Karachi: Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has predicted that the India team that lost the first Test against Australia by 122 runs at Melbourne, will have a tough time during the rest of the series, insisting that pacer James Pattinson would prove to be their nemesis. "I picked Pattinson as the bowler who will cause problems to the Indian batsmen the most because of his height and pace, which is ideal for Australian wickets. And no matter how great a batsman one is, with age his reflexes slows down," Latif said. "I reckon some of the senior Indian batsmen today are not as sharp as they u

Lahore: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has voiced his surprise over the continued opposition from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to the full implementation of the Decision Review System (DRS). "It is beyond me as to why the Indians oppose the DRS all the time. It is a modern technology that is not harming the sport. It is in its infant stages and can be made more productive with time," Misbah told reporters in Lahore. Indian players and the BCCI have opposed the use of the DRS in their ongoing series in Australia as they feel that the technology has many flaws. They have al

Melbourne: Having claimed the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in both the innings of the first match at Melbourne, Australia pace spearhead Peter Siddle hopes to nail the iconic batsman again during the Test series. "Sachin is a big scalp and to get him out is nice. There's a lot more cricket to be played and hopefully I can get him again and keep winning Tests," said Siddle. Tendulkar looked in ominous touch in both the innings of the first Test, scoring 73 and 32, but Siddle struck him down each time as Australia thrashed India by 122 runs to take 1-0 lead in the four-match Test series.

It was indeed a year of contrasts in Indian cricket. In January 2011, India's Test team was ranked No 1, a spot they had occupied for over a year. That same month they famously drew a rare away series in South Africa, and proceeded to march into the World Cup as favorites. In a memorable run, they stormed to the final and lifted the coveted trophy after a gap of 28 years. A series win over West Indies followed, and then the team landed in England for four Tests having won there four summers prior. Then it all went pear-shaped. An unprecedented 4-0 whitewash, followed by a winless streak in fi

Durban: For the first time since Muttiah Muralitharan retired, Sri Lanka finally won a Test. They did it convincingly, by over 200 runs, and in a country where they'd never won in the long format before. There's life for Sri Lanka after the great man Murali. Thursday's 208-run win was not just a breakthrough in South Africa, it was a turning point for Sri Lankan cricket after 18 months of misery. This year, poor form on the pitch was exaggerated by problems off it as players went nine months without salaries — after reaching the World Cup final — when the national board hit fina

Melbourne: Paceman Ryan Harris has been added to Australia's 12-man squad for the second Test against India, joining the 11 that beat the visitors by 122 runs in the first match. Harris, who is working his way back from a hip injury, will give Australia the option of a four-man pace attack. He replaces left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who was 12th man in Melbourne. Though the Sydney Cricket Ground has traditionally been a spin-friendly wicket, it may be prepared to suit pacemen this time to negate India's strength against spin bowling. If so, Harris could join a four-man pace attack whil

Perth: Perth Scorchers leapt to fourth position in the Twenty20 Big Bash League table by narrowly beating the Brisbane Heat at the WACA Ground on Thursday. Electing to bat first, the Scorchers were given a flying start by captain Marcus North (40) and hard-hitting South African Herchelle Gibbs (38), who together strung a 80-run partnership off just 47 balls. However, the home team could not capitalise on the good start and struggled to reach 162 for eight. In reply, Brisbane had a solid start and needed to score at 10-runs per over in the last five, but a flurry of wickets towards the end of

Durban: Sri Lanka captain Tillekeratne Dilshan acclaimed "one of the great wins" after his side completed an historic 208-run victory over South Africa on the fourth day of the second Test at Kingsmead on Thursday. There were wild scenes of celebration on the pitch when Rangana Herath bowled Marchant de Lange in fading light with only nine balls remaining in the day. The team reserves and management ran on to the field to join their triumphant teammates. Dilshan promised the celebrations would continue when the team got back to their hotel. "I said before the game that if we can play our bra

Durban: Basil D'Oliveira, the South African cricketer whose treatment at the hands of the white minority apartheid government sparked the international sporting boycott of the country in the 1960s, has been honoured by a provincial cricket board. D'Oliveira, who died last month aged 80, was forced to leave the country of his birth to play for England in 1960 because cricket was racially segregated then and the national squad allowed only white players. The KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union has named its executive suite 'The Basil D'Oliveira Suite' in honour of the player who was later denied entry

Melbourne: Australia skipper Michael Clarke's faith in his under-fire senior pros Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey went a long way in securing his team's crushing 122-run win over India in the first Test in Melbourne on Thursday, feels former India captain Sourav Ganguly. "The captain is so important and Clarke has showed a lot of faith and respect for senior pros Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey. One can see a good camaraderie between Ponting and Clarke, and that's a big thumbs-up to the skipper." "A lot of teams have leaders who look to keep the past captain away as they want their own boys and