Murali is no hurry to break records

Muttiah Muralitharan insists he has no designs on breaking Shane Warne's Test record in his own backyard this summer.
Murali needs nine more wickets to eclipse Warne's tally of 708 and become the leading Test wicket-taker of all-time, and the Sri-Lankan off-spinner could well claim those in Australia during his country's two-Test tour in November.
Given Murali's career has been tarnished by previous visits to Australia, where his action has persistently been questioned, one might think he would relish the opportunity of ousting Australia's greatest-ever bowler on is home turf.
But the 35-year-old knows it is only a matter of time before he surpasses Warne and is in no rush to establish his place in history.
"I'm not really focused about that because we're trying to play well and win matches there," he said.
"The wickets are good, bouncy. They're supposed to favour fast bowlers but I don't know if it'll be too early in November. So maybe, if I'm lucky, it will spin and I can get some wickets.
"If I get the wickets, then fine, otherwise I can do it in another series because I want to play another four years of Test cricket for Sri Lanka so it'll happen at some moment because I'm just nine wickets away."
Murali has painful memories of Australia, not least because he has taken just eight wickets in his three previous Tests here, which include the one-off Super Series Test in 2005.
He was no-balled by Australian umpires Darrell Hair and Ross Emerson during the 1995-96 tour, has frequently been heckled by home fans and even Prime Minister John Howard labelled him "a chucker".
Yet the mild-mannered Sri Lankan wants to put all that behind him and is optimistic of a warm welcome this summer.
"Hopefully I'll get a good reception," he said. "Whatever happened has gone now, it's a new thing, and hopefully they'll react in a positive way.
"I haven't thought about it happening again. I always think positive, rather than thinking negative."
Warne has been both friend and foe to Murali during their battle to be crowned 'king of spin', and they renewed acquaintances at Manchester's Old Trafford ground this week as Lancashire hosted Hampshire.
It is the first time Murali and Warne have faced each other in a County Championship match and the first time in a first-class match since the Third Test in Colombo in March 2004, although they did clash in a one-day game between the counties in 2005.
This is possibly the last time the two greats will face other and the spin rivals provided a poignant moment on day three, exchanging the tricks of their trade as they warmed up for the day's play.
"He was showing me some balls that he bowls," said Murali. "I was just listening and trying to bowl them."
Courtesy:TvNZ
Asked which deliveries they were, he joked: "I can't tell you those secrets."

Michael Vaughan wants to return to One day team

England Test captain Michael Vaughan believes that he could break the shackles on his scoring potential should he be given one more opportunity in the one-day squad, sans captaincy.
Vaughan has been left out of the Engaland ODI squad ever since he quit captaincy after a disappointing World Cup campaign.
"Maybe playing as a non-captain will unleash the shackles, and I will just have a go and become a better player," Vaughan was quoted as saying to the NatWest cricket website, adding that his chances for a recall would come down to his successor, Paul Collingwood.
"Only time will tell - but certainly in a year if I'm fit and firing I'd like another opportunity. But that's down to Colly to select me," the Yorkshire player added.
Vaughan has traditionally struggled to get going in one-day cricket despite a Test average of 43.94, which saw him being crowned Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2003.
Vaughan’s poor World Cup and an ODI average of just 27.15, with no hundreds, make him look pretty ordinary.

MS Dhoni may captain India at Twenty20 World Cup

With most of the veteran cricketers like Dravid, Sachin and Gangluy off the Twenty20 World Cup, BCCI is left with little choice over the captaincy issue. Of the top three contenders Sehwag, Yuvraj and Dhoni, the first two are in batting lean period. And the natural choice is Dhoni. And his performance in the first two tests against England will surely help him to get that coveted designation. So, now only a formality left to announce MS Dhoni as India's captain at the Twenty20 World Cup.

And former cricketers are in favour of Dhoni too.

"Dhoni is a future captain and I think you should give more time to him so that he can understand what actually international cricket is"

says Yashpal Sharma, former national selector.

