Ishant and Akmal fight Matt t20 penalty Bangalore

Bangalore-India pace bowler Ishant Sharma and Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal have been fined for their on-field behavior during the 1st Twenty20 Bangalore on Tuesday.

Ishant was fine 15 per cent of his match fee and Kamran fine 5 per cent. The 2 cricketers were found responsible of Level 1 breaches of the International Cricket Council Code of Code following an argument during the match that Pakistan won by 5 wickets.

Akmal was fined by Match Referee Roshan Mahanama, after he pleaded guilty to breaches of Article 2.1.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct of conduct contrary to the courage of the game in the 18th over of the Pakistan innings.

Sharma also pleaded guilty to the offence and conventional the same charge. However, Sharma appealed the fine and a hearing was held.

After review the evidence and the video footage, Mahamana re-confirmed his view that Sharma initiate this incident which was reported by all fourth umpires - on-field S.Ravi and C.Shamsuddin, third umpire VA Kulkarni and fourth official umpire K. Srinath.

This is clearly a high profile and high intensity series and the players on both sides have been reminded of their responsibility. Both players recognized their duty to set the right type of example through their on-field behavior and they have accepted that they fell short of the level of conduct required, said Mahanama.

The game was played in the true spirit till this incident was initiate by Ishant, who is an experience cricketer, which led to the umpires and his team mates having to intervene, he said.

All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player's match fee.

Afridi Recall India ODI tour - Misbah

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan all rounder, could be careful for the ODI squad for the tour of India, days after he was dropped from the same, according to ODI captain Misbah-ul-Haq. Afridi looked in good form during the ongoing practice matches at the condition training camp ahead of The India tour, scoring two back-to-back half-centuries to press his case for a recall.

If his form remains like this and we need him, we will absolutely consider him, Misbah said at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The form of senior players, who are practiced enough, is very important. Whenever you give performances like this it will be good for Pakistan.

Afridi had a poor World T20 in Sri Lanka, where he scored 30 runs in 6 matches at an average of six and claimed four wickets at 42.74. In his last 12 international innings across all formats, he averages 6.30 with the bat. He failed to make an impact in the lately concluded national Twenty20 opposition and looked rusty.

However, during the one-day practice matches, he scored 52 off 40 balls on Monday and clubs another impressive 92 off 64 balls on Wednesday. He looked composed and forbidden with the bat, cutting, extensive and executing with a straight bat rather than slogging wildly.

A lofty 6 over the bowler's head into the dressing room was perhaps the main hit in the last 3 days. But if he is to cement his place I the side as an all-rounder his bowling needs to improve.

Misbah said Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan's batting advisor, has given the batsmen tips on how to tackle pressure while playing against India. Inzamam has been very useful in helping us prepare both expressively and mentally - what type of hurdles we are going to face, how to get out of it, how as a batsman you should carry yourself, Misbah said. No doubt in India-Pakistan cricket you have to play violent cricket and we will try to apply it over there.

Vinay Kumar Replace L Balaji in Eng T20 Series

Delhi: Karnataka Cricket player R. Vinay Kumar will replace pacer L Balaji in the upcoming 2-match Twenty20 International series against England.

Balaji suffered a stress injury to his right toe and was ruled out of the series as a result, said a Board of Control for Cricket in India press release Thursday.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee picked R. Vinay Kumar as his replacement. Vinay Kumar has played 8 T20Is and has picked up 7 wickets with a best of 3/24.

The 28-year-old played his last T20I against South Africa at Johannesburg March 30 earlier 2012. The 2 matches between India and England will be played in Pune and Mumbai.

Timing of axing is distressing, says Taylor

Wellington: Ousted New Zealand cricket captain Ross Taylor said Friday he was distressed at being axed in favor of Brendon McCullum and needed a break from the game after a very challenging time.

After a week of intense speculation about Taylor's future, New Zealand Cricket confirmed the 28-year-old batsman had been deserted as captain and would sit out the upcoming tour of South Africa.

It was felt that the workload for a young captain was a lot, NZC chief managerial David White told reporters, adding that Taylor rejected an offer to remain Test captain while handing limited overs duties to McCullum.

Despite preside over a string of poor results, Taylor remains New Zealand's best batsman, averaging 43.45, and his absence from the Test squad for South Africa further weaken a side missing injured spinner Dan Vettori.

