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The England batsman Graham Thorpe has announced his retirement from one-day international cricket. Thorpe, who missed the last four games of the NatWest Series, made the announcement shortly after England’s narrow defeat by India in today’s final.The Surrey left-hander, who turns 33 next month, says he wishes to concentrate on Test cricket, and spend more time with his young children.Thorpe was thought to be a leading candidate for England’s World Cup squad in South Africa next year. But he said this evening that the demands of combining Test and one-day international cricket were becoming too great for him.”In terms of keeping my body fit it’s becoming harder to do, playing both Tests and one-day internationals so I’ve decided to concentrate on just playing Test matches,” Thorpe said.”I also want to have more time to build a relationship with my two children,given my new personal circumstances at home.”Thorpe has played in 82 one-day internationals, scoring 2380 runs at an average of 37, with a strike rate of 71 runs per 100 balls. He returned home early from England’s tour to India last winter following the breakdown of his marriage.The England coach Duncan Fletcher said: “Graham’s been a fantastic one-day player for England and we’ll miss him but we look forward to him continuing to be a key player in our Test match side.””Graham got an injury half-way through this series, which allowed us to playMichael Vaughan,” Fletcher added.”Given that he let us know his decision to retire from the one-day team at that time, we decided it was a good opportunity to continue with Michael in the side and let him gain further valuable experience in one-day international cricket.”

Shahid Afridi geared up for this month’s Sharjah Cup with an electrifying knock that set up a comfortable 139-run victory for Habib Bank over Wapda in the National One-day Championship semifinal at the National Stadium Tuesday.Shahid clobbered 13 boundaries and three sixes in a 63-ball 86 and featured in a 153-run first wicket stand with Taufiq Umer (90) to help the bankers amass 306 from 50 overs. The two young guns belted 120 from the first 15 overs.Wapda, lucky to be playing the knock-out match of the premier competition, were shot out for 167 in 46.5 overs with seamer Sajid Shah picking up four for 33.Shahid added another couple of wickets to his name to share the Man-of-the-Match award with Taufiq who has scored heavily and consistently since the selectors dropped him from the Sharjah tour.Flambouyant Shahid, playing his first match in the competition, made a cautious start when he scored six runs from the first 16 balls with two scoring shots. But the charismatic allrounder turned ruthless and devastating when he reached his half century off 35 balls laced with 10 boundaries and a six.Shahid was severe on Pakistan Under-19 paceman Waqas Ahmad who conceded 50 runs from his four overs. He didn’t come into action again.Capitalizing on a missed stumping when 42 but failed to convert his 86 into century when he holed out to Kashif Rasheed off Aqeel at mid-wicket. Aqeel finished with two for 63. But left-handed Taufiq kept a cool head on his shoulder. His 85-ball innings of controlled aggression included 10 boundaries and a six.Salim Elahi, who replaced Shahid, further mauled a below-par Wapda attack by slamming 78 off 83 balls with five boundaries. He, however, failed to throw his bat around in the slog overs when he was run-out after a mix-up with Younis Khan.The bankers failed to cash in on the perfect platform set by the top order when they could add only 64 runs in the last ten overs while losing six wickets.Younis, a permanent one-down batsman for Pakistan, surprisingly came out at No 6 as Habib Bank named four openers in its lineup. Furthermore, skipper Ijaz Ahmad promoted himself to No 4.Younis didn’t take the field under lights complaining of a back trouble. It is to be seen if he regains complete fitness for the April 4 final against PIA and then for the Sharjah tournament starting April 8 and also including Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the newly-elected president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has appealed to the BCCI not to let its fractious relationship with him affect his state association. Dalmiya has had a long-standing feud with the current BCCI administration, when he was arrested and later released on bail on charges of embezzlement relating to the 1996 World Cup.Dalmiya, a former president of both the ICC and the BCCI, defeated the incumbent, Prasun Mukherjee, to secure a seat on the Indian board on Tuesday.”There are two facades of cricket administration – collective and individual. At the collective level, the CAB doesn’t deserve to suffer because of my relationship with the board,” Dalmiya told the . “My message to them (BCCI) is – spare the CAB. Leave the state association alone. As the CAB president, I believe all state associations should cooperate with and listen to the board. But at an individual level, they are welcome to fight me. It is nothing new to me anyway.”After being ousted from the BCCI in 2006, he had an 18-month layoff from cricket administration, but Dalmiya said the determination to clear his name of all charges prompted him to contest the elections.”A lot of charges were made against me, one after another,” he said. “They (BCCI) tried to malign me with false charges. I had two options – either fight it out, or plain give up. I made up my mind that I would fight it out and get my name cleared of all those charges. That’s because what was at stake was not just my own name, but the image and standing of my family members, and all my business associates.”Now back at the helm, Dalmiya said his aim was to improve the standard of Bengal cricket, after a poor Ranji season.”We all know Bengal lost its Elite Group status in the Ranji Trophy last season. So I have to work out things to pull Bengal out of the Plate Division. For this, I have specific plans in mind but I want to discuss them with the CAB working committee first.”

