A dramatic and an exicting end to a dull-looking test match!!

England came close to pulling off a surprising victory over Australia in the fifth and final Test on Sunday but had to settle for a draw when umpires stopped play because of bad light.

Play came to a halt in the gloom of a London evening at The Oval with England steepingly close to victory, needing just 21 runs from four overs.

Given the target of 227 in 44 overs, England's Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott almost pulled off the victory with a 77-run partnership. England were 206 for 5 when play was stopped. The 447 runs scored on Sunday are comfortably the most ever scored on the last day of a Test match surpassing 407 at leeds in 1948. Pietersen set The Oval on fire with a fiery 50 from just 36 balls.
A day that started half an hour late and which was heading toward a dull draw ended in a 3-0 Ashes series victory for the home team. England were presented with the tiny pottery urn - said to contain the Ashes of English cricket - awarded to the winners of cricket's most famous rivalry.

Australia scored 492 for 9 declared in their first innings before the game was effected badly by rain that prevented any play on Saturday's fourth day at The Kia Oval.

"Fair play to Australia for pushing the game on," said captain Alastair Cook. "It made for a really good spectacle. I'm very proud of the way the lads have done it," he said before accepting the urn.

Sunday's final day began in muted fashion, delayed by half an hour as the game limped toward a draw. England resumed on 247 for 5 and added quick runs through Matt Prior, with 47, and Ian Bell with 45 to reach 377 all out.

Clarke decided on a risky strategy of trying to tempt Cook into accepting a run rate challenge by thrashing 111 for 6 in 23 overs and declaring at tea, setting England a target of 227 in 44 overs.

Clarke may have been hoping for some more runs but Stuart Broad snatched four wickets to slow the Australian run rate as Clarke threw caution to the wind.Root fell for just 11 with the score on 22 but Cook and Trott batted aggressively in a partnership of 64 before Cook fell leg before to a delivery from James Faulkner as he tried to clip a ball to midwicket. It was Faulkner's fifth wicket of the day after he took his first four wickets earlier in England's first innings.

Now both the teams will play 7 Odis and 2 t20 at the english venues before Australia end their 3 and a half long tiring tour. The Ashes down under in Australia wil begin november but before that Australia will a play a month in India in october-november comprising of 7 odis and 1 t20.

It's difficult to say which team will be more optimistic in Australia. The English have been the clear victors during the Ashes, but the Australians have run them closer than the 3-0 score line indicates.
At Old Trafford, rain played a big part in foiling an Australian victory. The first Test win for England was by just 14 runs. The second match at Lord's was a thumping 347-run win as Joe Root hit an impressive 180 and Ian Bell scored some of the more than 500 runs he posted during the Ashes.

With those two wins, and the draw at Old Trafford, the Ashes were lost to Australia. Ian Bell was the difference in a low-scoring fourth match in Durham, showing that it was the batsmen who made the difference.

While Australia's bowlers, led by Peter Siddle and a Ryan Harris who managed to stay fit, were consistently dangerous and challenging, the batsmen were a major disappointment. Clarke managed a big innings of 187, but very few others impressed.

Usman Khawaja only managed 114 in six innings before he was dropped. Ed Cowan was jst given a chance in a game. Shane Watson scored 418 in 10 innings, but the Australians could not score runs when they really needed them.
The batting lineup became stronger as the tour went on. David Warner had an astonishing tour. He punched Root in a bar at the start, was banished to a tour in Zimbabwe but returned quickly as Australian form collapsed on England's seaming wickets, where reverse swing is commonplace. Warner introduced solidity to the batting, as did Chris Rogers.

English bowlers like James Anderson and Stuart Broad have mastered the art of reverse swing, but will not find conditions as friendly on the hard, dry wickets in places like Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.

Broad is likely to face hostility on and off the field in Australia, whose coach Darren Lehman described his refusal to walk after clearly edging a ball to slip as "blatant cheating." Lehman was fined by the International Cricket Council for calling on Australians to give him a hostile reception.

Well u should always expect the unexpected in The Ashes. Thats why its called the most exiting and greatest test rivarly in the cricketing world.

A letter to little Master from a Fan!!