Taylor said Coach Mike Hessen told him he was no longer wanted as captain before last month's 2-Test series in Sri Lanka, where the Black Caps fought back for a creditable 1-1 draw after losing heavily in the 1st test.

Obviously, the news and the timing were worrying, he said in a statement. It has been a very challenging and pressured time and I don't believe I can give 100 percent to the game at this time.Taylor, who White said could play in a home series against England in February, did not rule out an international comeback under McCullum.

I am determined to give to the Black Caps team in the future and help whoever is in charge to win," he said.Opener McCullum, 31, is widely seen as offering more attacking tactical nous than the conservative Taylor.

Hessen defended his treatment of Taylor over the captaincy, saying there's no good time to deliver news like that but conceded it's been a very unfortunate week.. And not the result anyone wanted.The handling of the issue has sparked fury in New Zealand cricketing circles, with batsman Jesse Ryder tweeting that it angers me watching Ross Taylor getting dumped on.

Retired all-rounder Scott Styris also took to the micro-blogging site saying any public support from fans and supporters towards the Black Caps after their brilliant win in Sri Lanka has now gone!TVNZ reported on Thursday that batting great Martin Crowe resigned from his post as NZC talent scout in protest at the organization’s actions.

Fairfax Media writer Ben Stanley wrote after Friday's announcement that the episode had been "an absolutely appallingly executed action by a national sporting body and its board.Stanley added that the South Africa tour start later this month, which pits eighth-placed Test nation New Zealand against the top-ranked Proteas, was now "looming as a potential massacre.

New Zealand lost seven of 13 Tests under Taylor's captaincy, winning 4 and drawing 2. 2 of the wins were against lowly Zimbabwe, with the highlights of his tenure a rare Test victory over Australia in Hobart in December last year and the series-leveling 2nd Test victory over Sri Lanka in Colombo last month.

Over the same period, the Black Caps have lost ODI series to South Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka, with their sole series win against Zimbabwe.
Test squad New Zealand
Brendon McCullum Trent Boult Doug Bracewell
Dean Brownlie Daniel Flynn James Franklin
Peter Fulton Martin Guptill Chris Martin
Bruce Martin Jeetan Patel Kane Williamson
Tim Southee Neil Wagner BJ Watling

Samuels Helps West Indies Won 3rd ODI

Mirpur: Marlon Samuels' 4th century helped the West Indies defeat Bangladesh by 4 wickets at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here on Wednesday. Darren Sammy's men now trail 1-2 in the 5 match series. 

Chasing Bangladesh's 1st innings score of 227 all out, the West Indies chased down the total with 18 balls to spare, riding on knocks from Marlon Samuels (126) and Kieran Powell (47).runs 

Earlier, Sunil Narine returned to his most excellent as the wily spinner took 4 wickets to restrict Bangladesh to 227 in the 3rd ODI against the West Indies at Shere Bangla stadium on Wednesday. 

 The tourists, vying to keep the 5-match series alive after losing the 1st 2 one-day, sent Bangladesh into bat and kept them in check through Narine's 4-37 and left-armer Veerasammy Permaul who done with 2-40. 

 Mohammad Mahmudullah (52), Mushfiqur Rahim (38) and Anamul Haque (33) were the main run-getters for Bangladesh. Tamim Iqbal (22) and Anamul look solid before Bangladesh lost 4 wickets in the space of just 21 runs, with Narine taking 3.
The 24-year-old spinner's form was a concern for the West Indies as he managed just 3 wickets in the preceding 2-0 Test series win and only one wicket in the 1st 1 one-day matches, but he lastly returned to his best. 

Narine struck in the 13th over when he dismissed Iqbal and Naeem Islam (4) in one over before trapping the second match centurion Anamul leg-before in his next over. A sixth wicket stand of 58 between Rahim and Mahmudullah allowed the hosts to get back on track. Mahmudullah hit 3 fours and a six off 70 balls and ensured his team got past 200. 

At the end Sohag Gazi scored a fighting 36-ball 30 with the help of five boundaries. Bangladesh was forced to bring in Rubel Hossain for injured paceman Abul Hasan while the West Indies left out Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell for Kieran Powell and Permaul. 

The 4th ODI will be held at Mirpur on December 7.Bangladesh won the first match by 7 wickets and the second by 160 runs -- both in Khulna.