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/ 24 October 2006
Shaun Pollock took two early wickets as he set up South Africa’s 78-run victory over Sri Lanka in a low-scoring Champions Trophy Group B match on Tuesday. Pollock dismissed Sanath Jayasuriya for three and Kumar Sangakkara for nought. He then ran out skipper Mahela Jayawardene for 36 as Sri Lanka were reduced to 78-5 before being bowled out for 141 in 39.1 overs while chasing 220.
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/ 23 October 2006
South Africa captain Graeme Smith has asked his top-order batsmen to adapt quickly to spin-friendly conditions in Tuesday’s crucial Champions Trophy Group B match against Sri Lanka. South Africa, second in the ICC one-day rankings, lost to New Zealand in their opening match on a tricky Brabourne Stadium pitch in Mumbai.
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/ 23 October 2006
Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott has called for Duncan Fletcher to be axed as coach following the side’s comprehensive defeat to Australia in a Champions Trophy group match on Saturday. ”If you talk to people like John Wright and Bob Woolmer, successful coaches with a lot of experience, they will tell you that the job comes with a shelf-life,” Boycott wrote in Monday’s Daily Telegraph.
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/ 18 October 2006
Abdul Razzaq put in a superb all-round show as doping-hit Pakistan turned the formbook upside down with a four-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a Champions Trophy match on Tuesday. Pakistan did a commendable job when they restricted Sri Lanka to 253 despite missing key pacemen Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, who returned home on Monday after failing dope tests.
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/ 16 October 2006
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming led from the front as the Black Caps snatched a dramatic 87-run victory over South Africa in the Champions Trophy on Monday. New Zealand, bowled out for 195 after being given first strike in the day-night international, fought back to dismiss the powerful Proteas for 108 in the most absorbing match of the tournament so far.
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/ 16 October 2006
England captain Andrew Flintoff was pleased with the way his team fought back in a low-scoring four-wicket loss against India in the opening Group A limited-overs international of the ICC Champions Trophy on Sunday. ”I am pleased with the character we showed,” said Flintoff, who returned to lead the England side after spending six months on the sidelines due to an ankle surgery.
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/ 16 October 2006
Niger is keen to import Indian rice milling machines — and get advice on how to drill for oil. South Africa welcomes Indian investment to build hotels ahead of the 2010 World Cup. And Ethiopia wants help from India for its highway projects. African countries are increasingly looking to India, as well as China, for help developing their economies — moves that could shape the future of global trade flows.
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/ 15 October 2006
Indian police have made little headway in a probe into a 2000 cricket match-fixing scam due a problem in translating taped conversations in Afrikaans, a report said on Sunday. In 2000, police in New Delhi had filed a case against Proteas cricketers, including then captain Hansie Cronje, and middlemen for allegedly accepting money to influence the outcome of matches.
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/ 13 October 2006
South Africa batsman Herschelle Gibbs turned his attention to cricket on Friday, a day after being interrogated by Indian police in a six-year-old match-fixing case. The 32-year-old explosive batsman was playing in a warm-up match against a Mumbai team, three days before South Africa open their Champions Trophy campaign against New Zealand.
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/ 12 October 2006
South African Herschelle Gibbs revealed on Thursday the names of three former Proteas cricketers involved in a match-fixing scam, said Indian police who now want to question the trio. One of the three was Derek Crookes, who toured India with the South African squad in 2000 and played 32 one-day matches making 1Â 001 runs. Police declined to identify the other two.
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/ 12 October 2006
South African Herschelle Gibbs revealed on Thursday the names of three former Proteas cricketers involved in a match-fixing scam, said Indian police who now want to question the trio. One of the three was Derek Crookes who toured India with the South African squad in 2000 and played 32 one-day matches making 1 001 runs. Police declined to identify the other two.
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/ 12 October 2006
Chris Gayle smashed an attractive century as the West Indies stormed into the Champions Trophy main draw with a 10-wicket win over hapless Bangladesh in a qualifying match on Wednesday. The left-hander hit an unbeaten 104 for his 13th century and Shivnarine Chanderpaul made 52 not out as Brian Lara’s team made a mockery of Bangladesh’s total of 161, winning with 13.2 overs to spare.
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/ 12 October 2006
South Africa skipper Graeme Smith said England’s success in their Ashes defence starting in Australia next month will depend on how they cope with the aggressive home crowds. The SA team complained racial taunts during their tour of Australia at the turn of the year that prompted the International Cricket Council to introduce a new code of conduct on racism and strict measures for spectators.
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/ 12 October 2006
South African opener Herschelle Gibbs will not earn an automatic let-off after questioning on Thursday in the Indian capital over a match-fixing and betting scandal, police warned. ”If it is established that he did it, we cannot say he will be let off,” additional police commissioner Deependra Pathak said as the interrogation started.
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/ 11 October 2006
Captain Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis led from the front as South Africa warmed up for the Champions Trophy with a dazzling batting display on Wednesday. Left-handed Smith smashed 90 off 54 balls and Kallis hammered 78 as the Proteas piled up 303-8 from 50 overs after being sent in to bat by the Saurashtra Ranji Trophy team in a practice match.
