We were outplayed' - Dhoni

MS Dhoni has said India were completely outplayed by South Africa as they crashed to an innings defeat in Nagpur on Tuesday. His counterpart, Graeme Smith, credited the maturity of his team-mates in handling a difficult fortnight in which their coach quit and the selection panel was sacked.

"We were completely outplayed," Dhoni said after the game. "We are on the back foot, they can't lose the series now. So we are under the pressure but this is India, we are always under pressure. The last time they came, they were ahead and in the same position."

Dhoni, losing his first Test as captain, said Dale Steyn's bowling was the best display of conventional swing bowling he had seen in the last two years. "Seven of the 14 dismissals [of the regular batsmen] were out to great deliveries ... the ball was changed in the tea break on Monday and we lost five quick wickets. It changed everything."

Smith was all praise for his team. "It has been an outstanding performance from the guys. To win here, you need lots of discipline and the guys have showed it. There were a few special individual performances but it was a good team effort."

He did, however, single out Steyn's bowling, which gave him his fourth ten-for in a Test. "Its nice to have someone like [Steyn]. To run in like that and bowl as he did… It all happened so quickly even for us; it was great to watch."

Hashim Amla, adjudged the man of the match for his 253, called it one of his best knocks. "I came to the crease at a crucial time…Everybody feels a bit of pressure and I am just grateful that I got an opportunity to put the team in a good position. I have had a few good partnerships with Jacques; once we both got in we complemented each other .. when I wasn't scoring he was and vice versa."

The teams now have an extra day off following a four-day finish, before travelling to Kolkata for the final Test, which starts on February 14. India's selectors are expected to announce the squad for that match on

We soaked up the pressure well - Greatbatch

New Zealand coach Mark Greatbatch, in his first series in charge, has praised the way his players powered to a 146-run win in the first ODI in Napier , after Bangladesh had them under pressure early on.

New Zealand lost two wickets at 19, and stumbled to 135 for 5, before Jacob Oram and Neil Broom hit attacking half-centuries to lift the score to 336 for 9. Peter Ingram, on debut, made 69 as an opener and a brisk 32 by the captain Daniel Vettori also aided New Zealand's late assault. Oram was particularly brutal, smashing five sixes and eight fours in his 40-ball 83.

"I thought Bangladesh, for probably 20 overs of the game - bowling and batting - put us under pressure but we soaked that up," Greatbatch told Press Association. "We probably lost a couple of wickets too many in that middle stage but they kept playing positively and that set us up to get to 330."

Greatbatch singled out Broom and Oram for praise. They added 123 in 11.1 overs for the seventh wicket to take the initiative away from Bangladesh. "Neil was exceptional because it was a mature knock for a guy who hasn't really had a lot of success in one-day cricket," Greatbatch said. "I thought Jacob Oram's all-round performance, particularly his batting, was exceptional.

"He's been working hard over the last three or four months and yesterday we saw a guy that, if we can get him back to where he was 12 to 18 months ago, he's going to be a big help to our unit."

The New Zealand bowlers hit back after a strong opening stand of 71 to bundle out Bangladesh for 190, but Greatbatch felt there was room for improvement. "We need to bowl a bit fuller," he said. "Even if we do get hit down the ground, we're giving ourselves opportunities to pick wickets up early. I though Andy McKay had a really good debut, showed good pace and he came on when we were under the pump, so he was probably under extra pressure and was able to soak that up.

"Ian Butler may come back in, so that may mean a rest for one of the bowlers, that's probably where we're heading."

The second ODI will be played in Dunedin on Monday.

http://www.cricinfo.com/nzvbdesh2010/content/story/447141.html

The battle for No. 1 begins

Calling this series the World Championship of Cricket, as the host broadcaster is, will be an exaggeration, but it does start a cycle of about two years by the end of which we could spot the undisputed best Test team. Both teams have reason to believe they can occupy the spot vacated by Australia. Both say it's not the rankings, but consistent good cricket against tough opposition at home and away, that will make them the best team. Over the next two years, they will get ample opportunity to do that against each other, and they will hate to let Australia sneak in again. To achieve their ends, though, India and South Africa have to overcome the immediate challenges posed by a slew of personnel changes. The hosts are without two key batsmen - Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh - and the visitors have a new coach and selection panel.

India are new to the concept of dominating in Test cricket. The current winning streak of four matches - two each against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - is their joint-longest in more than 77 years of Test cricket. They last won four in a row when they blanked hapless England 3-0 in 1992-93, followed by a one-off win against Zimbabwe. But one thing that this particular unit can't be accused of is carrying demons from, or reverence for, the past.

The incredible belief this team has is what sets it apart from the previous units that represented India. It's been more than two years since that infamous Sydney Test, and they have lost just three more games. Apart from the victories, there have been creditable draws along the way - in Bangalore against Australia, in Napier, in Ahmedabad against Sri Lanka. Those were matches India would have struggled to save in the past. Those were matches where the belief shone in adversity, setting up crucial series wins.

