Team India gets down to business for Cricket World Cup 2011

The whole of India wants it to be Sachin Tendulkar’s World Cup. And why not! As soon as the team bus arrived at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, one spotted the maestro sitting in the first row. Tendulkar may not be leading the side, but looking at the manner in which he stepped out of the vehicle, one could sense that hunger in him. The World Cup means a lot to him and that was more than evident ahead of the first practice session.
The entire team participated in a football game. Tendulkar left the field a little later, and spent the rest of the day at the NCA gymnasium. Coach Gary Kirsten is keen on getting the players ready for Sunday’s warm-up game against Australia. He chose to engage the boys in some light workout and short stints at the nets.
Kirsten was the busiest man around. The South African was seen throwing balls at Virender Sehwag and then Gautam Gambhir. The last batsman to face Kirsten was YuvrajSingh. The coach also had a word with Yuvi. The others who had a hit were Virat Kohli, Yusuf Pathan and Harbhajan Singh, who, surprisingly, did not bowl on Wednesday. Skipper MS Dhoni also batted for 10 minutes at an extreme corner of the nets.
The bowlers, too, had a light session with Eric Simons keeping a close watch. The bowling coach, who stationed himself behind the stumps, made good use of his baseball glove. Ashish Nehra was seen working very hard. The left-arm pacer was trying to get his run-up and rhythm right.
Meanwhile, Kirsten was quick to point out to National Cricket Academy director Sandeep Patil that the practice pitches had a lot of grass. He then ensured that the grass was shaved off.
One reckons India will try to make full use of the home advtange. After all, the flat tracks will only help out batsmen and spinners. Before he left for the day, Kirsten had a nice look at the bald pitch. It was an indication of what we’d see in the days to come.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: Team Canada Preview

Despite being considered as one amongst the minnows and an easy pushover for the stronger sides, the Ashish Bagai-led Canadian team will travel to the Indian subcontinent with the intention of creating a few upsets and go back home with some pride and accolades. In a group that has biggies like Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Canada will look to contribute to the twists and turns of the mega tournament by trying to make themselves competitive against the big guns, all the while hoping to pick up the odd win against other teams in the same bracket as them.

Having won a World Cup warm-up match against Netherlands on February 6^th at Abu Dhabi, Canada will be pumped up to begin their World Cup campaign with the right attitude and playing some good competitive cricket. Though this Canadian side has seldom played in the Indian subcontinent, the presence of players of Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan origin should mean that conditions aren't too alien for them. They are in the limelight straight away in the tournament, opening their campaign on Day 2 against co-hosts Sri Lanka on February 20^th at Hambantota. It will be imperative for their confidence that they are not ripped to shreds by the likes of Muralitharan, Mendis and Malinga, and batting out their 50 overs will be one of the targets they set themselves when competing with the big boys.

Batting:

Although Canada will enter their third World Cup as a minnow, one cannot forget what opening batsman John Davison did against West Indies in the 2003 World Cup. His beserk innings of 100 from 67 balls still remains untouchable. Davison, now 40-years old, is the senior stateman in the Canadian side, and while no longer quite as lethal, he does still pose a threat. Hiral Patel, who has often been moved up and down the order, could play as Davison’s opening partner. The Indian-born Patel doesn’t have the stats to back him up but his energy and the urge to work hard and play well will help him fight any initial nerves on such a huge stage.

At number three, Canada will play the Sri Lankan-born Ruvindu Gunasekera. The 19-year old Gunasekera has represented Canada in just three ODIs but has scored half centuries in two of them. Although the southpaw failed to impress against Netherlands in the warm-up tie, he will be very useful in conditions that will suit him well. Captain and Wicket keeper Ashish Bagai, who is most likely to play at number four, will be Canada’s top dog. Bagai, who is one of the few members of the squad to have featured in a World Cup before, will bring in a lot of consistency into the team’s batting. Although Canada finished at 5^th spot in the ICC World Cricket League Division One, Bagai played a few good innings and was instrumental in both their victories against Kenya in the tournament. He has also been very effective with the gloves effecting 13 dismissals in the two World Cups he has played. The Indian-born Bagai will lead his side for the first time in a World Cup and will be excited about the prospect of returning 'home' for the tournament.

