Australia down to 4th place in ICC Test Rankings

August 24, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News No Comments →

Australian team has been knocked down from the number one slot to the fourth position in the ICC Test rankings after losing the Ashes series to England. They are placed behind India.
Australia lost the fifth and crucial Test on Sunday by a comprehensive 197 runs. This tragedy cost Ricky Ponting’s men eight ratings points and they are now number four behind India.
This is for the first time since the current method of ranking was introduced in May 2003 that the world champions have been toppled from the top.
South Africa benefitted the most by the Aussie slump becoming the new number ones, followed by Sri Lanka. England stayed fifth but gained six ratings points and are now just 11 points behind Australia.

Australian team has been knocked down from the number one slot to the fourth position in the ICC Test rankings after losing the Ashes series to England. They are placed behind India.

Australia lost the fifth and crucial Test on Sunday by a comprehensive 197 runs. This tragedy cost Ricky Ponting’s men eight ratings points and they are now number four behind India.

This is for the first time since the current method of ranking was introduced in May 2003 that the world champions have been toppled from the top.

South Africa benefitted the most by the Aussie slump becoming the new number ones, followed by Sri Lanka. England stayed fifth but gained six ratings points and are now just 11 points behind Australia.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

India’s Standing in ICC Test Championship Table

August 05, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News No Comments →

India have dropped down one place to fourth in the ICC Test Championships table after the annual update released on Tuesday, which reflects the performance of only the last three years with the older results being discarded.
Sri Lanka, riding on their Test series win over Pakistan, leveled India (119) on points but replaced Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team at number three after re-calculation upto the nearest decimal 0.01 ratings points difference.
Australia (124) clung on to the top above second-placed South Africa (122) as just five ratings points separate top four teams.
But Ricky Ponting’s men must win both the remaining Ashes Tests to stay there. Otherwise, it will be Graeme Smith’s turn to lead the number-one Test team in the world.
Australia have led the Test rankings ever since the current method was introduced in May 2003.
The progress of Kumar Sangakkara’s team is due to a consistently high performance during the period of the rankings. In that time, the team has played 10 series, winning six, drawing three and losing just one (in Australia).
No matter how the Ashes finishes, England (99) will remain in fifth position but if the home side wins the series, Australia will drop to fourth position in the Test Championship table.
If the series ends in a 1-1 draw, South Africa will rise to the top. Australia, Sri Lanka and India will all have the same rating, but with Australia still clinging on to second place by a decimal point.
In the batting list, Gautam Gambhir remained on second spot with 847 points behind Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara (862).
Sachin Tendulkar (15th), VVS Laxman (17th) and Virender Sehwag (19th) are the other Indian batsmen in the top 20.
Among bowlers, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan are in top 10 at sixth and ninth respectively while Ishant Sharma is in 19th in the list headed by South African Dale Steyn.
The annual update is carried out to ensure the ICC Test Championship table continues to reflect recent form with older results being discarded.
The table reflects all Test series that were completed since August three years ago. All series played until the start of next August will be added to this table, so by then the ratings will be based on four years of results, with series completed within the last two years carrying greater weight.
Next August the first year of results will be dropped and this pattern is repeated each August, with the oldest of the four years of results removed to be gradually replaced with results of series completed over the following 12 months.
Thus, once a year, the rankings change overnight without any new series being completed.

India have dropped down one place to fourth in the ICC Test Championships table after the annual update released on Tuesday, which reflects the performance of only the last three years with the older results being discarded.

Sri Lanka, riding on their Test series win over Pakistan, leveled India (119) on points but replaced Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team at number three after re-calculation upto the nearest decimal 0.01 ratings points difference.

Australia (124) clung on to the top above second-placed South Africa (122) as just five ratings points separate top four teams.

But Ricky Ponting’s men must win both the remaining Ashes Tests to stay there. Otherwise, it will be Graeme Smith’s turn to lead the number-one Test team in the world.

Australia have led the Test rankings ever since the current method was introduced in May 2003.

The progress of Kumar Sangakkara’s team is due to a consistently high performance during the period of the rankings. In that time, the team has played 10 series, winning six, drawing three and losing just one (in Australia).