"Definitely, I think Dhoni has it, Yuvraj has it, Sehwag is not there but he has it, and so does Dinesh Karthik, who's doing so well. So, we have got quite a good pool of guys but then they have to prove themselves. They have to be consistent." says Kirti Azad, another former national selector

Infact, the captaincy can do wonders for this long haired cricketer by bringing in maturity and consistency in his performance

I tried to york Pieterson:Sreesant

Sreesant, the colorful character of Indian cricket was in news during the second cricket Test for all the wrong reasons. Here he talks about his famous beamer that scared Kevin Pieterson
"See, I don't stride to the wicket, I sprint. Ask any cricketer and he will tell you that it is impossible to bowl a beamer with a run-up like mine. I had bowled two deliveries on a good length and was trying to bowl a yorker which went horribly wrong. I tried for a yorker and it happened to be a beamer and I did apologise to Kevin Pietersen. It is part of the game and I have done it even in the nets.And it happens when you really try to bowl a yorker at full length. But I would like to say to all the Indians that it was just a mistake and please forgive me for that. I will not repeat it again. But most probably I will get him (Pietersen) out twice in the next Test. "
About his clash with Vaughan
"To be honest, I'm embarrassed by what I did and I think I will have to change.I want to say sorry for that (the Vaughan incident) but no one should question my commitment. I am thankful to Rahul bhai (Dravid) for showing faith in me. He was upset with a few things, but after the game he came and told me when we were celebrating in the dressing room, 'Sree, after all this, after all the explanations I had to give for you, I still love you and want you to do well' "

Zaheer Khan says he was under pressure

Zaheer Khan finally admits that he's been under tremendous pressure during the last few months. Rightly so, most of Indian fast bowlers who went out of the team because of injury problems, never returned.We don't even remember some of those names!

Here's what Zaheer said to news channel, CNNIBN

On the win

"I am really feeling proud. The whole team is very excited and we are very happy that we have achieved the victory in this Test match and are going one-up in the series. But definitely, there is one more Test match to go, so we are all focussed and looking forward to it."

On jelly beans

"Definitely jelly beans fired me up. But it just happened and the match is over now. Looking forward to the next Test and just happy that we are one-up in the series."

On pressure on him

"There was pressure on us as a bowling unit as the English conditions are very conducive for fast bowling. And since I had some edge over the other bowlers so the pressure was there but I was looking forward to that.
We started the series a little slowly. At Lord's, there was little nervousness to start with but after the first day, I was sort of comfortable and was feeling that my rhythm was coming back."

Indian cricketers grooved to Beedi Jalaile!

Champagne and beer flowed generously in the dressing room after India completed a historic victory over England in the second Test at Trent Bridge yesterday.After swinging England out, the team swung to the beats of the Beedi Jalaile from Omkara. Yuvraj Singh and Sreesanth, the team’s two known dancers ,were the main instigators, while others were seen whistling and shaking a leg.Also heard were songs from Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and the English song Tease Me.Sourav Ganguly, who, along with Rahul Dravid completed the formalities, left early after the celebrations to be with his wife and daughter, who were at the hotel. “I wanted to finish the match with a six, but it did not click. I swung my bat, but the ball swung too much,” Sourav later told MiD DAY.Sachin Tendulkar later threw a party in his room, which was attended by Yuvraj, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth and Robin Singh, among others. Dinesh Karthik and Ramesh Powar went out with their families later in the night. Stumped!An unusual sight was witnessed at Trent Bridge yesterday. After winning the Test, Dravid and Ganguly, who were at the crease, did not rush to uproot the stump, as is the usual tradition. In fact, reserve player Ishant Sharma ran down afterwards to collect the stump. However, the ground staff had already packed the stumps by then, who, however, did give him a stump.
Courtesy:mid-day

Zaheer Khan spurred by jelly beans on the pitch!

If India do the inevitable and clinch the second cricket Test against England at Trent Bridge today, it will go down as a story of how jelly beans inspired a rare away Test win. That's what Zaheer Khan indicated last night when he said that the on-field aggression and the jelly beans incident spurred him on to a magical five for 75 to put England in demolition zone on the penultimate day of the battle. "At one point, there was a jelly bean on the pitch when I batted and next ball there were some more thrown in by them, so I asked them what was going on," said Zaheer, adding, "This was insulting." Zaheer, like Sourav Ganguly on Sunday, said this was all part of the game, but he was very lucid when it came to the jelly beans incident. "I may have got at the wrong guy (Zaheer was seen in an animated discussion on Sunday with Kevin Pietersen), but at that point of time I was upset," remarked Zaheer. He claimed his fifth five-wicket haul in Tests yesterday — his first against England.
Courtesy:midday

