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<title>mineSport / Published Content / Cricket</title>
<link>http://minesport.com</link>
<description>mineSport.com Sports Multimedia Content Management System  votes</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:18:10 CDT</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[PAKISTAN CRICKET SCANDAL: A stricken country that's its own worst enemy]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=PAKISTAN_CRICKET_SCANDAL_A_stricken_country_thats_its_own_worst_enemy</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=PAKISTAN_CRICKET_SCANDAL_A_stricken_country_thats_its_own_worst_enemy</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:18:10 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>arqam</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=PAKISTAN_CRICKET_SCANDAL_A_stricken_country_thats_its_own_worst_enemy</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Perhaps it may seem deplorably flippant to couple no-balls with floods and terror. But these three elements  -  chicanery, tragedy and violence  -  today dominate the popular image of Pakistan in Britain.  No matter that allegations of Test match bribery are still unproven. Pakistan's cricket reputation has been mud for decades because of its institutionalised corruption.  Last month's floods were a natural disaster on a colossal scale. They have drowned 2.6 million acres of cultivated land, wiped out a quarter of the country's annual harvest, destroyed or damaged 1.2 million homes and threaten a huge region with destitution.   Yet to date the world's response falls far short of the need. Some &amp;pound;600 million has been pledged, but vastly more money will be required to repair damage and save displaced refugees from starvation and disease.   Why are not governments and private donors doing more? At the weekend, I heard a customarily compassionate woman declare: 'I'm sorry, but I don't feel like sending a penny in flood relief to a country where there are lots of people who seem to want to blow us all up.'   That is a brutal thing to say about the plight of millions, few of whom have the least connection with the Taliban or Al Qaeda. They are merely victims of natural forces that frequently ravage the sub-continent.  But although Britons have already raised &amp;pound;40 million for the flood victims, I suspect my friend is far from alone in refusing to reach in her purse for this cause, as she did after the Asian tsunami and many more such tragedies.   Pakistan's international standing is at rock-bottom. The alleged cricket scandal makes headlines, but is, of course, relatively trivial.  Corruption in the country is institutionalised on a vast scale, and its president  -  whose family owns a chateau in France  -  is often cited among the most shameless perpetrators.  More serious still are allegations voiced by Britain's own prime minister: that powerful elements i<br/><br/>11 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistan Cricketers Face the Death Penalty Over Corruption Allegations]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Cricketers_Face_the_Death_Penalty_Over_Corruption_Allegations</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Cricketers_Face_the_Death_Penalty_Over_Corruption_Allegations</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:27:02 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Cricketers_Face_the_Death_Penalty_Over_Corruption_Allegations</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Pakistani Cricket corruption allegations have taken a sinister twist after it emerged today that team captain Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, and bowlers Mohamad Amir and Mohamad Asif face the death penalty in Pakistan if they are found guilty of cheating and aiding a betting syndicate.  On Sunday, the News of The World broke the story that a match-fixing syndicate rigged the recent match between England and Pakistan at Lords.  In their world exclusive, Mazher Mahmood and Amanda Evans met with Mazhar Majeed who indicated that he had an influence over the result of the match and predicted down to the minute &quot;no-ball&quot; deliveries by bowlers Asif and Amir.  A televison audience of millions tuned in to watch the test between the two countries and were shocked to see Pakistan collapse and bowled out for just 74 in their first innings.  As part of the betting coup, Majeed then pointed out that Salman Butt was the ringleader of a betting clique of 10 cricketers that had made huge money from accepting offers from betting syndicates. To further prove his influence, Majeed then proclaimed, &quot;I'm going to give you three no-balls to prove to you firstly that this is what's happening. They've all been organised, okay?  &quot;This is EXACTLY what's going to happen, you're going to SEE these three things happen. I'm telling you, if you play this right you're going to make a lot of money, believe me!&quot;  Over the last couple of years, Internet betting on cricket in the Middle and Far East has grown to huge proportions with a multitude of different markets being offered.  This would appear to be where Majeed has focused his attention and where &quot;no-balls&quot; come into effect as the syndicate's seem to be betting upon the exact amount of runs that batters will gain but also the amount of runs that bowlers will concede.  The evidence against the four named cricketers looks incredibly compelling, to such an extent that MI5 contacted the News of the World the next morning so they could launch an <br/><br/>13 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistan exemplifies the evolution of betting on cricket]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_exemplifies_the_evolution_of_betting_on_cricket</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_exemplifies_the_evolution_of_betting_on_cricket</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:27:02 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_exemplifies_the_evolution_of_betting_on_cricket</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Betting in cricket is much like doping in other forms of sport, where the law-breakers are always one step ahead of the enforcers.  Across the subcontinent in the 1990s, there were bookies dotted across every neighbourhood and their services could be accessed through a recommendation from an old and trusted punter who would act as the rookie's underwriter.  The entire business worked on trust. Bets were placed over phones or scribbled into notebooks. Accounts were settled every month and in the event that punters did not pay up, a standover man turned up at the front door.  The neighbourhood &quot;chop shop'' was the lowest rung of a subversive ecosystem headed by a bigger, more powerful betting syndicate, some with links to the underworld. Reporters found out that the middle men between Gang Lord and Local Lowlife met the cricketers while posing alternately as &quot;businessmen'' or &quot;fans''. As part of the ploy, they would resort to extreme flattery while hoping for relatively minor pieces of information. Soon, naive players became entangled in the system.  Now, gambling on cricket is still illegal, the chop shops still do business but computerised betting over the internet has created new frontiers both for the everyday illegal gambler and men like Mazhar Majeed, who was exposed in the News of the World sting. In the case of Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir, the middle man-businessman-fan had morphed into a &quot;player's agent'', who struck good deals, but whose presence from the outside could be deemed suspicious.  Odds on the internet are not fixed by wise individuals operating in isolation but by the thriving market itself, much like the stock exchange. The bear knows a stock is going to fall, so he sells just before it does and buys after the price crashes, making a killing on the margins.  In cricketing terms, the fall of the stock translates into the pre-determined fall of a batsman's wicket which suddenly changes the odds around a match.  Or it could be the sudden fl<br/><br/>14 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Why England cricket reports are always so negativea4]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Why_England_cricket_reports_are_always_so_negativehellip</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Why_England_cricket_reports_are_always_so_negativehellip</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:59:57 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Why_England_cricket_reports_are_always_so_negativehellip</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I think I&amp;rsquo;ve worked out why the vast majority of reports about English cricket are so negative. It&amp;rsquo;s because writing about cricket all day every day can be a very depressing experience. Having spent a significant amount of this summer in press boxes watching numerous Test matches involving England, Australia and Pakistan as well as countless county games I now know what it feels like to work as a full-time cricket writer. The main problem is the boredom. Five days is a hell of a long time to sit at a desk and look out of a window. You can&amp;rsquo;t get up and go grab a drink or five with mates in the crowd or banter away in the queue for the bar/toilet. You&amp;rsquo;re stuck in front of you laptop staring out hoping for either a flurry of wickets or someone to take command of the game and play a Tamin Iqbal-like innings.  With boredom such a factor it&amp;rsquo;s not surprising that writers take to focusing on the negatives, because it is so much easier to fire off a 500-word report blasting England&amp;rsquo;s play or Kevin Pietersen&amp;rsquo;s form than it is to watch a full day&amp;rsquo;s play from 11am to 6pm and write a concise and accurate portrayal of the three sessions. It&amp;rsquo;s the same with film reviews &amp;ndash; a truly terrible film can be some of the most entertaining and enjoyable pieces to write, give me an average film with no distinguishing characteristics though and I&amp;rsquo;m going to struggle to give you anything worth reading as you can be sure I zoned out for the vast majority of it.  It&amp;rsquo;s obviously pretty damn easy to criticise this mind-set &amp;ndash; &amp;lsquo;You&amp;rsquo;re sat in the press box the Oval watching England take on Pakistan (as well as enjoying the fantastic lunch they put on) and all you can think about writing is doom and despair about the national game&amp;rsquo;. This is an absolutely valid point, but believe me I&amp;rsquo;m not the first one to let negative thoughts creep into their mind halfway through the afternoon session of the thi<br/><br/>18 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA['Meteorite' lands on cricket pitch during county match]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Meteorite_lands_on_cricket_pitch_during_county_match</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Meteorite_lands_on_cricket_pitch_during_county_match</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:21:15 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Meteorite_lands_on_cricket_pitch_during_county_match</guid>
<description><![CDATA[However Jan Marszel, 51, and Richard Haynes, 52, were not witnessing a six, but an extremely rare meteor strike.  The rock, a few inches long and believed to be up to 4.5 billion years old, broke in two when it hit the ground in front of them close to the pitch. The pair &amp;ndash; both Sussex members &amp;ndash; were sitting square of the wicket watching the England player Luke Wright bat with Monty Panesar when they spotted the black, five-inch rock hurtling towards them.  Mr Marszel, an IT consultant, said: &amp;ldquo;We were sitting at the boundary edge when all of a sudden, out of a blue sky, we saw this small dark object hurtling towards us.  &amp;ldquo;It landed five yards inside the boundary and split into two pieces.  &amp;ldquo;One piece bounced up and hit me in the chest and the other ended up against the boundary board.  &amp;ldquo;It came across at quite a speed &amp;ndash; if it had hit me full on it could have been very interesting.&quot;  The pair have kept the seemingly extraterrestrial pieces of rock for posterity and said they would be happy for experts to examine them.  Retired Mr Haynes, said: &amp;ldquo;We were quietly supping our pints, both looked up at the same time and saw a black object coming towards us &amp;ndash; we didn&amp;rsquo;t know what it was.  &amp;ldquo;If it had come from the other direction we might have suspected someone had thrown it, but we saw it come in straight over the ground from quite a way out &amp;ndash; it was definitely a meteorite.&amp;rdquo;  Dr Matthew Genge, a meteorite expert at Imperial College, London, said: &amp;ldquo;If this turns out to be a meteorite it&amp;rsquo;s very exciting and would be the first fall in the UK since 1992.  &quot;Potentially it contains secrets as to the formation of our solar system.&quot;<br/><br/>6 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistan all-time XI]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_all-time_XI</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_all-time_XI</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 26 May 2010 09:19:11 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>balplaya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_all-time_XI</guid>
<description><![CDATA[And so finally, 10 men, six categories and 198 Test players come together to produce one all-time Pakistan XI.  It wasn't, on final balance, as difficult a task as it may have initially appeared. As many as four players were unanimous picks: Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis would in all likelihood be among the top contenders on any such global list. Two more batting greats, Hanif Mohammad and Inzamam-ul-Haq, were near-unanimous selections, with nine votes each. And with Abdul Qadir picking up eight votes as the sole spinner, it means as many as seven of an all-time Pakistan XI pick themselves.  Pleasingly perhaps, the XI takes in players from all eras, recognition of the prolific ability of the land to keep producing talent no matter the circumstances of the time and era: Hanif Mohammad and Fazal Mahmood from the 50s and 60s, Zaheer Abbas, Miandad, Imran and Qadir from the 70s through to the early 90s, and the rest from the mid-80s onwards. Tellingly, given how Pakistan have fared this last decade, the latest Test debutant is Rashid Latif (1992). The choice of Latif, in fact, wasn't a straightforward one; his greater batting ability tips the scales in his favour.  Finally, a word about the shape of the line-up. Pakistan have been at their best when they have played attacking, aggressive cricket, Almost exclusively, that has come from the nature of their bowling attack, which is why the all-time XI has a four-man bowling attack and Imran Khan.  Some might argue that another specialist middle-order batsman should have been in the line-up, but the selection assumes picking players at the peak of their skills. So Imran's naturally solid technique provides a robust enough presence at six, around which the line-up pivots. Latif and Akram below him add up to almost another batsman.  That leaves the bowling attack to be as spectacular as any that can be conceived. Just imagine a four-man fast-bowling attack of the variety, skill and pace of this o<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[No more character in cricket]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=No_more_character_in_cricket</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=No_more_character_in_cricket</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:33:43 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=No_more_character_in_cricket</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The love triangle came full circle and perished under its own weight. Two countries and its citizens were brought to the brink by three idiots who ultimately declared that &amp;lsquo;all is well&amp;rsquo; and walked away to their dark secrets. And Islamic edicts were mauled by armchair analysts ranging from those who may never have read the Quran and Hadith, to the scholarly who gave sweeping statements that varied in their intensity.  At the end of the day, the Shoaib-Sania-Ayesha/Maha debacle was yet another incident involving a Pakistani cricketer getting himself into a jam and embarrassing the country. Not that the cricket team should be blamed entirely for maligning our name, or what&amp;rsquo;s left of it &amp;ndash; that crown is worn by the king and his courtiers.  Still, it must be said that Shoaib Malik could have handled this situation differently. Once it turned out that Ayesha was the one on the other end of the line during his telephonic affair, all Malik had to do was state that he had been deceived, express sorrow at the misunderstanding, and accede to Ayesha&amp;rsquo;s request for a divorce. A signed paper is just a signed paper if there are to be no consequences whatsoever. As such, it was always a win-win situation for Malik. No stories need have come out of the situation, no exposes about nights spent at hotels, no unnecessary innuendos about a decade-old relationship.  But it seems our cricketers have become so arrogant that Malik never thought of ending the issue with the other woman quietly, when all she wanted was a separation.  This lack of discretion, which indicates a disregard for family, fans, and the national image, saddens me the most. Mind you, I&amp;rsquo;m not surprised, just plain saddened. Our cricketers, once titled ambassadors of goodwill, have become cowboys roaming the Wild West, shooting at first sight and not even bothering to bury the dead.  Much as I avoid saying it for fear of being labeled discriminatory or elitist, the behaviour of our c<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik 'divorces first wife' for Indian Tennis Star Sania Mirza]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistani_cricketer_Shoaib_Malik_divorces_first_wife_for_Indian_Tennis_Star_Sania_Mirza</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistani_cricketer_Shoaib_Malik_divorces_first_wife_for_Indian_Tennis_Star_Sania_Mirza</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:51:37 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>balplaya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistani_cricketer_Shoaib_Malik_divorces_first_wife_for_Indian_Tennis_Star_Sania_Mirza</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik is reported to have divorced an Indian woman, ahead of his planned marriage to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.  Imran Qadri, a community elder in the Indian city of Hyderabad, said Malik divorced Ayesha Siddiqui on Wednesday.  The Siddiqui family have now withdrawn a police complaint against Malik over his plans to wed Mirza, Mr Qadri said.  There was no immediate comment from Malik or Mirza. He had accused the Siddiqui family of deceiving him.  He also alleged that the marriage certificate presented by the family had been a fake.  On Monday, city police questioned Malik after Ayesha Siddiqui said she was already married to him. They seized his passport and told him to stay in India until they had investigated the matter.  The unusual cross-border romance has captivated the people of India and Pakistan, long-time rivals.Wednesday saw a continuation of the drama that is gripping the southern Indian city.  Imran Qadri told reporters that after prolonged deliberations between the two families and community elders, Malik had granted a divorce to Ayesha Siddiqui, thus admitting that he had married her.  &quot;It has been an honourable exit for both sides,&quot; Mr Qadri said.  Ayesha Siddiqui's mother, Farisa, said: &quot;Justice has been done. Ayesha is relieved and very happy.&quot;  Malik is in Hyderabad, where both women live, ahead of his wedding to Sania Mirza which is planned for 15 April.  In recent newspaper interviews, he admitted that he had developed a friendship over the internet with an Indian woman eight years ago and then married her over the telephone after they exchanged photographs.  But he says he eventually discovered that the photographs sent to him were of someone else.  &quot;I was made to believe the girl in the photograph was the one I was speaking to,&quot; he said in a statement. &quot;The truth is, I haven't, to this day, met the girl in the photographs Ayesha sent me.&quot;  Correspondents said it was unclear if the marriage was legally valid e<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Hayden unveils the Mongoose bat in style]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Hayden_unveils_the_Mongoose_bat_in_style</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Hayden_unveils_the_Mongoose_bat_in_style</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 01 Apr 2010 09:10:27 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Hayden_unveils_the_Mongoose_bat_in_style</guid>
<description><![CDATA[File under &quot;Sights I Never Expected to See&quot;: Matthew Hayden, post international retirement, clobbering bowlers all around an international stadium with what looked like a baby's brass rattle in those paws of his. Here's introducing Matt the Bat, now with a longer handle, aka the Mongoose bat.  For the uninitiated, the Mongoose is a something of a miniature version of a normal cricket bat, but it has two distinguishing features: the handle is as long as the blade and the splice, which normal bats have in the blade, is built into that handle to guarantee a clean hitting surface on the bat. Its USP - if you've been following events in the build-up to the IPL - is that it essentially allows a batsman to hit harder and further without changing the way he plays. On the basis of what Hayden achieved at the Feroz Shah Kotla today, the Mongoose suits Twenty20 to the T.  Its short, stocky frame - the base is reportedly five centimeters - allows for sweet timing and that was as evident as crystal. The first sign that Hayden, after two poor games, was roaring back in to form came in the second over when he slammed three boundaries in four balls.  The Mongoose made its debut in the second ball of the fourth over, after Hayden had already muscled some good shots with his normal blade. He's has always wielded the bat like a club, but here was Hayden with a big handle and small blade. To the naked eye, the Mongoose looked silly in his bear hands. In fact, at first it just didn't look right. Surely he would mishit one, inside-edge one onto his stumps, fail to reach out to a spinner, or be caught short of his crease while putting in a dive? None happened.  The first shot Hayden played with the Mongoose was a letdown. He went for an ugly heave and got a streaky single to the leg side. You can't time a cricket ball at pace with that toothpick, was the common assumption. Then Rajat Bhatia came in to the attack for some military medium stuff, only to feel the full effect of what Hayd<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cricket-Two teams join IPL for $703 million]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket-Two_teams_join_IPL_for_703_million</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket-Two_teams_join_IPL_for_703_million</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:28:52 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket-Two_teams_join_IPL_for_703_million</guid>
<description><![CDATA[NEW DELHI, March 21 (Reuters) - Two more teams will enter the Indian Premier League, the world's richest cricket tournament, after bids worth a combined $703 million for team franchise rights were announced on Sunday.  Counting some of India's best-known Bollywood stars and billionaire tycoons among its owners, and some of the world's most illustrious cricketers on its teamsheets, the IPL will have 10 teams from next season and the number of matches will increase from 60 to 94.  The league's chairman Lalit Modi said the high sums involved in the bidding showed the tournament was recession-proof, and is striving to compete for size with the likes of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the United States.  India, Asia's third-largest economy, is pulling away from the global slowdown faster than many of its peers in the west, and is forecast to grow at 8.5 percent in the next fiscal year.  Sahara Adventure Sports, part of the Sahara Group, won the rights for a team in the western city of Pune for $370 million. A consortium named Rendezvous Sports World won the franchise for the city of Kochi for $333 million.  &quot;The IPL is recession proof. It's all about building the eye balls and building the fan base, and we have been able to do that extremely well,&quot; Modi told CNN-IBN news channel from the southern Indian city of Chennai.  &quot;Our ambition is of course to become number one in the world in terms of sporting league.&quot;  Mukesh Ambani, who controls Reliance Industries (RELI.BO), and film actors Shah Rukh Khan and Shilpa Shetty, all own teams in the Twenty20 tournament.<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sachin's super double takes India to mammoth 401]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Sachins_super_double_takes_India_to_mammoth_401</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Sachins_super_double_takes_India_to_mammoth_401</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:35:47 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Sachins_super_double_takes_India_to_mammoth_401</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Milestone man Sachin Tendulkar re-wrote the record books on Wednesday, hammering the first double century in the history of one-day cricket to add another feather to his well-adorned cap.  The capacity crowd at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium witnessed history today as Tendulkar, statistically the greatest batsman the game has ever seen, pushed a Charl Langeveldt delivery through the off-side and ran a single to achieve a feat which no other cricketer has achieved.  One Day International cricket, since its 1971 inception, had to wait nearly four decades to see a batsman score 200. The previous best mark was shared by Zimbabwean Charles Coventry (194 not out) and Pakistan's Saeed Anwar (194).  As the crowd erupted with unbridled joy, Tendulkar, tired but composed, took off his helmet, looked skyward, closed his eyes to offer a silent prayer.  His captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni came down from the striker's end to shake hands and hug him. And as Tendulkar set on his way back to the pavilion after the completion of the Indian innings, a tumultuous celebration greeted him.  The crowd gave him a standing ovation as the entire stadium erupted in euphoria while his teammates were simply ecstatic as they clapped and hugged each other, basking in the glory of their senior teammates.  Tendulkar batted like a man with a mission today and the South African bowlers simply had no clue where to bowl. Once he crossed the 150-mark, the crowd anticipated something special and Tendulkar did not let them down.  A six off Roelof van der Merwe took him past Kapil Dev's 175 not out and in the next over, he hit Jacques Kallis for a four to equal his previous best of 186 not out that had come against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1999.  The crowd got restless as Tendulkar approached the 194-run mark and a couple off Wayne Parnell saw him eclipse it.  His teammates and spectators were on the edge of their seat with a double century round the corner but with Dhoni going berserk at the striker's<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Brand new sealed leica 1015x50 duovid black binoculars]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Brand_new_sealed_leica_1015x50_duovid_black_binoculars</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Brand_new_sealed_leica_1015x50_duovid_black_binoculars</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:14:33 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>LesGarIM1983</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Brand_new_sealed_leica_1015x50_duovid_black_binoculars</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Brand new sealed leica 1015x50 duovid black binoculars<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Scots suffer ICC World Twenty20 qualifying loss to USA]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Scots_suffer_ICC_World_Twenty20_qualifying_loss_to_USA</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Scots_suffer_ICC_World_Twenty20_qualifying_loss_to_USA</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:48:32 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>balplaya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Scots_suffer_ICC_World_Twenty20_qualifying_loss_to_USA</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Scotland suffered a blow to their hopes of qualifying for the ICC World Twenty20 when they were beaten by the USA in their opening qualifier.  The USA won by six wickets after reaching Scotland's total of 120-7 with five balls remaining.  Scotland elected to bat first in Abu Dhabi and captain Gavin Hamilton was his side's top scorer with 41.  But Jamaican-born Carl Wright hit 62, while Guyanese Lennox Cush added 41 to set up the USA's surprise victory.  The Scots must now bounce back in matches against Afghanistan and Ireland if they are to be one of the two teams to qualify for the next stages from their pool.  Afghanistan, who beat the Irish by 13 runs on Tuesday, are next up for the Scots on Wednesday.  A disappointed Hamilton said: &quot;I think credit should be given where it is due. The USA bowled well with the new ball and our batting wasn't up to the standard against them.  &quot;Every game is now a must-win. We're going to have a look at the team and we may well have to do a bit of a reshuffle in the side for our game against Afghanistan.&quot;  USA heroes Wright and Cush added 97 runs for the second wicket in 82 balls, with the former clubbing eight fours from 57 balls, while Cush struck three fours and a six from 39 balls.  &quot;It was a collective effort and a great achievement,&quot; said Wright. &quot;The bowlers made it much easier for us to go out and get the runs.  &quot;I'm excited about my man-of-the-match but we have to keep up with our positive attitude and move as a group for our game against Ireland.&quot;<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Tendulkar achieves 17,000 one-day runs]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Tendulkar_achieves_17000_one-day_runs</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Tendulkar_achieves_17000_one-day_runs</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:15:37 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Tendulkar_achieves_17000_one-day_runs</guid>
