Australia winning the Ashes

A ruthless Australia rattled through England’s final four wickets on Monday to complete an emphatic 218-run victory in the second Ashes Test and push the tourists to the brink of a humiliating series defeat.
The crushing win at Adelaide Oval puts Australia 2-0 ahead in the five-Test series, a stunning turnaround from the 3-0 Ashes defeat they suffered in England in August.
The hosts will fancy their chances of securing the famous urn in Perth, where England have not won since 1978 and where man-of-the-match Mitchell Johnson looms as an even greater threat on the WACA’s bouncy wicket.
‘It’s not a fluke that we have won the first two Test matches,’ Australia captain Michael Clarke told reporters after his team tore through England’s tail in less than an hour.
‘We’re finally getting the results for the hard work and commitment over a long period of time.
‘(Realistically) that’s our second Test win in the past 12 months. There’s a lot of work for us to get back to the number one position.’
The win proved Australia’s victory in Brisbane was no flash in the pan, while confirming a seismic shift in the balance of power between the teams.
Any hopes England had that rain might save them were quickly dispelled when a shower cleared to allow play to start only 10 minutes late.
Pacemen Peter Siddle (4-57) and Ryan Harris (3-54) combined with aplomb to seal the win in less than an hour on a gloomy morning at the re-developing ground.
In reality, however, England lost the Test on Saturday when their batsmen failed to stand up to another withering spell of extreme pace bowling from the resurgent Johnson.
The red-hot Queenslander took 7-40 in England’s first innings of 172 and twice dismissed their talismanic captain Alastair Cook cheaply to win his second successive man-of-the-match award after his nine-wicket performance in Brisbane.
Cook’s second innings dismissal, hooking Johnson to a man in the deep, was emblematic of his team’s poor shot selection throughout.
He has little time to restore his team’s battered self-belief before the third Test gets underway on Friday.
‘The only guys who can change it are the guys in the dressing room,’ said a shell-shocked Cook, who has gone from Australia’s tormentor in the 2010-11 series to becoming merely tormented.
‘No one else can change it for us. We can’t sit there moping around about it. It’s hurting us like hell but we’re the only guys who can change it.’
Having restored some pride on Sunday after managing to bat through a day under extreme duress, England resumed on 247-6, still 284 runs shy of their victory target.
Any sense of self-satisfaction would surely have been quashed, though, when Stuart Broad pulled the fifth ball of the day from Siddle straight to Nathan Lyon at deep square leg to be out for 29.
Matt Prior notched his first half-century to end a wretched run of scores, but appeared determined to get himself out by hooking at almost every short ball.
In the end he did just that, succumbing to Siddle for 69, with Harris taking a simple catch in the deep.
In between, Clarke threw the ball to Harris who dismissed Graeme Swann for six runs with his third delivery, the spinner driving at a short one moving away that he nicked straight to the Australian skipper in the slips.
Harris returned to seal the match by having Monty Panesar caught at short extra cover by Chris Rogers for a duck, and Australia embraced to a noisy ovation from the sparse fifth-day crowd.
Outplayed with bat and ball, England were also largely dismal in the field, with a rash of dropped catches during Australia’s first innings costing hundreds of runs and allowing the hosts to declare a mammoth first innings total of 570-9.
As holders of the urn, England need only level the series 2-2 to retain it, but Cook was under few illusions about the scale of the task.
‘A lot of people who’ll be sitting in this room and outside will probably give us no chance,’ he said. ‘But if we don’t believe that in our dressing room that the urn’s gone, then it might as well have gone.’

England unchanged for second Pakistan Test

England named an unchanged 12-man squad on Monday for the second Test against Pakistan following their emphatic 354-run victory in the series opener that concluded on Sunday.

Seamer Tim Bresnan is again included having been called up for the first Test to replace Yorkshire team mate Ajmal Shahzad after he suffered an ankle injury but the same 11 are likely to play at Edgbaston in the match starting on Friday.

Both men bowled eight overs for their County in Sunday's 40-over match against Netherlands but Bresnan retained his place.

"Clearly we were delighted with the performance in the first Test but the key to consistency is building on that success throughout the rest of the series," national selector Geoff Miller said in a statement.

"We saw a number of outstanding performances at Trent Bridge not only with bat and ball but also in the field and the challenge is to maintain those standards over the next three Test matches."

England cruise against Bangladesh bowling

England eased to 105 for one at lunch against some undemanding Bangladesh bowling after being asked to bat first on the opening day of the first test at Lord's on Thursday.

Andrew Strauss, returning as captain after taking a break from the game during the away series against the same opponents this year, took 14 balls to get off the mark.

His second scoring stroke was a six over mid-wicket off debutant medium-pacer Robiul Islam and, although his timing was sometimes awry after his slow start to the county season, he was still at the crease at the interval with 40.