In the middle order, Canada has the likes of Rizwan Cheema and Jimmy Hansra. The 32-year old Cheema is known for his fearless batting and is believed to have the audacity to hit big pacers all over the park. In the 21 ODIs he has played, Cheema has scored 523 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 119.40.On batsmen-friendly pitches, if this man gets going, even the strongest team will be in a spot of bother. Jimmy Hansra, another Canadian player of Indian origin, fits into the batting lineup as one of the lower order batsmen who can clear the ground as well as nudge the ball around and consolidate a partnership according to the given circumstances. In the warm-up tie against Netherlands, Hansra scored a patient fifty to set up his side’s run chase after a few initial hiccups, and took them to a good win ahead of the World Cup.

Bowling

Canada’s bowling attack is spearheaded by the Pakistan-born Khurram Chohan. Chohan is partnered by Henry Osinde, who is considered to be Canada’s fastest bowler. Both Chohan and Osinde are aggressive bowlers and will look to get their side a couple of wickets early on. Both have done reasonably well for Canada in ODIs, with Chohan picking up 22 wickets in 15 games at an economy rate of 4.78 rpo while Osinde has 35 wickets in 33 games at an economy rate of 5.00 rpo. Both of them bowled exceptionally well in the warm-up tie against the Netherlands, going for just 46 runs and picking up two wickets in 16 overs between them. The Canadian squad has a good first change medium pacer in Harvir Baidwan. Known for his impeccable line and length, Baidwan has done well in the 19 ODIs he has played so far, picking up 24 wickets at an economy rate of 4.83 rpo. Baidwan picked up two wickets and gave away just 29 runs in 7.4 overs at an economy rate of 3.78 in the aforementioned game.

Among the spinners, Canada has the 20-year old Parth Desai, who is considered to be one of the best young spinners in Canada. With his disciplined line and length, Desai is capable of keeping the runs down, while picking up the odd wicket too. He had a decent outing in the ICC World Cricket League Division One, picking up six wickets in six games at an economy rate of 3.96. He also bowled exceptionally well in the warm-up tie against Netherlands, finishing with figures of 2 for 18 in 5 overs. In conditions that will suit spinners more than the pacers, this Indian-born off-spinner will look to make the most of this opportunity and help his side to win a couple of games. Captain Bagai also has another spin option in Balaji Rao. Rao also bowled very well in the warm-up tie, picking up two wickets, giving away just 12 runs in his quota of 6 overs.

Squad:

Ashish Bagai (c & wk), Rizwan Cheema, Harvir Baidwan, Balaji Rao, John Davison, Parth Desai, Tyson Gordon, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Jimmy Hansra, Khurram Chohan, Nitish Kumar, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Zubin Surkari, Karl Whatham, Hamza Tariq

Support Staff:

Coach - Pubudu Dassanayake, Assistant Coach- Chandika Hathurusingha, Match Analyst- Rathan Moorthy, Strength and Conditioning Coach- Coling Berenhaut, Physio- Dr. Giovanni Perri, Manager- Michael Henry, Assistant Manager- Johnny Bujan

Likely XI: Hiral Patel, John Davison, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Ashish Bagai(c & wk), Rizwan Cheema, Khurram Chohan, Jimmy Hansra, Harvir Baidwan, Henry Osinde, Parth Desai, Balaji Rao

Players to Watch

John Davison- Davison, with his 67-ball century in the 2003 World Cup is one of the most dangerous batsmen that Canada possesses. The 40-year old is probably playing in his last World Cup and would be looking to go all out to perform well and give the cricket fans in Canada something to cheer about.

Ashish Bagai - Playing three crucial roles of the Captain, Wicket keeper and often even opening the batting, Ashish Bagai will be the man to watch out for on the batsman friendly pitches in the Indian subcontinent. The former Delhi-lad will look to lead the team from the front and play the role of sheet anchor in his side’s pursuit to make sure they bat out the 50 overs.

Dark Horse:

Jimmy Hansra - Jimmy Hansra, who often plays in the side as a floater, will look to seize this opportunity to cement a permanent spot in the batting order. Bagai can use Hansra wisely by bringing him out according to the demands of the situation. He already displayed his ability to revive a batting collapse in the warm-up tie against Netherlands where he scored a resilient half century to take his side to victory.

Schedule

The minnows Canada have their task cut out from the word go at the World Cup as they begin their campaign against one of the World Cup favourites and the co-hosts, Sri Lanka on February 20^th at Hambantota. They then travel to Nagpur on February 28th for a game against Zimbabwe, where they will look to play out of character and squeeze out a win against an opposition that will find the subcontinent pitches a bit more of a challenge.