Dinesh Karthik is sad for missing the century

Young Indian opener Dinesh Karthik is disappointed that he lost a golden chance to score a Test century against England after doing all the hard work in the second Test at Trent Bridge.
"A hundred was there for the asking today. To get out in the first ball after tea was definitely disappointing. If I'd gone on, a hundred was on the cards.The new ball was definitely doing a bit, probably not as much as yesterday, but they had two good swing bowlers as well. (Ryan) Sidebottom bowled well to me. He hit me on the box a couple of times, got me on the hand. But we needed to be positive and it later became like
any other pitch," .

Alan Donald says Sachin is the best!

Praising Sachin Tendulkar, former South African and now England bowling coach Allan Donald said the Sachin is the best batsman of present era and deserves to become the highest run-getter in Test cricket.
Donald said the veteran Indian willower, was the best in the business and could carry on for a few more years.
"In my era, I think he is the best player I have ever had the pleasure of playing against. He is something special, very freakish, and I think that what he has done for the game and his country has been absolutely phenomenal," Donald said while paying tribute to Tendulkar.
Donald said Tendulkar can carry on playing for a few more years and can go past Brian Lara's record of scoring most number of Test runs(11,953).
"There is a lot more cricket in Tendulkar. He still looks so boyish. It's is a bit scary to notice how many hundreds he has notched up in Test cricket and not to mention those one-day hundreds.
"He's just a credit to cricket. I know he has been through a bad trot with injuries over the last couple of years but he looked his old self out there. I hope there is still a lot more cricket in Sachin because it's unbelievable how many years he's stuck it out and achieved what he has. I hope he goes past Brian Lara's record - he deserves it," Donald said.

Monty Panesar is Sport Personality of the Year

England's only Sikh cricketer Monty Panesar has been chosen as Sport Personality of the Year at the Asian Achievers Award 2007.
At a glittering ceremony held at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, on Saturday night, Lord Karan Billimoria, leading NRI entrepreneur presented the award to Panesar.

Laxman wants to nail the English team

India's stylish batsman VVS Laxman is a relieved man. With England on the backfoot, he with his willow club wants to pile as many runs as possible and defeat any recovery plans of the English side.
"It's an ideal opportunity for us.You have to trust your instincts and abilities and play as late as possible. England side have all good seam bowlers and it will be a good challenge facing them on this wicket.

England opener Cook is all praise for Indian bowlers

England opener Alistair Cook is all praise for Indian bowlers. He is the right person to talk about it, as he stood there at one end and seen them run through England batting lineup.
"When it swung and nipped around like that it was tough, and the Indian bowlers didn't give us too many scoring options.It was one of those days when none of the batters got in, or if they did, kept getting out."

Symonds asks aussies to respect Murali

All-rounder Andrew Symonds has urged Australian crowds to applaud Muttiah Muralitharan if the controversial off-spinner breaks Shane Warne's Test wickets record when Sri Lanka tour Down Under in November.
The 35-year-old Sri Lankan became the second player in history to reach 700 victims in the final Test against Bangladesh in Kandy earlier this month, and lies eight scalps behind leg-spinner Warne's record haul.
Symonds, a former team mate of Muralitharan at English county Lancashire, said he hoped Australian crowds would respect his achievements despite him twice being called for throwing on tours there in the 1990s.
"I just hope the beer drinkers in the sun don't give him a hard time and late one afternoon if he breaks the record they start on him," Symonds told Australian Associated Press.
"I hope that doesn't happen, I hope people can stand up and actually applaud him for what he is, a legend of a game."
Sri Lanka play a two-Test series against Australia starting in Brisbane on Nov 8, but Muralitharan has only played three Tests on Australian soil largely due to the throwing controversies.

Sourav Dada helped me!

What helped Sreesant to make a dramatic bowling comeback on the second day of Lord's test? Listen to him...

"I was standing at fine leg yesterday after my first spell and I saw Sourav Ganguly bowling, and it really inspired me because he was just hitting the right areas. He got the first wicket and he showed us the way. I am thankful to him, to be really honest.

I think the main thing was that the confidence level was much higher today. I took it very simple. I told myself that I would be myself rather than think too much about the game and trying too hard. I said I would just keep it simple and bowl in the right areas.