Jonathan Trott, whose place is under pressure after he first struggled in his native South Africa and was then tied down by the spinners in Bangladesh, played with authority from the start.

He steered his third delivery for four behind point and moved confidently on to the front foot to drive two further boundaries through the off-side. At lunch he had scored an even half-century with five boundaries.

Alastair Cook, who captained England in Bangladesh in Strauss's absence, struck the first boundary of the day, a confident off-drive to the Pavilion boundary. But he had made only three more when he was lbw to Shahadat Hossain pushing half-forward.

That was to prove Bangladesh's only success of the morning session and, bearing in mind their average of nearly 67 for each test wicket taken abroad, Shakib Al Hasan's decision to field first was clearly defensive and designed to protect his frail batting lineup.

Bangladesh were, at least. boosted by Shakib's presence after his recovery from chicken pox while their leading batsman Tamim Iqbal will bat with taping on his injured left wrist.

Eoin Morgan was given his first test cap for England in recognition of his outstanding one-day form.

http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-48849120100527

Tail-up Tigers Test Series 2010 England Vs Bangladesh

Strong tail-end batting got Bangladesh to 419 eventually but the second Test match is far from over as England ended the second day solidly despite a few blows. The visitors were 170 for three at stumps yesterday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

After Nayeem Islam and Shafiul Islam batted purposefully to score maiden half-centuries in the first session, England made sure they were still in the reckoning but struggled to score at a faster rate.

However the heroes on this scorching hot day of few runs and wickets were Nayeem and Shafiul as the Test match progressed to what could be some thrilling three days of cricket.

The two overnight batsmen, who came in late on the first day with the Tigers hoping for a score that would be 350 at best, frustrated the England fieldsmen and then dominated for almost two hours in the morning.

Nayeem farmed the strike for most of the first hour but as England started leaking runs, particularly through gaps in the slip cordon, Shafiul felt confident enough to take on the pacemen. Soon he struck boundaries through the tight off-side field, hitting the likes of Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and James Tredwell. He got on a roll and reached his half-century off 47 balls with a carved boundary over the covers.

Nayeem at the other end was contented with squirting boundaries through the slip cordon off Tim Bresnan and three overs later, he also reached a first half-century. The two added 74 for the ninth wicket, a record in Bangladesh-England Tests, before Shafiul edged one to Matt Prior who dove in front of the first slip to take the catch off Bresnan.

If England thought they could wrap it up quickly, the Tigers No 11 Rubel Hossain came out and slammed four boundaries in his 22-ball 17 to make sure a healthy first innings.

Shakib brought himself and Abdur Razzak into the attack within an over into the England innings and soon after lunch, Razzak had England captain Alistair Cook caught at mid-wicket for 21.

It would have been a far even worse day for tourists had the Tigers held the only chance they got from opener Jonathan Trott, who ended the day on an unbeaten 64.

He had Ian Bell for company when the day ended but Trott, who took 33 balls to get off the mark, had a reprieve when debutant Jahirul Islam dropped a simple chance at short leg off captain Shakib Al Hasan with England on 41-1.

Thereafter, Trott and Kevin Pietersen, who also had a strong lbw appeal against him turned down, took the visitors to tea safely in a 76-run stand but within minutes, the Tigers were back with two key wickets.

First, Kevin Pietersen was beaten in length by Shakib and toed it to short cover where Imrul Kayes took a simple catch. Seven balls later, Paul Collingwood fell leg-before to Rubel Hossain who used an otherwise futile old ball to good effect.

England soon restored parity with Bell, hitting three confident boundaries in his 25, and Trott reached his second Test fifty. The two have added 64 for the fourth wicket so far, confirming a long hard day for Tigers bowlers on a non-responsive wicket.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=131052

Nafees to lead BCB XI against England

Opening batsman Shahriar Nafees Ahmed will lead the BCB XI in the first of the two practice matches against England at the Fatullah stadium on February 23. ]BCB squad: Shahriar Nafees (captain), Alok Kopali, Imtiaz Hossain, Nasir Uddin Faruque, Shahin Hossain (wicketkeeper), Mahmudul Hasan, Shafaq Al Zabir, Tanvir Haider, Ariful Hoque, Alauddin Babu, Tapash Baishya, Shamsur Rahman, Md Sharifullah. Team Management: Minhajul Abedin (coach), Zafrul Ehsan (assistant coach), Fahim Muntasir (manager), Azmal Ahmed (physio).

England in Bangladesh 2010

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Ashes win

England's Ashes win is front-page news, August 24, 2009

Stanford arrested and charged with massive fraud

It has been reported that Allen Stanford has been arrested and charged with fraud by US authorities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said that they were "alleging a fraud of shocking magnitude".

The ECB reacted to the news with a statement saying it and the West Indies board had "suspended negotiations with Sir Allen Stanford and his financial corporation concerning a new sponsorship deal".