A letter to Sachin [Extractes from
Official UK website of BBC]

Dear Sachin,
You don't know me, although I do
know you. Actually, I don't really
know you, but like hundreds of
millions of others, I think I do.
Which is why you can't leave the
house. Sorry about that, but take it
as a compliment: that's what
happens when you are one of 'the
few'.
What, you might ask, are 'the few'?
Well, the way I see it, 'the few' are
those sportspeople so great - the
greatest of the great, if you will -
that they can't even pop out for...
well, anything actually, for fear of
being trampled to death in
Morrisons (or wherever it is
celebrities pretend they do their
shopping in India).
If it's any consolation, we've got a
bloke in our country - well, he used
to live here, before he outgrew
Morrisons - called David Beckham,
who might know how you feel. But,
between me and you, with Becks, it's
as much about his looks, which
means he's not strictly one of 'the
few' at all, more a very good
footballer who they let in because he
has a nice face.
Sorry, that didn't come out right,
but please don't take it the wrong
way. What I'm trying to say is, with
you, it's all about the talent (and
maybe a little bit about the face).
But anyway, your skipper Mahendra
Dhoni has got the 'Indian Becks'
thing pretty much sewn up.
Apologies, I just realised I haven't
actually told you why I got in
touch... Congratulations on your
100th international hundred! And
while I've your got attention, well
done on winning the World Cup.
And all those World Cup records you
hold. Oh, and those 15,000 Test
runs. And the other 18,260 in one-
day internationals (sorry, by the
time you get this, you'll have
probably passed 20,000). Actually, I
meant to ask, is there a batting
record you don't hold?....
Remember Maggie Thatcher? You
probably don't, you were only a kid
at the time, but she was our Prime
Minister when you first toured
England with India in 1990. The
reason I mention her is that there
used to be this great piece of graffiti
on a wall somewhere in London
which read: THATCHER OUT. To
which someone had added: LBW B
ALDERMAN.
My point being, Terry Alderman, who
made Graham Gooch look silly in the
1989 Ashes, was still playing Test
cricket when you started out - and
he made his first-class debut in
1974. And now, 22 years after you
made your Test debut (when I was
13, probably acting the goat in
double history) you're still around.
That, my friend, is what you call
'longevity'.
I saw you play at The Oval in 1990.
Well, I saw you field. David Gower, a
childhood hero, scored a ton that
day. We loved Gower in England,
thought he was great, but he wasn't
one of 'the few', he just made us
think he was with that gorgeous
cover drive of his.
Of course, what I know now is that
greatness is about more than
looking willowy at the crease - it's
far more about sheer weight of
numbers. And while the unfurling of
Gower's strokes resembled honey
dripping off the back of a spoon,
numbers-wise, he is but a delicate
butterfly crushed under your steel-
rimmed wheel. Then again, who
isn't? (Sachin scored his first century in Uk 1990 test series)
Brian Lara, maybe? Sorry to bring
him up in the middle of what is
essentially a love letter, but that lad
could bat a bit, too. And many said
he scored his runs with more style
than you: as languid as Gower, but
as rapacious as Bradman when it
came to making runs.
But Lara called it quits five years
ago, while you're still here after 22
years of unrelenting pressure,
shouldering the expectations of
billions, and it never managed to
diminish you. When you call it a
day, it will be on your own terms,
and even some of your fellow
'few' (Lara, Diego Maradona, Babe
Ruth ) weren't able to do that.
They say things have got easier for
batsmen in recent years - flatter
tracks, smaller boundaries, not as
many wicked fast bowlers on the
prowl. But you made your debut
against Wasim and Waqar and
played against pretty much all the
recent greats - Ambrose and Walsh,
Donald and Pollock, McGrath and
Warne, Muralitharan. You even
played Test cricket against Sir
Richard Hadlee, for pity's sake, andold 'Paddles' is now in his sixties.
You had a bit of a blip a few years
back, in 2006, when England's quicksgot after you and you kept gettinghit. It was a bit like watchingMuhammad Ali being bashed round
the ring by a thrusting Larry Holmes.
But while Ali was shot to pieces by
that point, the following year you
racked up 776 Test runs at an
average of 55.4. Not much of a blip.
You know what somebody said to me
the other day? "Tendulkar - great
player, little bit dull." Bit out of
order, to be honest. Dull - why?
Because you don't abuse opponents?
Or get boozed up in nightclubs? In
more than two decades at the
pinnacle of your sport, under the
glare of more than a billion adoring
countrymen and women, there has
been barely a hint of controversy.
That doesn't just make you a little
wonder, that makes you pretty much
a miracle.
This is getting a little bit
embarrassing now - a little bit This
Is Your Life, I didn't mean to come
over all mawkish. But the thing is -
and this is another thing that
elevates you above the merely great
- it is doubtful whether we will see
your like again, because after you've
gone, cricket, which is threatening to
splinter into a thousand parts, may
never be the same.
To play 188 Test matches... well, the
mind boggles. And given the
indifference towards Test cricket
from many modern fans, surely no-
one in the future will come close.
Which means you could be one of
Test cricket's last true superstars -
like silent movie stars before
'talkies', a titan from a more
innocent, more romantic, seemingly
more lustrous age.
You know what someone once said
about Chaplin? "It is doubtful any
individual has ever given more
entertainment, pleasure and relief to
so many human beings when they
needed it the most". Given how long
you've been on the job, given how
many people there are in your
country and given the grinding
poverty many of them still live in, I
reckon you might just have trumped
him. Which is why I wanted to say
thanks.
Yours sincerely,
Benjamin (you don't know me)

England 'Turtle' approach frustates Australia on day 3

England slowed to 247 for 4 at stumps on Friday at the Oval, ending day three of the fifth Test 245 runs behind Australia.
Ian Bell and Chris Woakes were unbeaten on 29 and 14 respectively, leaving the hosts needing another 46 to avoid following on.