No matter how the Ashes finishes, England (99) will remain in fifth position but if the home side wins the series, Australia will drop to fourth position in the Test Championship table.

If the series ends in a 1-1 draw, South Africa will rise to the top. Australia, Sri Lanka and India will all have the same rating, but with Australia still clinging on to second place by a decimal point.

In the batting list, Gautam Gambhir remained on second spot with 847 points behind Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara (862).

Sachin Tendulkar (15th), VVS Laxman (17th) and Virender Sehwag (19th) are the other Indian batsmen in the top 20.

Among bowlers, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan are in top 10 at sixth and ninth respectively while Ishant Sharma is in 19th in the list headed by South African Dale Steyn.

The annual update is carried out to ensure the ICC Test Championship table continues to reflect recent form with older results being discarded.

The table reflects all Test series that were completed since August three years ago. All series played until the start of next August will be added to this table, so by then the ratings will be based on four years of results, with series completed within the last two years carrying greater weight.

Next August the first year of results will be dropped and this pattern is repeated each August, with the oldest of the four years of results removed to be gradually replaced with results of series completed over the following 12 months.

Thus, once a year, the rankings change overnight without any new series being completed.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

Dhoni asks Team to be truthful about injuries

June 23, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009, Cricket News No Comments →

Ahead of the ODI series against West Indies beginning on Friday, the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave his team members a dressing down. Dhoni reportedly told his team members that everyone needs to be truthful about injuries or any other personal issues that could affect team’s performance.
The other issue Dhoni is said to have dealt with was related to players’ fatigue. He said that in case anyone felt tired and not 100 per cent fit, they should take rest in order to get better.
Dhoni has been forced to address these issues after the severe criticism that the Men in Blue faced after their performance in England. Also it came to light that several players went to England despite carrying injuries.

Ahead of the ODI series against West Indies beginning on Friday, the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave his team members a dressing down. Dhoni reportedly told his team members that everyone needs to be truthful about injuries or any other personal issues that could affect team’s performance.

The other issue Dhoni is said to have dealt with was related to players’ fatigue. He said that in case anyone felt tired and not 100 per cent fit, they should take rest in order to get better.

Dhoni has been forced to address these issues after the severe criticism that the Men in Blue faced after their performance in England. Also it came to light that several players went to England despite carrying injuries.

Tags: , , , ,

Related posts

ICC T20 World Cup 2009: Teams & Schedules

May 31, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009 No Comments →

The Last Season of T20 World Cup was won by India. In the upcoming season of ICC T20 World Cup 2009, 12 teams are going to participate in the tournament and all the teams are divided in to four groups as given Below :
Group A : India, Bangladesh, Ireland
Group B : Pakistan, England, Netherland
Group C : Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies
Group D : South Africa, New Zealand, Scotland

The ICC T20 World Cup 2009 will be starting from Friday, June 5, 2009.

The tournament ends on Sunday, June 21, 2009 with the Final match at London.

Match No     Match                                         Day         Time     Venue
1                England v Netherlands         5-Jun-09     17:30     Lord’s
2                New Zealand v Scotland      6-Jun-09     10:00     The Oval
3               Australia v West Indies        6-Jun-09     13:30     The Oval
4               India v Bangladesh                 6-Jun-09     17:30     Trent Bridge
5               South Africa v Scotland        7-Jun-09     13;30     The Oval
6               England v Pakistan                  7-Jun-09     17:30     The Oval
7               Bangladesh v Ireland             8-Jun-09     13:30     Trent Bridge
8               Australia v Sri Lanka              8-Jun-09     17:30     Trent Bridge
9               Pakistan v Netherlands         9-Jun-09     13:30     Lord’s
10            New Zealand v South Africa 9-Jun-09     17:30     Lord’s
11            Sri Lanka v West Indies       10-Jun-09     13:30     Trent Bridge
12           India v Ireland                        10-Jun-09     17:30     Trent Bridge
13           D1 v A2                                       11-Jun-09     13:30     Trent Bridge
14           B2 v D2                                       11-Jun-09     17:30     Trent Bridge
15           B1 v C2                                       12-Jun-09     13:30     Lord’s
16          A1 v C1                                        12-Jun-09     17:30     Lord’s
17          C1 v D2                                        13-Jun-09     13:30     The Oval
18          D1 v B1                                         13-Jun-09     17:30     The Oval
19          A2 v C2                                        14-Jun-09     13:30     Lord’s
20         A1 v B2                                         14-Jun-09     17:30     Lord’s
21          B1 v A2                                         15-Jun-09     13:30     The Oval
22          B2 v C1                                         15-Jun-09     17:30     The Oval
23         D1 v C2                                         16-Jun-09     13:30     Trent Bridge
24         D2 v A1                                        16-Jun-09     17:30     Trent Bridge
25      1st Semi-Final                              18-Jun-09     17:30     Trent Bridge
26     2nd Semi-Final                             19-Jun-09     17:30     The Oval
27         Final                                             21-Jun-09     15:00     Lord’s