Worcestershire County Cricket Club and Alamgir Sheriyar have mutually agreed to forego the final year of his contract with the Club and have announced his immediate release."Sherri", 29 years old, first played for Worcestershire in 1993 and has taken over 400 1st class wickets in his career.Tom Moody, Director of Cricket, said of this decision, "Whilst we are sorry to lose Alamgir, he clearly feels his future lies elsewhere and we do not wish to stand in his way at this stage of his career."

Two newcomers, Andrew Ellis and Brendon Donkers could make their first-class debuts when Canterbury travel to Dunedin to play Otago in their State Championship match starting on Friday.The pair have been included in the 12 named for the match after fast-medium bowler Wade Cornelius was ruled out due to a minor side strain while medium-fast bowler Warren Wisneski’s wife is expecting their second child.Their absence will not greatly diminish the strength of the Canterbury side which will include six New Zealand Cricket-contracted players, Nathan Astle, Chris Martin, Craig McMillan, Shane Bond, Chris Harris and Chris Cairns.Selection convener Craig Thiele was not surprisingly enthusiastic about the side’s chances.”The experience and maturity of the side will provide a real competitive advantage,” he said.The full team is: Gary Stead (captain), Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns, Brendon Donkers, Andrew Ellis, Chris Harris, Gareth Hopkins, Chris Martin, Craig McMillan, Michael Papps, Paul Wiseman.