Joe Root was the top scorer with 68, from 184 balls with 11 fours, while Kevin Pietersen made a tricky 50 (133 balls, four fours).
Mitchell Starc, who finished with Australia's best figures with 2 for 60, took the only wicket to fall in the evening session when he had Pietersen caught by Shane Watson.
The English have already won the five-match series, which they lead 3-0.

For an hour, while batting conditions were still excellent, Australia struggled to make any headway and squandered a referral on an lbw shout against England captain Cook from a Ryan Harris delivery that pitched outside leg stump.

Paceman Starc was particularly wayward, bowling one delivery so wide that it passed first slip on its way to the boundary.

However, the breakthrough came when Cook was caught behind to the third ball after the drinks break, pushing at a delivery from Harris that he could easily have left outside his off stump.
That ended England's best opening stand of the series of 68 but the hosts were otherwise untroubled and Root reached his fifty when he pulled Peter Siddle to square leg for a single in the penultimate over of the session.
Under more overcast skies, Australia troubled England after lunch although Root was not bothered until the 54th over when he tried to sweep Nathan Lyon and was caught by Watson at backward square leg off resulting of a top edge.

Trott faced 78 balls before hitting a boundary and another 11 overs went by before the next four, which came when Steven Smith's full toss was driven to the fence by KP, the leading run scorer for england in all the three formats.
The pitch showed some good signs of turn but Australia's decision to take the new ball as soon as it became available was instantly on target.

Starc ripped the ball into Trott's pads at the start of the 80th over and, after a interminable delay, umpire Aleem Dar raised his finger - a decision Trott unsuccessfully referred.

The scoring rate slowed even further after tea, with the first 10 overs producing just 20 runs and by this stage the crowd was cheering singles.Australia used up their final referral when Siddle rapped Pietersen's pads with a ball that him outside the line of off stump.

Pietersen reached his 50 with an ugly pull shot off James Faulkner that squirted past off stump for four, but he was out without adding to his score in the 101st over when he was caught at first slip.Dar reviewed the catch as Pietersen initially stood his ground, but replays confirmed the ball had carried.

Woakes arrival for his first test innings briefly added some impetus as cover drove his first ball for four and as the light faded the debutant looked assured as he batted out the session with Bell.

Smith hits maiden century as Australia continues to dominate on day 2!

London: England managed 32 for 0 at stumps on Thursday, trailing Australia by 460 on day two of the fifth Test at the Oval.Alastair Cook and Joe Root are the not out batsmen on 17 and 13 respectively, having batted through a rather tricky period after Australia declared on 492 for 9 jst before an hour and a half of day 2 stumps.

Earlier Steven Smith notched up his maiden Test century in style with a six, smashing Jonathan Trott back over his head to reach the landmark before he finished on 138 not out, from 241 balls, a knock including two sixes and 16 fours. James Anderson was England's best bowler with 4 for 95 whereas other pacers toiled throughout the day.

Rain had delayed the start of play until 2:30 p.m as early lunch was taken. Conditions were gloomy and with the ball swinging around, nightwatchman Peter Siddle added only five to his overnight score before he was clean bowled by a superb ball from jimmy  Anderson hence displaying classical swing bowling. It was an isolated success for the hosts, who wasted a referral when an Anderson delivery flicked Brad Haddin's thigh pad.The bowler didn't even appeal, but at wicketkeeper Matt Prior's insistence the call was reviewed, with the crowd audibly groaning when the video replays confirmed kumar dharmasena's decision.

Despite Having selected five specialist bowlers, England resorted to Trott's occasional medium pacers, with captain Alastair Cook either unable or unwilling to bowl Swann, or risk bringing back debutant Simon Kerrigan after the hammering he received on day one from watson.

Smith was nearly dismissed on the first ball of day 2 when he started his knock with a shocking air shot to Anderson, but he passed his previous best Test score of 92 when he cut the same bowler through gully and brilliantly drove Trott's first ball of the 113th over into the stands, for his first Test century in 23 innings.

Trott responded by removing Haddin four balls later, bowled by a ball he dragged on to his stumps. James Faulkner's debut innings was brief but entertaining. He hit Stuart Broad for three fours in the first over after tea before he holed out to Chris Woakes and was caught on the boundary by Trott.

