Sports World

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

England vs Ireland Squad

England vs Ireland

Match scheduled to begin at 14:30 local time (09:00 GMT)

Current time: 10:50 local, 05:20 GMT | Match begins in: 3:40

England squad

AJ Strauss*, JM Anderson, IR Bell, RS Bopara, TT Bresnan, SCJ Broad, PD Collingwood, KP Pietersen, MJ Prior†, A Shahzad, GP Swann, JC Tredwell, IJL Trott, LJ Wright, MH Yardy.

Ireland squad

WTS Porterfield*, AC Botha, AR Cusack, GH Dockrell, DT Johnston, NG Jones, EC Joyce, JF Mooney, KJ O'Brien, NJ O'Brien†, WB Rankin, PR Stirling, A van der Merwe, AR White, GC Wilson.

Sri Lanka Vs Kenya match gave second hat-tric of ICC World cup 2011

Sri Lanka Vs Kenya

Lasith Malinga, with his fiery spell, annihilated Kenyan batters today as Sri Lanka won the game by 9 wickets. It was an exceptional show by the stalwart fast bowler whose infusion into the team breathed a new life in Sri Lanka. The Kenyans were bundled out for 142 runs and in return Sri Lanka ended the game in 18.4 overs. Lasith Malinga was awarded Man of the match in SL Vs Kenya match for his 6 wickets haul ncluding one hattric. This was the second hat-tric of World cup 2011.

The match started with Kenya taking guard and playing like turtles. It was one of the slowest days in the world cup as Collings Obuya and David Obuya tried to anchor the innings. Eventually they finished with scores of 52 and 51 facing 100 and 106 balls respectively. Their approach seemed very defensive as if they made their minds to play like this today. This predetermined attitude stifled the flow of runs and in a moment they found themselves in their respective shells. Barring these two players there was no contribution whatsoever from anybody.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, came up with a plan and was prompt, aggressive and ruthless in their assault. First ball of the second over of Malinga saw SR Waters going home. It was one of those lethal Yorkers that clumped the stumps. Any batsman would have faltered on this. Later when the Obuyas were going on well, Lasith Malinga produced another wonder Yorker.

And just when you thought it was over, the Kenya scorecard read- 4 wickets in 6 balls. It was a hatrick from Lasith Malinga. Almost all of them were the sidearm, almost invisible, Yorkers. The hatrick victims were Tanmay Mishra, Peter Ondongo, Shem Ngoche.

In response to the Kenyan paltry total of 142 runs, Sri Lanka completed the chase in 18.4 overs itself. Tharanga and Sangakkara remained unbeaten on 67 and 27 respectively, while Dilshan contributed 44 runs of 30 balls.

It was such a different looking Sri Lankan team today than against Pakistan. Malinga brought an influx of energy to the team and their bowling appeared deadly. No doubt they are one of the favorites to win the world cup this time.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Many Things we learned from India against

1. India are unconvincing favourites to lift the trophy

Was this such a great advert for the 50-over game? Tense and exciting, and that’s a start, but the bowlers-to-the-slaughter motif jarred. It increasingly looks India’s only tactic: bat the opposition out of the game. Their bowling attack is staggeringly weak, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh excepted, and it will be a challenge to keep making the 325+ scores required to win matches with that quintet. As such we can expect more bat-friendly surfaces in which keeping the score to 338 rather than 360 with a late flurry of wickets, as the admirable Tim Bresnan did, is as good as bowling performances get.

2. Derek Pringle, Alec Stewart and Darren Gough were wrong

Not so much something we learned as something we have known for a while, particularly in the case of Gough, who makes the wrong judgement so often it defies statistical convention. The three former England players said last September that Andrew Strauss should be excluded from the World Cup XV, and have already had their folly served up to them once or twice. But the captain’s magnificent innings on Sunday, specifically in Indian conditions, hammered a final nail into the coffin of dissent emphatically. It is true that England probably won’t win the World Cup, but it will hardly be because of their captain’s batting.