ISLAMABAD, Sept 3: Islamabad pace bowler Saif-ur-Rehman ripped through Kohat batting Tuesday taking an impressive six for 58 as the rain-hit National Junior (Under-19) Grade-I Cricket Championship match ended in a draw at Shalimar Ground.After a barren second day, Islamabad resumed their first innings on the third day at 279 for five to bat out the three overs that were remaining out of the allotted 80. This allowed Shakir Mahmood who was 95 not out when play began, to complete his century and stay unbeaten in his side’s total of 287 for five.When Kohat batted they found Saif too hot to handle and capitulated for 173 off 38.2 overs, conceding a first innings lead of 114. Only Usman stood at the wicket for a good while in scoring 65.Islamabad then quickly hit 96 for five in 22 overs before declaring their second innings giving Kohat a target of 210.But Kohat did not go for the run chase and were 44 for one when play ended. Islamabad earned three points from the match by virtue of having gained first innings lead.Summarised scores:ISLAMABAD 287-5 in 80 overs (Mohammad Altaf 106, Shakir Mahmood 100 not out) and 96-5 declared;KOHAT 173 in 38.2 overs (Usman 65, Saif-ur-Rehman 6-58) and 44-1.Meanwhile, at the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi, the match between Karachi Blues and Fata also ended in a draw after the first two days were lost because of rain.Nasir Aziz cracked a fine unbeaten 147 off 248 balls, hitting 12 fours and three sixes, as Karachi Blues accumulated 241 for five off their 80 overs.Fata were 67 for one with Johar Hussain 29 not out and Sajid Afridi unbeaten on 26. No team gained any point from the match.Summarised scores:KARACHI BLUES 241-5 in 80 overs (Nasir Aziz 147 not out);FATA 67-1.Our Sports Correspondent adds from Lahore:Atif Ijaz (62 not out) and Mohammad Saeed (45) helped Lahore Blues earn a respectable draw against Sheikhupura at Sheikhupura Stadium.Replying to Sheikhupura first innings total of 294 after Monday’s wash-out, Lahore Blues nose-dived to 31 for six before recovering to 161 for seven in 59 overs through Atif and Saeed who put on 99 for the seventh wicket.Pacer Faisal Rasheed was the main destroyer with fine figures of five for 35.Summarised scores:SHEIKHUPURA 294-9 in 80 overs (Khalil Ahmed 61, Shahid Siddique 59, IrfanHaider 50; Khurram Irshad 3-53);LAHORE BLUES 161-7 in 59 overs (Atif Ijaz 62 not out, Mohammad Saeed 45; Faisal Rasheed 5-35).APP adds:Salman Qadir scored 88 to help Lahore Whites salvage an exciting draw against Karachi Whites at National Stadium.Karachi Whites declared their second innings at 253 for five 30 minutes after lunch, setting their opponents a target of 282.Lahore Whites finished at 205 for eight in their second innings.Salman, who hit 77 in the first innings, rescued his team after they were reeling at 126 for seven by adding 78 runs for the eighth wicket with Omar Javed.Salman showed his attacking approach, hitting 10 fours and a brace of sixes off in his 141-minute innings, facing just 95 balls. Tailender Omar also made a telling contribution with 13 not out in 87 minutes while consuming 68 balls.Opener Jahangir Mirza was the other major scorer with 67 off 82 balls.Earlier, Faraz Patel hit his second unbeaten half century of the match. Having made 54 in the first innings, finished 61 not out with the aid of six hits to the fence.Summarised scores:KARACHI WHITES 267-9 (Mubashir Ahmed 106, Faraz Patel 54 not out; Raza Ali Dar 5-90) and 253-5 declared (Faraz Patel 61 not out, Khalid Latif 41, Asadullah Sumairi 40);LAHORE WHITES 239 (Salman Qadir 77, Kashif Mahmood 41 not out; Tabish Khan 3-49, Aftab Ahmed Khan 3-68) and 205-8 (Salman Qadir 88, Jahangir Mirza 67).The other match at NBP Sports Complex between Quetta and Bahawalpur ended in a tame draw.Bahawalpur declared their second innings at 204 for eight with paceman Arun Lal taking four for 43 in 21 overs.Quetta, who finished at 52 for two in their second knock, secured three points for the first innings lead.Summarised scores:BAHAWALPUR 189-9 (Asif Iqbal 53, Abdul Hameed 4-42) and 204-4 declared (Arun Lal 4-43);QUETTA 227-9 (Mohammad Kaleem 44; Farrukh Kamal 4-68) and 52-2.Meanwhile, defending champions Peshawar were held to a draw by Rawalpindi at Arbab Niaz Stadium.The visitors struggled to 178for seven after being set atarget of 305 when the match ended.Rawalpindi’s hero was left-hander Mohammad Shiraz, who finished with an undefeated 74 off 163 deliveries going in as an opener.Peshawar, who made 318 in their first innings, closed their second innings at 176 for five.Summarised scores:PESHAWAR 318 (Aftab Khan 86, Abdul Nasir 61, Mohammad Nawaz 50; Najaf Shah 4-52, Mazhar Malik 3-82) and 176-5 declared (Abdul Nasir 55, Aftab Khan 45; Shahid Mahmood 4-75);RAWALPINDI 190 (Sheriyar Khan 5-58, Abdul Nasir 3-53) and 178-7 (Mohammad Shiraz 74 not out).

Erapalli Prasanna, in his analysis of the third Test at Barbados,mentioned that Harbhajan Singh needed to attack the batsmen much more.A fine exponent of the off-spin art himself, Prasanna averred thatHarbhajan, as a wicket-taking bowler, should be plotting the batsman’sdownfall with every ball.