Australia began the evening session on 397 for 6 and scored 95 runs in 11.5 overs before the declaration.Mitchell Starc scored at a run a ball for 13 before he was bowled by Swann and Ryan Harris continued the tempo with a six from Swann, swept over cow corner.

In Swann's next over,Harris hit him into the Vauxhall End but his cameo ended when he holed out to Anderson, who ran for 30 yards before catching him at mid-off for 33 from 27 balls. Clarke sent Nathan Lyon out to partner Smith, but declared just one ball later, leaving England to face a tricky period before stumps.

Fauklner nearly claimed a wicket with his first delivery in test cricket but Root's edge fell just short of the slips and Australia's bowlers failed to cause the openers any serious problems before bad light stopped play for the day.

Its going to be an exicting day 3 as Australia will luk to bowl out England as soon as possible and on the otherhand England will first  target the score of 292 to avoid the follow-on.

Newz Wrapper!!!

1. Sacked Australia Coach Mickey Arthur says Michael clarke's team travelled to England with no belief they could win the series. They planned to use the series in England as an Information and Confidence gathering mission ahead of the return series at home later this year.

2. Current coach Darren Lehhman has urged the Aussie fanz to treat broad in such a way that he goes home crying during the down under series in november,regarding his 'cheating' and 'time wasting' instances. The coach was further backed by Allrounder Shane Watson after his 176 run knock on day 1 of the fifth test.

3. Virat Kohli has been taken to court by sportswear giant Nike, for breaching their endorsement contract and failing to continue as their brand ambassador for the previously agreed period.

4. Former Pakistan Cricketer Wasim Akram on wednesday announced that he had married his Australian girlfried, Shaniera Thompson, saying he has started a new life on a happy note.

5. Gautam gambhir, the veteran Indian batsmen, failed to impress on his county debut for Essex against the Northants. Gambhir scored 31 runs of 67 deliveries which included 5 boundaries.

Watson breakes 'shackles' as Australia dominates Day 1

Shane Watson scored his first Test match century after a drought of 25 tests  as Australia compiled 307 for the loss of 4 wickets on day one of the final Ashes encounter, ensuring the tourists secured an early advantage at The Oval.

Watson, batting at No.3 in the place of out of form  Khawaja, notched only his third Test hundred - and his maiden in the Ashes - as he took the charge over the England attack, particularly in the morning against debutant kerrigan

Australia won the toss and chose to bat on a dry looking wicket, but David Warner was unable to make the most of the favourable conditions as he was dismissed for just six by Jimmy Anderson.

The wicket signalled Watson's arrival at the crease and, after carefully watching off the threat of Anderson and new ball partner Stuart Broad, got stuck into the bowling of England debutants Chris Woakes and Simon Kerrigan.

Young Lancastrian Kerrigan took the brunt of the Watson onslaught as his first two overs were crashed for 28 runs, as the Aussie batsman hurried to an unbeaten 80 - at less than a run-a-ball-before lunch.

Chris Rogers, playing the supportive role along his free-flowing counterpart, was dismissed shortly after the lunch interval by Graeme Swann, with the wicket taking him past Jim Laker's tally for the most wickets by an English spinner in an Ashes series.

Anderson soon reached a landmark of his own as the wicket of Michael Clarke - bowled off his pad for seven - moved the seamer into outright second place in England's all-time Test wicket takers, with 326. Also, Anderson dismissed clarke for the 9th time in his carrer.

But the day belonged to Watson, who was given survivance via a dropped catch by Alastair Cook and a successful lbw review, with the all-rounder posting his highest score in Test cricket, and his first ton since October 2010 i.e. almost three years!!

He eventually fell for an impressive 176 when he was caught wonderfully by a tumbling Kevin Pietersen on the boundary when trying to hook Stuart Broad, but his innings ensured the foundations were laid for a huge first-innings score for the 'pride fighting' Aussie.

Pandey stars as India A crushes South Africa A by an innings and 13 runz!!

India A crushed hosts South Africa A by an innings and 13 runs on the fourth and final day of the opening unofficial Test to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series on Tuesday.
The Indian bowlers continued their dominating show as they bundled out South Africa for 212 in their second innings after making them follow on with a 225 run  lead on them.

Seam bowlers Mohammed Shami (3/29) and Ishwar Pandey (3/25) picked up three wickets each while part-time spinner Rohit Sharma chipped in with two wickets to wrap up India's crushing win over the hosts.
Middle-order batsman Temba Bavuma (65) was the top-scorer for South Africa in their second innings. His 138-ball innings included 6 fours.

Resuming at overnight 312 for nine, Kyle Abbott (33 not out) and Andrew Birch (18) provided some late resistance before Suresh Raina had the latter trapped leg before to bring an end to South Africa's first innings at 357.
After asking South Africa to follow on, India's  pace batteries struck early with Pandey dismissing Reeza Hendricks (4) in the third ball of his first over.
Shami then struck twice in the sixth over, removing Dean Elgar (3) and JP Duminy (0) in the space of four deliveries leaving RSA A in deep trouble.

