface will act the same," he said. "We don't' want to think too much about the pitch."

Cricket Fans Lose Sleep Over World Cup


Football's finished, baseball hasn't started yet, and March Madness and the NBA and NHL playoffs are still weeks or months away.

But for cricket fans, these are the best of times, even if the 2011 Cricket World Cup is on television at some ungodly hours.

The tournament, which takes place once every four years, began last weekend and runs through the beginning of April with matches in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

That means the action begins at 1 a.m. PST and ends around 8:30 a.m.

What's a cricket fan to do? Whatever it takes: gulp coffee, sleep through lunch, call in sick, you name it.
Sarabjip "Sunny" Singh, a 43-year-old Union City cricket player and U.S. Postal Service employee, scheduled vacation for next week to watch the matches, and has sprinkled in more vacation days to follow the nights when India is scheduled to play.

How does his wife feel about him spending his vacation days in bed and nights glued to the television? "She's OK," he said. "She knows I have a passion for cricket."

Rocky Singh, a Fremont cricket enthusiast, has a different plan for catching up on sleep after watching India's matches.

"I own my own company," he said. "I have a manager take care of things."

This is an especially big tournament for India, which is not only a co-host, but a favorite to win its first title since 1983.

The squad, which has a reputation for not coming through in the clutch, already has avenged its 2007 tournament-ending loss to Bangladesh.


Pakistan, which was a favorite four years ago, has lower expectations this time after three of its top players were barred because of a match-fixing scandal.

The tournament will be viewed by hundreds of millions fans, many of whom live in South Asia where cricket is king, but also in other parts of the British Commonwealth, including South Africa, the West Indies, New Zealand and Australia, the reigning champion.

In the Bay Area, fans used to flock to Bollywood movie theaters and restaurants to watch the seven-hour matches. But this year, with the games on late at night and available on satellite television for $129, most fans are watching in their living rooms.

"I prefer watching it at my house," Rocky Singh said. "You can relax, you can scream, you can crack jokes while you're watching it. In a theater, you have to be considerate."

In Fremont, fans used to go to the NAZ8 Cinemas for games, but the theater, which changed its name and is under new ownership, isn't showing them this year.

"It was a lot of fun over there," Sarabjip Singh said. But Singh this year bought the satellite package, which used to be a lot more expensive. He and his son are staying up late to watch the matches with the help of a lot of tea and snacks.

If India advances, they'll probably go to a house party for the big game, but it'll be hard to top the 1983 victory, Singh said. At the time, his family in India was one of the first in his neighborhood to have a television.

"All the neighbors were in our house watching the match," he said. "We were dancing into the middle of the night."

Friday, February 25, 2011

Pakistan Have Three Specialist Bowlers


If indications from Waqar Younis are anything to go by, Pakistan are unlikely to pick a fourth specialist bowler for Saturday's crunch game against co-hosts Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa. Pakistan comprehensively beat Kenya in their tournament opener on Wednesday, but played, in Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar and Abdur Rehman, with just three specialist bowlers. Shahid Afridi is as good as a specialist bowler but the caution to fill the line-up with batsmen and batsmen who can bowl, has led to an under-utilisation of Abdul Razzaq.

Razzaq batted at No. 8 in the last game, as he has done in 14 of 18 ODIs in the last year. He has played a few significant innings but more than his performances, the question has been whether he is being allowed, in the current line-up, to have the fullest impact on a game. Pakistan have compensated by using him as an opening bowler, but even there he remains under-used: in those 18 ODIs, he has bowled 91.4 overs or, on average, roughly five overs a game. Never once has he bowled the whole quota and he has picked up eight wickets.

Instead, Pakistan have combined him and Mohammad Hafeez to provide a fifth bowler and have also been making Ahmed Shehzad bowl in practice, with a view to using him if needed. Though Waqar admitted that Razzaq didn't "really fit" in the current line-up, he maintained that they were happy with his bowling contribution.

"I think Razzaq has done really well with the ball," Waqar said, ahead of the Sri Lanka game. "He hasn't delivered the goods with the bat apart from one game in Abu Dhabi [the hundred against South Africa]. He is no doubt our striker in both batting and bowling. He bowls with the new ball and we've got to push him a little more in that.