3. Teams will jettison their principles for the slightest edge

The root of England’s collapse was Ian Bell, doubling up with cramp and then getting himself out in dismal fashion (perhaps fearing that if he retired he would end up being cast aside like cramp-magnet Owais Shah). If instead Bell had retired, he could have returned at seven after the mini-collapse and England still would have been favourites. It was an episode that raised questions against his mental strength just when the matter had looked settled. Also interesting was the dark under-belly of this new “professional” England outfit, shown by their merry padding up of Jonathan Trott as a runner, 18 months after they (correctly) refused Graeme Smith a runner at the Champions Trophy because, as Strauss said, “cramp is a conditioning thing, not an injury”.

4. Sachin Tendulkar is a liability in the field

It’s not like the old days, you know. Fielding is now a central part of the modern game. So how much longer can India carry their aged, short-limbed opening batsman in the deep? A couple of errors on Sunday effectively cost the hosts the game in the final analysis. He really is going to have to score a few runs to merit his place.

5. England are not 100% prepared

A number of events in the build-up showed that England have not (in fairness, could not have) prepared for this tournament as assiduously as they did the Ashes. Choosing a new opening batsman on the eve of the tournament is the most obvious. But there was an alarming sense after 99.5 overs on Sunday that Graeme Swann and Ajmal Shahzad were discussing what would happen in the event of the scores being tied. It was not quite so absurd as the 2009 WT20, when they qualified for the second round as a mathematical certainty only for Kevin Pietersen to refuse to count any chickens - ‘anything can happen in this crazy game’ - but an unsettling sight nonetheless.

LSU CB Patrick Peterson a dual threat in mold of Charles Woodson

INDIANAPOLIS -- Hall of Fame quarterback and new Denver Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway looks at players, especially cornerbacks, in a different prism than traditional personnel men.

LSU CB Patrick Peterson is a threat on defense and special teams.

The two-time Super Bowl champion looks at them through the lens of the pocket.

"If a guy can't catch the ball, he never really scared me,'' Elway said.

LSU CB Patrick Peterson is the type of corner who would almost surely scare Elway ... and intrigue him at the same time with the Broncos choosing second overall in the 2011 draft.

Peterson is a two-way threat in the mold of a young Charles Woodson, the former Michigan standout who came into the league as a shutdown corner and punt returner after his 1997 Heisman Trophy campaign in Ann Arbor.

In fact, the 6-foot, 219-pound Peterson models himself after Woodson, the Green Bay Packers veteran who has been something of a mentor to this draft's elite corner prospect.

By Chuck Cook, US Presswire

"He is a great athlete, and not only as a (defensive) player, but as a returner,'' Elway said. "He is special as a returner. ... He is a guy that can do a lot of different things for you.

"Athletically, he is as good as anybody in the draft.

"He is a guy that can make some big plays. Especially at the cornerback position, you like those guys that can make those plays, because those are game changers.''

Peterson's combination of size, power and speed -- he hopes to run a sub 4.3 40-yard dash Tuesday -- will almost certainly make him a top-five pick according to NFL Network chief draft analyst Mike Mayock.

"I don't want to be the next Charles Woodson. But I want to pattern my game after him," said Peterson. "He can play each and every defensive position on the field. ... If they need me to play dime, if they need me to play corner, strong safety, rover, I'm definitely down for it.''

OLB Von Miller justifying NFL draft stock with strong combine

Former Texas A & M LB Von Miller did not nothing to hurt the perception that he's a potential top-five draft pick with his showing at the NFL scouting combine Monday.

Former Texas A&M OLB Von Miller

By Brett Davis, US Presswire

Widely regarded as one of the top edge-rushing prospects in the draft, along with UNC DE Robert Quinn, Miller ran a 4.53 40-yard dash, vertically jumped 37 inches, broad-jumped 10 1/2 feet, benched 225 pounds 21 times and looked agile in on-field drills.