The Half centurian of the 1st innings Rilee Rossouw tried to break the shackles and cracked away three boundaries in the 10th over bowled by Shami Ahmed.He was dismissed in the 20th over by Raina, who bowled out Rossouw's timbers when the batsman went for a sweep shot.
Bavuma picked up a couple of boundaries in the 23rd over off Raina, while Ontong (19) hit two fours off Shami's in the 25th over. But Shami came back strongly to clean up Ontong in the fourth delivery of the same over as South Africa  sinked to 93 for five.

Pandey took his second wicket in the form of Tsolekile in the 35th over before Nadeem got rid off Wayne Parnell (10) as South Africa further slumped to 140 for seven in 41.4 overs.
At tea, South Africa needed another 84 runs to make India bat again with three second innings wickets in hand. Temba Bavuma and Simon Harmer were at the crease after the break.

After the interval, Bavuma started on a positive side,  dispatching Nadeem through the mid-wicket and covers for a
couple of handy boundaries.

Bavuma scored another boundary off the left-arm spinner when he drove him through point and covers in the 48th over.
Part-time spinner Sharma was then introduced into the attack by captain Pujara and the trick worked as Bavuma (65) in sight of a pull shot hit it straight to the India skipper at mid-wicket.

Abbott (14) and Harmer (31 not out) tried to ease out the mounting pressure with a couple of hits to the fence. Sharma came back for his second spell to dismiss Abbott when he induced an edge to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.Birch then picked up a four off Sharma but Pandey cleaned up the batsman in the 67th over to complete India A's a thumping victory.

England eye's on history as Australia fights for Pride!!

A chance to make history although of different sorts, will confront England and Australia when the final Test of this season's Ashes starts at The Oval in south London on Wednesday.

At 3-0 up with one more to play, England have already retained the Ashes and won the series - the first time since the 1950s they've won three successive Ashes series against their oldest rivals.
But they still have plenty to play as they've never won four Tests against Australia in England and have never taken any Ashes series by a 4-0 margin, although they did win 4-1 in Australia in 1911/12 and in 1928/29 before taking a six-match series against an Australia side weakened by the unofficial World Series Cricket by 5-1 in 1978/79.

A result of greater resonance to both current sides is that the last England team to win the Ashes and round off the series with a defeat was Mike Gatting's side at Sydney in 1987. Following a narrow victory, Australia won the next eight Ashes series hence dominating nxt 18 years.

The last thing England batsman Jonathan Trott wants is for his captain, Alastair Cook, to receive the Ashes urn on the back of a loss. "I don't think anyone wants to go up on the stage and raise the urn after we have lost," Trott said. "If we do that, it will be a bit of a downer."

Unusually, Australia will have a chance for their revenge in a matter of a few months, with the return Ashes 'Down Under' starting in November. "There are another five games [against Australia] after this one so we are not letting up," Trott said. "That is an important message to send. If we take our foot off, you give them hope and they can go back to Australia having won a Test," added Trott, who marked his Test debut by making a hundred against Australia at The Oval in the concluding Ashes Test of 2009 where victory saw England regain the urn.

England have been forced into making a change after Tim Bresnan, who starred with both bat and ball in the 74-run fourth Test win at Chester-le-Street was ruled out of the rest of the season with a back injury.
Fast bowler Chris Tremlett, looking to reincarnate his Test career on his Surrey home ground, is one of three players along with the uncapped duo of allrounder Chris Woakes and left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan looking to take Bresnan's spot.

Australia, who've used eight batsmen in a series where the top order has been their headache, could once again make changes despite being urged to 'pick and keep faith' by the likes of former captain Steve Waugh, who didn't score a hundred until his 26th Test before becoming a legendary batsman.

Usman Khawaja, averaging just 19 in three successive Tests, appears to be the batsman under greatest pressure right now after coach Darren Lehmann warned his top six they were playing for their places following Australia's latest collapse at Chester-le-Street, and there have been many suggestions that reserve wicketkeeper Matthew Wade could play a role into the side as a specialist batsman.

Australia have lost seven of their last eight Tests, a losing streak interrupted by a rain-affected draw at chester lee street. However, vice-captain Brad Haddin insisted a side led by a world-class batsman Michael Clarke could avoid becoming the first Australia team since Greg Chappell's side lost 3-0 in England in 1977 to go through an Ashes series without winning a Test.
"There's a lot of belief in the changing room that we can win this last Test," wicketkeeper Haddin said. "We've been in a position over the Tests to put ourselves in a position to win; we just haven't been good enough in the big moments.
"We've shown glimmers of where we can be as a team, but we haven't done it for long enough. To get ourselves in a position that we did at Durham and then finish the way we did, it takes a lot out of you," Haddin admitted. "But Test cricket's not meant to be easy ... The series has gone, and we've just got to see what we're made of." Haddin concluded.