The action then shifts to Colombo, where they take on a strong Pakistan side on March 3^rd. Despite Pakistan’s problems before the World Cup, Canada is unlikely to challenge the Asian powerhouse. Canada then travel to Delhi to take on Kenya on March 7^th. Having beaten Kenya on two previous occasions in the ICC World Cricket League Division One, this will be Canada’s most crucial fixture and they will hope to pick up all the points from this game. They next travel to Mumbai to take on New Zealand, who have not been in the best of form in ODIs. Canada is easily the weaker side but will look to take their chances and hand the Kiwis an upset.

Canada end their group stage matches with a game against Australia on March 16^th at Bengaluru. They will be keen to escape that match with their dignity intact, and end the tournament on a high.

Fixture List:
February 20^th: Sri lanka vs Canada at Hambantota at 14:30 local time
February 28^th: Canada vs Zimbabwe at Nagpur at 09:30 local time
March 3^rd : Canada vs Pakistan at Colombo at 14:30 local time
March 7^th: Canada vs Kenya at Delhi at 14:30 local time
March 13^th: Canada vs New Zealand at Mumbai at 09:30 local time
March 16^th: Canada vs Australia at Bangalore at 14:30 local time

Recent Form:
September 2010: Ireland vs Canada ODI Series- Series Drawn (1-1)
July  2010: ICC World Cricket League Division One – Fifth Place
April 2010: West Indies vs Canada: West Indies won 1-0

Predictions:

The minnows from North America will come in with no expectation and will set themselves a target of a minimum of two wins in the Group Stage of the competition. But more often than not, a big stage like the World Cup, gives these 'little ones' an extra reason to go out onto the field and set the stage alight. In their bid to beat the biggies of the Cricketing World, expect Canada to play out of their skins and entertain the huge crowds before they head back home with a group stage exit.

Cricket World Cup countdown: Firsts in record book

THE TENTH edition of mega cricketing event ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 is going to start from February 19 at Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. Defending champion Australia and thirteen other nations will play a total of 49 matches at 13 venues during the 43 days long event.

A ten year old elephant, Stumpy is the official mascot of the 2011 Cricket World Cup. The winner and the runner-up teams of this mega event will get a total prize money of US$ 3 million and US$ 1.5 million respectively. ESPN Star Sports and Star Cricket would broadcast ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 across the globe.
Here are some interesting and unique facts of the first World Cup Cricket, which was held from  June  7 to June 21, 1975 in England.

First ever world cup match captains: Mike Denness (England) and S. Venkataraghavan (India)

First cricketer who scored a 100 in a world cup match: Dennis Amis (England) 137 runs against India

First cricketer who scored 150 in a world cup match: Glenn Turner (New Zealand) 171 runs (not out) against East Africa

First cricketer who scored a 50 in a world cup match: Keith Fletcher (England) 68 runs against India

First cricketer who hit a six in a world cup match: Keith Fletcher (England) against India

First cricketer who played full sixty overs in a world cup match: Sunil Gavaskar (India) against England at Lord's, London

First cricketer who scored a 100 in a world cup final: Clive Lloyd (West Indies)

First cricketer to claim a wicket in a world cup match: Mohinder Amarnath (India) of John Jameson (England)

First bowler who claimed 5 wickets in a world cup match: Dennis Lillee (Australia) against Pakistan

First bowler who claimed 5 wickets in a world cup final: Gary Gilmour (Australia)

First bowler who bowled a batsman in a world cup match: Madan Lal (India) bowled Dennis Amis (England)

First cricketer who was run-out in a world cup match: Ramesh Sethi (East Africa)

First wicket-keeper who picked a catch in a world cup match: Alan Knott (England) of Anshuman Gaekwad (India)

First wicket-keeper who stumped a batsman in a world cup match: Ken Wadsworth (New Zealand) stumped Frasat Ali (East Africa)

First cricketer to take a catch in a world cup match: S. Venkataraghavan (India) caught John Jameson (England)

First team which won by the margin of 200 runs in a world cup match: England against India at Lord's, London

First team which won by 10 wickets in a world cup match: India won against East Africa at Headingley, Leeds

First team which scored 300 runs in a world cup match: England against India at Lord's, London

First team which scored below 100 in a world cup match: Sri Lanka against West Indies at Old Trafford, Manchester

First cricketer who won Man-of-the-match in a world cup match: Dennis Amis (England)

First cricketer who won Man-of-the-match in a world cup final: Clive Lloyd (West Indies)

First umpires to officiate a world cup match: David Constant and John Langridge of England.

