51 Pakistani cricket stars up for grab in BPL auction

By Ubaid Awan

KARACHI, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) December 18, 2012: A total of 51 Pakistani cricketers will be up for grabs on Thursday when players auction for the second edition of the Bangladesh Premier League will be held in Dhaka.

Apart from 51 Pakistani cricketers, 81 other international cricketers will also be center of attraction in the players auction.

The cricketers have been distributed in four categories, namely Golden Category, "A" Category, "B" Category and "C" Category.

As per the details, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Khan Afridi, explosive opening batsman Imran Nazir and Twenty20 specialist off-spinner Saeed Ajmal have been graded in the Golden Category for the BPL Players Auction.

Fast bowler Umar Gul, all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz, fast bowler Mohammad Sami, wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal and his brother Umar Akmal have been placed in Category A for the BPL Players Auction.

Other Pakistani cricketers including Khurram Manzoor, Shahzaib Hasan, Umar Amin, Asad Ali, Zulfiqar Babar, Awais Zia, Azeem Ghumman, and Fawad Alam have been grouped in Category B for the BPL Players Auction.

Category C is also over-populated with Pakistani cricketers including Haris Sohail, Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Shahid Yousaf, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Hammad Azam, Rao Iftikhar, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Bilawal Bhatti, Khalid Latif, Junaid Zia, and Mansoor Amjad.

Interestingly enough, top Twenty20 Pakistani players including Ahmed Shahzad, Muhammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Shoaib Malik, and Misbah-ul-Haq, are not part of the BPL Players Auction.

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Rest-seeking AB de Villiers pulls out of NZ T20s

By Sheriff Michaels

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) December 18, 2012: South African skipper for Twenty20 Internationals, AB de Villiers has ruled himself out of the upcoming three-match Twenty20 International series starting December 21 at Durban.

The aggressive South African cricketer has cited exhausting past few months as the reason for him to take rest and get ready for the Test series against New Zealand in January, 2013.

AB de Villiers’ decision to take rest in T20Is has opened an avenue of opportunity for the Cape Cobras skipper Justin Ontong who has been asked to fill into his shoes in the team.

Talking about his decision, AB de Villiers said, “It's been an exhausting few months and I feel that I need some extra rest before the Test series. It's for this reason that I have put in the request and I'm grateful to the team management for supporting this decision."

It is important to mention here that the South African cricket authorities had already reduced workload on de Villiers by relieving him from captaincy responsibilities in the squad announced on December 13, 2012 and gave him the role to do the job as a wicketkeeper-batsman. In his absence the young Quinton de Kock will do the job behind the wickets.

South African squad for New Zealand T20Is has Faf du Plessis (captain), Farhaan Behardien, Henry Davids, Quinton de Kock (WK), Justin Ontong, Rory Kleinveldt, Richard Levi, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Dale Steyn, and Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

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ICC clears Peter Siddle of ball tampering charges

By Nadene Smith

HOBART, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 18, 2012: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday cleared Australian fast bowler Peter Siddle of ball tampering charges raised by Sri Lankan cricket team after the home side won the first Test by 137 runs at Bellerive Oval.

Chris Broad of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees issued the following statement after the media reported incidents of ball tampering during the first Test.

"The umpires frequently inspect the ball during play, and did so again after they had reviewed the video footage in question on Sunday. They found no evidence to suggest that the condition of the ball had been changed.

"During the tea interval on that day, I spoke with Australia coach Mickey Arthur and told him that the umpires will continue to inspect the cricket ball regularly, and monitor the actions of all players.

"I subsequently informed the Sri Lanka team management of my discussions with the Australia coach.

"In the opinion of the umpires, there was no evidence to suggest that the condition of the ball was changed, or that the video or photographic evidence would support a charge under the Code of Conduct, so they will not be laying any charges relating to these incidents."

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Spirited Australia win Hobart Test by 137 runs

By Nadene Smith

HOBART, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 18, 2012: A brilliant bowling performance by fast bowlers Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc led Australia to 137 runs victory in the first of the three Test matches against Sri Lanka at Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Tuesday.

Sri Lankan batsmen showed great fight on the final day as they almost batted out the day but some classy bowling right at the end by Mitchell Starc, who found the ball to move both ways, dismantled the resolve showed by the visitors and in the end they were bowled out for 255 runs in their second innings.

Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera stood rock-solid during their innings before both of them falling to Peter Siddle who didn’t find much respite from the pitch in the opening session but got the ball to swing both ways in the afternoon session and this was the time when he looked the most impressive.

Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene, who is playing his final series as captain, failed to score runs in both the innings but there was no dearth of runs from his opposite number Michael Clarke who was retired hurt but not before scoring 57 brilliant runs from just 46 balls.