<description><![CDATA[HYDERABAD (AFP) &amp;ndash; India's Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman ever to surpass 17,000 runs in one-day internationals during the fifth match against Australia here on Thursday.  Tendulkar, 36, achieved the landmark when he reached seven runs with a three off paceman Ben Hilfenhaus past square-leg in his 435th one-day international.  The batsman already holds the records for most runs in Tests (12,773) and one-day cricket (17,168). He has also scored most Test hundreds (42) and one-day hundreds (45).<br/><br/>5 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cricket legend's wife dies while being transported by Air]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_legends_wife_dies_while_being_transported_by_Air</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_legends_wife_dies_while_being_transported_by_Air</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:00:36 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_legends_wife_dies_while_being_transported_by_Air</guid>
<description><![CDATA[&amp;lsquo;A panel of 10 senior doctors of three private hospitals of Lahore were not in favour of taking Huma abroad (Singapore) keeping in view her serious condition,&amp;rsquo; one of her physicians told Dawn on Monday.  The physician said that after going under dental treatment in Karachi in September last, she developed throat infection and also had dry cough.  She got the treatment and in the first week of October it was diagnosed that she had developed acute renal failure and her white cell count was increasing, he said.  According to him, the other complications Huma developed during the period reportedly were severe infections of kidney with acute tubular necrosis, vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels), SIRS and pulmonary hypertension (high pressure of blood vessels of lungs).  &amp;lsquo;She was improving clinically when Wasim Akram decided to shift her to Singapore for better treatment,&amp;rsquo; the physician claimed and added that Akram told one of the doctors that he was under &amp;lsquo;immense pressure&amp;rsquo; from his in-laws to get her treated abroad.  Another doctor who examined Huma told this reporter that there was &amp;lsquo;some confusion&amp;rsquo; in her diagnosis and this could be one of the reasons behind shifting her abroad.   The air ambulance carrying her from Lahore to Singapore had to stop in Chennai when her condition worsened.  Dr Munidar Rao of Apollo Hospital (Chennai) told a private channel on Monday that when Huma was brought to the hospital she was in septic shock leading to multiple organ failure and doctors could not save her.  &amp;lsquo;I failed to understand as to why she was being shifted to Singapore in such a critical condition,&amp;rsquo; he said.  Allama Iqbal Medical College Principal Dr Javed Akram has also questioned the move saying that there was no particular surgery, procedure, or medicine which was available in Singapore and not in Lahore in the case of Ms Huma.<br/><br/>6 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Usain Bolt bowls out Chris Gayle]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Usain_Bolt_bowls_out_Chris_Gayle</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Usain_Bolt_bowls_out_Chris_Gayle</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:44:41 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Usain_Bolt_bowls_out_Chris_Gayle</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>6 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Uganda cricket players go missing in Canada]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Uganda_cricket_players_go_missing_in_Canada</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Uganda_cricket_players_go_missing_in_Canada</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:12:08 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Uganda_cricket_players_go_missing_in_Canada</guid>
<description><![CDATA[KAMPALA &amp;mdash; Seven members of the Uganda Under-19 cricket team have failed to return home after they went missing in Canada where they were taking part in a 2010 World Cup qualifier, an official said here on Wednesday.  The Uganda Cricket Association spokesman Latimer Mukasa said the players left the camp in Toronto on Saturday, two days before their return to Kampala at the completion of the tournament, where Uganda failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in New Zealand.  He said the Canadian police have been alerted to search for the players who left without their travel documents.  &quot;We have been in touch with the Canadian authorities and told them to repatriate the boys back to Uganda once they are found,&quot; Mukasa told AFP.  The missing players include team captain Ahmed Yakub and top scorer Andrew Ochan. Others are Emmanuel Nakaana, Ahmed Sangau, Moses Okwera, Geoffrey Nyero and Michael Abala.  It is not the first time that Ugandan cricketers have gone missing in a foreign country. Two years ago Jimmy Okello and Patrick Ochan stayed behind in Australia after Uganda won the inaugural ICC Division III World Cricket League in Darwin.<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[History and traditions of England  - The Ashes]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=History_and_traditions_of_England__-_The_Ashes</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=History_and_traditions_of_England__-_The_Ashes</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:52:26 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=History_and_traditions_of_England__-_The_Ashes</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Cricket is, perhaps, one of those sports you either understand, or you are mystified by. The Ashes test series is  the biggest event in the English cricket calendar, and one of the most fiercely-contested international cricket events. Even people who don&amp;rsquo;t follow cricket much as a general rule, pay serious attention when the test matches come along, every other year.  The series started from a sarcastic newspaper comment in 1882, when Australia beat England for the first time on English soil, at The Oval, a cricket ground in London, just south of the Thames.  The Sporting Times published an obitary about the death of English cricket, stating that &amp;ldquo;the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia&amp;rdquo;. When the English test team toured Australia in the next-but-one Australian summer, the English papers talked about &amp;ldquo;the quest to regain The Ashes&amp;rdquo;.  Taking the joke to extreme lengths, some Australian women presented the then-English cricket captain with an urn, containing ashes, variously said to be the ashes of wickets, bats, or bails. The captain&amp;rsquo;s widow later gave the urn and ashes to the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord&amp;rsquo;s test cricket ground, where it remains to this day.  Since 1882, the English and Australian cricket teams have played each other on their home ground every other year, taking it in terms to host the series of test matches. Thus it was last held in England in the summer of 2005, and again this summer, 2009.There are currently ten test match teams. They are England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe (suspended for political reasons), Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies.  Kenya is a future test country, and has been so since 2003. It has yet to become one, though.  A test match lasts for a maximum of 5 days, and it&amp;rsquo;s quite possible, after that time, to have a draw.  If one side wins, it can finish earlier. For example, the concluding and decisive test in the<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistan blind cricketers denied UK visa]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_blind_cricketers_denied_UK_visa</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_blind_cricketers_denied_UK_visa</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:17:33 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_blind_cricketers_denied_UK_visa</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Earlier this week it was members of a pipe band from Pakistan that were denied visas to travel to Britain, now it is the country's blind cricket team.  Pakistan's blind cricketers are the reigning world champions. The squad members have just finished attending a nine-day training camp, ahead of what was supposed to be a four-match UK tour (on the invitation of Blind Cricket England and Wales).  But the team's visa applications have been rejected.  The UK Border Agency says it did not have sufficient evidence to be convinced the players would return to Pakistan once the tour was over.  'Hurt and insulted'  Sitting in his Islamabad home, beside a table packed with sporting trophies, is the chairman of the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council, and former blind cricket captain Syed Sultan Shah. He says he is stunned by the decision: &quot;We provided letters from our council, and from the Pakistan Cricket Board, who confirmed they would cover all costs,&quot; he says.  &quot;The English Cricket Board supplied our names and passport numbers. The Pakistan ministry of sport gave us official leave to travel. We all signed affidavits to say we would return, and if we did not, our families would be penalised. What more could we do?  &quot;When we toured the UK in 2002 and 2006, nobody stayed behind. We just want to play cricket.&quot;  Mr Shah says the players had all taken leave from work, and that hundreds of thousands of rupees (thousands of pounds) had been spent on the training camp, new kit and on the visa applications themselves.  &quot;But it's not the money. It feels like we are being denied our rights. We are all very hurt, very disturbed and feel very insulted by this,&quot; he says. The UK Border Agency insists its ruling is justified.  &quot;We will make no apology for maintaining tough border controls created to prevent abuse of the immigration system,&quot; it states.  &quot;If applications do not contain the necessary evidence and we are not satisfied individuals will return at the end of their visit their visa<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Making a pitch for cricket]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Making_a_pitch_for_cricket</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Making_a_pitch_for_cricket</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:27:43 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>balplaya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Making_a_pitch_for_cricket</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A first-of-its kind program to teach cricket skills to children in Toronto's city-run day camps will be announced Tuesday as Mayor David Miller hosts breakfast for a group of young players leaving on an all-expenses paid trip to the United Kingdom.  But with a junior world cup event bearing down in 2012, too few fields and no indoor facilities, the city needs to do much more to foster the growing sport, critics say.  The day-camp program, called Operation Cricket 2009, will begin within a week at eight sites and aims, in part, to get more girls involved in the male-dominated sport.  Four instructors have been hired, including one young player who was chosen last year for the city's inaugural Cricket Across the Pond program, which sends 14 teenagers to Britain for a week of training and matches.  The trip is organized by Toronto's parks department and paid for by corporate sponsors, including the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Two players are sent by private schools.  This year's team, officially known as the CIMA Toronto Mayor's Team XI, will be feted today by Mayor David Miller at a breakfast sendoff. The players were chosen from more than 100 applicants.  Among them is all-rounder Malin Adikari, 19, a Sri Lankan immigrant who spent five years in Canada before realizing his beloved cricket was played here, albeit with less fanfare than hockey.  &amp;ldquo;I had no idea that the sport existed here. It was a shock for me to find out,&amp;rdquo; he said.<br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[10 Reasons why Football is better than Cricket]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=10_Reasons_why_Football_is_better_than_Cricket</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=10_Reasons_why_Football_is_better_than_Cricket</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:50:27 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=10_Reasons_why_Football_is_better_than_Cricket</guid>
<description><![CDATA[You might not know it as you zip up your coat to brave the rain and the wind, but summer is here in England. And that means one thing. Cricket. The Ashes are in full (reverse) swing at the moment, and the feelgood factor is pretty high following England&amp;rsquo;s triumph at Lords.  I have to admit it, I like cricket, I enjoy playing it and watching it. But there is still that nagging feeling that the only reason I really enjoy it is because of the void left by another sport. Namely football.  Would I be as enthused by Paul Collingwood scratching around for a fifty if there was a World Cup on? Would Graeme Swann&amp;rsquo;s doosra really get the blood pumping if Messi, Kak&amp;aacute; &amp;amp; Torres were going head to head? I doubt it. It might upset the MCC, but here goes. Football is better than cricket. And here&amp;rsquo;s why:<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cricketer fighting for his life after getting struck by lightning in Brooklyn NY]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricketer_fighting_for_his_life_after_getting_struck_by_lightning_in_Brooklyn_NY</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricketer_fighting_for_his_life_after_getting_struck_by_lightning_in_Brooklyn_NY</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:05:32 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricketer_fighting_for_his_life_after_getting_struck_by_lightning_in_Brooklyn_NY</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Brooklyn (New York, US), July 27 (ANI): A cricket player was battling for his life Sunday night after being struck by lightning while racing off the field to escape a sudden thunderstorm in Brooklyn.  According to the New York Daily News, Patrick Gibson, 41, was barely breathing and his legs were badly burned after the Marine Park lightning strike.  &quot;His pants were burned. His tongue was out of his mouth and his eyes were rolled back in his head,&quot; the paper quoted Kenneth Charles, 38, as saying.  Gibson was playing in his first game for the Brooklyn-based Stars United team when the wild weather chased players off the field at Avenue S and E. 32nd St. just after 4 p.m.  Friends said Gibson lagged behind the group to collect equipment when he was hit.  Joseph Shortte, 49, of Brooklyn said he performed CPR on Gibson until paramedics arrived.  Gibson went into cardiac arrest as he was being rushed to Beth Israel Medical Center in Brooklyn, Fire Department officials said.  He was in critical condition last night. (ANI)<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Howzat! The best insults in cricket]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Howzat_The_best_insults_in_cricket</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Howzat_The_best_insults_in_cricket</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:18:13 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Howzat_The_best_insults_in_cricket</guid>
<description><![CDATA[For years, it&amp;rsquo;s been part of the armoury of any self-respecting cricketing side, and the Australians have always been world-beaters at it. Sledging - the mocking insults swapped between players out at the wicket - has long been part of the battle and whatever the two captains say ahead of the forthcoming Ashes series, so it will be again this summer.<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[England dismissed for 425 but fight back strongly]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_dismissed_for_425_but_fight_back_strongly</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_dismissed_for_425_but_fight_back_strongly</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:50:58 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>tooutlawz</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_dismissed_for_425_but_fight_back_strongly</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The initiative seized by Australia in the first hour was wrested back by England before the lunch break on a morning of intrigue and drama at Lord's. Australia accounted for England's final four wickets in quick time, but soon found themselves firmly on the back foot after Phillip Hughes and, controversially, Ricky Ponting were sent back to the pavilion with just ten runs on the board.  Ponting was decidedly unamused to have been ruled out to a James Anderson delivery he missed by a considerable margin. Playing across a sharp, slanting offering, Ponting struck the instep of his shoe as the ball threaded the gap between bat and pad and lobbed to Andrew Strauss at first slip. Rudi Koertzen, officiating in his 100th Test, asked the third umpire, Nigel Llong, whether the ball had carried to Strauss, and subsequently ruled him out for two. A sizeable dollop of luck had gone the way of the English.  Ponting's dismissal followed that of Phillip Hughes, who gloved an Anderson delivery to Matt Prior down the leg side. Hughes, whose run-scoring exploits for Middlesex prompted many to predict a profitable Ashes campaign, has yet to make his mark in the series, and will be most disappointed to have lost his wicket to a relatively unthreatening delivery.  Simon Katich and Michael Hussey safely negotiated the final five overs to lunch before a capacity Lord's crowd that included the Queen. Both teams were presented before Her Majesty during the lunch break. If England were short on motivation entering the second session, they presumably won't be now.  Earlier, Ben Hilfenhaus led a resounding Australian fightback in the first hour of play, seizing two quick wickets as England's first innings was closed out for a solid, though hardly impregnable, 425. Hilfenhaus claimed the vital scalp of Andrew Strauss with his second ball of the morning, then followed with that of Stuart Broad, as the hosts lost their final four wickets for 61 before the first drinks break.  The events of Fri<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[England pull off great escape]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_pull_off_great_escape</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_pull_off_great_escape</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:30:34 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>tooutlawz</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_pull_off_great_escape</guid>
<description><![CDATA[James Anderson and Monty Panesar produced the most important innings of their lives as England's final pair survived 11.3 overs to pull off a thrilling escape at Cardiff. When Paul Collingwood fell for a monumental 245-ball 74 England still trailed by six, but once Australia had to bat again, valuable time was taken out of the game leaving Andrew Strauss and a packed Cardiff nervously clock-watching. The Australians threw everything into the final hour in an electric atmosphere with the crowd cheering the two unlikely batting heroes as though the Ashes had been won.  A vital moment came when Anderson collected consecutive boundaries off Peter Siddle to finally erase the deficit. It meant that two further overs would be lost from the remaining allocation, but there was yet another twist. Australia had bowled their overs quickly during the final hour, which meant it came down to a clock-watch situation for the batsmen. The crucial mark was 6.40pm: at that point it meant there was no time for Australia to start a run chase.  The closing overs were in the hands of Nathan Hauritz - who rose above all the pre-match concern over his quality to claim three final-day wickets and six in the match - and Marcus North. Anderson, outwardly calm while inside he must have been churning, blocked confidently but also picked up vital runs to just edge the lead ahead further. Meanwhile, Panesar, the most unlikely of batting saviours, watched the ball like a hawk. Having left expertly against the quicks he played with soft hands against the spinners, and one of the biggest cheers of the day came when he square cut North for a boundary.  However, while Anderson and Panesar were there at the end to soak up the acclaim the escape wouldn't have been possible without one of Collingwood's most determined innings for his country. He came in early after Kevin Pietersen lost his off stump, shouldering arms to Ben Hilfenhaus, and soon faced an England card that read 70 for 5. He found vital s<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[As American asa4Cricket]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=As_American_ashellipCricket</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=As_American_ashellipCricket</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:24:50 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>balplaya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=As_American_ashellipCricket</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I cannot remember the first time I heard an American say &amp;ldquo;cricket is so boring: it lasts for days and still ends in a draw.&amp;rdquo; Let&amp;rsquo;s just say it was not this decade or the one before that. I am not going to try and explain cricket&amp;mdash;the rules are too complex for a short article. Or to persuade you that cricket is a great game&amp;mdash;hundreds of millions of Indians, Pakistanis, South Africans, Zimbabweans, Sri Lankans, Australians, New Zealanders, Bangladeshis, West Indians, Kenyans, Dutch, Welsh, Scots, and English, like me, know it is. It is fair to say if you do not like baseball, then you will not like cricket. But if you do, read on a little longer. There are many similarities between baseball and cricket. They are duels of batter (batsman) and pitcher (bowler). They showcase highly individualized, skillful players striving for a collective goal. They are slow, staccato games with plenty of pauses for the audience (and indeed players) to consider what could happen next. Both can move from the seemingly pedestrian to vibrant excitement in less than a second.They are sports with tremendous history and fabulous rivalries. While there is no love lost between Red Sox Nation and Yankees fans, India and Pakistan almost went to war over cricket (and who knows, they still might). Both sports boast legendary players who elevated the game to new heights. Born at roughly the same time as Babe Ruth, Australian great Don Bradman dominated cricket for nearly 20 years. When Bradman told Ruth that a batter did not have to run on contact in cricket the Babe barked &amp;ldquo;Just too easy!