Gambhir all set to make his county debut

Out of favour India opener Gautam Gambhir is set to make his county debut after signing to play for the Essex team in the LV= County Championship. The 31-year old left-hander will be available to play for the remainder of the County Championship season as well as the Yorkshire Bank 40 matches.

Gambhir will replace New Zealand's Hamish Rutherford as Essex's overseas player as the Black-Caps player is set to return to his country after playing the final of the Friends Life t20, for the pre-season training ahead of their domestic and international competitions.

Gambhir is likely to make his maiden county appearance in the match against Northamptonshire which starts on August 20 at the Castle Park Cricket Ground in Colchester.

Essex Head Coach Paul Grayson expressed his delight with the signing of Gambhir and said the left-hander's experience will play a crucial role at an important juncture of the season for Essex.

"We are delighted with the signing of Gautam Gambhir who is a player with pedigree and high class on the biggest stages in cricket. He will no doubt bring his experience to the squad during an important stage of the season for us in the LV= County Championship and Yorkshire Bank 40 competition."

The southpaw batsman, who has scored 11,274 runs in first class cricket at an average of 51.45 and 8815 runs at an average of 37.99 in List A cricket, said: "I am delighted to have this chance to make my county cricket debut with Essex."

"After the IPL (Indian Premier League) ended I was looking to play some competitive cricket and playing for Essex will give me that opportunity. I am thankful to Essex for presenting me with this option and BCCI for allowing me to participate in county cricket. I hope I can make some meaningful contributions to Essex in the ongoing season," Gambhir added.

Bradman"s Bat sold for a whooping $65,000

A bat used by Australian legend Sir Donald Bradman and signed by his 1948 "Invincible" team sold for Aus$61,000 ($65,000) at auction in Melbourne on Thursday according to the reports.

Bradman used the Sykes bat to score 115 in his final first-class innings at home before the team travelled to England 65 years ago. It sold for well above its estimated value of Aus$20,000, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said.

The bat was signed by Bradman and his team-mates, who included Lindsay Hassett, Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller.

An inspection of the Bat

The Invincibles went on to become -- and remain -- the only Australian side to go through an entire Ashes tour unbeaten.

The item had spent 20 years on display at the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) and is mounted in a wooden display case. The bat was sold by Leski Auctions.

Legendary Australia batsman Bradman, who died aged 92 in 2001, played his last match in England in 1948 and retired with a yet-to-be-broked Test batting average of 99.94, despite scoring a duck in his final innings.

Kapil Dev's Greatest Indian ODI team

He can walk into any Indian team on a given day but former captain Kapil Dev decided to keep himself "out" of the best-ever Indian ODI team which he himself  feels should be led by none other than the limited overs legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The World Cup winning captain's team of 12 has young Saurashtra all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja while Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble are the other two spinners in the line-up.

Apart from Dhoni, the team has Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Virat Kohli and Mohammed Azharuddin while Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath are the two fast bowlers.

Interestingly, Kapil didn't select a single member of the victorious 1983 squad. Asked about the reason behind leaving out members of 1983 side, Kapil said: "I feel this is India's best ODI team. People can disagree with me but that's my personal view."

"Furthermore, I am selecting the side so how can I include myself in it," he said when asked to hand pick India's best ODI team on the sidelines of promotional event. "We won the 1983 World Cup but the fact remains that West Indies were by far the better side. We were just confident of doing well on that given day."

Kapil claimed that the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team which won the Champions Trophy in England this year is the best-ever team in the history of Indian cricket.

"The team did not have key players like Sehwag, (Gautam) Gambhir, Zaheer but the way they played nobody missed them. West Indies is still missing the likes of Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes," he said. "I have never seen such outstanding fielding side in the history of Indian cricket. The Champions Trophy title is the ultimate tribute to this team."

Kapil had words of appreciation for India's new batting sensation Shikhar Dhawan and compared the hard-hitting left--hander to Sehwag.
"Shikhar has been outstanding from his very first match. I had never thought there would be someone who can hit the ball better than Sehwag," he said.

With the present Indian team sporting a settled look, Kapil feels it would be tough for seniors like Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj and Zaheer to make a comeback. "Nothing is impossible but they need to have patience. The competition would be tough because and the age is also not in their favour," he said.

Kapil's all-time XII: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Mohammed Azharuddin, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan. 12th Man: Ravindra Jadeja.

India A clinches Tri series final after an emphatic 50 run victory over Australia A

Shahbaz Nadeem took three wickets for 34 and spot-in-contention pacer Mohammed Shami took two for 30 as India defended their 243 to beat Australia by 50 runs in the final of the tri-nation A series final in Pretoria on Wednesday.