This time, though, they face adversity of a different kind: with Dravid and Yuvraj out, and VVS Laxman not yet certain to play, they go in with their most inexperienced middle order since Dravid became a permanent member of the side in the mid-nineties. Every observer is waiting, everybody wants a peek into the future, everybody wants to know if India can make winning a habit, or if they will have to start all over again, when Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman eventually go.

That's the kind of chink South Africa will look to exploit in a two-match series where margins will be fine for both sides. They have statistically been the best visitors to the country in the last decade, winning one series, drawing one, and losing one since 2000, a record any side visiting India would be proud of. However, on this trip they come with problems of their own, which are unique in that they go beyond cricket.

The last time they came to Nagpur, South Africa shook the cricketing world. Sometimes mild tremors are still felt. This time, they were themselves shaken before coming to Nagpur. The upheaval back home - Mickey Arthur resigning and the sacking of the selectors - and a drawn home series against England wasn't the best preparation for one of the most difficult cricket tours. Yet they arrived quietly confident, with a largely settled batting order and an aggressive new-ball combination. They also come without huge expectations, they are not being talked up, and they have shown in the past that's when they are at their most dangerous.

http://www.cricinfo.com/indvrsa2010/content/story/447034.html

Malik to lead Pak in the T20 match against Aus

The PCB said that sacked captain Shoaib Malik would return to lead the team for Friday's T-20 Match against Australia at the MCG after Shahid Afridi was banned in a ball-tampering row.

"Malik will lead the Pakistan team in the T20 match against Australia in the absence of Afridi," the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said.

Afridi was caught by television cameras biting the ball in Pakistan's fifth and final one-dayer against Australia at Perth on Sunday.

Under ICC rules, any attempt to change the condition of the ball through illegal means is a violation of the players' code of conduct and is liable to punishment.

The on-field and third umpires reported the incident to match referee Ranjan Madugalle who conducted separate hearings with team manager Abdur Raqeeb and Afridi before handing the player a two-match international Twenty 20 ban.

The ban forced Pakistan to find another captain to lead the side in the only Twenty20 match at Melbourne on February 5.

Afridi had led Pakistan in the shortest form of the game since Younis Khan retired from T20 after guiding Pakistan to the World Twenty20 title in England last year.

Malik, 28, was sacked as captain after a 2-1 home one-day series defeat against Sri Lanka in January last year. He led Pakistan into the final of the Inaugural World T-20 held in South Africa in 2007, where they finished runners up to India.

Pakistan were led by Mohammad Yousuf in the three-Test series and five one-day matches against Australia that ended on Sunday. Australia won the Tests 3-0 and one-dayers 5-0. Yousuf has not been named in the 15-man party for the Twenty20 match.


http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/23723/Malik-to-lead-Pak-in-the-T20-match-against-Aus

Ottis Gibson confirmed as West Indies coach

Ottis Gibson will take over as West Indies coach in time for the home series against Zimbabwe later this month. The WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire has confirmed reports that Gibson left his post as England's bowling coach to take up the vacancy created by the sacking of John Dyson last year.

"Ottis will begin his appointment from the start of the home series against Zimbabwe," Hilaire said in a CBC Radio interview. "I think we need to take Ottis' appointment in stride. He will be the head coach of the WICB, and not just head coach of the senior team. He will have responsibility for coaching right across all of our representative cricket teams.

"This will give him an opportunity to stamp a particular style of coaching a West Indies way across all the teams. This is really important because by the time our players reach the senior team, they should be the finished article, and they really ought to be focussing mainly on their strategy, tactics, how they win games, and being able to execute."

The interim coach David Williams will remain in charge for the one-day tour of Australia, which starts over the next week, before becoming Gibson's assistant. The Zimbabwe series begins with a Twenty20 international in Trinidad on February 28 and Hilaire said it was important to give Gibson time to stamp his mark on the team.

"I think this has to be a long-term project," he said. "This is not a short-term project. We are not asking Ottis to turn around the West Indies fortunes and make them a winning team overnight. There has to be a gradual chain of development."

A fast-bowling allrounder during his playing days, Gibson represented West Indies in two Tests and 15 one-day internationals, and had a long first-class career in the Caribbean, South Africa and England. He coached within the ECB academy system before taking on the role as England's bowling coach in 2007 and Hilaire said Gibson's experience made him the best candidate.

"We hope that with him responsible for all coaching, he can start outlining to the coaches of all our teams the kind of players and approaches he wants from the players to ensure there is a clear career pathway as they move from the junior ranks to the senior team.

"He is a new era coach, and someone who has been exposed to all of the technologies and new approaches to coaching. We are hoping that he will bring to this task, an understanding of West Indies cricket. He will have all requisite knowledge and skills."