A look at Harbhajan’s bowling in the West Indian first inningsconfirms this view. He returned figures of 34.5-7-87-3, so his fansmay argue that he wasn’t completely ineffective. But his first wicketwas that of Carl Hooper after the West Indian skipper had plundered115 runs off the Indian attack, and his other two were of PedroCollins and Adam Sanford, two minions in a woefully weak West Indiantail.Harbhajan’s wagon-wheel against all batsmen in the West Indian firstinnings is telling. Only 20 runs were scored off him in front ofsquare, whereas 23 runs went to the point region and 32 to square leg- an indication that Harbhajan was bowling much too short.A large percentage of an off-spinner’s wickets come from making thebatsman drive against the turn, and although Harbhajan did make thebatsmen play to cover to the tune of 15 runs, that was not nearlyenough. His dropping short made it particularly easy for the batsmanto comfortably turn him behind square for runs; Hooper took 15 runsoff him in this manner.As the sole attacking spinner in the side, Harbhajan shouldundoubtedly follow Prasanna’s advice. He can definitely do so byflighting the ball more and keeping the ball up to the batsman.Knowing that most of the West Indians are not too proficient at playingspin, this tactic may help Harbhajan get back to his old ways ofbamboozling the batsmen.

BRISBANE, June 9 AAP – Test opener Matthew Hayden has continued his resurrection in the one-day arena by inspiring Australia to a commanding total in their practice match today against Queensland at Allan Border Field. Hayden, elevated to the one-day opening ranks during the recent one-day series in South Africa, top-scored with 78 as Australia raced to 7-226 off their 40 overs.Hayden and fellow Queenslander Jimmy Maher, opening the innings in the absence of Adam Gilchrist, got Australia away to a flying start, putting on 85 runs in the first 12 overs before Maher was dismissed for 60 off 43 balls. Australia then experienced a mini-collapse, losing 4-12 with captain Ricky Ponting (3), Damien Martyn (1) and Darren Lehmann (0) all dismissed cheaply.But Hayden and Michael Bevan (17) put on an 87-run partnership to provide a handy pointer to Australia’s prospects for the opening Super Challenge series match against Pakistan in Melbourne on Wednesday.Queensland off-spinner Nathan Hauritz produced his second stand-out performance with the ball in as many days, finished with 1-17 off eight overs.Hauritz had stood out in a hammered Queensland attack in their practice match against Pakistan yesterday.

Local cricketers have been urged to stick to the rules laid down by KCCA when playing in Ramazan tournaments.”Cricketers are strictly advised to observe the sanctity of Ramazan-ul-Mubarak in true spirit when they participate in various tournaments during the holy month,” said Sirajul Islam Bukhari here Thursday during a press briefing for eighth Tapal Trophy Ramazan Festival Cricket Tournament.Giving details of this major event, Bukhari, the KCCA honorary secretary, said that 16 top local teams from various departments and clubs will be vying for honours in the tournament, scheduled to be played at UBL Sports Complex from Nov 7 to Dec 3.Winners of this year’s edition will pocket Rs 150,000 while the runners-up will receive Rs 75,000.Besides there will be individual cash awards, such as Man-of-the-Tournament (Rs 10,000), Best Batsman (Rs 5,000), Best Bowler (Rs 5,000), Best Fielder (Rs 5,000). Man-of-the-Match in every game will be given Rs 1,000 each.Defending champions Tapal CC have been placed in Group ‘A’ with Malir Companion, Shalimar CC and UBL Academy.Group ‘B’ comprises of KESC, Pak Gymkhana, Southern Sui Gas and A.J. World Wide.Group ‘C’ includes Dewan Sugar Mills, A.O. CC, Customs Academy and Karachi Building Control Authority.Baqai Dolphins, Omer CC, DHA and Godhra CC are in Group ‘D’.The semifinals will be played on Dec 1 and 2, followed by the final on 3rd.