&amp;rdquo; Yet Babe Ruth eventually became fascinated by cricket. Good sports can be enjoyed at many levels. The casual observer enjoys soaking up the atmosphere and beer; the serious fans obsess over the minutiae. Both sports are adored and enriched by lovers and users of data. When Bradman, by then Sir Donald, died in February 2001, the New York Times estimated that were he to <br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Umpire dies in cricket accident - Gets hit on head with ball]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Umpire_dies_in_cricket_accident_-_Gets_hit_on_head_with_ball</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Umpire_dies_in_cricket_accident_-_Gets_hit_on_head_with_ball</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:35:17 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Umpire_dies_in_cricket_accident_-_Gets_hit_on_head_with_ball</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Alcwyn Jenkins, 72, was umpiring a league match between Swansea and Llangennech at the St Helen's ground in Swansea on Saturday. The widower, from Skewen near Neath, was struck on the head by a ball thrown by a fielder and was airlifted to hospital but failed to recover. Neil Hobbs, honorary chairman of the South Wales Cricket Association, said it was a tragic accident. &quot;I've umpired with Alcwyn - great guy. He was well respected throughout the league and everybody knew Alcwyn,&quot; said Mr Hobbs. &quot;He's umpired for the best part of 25 years. He also does junior league matches.&quot;Everybody probably in south Wales knows Alcwyn through cricket. It's a very very sad day and I feel sorry for his children.&quot; The match, which was abandoned, was a league game in division one of the South Wales Cricket Association. A message on the association's website says: &quot;We are shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic accidental death of umpire Alcwyn Jenkins from an injury sustained on the field of play at St Helen's today. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.&quot; Mr Hobbs, who was not at the game, said he was told that Mr Jenkins collapsed after being hit by the ball. &quot;I'm led to believe it was one of the most freak accidents you could ever imagine on the cricket field,&quot; he said. &quot;The fielder collected the ball in the outfield and threw it in at the stumps and it hit Alcwyn on the head.&quot; He said efforts were made to resuscitate Mr Jenkins before he was taken to hospital by air ambulance. Eric Lewis, honorary treasurer of Llangennech Cricket Club and a member of the league management committee, said: &quot;We were the fielding side and from what I understand they had been off for rain. &quot;They had only just gone back two or three minutes. Somebody had hit the ball and one of our boys threw it in as you do and Alcwyn was just in line and it hit him on the side of the head.&quot; Mr Lewis, who was not at the game, said Mr Jenkins was a very popular umpire and his death was a &quot;big, big tra<br/><br/>5 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistan Win the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 final]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Win_the_2009_ICC_World_Twenty20_final-1</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Win_the_2009_ICC_World_Twenty20_final-1</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:04:46 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Win_the_2009_ICC_World_Twenty20_final-1</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It wasn't the edge-of-the-seat final that would have signed off the ICC World Twenty20 in style, but that won't matter to Pakistan who gave their nation a something to savour amid troubled times. From the moment Tillakaratne Dilshan, the tournament's top-scorer, fell in the opening over Pakistan had a grip on the match. Shahid Afridi, who emerged as their trump card, guided his team home in the 19th over with an unbeaten 54, and it was left to Younis Khan to raise the trophy in what he later announced would be his final Twenty20 international, in front of a sea of delirious Pakistan supporters. Pakistan won't be playing at home for the foreseeable future, but the following they have had at this event has reinforced the notion that England can be a surrogate home. The masses were cheering from early on as Abdul Razzaq - a great individual comeback-story among the team's resurgence - claimed three key wickets in his opening burst to leave Sri Lanka on 32 for 4. They never looked back despite the best efforts of Kumar Sangakkara. Occasionally the tension rose as the required rate climbed, but each time Afridi was on hand with one of his most mature innings. He hit consecutive balls from Muttiah Muralitharan for six and four in the 14th over, a calculated assault against a key bowler. The destination of the trophy was sealed when he swung a huge six over midwicket off Isuru Udana in the 18th over - the moment when Sangakkara gambled on one of his weaker bowling links - and followed that with another boundary off a high full toss. Shoaib Malik played his part with 24 off 22 balls in a match-winning stand of 76 after Kamran Akmal had given early impetus to the top-order. The batsmen knew they didn't have to take many risks and played Ajantha Mendis better than any other team as he went for his most expensive spell of the tournament. Pakistan's rise from rank outsiders to champions is an extraordinary display for a team that had to beat Netherlands by a significant mar<br/><br/>6 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistan Reaches T20 Finals]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Reaches_T20_Finals</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Reaches_T20_Finals</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:47:27 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Reaches_T20_Finals</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The South African juggernaut was brought to a screeching halt by Shahid Afridi who, with a little help from his team-mates, dumped the tournament favourites out of the World Twenty20 and secured Pakistan's place in the final. Afridi put in an all-round performance of tremendous intensity, lifting Pakistan to a defendable total with an aggressive yet methodical half-century, before bowling a spell that left the South Africans struggling at Trent Bridge. The clinical South African side, unbeaten in the competition, were favourites going in to the semi-final and their bowlers fought admirably to restrict Pakistan to 149 when, at one stage a total of 170 seemed on the cards. With the exception of Jacques Kallis, though, their batsmen failed to give the chase any sort of direction. They were suffocated by Afridi and the offspinner Saeed Ajmal and their inability to score enough runs during the middle overs left them with too much to do against the pinpoint accuracy of Umar Gul's yorkers. South Africa had reached 40 for 0 in the sixth over when Mohammad Aamer gave Pakistan an opening, holding a skier of Graeme Smith off his own bowling, minutes after the South African captain had been dropped by Gul. Afridi, high on confidence after his innings, came into the attack in the seventh over but was immediately driven by Herschelle Gibbs to the cover boundary. That was as bad as his evening would get. He bounced back, bowling Herschelle Gibbs with a straight and quick delivery and, an over later, he got AB de Villiers the same way. South Africa were 50 for 3 and struggling. Kallis and JP Duminy prevented the fall of any more wickets but they were unable to raise the run-rate. Afridi got the ball to turn, bounce and hurry on the batsmen and finished with 2 for 16 while Saeed Ajmal, the offspinner, was also difficult to score off because of his variations. The situation was perfect for Umar Gul to do what he does best, hit the blockhole. After an indifferent first over from t<br/><br/>6 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Indian Cricket temple called off after England loss]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Indian_Cricket_temple_called_off_after_England_loss</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Indian_Cricket_temple_called_off_after_England_loss</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:32:08 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>balplaya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Indian_Cricket_temple_called_off_after_England_loss</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Shamed Indian cricket fans building a temple dedicated to team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni have called off works after England knocked them out of the 20:20 World Cup.   A white marble statue of the sports star was to be the centrepiece of the temple after work started last month in his home town of Ranchi, eastern India. Relief carvings of the player in action were due to look down on disciples as they pay homage to his success in restoring the country's cricketing reputation. &quot;Dhoni and his boys have messed up the show now so the temple will have to wait. He cannot be called the God of Indian cricket if he can't lead us to glory,&quot; explained Jitendra Singh, president of Dhoni's fan club. &quot;Some of the decisions Dhoni took were indeed baffling and it really cost us the match. We cannot worship him now,&quot; said another fan. The temple was to be completed by the end of this year at a cost of 3,000 GBP. Just weeks ago Singh had gushed about his cricket hero. &quot;Dhoni is God to cricket and we have decided to construct a temple. He will be worshipped like other gods are worshipped in temples,&quot; he said at the time. But Dhoni had doubts about being worshipped by his disciples. &quot;I love my fans but this is actually a little over the top,&quot; he said.<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[A day of missed chances for Pakistan]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=A_day_of_missed_chances_for_Pakistan</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=A_day_of_missed_chances_for_Pakistan</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:19:01 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=A_day_of_missed_chances_for_Pakistan</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It seems like Pakistan have made a habit of squandering every possible opportunity of winning a game without doubt. Yesterday was no different with the mercurial team dropping at least 4 catches &amp;amp; numerous occasions of sloppy fielding galore. It started out brilliantly for them with Mohammad Aamer getting rid of the dangerous Ravi Bopara with his second ball but after that it was England all the way. It was a do or die encounter for the Poms but the emphatic win ensures their route to the super eights. It also can be said of Pakistan that they are almost out of the tournament unless they thrash Netherlands on Tuesday. It was a day when England were far superior than their opponents in all three forms of the game be it bowling, batting or fielding not to mention catching of course. Kevin Pieterson was at his belligerent best &amp;amp; Pakistan were left shell shocked at the end of the day when one of the tournament favourites, at least for the Pakistani veterans, are heading towards an early exit.The day started of with a packed house &amp;amp; it was expected to be a tight contest but ended up as a comprehensive victory for the hosts as Pakistan was never really into the chase after Kamran Akmal &amp;amp; Salman Butt perished in quick succession. But leaving it all in the end for sloggers like Afridi &amp;amp; Misbah was equally baffling as a promotion for them in the batting order was not only necessary but also the need of the hour since spin was introduced at both ends pretty early into the innings. That was the final nail in the coffin for Pakistan as Adil Rashid with his exuberance of youth &amp;amp; Wiley leg breaks coupled with Graeme Swann&amp;rsquo;s tight off spin returned figures of none for 24 &amp;amp; 1 for 27 respectively in their quota of 4 over&amp;rsquo;s each. England on the other hand were much better in shaping their innings after losing Bopara in the second over of the match with Luke Wright stroking a blistering 34 from 16 balls &amp;amp; Owais Shah&amp;rsquo;s effective 34 <br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[School Boy is floored by Kevin Pietersen shot]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=School_Boy_is_floored_by_Kevin_Pietersen_shot</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=School_Boy_is_floored_by_Kevin_Pietersen_shot</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:12:24 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>balplaya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=School_Boy_is_floored_by_Kevin_Pietersen_shot</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A teenage cricketer is recovering after being floored by a drive from England batsman Kevin Pietersen during a practice session in Leicestershire. Schoolboy Reece Topley, 15, who attends the Royal Hospital School in Holbrook, Suffolk, was hit on the ear and knocked to the ground by Pietersen's shot. The youngster had been bowling at Pietersen when the England cricketer hit a drive straight back at him. Reece needed stitches. Pietersen left a signed bat for him. 'Bit of pain' Reece, an emerging talent, had been invited to bowl at the England batsmen at Loughborough University, as part of the team's preparations for the ICC World Twenty20 competition. The teenager's father, Don, 45, a former Essex cricketer, said: &quot;Certainly there was a bit of pain and a bit of shock but it could've been a lot worse.&quot; Mr Topley said his son, who had a &quot;few&quot; stitches inserted into his wound on Monday night, remained at the Leicester Royal Infirmary Hospital and was undergoing tests. He said: &quot;In a light-hearted moment last night in the hospital, I did suggest to Reece that he might have dropped a catch - to which he replied: 'I think I stopped it going for six.&quot; He added that Pietersen had been concerned about the injury and had left a signed bat for Reece to collect at the university. &quot;Kevin Pietersen has always been Reece's favourite cricketer, I'm sure that will remain the case if Reece gets this bat.&quot;<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Deccan beat Bangalore to win IPL]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Deccan_beat_Bangalore_to_win_IPL</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Deccan_beat_Bangalore_to_win_IPL</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 May 2009 08:09:21 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Deccan_beat_Bangalore_to_win_IPL</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Deccan Chargers beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs in Johannesburg in the final of the second season of the Indian Premier League. Having lost captain Adam Gilchrist for a third-ball duck, Herschelle Gibbs (53 not out) and Andrew Symonds (33 from 21 balls) helped Deccan post 143-6. And despite Roelof van der Merwe's 32, Symonds took 2-18 and a late collapse left Bangalore six runs short. The tournament was staged in South Africa because of security concerns. It clashed with the recent Indian general election and with the government unable to provide security assurances, South Africa pipped England to act as replacement hosts.The 2009 tournament was the first to involve centrally contracted England players, and batsman Kevin Pietersen captained Bangalore for six games in the early stages before returning to England for their Test and one-day series against West Indies. Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff were the most expensive players at the second season's auction in February, each earning $1.5m on a pro-rata basis, but Flintoff managed only three games for Chennai before getting injured. Meanwhile, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and key players Michael Hussey and Mitchell Johnson opted out of the competition, preferring instead to concentrate on the build-up to this summer's Ashes Test series in England.One innovation for the 2009 competition was a compulsory &quot;tactical time out&quot; halfway through each innings, lasting seven-and-a-half minutes but it was seen by some as hampering the game in order to provide broadcasters with more time to show commercials - and attracted criticism from India stars Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh.The tournament saw last year's winners, Rajashtan Royals, failed to reach the semi-finals and 19-year-old Manish Pandey become the first Indian to hit an IPL century when he made 117 for Bangalore against Deccan in a round-robin match. But he could not repeat that in the final, scoring only four before being caught behind off P<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[World's highest cricket match ... on Everest]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Worlds_highest_cricket_match_---_on_Everest</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Worlds_highest_cricket_match_---_on_Everest</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:28:13 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>arabiya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Worlds_highest_cricket_match_---_on_Everest</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Two teams of British cricketers this morning took part in the world's highest match ... on the side of Mount Everest. 50 cricket-mad explorers spent nine days trekking through the Himalayas to Everest Base Camp at a plateau of 5,165m. Once on the frozen lakebed they got out their cricket gear and were very happy not to hear the sentence &quot;Ball? I thought you were bringing the ball&quot; They played a full match setting a new world record for the highest altitude ever recorded for a field sport ... not that it is an overly contested title.The lawyers, medics and city workers were split into the two opposing sides, &amp;lsquo;Team Hillary&amp;rsquo; captained by Glen Lowis and &amp;lsquo;Team Tenzing&amp;rsquo; captained by Hayden Main. It was a highly contested game, with team Hillary beating team Tenzing by 36 runs with six balls remaining ... and with that sentence we just confused all American readers. More than &amp;pound;250,000 was raised for the charities The Himalayan Trust UK and The Lord&amp;rsquo;s Taverners during the event.<br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistan loses cricket World Cup]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_loses_cricket_World_Cup</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_loses_cricket_World_Cup</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:50:44 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_loses_cricket_World_Cup</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The International Cricket Council has decided to shift the 2011 World Cup from Pakistan due to &quot;uncertainty in security situation.&quot; &quot;It is a regrettable decision given the passion the people of Pakistan have for cricket,&quot; ICC president David Morgan said in a statement. &quot;But our number one priority is to create certainty and allow us to press on with the work necessary to deliver a safe, secure and successful event. &quot;There was a huge question mark over Pakistan&amp;rsquo;s ability to do that.&quot; The decision comes after a terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore on March 3, during the Test series. At least seven Pakistanis were killed and six Sri Lanka players injured in the attack. The ICC Board discussed a report on the attack and its fall-out on the cricketing world. The event will now be hosted in three countries: Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. Pakistan was to host 14 matches of the World Cup. The tournament secretariat will move from Pakistan to a location to be determined by the tournament&amp;rsquo;s Central Organizing Committee. International teams have stayed away from Pakistan for the last year. Last year&amp;rsquo;s Champions Trophy was postponed after top teams refused to tour the country due to security concerns. &quot;That was something we saw all too clearly with the delay over the decision of whether or not Pakistan could host the ICC Champions Trophy last year,&quot; Morgan said. &quot;The event ended up being postponed, and we cannot afford a repeat of that uncertainty or any form of postponement for this event. We hope we can put a great deal of any uncertainty to one side and prepare for the cricket&amp;rsquo;s biggest and most high profile event.&quot; The board said it would not be appropriate for international cricket to take place in Pakistan in the immediate future. However, it was agreed that Pakistan should maintain a full program of matches for its senior and A teams and that member nations would give all possible help. The board has also asked Lord Condon, the c<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Indian Premier Cricket League Imports Cheerleaders from the States]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Indian_Premier_Cricket_League_Imports_Cheerleaders_from_the_States</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Indian_Premier_Cricket_League_Imports_Cheerleaders_from_the_States</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:55:18 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wolverine</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Indian_Premier_Cricket_League_Imports_Cheerleaders_from_the_States</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Of all the things that America has to offer the India sub-continent, this is one that definitely would not have come to mind.There are some 1.2 billion people in India. Read more must know facts about India + Map. And at least somewhere near half of those 1.2 billion people are female, right? Not that cheerleaders are limited to the fairer sex. So, why does India need to import cheerleaders from overseas? And, for goodness sakes, what are the cheerleaders going to say in their cheers? &quot;Rah, rah, wicket. We are in the thicket!&quot; &quot;Over! Over! Bowl 'em over!&quot; And, isn't cricket entertainment? The IPL teams are owned by Bollywood stars. Do we need entertainers to call attention to the entertaiment? For what its worth, the Delhi Daredevils have refused to use cheerleaders to spice up its sidelines, because of the 'skimpy outfits.' And, the Daredevils are favored to win IPL2. Here's the 2009 IPL schedule. In I Kings 1, we read of Solomon taking the throne. The whole city cheered with a resounding noise. I may be wrong but I don't think they did it with pom poms. Palm palm branches maybe. But, not in mini skirts and halter tops. And, when Jesus told His apostles to &quot;be of good cheer...&quot; in John 16:33, he definitely did not have these girls in mind.<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Canada moves one step closer to booking ticket to 2011 Cricket World Cup]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Canada_moves_one_step_closer_to_booking_ticket_to_2011_Cricket_World_Cup</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Canada_moves_one_step_closer_to_booking_ticket_to_2011_Cricket_World_Cup</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:22:23 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Canada_moves_one_step_closer_to_booking_ticket_to_2011_Cricket_World_Cup</guid>
<description><![CDATA[PRETORIA, South Africa &amp;mdash; Canada is one win away from the 2011 Cricket World Cup after securing two valuable points in a six-innings victory over Afghanistan on Monday at the ICC World Cup Qualifying tournament. The win - which came with just nine balls remaining - left Canada atop the Super Eight standings, ahead of Ireland on run rate although both have eight points. Kenya and the Netherlands are next with six points, followed by Scotland and United Arab Emirates at four points and Afghanistan and Namibia with two. Each country has two games left, with the top four qualifying for the World Cup. One more win moves the Canadians to 10 points, assuring them of a top-four finish. Canada, whose record improved to 6-1 at the tournament, plays UAE on Wednesday and the Netherlands on Friday. &quot;We're in an excellent position,&quot; manager Mike Henry said. &quot;There's no stopping us now.&quot; Ian Billcliff scored 96 not out and captain Ashish Bagai added 68 runs, combining for a 148-run partnership, to pace the Canadian batting attack. Canada went from 96 for three to 244 for four under the stewardship of Billcliff and Bagai, who methodically moved towards the Afghan target total. Canada won the toss and sent the Afghans in to bat at L.C. de Villiers Oval, a decision that seemed to backfire when Noor Ali made 122. The Afghan opener was eventually run out with 233 runs on the board. Afghanistan made 265 for eight in its 50 overs. &quot;We allowed them to make about 25, 30 runs too many,&quot; Henry said. &quot;The guys are a little tired after two weeks of cricket and they were practising and training in Sri Lanka for another three, four weeks (before that). But we have to play regardless of that. &quot;A little misfielding and a couple of dropped catches, but we know we have the batting to back up whatever score the opposition might get. So we weren't in any panic or scared in any way.&quot; Geoff Barnett (19) and Rizwan Cheema (46) combined for 67 before the first Canadian wicket fell. Billcliff, wit<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar back in Pakistan one-day cricket team]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pace_bowler_Shoaib_Akhtar_back_in_Pakistan_one-day_cricket_team</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pace_bowler_Shoaib_Akhtar_back_in_Pakistan_one-day_cricket_team</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:15:54 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pace_bowler_Shoaib_Akhtar_back_in_Pakistan_one-day_cricket_team</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ISLAMABAD, &amp;mdash; Pakistan cricket selectors have recalled fit-again fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for the five one-day internationals and a twenty20 game against Australia in the United Arab Emirates later this month. &quot;Akhtar is super fit,&quot; chief selector Abdul Qadir told reporters Monday while announcing a 15-member squad. Akhtar, 33, has played just two one-day internationals in 16 months due to disciplinary and fitness problems. Nicknamed the Rawalpindi Express, Akhtar underwent a strenuous three-day fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore last week and impressed selectors with his pace. &quot;The doctor and physio told us that his fitness level has increased which is a good sign for Pakistan,&quot; Qadir said. &quot;He also bowled four overs in the nets last Friday in front of the selectors and one of his deliveries was recorded at 149 km/h.&quot; In January, Akhtar made an unimpressive return to international cricket after 14 months out and he was subsequently dropped after taking just one wicket for 88 runs in two limited-overs games against Sri Lanka at home. He failed to complete his full quota of 10 overs in either of the games. He was later ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka due to a knee injury. Akhtar was also part of the Pakistan team which defeated the West Indies 3-0 in a one-day series in Abu Dhabi last year, but was injured during a practice session ahead of the first match. Akhtar's fitness was tested by Pakistan team doctor Sohail Salim and trainer David Dwyer. &quot;A fit Shoaib Akhtar is an asset for Pakistan,&quot; Qadir said. Beside Akhtar, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Sohail Tanvir and Yasir Arafat are the other four pace bowlers named in the squad. The five-match one-day series begins in Dubai on Apr. 22. It will be Pakistan's first one-day international against the world champion in more than four years. Both teams last met in a triangular series - also featuring the West Indies - in Australia in Feb. 2005 when the world champion recorded a 31-ru<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Afghanistan on verge of cricket's big-time, looks to make World Cup]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Afghanistan_on_verge_of_crickets_big-time_looks_to_make_World_Cup</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Afghanistan_on_verge_of_crickets_big-time_looks_to_make_World_Cup</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:51:34 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Afghanistan_on_verge_of_crickets_big-time_looks_to_make_World_Cup</guid>