"You're right he comes at eight, but we have five batsmen, the keeper is more a batsman and then there is Afridi, so he doesn't really fit in at the moment. But if we need to send him up the order if quick runs are required we might push him."

Pakistan's batting, in actual fact, has performed well over that period, crossing 250 13 times in their last 20 ODIs. But clearly the management remains concerned. The inclusion of Abdur Rehman ahead of Saeed Ajmal - circumstantial to an extent after a personal tragedy forced Ajmal to return to Pakistan during the New Zealand tour and allowed Rehman to take his place - against Kenya surprised some. But it has been done to shore the batting up further still.

"It is unfortunate Ajmal is not playing right now," Waqar said. "He has won matches for us over the last 4-5 years. But right now Rehman is a utility player. He bats a little, he is a very good fielder and the way he is bowling, from what I've seen, he is the best spinner here."

For the moment, Waqar said, the final XI had not been decided and hints from the camp suggest it is likely to remain unchanged. But the nature of the surface, re-laid recently, might compel a re-jig. "We don't really know at the moment," Waqar said. "These pitches are brand new, so we're not really sure how it has played. We're just going to go with the best combination, what we probably had in the last match but we haven't had a meeting yet. Until we come back in the morning and see something different, but at the moment I don't think there will be changes."

Though Waqar played down the threat Muttiah Muralitharan might pose, he acknowledged Sri Lanka will be a stern test. "It's an important game. For this tournament, for momentum it is important and to get to the quarter-final, and in which position you get there, in that sense very important. If you want to go ahead, you have to build momentum so you treat all the teams as one. Sri Lanka at home is very difficult to beat. But the way we've played and trained, I am hopeful we can beat them."

Shafiul Secures Bangladesh Vital Victory


Bangladesh's bowlers held their nerve to atone for the failures of their batsman, as the pluck of the Irish proved insufficient to overcome the most fervent atmosphere of the World Cup so far. In a gripping, low-scoring encounter at Mirpur, Bangladesh flirted with disaster as they squandered a flying start from Tamim Iqbal to crash to 205 all out, and when Ireland reached 93 for 3 at the halfway mark of their reply, they were well on course for a hugely deserved victory.

 However, six wickets for the Bangladeshi spin quartet set the stage for a flying finish from Shafiul Islam, who claimed 4 for 21 in eight hostile and reverse-swinging overs, to seal a wildly acclaimed victory by 27 runs with five overs to spare.

The result was tough on the Irish who, like the Netherlands earlier in the week, gave the match their all and deserved a Test-playing scalp as their reward. But the belief and unity of the Bangladeshis had to be seen to be believed, as they dusted themselves down after a chastising performance with the bat, and set about defending their meagre total with skill, tenacity and some sublime commitment in the field.

Mohammad Ashraful, whose mercurial batting once again let him down when the heat was on, proved a revelation with the ball, as his spin-bowling all-sorts picked up two vital wickets inside the first 19 overs, and whose subsequent celebrations imbued both his team-mates - and perhaps more crucially, a rammed and expectant Mirpur crowd - with belief.

There will be many higher-profile fixtures than this in the coming weeks, but few could prove as pivotal to the fortunes of two teams who exceeded expectations four years ago in reaching the Super Eights in the Caribbean. Ireland's hopes of playing in the 2015 tournament hinge on their ability to produce this sort of performance in each of their next five matches, to convince the ICC that they deserve their place at the top table. But more immediately, Bangladesh's victory gives them a real chance of pushing for a quarter-final place that their form in home internationals suggests could be attainable.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Bangladesh started the match with the same aplomb with which they finished, bringing their fans to their feet in a thrilling first four overs, in which Tamim's blistering volley of strokeplay lifted the score to an imposing 41 for 0. However, Ireland are a more resourceful side than meets the eye, and the early decision to reduce the pace on the ball slowly but surely changed the tide of the contest. Trent Johnston and John Mooney drew the sting of the innings with their unrelenting line and length, but it was left to the teenaged spinner George Dockrell to inflict the telling blows.

Dockrell twirled straight through his ten overs, claiming 2 for 23 with a performance brimful of guile. His agonisingly slow pace through the air left all the batsmen groping in their defences, scared of taking on the long straight boundary for fear of being beaten in flight, and his two dismissals were carbon-copies of one another - a crease-bound Mushfiqur Rahim paddle-swept to Andrew White at short backward leg to end a doughty innings of 36, before Ashraful followed suit for 1 in the very next over.