Miller, last year's Butkus Award winner, seems to be a natural fit for the Buffalo Bills (No. 3 pick) Arizona Cardinals (No. 5) or San Francisco 49ers (No. 7) ... assuming he lasts that long.

Jets set to purge Gholston, Jenkins, Taylor and Woody

The New York Jets are going to jettison a trio of veterans and first-round bust Vernon Gholston as they make preparations to fulfill Coach Rex Ryan's latest guarantee that they'll win their first Super Bowl in more than four decades.

OLB/DE Vernon Gholston spent too much time on the sideline in his three years with the Jets.

According to Manish Mehta of the (New York) Daily News, NT Kris Jenkins, OLB Jason Taylor and RT Damien Woody will all be let go in addition to Gholston.

By William Perlman, The

Star-Ledger, via US Presswire

Woody confirmed the news on his Twitter account, saying: "Just informed about my release....I want to thank the Jets and all the fans out there...it was a great ride!"

Jenkins, 31, will be released Tuesday, his agent confirmed to the Associated Press in an e-mail Monday night. Jenkins has missed 25 games since the start of 2009 with knee injuries and has been sufficiently supplanted by Sione Pouha. Taylor, 36, a longtime antagonist of the team as a Miami Dolphin, enjoyed his year in green and white but is no longer an impact pass rusher, something New York needs. Woody, 33, battled a knee injury this season then was lost to an Achilles' injury in the Jets' wild-card win at the Colts. He could be replaced by Vladimir Ducasse, last year's second-round pick, or veteran Wayne Hunter, who filled in this season.

Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum usually comes up aces with his first-round picks but badly misevaluated Gholston, 24. The sixth overall pick of the 2008 draft has yet to record an NFL sack and was inactive during the playoffs. The team imported Taylor to try and provide the pressure Gholston could not. Ryan tried moving Gholston from outside linebacker to defensive end but couldn't harness his physical abilities.

Ryan and Tannenbaum have consistently praised the efforts of Gholston -- who might have been miscast in New York after playing defensive end in Ohio State's 4-3 alignment -- saying he has done everything the coaching staff asked.

The moves could save the Jets approximately $24 million, money they could reallocate toward free-agents-to-be in WRs Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and Brad Smith and CB Antonio Cromartie. New York also seems to be signaling intent to get younger on the defensive front seven as a draft replete with defensive linemen looms.

Former Pakistan captain Aamir Sohail Says Pak 'not the crowd-pullers of world cricket anymore

Former Pakistan captain Aamir Sohail reckons that the national team is no more the 'crowd-pullers' in world cricket, which he believes is the reason behind top international teams' refusal to visit the country.
"Pakistan cricket team have always been ranked amongst the top three or four teams in the world, but they do not enjoy that status anymore. We are not the crowd-pullers of world cricket anymore and the international teams know that," the Daily Times quoted Sohail, as saying.

Sohail further said that cricket had become a commercial sport and all countries were looking to increase revenue through the fixtures.
"Other teams and boards probably know that they won't be much affected even if they refuse to play Pakistan. A major reason for the reluctance of foreign teams to come and play in Pakistan is because our boys are not competitive enough," the former captain said.
"It becomes difficult to turn-down a tour request when the hosts include top performers and can pull sponsors. We are languishing very low in the Test and ODI rankings which is a big cause of concern," he added.
Leading cricket teams have refused to visit Pakistan following last year's terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus, which has also forced Pakistan to hold its 'home' series against Australia and England in England.
In the last two years, Pakistan 'home' games have also been staged in the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand.
Pakistan, which was due to co-host the 2011 World Cup, was also stripped of its matches following the attack on the Sri Lankan team.
Pakistan was supposed to hold 14 matches, including one semi-final. Eight of Pakistan's matches have been awarded to India, four to Sri Lanka and two to Bangladesh. (ANI)