<description><![CDATA[BENONI, South Africa &amp;mdash; Afghanistan batsman Rais Ahmadzai was born, raised and learned to play cricket in a refugee camp in the Pakistani border town of Peshawar. &quot;We didn't know our country (then),&quot; Ahmadzai said in an interview. &quot;We felt that Peshawar was our country.&quot; Now he is playing for Afghanistan's national team. And if most in his homeland might find soccer more lively and wrestling more traditional, they're happy to embrace their winning cricket team. A series of surprising victories in qualifying tournaments around the world has carried Ahmadzai and his teammates to the brink of cricket's big-time. After just eight years of international competition, Afghanistan is among 12 teams playing in South Africa for a place in the 2011 World Cup. The qualifying tournament will be played in South Africa from Wednesday until April 19. &quot;This 2 1/2 weeks is very important,&quot; Afghanistan bowler Hasti Gul said. &quot;We are standing at the door of international cricket,&quot; he added. When Ahmadzai first went to Afghanistan in 2002, he remembers feeling a mixture of freedom at finally leaving the cramped camp in Peshawar, and horror at the evidence of war all around - bombed out buildings, maimed men. Travelling the world playing cricket, Ahmadzai said he has met people who know nothing about his homeland beyond the headlines about bombings, drugs or the Taliban. The Afghan players represent another Afghanistan, one that wants to and can be part of the international community. Ahmadzai and his teammates have loped across grassy fields in Europe, Africa and Latin America, playing the elegant game that originated in England and has been embraced around the world. &quot;We will give a good name, through cricket, to our country,&quot; Ahmadzai said. After they captured the World Cricket League Division Four trophy in Tanzania last October, their government rewarded the players with a pilgrimage to Mecca. When the team won the World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Argentina<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Canadian cricket team begins quest for World Cup berth]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Canadian_cricket_team_begins_quest_for_World_Cup_berth</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Canadian_cricket_team_begins_quest_for_World_Cup_berth</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:51:34 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Canadian_cricket_team_begins_quest_for_World_Cup_berth</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Canadian hopes are high on the eve of qualifying for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. While Canada&amp;rsquo;s national cricket team has been building steam for the past several years, the expectations have never been higher as the road to 2011 begins. &amp;ldquo;Our chances are excellent because we have the finest team we have ever assembled,&amp;rdquo; said Cricket Canada president Ben Sennik. &amp;ldquo;We are many many notches up compared to previous (Canadian) teams.&amp;rdquo; Canada kicks off the 19-day International Cricket Council World Cup qualifying tournament in South Africa on Wednesday against Oman. Sennik is confident the team will qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive time. The 2011 World Cup is scheduled to be hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. &amp;ldquo;The boys are determined and confident and want to qualify,&amp;rdquo; Sennik said. &amp;ldquo;We will show everyone we are an upcoming power to be reckon with.&amp;rdquo; Canada will first need to finish within the top four in round-robin play in Pool A. The top four teams in Pools A and B will then advance to the super eight, with the top four teams in the super eight qualifying for the World Cup. Canada will share Pool A with defending tournament champion Ireland, Scotland, Oman, Namibia and Uganda. Captain Ashish Bagai and world-renown batsman John Davison, who reached 50 runs in 23 balls in 2007, the third-fastest 50 in World Cup history, will be heavily counted on in Canada&amp;rsquo;s quest for a berth in the 2011 showdown. The team has spent the past five weeks training in Sri Lanka, the first time the Canadians have played together before the qualifiers. &amp;ldquo;We are an absolutely different team altogether now under the finest coaches and after Sri Lanka,&amp;rdquo; said Sennik. &amp;ldquo;We will better our last appearance in the World Cup.&amp;rdquo; Canada finished 14th overall in 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.<br/><br/>5 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[IPL will be staged outside India]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=IPL_will_be_staged_outside_India</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=IPL_will_be_staged_outside_India</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:53:29 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wolverine</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=IPL_will_be_staged_outside_India</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Next month's Indian Premier League will be held outside the country after organisers failed to secure government approval for the matches to go ahead. The tournament clashes with the upcoming Indian general election, prompting fears over security. England and South Africa have both confirmed they have been approached by the IPL about hosting the event. Fears over safety were heightened after recent attacks on Sri Lanka's players in the Pakistan city of Lahore. IPL organisers have blamed the government for being unable to provide security for the showpiece tournament. &quot;Due to the attitude of the government that it cannot provide security for the tournament, we are forced to take a decision to move the IPL out of India,&quot; said the country's cricket chief Shashank Manohar. &quot;A final decision on the venue will be announced in two to three days.&quot; The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has released a statement confirming it has been asked by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to examine the feasibility of hosting the 2009 tournament. &quot;Officials from both Boards have held exploratory discussions to relocate the tournament to England and Wales,&quot; read the statement. &quot;Further meetings will be held during the forthcoming week.&quot; ECB chairman Giles Clarke had earlier said that England &quot;stand ready to help&quot; if the IPL asked for assistance. &quot;We've got a close and friendly relationship with the BCCI and if they need any help on matters we'll be delighted to help if we can,&quot; Clarke told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme. And Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe said he was confident England could host the event if required. &quot;I'm sure it would be possible (to stage the IPL in England),&quot; he told the BBC. &quot;We have picked up lots of experience recently of hosting world-class events and the ECB can do that.&quot; There are logistical complications arising from the tournament being held in the UK as England play three Tests and five one-day internationals against the Wes<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[UAE refuses special cricket visas to Pakistani fans]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=UAE_refuses_special_cricket_visas_to_Pakistani_fans</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=UAE_refuses_special_cricket_visas_to_Pakistani_fans</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:02:34 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=UAE_refuses_special_cricket_visas_to_Pakistani_fans</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Karachi, Mar 13 (PTI) The United Arab Emirates has refused to issue special cricket visas for Pakistani fans wanting to catch their team in action against world champions Australia in a one-day series there next month. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had requested special visas for the five-match series to be held in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from April 22 to May 7. &quot;They have not accepted this proposal for variety of reasons but we had moved this proposal since lot of people in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and other cities were keen to go and watch the one-day series,&quot; PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt said today. The five one-day internationals would be followed by a Twenty20. Cricket Australia had refused to send its team to Pakistan because of security concerns of its players. Last year also Australia had scrapped a Test tour to Pakistan for security reasons. Butt said the two boards are yet to sign a memorandum of understanding for the upcoming series. &quot;But there is nothing to worry about, it will be signed soon as both boards first want to put everything into place in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We want to have a clear understanding with Australia and make them comfortable since we are the hosts of the series,&quot; Butt said. PTI<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Subcontinental cricket relocates to Dubai and Abu Dhabi from Pak/India]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Subcontinental_cricket_relocates_to_Dubai_and_Abu_Dhabi_from_PakIndia</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Subcontinental_cricket_relocates_to_Dubai_and_Abu_Dhabi_from_PakIndia</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:09:23 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Subcontinental_cricket_relocates_to_Dubai_and_Abu_Dhabi_from_PakIndia</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Dubai and Abu Dhabi are set to become the home venues for the Indian subcontinent&amp;rsquo;s cricket teams for the foreseeable future following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team. UK newspaper The Guardian has quoted England &amp;amp; Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke as saying, when asked about England playing a nation from the subcontinent in the United Arab Emirates, &quot;The answer is we should be able to consider anywhere. The Middle East &amp;ndash; Abu Dhabi, Dubai &amp;ndash; is a perfectly viable option.&quot; The Guardian says that Pakistan has already agreed to play its one-day internationals in Abu Dhabi and is talking about moving Tests there. Dubai has nearly completed work on its &amp;pound;4 billion Sports City complex which features a new 25,000-capacity cricket stadium. Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National reported that Cricket Australia officials inspected the Dubai Sports City (DSC) complex at the weekend. The DSC will host two of Australia&amp;rsquo;s five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match against Pakistan next month. The other three one-day matches will be played in Abu Dhabi&amp;rsquo;s Zayed Stadium.<br/><br/>6 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Imran Khan sees 'foreign element' in cricket attack]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Imran_Khan_sees_foreign_element_in_cricket_attack</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Imran_Khan_sees_foreign_element_in_cricket_attack</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:09:17 CDT</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Imran_Khan_sees_foreign_element_in_cricket_attack</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ISLAMABAD (AFP) &amp;mdash; Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan believes a &quot;foreign element&quot; could be involved in this week's attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, according to an interview published Saturday. &quot;It could be India, Afghanistan, the Tamil Tigers,&quot; Khan was quoted as saying in an interview published online by The Times of London. &quot;The motive is to damage the state of Pakistan and end cricket here. The shocking thing is that there was so little security for the players,&quot; Khan said. Khan said that he now feared that Pakistan would be treated as a pariah by the rest of the world and that it was already being described as a &quot;failed state&quot; and a breeding ground for terrorists. &quot;This attack was guaranteed front-page news everywhere in the world,&quot; Khan said. &quot;The perpetrators wanted to portray Pakistan as a chaotic state in the Dark Ages. Yesterday, the stock market took a nosedive. Pakistan is a resilient country but we have gone from crisis to crisis.&quot; Khan's belief that foreigners may be involved in the cricket attack echoes Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik, who told reporters Friday that, &quot;I cannot rule out (involvement of a) foreign hand in the incident.&quot; Khan said that almost all the terrorism taking place in Pakistan since 2004, when its army was sent into the tribal areas, had been suicide attacks. He said that last year there were over 100 suicide attacks &quot;but they have a pattern. They are always in retaliation.&quot; He said that this week's ambush by 12 gunmen was different. &quot;They had an escape route -- it was well planned. I certainly don?t think this was done by ideological terrorists, motivated to blow themselves up.&quot; said Khan, who retired from cricket in 1992 and now heads his own political party. Khan blamed the escalation of violence in Pakistan on its previous government's decision to join the US &quot;war on terror&quot; following the September 11 2001 attacks in New York. He said this had made Pakistan a front-line state in the battle against Al<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sri Lankan team attacked by terrorists]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Sri_Lankan_team_attacked_by_terrorists</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Sri_Lankan_team_attacked_by_terrorists</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:02:14 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>arabiya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Sri_Lankan_team_attacked_by_terrorists</guid>
<description><![CDATA[MASKED gunmen have opened fire on the Sri Lankan cricket team's bus in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, killing at least eight people and wounding six players. Lahore police chief Habib-ur Rehman said 12 gunmen today attacked the convoy near Lahore's Gaddafi stadium with rockets, hand grenades and automatic weapons and were involved in a 25-minute shootout with the security forces. ``They appeared to be well-trained terrorists. They came on rickshaws,'' he said. A police official said two civilians and six police officers who were guarding the players were killed in the attack which happened as the team was heading for the third day's play in the second Test against Pakistan. Television footage of several gunmen creeping through the trees, crouching to aim their Kalashnikovs then running onto the next target were aired by Pakistan's private channel Geo. Broken glass littered the road next to a gun cartridge and an empty rocket-propelled grenade launcher. A police motorbike was shown crashed sideways into the road at the Liberty Chowk (roundabout) in Lahore. Bullet holes ripped through the windscreen of another vehicle and a white car was shown smashed headlong into the roundabout as nervous security officers guarded the site. Sri Lankan authorities said six players were believed to have been wounded though earlier reports said eight had been injured. Local police officer Mohammad Suhail said two players had bullet injuries but were ``in a stable condition''. In Sri Lanka, Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge said Tharanga Paranavitana and Thilan Samaraweera had been taken to hospital in Lahore. Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardena was also slightly wounded in the foot. Samaraweera is one of Sri Lanka's leading players. He became only the seventh batsmen in Test cricket to notch a double hundred in consecutive matches on Monday, scoring 214 after a 231 in the drawn first Test. The shooting came as the Sri Lankan army pushed its final offensive against ethnic Tamil Ti<br/><br/>6 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cricket was born in Belgium - Experts]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_was_born_in_Belgium_-_Experts</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_was_born_in_Belgium_-_Experts</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:33:48 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_was_born_in_Belgium_-_Experts</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Paul Campbell, from the Australian National University's English and theatre department, has found a poem written by John Skelton in 1533 which mentions immigrants from Flanders playing cricket. The Image of Ipocrisie is believed to contain the earliest known reference to cricket and backs theories that Flemish weavers who moved to England in the 14th century introduced the game on British shores. In the poem, Skelton protests against the arrival of Flemish weavers in England and appears to call for them to be driven out. &quot;O lorde of Ipocrites/Nowe shut vpp your wickettes/And clape to your clickettes!/A! Farewell, kings of crekettes!,'' the poem says. Britain's Sunday Telegraph newspaper said that Campbell discovered the poem during a search of historical archives in an attempt to find variations on the way cricket had been spelt. He was helped by German academic Dr Heiner Gillmeister, of the University of Bonn, who believes the term cricket is based on the Flemish phrase ``met de krik ketsen'', which means to chase with a curved stick. &quot;The discovery of this poem is very intriguing,'' Dr Gillmeister told the newspaper. &quot;It could be the earliest known reference to the game which we know as cricket. &quot;My studies have shown that weavers from Flanders first settled in rural areas around Kent and Surrey and it was here that the English game of cricket we know today originated. &quot;Of course there is something quite ironic about a German and an Australian making discoveries about what is considered to be such an English game, and in reality that game being a foreign import.<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[ICE Cricket is here]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=ICE_Cricket_is_here</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=ICE_Cricket_is_here</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:23:10 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=ICE_Cricket_is_here</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The already audibly excited students packed into the auditorium of Scarborough's John A. Leslie Public School exploded with shouts and cheers this Thursday as Mayor David Miller arrived to show support for Cricket in the Snow, a celebration of the $1,000 grant being given by RBC to the school's increasingly popular cricket program. The RBC Wicket Cricket Program has provided free cricket equipment to about 900 schools across Canada and has now expanded to create the RBC Wicket Cricket Community Fund which will grant $50,000 to various schools and organizations, several of which are located in Scarborough. An avid cricket fan, the mayor gave a speech to the young athletes of John A. Leslie before joining them for a game in their snow-covered schoolyard. &quot;There are new generations of Canadians coming from all the great cricket playing countries from around the world and those kids want a chance to play cricket,&quot; said Miller. &quot;It's great, a fantastic gift we have of diversity that is producing attention to a great sport.&quot; Having learned the game of cricket as a young boy in England, Miller looked right at home bowling to the students down a pitch of artificial turf set up in the middle of their otherwise snow-white field. He joked that they had &quot;created a brand new winter sport&quot; and his jovial attitude was also evident in the smiling faces of the students. More than 70 students tried out for the school's two cricket teams this year and thanks to RBC's funding, their teams will be able to continue in years to come. Grade 7 student Kushal Gaurav is the captain of the senior cricket team and is happy to be able to continue playing the sport he grew up with in his home country of India. &quot;It's a really fun sport, it's fun that you get to play it here in the snow,&quot; said Kushal. &quot;Some people have played cricket before on a team in their own country and some have not ever played at all, but I think it's going to catch on and get even more popular now.&quot; John A. Leslie isn't<br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Younus commands respect]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Younus_commands_respect</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Younus_commands_respect</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:23:10 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Younus_commands_respect</guid>
<description><![CDATA[KARACHI (AFP) &amp;mdash; In two years Younus Khan has gone from shunning the captaincy of Pakistan's cricket to being hailed Thursday as its saviour after his epic 313 runs in the first Test against Sri Lanka this week. The 31-year-old Younus's marathon innings of 12 hours and 48 minutes not only helped Pakistan draw the match but elevated him to the top of the International Cricket Council (ICC) batsmen's rankings. But more than his batting, Younus's fearless attitude and positive approach suggests he is the man to lead Pakistan cricket out of a turbulent period. Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif expressed great confidence in Younus. &quot;Younus taking the responsibility and leading from the front augurs well for Pakistan cricket. He doesn't demand respect, he commands it and this is the best quality for a captain,&quot; said Latif, widely regarded as Younus's mentor. Wasim Akram, another former Pakistan captain, believes Younus can bring home the laurels. &quot;Younus showed that records matter less and team comes first. I think if he stays as captain, Pakistan can win the 2011 World Cup,&quot; said Wasim. He was referring to two records that came within striking distance for Younus this week -- Hanif Mohammad's Test score of 337 runs for Pakistan in 1958 and Brian Lara's world record of 400 in 2004. Many believed Younus would never lead Pakistan again after he turned down an offer of the captaincy following team's shock first-round defeat in the 2007 World Cup held in the West Indies. Pakistan also lost their admirable coach, Bob Woolmer, who died in the team's Jamaica hotel following their humiliating defeat against minnows Ireland. Left with no choice, cricket authorities inducted young Shoaib Malik, who failed to get along with seniors as problems mounted for Pakistan. Some top players, including ace batsman Mohammad Yousuf, were unavailable for selection after they joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), and the team continued to fare poorly at international level. Pa<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[New faces named in Pakistan squad]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=New_faces_named_in_Pakistan_squad</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=New_faces_named_in_Pakistan_squad</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:12:25 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=New_faces_named_in_Pakistan_squad</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Pakistan have named three uncapped players in their line-up for the first Test against Sri Lanka, which starts in Karachi on Saturday. The 12 players selected include opener Khurrum Manzoor and pace bowlers Sohail Khan and Mohammad Talha. Manzoor and Khan have played one-day internationals but Talha is yet to play at any level for his country. Pakistan have not played a Test match since December 2007, when they drew with India in Bangalore. &quot;We wanted a lively and sporting pitch for the match and the bowling is our strength, so we have picked five specialist bowlers in our 12,&quot; said Pakistan skipper Younus Khan. Younus is leading Pakistan in his first full Test series after replacing Shoaib Malik as captain last month after Pakistan's defeat in a home one-day series against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka toured Pakistan for the ODIs and are now playing two hastily arranged Tests after India pulled out of a full tour in December following the Mumbai terror attacks. Younus, who refused the captaincy after the 2007 World Cup, said he wanted to emulate former captain and cricketing great, Imran Khan. &quot;When Imran retired, the team he built reigned supreme for the next eight years,&quot; said Younus. &quot;I also want to leave behind a legacy of a team which remains among the top sides.&quot; Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene, set to step down as his country's captain after the series, said he was confident about his batting form. He said: &quot;I see this series as any other series. I have enjoyed leading my country but now I want to contribute more as a player. It's a good opportunity for me to executive my batting properly.