Ireland's commitment in the field was unstinting. Ed Joyce and White pulled off a direct-hit run-out apiece, the first to remove Junaid Siddique for 3 - a dismissal which undermined Bangladesh's early momentum following the loss of the opener Imrul Kayes to an expert leg-side stumping from Niall O'Brien - and the latter to extract Raqibul Hasan for 38, at precisely the moment he looked set to guide the tail to a comfortable 200-plus total. But the one telling shortcoming was the performance of their quickest bowler, Boyd Rankin. His nine overs went for 62 - the most expensive analysis of the day - including a poor final over that went for 11.


Smart Stats

  • Bangladesh's 27-run win was their first over Ireland in World Cups and their fifth in seven matches against Ireland. Ireland had beaten Bangladesh by 74 runs in their previous meeting in World Cups.
  • This was only the eighth win for Bangladesh in ODIs in Mirpur after batting first. They have lost on 13 occasions after batting first.
  • Shafiul Islam's 4 for 21 is the best bowling performance in World Cups by a Bangladesh bowler surpassing Abdur Razzak's 3 for 25 against South Africa in 2007.


Pace off the ball was the secret on this deck, at least until such time as the Irish tail was exposed to Shafiul's old-ball wiles. He was given just the one over with the new ball in Ireland's innings, before Shakib turned to the spin pairing of Abdur Razzak and Naeem Islam. The tactic paid dividends in the sixth over of the innings, when Paul Stirling yorked himself while advancing to Razzak, and was stumped by Mushfiqur as the ball dribbled off the pads and past his off stump.

With the pressure intense in spite of the small target, Ireland's captain, Will Porterfield, set himself to make the most of every scoring opportunity. He had launched the innings in confident style with a second-ball drive off Shafiul through point, and he added a second four when Naeem dropped short at the end of his third over. But Shakib, Bangladesh's captain and senior spinner, struck with his first delivery, as Porterfield attempted a flick off the back foot, and instead popped a simple catch to Raqibul at short midwicket.

O'Brien, however, was the right man to enter the fray. He was the hero of a tense run-chase in Jamaica four years ago, when Ireland stunned Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup, and two fours in the same Shakib over were the perfect tonic for his team's frayed nerves. In partnership with the England veteran, Joyce, he picked off the singles and gnawed away at the target, before Joyce, on 16, attempted to drive against the spin, and popped a simple chance to Ashraful.

Ashraful celebrated as if the match was already won, which it self-evidently was not at 75 for 3 in the 19th over. However, the belief in the Bangladesh team was picked up on by the crowd, and the roof was raised six overs later, when White, on 10, played a lazy pushed drive from deep in the crease to be bowled through the gate.

It was a dismissal that increased the Irish jitters ten-fold, but it was nothing compared to the dismissal of O'Brien three overs later. With a rock-solid 38 from 52 balls to his name, he was tempted to put too much bat through a lofted clip into the leg side, and Tamim at deep square leg hurtled in to snaffle a brilliant low catch inches from the turf. At 110 for 5, Bangladesh were right back in the contest and O'Brien's self-recriminations were revealing. With an asking-rate of four an over, there was simply no need for such risks.

His brother Kevin, however, chose his big shots more judiciously - at least at first. An up-and-under six over long-on was the first and only maximum of the match, and he added two more kitchen-sink clumps in Ashraful's ninth and final over, which went for 14. But at 151 for 5 in the 37th over, when all that was required was a cool head and an exchange of singles, O'Brien was suckered by Shafiul's short ball, and launched a pull straight to the substitute, Suhrawadi Shuvo, at square leg.

From that moment on, Ireland's hopes began to evaporate. Naeem nailed Mooney for an eight-ball duck, as he tried a flat-footed cut but edged into his stumps, and three balls later, the obdurate Andre Botha played all round a full-length delivery that crashed into his leg stump. With Shafiul on a roll, surfing the crowd's delirium and zipping the ball at pace from a full length, the tail were unable to resist. Bangladesh's World Cup campaign is up and running. Ireland's, despite their best endeavours, must start all over again against England next week.