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

Dhoni men left to London for T20 World Cup

May 29, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009 No Comments →

The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian team left for London on Friday morning to defend their World Twenty20 title.

The team would have a week in England to get used to the conditions. India have their first game against Bangladesh on June 6. But before that they play warm-up matches against New Zealand next Monday and against Pakistan on Wednesday.

Most of the players in the current team played in the Indian Premier League in South Africa and the team is regarded as favourites by quite a few experts around the world.

Dhoni and his squad before leaving to England for ICC T20 World Cup

Dhoni and his squad before leaving to England for ICC T20 World Cup

Before leaving to England, the skipper said in a press conference that his team is a little bit tired after the IPL but is confident that India would retain the T20 World Cup.

Dhoni further added that they did not feel the need for a warm up session as they have had enough practice through this IPL. He was pleased with the fact that he had plenty of options with regards to non-regular bowlers, especially in spin department and that all his players have the experience of handling pressure by playing in the IPL.

Part timers Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma had taken hat-tricks in IPL and Suresh Raina, and Yusuf Pathan had been good over the tournament. Ravindra Jadeja was praised for his high talents inspite of his limited international experience.
MS Dhoni, the skipper Indian Team
The 27-year-old Indian skipper was not too concerned about the team’s opening combinations in both batting and bowling when queried about the indifferent forms of opening batsmen Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir and bowlers Ishant Sharma and an injured Zaheer Khan.

Dhoni said the team members would have to make best use of the days they have at their disposal after reaching England prior to Indias opening match.

Dhoni was confident that good cricket-playing wickets would be in evidence during the competition that ends on June 21.

Dhoni also brushed aside concerns that the team would be fatigued by now after playing non-stop cricket since the tour to New Zealand earlier this year and the IPL.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

IPL is important for me says Flintoff

April 18, 2009 By: Spunky Category: IPL 2010 - IPL 3 No Comments →

Andrew Flintoff says he is right to play in the Indian Premier League, despite suggestions he should be rested ahead of the big Ashes summer.

The England all-rounder, 31, has been plagued by injury in recent years.

But he plays for Chennai Super Kings against Mumbai Indians in Cape Town on Saturday saying he needs the cricket.

“I missed a lot of cricket through injury. I missed four weeks this winter, so the more cricket I can play now, the better for me,” he said.

And he feels England’s other IPL imports will benefit too, ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 taking place in England in June.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

IPL to miss top players

April 17, 2009 By: Spunky Category: IPL 2010 - IPL 3 No Comments →

The Indian Premier League may bring unforseen riches to the world’s top cricketers, but not everyone has fallen for the lure of the lucre.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting and senior pro Michael Hussey opted out of the IPL’s second season starting in South Africa on Saturday to rest tired limbs after a back-breaking schedule.

Two other Australians, Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson, did not even put themselves up for auction, saying they wanted to concentrate on their international careers.

Expensive players are not guaranteed their entire riches as the England duo of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff have found out.

Both went for record sums of 1.55 million dollars each at this year’s auction, but England’s home series against the West Indies in May has shortened their IPL participation to the first two weeks.

