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London: England cricket captain Andrew Strauss has said that the humiliation of the 5-0 hiding during the disastrous 2006-07 Ashes tour still hurts, and he would do his all to ensure it is not repeated. Addressing his final news conference at Lord's before flying out for next month's series opener in Brisbane, Strauss said the England cause was not helped by some shabby umpiring decisions. He even admitted it would do more harm than good to reflect too heavily on Australia's 5-0 whitewash the last time the Ashes were held Down Under. ''It was a gradual sort of erosion of confidence over the course of the tour for all of us. We went there with high hopes for all of us. We got outplayed in Brisbane, we played well in the match in Adelaide and then to lose that Test match was a bit of a kick in the teeth and from then on, once the Ashes were lost it is obviously quite a hard thing to keep going," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Strauss, as saying. ''I don

Melbourne: Australian captain Ricky Ponting said he can no longer be at his "absolute best" with the bat but that should hardly be a surprise or concern as even an icon like Sachin Tendulkar is not at his peak anymore. Responding to former Australian captain Mark Taylor's comments that his "best is behind him", Ponting said the assessment is correct but that does not mean he would become ineffective. "I think what Mark had to say was that he probably didn't think I could get any better from where I am at the moment, " Ponting was quoted as saying by 'The Daily Telegraph'. "It wasn't so much about saying that I'm past it. He just thought that it was going to be hard for me to get back to my absolute best again, and that's probably right. "I think there is a period in every batsman's life where they are playing at their absolute best. Even Sachin Tendulkar now, even though he's scored nine hundreds last year, w

New Delhi: Bollywood Actress and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Shilpa Shetty is distressed by the BCCI's decision to terminate the franchise and wants a "fair and balanced" inquiry into the allegations of irregular ownership pattern of her IPL team. "Its been a very distressing time for us all at RR after al we've put in (passion n time), " Shetty said in her tweets in the social networking site 'Twitter.com'. Rajasthan Royals, winners of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), were expelled from the Twenty20 tournament last Sunday for alleged violations of rules, with seven years of their 10-year contract still to run. The BCCI had said that Rajasthan violated the franchise agreement and there were irregularities in their ownership pattern. However, Shilpa said it was untrue and the BCCI was fully aware about her husband Raj Kundra's introduction in the franchise. "The only change to ownership was the introduction of my husba

New Delhi, Oct 21: After turning down Lalit Modi's plea of reconstituting the disciplinary panel, the BCCI on Thursday refuted reports that it had reached an "understanding" with the suspended IPL Commissioner in the ongoing probe into charges of financial irregularities against him. Reports in the media, quoting Modi's counsel Mohd Abdi, stated that probe panel member Arun Jaitley and another of Modi's lawyers Ram Jethmalani met last night to work out an understanding. The BCCI said while the two did meet, no peace formula was on the agenda. "Mr Arun Jaitley and Mr Ram Jethmalani met yesterday night for some other matter not connected to the BCCI. The statement made by Mr Mohd Abdi, General Counsel and Constituted Attorney of Mr L K Modi, regarding some understanding being reached is totally false and BCCI denies the same, " BCCI's Chief Administrative Officer Prof R S Shetty said in a statement issued on Thursday. Yesterday, BCCI had turned down th

MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed on Tuesday star striker Wayne Rooney wants to leave the club, expressing "shock and disappointment" at the player's stance. "I had a meeting with him. He intimated to me in his own way that he wanted to leave," Ferguson said at a dramatic press conference ahead of United's Champions League tie with Turkish side Bursaspor on Wednesday. Speculation about Rooney's future had raged for days after Ferguson dropped the 24-year-old England international for last Saturday's Premier League clash with West Bromwich Albion. It came after Rooney publicly contradicted Ferguson's claims that he was suffering from an ankle injury by telling reporters he was fully fit. Ferguson finally broke his silence on the saga at an extraordinary press briefing on Tuesday, confirming that Rooney had requested to leave Old Trafford but denying any argument with the player. A clearly shellshocked Ferguson said