World Cup will reverse poor perception of 50-over cricket: ICC

NEW DELHI: ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat believes cricket World Cup will dismiss fears of the demise of the 50-over format of the game and prove that all three formats can co-exist.

"I think the talk of poor interest in 50-over cricket is overstated. I firmly believe that all three forms of the game (Test, ODI and T20I) will co-exist and in fact thrive at international level," Lorgat said.

"I hope that the ICC  Cricket World Cup, being the game's flagship event and cricket's biggest prize, will add to reversing the poor perception of 50-over cricket as some of the recent matches already have.

"To be frank, the talk of a demise of 50-over ODI cricket is way out of whack with what we are experiencing. Players, spectators, TV viewers and administrators still see great value in the ODI and I think we are very fortunate as a sport to have three viable formats that are so popular in their own ways. I can't think of any other sport that enjoys such an embarrassment of riches in that way," he added.

Lorgat said 2011 will witness the most open and unpredictable ICC Cricket World Cup in history.

"This year's event promises to be one of the most open and unpredictable in history. It seems to me that the top teams are all playing some wonderful cricket at present and there is precious little to decide between them," he said.

"The Australians could make history by becoming the first team to win four in a row but they will be challenged as they are not as dominant today as they were four years ago. The other teams no doubt will sense an opportunity to wrestle 'The Cup that Counts' from their tight grasp," he added.

The ICC CEO said the governing body doesn't have plans to tinker with the format of the game but it is ready to consider changes if it is good for cricket.

"There are no plans to dramatically change the format of the 50-over game at international level. That said, we encourage our Members to experiment with different formats and initiatives to see if there are ways it can be enhanced," he said.

"The ODI today has a very different look and feel to what it was 40 years ago when the first match took place in 1971. We have always embraced change and will continue to do so. If it's good for ODIs we will consider it," he added.

The World Cup, which is being co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, will be starting from February 19 in Dhaka.

World Cup 2011 Schedule & Timetable releases

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 will be held by in the sub-continent South Asian countries: India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai will be hosting the final of the Cricket World Cup 2011.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 shedule has been released and the mega event will be held from the 19th of February to the 2nd of April in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The first match of ICC World Cup 2011 begings between India vs Bangladesh on Feb 19, 2011 onwards.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Teams:
Group A – Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya.
Group B – India, South Africa, England, Bangladesh, West Indies, Netherlands and Ireland.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Schedule or Timetable:

1. 19 February (14.00) – India vs Bangladesh – Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka

2. 20 February (09.30) – New Zealand vs Kenya – M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

3. 20 February (14.30) – Sri Lanka vs Canada – Hambantota International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota

4. 21 February (14.00) – Australia vs Zimbabwe – Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad

5. 22 February (14.30) – England vs Netherlands – Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur

6. 23 February (14.30) – Pakistan vs Kenya – Hambantota International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota

7. 24 February (14.30) – South Africa vs West Indies – Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi

8. 25 February (14.30) – Australia vs New Zealand – Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur

9. 25 February (09.30) – Bangladesh vs Ireland – Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka

10. 26 February (14.30) – Sri Lanka vs Pakistan – R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

11. 27 February (14.30) – India vs England – Eden Gardens, Kolkata

12. 28 February (14.30) – West Indies vs Netherlands – Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi

13. 28 February (09.30) – Zimbabwe vs Canada – Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur

14. 01 March (14.30) – Sri Lanka vs Kenya – R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

15. 02 March (14.30) – England vs Ireland – M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

16. 03 March (09.30) – South Africa vs Netherlands – Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali

17. 03 March (14.30) – Pakistan vs Canada – R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

18. 04 March (09.30) – New Zealand vs Zimbabwe – Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad

19. 04 March (14.30) – Bangladesh vs West Indies – Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka

20. 05 March (14.30) – Sri Lanka vs Australia – R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

21. 06 March (14.30) – India vs Ireland – M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

22. 06 March (09.30) – England vs South Africa – M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

23. 07 March (14.30) – Kenya vs Canada – Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi

24. 08 March (14.30) – Pakistan vs New Zealand – Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy

25. 09 March (14.30) – India vs Netherlands – Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi

26. 10 March (14.30) – Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe – Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy

27. 11 March (09.30) – West Indies vs Ireland – Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali

28. 11 March (14.30) – Bangladesh vs England – Chittagong Divisional Stadium, Chittagong

29. 12 March (14.30) – India vs South Africa – Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur

30. 13 March (09.30) – New Zealand vs Canada – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

31. 13 March (14.30) – Australia vs Kenya – M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

32. 14 March (14.30) – Pakistan vs Zimbabwe – Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy

33. 14 March (14.30) – Bangladesh vs Netherlands – Chittagong Divisional Stadium, Chittagong

34. 15 March (14.30) – South Africa vs Ireland – Eden Gardens, Kolkata

35. 16 March (14.30) – Australia vs Canada – M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

36. 17 March (14.30) – England vs West Indies – M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

37. 18 March (14.30) – Sri Lanka vs New Zealand – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

38. 18 March (09.30) – Ireland vs Netherlands – Eden Gardens, Kolkata

39. 19 March (14.30) – Australia vs Pakistan – R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

40. 19 March (09.30) – Bangladesh vs South Africa – Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka

41. 20 March (09:30) – Zimbabwe vs Kenya – Eden Gardens, Kolkata

42. 20 March (14.30) – India vs West Indies – M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

43. 23 March (14.30) – First Quarterfinal (Group A1 vs Group B4) – Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka

44. 24 March (14.30) – Second Quarterfinal (Group A2 vs Group B3) – R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

45. 25 March (14.30) – Third Quarterfinal (Group A3 vs Group B2) – Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka

46. 26 March (14.30) – Fourth Quarterfinal (Group A4 vs Group B1) – Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad

47. 29 March (14.30) – First Semifinal (Winner of Match 43 vs Winner of Match 45) – R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

48. 30 March (14.30) – Second Semifinal (Winner of Match 44 vs Winner of Match 46) – Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali

49. 02 April (14.30) – Final (Winner of Match 47 vs Winner of Match 48) – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

ICC Annual Award Nominations

The ICC’s prestigious sixth annual awards appear to have run into a controversy with several high-profile figures from South Africa criticizing the final selection process for not including even a single South African player. The ICC Awards ceremony is now in its sixth year and this year it will be held in Johannesburg to coincide with the ICC Champions Trophy. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007) and Dubai (2008).

Majola, the South Africas national cricket board chief executive questioned the credibility of the awards and said it appeared to him that the only way to get on the shortlist was to play the Ashes.

One can raise various questions on the selection. How Graham Onions featured in the Emerging player of the year list? Before being short listed, he has played hardly 5 or 10 tests and do not have nothing great like Parnell or Duminy in him. Same applies for Ryder. They had done nothing outside their home conditions. It seems that the countries which do not play cricket in the latter part of the year will be totally forgotten.

Selection Criteria:

An ICC spokesperson said that the awards nomination “is a completely independent process in which the ICC has no says whatsoever”. The long list of nominations for the individual awards was prepared by a five-member ICC panel headed by Clive Lloyd, the ICC’s cricket committee chairman, and including Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar, Bob Taylor and Stephen Fleming. This list was then sent to the ICC’s independent panel of 25 members (including two South Africans) for selection of four players for each category.

Nomination is based on the period between August 13, 2008 and August 24 2009, the ICC Awards 2009 take into account performances by players and officials in that period for the game. That period includes such high-profile events as the ICC World Twenty20 in England, the ICC Women’s World Cup in Australia and the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in South Africa, as well as several bilateral Test and ODI series. While the shortlist was announced, the category winners will be known only on awards night. The votes have already been collated by Ernst and Young, who acted as independent auditors.

Highlights of ICC Awards:

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and opener Gautam Gambhir got twin nominations, while Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag were shortlisted for the ODI Player of the Year.

Gambhir, Dhoni, Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Strauss have been short-listed for the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy for Cricketer of the Year.

In addition, Gambhir, Johnson and Strauss were also short-listed for the Test Player of the Year alongside Sri Lanka’s Thilan Samaraweera. Dhoni is also in contention to retain the ODI Player of the Year award he won last year as he is short-listed in that category with team-mates Yuvraj and Sehwag as well as West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

This year’s awards include eight individual prizes and also feature the selection of the Test and ODI Teams of the Year and the award to the side that has adhered most to the Spirit of Cricket. The nominees for the Women’s Cricketer of the Year are last year’s winner England captain Charlotte Edwards along with team-mate Claire Taylor and Australia’s Shelley Nitschke. The Emerging Player of the Year nominees short-list features two Australians, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle, as well as Jesse Ryder of New Zealand and England’s Graham Onions. The Umpire of the Year award was voted on by the captains and the match referees based on the umpires’ performance statistics.