Venkybhai [Venkatesh Prasad] always helps us. He is someone who gives us the report as to where you have to bowl and where you are going wrong. He is doing a great job and it really helped me. Even this morning, during the delay.

The conditions were different today. There was more moisture in the air and I think there was a bit of difference. But I think the main thing was that Zaheer and me hit the right areas and that made the difference.

I started bowling like Sreesanth, the moment I bowled the seventh over; that is the first over of my second spell. The only thing I focused was on hitting the right areas, making the ball move and trying to take it away from the batsmen. That is exactly what I followed even today.

I want to thank God for the three wickets. Getting the first wicket at Lord's was very important. Then when I got the first wicket I was happy; then when I took the second I was happier. And finally when I claimed the third wicket, I was the happiest!"

England prospect Adil Rashid

Young Yorkshire leggie had a great series against India U-19 last year, but bowling to Tendulkar and Ganguly will be his real test

INDIANS play their second warm-up game, a three-day affair, against England Lions in Chelmsford starting today. Apart from familiar England players like skipper Andrew Strauss, Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, there is one player who the Indians will do well not to take it easy against — 19-year-old Yorkshire leggie Adil Rashid.Rashid, the first Yorkshire-born Asian to make his first-class debut for the county, made a sensational start to his career last season by taking six for 67 in an innings win over Warwickshire. Rashid has been going through a lean patch this season but comes into the India match with a 5-114 against Yorkshire on Wednesday.PotentialThe young turk showed glimpses of his potential against the touring India U-19 team last year. He first smashed 114 and then bowled 43 overs to claim 8-157.Former India bat Lalchand Rajput, who was India U-19 coach when Rashid got stuck into them, believes the Yorkshire teenager is the real deal. “Rashid has got the temperament to be a top-class leg-spinner. He is not scared of getting hit,” Rajput told MiD DAY yesterday.“We had a strategy of attacking him. He did go for runs, but never stopped flighting the ball. He also has another important quality — he can bowl long spells. Against us, he bowled more than 20 overs on the trot.“Because he gives the ball flight, he extracts turn out of the surface. He also bowls a handy googly, ” Rajput said about Rashid, who is a product of the spinners program put in place by Terry Jenner, the former Australia leggie more renowned for shaping Shane Warne’s career.However, Rajput believes bowling against India will be the acid test for him. “County cricketers don’t play the turning ball well. But bowling against the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, all renowned players of spinners, will be his real big test,” Rajput said.UnfazedRashid has already started shooting from the lip, saying that he is unfazed by the prospect of bowling to his hero Sachin Tendulkar. “I’m not daunted. It will be quite a good challenge for me, bowling against the likes of Tendulkar,” Rashid said yesterday. However, many a contender has metamorphosed into a pretender when faced with a rampaging Tendulkar. How will Rashid cope? Today’s game may have some answers.

Courtesy:Midday

Kaif ready for a comeback, in IBNLIVE.COM

He has been in and out of the national cricket team. As the Indian went on full throttle for a revenge if their World Cup defeat in Mirpur -- one man was sweating it out back home in a bid to earn his place back into the squad. And being included in the list of probables, have show him a ray of hope.

In the West Indies, Mohammad Kaif did well for himself, scoring his maiden Test hundred in St Lucia but since then it has been a downward slide.

The South African tour was disastrous and predictably enough, he was dropped. And even missed out on a berth in the World Cup team.

But Kaif thinks he is on his way back to regain his spot in the Indian team.

"Somewhere in your career you have to go through some roller coaster ride. And I think, at the moment I am facing that stage in my cricketing journey," said Kaif.

Kaif has a decent One-Day record. He has played 125 One-Day Internationals, scoring 2753 runs at an average of 32 with 2 hundreds. In his 13 Tests, the 26-year-old has scored 624 runs at almost 33 and he is happy with whatever he has achieved.

"I think whatever I have contributed for my country for the last five to six years, I am happy with it. If you look at my average and the positions I batted on at time for the team, overall I am happy the way it has gone for me."