Earlier today the SEC accused Stanford, the head of the Stanford Financial Group, of fraud in the sale of about US$8 billion of high-yielding certificates of deposit held in the firm's bank in Antigua. James M. Davis, a director and chief financial officer of Stanford Group, was also arrested

The SEC said it could not account for the US$8 billion in assets that were housed in the Antigua bank after issuing subpoenas for bank records and to various witnesses. Most of those subpoenaed, including Davis and Stanford, failed to testify or produce documents relating to the assets.

The SEC went on to describe claims by the bank that it paid "significantly" higher returns on its CDs because of the high quality of its investments as "improbable, if not impossible". It is believed that Stanford and Davis's assets have been frozen pending further investigations and that their passports have been confiscated.

The SEC's investigation into Stanford Financial Group comes at a time it is under considerable pressure inside the USA for its inaction regarding the multi-billion Bernard L. Madoff case.

Rise and fall

Feb 25: Stanford reveals his plan for a $20 million Twenty20 match which he calls the “OK Corral” of cricket.
June 11: Stanford signs a five-year $100m deal with the ECB. He lands his helicopter at Lord’s before having his photograph taken with a chest of dollar bills.
Oct 27: The Stanford Super Series gets off to a bad start when he sits the pregnant wife of England wicketkeeper Matt Prior on his knee. Stanford issues apology to the team.
Oct 28: A party for England and the Superstars is cancelled as Stanford avoids a public meeting with Kevin Pietersen’s team.
Oct 29: ECB announce a review of the Stanford deal, three days before the $20m match takes place.
Nov 1: England are thrashed by 10 wickets as the Stanford Superstars team, led by Chris Gayle, become dollar millionaires.
Dec 17: Stanford sacks his board of legends, which included Sir Viv Richards and Sir Garfield Sobers, and closes his office in Antigua. His deal with the ECB looks dead.
Feb 11: Announces the end of his $20m match after one year but confirms the Stanford Quadrangular will take place at Lord’s in May.
Feb 17: Securites and Exchange Commission charge Sir Allen Stanford and three associates with alleged fraud 'of shocking magnitude'.

ECB is more worried about money than Test series

So, the news is England is planning to scrap home Test series against Bangladesh after 2010. The question is 'why?' well, the answer is because of the increasing commercial unfeasibility of such contests. Hmm. Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, told reporters in Mohali, India this news where cricket gets its most popularity and money. So, money is the main reason to make this decision. There is no wonder about this decision considering the economic meltdown. But Giles Clarke says that "If we are going to have a proper strategy for Test cricket we want to have games like that we have just had in Chennai,". "It showed everybody just what a Test can be. There is a very hard-fought game between Australia and South Africa taking place in Perth at the moment. So, he is more worried about the holiness of test cricket.

But is it the real reason behind this decision? ECB will start its own IPL version Twenty20 English Premier League which is set to launch in 2010. So, in the future English players will be busier? To give them some relief ECB plans to shed some test series. And Bangladesh tour to England is the softest part of the FTP where ECB will throw its axe. Nowadays, ECB is more concerned about money. Surprisingly, a very much conservative ECB agrees the five year Stanford Twenty20 series (summer picnic) for $100 million. Stanford's high-profile relationship with ECB sealed the deal after landing at Lord's in a helicopter, and with a trunk full of $20m in banknotes. But according to a report in the Daily Mail, the inaugural tournament made a loss of more than US$40 million. This December Stanford scraps the deal and ECB in some trouble. So, we can understand their anguish.

Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman a bright gambler who financed his Oxford education playing backgammon and bridge, a committee member of the Society of Merchant Venturers. And everyone in England is not happy about him. One county chairman said: "Clarke is a clown and a pompous one, and David Collier is a poor chief executive. There is no plan. No strategy. Everything is done off the hoof. Clarke should go."

The sad thing is nowadays cricket is run by merchants not by lovers.

Source:
1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2008/dec/19/giles-clarke-ecb-allen-stanford-cricket-england
2. http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/382556.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
3.http://content-www.cricinfo.com/england/content/story/379071.html
4.http://content-www.cricinfo.com/westindies/content/current/story/382736.html

David Miliband has praised the England cricket team for doing "the right thing"

Foreign Secretary David Miliband has praised the England cricket team for doing "the right thing" by returning to India in the wake of terror attacks.Mr Miliband said the decision showed that those who perpetrated the violence "will not win".The team flew home from India part-way through their one-day series in the wake of last month's carnage in Mumbai, which claimed more than 170 lives.But the squad arrived back on Monday for the two-Test series, insisting they wanted to signal support for the country.They have pledged half their fees from tomorrow's opening Test in Chennai - around £35,000 - to victims of the atrocities.Writing on his blog, Mr Miliband said he "applauded" the decision to return."It will be hard to focus on the cricket but it is the right thing to do," he wrote."Because it reaches out to India which has been wronged; because it shows confidence and commitment; and because it says terrorism will not win."