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/ 11 October 2006
South Africa’s Champions Trophy squad threw a security blanket around Herschelle Gibbs after he arrived in India on Wednesday to be probed for match-fixing allegations. Gibbs arrived in the western metropolis of Mumbai where the South Africans are based for the 10-nation tournament and was promptly whisked away to the team hotel to avoid the media stationed at the airport.
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/ 10 October 2006
In-form opener Upul Tharanga’s second consecutive hundred guided Sri Lanka to a 144-run victory over Zimbabwe and a qualifiers’ slot in the main rounds of the Champions Trophy on Tuesday. The 21-year-old left-hander hit 13 fours and a six in his 130-ball 110 as Sri Lanka, opting to bat, made 285-7 in the day-night game to notch up their second straight win in the four-team qualifiers.
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/ 10 October 2006
Speedsters Shane Bond and Shoaib Akhtar may have been dogged with serious injuries but both are still boldly warning of no let-up in their fiery bowling. ”I am hoping to bowl at my fastest and get stronger as the tournament gets on,” said Bond, who recovered from a knee injury just in time for the Champions Trophy.
Banned Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq will not be able to play in the Champions Trophy final if his team qualifies, the International Cricket Council (ICC) ruled on Monday. Inzamam was banned for four one-day internationals last month after being found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith said on Friday that his team was one of the favourites to lift the Champions Trophy and that his players were raring to go. ”We are ranked second in the world and there is no shying away from the fact that we are one of the top teams,” Smith told reporters.
South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs is likely to be questioned by Indian police over a 2000 match-fixing scandal during the Champion’s Trophy which starts on Saturday, officials said. The 32-year-old, who has played 79 Tests, had admitted accepting money from disgraced former captain Hansie Cronje to score fewer than 20 runs against India.
The International Cricket Council warned the Indian cricket board on Wednesday that its refusal to sign a commercial document for global events could jeopardise its joint World Cup planned for 2011. The cash-rich Board of Control for Cricket in India is refusing to sign a Members’ Participation Agreement needed from national boards for finalising the ICC’s sponsorship deal.
The Indian media on Wednesday predicted the end of Sourav Ganguly’s cricket career after the former captain failed miserably in a trial one-day series. The left-hander, making a last-ditch attempt to regain his place in the Indian team, made 24 and three in the two matches he played in the domestic Challenger series in Chennai over the last three days.
The International Cricket Council’s Champions Trophy begins on Saturday amid greater anticipation than usual with the tournament acting as the first leg of an exciting six months of cricket, highlighted by the Ashes and next year’s World Cup. World champions Australia start as favourites, as they have in every one-day tournament over the last decade.
West Indian great Clive Lloyd will mastermind the campaign of Brian Lara’s team during the Champions Trophy one-day tournament starting in India on Saturday. Lloyd, captain of World Cup-winning teams in 1975 and 1979, has been appointed a consultant to coach Bennett King and Lara during the 10-nation event, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said in a statement on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe are braced for their latest trial by fire in the heat of the Champions Trophy. Barring a miracle, their trip to India will be brief. The team, still sitting out Test matches, have to play the qualifying tournament with matches against Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh. Only two sides will make the latter stages.
India said on Sunday it would give Pakistan evidence found by its investigators linking Pakistan’s spy agency and an Islamist militant group to deadly bomb blasts in Mumbai that killed 186 people in July. The comments by India’s new foreign secretary came a day after police in Mumbai said they had solid proof that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency had masterminded the carnage.
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/ 30 September 2006
Indian police on Saturday blamed July’s deadly train bombings in Mumbai on Pakistan’s intelligence agency and the outlawed pro-Pakistan militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. ”We have solved the 7/11 bomb blast case,” Mumbai Police Commissioner AN Roy said, referring to the July 11 attacks that killed 186 people and injured more than 800.
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/ 30 September 2006
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left on Saturday on a four-day trip to South Africa aimed at enhancing cultural and economic ties between the two countries. Singh is scheduled to inaugurate the centenary celebrations of the launch of the Satyagraha peaceful resistance movement by Mahatma Gandhi during his trip.
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/ 29 September 2006
India and South Africa, two of the world’s leading emerging markets, hope to boost business links as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits the African nation this week to build on their historic ties. The two major developing nations would push efforts to boost investments in telecommunications, information technology, infrastructure and pharmaceuticals during the visit, Indian officials said.
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/ 27 September 2006
Police fired teargas shells in Indian Kashmir on Wednesday to quell violent protests over the planned execution of a Kashmiri man for his role in a 2001 militant attack on India’s Parliament. Hundreds of Kashmiri men took to the streets of Srinagar, the region’s main city, hurling stones at police and vehicles, burning tyres and blocking roads.
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/ 26 September 2006
India have asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to omit Australian umpire Darrell Hair from next month’s Champions Trophy, an ICC spokesperson said on Tuesday. ”Yes, I can confirm that a letter has been written by the Indian board,” the spokesperson said from the ICC’s Dubai headquarters.