&quot; Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar has been ruled out of the two-match series because of injury. He was handed a central contract by the PCB last month, but was unimpressive in the one-day series against Sri Lanka and was advised to undergo knee surgery. Sri Lanka's 15-man tour squad includes two uncapped players in batsman Tharanga Paranavitana and paceman Suranga Lakmal. They lo<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[England's Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff sold for $1.55m each at IPL auction]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Englands_Kevin_Pietersen_and_Andrew_Flintoff_sold_for_1-55m_each_at_IPL_auction</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Englands_Kevin_Pietersen_and_Andrew_Flintoff_sold_for_1-55m_each_at_IPL_auction</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:10:22 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>arabiya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Englands_Kevin_Pietersen_and_Andrew_Flintoff_sold_for_1-55m_each_at_IPL_auction</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Perhaps that is the burden buying an English cricketer places on the shoulders of an Indian Premier League team owner. Then again perhaps it was the only stumble on a day when eight franchise owners pushed away the growing tide of a worldwide recession to splash the cash in Goa, a state where the beaches and five star hotels hide an impoverished local community. The ageing hippies, who made Goa their home in the 1960s, must have been choking on their pipes of peace as some of the world's richest people lavished millions on England's Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen. Both were sold for the same fee &amp;ndash; $1.55 million &amp;ndash; and share the title as the world's most expensive cricketer. Lalit Modi, the commissioner of the IPL, was quick to thank the England &amp;amp; Wales Cricket Board for making them available for three weeks of this year's IPL. Vijay Mallya, the owner of Bangalore, was even quicker to say he would &quot;love&quot; Pietersen to be available for double that time in 2010. Flintoff, who was signed by team that sounds like a cigarette, the Chennai Super Kings, and Pietersen, will already be flicking through next year's diary. A Test series at home against Bangladesh, which is likely to clash with the IPL, will test their pride in the England shirt. As expected, Flintoff was the biggest draw and as soon as the wooden stump bearing his name was pulled out of the bag, several team owners leaned forward in their chairs. Each had to lift a flashing red bat to signal their intention to bid. The auction room was soon ablaze with light as Rajasthan, the IPL champions, fought Chennai for Flintoff. &quot;Freddie would have got more if he had been drawn out later,&quot; said Manoj Badale, the British businessman and part-owner of the Rajasthan Royals. &quot;An element of luck played its part because if he had been drawn out first then the teams would have had more of their $2 million budget to spend.&quot; Poor Freddie. Somehow he has got to live on $250,000 per week. For Pietersen, Banga<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[How India have turned to youth in their quest for cricket's No.1 ODI spot]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=How_India_have_turned_to_youth_in_their_quest_for_crickets_No-1_ODI_spot</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=How_India_have_turned_to_youth_in_their_quest_for_crickets_No-1_ODI_spot</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 07 Feb 2009 14:39:04 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=How_India_have_turned_to_youth_in_their_quest_for_crickets_No-1_ODI_spot</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Thanks to the heroics in the ongoing ODI series in Sri Lanka, the Indians are within striking distance of the No.1 spot in the ICC rankings. They have replaced Australia at No.2 after New Zealand's demolition of the Aussies. How the mighty have fallen. This has occurred not because of the performance in the current series alone. Over the last year, the Indians have performed consistently on the ODI stage. They have accomplished the feat at the same time they replaced the seniors of ODI cricket in the team - Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble among them. Gary Kirsten and his support staff have made a huge impact on the Indian team and they look so settled now. Obviously, the toss wins in Sri Lanka have given them a huge advantage but it is very important for any team to take their chances and win the matches convincingly. To give them due credit, one can argue that the umpiring decisions have also gone against the Indians (most of them have impacted the legendary Sachin Tendulkar). The Indians have taken these in their stride and have gone on to chalk up some impressive wins. Players like Yusuf Pathan and Pragyan Ojha have taken the next step in international cricket, proving that they belong at this level. The other stroke-makers like Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh have shown consistency that was not their forte earlier. No words can describe the performances of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. Overall, the Indian team are showing signs similar to the earlier Australian team. Even in the previous series against England, the ruthlessness was visible in the Indian performances. The complacency that used to be part of the performance has disappeared altogether. Even though the fringe players have been given chances to perform, the overall balance of the team has not diminished one bit.<br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Imran says Pakistan cricket suffering from war]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Imran_says_Pakistan_cricket_suffering_from_war</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Imran_says_Pakistan_cricket_suffering_from_war</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:45:15 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>arabiya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Imran_says_Pakistan_cricket_suffering_from_war</guid>
<description><![CDATA[KARACHI (AFP) &amp;mdash; Cricket legend Imran Khan warned Wednesday that Pakistan's national game was being damaged by the government's involvement in the US-led &quot;war on terror&quot;. Khan, who was responding to the International Cricket Council's (ICC) decision on Sunday to relocate the elite eight-nation Trophy from Pakistan to an undecided venue, said association with conflict was hugely damaging. &quot;From economy to daily life to cricket, everything is hurt in Pakistan only because of our unnecessary involvement in war. Teams are refusing to come to Pakistan because of that war,&quot; Khan told AFP. Former US President George Bush launched his so-called war on terror soon after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. Pakistan joined up, providing logistical support to US forces who led an invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan and deploying its troops to fight Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists hunkered down in the northwest of the country. More than 1,500 people have been killed in militant attacks across Pakistan in the past 19 months and more than 1,500 troops have been killed at the hands of extremists since 2002. Khan, who went into politics after retiring from cricket and heads his Tehrik-e-Insaaf (Movement for Justice) party, said tour cancellations have left Pakistan cricket poorer. &quot;Cricket is suffering financially,&quot; said Khan. &quot;The sooner Pakistan pulls out of the war on terror the better and it will quickly recover from all sorts of problems,&quot; he said. Australia and the West Indies forced Pakistan to play in the neutral venues of Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates in 2002. In the years that followed, New Zealand, Australia again and India all refused to tour Pakistan or cut short tours over security fears. Khan accused the cricket world and the ICC of double standards when it came to Pakistan. &quot;Of course there are double standards when it comes to Pakistan. England only toured India because of their financial clout, while Pakistan is left isolated,&quot;<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Andrew Symonds hangs by a thread after Cricket Association meeting]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Andrew_Symonds_hangs_by_a_thread_after_Cricket_Association_meeting</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Andrew_Symonds_hangs_by_a_thread_after_Cricket_Association_meeting</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:52:02 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Andrew_Symonds_hangs_by_a_thread_after_Cricket_Association_meeting</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The directors met and discussed the all-rounders most recent fall from grace. Cricket Australia refused to reveal what decision had been made but it is understood that there are phone calls being made around the country this afternoon. It appears Symonds will not be allowed to tour South Africa and that it will be termed a &amp;ldquo;player welfare&amp;rdquo; issue. The announcement should be made in the next hour. Symonds is at a funeral in Queensland today and must be contacted, along with captain Ricky Ponting and a number of other people before the decision is made public. The same &amp;ldquo;player welfare&amp;rdquo; reasoning was used when he was sent home from the squad for repeated indiscretions last year. Symonds was ordered by his employer then to seek counselling and has been seeing two separate counsellors to assist him with anger and alcohol issues. He was allowed back into the side for this summer&amp;rsquo;s Test series but again ran into trouble when he appeared on radio slurring his words. Symonds labelled New Zealand&amp;rsquo;s Brendon McCullum a &amp;ldquo;lump of shit&amp;rdquo; but has twice apologised for his choice of words. He was fined under the players code of behaviour agreement, but CA has been consulting behind the scenes to establish if he is fit to tour with side again. Ponting has repeatedly called for Symonds to be in the side and there is no doubt his experience is invaluable when so many senior players have been lost, but team mates who were with Symonds last year in the West Indies believe he should not rejoin them until he fixes his problems.<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cricket pushes Indonesia as its next frontier]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_pushes_Indonesia_as_its_next_frontier</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_pushes_Indonesia_as_its_next_frontier</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:51:53 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_pushes_Indonesia_as_its_next_frontier</guid>
<description><![CDATA[JAKARTA (AFP) &amp;mdash; From a small core of foreign fanatics who cajoled everyone around them to play, cricket has blossomed in Indonesia and administrators dream one day of rivalling the Asian superpowers. Despite its proximity to cricket-mad Australia, the mainly Muslim country of 234 million people was a stranger to the sport until the early 1990s when a handful of eccentric expatriates started their own league. &quot;Because the expatriates needed more people to make their teams of 11 players, they started to ask locals to join. And it turned out that some of the locals were excellent players,&quot; said Cricket Indonesia chairman Sachin Gopalan. &quot;It used to be only social games played by expatriates. But it has changed.&quot; The foreigners, some driven by an almost maniacal enthusiasm, formed associations in Jakarta and the holiday island of Bali which culminated eight years ago in the formation of Cricket Indonesia. In the past two years the number of players has tripled from fewer than 10,000 to 30,000, according to administrators. &quot;Cricket is growing exponentially here and there is a lot of hidden natural talent,&quot; Gopalan said. One of the pioneers was Australian veterinarian Bruce Christie, who is credited with planting the seeds of cricket in the poor eastern province of East Nusa Tenggara in the mid-1990s. &quot;I had to keep my 11-year-old son amused,&quot; said Christie. &quot;So we started playing cricket and invited about 20 to 30 local people of mixed ages to play.&quot; The first games were held on local soccer fields and sometimes a tennis court, he said. &quot;The locals picked up the game pretty quickly as they'd played 'kasti' (a local bat-and-ball game) before and they were good at throwing stones at birds or whatever. I also had videos and books to show them,&quot; Christie said. &quot;We also had an Australian female teacher in Kupang who played with us. I think she attracted the locals to join.&quot; -- Embraced by cricket's governing body -- Cricket Indonesia general manager Prakash Vijaykum<br/><br/>5 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Doctor Warns cricketers over Highest ever Mount Everest cricket game]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Doctor_Warns_cricketers_over_Highest_ever_Mount_Everest_cricket_game</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Doctor_Warns_cricketers_over_Highest_ever_Mount_Everest_cricket_game</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:00:49 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Doctor_Warns_cricketers_over_Highest_ever_Mount_Everest_cricket_game</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A doctor in Nepal has warned a group of cricketers heading to Mount Everest to play a high altitude Twenty20 match not to over-exert themselves. Dr Buddha Basnyat, who specialises in high altitude health, said a lack of oxygen could pose a danger to the cricketers playing at a frenetic pace. The highest cricket game on record is scheduled for 21 April. A team of 50, including 22 players, will trek for nine days to reach an altitude of 5,000m for the game. They hope to raise &amp;pound;250,000 (about $357,000) for the Lord's Taverners and Himalayan Trust UK charities. Dr Basnyat said the lack of oxygen at high altitudes posed a challenge to the players. &quot;Oxygen levels at the height are only half what they are at sea level. That can produce illness, sometimes fatal, even for people not running around chasing a ball,&quot; he said. &quot;The important thing is, if people aren't feeling well and yet push themselves to play, especially if they exert themselves, that can predispose them to altitude sickness.&quot; Acclimatisation Dr Basnyat said if the players had headache or nausea it would &quot;not be a good idea to push yourself.&quot; &quot;Basically the players should listen to their own bodies.&quot; Acute mountain sickness, with symptoms such as headaches and vomiting, can easily develop into the much more serious high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE) or pulmonary edema (HAPE). If the symptoms are bad, descent is essential. Gradually acclimatising to the altitude is therefore vital. The cricketers' trip is described as one of nine days and Dr Basnyat says he hopes that means nine days until the match is played - not nine days there and back. Not surprisingly, he says bowlers and batsmen will be more at risk, with fielding relatively easy. A self-confessed &quot;cricket obsessive&quot; from Cheltenham in western England, Richard Kirtley, is organising the Twenty20 match at Gorak Shep, 5,100 metres above sea level. His team of 50, including 22 players, eight reserves, groundsmen and medics, plans to trek there a<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Afghanistan cricket team: a team called hope]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Afghanistan_cricket_team_a_team_called_hope</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Afghanistan_cricket_team_a_team_called_hope</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2009 10:58:17 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>arabiya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Afghanistan_cricket_team_a_team_called_hope</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Their country is riven by war, their side was formed in exile and they don&amp;rsquo;t even have a home pitch. But today the Afghanistan cricket team takes a giant step towards playing in the next Cricket World Cup. It&amp;rsquo;s a story as inspirational as it is improbable. When the British marched into Afghanistan in 1838, they brought polo mallets, fox hounds and cigars. They brought imperial hubris, bone china and cases of port. But the players of the Great Game also brought a great game: cricket. One hundred and seventy-one years later, cricket has returned here, an outpost of the world&amp;rsquo;s most civilised sport in one of the world&amp;rsquo;s most brutal places. Today, the Afghan national cricket team opens its 2009 campaign to secure a place at the Cricket World Cup in 2011, having already won two qualifying tournaments last year. That this stricken, blood-soaked country should be able to field a cricket team at all, let alone one as successful as this, is an astonishing achievement: it is a story of endurance and passion, and of the strange power of sport to transcend politics and war. This journey starts, though, not in Kabul, but a cricket field in Peshawar, Pakistan. Smashed concrete is all that remains of the pitch; the outfield is a tangle of weeds, and lumps of piled-up dirt mark a boundary devoid of spectators. &amp;ldquo;I started cricket here,&amp;rdquo; says Hasti Gul Abid, a fast bowler and middle-order batsman on the Afghan cricket team. He leans down to kiss the earth of the Kacha Gari refugee camp cricket pitch. Here in Pakistan, stateless and far from home, a group of young Afghan boys used to throw a ball around, and an unlikely source of national pride was born. A decade on, and Afghanistan still has little to offer its traumatised citizens. But Hasti Gul and his Afghan compatriots in Pakistan have, against all odds, become national heroes. Idolised in a country with little else to admire, their extraordinary journey has taken them from that concrete pi<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Where's the next Imran Khan?]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Wheres_the_next_Imran_Khan</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Wheres_the_next_Imran_Khan</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2009 10:57:31 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Wheres_the_next_Imran_Khan</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Though he played 22 Tests [54 wickets], Aaqib Javed is best remembered for his prowess in the one-day arena, where he took 182 wickets in 163 games. He was one of the first to master both conventional and reverse swing and Pakistani fans still recall with great fondness a memorable hat-trick against India at Sharjah in 1991. Now assistant coach of the Pakistan side, Aaqib has been one of the senior coaches at the National Cricket Academy for years now. In this lengthy interview with the PakPassion website, he talks about the youngsters coming through, including Usman, the son of Abdul Qadir, who he claims could one day be as much of a handful as his old man.<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Future of Cricket]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Future_of_Cricket</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Future_of_Cricket</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 22 Jan 2009 05:55:59 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Future_of_Cricket</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Game has developed a lot over the years from the humble beginnings of A Sheppard with a Gate and A cane, to what we consider the modern game in this ODI and Twenty/20 competitions. We English have always been a hearty nation we create the sports and we allow the other nations to beat us at it just to allow them the satisfaction for just a minute that there better at something. Then they realise the only reason they know the Gentleman&amp;rsquo;s game of cricket is because we had a once great empire. Well at least there not Americans who destroy are sports and turn them into something obscene and of bad taste like baseball. Neutral Test matches is like hand feeding a Piece of quorn to a hungry lion with your bare hands. People in England enjoy cricket but like the hungry lion it&amp;rsquo;s not quite the supplement that Cricketing Gentlemen are looking for. The average Lord&amp;rsquo;s member is not going to miss his Saturday morning cup of English Breakfast Tea to go and watch Bangladesh Vs Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe Vs West Indies. B/R Ticket Guide Powered by FanSnap.comWith the emergence of Twenty20 cricket, and it's growing popularity, to what extent does Test cricket need to reinvent itself? The question can it reinvent itself can the long version of the game make it self compete with the fast paced, crowd pleasing and the money of the 20/20 format. The lure of the IPL is a great lure to many professional cricketers in the global economic crisis. However test cricket had a boost in 2005 with the England winning the Ashes. The ECB shoot themselves in the foot by giving there contract to SKY for home and away Test Matches which then decreases possible viewing figures and all this so they can invest in some half baked county players. This decreases the likelihood of someone seeing test cricket as its finest with such players as Rahul &amp;ldquo;the wall&amp;rdquo; Dravid. What we need is an ambassador for test cricket someone who stands out as a character who enhances through the r<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cricket teams face legal action after mother hit on head with ball]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_teams_face_legal_action_after_mother_hit_on_head_with_ball</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_teams_face_legal_action_after_mother_hit_on_head_with_ball</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:26:24 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_teams_face_legal_action_after_mother_hit_on_head_with_ball</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Rita Rana is claiming that she suffered concussion, constant headaches, a fractured jaw and needed dental reconstructive surgery after being struck in the back of the head. She is taking legal action against four clubs because her back was turned at the time and she does not know who hit the alleged offending ball at the indoor tournament in Walthamstow, north east London. The Metropolitan Essex Cricket Board, which has organised indoor leagues for the last decade, said the volunteers who help run the games were dismayed by the legal action. The board's secretary Cliff Greenhill, who has been involved in youth cricket for 40 years, said: &quot;Everyone is really frustrated. When I first heard about this I thought it does tempt you to want to give up &amp;ndash; is it really worth the bother?&quot; Another source added: &quot;This legal action will have affect how kids' cricket is played in the future.&quot; Mrs Rana, 43, from Ilford in Essex, was watching her youngest son play in an under 11s indoor tournament at the Peter May Centre in Walthamstow on October 31 last year.The boy is a member of Ilford Cricket Club &amp;ndash; where former England captain Nasser Hussain's career started &amp;ndash; and played for Essex under 10s last season. When the indoor match finished, his mother went to speak to the umpire in the middle of the covered pitch to find out how many runs her son had scored. As she did so, players for the under 13s league moved into the hall to warm up. Mrs Rana said she had her back turned to the players when she was hit on the top of the head. She is now seeking compensation, claiming that the teams were negligent because they used an outdoor cricket ball inside and the boys were not properly controlled. She has employed London-based Thompsons Solicitors on a no win no fee basis. According to personal injury solicitors Lawrence Hamblin, Mrs Rana could receive as much as &amp;pound;25,000 compensation for a fractured jaw, &amp;pound;6,250 for damage to teeth and &amp;pound;7,000 for<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[England made right call in dropping cricket captain and coach]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_made_right_call_in_dropping_cricket_captain_and_coach</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_made_right_call_in_dropping_cricket_captain_and_coach</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:59:05 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_made_right_call_in_dropping_cricket_captain_and_coach</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Details continue to slowly emerge about the set of circumstances that led to the sacking of both England's captain and coach. On the surface it is simple enough. Kevin Pietersen was unhappy with the coach Peter Moores and indicated as much to the England Cricket Board. The English media, had a field day with this nugget of news, with columnists, pundits and former players all agreeing that in a battle between the coach and captain, it was Moores who had to go. A number of names of possible coaches did the rounds, prominent among them Graham Ford, who had coached Pietersen in South Africa. This was all based on the fact that English cricket was now about keeping KP happy. In the end, the ECB decided that English cricket was not Kevin Pietersen's fiefdom and fired both him and Moores. The seeds of Pietersen thinking he could get his way were sown months ago before he was even captain. His unhappiness about missing out on a lucrative Indian Premier League contract was a major factor in the ECB getting into bed with Sir Allen Stanford and the silliness of the Stanford Super Series. Now captain, Pietersen was placated by the prospect of winning US$ 1 million for one match, but suffered a humiliating loss and went home empty handed. The ODI leg of England's tour of India was cut short by the terrorist incident in Mumbai, but England eventually returned for the Test matches. Pietersen drew plenty of mileage from the decision; something that allegedly did not sit well with team-mates who felt their captain was more interested in exploring his IPL possibilities than making any grand gestures in the wake of the Mumbai tragedy. His insipid captaincy contributed to England's inability to defend 387 in the first Test, with India romping home by 6 wickets. Some players like Monty Panesar have since complained of the team feeling 'flat' under Pietersen. Having retained the captaincy for the West Indies tour starting later this month, Pietersen went on holiday to his nati<br/><br/>5 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Shame if Pakistan players dona4t come: Rajasthan Royals]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Shame_if_Pakistan_players_donrsquot_come_Rajasthan_Royals</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Shame_if_Pakistan_players_donrsquot_come_Rajasthan_Royals</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:58:27 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Shame_if_Pakistan_players_donrsquot_come_Rajasthan_Royals</guid>