Players are paid on a pro-rata basis and two other England stars, Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah, will also be similarly affected.

Collingwood and Shah were picked up by the Delhi Daredevils team for identical amounts of 275,000 dollars each.

West Indian captain Chris Gayle, who commands 800,000 dollars from the Kolkata Knight Riders, and team-mate Fidel Edwards, a new signee with the Deccan Chargers for 150,000 dollars, will also be available for two weeks.

Australian controversial all-rounder Andrew Symonds, bought by the Deccan Chargers for 1.35 million last year, will now be available for only the last two weeks of the IPL.

Brett Lee, a 900,000-dollar signee with Kings XI Punjab, may not even play at all as the Australian medical staff monitors his recovery from ankle and foot injury ahead of the Ashes.

Australian Shane Watson, who was the IPL’s player of the tournament last year, is also out till May 7 due to his inclusion for the Pakistan series.

“I think Shane will miss the first nine games and be available for the last five and hopefully the finals,” said Shane Warne, his Rajasthan Royals captain.

The biggest losers are the Pakistani cricketers who were thrown out of the IPL this year after Islamabad denied them permission to travel to India for the tournament following growing tensions between the two countries.

The players’ appeal to allow them to return to the IPL since the tournament had been shifted to South Africa was rejected by tournament organisers.

It deprives Warne’s champion team of the services of left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir, the highest wicket-taker last year with 22 wickets.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

Kevin Pietersen will prove says Royal Challengers Coach

April 16, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Player News No Comments →

Bangalore Royal Challengers coach Ray Jennings has said that he is confident that England batsman Kevin Pietersen will show his class as the skipper of the side during the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and  ‘doesn’t care a damn’ about the star batsman’s controversial reign as England captain.

He said: “I don’t care a damn what happened with the England job. Kevin and I are on the same wavelength. That’s all that matters and I just don’t believe he will behave like people think he can. The important thing is Kev is the type who likes to prove people wrong — he’s like me. He likes to push fingers up people’s noses.”

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Related posts

India’s Probables for World T20

April 05, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009 No Comments →

In the absence of the domestic Twenty20 tournament, which was postponed for the second year in a row, performance in the IPL will be crucial for the 30 players selected in India’s preliminary World Twenty20 squad for the tournament in England.

The notable omissions were Sreesanth, Joginder Sharma, Ajit Agarkar and Piyush Chawla, who were part of the team that won the World Twenty20 in 2007.

The final squad of 15 to 16 players will be announced a month before the tournament begins on June 5.

The IPL assumes significance because it ends on May 24, leaving little time for a camp before the players leave for England.

Sreesanth ruled himself out of the IPL due to a back injury and had recently admitted he would be out of action for at least three months.

The selectors had always been skeptical once he struggled on his return to domestic cricket after sustaining an injury during last season’s IPL.

There were no specific parameters that the selectors looked at when they prepared the 30-man short list.

The list contains no surprises with most players picking themselves due to their form in the current season.

Tamil Nadu offspinner R Ashwin was picked as a back-up to Harbhajan Singh after a successful domestic season where he was the leading wicket-taker in Challenger Trophy (eight wickets) and took two more in three Deodhar Trophy games.

Squad: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha, Harbhajan singh, Praveen Kumar, Dinesh Karthik, M Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, S Badrinath, Robin Uthappa, Virat Kohli, Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhishek Nayar, Amit Mishra, R Ashwin, RP Singh, L Balaji, Dhawal Kulkarni, Naman Ojha.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Related posts

West Indies Beat England

March 28, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News No Comments →

West Indies crushed England by eight wickets in the third one-day cricket international at Kensington Oval on Friday.

After rain reduced the match to 45 overs each then 44, West Indies routed England for 117 in 41.3 overs, then captain Chris Gayle obliterated the English attack with 80 off 43 balls as the home side reached its Duckworth/Lewis target of 117 in 14.4 overs.

West Indies leads the five-match series 2-1.

The fourth game is at the same ground on Sunday.

Tags: ,

Related posts


Switch to our mobile site