All Round Australia Seal Easy Win


Shaun Tait. Brett Lee. Mitchell Johnson. The hostile fast men from Australia made an imperious statement in Nagpur. They breathed fire and New Zealand didn't have the heart, and at least today, the skills, to extinguish them. Nathan McCullum and Daniel Vettori revived New Zealand from a disastrous 73 for 6, but a below-par 206 was not enough to avoid a crushing defeat. A flamboyant Brad Haddin and an imperious Shane Watson hit entertaining half-centuries to charge Australia home.

It was a shambolic effort from the New Zealand top order. Some of the deliveries didn't deserve wickets but New Zealand were in the mood for self-destruction. They handled the best bowler on view, Lee, with caution and gave him just one wicket but imploded against Tait and Johnson. Both bowlers bowled enough tight deliveries to lure the batsmen into mistakes with deliveries that had some teasing width. It remains to be seen how they will fare against a better batting line-up. Will today's wicket-taking deliveries be smashed for boundaries or will the batsmen continue to err on perceived pressure-releasing balls? Today, though, their efforts were enough to blow away New Zealand's top order.

Brendon McCullum, who unfurled couple of fierce upper cuts against Tait, threw his bat at a full delivery well outside off, but edged it to third man. Jesse Ryder, who laced a few classy pulls against Johnson, stabbed a delivery that held its line outside off, to the wicketkeeper. James Franklin, looking out of place at No. 5, chased a wide delivery from Johnson to give Brad Haddin another catch. Scott Styris edged a wide and short delivery from Tait to Haddin and Ross Taylor played all around a full delivery from Tait to lose his off stump.

Everything that one expected from this Australian pace attack was visible today. It was expected they would either blow away the opposition or leak runs on flat tracks. Eleven fours came in the first 12 overs but the wickets too kept tumbling. Lee strangled the batsmen with his nagging line and length, Tait slung them in full and fast, Johnson went round-arm to catapult pacy deliveries and Watson was accurate enough to let the vagaries of the up-and-down track to do its bit.

The pitch played its part in the dismissal of Martin Guptill, which proved to be a turning point of the innings as well. Guptill had just begun to get going after taking 19 deliveries to get off the mark, when he was late to get on the front foot to a delivery from Watson that shot through low under the bat to bowl him. When Guptill fell in the ninth over, New Zealand were 40 for 2 but it was the beginning of the end. By the 17th over, after the fall of Taylor, they were tottering at 73 for 6.

In many ways, Taylor's dismissal captured New Zealand's iffy batting effort. It was a full delivery on the off stump line and instead of driving it in the 'V', Taylor, who averages just 28.86 since March 2009, played a messy across-the-line waft to lose his stumps.

Luckily, for New Zealand, they found in Nathan McCullum, someone in good form - this is his third fifty in four innings - and in the mood to play risk-free cricket, to save them the blushes. He played the situation well, using his dab-nudge routine to collect the singles and putting away the occasional long hops from the spinners as boundaries. The fifty came with a steer to point but for the main part, he nurdled the ball to the leg side - 33 runs came in that region - to keep the score moving. He came in at 73 for 6 and by the time he fell in the 42nd over, trapped lbw by a skidding delivery from Johnson, he had pushed New Zealand to 175 for 8. Nathan McCullum was well supported by Vettori, who bided his time before playing the big shots in the end overs to push the score past 200. Vettori fell in the 45th over, edging an attempted pull off Lee and he will be left musing yet another debacle from his top order.
In contrast, the Australian openers oozed intent in the chase. Haddin punctuated his violent hits with some sweetly-timed drives to waltz through to a half-century while Watson heaved, slugged, muscled, thumped and carved his way to a merry fifty. The best shot of the day came from Haddin when he unfurled a gorgeous drive against Nathan McCullum. Haddin leaned forward to an off break to caress it through extra cover, a shot out of the Damien Martyn school of batting. The openers' brutal effort was the perfect icing on the cake after the stirring show from the fast bowlers.

Healing Time For Sri Lanka And Pakistan

After a sluggish start to the World Cup with a series of mismatches and one near history-making upset, this weekend provides two games that should whet the appetite.



First is the matchup between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, which provides some fascinating social angles. Many American sports fans would have been aware of a terrorist attack on the Togo team bus in Angola at the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament in 2010, which left three people dead and eight injured. Perhaps it picked up more press than usual in the United States because the FIFA World Cup was only months away.