The target of 290 appeared to be stiff, especially when India were wobbling at 35 for 2 in the ninth over, but Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh maintained their sang froid to get India close before the adventurous Suresh Raina sealed the win in style. Kohli, in particular, impressed. He not only lost Yuvraj in the 34th over with India still 118 runs adrift of the target but also, by then, was suffering from severe cramps and was forced to bat with a runner. If those hurdles fazed him, he didn't show it and went on to clinch the game in the company of the Raina. The chase mirrored Australia's innings to an extent. Australia too had started slowly before they consolidated, courtesy a fine 144-run partnership between Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey, to 205 for 3 from 45 overs, before exploding in the death overs. Australia looted 84 runs in the final five overs and Cameron White whacked 70 runs in his last 24 deliveries. Australia might have felt they had enough in the bank but Kohl

Margao, Oct 21 : Still looking for its first win in the ongoing tour of India, the depleted Australian cricket team today lost two more key players in pacer Doug Bollinger and batsman Mike Hussey for the deciding third and final one-dayer here on Sunday. While Bollinger has been forced out due to a stomach muscle strain, Hussey will have to be available for a Sheffield Shield match for Western Australia as part of the Ashes preparations.Bollinger did not play in Australia's five-wicket loss to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men in Visakhapatnam last night. "Bollinger reported some minor abdomen discomfort in an area unrelated to the original injury that ruled him out of the second Test and second ODI of the tour," Cricket Australia said in a statement.PTI

VISAKHAPATNAM: Virat Kohli struck a career-best 118 as India beat Australia by five wickets in the second one-day international on Wednesday. Kohli was supported well by Suresh Raina (71 not out) and Yuvraj Singh (58) as the home side reached its target of 290 in 48.5 overs. For Australia, captain Michael Clarke made an unbeaten 111. He was associated in two big stands with Michael Hussey (69) and Cameron White (89 not out) that lifted the team to 289-3 after they were 16-2 in the eighth over. The first match at Kochi was washed out while the third and final match will be at Margao in Goa on Sunday. Australia lost the two-test series 2-0. AP

Visakhapatnam: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday said it would be a change of role for Yuvraj Singh in the one-day series against Australia. Fighting with form and fitness, Yuvraj after being ignored for the Test series against Australia, has made a comeback for the ODIs in what appears to be a make or break series for the elegant Punjab batsman. After the opener in Kochi being a wash-out, all eyes are on the second one-dayer in Vizag on Wednesday and Dhoni said they were expecting Yuvraj to play a vital role. "Our batting has always revolved around him. He is a type of player who can change gears at any point of time and can take complete control of the game. At the same time, he has played over 250 ODIs which means he has got a lot of experience," Dhoni said on the pre-match media interaction. Being the senior most cricketer of the side at a time when big guns like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag are rested, Yuvraj will have a change in role. "For some

Visakhapatnam, October 19 (PTI) Under-fire Michael Clarke today said he deserved the criticism after a string of poor shows in their 0-2 Test series loss and the stand-in skipper said that it's time to look forward and return to winning ways. Clarke, who scored just 35 runs from four innings in the two-Test series, said, "My performance in the Test series wasn't good enough so I deserved that criticism and I am very disapppointed about that." But he said he was not under pressure to peform in the limited overs matches as they play the second ODI against India tomorrow. The first ODI was washed out after a heavy downpour in Kochi. "I am not at all under pressure. Everybody is entitled to voice their opinion. I can't change that. I'm training very hard as possibly as I can. I'm really excited about these two one-day games. My main priority is to win the two ODIs. We are really excited about the bright weather, hope it continues tomorrow." Asked abo

St John's (Antigua): Chris Gayle was on Monday dumped from West Indies captaincy and replaced by all-rounder Darren Sammy in a shake-up aimed at rebuilding the side which has been on decline for some years. The West Indies Cricket Board announced the decision to sack Gayle, who has been skipper since 2007, while naming the squad for the three-match Test tour of Sri Lanka next month. Sammy, though, has not been a regular member of the Test side having played just eight matches after making his debut in June 2007. Gayle, who recently refused new central contracts with the WICB last month along with Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, is still in the squad as a batsman. Gayle, Bravo and Pollard had refused central contracts which stipulated that they must make themselves available for the West Indies team at all times.PTI