Australia lost half their side for 53 in the 14th over and hardly recovered. A 54-run eighth wicket partnership betweent keeper Tim Paine (47) and Josh Hazlewood (30) defied the Indians but it was Nadeem who spun his magic to ensure India's first win against the Aussies in the championship. Australia were bowled out for 193 in the 47th over.

It was perfect team effort by the Indian bowlers. Suresh Raina, who opened the attack with his fast off-spins, Ishwar Pandey and Parvez Rasool picked up a wicket each as Australia made a hell of the run-chase.

Earlier Nathan Coulter-Nile and Hazlewood took three wickets each as India 'A' were bundled out for 243 after opting to bat first.

The Indians did not even manage to bat out their 50 overs, being packed off in 49.2 overs as Coulter-Nile removed India's last man Rasool. This was the second lowest total in the series with Australia A scoring 233 against South Africa A.

India A started disastrously with back-to-back wickets of Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara. Sharma was on 6 when trapped lbw by Hazlewood while Pujara, who scored a century in the last match against South Africa A, was dismissed for 1 caught by Aaron Finch off Glenn Maxwell.

Shikhar Dhawan, who looked in bright touch all this while, was then joined in by Dinesh Karthik as India A badly needed a partnership. The pair provided exactly that as both proceeded to get some quick runs.

Majorly targeting Indian-origin Aussie pacer Gurinder Sandhu and Pakistani-origin spinner Fawad Ahmed, Dhawan (62) and Karthik (73) added 108 in 18.2 overs. Both reached their half centuries off identical number of deliveries, 51, as India A recovered from a position of potential disaster to one of strength.

But the Aussies bowlers had other ideas. Moises Henriques got the big wicket of Dhawan, caught by keeper Paine for 62 off 65. Within 16 runs of his departure, Karthik too fell, clean bowled by Coulter-Nile for 73.

India A then went from 142/2 to 166/5 with Raina's wicket, lbw to Mitchell Marsh.

Ambati Rayudu and Wriddhiman Saha then got together as Indians looked for stability as well as quick runs. The pair batted with grit but could not break free. They added 63 in 12.5 overs but fell in quick succession when trying to up the scoring rate. Rayudu got 34 off 49 before being cleaned up by Hazlewood while Saha got 31 off 41 when Henriques had him caught by Maxwell.

It was all in collapse for India after that. After Saha's dismissal at 236, India A batsmen - Rasool, Pandey, Ahmed and Nadeem - managed just 7 more runs thus ending the scoreboard reading at 243.

Rogers and Watson Consolidates Australia on Day 2

Chris Rogers became the second oldest Australian to hit a maiden Test century as he led his team to 222 for five on the second day of the fourth Ashes Test against England in County Durham on Saturday.

The gritty left-handed opener nudged and nurdled his way to 101 not out after a four-wicket burst from Stuart Broad had threatened to put England, bowled out without adding to their overnight total of 238 for nine, on top.

Rogers was given good support by Shane Watson (68) as the pair shared a stand of 129 for the fifth wicket on a tricky day for batting.

"I can't talk for the younger blokes but after all this time you just don't think this opportunity is going to come up," Rogers told reporters.

"I wanted to believe I was good enough but never knew. To get a hundred, that's something that no one can take away from me, and I can tell my grandchildren about it now...if I have any."

Fellow Australian Arthur Richardson was 37 when he reached three figures against England at Leeds in 1926.

Rogers, making only his fifth test appearance, needed a generousi helping of good fortune at the Emirates Durham and also suffered several nervous moments in the 90s.

Broad, who often blows hot and cold, was in mean and hungry mood and took advantage of overcast skies and a pitch offering extravaganza seam movement to remove Watson, David Warner (three), Usman Khawaja (nought) and skipper Michael Clarke (six).

The day began with England's last man James Anderson being hit on the helmet by a bouncer from Jackson Bird.

Later the same over Bird ended the innings by bowling Anderson for 16, leaving Tim Bresnan undefeated on 12.

It did not take long for England to rattle out  the top of the Australian order, Warner being bowled by an inswinger from Broad that clipped the top of off stump with the total on 12.

There had been no addition to the score when Khawaja could not decide whether to play or leave a delivery from Broad and the ball struck the toe of his bat before going through to Matt Prior.

It was the 200th catch of Prior's career on his 71st test appearance and left him third on the all-time list of England wicketkeepers, behind Alec Stewart (227) and Alan Knott (250).

The home team, 2-0 up in the five-match series, then wasted a video review when Broad hit Rogers in front on the pad but the replay showed the ball had pitched a couple of inches outside leg stump.

England went close again moments later when umpire Tony Hill gave Rogers out caught behind off Broad.