In the cricket world, an event in March of 2009 that was just as harrowing managed to slip under the radar on these shores. The Sri Lanka team bus was caught up in a machine-gun ambush less than half a mile from the entrance to the Gaddafi Stadium (yes, named after that Gaddafi) on the morning before play started at a match in Lahore, Pakistan. Eight people were killed and nine injured in the shootout, with only a miracle sparing the entire team from death when a rocket launcher fired at the team bus and narrowly missed its intended target.


 


Sri Lanka had decided to tour Pakistan as an act of good faith due to the fact that all other international teams had refused to tour Pakistan since October of 2007, fearing that exactly such a scenario would occur. Sri Lanka had stepped up to show that other teams had nothing to fear because no terrorist would dare attack cricketers in such a cricket loving country, that sport had risen above violent politics since the 1972 Munich Olympics. Prior to the attack in Lahore, avoiding Pakistan had been voluntary, but afterward it became mandatory.



Since then, Pakistan has lived a nomadic existence, playing "home" series in the UAE, England and New Zealand. They also had their hosting rights to this World Cup stripped. Due to the fact that diplomatic ties have been strained once more between Pakistan and India after the Mumbai terrorist attack in November of 2008, Pakistan was not scheduled to play any group matches in India. Instead, their first six games are slated to be played in Sri Lanka.



With so much political turmoil surrounding the Pakistan team, not to mention three of their own players who were recently suspended for their roles in sabotaging the team's on-field fortunes during matches played last summer against England, it's quite remarkable that they are able to turn up focused and ready to play.



Sri Lanka's players have managed to continue with life after being caught in the line of fire in Lahore. They have also experienced the turmoil of a nasty civil war on their own shores that was only declared over in 2009. For both Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the match provides an opportunity for more healing. It's also a chance for both teams to jockey for position at the top of Group A after each country produced convincing wins over lesser competition in their opening games.



A day later in Group B, England and India will square off in Bangalore. The background of this game is interesting as well. It was supposed to be held at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, a facility that can cram in roughly 90,000 fans where people willingly pack themselves in like sardines all in an attempt to see their cricket idols. Unfortunately, stadium renovations were not completed in time and so the game was shifted to Bangalore's 38,000-seat facility, causing predictable outrage in Kolkata and for traveling fans.


However, that outrage is expected to subside when Virender Sehwag comes out to bat for India. In the opening match of the tournament against Bangladesh, Sehwag registered a new personal high in ODI cricket and tied the fourth-highest score in World Cup history with 175 to set the tone for a thumping win.



Sehwag made his debut for India in 1999 but was out of the national team for a period of time in 2007, during which he took on somewhat of a barnstorming persona by playing at a festival tournament in Los Angeles. Cricketers who participate in such events do so when their careers have all but finished.

Sehwag's time in the wilderness is similar to the one experienced on the tennis court by Andre Agassi, who was reduced to playing in Challenger tournaments after his world ranking fell to 141 in 1997. Yet he is now on top of the world and crushes bowling attacks like Adrian Peterson runs over middle linebackers, a devastating one-man wrecking ball that shows no mercy.

Looking to slow him down is England. In its opening match, they escaped a dramatic upset bid from the Netherlands that would have been on par with the 1980 Miracle on Ice. Another win for India would give them double the confidence it received after thrashing Bangladesh while a win for England would show that the performance against the Netherlands was an anomaly and not the start of a trend. It should be an entertaining weekend.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Bangladesh Lay Spin Trap For Ireland


Bangladesh will bank on spin to outwit Ireland in Friday's World Cup match, with skipper Shakib Al Hasan warning the visitors they will struggle in Dhaka.

"I don't think Ireland like to play in these conditions," Shakib said of the leading non-Test nation ahead of the day-night match at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

"This is not to say we will take them lightly. Ireland have been playing good cricket. But in our conditions, which suit slow bowlers, we are a good bowling side."

The last time Ireland played in Dhaka, Bangladesh won all three one-day internationals at the same venue, giving Shakib confidence ahead of the clash.

"They could not handle spin and we plan to attack them again with it," said the captain, who leads the home team's spin attack with fellow left-armer Abdur Razzak.

Bangladesh cannot afford another defeat, having lost their opening match against India by 87 runs last Saturday, setting the stage for a keenly contested game with the Irish.