BEIJING (AP) _ Top-seeded Novak Djokovic has won through to the semifinals of the China Open by beating Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-2. The Serbian world No. 2 struggled to hold serve in the first game, but soon found his form against the French No. 43 and served out Friday's match with an ace. Djokovic next faces the winner of Friday's later quarterfinal between Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and American John Isner. On the women's side, Russian second seed Vera Zvonareva won 6-0, 6-2 against French Open champion Francesca Schiavone. Next up for the world No. 4 will be the winner of Friday's match between new world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and Serbia's Ana Ivanovic. AP

Dubai: With a crushing 2-0 series win, India on Wednesday not only consolidated its position at the top of the ICC Test ranking table but also pushed Australia down to number five. India, which came into the two-match series with 127 rating points, are now sitting pretty at 130 points, 11 clear of second-placed South Africa. Australia had entered the series on 113 points and ended up conceding three ratings points, slipping to fifth position behind England (112). Sri Lanka are placed third with 115 points. This is Australia's lowest ranking since the ICC Test Championship rankings were introduced in 2003. However, Australia will have a chance to regain its fourth position when it goes head-to-head with England in a five-Test Ashes series which starts in Brisbane on November 23.

New Delhi, Sep 28: The family of the Indian tennis star Sania Mirza today dismissed as rumours the b uzz that she may not stay at the Commonwealth Games Village here. While the international stars have started coming to Games Village, the latest buzz at the sprawling athletes' facility was that Indian tennis stars Sania and Mahesh Bhupathi may not stay there. It was said that Sania may prefer staying with husband Shoaib Malik -- a former Pakistan cricket captain -- and Bhupathi may stay with fiance Lara Dutta, a Bollywood actress. When contacted, Sania's father Imran said she will surely stay at the Games Village. "She will check in to the Village with the rest of the team," Imran told PTI. Sania had recently come here along with Malik. Bhupathi could not be reached for comment. Tennis will make its debut in this edition of the Commonwealth Games, sheduled to begin on October 3. PTI

Melbourne, Oct 5: With a packed international schedule awaiting them in the next few months, Australian captain Ricky Ponting, pacer Mitchell Johnson and all-rounder Shane Watson were today rested from the 14-member squad for the one-day series against India starting October 17. "Player workload management is particularly important over the course of the next seven months as we prepare a squad to defend the World Cup in India and the subcontinent and to win the Ashes back from England," Australia's National Selection Panel Chairman Andrew Hilditch said in a statement here. Hilditch said all the players would be rotated during the next few months to ensure that there is no burnout. "Each individual player has a program developed in collaboration between the player, the coaching and conditioning staff and the NSP, which will get each player to the end of April 2011 in the best possible physical condition and, we hope, with plenty of Australian success on the field. &qu

V V S Laxman battled severe back pain to single-handedly take India to a memorable and miraculous victory over Australia with a gritty unbeaten 73 in a nail-biting first cricket Test here today. Laxman, who reserved his best for the Australians, played almost a lone hand in India's run chase of 216 as his experienced colleagues fell to poor shot selection and umpiring error as he guided India to one of its most memorable Test victories. Sachin Tendulkar was the second highest Indian scorer with 38 while young Ishant Sharma contributed an invaluable 31 in the Test which went down the wire. With the victory today, India took an unassailable 1-0 lead in the series and retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy with their seventh highest run chase in history. The the two sides now move to Bangalore for the second and final Test starting in Bangalore from October 9. Laxman, who used runners in both of India's innings, and Ishant shared an 81-run stand for the ninth wicket from 131 balls an

Mohali, Oct 3: Senior batsman Rahul Dravid insists that India have not let advantage slip out of their hands and is hoping that the hosts spinners would be able to turn the first cricket Test in their favour. The match is even balanced after day three as India conceded a small 23-run lead against Australia after being bowled out for 405. "I see good chances of a result. It should be a good contest between bat and the ball," Dravid told reporters after the third day's play. The wicket is good. There are a rough areas, however, from where an odd ball rises. We expect the wicket to crack a little bit and the two quality spinners (Harbhajan and Ojha) should be able to exploit the conditions tomorrow." India were going great guns at one stage but a dramatic batting collapse dented their chances of taking a lead. However, Dravid said, "I wouldn't say we let the game slip out of our hands, but you've got to give credit to the Australian bowlers the way they bow