Indian delegation in Pakistan for ACC meetThe resumption of India’s cricketing ties with Pakistan is likely to be taken up when the presidents of the two boards meet in Lahore during the two-day meeting of the Asian Cricket Council starting on May 25. “We will be basically looking at proposals to initiate development projects like training programmes in the region,” BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele and treasurer Kishore Rungta told PTI over phone from Lahore. There could also be general discussions about thestatus of the ongoing investigations into match-fixing by ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit, they said.Meanwhile, BCCI president AC Muthiah on his arrival in Lahore said “We are here to attend the ACC meeting. The Indian team will be playing a match in the Asian Test Championship in Pakistan. So things are moving towards better relations.” Talking to a Pakistan daily Dawn, Muthiah said that good cricketing relations between Pakistan and India would promote the game in the Asian region. “Both countries are giants of the game in Asia and only their collective efforts can promote cricket in the continent”, he said.On Laloo Prasad Yadav’s statement after he was elected as president of the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) that he would hold a one-day match between the two countries in Patna, the BCCI president said it was premature to say anything on the statement. He added that the BCCI had not received any request from the BCA in this regard.CBI welcomes ICC move to curb match-fixingThe Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday welcomed the support of the ICC in the match-fixing probe. Reacting to the ICC report on match-fixing, the CBI spokesman said “we welcome any assistance from the ICC and as far as the investigations of organised crime in match-fixing is concerned, we are already at it.” The agency was also willing to offer any assistance to the ICC in controlling the menace of match-fixing.The spokesman also said that it was heartening to know that the ICC was ready to pick up the threads from the CBI investigation as the agency could not further probe into the role of foreign players who were beyond its ambit. The spokesman said “the agency also welcomed the offer from the ICC to help the CBI in the telecast rights case as we have registered five cases and the probe is on.”Meanwhile, New Delhi police, who were responsible for blowing the whistle on former South African captain Hansie Cronje’s links with bookmakers last year, on Wednesday welcomed the match-fixing report of the ICC. The joint commissioner of Delhi Police KK Paul said “The report vindicates the stand of the Delhi police and it’s nice to know our investigations have had far-reaching effects.”Tendulkar felicitated with a 10kg silver batFormer Indian captain and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar was felicitated at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday night for being the first batsman to complete 10,000 runs in one day internationals. At the function, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president Sharad Pawar presented Tendulkar with a bat weighing 10 kilos and a cheque of Rs. 2.51 lakh. Pawar also announced the namingof the ‘Sachin Tendulkar Enclosure,’ above the MCA pavilion for former and present cricketers and their family members. Pawar added that the renaming of a stand in Wankhede stadium after Tendulkar would be announced after the monsoon.Replying to the felicitations, the 28-year-old former Indian captain said “It was my dream to don India colours on this very ground when I came here for the first time in 1983 during the West Indies tour.” Remembering his guru Ramakant Achrekar’s contribution to enhance his cricketing skills, Tendulkar said “it (his lessons) changed my life. Without him I could not have been where I am today.”Talking at the function, the Indian coach John Wright said “It is a wonderful and special experience to be associated with a phenomenon called Sachin.” Former Indian captain Ravi Shastri said that his humility, willingness to listen and ability to walk ahead were his strengths. He added “Let the biggest stand be named after Sachin even at the cost of a sponsor because no one is greater than Sachin.” Recently, Tendulkar was conferred with the state government’s ‘Maharashtra Bhushan’ award.Kapil makes contribution to National Sports Development FundFormer Indian captain and coach Kapil Dev has made a substantial contribution to the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), the Indian Sports Minister Uma Bharti said at a meeting of the NSDF in New Delhi on Tuesday. Kapil’s contribution to the fund along with Naptha Jhakri Power Corporation Limited and Power Finance Corporation totalled Rs 1.25 crore. The NSDF has so for collected Rs 4.73 crore out of which Rs 2 crore is the government contribution as seed money during 1998-99.It may be recalled that Kapil quit as coach of the national side last year after his name was dragged into the match-fixing controversy. He was later exonerated by the CBI in its match-fixing report and also in the Madhavan report. Later Kapil had said that he was disassociating himself from cricket.