India start as favourites - Graeme Smith

Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis train during a practice session, Nagpur, February 1, 2010
Graeme Smith is aware that his side has little time to acclimatise before taking on India in what promises to be a tough series between top-ranked teams © AFP
Related Links
News : Graeme Smith confident despite Mickey Arthur exit
News : Team discipline the key for Corrie van Zyl
News : Mickey Arthur's resignation
Players/Officials: Graeme Smith | Corrie van Zyl
Series/Tournaments: South Africa tour of India
Teams: India | South Africa

Graeme Smith is an imposing figure and a bull-headed batsman, but that's on the field. Mindgames in press conferences are not his thing, nor South Africa's. They haven't made statements in the past about ageing cricketers in the opposition, nor how their opponents play "old-school" cricket, and they don't predict scorelines. They come in quietly confident, manage to stay low-key, and surprise the opposition.

That they have been the most successful visiting team in India over the past 10 years always manages to stay a surprise. They have won one series, lost one and drawn one, which is better than Australia's one win and two losses. On none of those three occasions did South Africa come in as favourites but in all of those series they stretched India to the extreme.

Their first press conference on arriving in India for this series - one that will decide who stays No. 1 for a considerable duration of 2010 - was no different. Ask Smith about India being vulnerable without Rahul Dravid, and he says there is still enough quality in the line-up. Ask him about his team's good record in India, and he reminds all that it was the box that wasn't ticked when they beat both Australia and England in away series in 2008.

Smith did talk about the No. 1 ranking but if you were the host broadcaster trying to cash in on the stakes, you could have done with better headlines. Smith conceded India were No. 1 for a reason, and were the favourites going into the series.

"India have played good cricket to get there", Smith said. "We have had recent success in terms of having had that ranking. But it's not really an issue for us, we have come over to India to play good cricket, to focus on our own game, and we know if we can perform to our levels and standards, we will be able to put India under a lot of pressure.

"Any time you come to India, it's always tough, you always probably start as underdogs. India are favourites going into this series. If this series was in South Africa, probably we would have been favourites. In the subcontinent, India have proven to be difficult to beat at any stage throughout nine years of my international career."

The build-up back home was not ideal, with Mickey Arthur stepping down as coach less than a week ago. The bad timing hasn't been helped by South Africa's schedule: they come to India - a change of weather, a change of pitches and outfield, a change of the whole ethos from the series they played against England - with only five days to prepare for the first of two Tests. Even a day's delay in acclimatising could result in an unassailable deficit.

While Smith acknowledged the disadvantage that comes with a crunched schedule, he didn't hide behind it. "International cricket today doesn't allow you too much time," he said. "This tour has been changed a couple of times, from one-day tour to Test tour to sort of both, which is great for cricket that we can play Tests and one-dayers here.

"But we know we have got the five days, and we have to make the most of that. There is a lot to jam in those five days, especially for Corrie [van Zyl, the interim coach], who has just come in. There is a lot for us to do, the most important thing to do is to get the specifics right, and make sure you are making the most of the each day you are given. The two-day game [their only practice game, against the Board President's XI] is an important part of it. To acclimatise to these pitches, getting our brains working in the right way, and really start enjoying playing the brand of cricket you have to play in the subcontinent."

It was not just fancy words: they spent a healthy five hours training at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, the venue of their tour game, a day after the entire team showed up for an optional training session hours after landing in Nagpur. On Monday the players went through rigorous drills, under the supervision of their coaches - van Zyl, Kepler Wessels (batting), Vincent Barnes (bowling) and Rob Walter (the conditioning coach who also assists in the fielding department).

While Smith didn't harp on India's weaknesses or their strengths or the hype around the No. 1 ranking, he was a confident man thanks to his side's record in the subcontinent of late. "We won in Pakistan on our last tour there, we won in Bangladesh, we came very close to winning the series here in India", he said. "We were one-love going into the last Test so I think generally we have played well. I think we have got a very positive mindset when it comes to playing in the subcontinent, which is important. The guys have been together for a period of time, we really enjoy coming to play in India

Blignaut and Marillier included in provisional squad for West Indies

Two more former Zimbabwe cricketers - Dougie Marillier and Andy Blignaut - are poised to return to the national side after they were included in a provisional 30-man squad for the forthcoming five-ODI tour of the Caribbean.

Additionally, Sean Ervine, who was one of the rebel group which openly clashed with Zimbabwe Cricket in 2004, has been signed to play domestic cricket for the Southern Rocks franchise.

According to ZC, Southern Rocks have also reached an agreement with Ian Harvey, the former Australian allrounder, who will play in the final two Logan Cup games for the Rocks and the domestic Twenty20 competition later this month.

It had previously been reported that Blignaut, 31, who last played international cricket in 2005, was trying to make a comeback. He had been in discussions with the Matabeleland Tuskers franchise and has been seen in the nets at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

Marillier, another former 'rebel', quit at the end of 2004 to concentrate on his family's real estate business, while Ervine has forged a successful career with Hampshire, and scored three hundreds in last season's county championship.