<description><![CDATA[With Rajasthan Royals having three Pakistan players - Sohail Tanvir, Kamran Akmal and Younus Khan - in the squad, the team officials are understandably concerned about their availability for the second edition starting on April 10. &amp;ldquo;The decision in this matter is not with us or the IPL or even the boards of the two countries. It has to be taken at the government level,&amp;rdquo; Manoj Badale, chairman of Emerging Media and Rajasthan Royals, said on Thursday. &amp;ldquo;Obviously, if they don&amp;rsquo;t come we have to make other arrangements and we plan to get one or two new players before the new season. But we have most of our bases covered.&amp;rdquo; Badale was of the opinion that the absence of the Pakistan players from the IPL would send the wrong signal. &amp;ldquo;I think it would be a shame for the IPL and the Rajasthan Royals if they (Pakistan players) don&amp;rsquo;t come. We cannot allow terrorists to disrupt our way of life.&amp;rdquo; But he denied that the IPL champions would suffer if the cricketers from across the border do not join them in the second season. &amp;ldquo;Younus Khan is a squad player and played only one match last year. As far as Akmal is concerned, we already have a very good wicketkeeper-batsman in Mahesh Rawat. We would only miss Sohail Tanvir, the highest wicket-taker in the first season, but I think South African Morne Morkel is a very good fast bowler and can make up for Tanvir,&amp;rdquo; Badale said. &amp;ldquo;In any case, if we are affected, so will be the other teams.&amp;rdquo;<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Matthew Hayden quits cricket]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Matthew_Hayden_quits_cricket</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Matthew_Hayden_quits_cricket</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:58:15 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Matthew_Hayden_quits_cricket</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Hayden, 37, who played 103 Tests, has been mulling over his decision for several days after being omitted from the Australia Twenty20 and one-day sides. Hayden's exit comes after a rugged summer in which he failed to pass 50 in five home Tests. But he will leave the game as arguably Australia's greatest opener with a record (8624 runs at 50.74) that seemed a moon ride away when he played just seven Tests in his first five years as a Test player. Australia is understood to be undecided who will replace Hayden in the Test team though Phil Jaques, a century-maker in his last Test against the West Indies, must be given another chance if he can fully recover from a back injury. Hayden's cricketing journey started on the family farm at Kingaroy where elder brother Gary gave him a robust working over on a home made pitch. The road to greatness contained many testing potholes including people expressing reservations over his size (large), his footwork and his work off his pads. But few players in the game have ever worked harder and each box was ticked and each bogey hacked down as he made a painstaking progression to the international ranks. Allan Border once said of him: &quot;People say he is not orthodox but all othodox really means is the way most people do things. It doesn't mean it is right. &quot;Every season he seems to work harder to come up with a shot that keeps him ahead of bowlers who were still planning from the season before.&quot; After blazing like a comet through his breakthrough tour of India in 2001 Hayden dominated world attacks for the next three years. His cavalier front-foot style terrorised rival attacks who were also chastened by his imposing body language. His fierce will was evident even more in one-day cricket than Tests. He was dropped, seemingly never to return from the Australian one-day side in 2005, but fought his way back to be a star of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistani Cricketer Asif Banned from Dubai for 25 years for drug possession]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistani_Cricketer_Asif_Banned_from_Dubai_for_25_years_for_drug_possession</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistani_Cricketer_Asif_Banned_from_Dubai_for_25_years_for_drug_possession</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:55:28 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistani_Cricketer_Asif_Banned_from_Dubai_for_25_years_for_drug_possession</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Mohammad Asif can enter into this United Arab Emirates (UAE) country would be the time when the 26-year-old Pakistani pacer would be of the age of above fifty. Contrary to the recent reports, he has not been life-banned. &quot;It is a 25-year-ban I had recommended for him for carrying drug&quot;, Shakir Hashim Al Darmakl, the Senior Public Prosecutor (Khalifa) in Dubai said exclusively. Mohammad Asif's eyes have also been scanned before his deportation procedure was completed, it is learnt. &quot;If he tries to enter into this country (by any passport) again, can easily be caught&quot;, he further added. This clearly means Asif can never play in Abu Dhabi or Dubai sports city. Of course under specials cases, bans have been overturned, but in Asif case, it looks impossible and even the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would not vouch for it. The substance (opium) found in Mohammad Asif's wallet is not on a &quot;out of completion&quot; prohibition list but he was booked under trafficking law (No 14 of 1995 regarding drugs as amended by the Federal Law No I of 2005. Pakistan fast bowler, was carrying 0.24 grams of opium when was held in Dubai for nearly three weeks in June last year, a government officials in Dubai revealed on Sunday. Asif, was detained in Dubai for possession of a banned substance but later was deported to Pakistan with the authorities saying that the quantity of the banned drug found in his wallet was insignificant.<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Why Shane Warne could be the answer the England cricket's problems]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Why_Shane_Warne_could_be_the_answer_the_England_crickets_problems</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Why_Shane_Warne_could_be_the_answer_the_England_crickets_problems</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 11 Jan 2009 05:46:30 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Why_Shane_Warne_could_be_the_answer_the_England_crickets_problems</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ONLY the offer of a lifetime will tempt Shane Warne or Tom Moody to consider accepting one of world cricket's most demanding jobs - coaching England in an Ashes year. Warne has dead-batted speculation linking him with the coaching post made vacant by England's sacking of Peter Moores on Wednesday, which coincided with Kevin Pietersen's resignation as captain. And Moody - arguably a better coaching candidate than the former leg-spinning star given his background with international, English county and Australian state teams - has done the same. Warne was linked with the England coaching position given his friendship with Pietersen, but he has been critical of the role of coaches in cricket in the past and his current commitments would appear to rule him out of contention. Warne, 39, currently juggles family commitments with commentary stints, business ventures and appearances at poker tournaments. He is also set to rejoin Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League this year - at a time when England will turn their focus to the regaining the Ashes. Warne wrote in his column in Britain's The Times that he could not devote enough time to do the job properly. &quot;Let me say I am in no way, shape or form considering coaching England,&quot; Warne wrote. &quot;I'm loving what I'm doing, especially the Channel Nine commentary, and there is no thought of coaching England or anyone else.&quot; However, Warne left the door ajar - ever so slightly - by declaring: &quot;The only way I'd do that is through an offer so financially outrageous it would be impossible to refuse.&quot; Moody, who has previously coached Worcestershire and Sri Lanka and currently oversees Western Australia, said he had not been approached by the England and Wales Cricket Board. He also said he would be reluctant to move unless an offer emerged that was too good to be true. &quot;In this day and age you are not going to turn your back on any opportunity, but ... I'm very happy here in Perth, the family's settled, I'<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Former Pakistan Captian Imran Khan Under fire for Terror Comments]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Former_Pakistan_Captian_Imran_Khan_Under_fire_for_Terror_Comments</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Former_Pakistan_Captian_Imran_Khan_Under_fire_for_Terror_Comments</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:16:28 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Former_Pakistan_Captian_Imran_Khan_Under_fire_for_Terror_Comments</guid>
<description><![CDATA[FORMER cricket superstar Imran Khan yesterday gave his support to two terror suspects accused of encouraging guerrilla warfare in Pakistan. Giving evidence at a London terror trial, the sportsman-turned-politician said had he been in the same position as the two men in the dock he would have been prepared to take up arms.He told the court he would have been willing to use violence against the Pakistan government if he had been from the country&amp;rsquo;s poorest province of Baluchistan, where he said the army had killed and kidnapped citizens, made 75,000 homeless, rigged elections and controlled the courts. Imran, chairman of the Movement For Justice political party in Pakistan, was giving evidence during the trial of two Baluchi men. The pair are accused of encouraging acts of violence against former dictator General Musharraf&amp;rsquo;s government from their London base. Imran said the military leader had abused his power, collected &amp;ldquo;bounty&amp;rdquo; from America for handing over terror suspects and had rejected a political solution to unrest in Baluchistan because &amp;ldquo;a military man only understands military means&amp;rdquo;. Henry Blaxland QC, representing Hyrbyair Marri, one of the defendants, asked Imran: &amp;ldquo;Given your own knowledge of the situation in Baluchistan, you have gone on record to say that if you were a Baluchi you may have resorted to picking up a gun to defend yourself, is that right?&amp;rdquo; Imran said: &amp;ldquo;To defend the rights of my people... I think if I had no access to getting into parliament because most of the elections are heavily rigged there.&amp;rdquo;<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Kevin Pietersen 'cricket's most hated man']]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Kevin_Pietersen_crickets_most_hated_man</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Kevin_Pietersen_crickets_most_hated_man</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:52:53 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>arabiya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Kevin_Pietersen_crickets_most_hated_man</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Pietersen is cricket's most hated man according to the Sun, with the paper running with the headline 'DeTESTed'. 'England cricket is ripped apart from hatred' splashes the tabloid, claiming Wednesday's fiasco 'leaves England divided and demoralised'. Sun columnist, and former England international, Graham Thorpe even believes there is a case for Pietersen to be dropped from the team for his behaviour. Thorpe said: &quot;The way he has gone about this has been counterproductive and he has presented England with a massive problem. &quot;Pietersen's place must be under threat. However good you are, you cannot create this kind of situation as people will start asking which side you are on.&quot; The Sun doesn't solely blame Pietersen, though. Also named and shamed are Hugh Morris, David Collier, Giles Clarke and Geoff Miller, with the paper saying 'they may consider themselves wise custodians, but Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse would be more accurate'. Pietersen was riding high after England returned to India following the Mumbai terror attacks, and his attempt to remove Moores, while staying on as captain himself, could have worked - if the team had backed him. 'Knifed in the Back' reads the Daily Mirror, stating Pietersen quit before he was pushed after a 'startling vote of no confidence from his own players left him with no room for manoeuvre'. The inside of the Mirror reads: 'The ego with egg on his face: Pietersen wrongly believed that he was untouchable', and list who in the dressing room would have been on his side, and who wouldn't have been. According to the Mirror, 'WITH KP' are Stuart Broad, Ian Bell, Luke Wright, Paul Collingwood and Monty Panesar, 'NOT HIS FANS' are Andrew Flintoff, James Anderson, Graeme Swann and Steve Harmison, while 'ON THE FENCE' are Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Matt Prior. However, according to Ian Botham it is not Pietersen to blame. He told the Mirror: &quot;Blame the chinless wonders who rule Lord's from behind <br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cricket making a Comeback in Canada - Multicity Leagues Coming]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_making_a_Comeback_in_Canada_-_Multicity_Leagues_Coming</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_making_a_Comeback_in_Canada_-_Multicity_Leagues_Coming</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:32:09 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_making_a_Comeback_in_Canada_-_Multicity_Leagues_Coming</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Toronto (IANS): Cricket, which once was the official sport of Canada, has staged a major comeback in the past 12 months. The Canadian government had recognized cricket as a national sport, with promises of federal funding. Under its new governing body, Cricket Canada, the sport attracted top banks and corporates as sponsors. Thanks to sponsorships by Scotiabank, Canada staged its first T20 national league in May and the Scotiabank triangular series featuring West Indies, Bermuda and the hosts in August. In October, it staged the world's first Twenty20 Canada Cup quadrangular series featuring Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and the hosts. &quot;This is just the beginning. Like the National Hockey League (NHL) in North America, we now plan a multi-city league to take cricket to the masses,&quot; Canada Cricket CEO Atul Ahuja told IANS. He said: &quot;Cricket Canada has a five-year strategic plan to take the sport to the grass-roots. We want to introduce a multi-city franchise professional league - on the lines of the National Hockey League (NHL) in North America. &quot;Discussions are under way and we are keen that we play this league in the winter months in an indoor arena. We know we can present a world-class league for our spectators and global TV viewers.&quot; The Cricket Canada CEO said money won't be a problem as more and more sponsors want to jump on to the cricket bandwagon after the success of their events this year. Corporate sponsorships, he said, have helped change the face of Canadian cricket. &quot;When I took over in 2007, I straightway chose to drive change in key areas like corporate sponsorship, spectator-driven events, year-round training, and bring ICC full-member nations to play here. &quot;For the first time in Canadian cricket, we got corporate sponsorship when Scotiabank signed for a three-year contract to become our national sponsor.&quot; In addition to senior and junior championships, Cricket Canada hosted four ICC full-member countries (Pa<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Vodafone to end England cricket sponsorship deal| Reuters]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Vodafone_to_end_England_cricket_sponsorship_deal_Reuters</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Vodafone_to_end_England_cricket_sponsorship_deal_Reuters</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:30:25 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Vodafone_to_end_England_cricket_sponsorship_deal_Reuters</guid>
<description><![CDATA[LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's biggest mobile phone group by revenue, is to end its sponsorship of the English cricket team following a strategic review of its sponsorship portfolio. Vodafone and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement that the current four-year sponsorship agreement would conclude at the end of the winter tour of South Africa in January 2010. The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that the deal was worth 4 million pounds a year. The ECB said it fully respected Vodafone's decision and said it would be looking for a new partner after its 12-year association with the mobile phone group. A Vodafone spokesman said the group would be looking for new sponsorship deals and said it simply wanted to refresh its portfolio.<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Shunned by IPL &amp; PCB, Asif asks for clarity]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Shunned_by_IPL__PCB_Asif_asks_for_clarity</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Shunned_by_IPL__PCB_Asif_asks_for_clarity</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 04 Jan 2009 04:46:05 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Shunned_by_IPL__PCB_Asif_asks_for_clarity</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Karachi: Suspended Pakistani pace bowler Mohammad Asif, who was embroiled in a doping controversy, wanted to know from the Indian Premier League and the Pakistan Cricket Board if he could play for them. Asif, who was suspended by the PCB from playing all forms of cricket after he tested positive for a banned substance during the IPL series in June, said the cricketing bodies should clear the air on his status. &quot;Everyone knows that I am not being allowed to play cricket for the past seven months and I haven't been banned either. I am not sure what I should do. They should either ban me or clear my name so that I can return to play cricket,&quot; Asif told an Indian TV channel. Asif's &quot;B&quot; sample had also tested positive, but the quantity of the banned substance found in his urine sample differed in both tests prompting the pacer to challenge the procedure adopted for dope testing in the IPL. &quot;Everyone knows without cricket I am nothing. It is on hold for the past seven months and it is only a one way traffic. I am getting no response either from the Board or IPL,&quot; the player said. His lawyer had said on Thursday that the ban imposed by the PCB, stopping Asif from playing in domestic cricket, is unwarranted and uncalled for. &quot;Our stand is very clear that Asif did not take any banned substance and we feel the procedure adopted in the IPL was flawed. As a result, being his lawyer I have no doubt he should be allowed to play domestic and international cricket and the board is wrong to suspend him,&quot; Shahid Karim said. He said that Asif had prepared a strong case for the January 24th hearing in London and was hopeful of being proved innocent.<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[13 West Indians inducted in Cricket Hall of Fame]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=13_West_Indians_inducted_in_Cricket_Hall_of_Fame</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=13_West_Indians_inducted_in_Cricket_Hall_of_Fame</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 04 Jan 2009 04:46:05 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=13_West_Indians_inducted_in_Cricket_Hall_of_Fame</guid>
<description><![CDATA[SYDNEY, Australia (CMC) - The International Cricket Council (ICC) named 13 West Indies players yesterday in its Cricket Hall of Fame, which it launched yesterday as part of the ICC's centenary year celebrations. The ICC announced a list of 55 players for induction and the West Indians as they appear on the ICC's list in alphabetical order are Lance Gibbs, Gordon Greenidge, George Headley, Michael Holding, Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall, Vivian Richards, Andy Roberts, Garfield Sobers, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes, Frank Worrell. Speaking at the launch of the centenary year celebrations, the ICC's chief executive officer Haroon Lorgat said the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame would provide the chance for the game to recognise its greatest achievers. &quot;Given a key theme of the ICC's centenary year is celebrating the game's heritage then the foundation of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame is an entirely logical step,&quot; Lorgat said &quot;It will provide a means of recognising the historical contribution of past players, officials and even institutions in making cricket what it is today, a great sport with a great spirit,&quot; Lorgat added. Headley, who died at age 74 in 1983, was the first great West Indies player and the Jamaican right-hander is widely regarded as one of the finest batsmen of all time in world cricket.He was Wisden's Cricketer of the Year in 1934 and finished his career with an exceptional average of 60.83, the third highest - behind Don Bradman and Graeme Pollock - of any player with a completed career. Several of the West Indies inductees, including the great Sir Garfield Sobers, had emerged during the 1950s and '60s and combined to superbly lift the profile of West Indies cricket. Sir Garfield made his Test debut as a 17-year-old against England at Sabina Park in Kingston in 1954 and went on to achieve the most outstanding all-round career in cricket's history. At age 21, he stroked a magnificent world reco<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[England poised to sign historic deal with India]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_poised_to_sign_historic_deal_with_India</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_poised_to_sign_historic_deal_with_India</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:58:16 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>arabiya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_poised_to_sign_historic_deal_with_India</guid>
<description><![CDATA[England will reap the benefits of their decision to return to India following the Mumbai terrorist attacks when they announce a ground-breaking agreement between the two countries this month which will include an Ashes-like five-Test series. The partnership, which will take further shape at talks between the countries' cricket boards this month, is also expected to lead to Indian Premier League matches being played in England. India, meanwhile, are expected to drop their objections that England players will only be available for the next IPL, due to be played in April-May, for a two-week period. England will also have a greater say in the future of the Champions League, could be given more participation in the event and may even stage it in the future. In the past 30 years most series between the two countries have been for just three Tests and last month's series was for only two. Increasing the number to five is a result of the much closer relationship between the ECB and the BCCI following England's decision to return to play Test matches in Chennai and Mohali. But the payback also follows intense negotiations between Giles Clarke, the chairman of the ECB, David Collier, the chief executive, and the BCCI's new president Shashank Manohar as well as its secretary, N Srinivasan. A leading ECB official said yesterday: &quot;First of all it was absolutely vital that we returned to India after what happened in Mumbai. We promised India that a team would go back, if possible the same team that was originally selected, but if not a bloody good team. &quot;There was a lot of hard work involved and some extremely complex negotiations to get the players back. Hugh Morris [the managing director of the England Cricket Board] was fantastic. But as a result of all the stuff we went through the two boards got to know each other a lot better and something more than mutual respect has emerged. Some serious friendships have been made, too. &quot;They did fantastically well in staging t<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[The Mecca of Indian cricket has changed]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=The_Mecca_of_Indian_cricket_has_changed</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=The_Mecca_of_Indian_cricket_has_changed</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:43:33 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>arabiya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=The_Mecca_of_Indian_cricket_has_changed</guid>
<description><![CDATA[KOLKATA, Jan 1: Wisden describes him as &quot;an athletic six-footer with something of the feline grace and strength of the golfer Tiger Woods.&quot; It goes on to add that &quot;there was no more exhilarating sight in English cricket than Ted Dexter (in photo) when he was savaging fast bowling.&quot; For the 73-year-old former English captain, returning to Kolkata, where he had last played in 1961, scoring half centuries in both innings, was like completing a circle. His Kolkata connections go back a long way. His wife Susan, whom he met at a party in London, is the daughter of the 1939 Ranji Trophy-winning Bengal captain Tom Longfield. &quot;My wife always likes coming back to the city. She was born here and, in fact, lived in the city in her childhood,&quot; the gentleman in a tweed coat told The Statesman this morning. &quot;I've been here a few times myself as player as well as on official duty; there was a stopover in 1970 when I piloted a plane from England to Australia with my family.&quot; The Dexters have put up at old friend Mr Naresh Kumar's residence. They are to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in May but it looks like the spadework has already begun. &quot;We saved every penny we could and now this is our grand holiday,&quot; said the former chairman of England's cricket selectors. Their three-week holiday had to be cut short by a few days as the Mumbai Test was shifted to Chennai owing to the terror attacks. Their original plans included watching the Mumbai Test that never started. On their way back to Nice, they plan a stopover in Dubai. In the city for six days already, the couple has visited the AJC Bose Road - which used to be called Lower Circular Road in the good old days - cemetery where his wife's maternal grandfather is buried, the Tollygunge Club, the Calcutta Cricket Club (founded by his father-in-law) and the New Market. Thursday was earmarked for the races. &quot;We feel spoilt, living in luxury!&quot; he said, smiling. &quot;We flew in at night so could not see much and w<br/><br/>5 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[A new cricket empire emerges]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=A_new_cricket_empire_emerges</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=A_new_cricket_empire_emerges</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:11:41 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=A_new_cricket_empire_emerges</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Melbourne - As one empire crumbles, is there another lurking beneath the rubble, waiting to take the place of the once mighty Australia? And is South Africa that new empire, ready to rule over all of cricketdom? There are certainly sufficient reasons to believe that Graeme Smith's South African Test team can become a dominant force in the game over the next few years. In fact, they've been pretty damn good for a while - two years without a Test series defeat is a very good record, as is 11 wins in 15 Tests in 2008 - but in the eyes of many and possibly even themselves, they needed to beat Australia to prove how good they were.Had they done so in South Africa in next year's series, that would have been good enough. Now they've gone and done it here, in Australia, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where the Australians hadn't lost for 10 years before Tuesday. And the manner in which they have done it has stunned everyone, certainly the Australians, who were left floundering in the wake of the nine-wicket defeat that handed South Africa the series. Smith was loath to claim that the series win suggested a shifting in the balance of power from Australia to his young team. &quot;The balance of power is evening out in world cricket,&quot; said Smith. &quot;All credit to Australia for dominating world cricket for a decade or so. They obviously enjoyed their time. This doesn't mean they are going to be beaten in future tours or easy to beat.&quot; What Australia managed though, from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, was to dominate the game, and the likes of Steve Waugh, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist defined an era for themselves. It is something Smith would like his own team to try to do. &quot;The challenge is to maintain the levels that we have played at. That is something that you've got to give Australia credit for doing - to perform at that level for a decade is incredible. &quot;For us, it's going to be an on-going challenge to keep achieving these standards that we <br/><br/>6 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Australia Cricket Domination Over?]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Australia_Cricket_Domination_Over</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Australia_Cricket_Domination_Over</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:09:29 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Australia_Cricket_Domination_Over</guid>