Kaif's exceptional fielding has often overshadowed his poor scores with the bat but the next time he goes out to bat for India he would surely want to change that.
http://www.cricketnext.com/news/kaif-confident-of-making-a-comeback/25230-13.html

National interest is supreme: says Miandad

Former Pakistan Captain and coach Javed Miandad said Saturday that he will keep national interest prime if asked to again take up the responsibility as a coach of Pakistan team. "I have always kept national interest above all and will continue to do so in the future," he told APP in response to a query whether he would like to accept the coaching assignment of the national team for a fourth time if asked by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

"It is a hypothetical question but I can only think about it if the offer comes to me," Miandad, Pakistan's highest run-getter with 8832 in 124 Test matches said.

"I have to think about various options if any offer comes through", replied the former skipper - who had not applied for the coaching job, advertised by the PCB few weeks ago.

Country's premier batsman Miandad, who will turn 50 on June 12 this year, said he had served the country with honour and dignity and it was always his wish that Pakistan team perform well in the international arena.

PCB chief Dr. Nasim Ashraf in a recent statement had said they (PCB) were looking for a foreign coach and it would be appointed within next few months.

However some cricketing circles and Javed Miandad supporters in Pakistan believe that a home coaching could be more useful considering our environment and Miandad was a good choice for the assignment.

Miandad dispelled the impressions created by certain circles that by winning three- match series in Abu Dhabi against Sri Lanka 2-1, Pakistan team was back on track after the World Cup debacle.

"It was like festival cricket in Abu Dhabi. It is good that Pakistan's full strength team beat under strength Lankan team but it is not worth celebration," he remarked.

"Winning World Cup, Asia Cup or a major away series is worth celebrations and not series like in Abu Dhabi," he observed.

"Pakistan team got the same old lot except for Fawad Alam and Najaf Shah," he said. "We must look for consistency because that is the national duty of the players to perform well," he maintained.

He said look at Australians, they won the World Cup for a third time since 1999 and their celebrations were over after having a breakfast with Prime Minister John Howard.

"We need a good strategy and planning on long-term basis. Boys should learn from their mistakes and improve upon it," Javed Miandad said.

"Pakistan team can only enhance their performance and status by looking at a team such as Australia," he said.

"We needed a good team and should have a proper back-up line to fill the void in emergency," he pointed out.

Karthik takes huge strides as opener in REDIFF

He battled heat, he battled cramps and he battled perceptions that a wicketkeeper can't make it to the team as a batsman alone.

Questions were asked whether Dinesh Karthik, also considered as a second choice 'keeper, could make a good reliable opener and justify his place as a batsman. But he answered his critics in style with a magnificent maiden century in the second and final Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Saturday.

"I am trying my best to become a very good opener. I have been always trying to do that. And if I keep getting runs probably also, Veeru bhai [Virender Sehwag] also began as a middle order batsman who changed into an opener. So also I want to get as many runs as possible," he said.

The young Tamil Nadu batsman played a major role along with fellow opener Wasim Jaffer as they scored centuries each, 129 and 138 respectively, to help India amass a huge 610 for 3 declared in their first innings.

Karthik, 21, had retired on 82 on the opening day after suffering from cramps caused by the extreme heat in Dhaka.

"It was tough because conditions were really hard and I was running a bit of a temperature. Probably I could feel the cramps in my hamstring. But I told myself to keep playing as I was very close to my hundred. It is important as it is my first hundred and I am happy about it," he said.

He also credited the support staff for helping the team to be in top shape even in such trying conditions.

"You can see a lot of work is being done backstage. Generally these guys never get publicity. We are given ice bath and they constantly keep giving us some replacement, nutrients etc so that we can carry on with the game," he said.

Karthik added that he is working on improving on as an opener in terms of his technique.

"I try to be as consistent as possible. And that can be done if I work a lot on my batting in terms of footwork, in terms of mindset. And I am always trying to do that. And very important I am trying to transform my batting from one day cricket to Test cricket. And that is very important. I am happy at the way things are going on," he said.

He described the new role of opening the batting for India as a new challenge, but one that he has tried at domestic level too.

"I have been opening in club cricket, couple of Ranji Trophy games, I always work on my batting, I want to give myself a lot of challenge," the youngster said.

Karthik also thanked his newly-wed wife Nikita, who has been with him through the tour.

"I would like to dedicate this century to my famly, my wife for supporting me. I am having fever. My wife stayed awake in the night and looked after me. It's a nice feeling. It's nice to have the family around," he said.