The video replay showed the ball clipping the pad, not the bat, and the hosts quickly changed their appeal to an lbw shout.

England's players started celebrating when the big screen in the corner of the ground showed the ball striking the stumps but that appeal was also turned down because it was only nudging the top of the bails.

Captain Alastair Cook and his players remonstrated with Hill and his colleague Aleem Dar but to no avail.

Rogers responded in defiant manner by hitting two fours in one over from Bresnan.

Broad took his third wicket when Clarke slashed a wide ball to first slip where Cook took a good reaction catch high above his head.

When Bresnan had Steve Smith caught behind by Prior for 17 after lunch, it seemed as though England were ready to run through the Australian lineup. But Watson, demoted to number six for this test, provided a reassuring presence alongside Rogers.

Rogers reached his half-century with an edge off Broad that was put down by Graeme Swann as he dived full-length at second slip attempting the catch.

Watson played a classy shot for four through mid-wicket off Broad before following up with two more boundaries off Anderson, one a clip through square leg and another coming from a venomous pull through wide mid-on.

The Australian all-rounder finally fell in unlucky fashion just before the close of play, edging Broad to Prior who took a tumbling catch down the leg side.

Rogers, on 96, had to face 19 deliveries from Swann without scoring and twice chipped the ball in the air short of fielders while Clarke covered his face with his hands on the pavilion balcony.

Clarke and the rest of the Australian team then punched the air with delight when the opener swept Swann for four to bring up his hundred.

Brad Haddin (12) was the other undefeated batsman when stumps were drawn early because of bad light.

Lyon spins England on day 1

Off-spinner Lyon, controversially left out of the first two Ashes Tests in favour of teenager Ashton Agar, despite taking nine wickets in Delhi in the final Test of Australia's 4-0 series loss in March, had figures of four wickets for 42 runs in 20 overs.
England captain Alastair Cook, who won the toss, was the only batsman to make a fifty as the hosts, who had been in a solid position at 107 for one, played a succession of poor shots in the face of accurate Australian bowling.
Tim Bresnan was 12 not out and last man Jimmy Anderson, who gave the crowd something to cheer with four fours, 16 not out with the scoreboard reading 238-9 at the end of the days play.i
"There's nothing in the wicket so I bowled around the wicket to keep myself in the game and I was able to build some pressure," Lyon told BBC Radio's Test Match Special after England great Geoffrey Boycott slammed the hosts for their "pathetic" batting against "a non-spinning off-spinner".
"For myself it's about keeping it simple, putting balls in the right area, varying pace and flight."
Ashes-holders England came into this match having already retained the Ashes after a rain-affected draw in the third Test at Old Trafford left them 2-0 up with two to play.
But Australia could still deny them a series victory by winning both this match and the fifth Test at The Oval.
Cook opted to bat despite the pitch and overhead conditions promising assistance to Australia's seamers in the first Ashes match at the headquarters ground of northeast county Durham.
His decision also meant Cook put to one side his own modest form this Ashes, having scored just 145 runs in the first three Tests at 24.16 with a best of 62.
England, on a slowish outfield, initially found runs hard to come by against Ryan Harris and Tasmania's Jackson Bird, playing his third Test.
However, it was first change Shane Watson who had Joe Root (16) caught behind, although Australia had to challenge New Zealand umpire Tony Hill's original not-out verdict.
Nevertheless, the Hot Spot thermal imaging device -- whose inventor Warren Brennan suggested this week was being duped by players on both sides deliberately applying silicone tape to their bats -- showed a mark and England were 34 for one.
Jonathan Trott, like Cook, had yet to make a major score this series, but he looked in good touch Friday until, trying to whip Lyon through his favourite onside region, he was caught off bat and pad by diving short leg Usman Khawaja for 49.
"Winning the toss and being a 100 odd for one it's disappointing to then go and lose some soft wickets," said Trott.
Pietersen, as happened during his Old Trafford century, didn't want Lyon to dictate terms and drove him for two fours in as many balls.
Meanwhile Cook completed a 153-ball fifty when he edged Bird for four.
Pietersen then fell tamely when, with Lyon bowling around the wicket, he opened the face and got a thin edge to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin on 26.
Angered by suggestions from Australia's Channel Nine television he was one of the players trying to trick Hot Spot, Pietersen walked off without waiting for Hill's decision.
And 149 for three soon became 155 for five.
First, Bird had Cook lbw after the batsman, who'd been at the crease for nearly four hours, played no stroke to a swinging ball.
Then, four balls into the final session, Ian Bell was out for his tea score of six when, trying to dominate Lyon, he mistimed a drive and was well caught by Harris at mid-off.
Jonny Bairstow, who went more than an hour without scoring a run, undid all his patient occupation by missing a sweep off Lyon that saw him lbw for 14, a decision upheld by an 'umpire's call' DRS verdict.