The co-hosts need to beat both the non-Test nations, Ireland and the Netherlands, and one of the established sides from England, South Africa and the West Indies, to progress to the next round.

"This is a must-win situation for us," Shakib conceded. "If we don't win tomorrow, it will not be easy to qualify for the quarter-finals."

Bangladesh must avenge two successive losses to Ireland at major events to resurrect their campaign.
Ireland defeated Bangladesh by 74 runs in the now-scrapped Super Eights round in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and then won by six wickets in the World Twenty20 in England in 2009.

Shakib said the team management will decide the playing XI on Friday morning to give seamer Shafiul Islam time to recover from a minor shoulder injury sustained during training on Wednesday.

The captain refused to answer repeated questions from the Bangladeshi media on whether former captain Mohammad Ashraful will play after being omitted against India.

"Nothing will be decided till we know if Shafiul can play," said Shakib.

"The composition of the side will depend on how he shapes up tomorrow morning."

Ashraful, Bangladesh's most successful one-day batsman with 3,360 runs from 164 matches, had a long batting stint at the nets on Thursday to suggest he may take the field against Ireland.

Ashraful could replace off-spinner Naeem Islam, or even seamer Rubel Hossain if Bangladesh choose to attack Ireland with a three-man spin attack.

Bangladesh emerged from the defeat against India with a few positives, including a spirited chase of the massive 371-run target as Tamim Iqbal made 70 and Shakib hit a fluent 55 off 50 balls.

But the Tigers' bowlers took a beating at the hands of the rampaging India, with Shafiul going for 69 runs in his seven overs and new-ball partner Rubel conceding 60 runs in 10 wicketless overs.

"Must win" For Bangladesh


Bangladesh captain Shakib-Al-Hasan says his side will be in a "must-win situation" when they face Ireland on Friday in Mirpur.

After a defeat to India in their opening match of the competition, the Tigers would need to get their campaign off the ground if they want to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

Ireland made it through to the second group stages four years ago and a win over Bangladesh - arguably the weakest of the Test-playing nations in Group B - would seem crucial to their hopes of progression this time.

"This is a must-win situation for us. If we don't win tomorrow, it will not be easy to qualify for the quarter-finals," Shakib said.

Ireland emerged victorious in both the 2007 World Cup and ICC World Twenty20 two years later whn they met the Tigers, but a 2008 three-match one-day series on Bangladesh soil saw the hosts win 3-0.

Conditions

"When they played last time here, they could not handle our spin," Shakib added.

"When they played in Mirpur, we beat them, so that's our advantage, and I don't think they like to play in these conditions."

Bangladesh may be forced to lean heavily on spin again as pace bowler Shafiul Islam is a doubt for the contest after picking up a shoulder in a practice session on Wednesday.

Shakib said: "Maybe we will need a change because Shafiul Islam is not 100 percent fit. We will check him tomorrow (Friday) and then we will decide."

Ireland skipper William Porterfield insists his side have learned their lessons from the drubbing they were given three years ago and will be fully prepared for the threat of spin.

"The last time we played in Bangladesh, we were taken by surprise by the heat, the humidity and the spinners," he said.

"But this time we will not be found wanting. There is a lot more preparation done and we have spent a week in Dhaka getting used to the conditions."

He added: "We know what to expect. Spin will obviously play a part in this World Cup and more so in Bangladesh, whose game plan is all about spin.

"But we feel we are ready. It has been a very good preparation for the tournament, where the focus was obviously on playing spin."

Ireland Aim To Shock Bangladesh

 
Ireland want to put in a display against Bangladesh that will make people "sit up and take notice" in their opening game at the World Cup.
 
The hosts are favourite to win Friday's Group B contest although they were beaten by Ireland at the 2007 World Cup and at the 2009 World Twenty20.

"They're playing at home, so it's to be expected they'll be favourites," said Ireland captain William Porterfield.

"We want a performance that will make people sit up and take notice again."

The Irish beat the Tigers at the Super Eights stage in 2007 but then lost 3-0 in a series in Dhaka in 2008.
"The 2007 World Cup was a while ago, where conditions were different," Porterfield added. "The last time we played in Bangladesh, we were taken by surprise by the heat, the humidity and the spinners.
"But this time we will not be found wanting. There has been a lot more preparation done and we have spent a week in Dhaka getting used to the conditions."