<description><![CDATA[THE bigger they are, the harder they fall. It's an old saying but a goodie, and one that fits like a cricket boot for Australia after the series loss to South Africa rubber-stamped the end of a sustained period of world domination. It was always going to happen. No team in any sport where money is not king can succeed forever. The natural cycle will see to that, and it is to Australia&amp;rsquo;s credit that they sat atop the tree for so abnormally long. Three successive World Cups, home-and-away wins against every Test-playing nation of note, a Champions Trophy and an undefeated home Test series run of 15 years - it's a double-edged sword that marks an immense dynasty yet offers the harshest of contrasts when times turn sour. But the inevitability of Australia&amp;rsquo;s slide should not hide, nor excuse, the selection and management issues that have beset the team and exacerbated its decline. The biggest cock-up of the summer has involved Andrew Symonds. Australia&amp;rsquo;s handling of the mercurial all-rounder has been equal parts mystifying and disgraceful. It can only be assumed Symonds would have been selected for Sydney were it not for his knee injury, but selectors should be held accountable for the fact that he played even one game for his country this season. It was as good as common knowledge inside Queensland that Symonds was not in the right head space to play Test cricket after the &amp;lsquo;Gone Fishing&amp;rsquo; saga that almost ended his career. &amp;ldquo;He is no longer the player they think he is - his head is not right,&quot; one Bulls player said. If that wasn&amp;rsquo;t enough, the fact Symonds could barely buy a run for his state should have set alarm bells ringing. But no. Symonds was allowed to resume his Test career at the expense of Shane Watson, a younger man who excelled in India, offers as much with the bat and who is a vastly better bowler than his fellow Queenslander.The communication over Symonds's fitness heading into Melbourne was risible. Chairman <br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[India unhappy with Sri Lanka's cricket tour to Pakistan]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=India_unhappy_with_Sri_Lankas_cricket_tour_to_Pakistan</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=India_unhappy_with_Sri_Lankas_cricket_tour_to_Pakistan</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2008 05:47:18 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=India_unhappy_with_Sri_Lankas_cricket_tour_to_Pakistan</guid>
<description><![CDATA[COLOMBO: India is not happy with Sri Lanka's cricket tour to Pakistan, media reports said on Sunday. The tour was hastily arranged by Pakistan after India refused to go ahead with the scheduled visit following last month's terror attacks in Mumbai. The then interim committee of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) headed by Arjuna Ranatunga, which was later dismissed by the government, accepted the invitation to fill in for India. But now after the government cleared the tour, Indian authorities have expressed their displeasure over the next month's series. Independent Sunday Times quoting SLC sources said that the decision by the Ranatunga administration to undertake the tour &quot;had irked the Indian authorities&quot; and the matter had been discussed &quot;at the highest levels in Colombo&quot;. &quot;These sources said that SLC also received clear signals that Indian authorities were unhappy with the move to tour Pakistan when they were having political problems with that country. They said they treated the Sri Lankan move as a snub on the Indians mainly as a fallout from the Indian Premier League (IPL) issue,&quot; the daily said. The report said that the Sri Lankan sports authorities were forced to go to the foreign ministry to get clearance for the national team's tour to Pakistan next month &quot;following a nose-dive in Indo-Pak relations in recent weeks&quot;. With sports minister Gamini Lokuge briefing President Mahinda Rajapaksa &quot;saying that the Pakistan tour had become a diplomatic issue&quot;. Rajapaksa then referred the matter to foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama. Bogollagama, however, has said that there was no &quot;diplomatic pressure applied on Sri Lanka either by India or Pakistan&quot; with regard to the cricket tour. He has told the newspaper that he cleared the tour considering it as a &quot;sporting issue&quot;, and that Sri Lanka promoted &quot;people-to-people visits&quot; among South Asian member states. &quot;If indeed there were security concerns, the matter has to be determined by the Internatio<br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Right ball for night cricket yet to be developed]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Right_ball_for_night_cricket_yet_to_be_developed</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Right_ball_for_night_cricket_yet_to_be_developed</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2008 05:46:43 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Right_ball_for_night_cricket_yet_to_be_developed</guid>
<description><![CDATA[AUSTRALIA have pledged their commitment to staging night Test matches despite manufacturers claiming the 30-year search for a suitable ball remains unfulfilled. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland will press ahead with plans to host night Tests after the concept is trialled in Sheffield Shield matches in the next two or three years with whatever ball the CSIRO can invent. &quot;We are very serious about exploring it,&quot; Sutherland confirmed yesterday. &quot;I think it is the ball that is the major obstacle. &quot;A red ball under lights is not easy to pick up. It just can't be seen. We need to experiment with all sorts of different colours. &quot;We are in close consultation with the CSIRO. They've put a proposal to us in terms of what the next steps are.<br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pak cricketers prepared to sit out of IPL]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pak_cricketers_prepared_to_sit_out_of_IPL</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pak_cricketers_prepared_to_sit_out_of_IPL</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:14:35 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pak_cricketers_prepared_to_sit_out_of_IPL</guid>
<description><![CDATA[With the tension in India-Pakistan relations showing no signs of easing, pacer Sohail Tanvir said the cricketers in Pakistan are mentally prepared to sit out of the Indian Premier League next year. &quot;Even if I don't get to play in the IPL next season, I don't think it would be a big setback for me or my career. There are a lot of other opportunities to play cricket in other countries,&quot; Tanvir told PTI before leaving for Australia to play in a domestic twenty20 tournament for South Australia. Tanvir was one of the stars of the first season of the IPL emerging as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament and helping his team, Rajasthan Royals, led by Shane Warne, win the title. Pakistani players may not get the clearance from their board and government to go to India or even be entertained by the IPL organisers for the season starting April. &quot;There is some time left before the season starts things can improve. But if they don't I have other options to look at like playing in England or some other country,&quot; Tanvir said. He said he put country before everything else and if the players were told not to play in the IPL he would have no problems. &quot;The interest of the country is paramount. Cricket comes later. As it is playing for Pakistan is far more important for me then any other cricket,&quot; he said. &quot;Nothing can replace the feeling of nationalism one feels when representing your country.&quot; Tanvir said while he had thoroughly enjoyed playing for Rajasthan in the IPL debut season but the IPL was not the be all and end all for him. &quot;I am in a learning stage and I think playing outside the subcontinent is very important for me in my learning process. That is why I am looking forward to my stint with South Australia,&quot; he said. The left-arm pacer said he was not worried about the financial repercussions of not being able to play in the IPL as he had full confidence in the Pakistan cricket Board. &quot;The board is already looking after our financial interests proper<br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Awesome Nike Cricket TV Commercial]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Awesome_Nike_Cricket_TV_Commercial</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Awesome_Nike_Cricket_TV_Commercial</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:15:20 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Awesome_Nike_Cricket_TV_Commercial</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[The Australian Cricket prodigy whose time has arrived - Matthew Haydens Replacement is here]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=The_Australian_Cricket_prodigy_whose_time_has_arrived_-_Matthew_Haydens_Replacement_is_here</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=The_Australian_Cricket_prodigy_whose_time_has_arrived_-_Matthew_Haydens_Replacement_is_here</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:14:33 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=The_Australian_Cricket_prodigy_whose_time_has_arrived_-_Matthew_Haydens_Replacement_is_here</guid>
<description><![CDATA[PHIL HUGHES didn't really need a coach. After school each day from age 14 to 17 he'd just drag his father, Greg, down to the oval at Macksville and have him feed the ball machine. Phil knew which shots he needed to work on. Then he'd have Greg wait while he did his fitness program. Alone. Almost every day. &quot;If we'd had a big weekend away he might miss the Monday, and maybe some Fridays he'd have off,&quot; Greg Hughes says. &quot;But apart from that it was a daily ritual. It must have worked: he's scored 53 hundreds so far.&quot; Phil had reason to work hard. Despite his tender years, he knew he had a rare talent. At 12, playing in a 50-over primary schools carnival final, he hit 159 not out, commanding attention similarly to earlier child prodigies Adam Gilchrist, Dean Jones and Michael Slater. &quot;That's the innings that started off all the talk about him,&quot; Greg says. &quot;When Cricket NSW say they knew him from when he was 12, well, that's where that started. It was probably also about when I first realised he could play.&quot; After that game Phil met Merv Hughes. Greg has a photo of the moment and marvels at the coincidence of his son meeting one of the men who now can control if or when he plays for Australia. The thought of playing for Australia was first realistically conveyed to Hughes by Neil D'Costa, his coach since arriving in Sydney. D'Costa, who mentored Michael Clarke to stardom, planted the idea in Hughes's mind that &quot;in a few years Matthew Hayden is going to retire and you should make that position yours&quot;. The pair have forged a solid link and mapped out a plan for Hughes's career. &quot;We looked at how he would attack his rise in cricket with a mental and technical approach,&quot; D'Costa says. &quot;It's working for him - look at how many people said he would fail in his second year. But I don't see any second-year blues.&quot; None at all. Hughes is averaging a touch below 60 this first-class season and, depending on the selectors' sense of adventure, he cou<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[English cricket team beats hot curry, chicken tikka...]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=English_cricket_team_beats_hot_curry_chicken_tikka---</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=English_cricket_team_beats_hot_curry_chicken_tikka---</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:56:39 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=English_cricket_team_beats_hot_curry_chicken_tikka---</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The English cricket team might have gone home after being defeated comprehensively by India in both the one-dayers and test matches, but they can take consolation from the fact that for the first time in its cricketing history, they managed to beat their disparagers - ridiculers, humorists, satirists and stand-up comedians by providing them with very little to ridicule about during their two month stay in India.'Is this really an English cricket team? No complains about hot curry ruining their intestines! Not a word on heat and dust of the subcontinent affecting their performances! No rants against unruly crowds! No snide remarks! No excuses! Have they completely forgotten that that they are the former rulers of this colony and have Queen-given right to whine about our food, weather, crowds and poor umpiring when they end up finishing on the losing side.&quot; exclaimed ex-cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu jumping up in the chair in excitement to compensate for the lack of entertainment provided by the pommies. Its not that the English cricketers were not provided with enough opportunities to display their legendary whining and complaining abilities. Terrorists struck the city of Mumbai right in the middle of the tour giving them full opportunity to panic and leave the tour in a huff midway. The pommies did depart for their home country for few days, but shocked their detractors by coming back for the test series and playing out the rest of the series in a calm and dignified manner wholly unnatural to the way they usually play when they are not winning. &quot;No chicken shit running scared pommie after a major terror attack is a modern miracle. I'm appalled that not a single English player decided to stay back citing security concerns. Was is it the lure of IPL money that ensured that every player in their team took a flight back to India? Its absolutely shocking that the enticement of easy money has corrupted the very soul of fearful and excuse-seeking English players and<br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[India's Kumble nominated to anti-doping panel]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Indias_Kumble_nominated_to_anti-doping_panel-1</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Indias_Kumble_nominated_to_anti-doping_panel-1</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:24:27 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Indias_Kumble_nominated_to_anti-doping_panel-1</guid>
<description><![CDATA[MOHALI, India, Dec 19 (Reuters) - India's former cricket skipper Anil Kumble has been nominated to the athletes' committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The leg spinner, who retired last month as the third highest test wickettaker with 619 wickets, has been included in the list announced on the WADA website (www.wada-ama.org). Kumble's term will start on Jan. 1. One-third of the panel members, who play an advisory role in policy and priority development of the agency, are replaced on a rotational basis annually. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is a signatory to the WADA Code.<br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cricket's Connections to Charles Dickens and Christmas]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Crickets_Connections_to_Charles_Dickens_and_Christmas</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Crickets_Connections_to_Charles_Dickens_and_Christmas</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:23:35 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Crickets_Connections_to_Charles_Dickens_and_Christmas</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Socialist historian Eric Hobsbawn wrote of how many long-held customs are actually nothing of the sort and are recent creations. His treatise on &quot;Invented Traditions&quot; didn&amp;rsquo;t mention Christmas, but if it had, it would no doubt have discussed the impact of Charles Dickens in helping to establish the modern British Christmas. We don&amp;rsquo;t know if Ebenezer Scrooge was ever a cricket fan, or whether he found time to enjoy it once relieved from the shackles of the counting-house by the spectres who haunted him over a festive period in the mid-nineteenth century. However, there are numerous references to the sport in other Dickens narratives. Most famous is the contest in his first novel, The Pickwick Papers, between All Muggelton and Dingley Dell. This match is supposedly based on a real fixture between the Cobham and Town Malling Clubs between 1830 and 1835. It is notable for its reference to &amp;ldquo;the art and mystery of the noble game,&amp;rdquo; with Dickens adding to cricket&amp;rsquo;s mystique. The piece also highlights how the emerging bourgeoisie had taken to cricket and how they frequented it as much for the purpose of social ceremony as for the enjoyment of competition. B/R Ticket Guide Powered by FanSnap.comThe irascible Alfred Jingle claims to have played the game in the West Indies. The earliest reference of cricket in the Caribbean was made in the Barbados press of 1806, and so it must have been established to be included in The Pickwick Papers in 1837. In addition to his first novel, cricket is mentioned in Barnaby Rudge, Great Expectations, and Martin Chuzzelwit. Memories are evoked of men and boys playing on the green and the smell of trodden grass. In The Old Curiosity Shop, a child dies with a bat beside his bed, whilst James Steerforth is described in David Copperfield as &amp;ldquo;the best cricketer you ever saw.&amp;rdquo; As Dickens the journalist painted pictures of social life, the social campaigner highlighted some of the injustices of early indu<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[India call of tour of Pakistan - Sri Lanka to replace India in Pakistan tour]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=India_call_of_tour_of_Pakistan_-_Sri_Lanka_to_replace_India_in_Pakistan_tour-1</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=India_call_of_tour_of_Pakistan_-_Sri_Lanka_to_replace_India_in_Pakistan_tour-1</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:08:15 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=India_call_of_tour_of_Pakistan_-_Sri_Lanka_to_replace_India_in_Pakistan_tour-1</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka announced yesterday that they will tour Pakistan next month in place of India, who cancelled their five-week series because of the Mumbai attacks. Sri Lanka Cricket said it had formally decided to take India&amp;rsquo;s place and play three Test matches and five one-day internationals. The Pakistan Cricket Board said that it stood to lose at least $25 million (about &amp;pound;16.5 million) as a result of India&amp;rsquo;s withdrawal, but would now recover some of the money. Pakistan played their most recent Test in December last year against India in Bangalore.<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[American Billionare Stanford to rethink involvement in cricket after losing Millions in Sponserships]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=American_Billionare_Stanford_to_rethink_involvement_in_cricket_after_losing_Millions_in_Sponserships</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=American_Billionare_Stanford_to_rethink_involvement_in_cricket_after_losing_Millions_in_Sponserships</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:49:34 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=American_Billionare_Stanford_to_rethink_involvement_in_cricket_after_losing_Millions_in_Sponserships</guid>
<description><![CDATA[American billionaire Allen Stanford is considering the future of his Twenty20 Super Series cricket competition after apparently losing $20 million in sponsorship deals from October's event in Antigua. Reacting to a newspaper report that Stanford may scrap the event and pull his sponsorship out of cricket, a spokeswoman said he was &quot;reviewing all of his options&quot; and considering how to change the competition. The Texan funded a winner-take-all $20 million Twenty20 match between England and a West Indies all-star team in Antigua in October, the first of five annual games worth a total $100 million. The all-stars won. Britain's Daily Mail newspaper reported Wednesday that Stanford told his staff in Antigua on Tuesday that he has dismantled his &quot;Board of Legends&quot; &amp;mdash; which included West Indies cricket greats Viv Richards, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose &amp;mdash; and ended his involvement in the game. &quot;He has disbanded the legends group, but at this stage no decision has been taken on the future of the Super Series,&quot; said Stanford 20/20 spokeswoman Julie Hodge.&quot;He is still evaluating his options and no decision has been made yet over whether to possibly have a different format or continue as is. As far as I'm aware there isn't a definite timeline, but he could possibly come to a decision within January.&quot; Hodge said Stanford was disheartened by the negative publicity of the Super Series and would take into consideration the poor financial return for his investment. &quot;Of course he will factor in the return, but there was a lot of negativity surrounding the event,&quot; she said. &quot;He is very passionate about the sport, and he has put more than $100 million into cricket. &quot;I don't think he was insulted. But it is disheartening, especially when you are putting so much money into the sport. He is reviewing all of his options.&quot; The England and Wales Cricket Board, whose officials are in Mohali for the test series against India, had no immediate confirmation. <br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistan Cricket Board links to Underground Kingpin Dawood ruining Indo-Pak Cricket]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Cricket_Board_links_to_Underground_Kingpin_Dawood_ruining_Indo-Pak_Cricket</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Cricket_Board_links_to_Underground_Kingpin_Dawood_ruining_Indo-Pak_Cricket</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:07:16 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Cricket_Board_links_to_Underground_Kingpin_Dawood_ruining_Indo-Pak_Cricket</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Sydney: Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) director-general Javed Miandad's family ties with Karachi-based underworld kingpin Dawood Ibrahim are affecting cricketing relations between India and Pakistan, cricketer-turned-columnist Peter Roebuck believes. Dawood, whose daughter is married to Miandad's son, is alleged to have played a key role from his base in Karachi in providing support to the perpetrators of last month's terror attacks in Mumbai. Roebuck wrote in his column in the Sydney Morning Herald that the relation has the potential to drive an even deeper wedge between the cricket communities of Pakistan and India and to add to the sufferings of a game facing the worst crisis in its history.&amp;nbsp; The Englishman adds that suggesting Miandad's involvement in the attacks would be ridiculous but his link with the don is certain to raise a few eyebrows. &quot;But in this volatile environment, his links with Dawood and his seniority in Pakistan cricket have caused consternation among eminent Indian cricket officials, some of whom lost friends or family members in the attacks. It does not bode well for relations between these cricketing strongholds,&quot; he said. Dawood is described by the US State Department as a &quot;global terrorist with links to al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba&quot;, the latter group responsible for the Mumbai massacre that claimed more than 170 lives. Dawood's reputed involvement in the latest evil might seem a solely political matter. Obviously, his alleged activities and continued liberty anger the Indians beyond measure, but that does not reach across the boundary. He has also been linked to the latest match-fixing scandals surfacing in the Twenty20 leagues, which is nothing new,&quot; said Roebuck.Roebuck feels that in this climate of political intrigue and distrust, even a tenuous and innocent connection can be a problem. &quot;Specifically, he (Dawood) has close connections with Javed Miandad, Pakistan's greatest batsman and now <br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistan Cricket Crisis continues to Deepen]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Cricket_Crisis_continues_to_Deepen</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Cricket_Crisis_continues_to_Deepen</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:07:16 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Pakistan_Cricket_Crisis_continues_to_Deepen</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Though the Mumbai terror attacks have affected the game of cricket at large in the sub-continent rather in the entire world, yet it has particularly proved disastrous for cricket in Pakistan. India are due to visit Pakistan next month, and in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror incident, the chances of that much-awaited and all-important tour seem to have virtually over as now the ball is in the court of the Indian government and not the game's governing bodies in the two countries. Yes, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has sought the government permission for the January 13 to February 19 tour while news reports suggest that India's government has refused permission to send a team for tour of Pakistan. It may be mentioned here that India are scheduled to play three Tests, five One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 match during the five-week tour. And, it was to be the fifth series between the two Asian cricket giants since 2004, when cricket ties resumed between the two arch rivals after a gap of as many as 15 years due to political tensions between the two neighbours. The irony is that the tour was first put in doubt much in advance before the Mumbai terror incident when the Indian government denied permission to its junior hockey squad to visit Pakistan last month. It may be mentioned here that foreign teams' tours of Pakistan are in jeopardy since March this year when Australia cancelled a Test tour of Pakistan in March and the International Cricket Council put off the high-profile Champions Trophy in September due to security concerns. After that all eyes were set on the Indian tour and it was hoped that this tour will prove as prologue to many an international teams' visit to the violence-stricken country, but now the situation has turned otherwise. It may be mentioned here that in the case of Indo-Pak cricket, hope used to prevail for long as those at the helm of affairs of Indian Board have been cooperative with Pakistani counterparts <br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Strauss stars as England dominate]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Strauss_stars_as_England_dominate</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Strauss_stars_as_England_dominate</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:39:12 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Strauss_stars_as_England_dominate</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood batted England into a commanding 247-run lead with two days remaining in the first Test against India in Chennai. Strauss, a centurion in the first innings, was 73 and Collingwood 60 in an unbroken 129 for the fourth wicket. After India had been dismissed for 241 four balls after lunch, England held a lead of 75, but were soon in trouble at 48-3 in their second innings. But they recovered magnificently to reach 172-3 at stumps. With a number of deliveries now breaking through a wearing surface, India will not be heartened to hear the record successful run-chase in a Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium is 155. And though the 1986 Indians famously tied a match here against Australia by making 347 in the final innings, Monty Panesar and Andrew Flintoff will surely pose more of a threat than Ray Bright and Greg Matthews did 22 years ago. England's cricket at the start of the day lacked the intensity of the second evening, and for more than an hour India's batsmen Mahendra Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh did very nicely after...<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Terrorist attacks leave Pakistan cricket in a critical, unstable condition]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Terrorist_attacks_leave_Pakistan_cricket_in_a_critical_unstable_condition</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Terrorist_attacks_leave_Pakistan_cricket_in_a_critical_unstable_condition</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:17:22 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Terrorist_attacks_leave_Pakistan_cricket_in_a_critical_unstable_condition</guid>