The game was poised for a draw until tea session as Sri Lanka were able to still have six wickets in hand but Mitchell Starc went berserk in the final session and helped his side win the Test match with some gutsy show of swing and fast bowling.

Peter Siddle was declared Man of the Match for taking nine wickets in the match.

The next two Tests of the three-match series will be played in Melbourne on Boxing Day and in Sydney on January 3.

Brief Scores:

Australia 450 for 5 declared and 278 all out

Sri Lanka 336 all out and 255 all out

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Australia include Usman Khawaja for Boxing Day Test

By Nadene Smith

HOBART, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 18, 2012: After losing skipper Michael Clarke to a hamstring injury during Hobart Test, the Australia selectors have included left-hand top-order batsman Usman Khawaja in the squad for the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka.

The selectors have also included Tasmanian bowler Jackson Bird in the squad for injured Ben Hilfenhaus and there are healthy chances that the pacer may make his Test debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The two players have made it to the 13-player squad but while Jackson Bird almost has the chance to get selected for the Melbourne Test, Usman Khawaja may still have to sit out because Michael Clarke is working extensively to regain his fitness for the second Test.

Michael Clarke told reporters, “It's not too bad. I've got a bit of time leading up to the Boxing Day Test, I'll be having plenty of treatment but I'll be confident I'll be right for Boxing Day. I'm always going to be positive because I know I'm in great hands with Alex [Kountouris], I know how good a physio he is, I know how good my physio is in Sydney over the next few days. They'll communicate and I'm really confident with eight days turnaround, I'll be giving myself every opportunity to be right. Mickey and the selectors will give me as much time as required leading into the game. My preparation will be a bit different in the lead up to this Test match but I've done a fair bit of batting so I'm confident if I can do everything in my power, I'll be right for Boxing Day. It's a strain, to what level I don't know, the scans were pretty positive and I'm in really good hands."

Talking about inclusion of Usman Khawaja in the squad, selector John Inverarity said, “Usman turns 26 today, just one week younger than Jackson Bird, and he has been in good form this season. He has played especially well on occasions when conditions for batting have been very difficult. If Michael is not able to take his place in the side then Shane Watson will captain the team. Shane acquitted himself well when he deputised for Michael in the ODI series in the Caribbean earlier this year in March."

The 13-man Australian squad for Melbourne Test includes David Warner, Ed Cowan, Phillip Hughes, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (captain), Michael Hussey, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird, and Nathan Lyon.

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England win Test series in India after 28 years

Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell save the day for England on final day

By Ashley Williams

LONDON, England (TheSportsNEXT) December 17, 2012: England have done it, and they have done it in great fashion as they played out the whole fifth day in Nagpur against Indian spinners on a spinners-friendly pitch which for some unknown reasons stopped helping spinners.

The Nagpur Test ended in a draw but victories in Mumbai and Kolkata after losing in Ahmedabad made sure England won the series by 2-1 to break the 28-year drought of winning a Test series on Indian soil.

When both skippers called it stumps on final day of the Nagpur Test, England had scored 352 for four in their second innings with Ian Bell (116*) and Joe Root (20*) at the crease.

Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell were the last England players to shine on Indian soil and they came good exactly when their country needed them the most to fire as the two batsmen constructed the biggest partnership of the whole Test series, i.e. 208 runs.

Jonathan Trott scored 143 runs from 310 balls in an innings that lasted for 405 minutes as the stylish batsman hit 18 boundaries to save the day for England who needed to survive Indian spinners to keep their 2-1 advantage in the series.

Trott was equally matched in performance by Ian Bell who resurrected his Test career and silenced his critics by scoring his first Test century in sub-continent as he remained unbeaten at 116 runs from 306 balls hitting 16 boundaries and a six during 403 minutes long innings.

England skipper Alastair Cook was declared Man of the Series for his mammoth stockpile of runs while James Anderson was named Man of the Match for his heroics with the reverse swinging cherry.

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Is Shane Watson greatest Australian all-rounder, ever?

By Adrian Meredith

MELBOURNE, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 16, 2012: There has been a lot of talk, especially amongst Australian fans, that Shane Watson isn't good enough to make the team, or they want him to bat at 7 or 8 - or lower.

So I'd like to look at just how good Shane Watson is, and why I rate him as Australia's best ever all-rounder.

Firstly, let's look at his statistics:

Test batting avg 36.92 bowling avg 29.20 ODI batting avg 41.48 SR 88.27 bowling avg 28.83 econ 4.80 T20 batting avg 30.62 SR 148.48 bowling avg 20.42 econ 7.19 FC batting avg 44.11 bowling avg 27.69

That equates to +7.72 in tests, +12.65 in ODIs, +10.20 in T20s, +16.42 in FC.

