Sydney: Former Australian skipper Allan Border has backed Ricky Ponting's decision to continue playing Test cricket, saying the 37-year-old veteran remains a "walk-up start" in the line-up due to a lack of young batting talents. Ponting on Tuesday confirmed he would continue playing Test cricket despite being axed from Australia's one-day squad after a dip in form. "Ricky Ponting at his absolute best is a walk-up start. "Ricky Ponting a little bit below his best is still heaps better than a lot of the young guys that we've got going around." "He's got that passion for the game and the pass

Sydney: Having called time on his successful one-day international career, Ricky Ponting has made it clear that the Ashes tour to England next year was his goal. He gave every indication he would go on in Test cricket for as long as possible, and Ashes is a priority for the veteran cricketer. "It'd be great to get back to the Ashes," Ponting said. "If I'm a good enough player to do that then it'd be great to go back there one more time and hopefully have a few better memories of England than what I've had the last couple of tours," he added. Australia were humiliated at home by the visitin

New Delhi: After a string of recent failures, the question on everyone's mind is whether it's time to leave Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag out of the Indian one-day (ODI) set-up. One of the most feared opening pairs in the history of the ODI cricket, the reputation of the two stalwarths of the game has taken a beating with a string of failures. In Brisbane, Sehwag died by the sword once again, slashing a wide one from Lasith Malinga to be caught for a second-ball duck. Tendulkar on the other hand was removed by a momentary lapse of concentration after a bright start to his innings. T

      5inShare Share on Tumblr   Stroke the ego of an India cricketer these days and smut will roll out. "Seniors are slow in the field," Dhoni says on one day. "We're the same for the last 10 years," Sehwag retorts on the other. "Rotating the openers because of their slow fielding." Dhoni clarifies on one evening. "Ask Dhoni again. What he told us was to give chance to youngsters," Sehwag snaps on another. India are in Australia to play cricket, but that's the only thing the team isn't doing. Miss practice, go shopping or for that matter sun-bathe at

Harare: Cricket commentator Dean du Plessis gauges the on-field action with his ears: a bowler's grunt as he reaches the crease, the drag of feet across the pitch, or the crack of a bat slamming into a ball. The Zimbabwean is one of the world's few sightless sports analysts, plying his remarkable expertise by training his acute hearing on the stump microphones despite being born with a blindness that was meant to kill him. "I was born with tumors on both my retinas, so I was only meant to be alive for three to maximum five months - but I'm 35, not out now, so still playing a good innings," h

Jaipur: The Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) on Tuesday removed Secretary and IAS officer Sanjay Dixit from his post and announced that fresh elections for the post would be held soon. The senior IAS officer was always in thick of controversy and was suspended in July last year from his post with KK Sharma taking over as working secretary. A couple of days back Dixit had again drawn attention by resolving his differences with former RCA president and IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. It is understood that the proximity of Modi and Dixit resulted in withdrawal of support from RCA President CP

Karachi: Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has blasted the performance of the national team in the one-day series, singling out captain Misbah-ul-Haq and allrounder Shoaib Malik for scathing criticism. Shoaib said that the Pakistan team needed to review its selection policy for one-day and T20 matches as there was no longer any place for players like Malik. "He has been playing for around 12 years and he has accomplished nothing big. He and some other players who used to wait for hours to meet with the then Board Chairman Nasim Ashraf were rewarded," he said. Shoaib claimed that Mal

Melbourne: Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden lashed out the national selectors for dropping Ricky Ponting from the one-day squad and termed their decision as "disgraceful". Ponting said on Tuesday he did not expect to play for Australia in the one-day format but would continue to play Test cricket. "It was disgraceful treatment of our modern-day Bradman. I feel speechless. The logic that (Ponting) was left out so we can prepare for the next World Cup is just lost on me." "It just looks as if he is being pushed further and further away from the team and I don't understand why. We shoul

Lahore: Pakistan's senior allrounder Abdul Razzaq has said that he has not misled any one including the national selectors or the cricket board to play in the ongoing Bangladesh cricket league. "I have read that I told the selectors I was not fit to bowl and not to consider me for the one-day series against England . This is not correct," Razzaq said from Chittagong . "The fact is that I had informed the selectors and the Chairman of the board that I was not 100 per cent fit to play one-day internationals that is why I had chosen to go and play in the T20 matches in the Bangladesh league," h

Mumbai: Hailing his former captain Ricky Ponting as a "great ambassador" for cricket, Australian speedster Brett Lee has said the Tasmanian batsman - who is out of reckoning for one-day internationals - can now focus solely on Test match cricket. "Ricky Ponting has been a wonderful teammate, he has been a great ambassador for the game and a brilliant cricketer, almost akin to Sachin Tendulkar," Lee said. "In his press conference on Tuesday morning, he said that he doesn't expect to play one-day cricket ever again. So I think that he has got that through his mind that he will not get a chance