<description><![CDATA[OSAMA BIN LADEN has done more damage to Pakistan cricket than ball-tampering, match-fixing and forfeited-Test controversies combined. Since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US in 2001, six tours and series hosted by Pakistan have either been cancelled or postponed, relegating the nation to cricket's backwaters - a destination deemed too dangerous for Western players. Now, the man dubbed &quot;India's Osama&quot;, Dawood Ibrahim, threatens to destroy the remaining hope Pakistan cricket has of re-emerging by dismantling the crucial relationship between the boards of Pakistan and India. Ibrahim, a notorious gangster who reputedly funds his terrorist activities through a billion-dollar drug trade in Afghan opium, is blamed by India as the mastermind of last month's Mumbai blasts that claimed 172 lives. He is also held responsible for India's worst terrorist attack, the Mumbai attack of 1993 that killed 250 people. He is associated with Pakistan cricket's director general, Javed Miandad, through the marriage of his daughter Mahrukh to Junaid, son of the batting legend. India's government is demanding that Pakistan hand over Ibrahim, who is believed to have hidden himself in luxurious palaces for 15 years in the world's second-largest Muslim nation. India suggests that Pakistan is actively involved in shrouding Ibrahim and - retaliatory or not - cricket has become a pawn in the game. Once Pakistan's most powerful and important supporter, India is threatening to pull out of a tour starting later this month. &quot;If India doesn't tour, it will be a total disaster for Pakistan cricket,&quot; said former PCB chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi. &quot;It's very important for cricket, not just in Pakistan but in the world, for India to come. If they don't, it would relegate Pakistan further into isolation. &quot;If India doesn't come, I can't see New Zealand coming even though their tour is at the end of next year. Australia is supposed to tour in April but I can't see t<br/><br/>6 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Bradman's 1948 cricket cap up for auction - Could fetch upwards of $A600,000.]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Bradmans_1948_cricket_cap_up_for_auction_-_Could_fetch_upwards_of_A600000-</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Bradmans_1948_cricket_cap_up_for_auction_-_Could_fetch_upwards_of_A600000-</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:16:55 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Bradmans_1948_cricket_cap_up_for_auction_-_Could_fetch_upwards_of_A600000-</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A baggy green cap worn by Australian cricket captain Don Bradman in 1948 goes under the hammer in Melbourne on Monday night, with expectations it could fetch more than $A600,000. It was worn by the Don when he captained the 1948 Invincibles Ashes tour of England.Auctioneer Charles Leski told the Nine Network there has been worldwide interest in the cap, which Sir Don gave to the son of an English friend whom he saw playing backyard cricket with a makeshift cap. He said Richard Robins Jr owned the hat until 2003 and it has been on show in several museums in Australia since then. Australia were undefeated on the 1948 tour. Bradman scored two centuries, and a duck in his final innings, leaving him with a Test average of 99.94 - four runs short of an average of 100.<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[The Shane Warne Musical debuts in Melbourne]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=The_Shane_Warne_Musical_debuts_in_Melbourne</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=The_Shane_Warne_Musical_debuts_in_Melbourne</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:17:31 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=The_Shane_Warne_Musical_debuts_in_Melbourne</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It was one of the hardest matches: Shane Warne versus the cast of a musical. &quot;I am suddenly nervous,&amp;rdquo; the Australian cricketer admitted as he waited to see one of Melbourne's strangest new theatre shows based on a life that he himself has described as a soap opera. But, persuaded into a packed premiere of Shane Warne: The Musical on Wednesday night, the spin bowler began to see the funny side. &quot;There are a few more chuckles and the odd cringe - but not too many, I must admit. Then it's over,&quot; Warne explained afterwards. &quot;My life in two hours has just flashed before my eyes. Again I felt weird but, in a strange way, proud of what I'd just witnessed. Enjoy it, I say.&quot; It must have been a relief to Eddie Perfect, the composer, writer and on-stage version of Warnie, who hopes the show might eventually be invited to London's West End. &quot;Truth is tricky, isn't it...depends on how you spin it,&quot; begins the fourteenth unauthorised biography of Australian leg spin bowler. Of course, this spin is a musical one where &quot;Warnie&quot; is the Australian Everyman - and one whose private life was as eventful as his professional one from the moment he pitched the Ball of the Century to bowl out Mike Gatting in the 1993 Ashes. It is an ambitious attempt to get cricket audiences into the theatre, and tempt musical audiences to a topic that doesn't pull at the heart strings in quite the same way as a destitute orphan. Still, the mid-field marriage of a likeable star, fake bowling, plenty of sporting puns, and a moderate raunch factor had the crowds chuckling and clapping along. Warne's initial reluctance about the unusual project enters stage front as the stage character - who affects not to know what is going on in this weird musical world - says: &quot;You should have permission to write an unauthorised biography. I've had 13 unauthorised biographies and, as for these jokers, I shudder to think what they are going to do.&amp;rdquo; What they do is make his life an appealing<br/><br/>3 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Amla condemns Mumbai Attacks]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Amla_condemns_Mumbai_Attacks</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Amla_condemns_Mumbai_Attacks</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:05:41 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>assasin007</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Amla_condemns_Mumbai_Attacks</guid>
<description><![CDATA[South African cricketer Hashim Amla has said that any man perpetrating or involved with last month&amp;rsquo;s terror attacks in Mumbai, which claimed nearly 200 lives, would never be thought of as a right thinking Muslim.Steering clear of making any statement that could suggest political or religious overtones, Amla who is here to play a Test series against Australia, said: &quot;I'm quite not involved in politics from that perspective. If you look at Islam, the way that I have been taught and the way I have learnt Islam to be, the way I accept it, certainly it gives me a lot of stability and discipline as well.&quot;&quot;Personally, I don't think that if a Muslim appears to be doing something like that (the Mumbai attacks) ... it is certainly condemned in Islam,&amp;rdquo; the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him as saying.&quot;To the person playing cricket, I don't think people have to separate religion and sport. I really don't see myself as a role model but I think as a sportsman it would be very naive that a sportsman is anything but a real role model as well,&amp;rdquo; Amla said.Meanwhile, Aijaz Zaka Syed from Dubai in an article for the Khaleej Times, has a similar view on the attacks in India&amp;rsquo;s financial capital. Syed says: &amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s all very well for us to say Islam has nothing to do with extremism and terrorism.  We can go on deluding ourselves these psychopaths do not represent us. However, the world finds it hard to accept this line of argument because it sees the extremists increasingly assert themselves and take the centre-stage while the mainstream Islam remains silent.&quot; &amp;ldquo;The great religion that preaches and celebrates universal brotherhood, equality of men and peace and justice for all has been hijacked by a demented, miniscule minority.<br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Top 25 Cricket Catches]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Top_25_Cricket_Catches</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Top_25_Cricket_Catches</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:04:04 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Top_25_Cricket_Catches</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>7 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Ex-England cricketer on drug smuggling charge]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Ex-England_cricketer_on_drug_smuggling_charge</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Ex-England_cricketer_on_drug_smuggling_charge</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Dec 2008 22:18:51 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Ex-England_cricketer_on_drug_smuggling_charge</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Former England cricket star Chris Lewis was remanded in custody by a British court Tuesday, charged with attempting to smuggle drugs through an airport. The 40-year-old all-rounder, who played 32 Tests and 53 one-day internationals for England in the 1990s, was arrested Monday when border officials at London's Gatwick Airport found cocaine hidden in luggage that had arrived on a flight from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Four kilograms of cocaine with a street value of around $350,000 was seized by the UK Border Agency, the UK's Press Association said. The drugs were in a liquid form hidden in fruit tins, officials said. Lewis and basketball player Chad Kirnon, 26, both from London, were held and questioned by Customs officials and later charged. British Revenue &amp;amp; Customs spokesman Bob Gaiger told PA: &quot;This was an excellent detection by UK Border Agency officers. &quot;HMRC, together with UKBA, play a vital role in the fight to prevent illegal drugs from entering the UK and in protecting our communities from the violence and corruption that always accompany this hideous trade.&quot; The two men made a brief appearance at Crawley Magistrates' Court in West Sussex on Tuesday afternoon, where Lewis had a bail application refused, PA reported.&amp;nbsp; They were remanded in custody to appear via video link in court next Wednesday.<br/><br/>4 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Shoaib Akhtar's arm]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Shoaib_Akhtars_arm-1</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Shoaib_Akhtars_arm-1</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:16:49 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>saqib</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Shoaib_Akhtars_arm-1</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>9 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[England have been placed in a no-win situation for the first Test in Chennai: Cricket - Telegraph]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_have_been_placed_in_a_no-win_situation_for_the_first_Test_in_Chennai_Cricket_-_Telegraph-1</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_have_been_placed_in_a_no-win_situation_for_the_first_Test_in_Chennai_Cricket_-_Telegraph-1</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:40:41 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_have_been_placed_in_a_no-win_situation_for_the_first_Test_in_Chennai_Cricket_-_Telegraph-1</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It is a game in which off-field distractions are easily manifested on the field. To play a Test match is not to place oneself in, say, football's 'zone' for a couple of hours. It is to bare one's soul and mind for five days. Such verities might be worth remembering should England play in Chennai (Madras) this week. They were certainly forgotten in last week's hysterically polarised 'should they go or not?' debate. Because mentally England have no chance this week. Accused, among other things, of cowardice in a pointless week of vacillation, they are being placed in an impossible position. Take the batsmen. By my reckoning the best innings are often conceived in the mind a week before their actual playing. But do you think Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook were visualising facing Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma en route to Abu Dhabi last Thursday? Of course they weren't. More likely they were following the story of Indian airports on hijack alert. How can there be any focus at this time? I toured Sri Lanka with England A in 1998 (with a youthful Andrew Flintoff) when a bomb blast in Kandy altered the schedule, and briefly threatened the tour. I, like Flintoff, wanted to go home. I was distracted, and batted as such. Conversion of fifties to hundreds was usually a relative strength, but no centuries came on that trip. Only fifties. It was no coincidence. Some can compartmentalise better than others. In 1993 Mumbai was hit by 13 bomb explosions in a day, killing 250 people and injuring 700. Remarkably, the next day Zimbabwe played a Test in Delhi, in which Andy Flower, now England's assistant coach, scored a hundred. I asked Flower about this last week. He recalled no mention of the match being postponed. It was Zimbabwe's first Test abroad. Lower profile and different circumstances, but Flower's advice should be sought this week. Do India's cricketers want to play? Their thoughts have not been publicised. Coach Gary Kirsten has called for England to retur<br/><br/>5 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[South African cricket to abandon race-based selection]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=South_African_cricket_to_abandon_race-based_selection</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=South_African_cricket_to_abandon_race-based_selection</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 06 Dec 2008 07:26:56 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=South_African_cricket_to_abandon_race-based_selection</guid>
<description><![CDATA[South Africa's controversial selection policy on coloured players is set to be scrapped in three years after the resounding success within the national side, which now fields top performing non-white players ranked among the world's best. Plans have been made to continue the &quot;target transformation policy&quot; - often referred to as a &quot;quota system&quot; - for the next three years before discarding it for merit-based selection. Presently, Cricket South Africa has set a selection target of four coloured players for the Proteas and its six domestic franchises.&quot;The goal is to get merit-based selection at all levels of cricket,&quot; CSA chief executive Gerald Majola told Fairfax Media last night. &quot;We have decided to continue with the target transformation policy for the next three years, with a review at the end of each year. At the end of the three years, we hope we can then move to merit-based selection across the board. We really believe this has worked well for us.&quot; The Proteas have selected seven players of colour in their 15-man squad to tour Australia from next week: Ashwell Prince, Hashim Amla, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Jean-Paul Duminy, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Monde Zondeki. The policy has prompted much debate and controversy since it was adopted in 1998. On that occasion, South African selectors were instructed by senior board officials to include Herschelle Gibbs, a coloured batsman, in the Test XI to face the West Indies. Gibbs was the only non-white player in the Proteas line-up at the time. The so-called quota system has continued to polarise opinion in South Africa, most notably on the eve of the Sydney Test in 2002. Jacques Rudolph, a talented white batsman who has since abandoned South African cricket to sign as a Kolpak player with Yorkshire, was dropped on the morning of the match for the coloured Justin Ontong at the behest of the late Percy Sonn, then CSA's president. Critics viewed the move as tokenistic, but CSA defended Ontong's selection by <br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cricket for Retards?]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_for_Retards</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_for_Retards</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:48:19 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_for_Retards</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>5 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[India to remain host of 2010 event Despite Terror]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=India_to_remain_host_of_2010_event_Despite_Terror</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=India_to_remain_host_of_2010_event_Despite_Terror</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:11:50 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>arabiya</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=India_to_remain_host_of_2010_event_Despite_Terror</guid>
<description><![CDATA[New Delhi will remain the venue for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, with officials saying they will work with India authorities to ensure a safe event. Michael Fennell, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, disputed yesterday's media reports that the games might be moved to another country because of security concerns after last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai killed at least 171 people. &quot;At no stage has there been discussion about us moving the games from Delhi, nor has any other city been approached to be on standby as has been intimated in some recent media reports,&quot; Fennell said in a statement. Also yesterday, the England cricket team agreed to resume its tour of India if security recommendations are put in place. The English Cricket Board said the team will fly to India early next week from Abu Dhabi. An England and Wales Cricket Board security expert assessed the upcoming venues at Chennai and Mohali.Last week, the England team went home midway through the limited-overs series in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. The World Squash Federation also announced the postponement of the World Doubles Championship scheduled for Chennai this month. Australia pulled out of the event citing security concerns.&amp;nbsp; New Delhi was chosen to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games after several previous failed bids, becoming only the second Asian city to be allocated the games that feature athletes from the former British Empire.<br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cricket Under Siege in India]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_Under_Siege_in_India</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_Under_Siege_in_India</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:11:50 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brock</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=Cricket_Under_Siege_in_India</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The recent tragic events in India are casting their pall over India&amp;rsquo;s most beloved sporting pastime &amp;ndash; cricket. An article on BBC Sport today explains that England&amp;rsquo;s cricket squad may not continue on with their Test series tour of India. For now, the plan is to fly the team to a holding camp in Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates while a security report is prepared and a decision is made as to whether the safety of the English players could be insured in the forthcoming two-Test series. At this point, it seems doubtful. Though the English Cricket Board&amp;rsquo;s director, Hugh Morris, has said that he would absolutely send the team back to India once the situation was deemed safe and secure, the players may balk at that idea. Writing in Sunday&amp;rsquo;s News of the World, England&amp;rsquo;s captain Kevin Pietersen wrote, &amp;ldquo;Every time I see the TV footage of the carnage in the Indian city, I realize how close we were to death.&amp;rdquo; Easy there, Kevin. You weren&amp;rsquo;t that bloody close. A good 800 miles or so, actually, a nice enough buffer from the front lines. Nevertheless, one can certainly understand why Pietersen and crew are not exactly chomping at the bit to waltz back into such a seemingly unstable situation to compete in a sport that arouses the Indian blood like no other. While the future of the England/India Test series remains uncertain, the future of the India/Pakistan series scheduled for January is all but scotched. India was scheduled to tour Pakistan in January of &amp;rsquo;09, but given the situation between the two nations after the attacks in Mumbai, and also given the historically combustible passions that surround cricket in both countries, such a tour now is all but impossible. When you consider that prior to 2004 the Indian cricket squad did not tour Pakistan for 15 years due to political tensions, you realize that for these two nations cricket is much more than sport. Increasingly it&amp;rsquo;s veering into almost unprecedent<br/><br/>5 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[England to Continue India Tour - on flight to Abu Dhabi en route to India]]></title>
<link>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_to_Continue_India_Tour_-_on_flight_to_Abu_Dhabi_en_route_to_India</link>
<comments>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_to_Continue_India_Tour_-_on_flight_to_Abu_Dhabi_en_route_to_India</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:11:03 CST</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pakpryde</dc:creator>
<category>Cricket</category>
<guid>http://minesport.com/story.php?title=England_to_Continue_India_Tour_-_on_flight_to_Abu_Dhabi_en_route_to_India</guid>
<description><![CDATA[London (IANS): The England cricket team will fly to Abu Dhabi on Thursday and will train in the desert city en route to India for the first Test in Chennai starting on Tuesday after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) gave a green signal to the tour. ECB security advisor Reg Dickason on Wednesday examined the security measures in Chennai and apparently gave his report following, which the English team was asked to pack its bags for the unfinished India tour. All the players have received reports from the ECB security team and the recommendation by Dickason has been noted by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). ECB managing director Hugh Morris and Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) chief executive Sean Morris are all set to fly to India and will meet Dickason to ensure that requirements are in place at the Test venues in Chennai and Mohali. &quot;We've spoken over the last 48 hours with every player on at least two and probably three occasions. Sean and I spoke to each player together and clearly for those who were out in India, it's been a very traumatic experience,&quot; said Hugh.&amp;nbsp; &quot;I am just delighted that everyone will be on the plane for Abu Dhabi. I think it's very important and shows a lot of solidarity. (Captain) Kevin Pietersen has been incredibly supportive, and it's nice to see the players lining up behind him,&quot; he added.&amp;nbsp; England's tour was abruptly halted following the terror attacks in Mumbai last week, and the team flew back home Saturday putting the series in doubt. England opener Andrew Strauss said the biggest problem the players would face was not worrying about security, but the lack of preparation.&amp;nbsp; &quot;To begin with, there was a lot of shock and emotion as it seemed close to home. When things like that happen, you think about being with your family and cricket's not such a priority,&quot; Strauss was quoted as saying by BBC Five Live.&amp;nbsp; &quot;But after a few days to let t<br/><br/>2 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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