ICC Awards 2009 – short lists of nominees:

Cricketer of the Year:

1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind)
2. Gautam Gambhir (Ind)
3. Mitchell Johnson (Aus)
4. Andrew Strauss (Eng)

2.Test Player of the Year:

1. Gautam Gambhir (Ind)
2. Mitchell Johnson (Aus)
3. Thilan Samaraweera (SL)
4. Andrew Strauss (Eng)

3. ODI Player of the Year:

1. Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)
2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind)
3. Virender Sehwag (Ind)
4. Yuvraj Singh (Ind)

4. Emerging Player:
1. Ben Hilfenhaus (Aus)
2. Graham Onions (Eng)
3. Jesse Ryder (NZ)
4. Peter Siddle (Aus)

5. Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year:

1. Rizwan Cheema (Can)
2. Ryan ten Doeschate (Ned)
3. William Porterfield (Ire)
4. Edgar Schiferli (Ned)

6. Twenty20 International Performance of the Year:

1. Shahid Afridi (Pak) for 51 runs and taking 2-16 against South Africa
2. Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) for scoring 96* against West Indies
3. Chris Gayle (WI) for scoring 88 against Australia
4. Umar Gul (Pak) for taking 5-6 against New Zealand

7. Women’s Cricketer of the Year:

1. Charlotte Edwards (Eng)
2. Shelley Nitschke (Aus)
3. Claire Taylor (Eng)

8. Umpire of the Year:

1. Aleem Dar
2. Tony Hill
3. Asad Rauf
4. Simon Taufel

9. Spirit of Cricket:

1. Australia
2. England
3. New Zealand
4. Sri Lanka

Tendulkar and Kallis share number-one batting spot

India batsman Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis of South Africa have jointly claimed the coveted number-one position in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after stellar performances in the Cape Town Test which finished on Thursday. Tendulkar, who scored 146 and 14 not out, has gained one place while Kallis has been rewarded with a jump of four places for his performances of 161 and 109 not out .that earned him the man of the series and match of the match awards, to leapfrog Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara. Both the batsmen now sit on 883 ratings points, just one ahead of Sangakkara.

Tendulkar, who won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year Award 2010 at the LG ICC Awards in Bengaluru in October last year, last claimed the number-one spot on 14 October 2010 after his magnificent 214 and 53 not out against Australia also in Bengaluru. It is the 10th time that Tendulkar has claimed the number-one ranking which he first achieved in his 33rd Test in November 1994 against the West Indies in Mumbai. Kallis last surged to the top of the batting table in October 2005 after the Sydney Test against Australia while he first topped the chart after the Newlands Test against England in January 2005. He earned 77 ratings points from the series against India in which he scored 498 runs.

Also charging up the batting table are left-handed openers Alastair Cook of England and Gautam Gambhir of India. Cook, who scored a match-winning 189 in Sydney, has vaulted eight places to fifth spot. Cook had entered the Ashes in 30th position on 628 ratings point and ended the series with a career-best rating of 803 – thanks to his series aggregate of 766 runs which earned him the man of the series award. Gambhir has broken into the top 20 and he now sits in 15th position after his scores of 93 and 64 have helped him jump seven places in the latest rankings which were released on Friday. England's Ian Bell and Matt Prior have also improved their rankings after hitting centuries in England's an innings and 83 runs victory in Sydney. Bell has moved up five places to 22nd position while Prior is now in 29th position after gaining six places.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, South Africa's Dale Steyn continues to lead the pack. He is now on 899 ratings points after earning two ratings points and will now have to wait until the next Test series against Australia in September-October before he takes a shot at the 900-point mark threshold. Bowlers making upward movements include James Anderson in third (up by one place), Ishant Sharma in 15th (up by one place), S.Sreesanth in 22nd (up by four places), Ben Hilfenhaus in 24th (up by two places), Shane Watson in 32nd (up by one place) and Tim Bresnan in 36th (up by five places). There is no change in the top five of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders with Kallis leading Daniel Vettori of New Zealand by a distance.