The Ireland squad includes nine players from 2007 and contains batsman Ed Joyce, who played 17 one-dayers for England before opting to compete for the land of his birth.

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan warned the leading non-Test playing nation that they will struggle on the Sher-e-Bangla stadium pitch.

"I don't think Ireland like to play in these conditions," Shakib said.

"This is not to say we will take them lightly. Ireland have been playing good cricket. But in our conditions, which suit slow bowlers, we are a good bowling side."

Bangladesh, who lost their opening Group B match to India by 87 runs, will decide the XI on Friday to give seamer Shafiul Islam time to recover from a minor shoulder injury sustained during training.


Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Shahriar Nafees, Raqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Suhrawadi Shuvo.

Ireland: William Porterfield (capt), Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, Niall O'Brien, Kevin O'Brien, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, John Mooney, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Albert van der Merwe, Gary Wilson, Andrew White, Ed Joyce.

Angry World Cup Cricket Fans Clash With Police In India


Fans queuing outside the Chinnaswamy stadium in the Indian city of Bangalore to buy tickets for the cricket World Cup have clashed with police.
Television pictures showed policemen hitting dozens of fans on their legs and backs.

Many of the fans had been waiting since Wednesday night. Reports said they were angered by the shortage of tickets available for purchase at the venue.
Bangalore is to host Sunday's World Cup showdown between India and England.
According to reports, barely 8,000 tickets are up for sale at the stadium which can accommodate 40,000 people.

The BBC's Alison Mitchell, who is in Bangalore, says that there were chaotic scenes on Thursday - tickets for the match were on sale from early in the morning and people started queuing the night before.

Our correspondent says that the queues snaked around stadium, holding up traffic on a busy road outside.

Police used batons to control them and unconfirmed reports say that some suffered serious injuries in crushes by the ticket booths.

When the available tickets sold out in two-and-a-half hours, thousands of fans were disappointed, although the crowd dispersed quickly.

 In Delhi says that ticket sales have been a huge problem for the organisers - only a few thousand tickets are available for the general public because the bulk of them have been given away to sponsors and commercial partners.
 
The match was originally scheduled to be held in Calcutta's Eden Gardens but was later moved to Bangalore after the International Cricket Council (ICC) said it was with unhappy with the preparations.

Karnataka State Cricket Association Secretary Javagal Srinath said that he had no regrets about the match being switched to Bangalore despite the disturbances.
"There were 7,000 tickets that were issued for sale today," he said.
"Also, we had to honour the Calcutta commitment. So in total we had 15,000 tickets available for sale through the gate.

"We are trying to cover as much as possible. But for a match of this magnitude, even if you double or triple [the capacity], it's not enough."

Bangalore police chief Shankar Bidari dismissed the trouble as a "minor thing" and insisted his force was well prepared to ensure that World Cup encounter went ahead smoothly.

Mr Bidari said that no-one was hurt in the incident and that police only attempted to regulate an unruly section of a crowd numbering more than 20,000 people outside the stadium.

"They were jostling with each other. We had to use mild force to make sure that people did not fall over each other and injure themselves," he said.
"It was a sporadic incident and the situation was brought under control within three to four minutes."

The ICC has now written to the Indian organisers of the World Cup complaining about mishandling of ticket sales and distribution.
 
On Monday, an official website selling tickets for the final crashed after millions of people tried to log on. Many others who had bought tickets online up to six months ago have still not received them.

The clashes on Thursday are the latest mishap to hit India's World Cup arrangements.

Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, the venue for the final, was only given clearance to host matches by the city's fire department earlier this week.

England fans were strongly critical when news of the venue change to Bangalore first emerged earlier this month. Many complained that they had been left out of pocket.

The 27 February showdown with India was switched to the city after it was ruled that Calcutta's iconic Eden Gardens would not be ready in time.

"They'd bought tickets, booked flights and accommodation and now it has been pulled last minute," England supporter Paul Burnham told the BBC at the time of the switch.

The match between 1983 champions India and three-time runners-up England at Eden Gardens was to be one of the highlights of the month-long World Cup group stage, with tickets first going on sale last June.

Eden Gardens, which held 90,000 people before its recent renovation, is a place of pilgrimage for international cricketers and fans, having first hosted a Test in 1934 and staged the 1987 World Cup final when Australia beat England.