The first test of the quality all-rounder is that they have a higher batting average than bowling average. Shane Watson *easily* accomplishes this. The second test is that they bowl regularly - Watson has bowled in 90% of innings that he has played in, across all formats (which is why someone like Michael Clarke, who bowls less than 10% of the time, cannot be considered an all-rounder). The third test is that they take wickets regularly - Watson has 3 5 wicket innings in 36 test matches. The fourth test is that they score big runs regularly - Watson has scored 2 test centuries and 18 half centuries across 36 matches and 66 innings.

There is no question that, as it stands, Watson has performed better in T20s and ODIs than in tests. +12.65 in ODIs and +10.20 in T20s are a lot better than +7.72 in tests. Not to mention that his batting strike rate of 88.27 in ODIs and an amazing 148.48 in T20s are very impressive. But +7.72 is still pretty good. And his first class record, of +16.42, suggests that he can improve. +16.42 is up there with the best in the world.

Watson is also ranked amongst the best all-rounders in the world. In tests, Jacques Kallis is the indisputed number 1, but in ODIs and T20s Watson is either 1st or 2nd, sometimes behind Bangladesh's best ever player, Shakib al Hasan. And there is no shame in being behind Shakib!

Watson has won matches with the bat and won matches with the ball.

Now, let's compare with other great all-rounders in Australian cricket.

In the past 30 years, or in my living memory and the living memory of most people reading this, the following players have been tried in Australia as all-rounders:

Andrew Symonds - Did okay in ODIs and was good at times in T20s but really struggled in tests and was unable to take regular wickets. He rarely bowled, and when he did it was mainly just to support the regular bowlers. Not really an all-rounder but more a batsman who bowled a bit.

Greg Matthews - Was meant to be a bowler who could bat a bit but ended up with a test batting average of just over 40 and, unfortunately, his bowling average was about the same. Was carried most of the time and not particularly useful.

Steve Waugh - Believe it or not, Waugh started off as an all-rounder. He didn't bat particularly well and while his bowling was useful it wasn't great. He turned it around and ended up with a great batting average - largely because he stopped bowling. Injuries led to him often being unable to bowl. Not truly an all-rounder because he didn't bowl often enough.

Mark Waugh - Bowled a bit more often than Steve Waugh but mostly it was just to ease the workload of the regular bowlers. Didn't do enough to be considered a true all rounder - rather he was a batsman who bowled a bit.

Simon O'Donnell - Most well known for surviving cancer, and for tonking it, he wasn't a particularly good bowler and was a mediocre batsman, albeit one who could smash it a mile.

Now, going back a bit further, Australia did have proper all-rounders, so let's compare Watson to them as well:

Richie Benaud - Similar style to Andrew Symonds in that he batted and bowled and also bowled both pace and spin - though Symonds went one further by also being able to bowl both left and right handed. He is incorrectly recorded in the stats books as a spinner only - yet was well known to bowl part of an over pace and part of the over spin. His canny tactics (including changing bowling action) led to great results for the team but personally he averaged just 24 with the bat and 28 with the ball, or -4 overall! - far worse than Watson!

Alan Davison - Played at the same time as Benaud, some 50 years ago, who ended up with pretty good returns, though he wasn't really much of a batsman. He ended up with an average of 24 with the bat and just 20 with the ball, or +4 overall, superior to Benaud, but few regard him as superior to Benaud. He never scored a test century and never won Australia a game with his bat.

And then there is the one true contender to Watson's title as the greatest ever all-rounder in Australia:

Keith Miller - Averaged 36 with the bat and 22 with the ball, +14, ahead of Watson's +7, and he was +26 in FC cricket (48 and 22). He formed an opening bowling team in 55 tests, taking 3 wickets per test, and also batted at number 4. A true fast bowler, unlike Watson he didn't break down.

So why do I consider Watson to be superior to Miller?

It is easy to say that Watson is better than the others. But Miller is a tough one. But perhaps this is the thing - Miller didn't play all that often, just 55 tests, and hence didn't suffer the kinds of injuries that Watson did. He also didn't bowl all that often.

Look, maybe Miller is superior, but Watson single handedly won Australia 4 matches in a row in the recent World T20 and all but took them to the title.

If I just consider tests, sure, Miller is ahead. I'd like to think that Watson will improve. I think that Watson should finish with a test batting average of 50, or at least mid 40s, and a test bowling average of around 27 or 28 (i.e. about what it is now). But what sets Watson ahead is his ability in ODIs and T20s, where he has been amazing.

Even considering this, Watson is still a long way behind the two greatest of all time, Sobers and Kallis. He is even behind at least 3 of the 4 great all-rounders of the 1980s, in Hadlee, Imran Khan and Botham - though he may be ahead of Kapil Dev.

I can say without hesitation that Watson is the best all-rounder for over 50 years. At worst, he is the 2nd best of all time for Australia, behind Keith Miller. But I'd like to think that, considering ODIs and T20s, he is actually ahead.

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