“Marsh aim for Lanka's 1st win”

Geoff Marsh

Sri Lanka coach Geoff Marsh is aiming for first Test victory in the post Muralitharan era when they face Pakistan in a Test series next month.

"I am aiming to take Sri Lanka to a new level," Marsh, the former Australian opening batsman, told reporters.

"Evidently, looking for the Test victory against Pakistan is the propose."

Sri Lanka travels to United Arab Emirates, Pakistan's offshore place, in October, to play a three match Test series.

Sri Lanka has gone during a phase of nine Test matches without a win since Muralitharan retired following the first Test against India at Galle in 2010.

Marsh said Tom Moody, the fellow Australian and a former Sri Lanka coach, and Marsh's two sons, Shaun and Mitchell, pressed him to take up the obligation.

"My boys said go along there and take up the job (coaching Sri Lanka)," Marsh, who witnessed Shaun scoring his debut Test century in Sri Lanka early on this month, said.

"Sri Lanka is in just the same position as Australia," Marsh said, adding that both nations are going through transition phase.

He said he was expecting to the challenge of "coming up against my own boys," referring to the view of Shaun and Mitchell Marsh playing for Australia when Sri Lanka tours there next year.

He said that even though his current contract was limited to two years, he would like to coach Sri Lanka to the next World Cup to be played in Australia in 2015.

“We must be discover to win in India”

Graeme Swann believes England must beat India at home and off if they are to accomplish their aim to be one of the best ODI nations in the world.

Team director Andy Flower has pointed betterment in the 50 over game. England is at present ranked fifth after guiding his team to the top of the Test standings.

England are favorites to win the present series against a injury depleted India, who are without most of the team that won the World Cup in April, as the hosts go ahead 1-0 heading into tomorrow's third game at The Oval.

Whereas Swann is concentrated on securing the series success he believes any longer-term ambitions will only be realized if England also win in the return series on the sub-continent next month.

"Our official ranking is five and I don't think we can disagree with that," he said in an interview shown on Sky Sports News.

"We have to beat teams like India, not just in this series, but when we be off to play them as well."

Swann believes one-day skipper Alastair Cook is hushing his doubters after his match-winning innings in the rain shortened win at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday.

Cook's suitableness for the shorter formats had been questioned when he was installed as skipper earlier this summer, but he replied with an unbeaten 80 off 63 balls in Southampton.

"He's just let his bat do the talking," Swann added.

"It is very good for Cooky. He works very tough on his game, no-one works harder on his game while Kevin Pietersen might tell you in a different way.

"It is magnificent that it is paying off for him.

"He was written off; he's still hitting sixes these days. So you never know hell may freeze over."

India Sorted with West Indies for Under-19 World Cup

India clubbed with West Indies, Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea for the preliminary phase of the ICC Under-19 World Cup to be held in Australia next year.

The occasion will get happening in Queensland exactly one year from now and Scotland will be there as the leading Associate after winning eight of their nine matches during the qualifiers, which happened in Dublin and Derry.

Defending champions and hosts, Australia, will head Group A have been drawn alongside 1998 winner England, Nepal and Ireland, the ICC said in a declaration.

Group B is made up of the last event's runner-up and two-time winner Pakistan, New Zealand, Scotland and Afghanistan while 2000

2008 champion India have been concerned Group C along with West Indies, Zimbabwe and PNG. Sri Lanka, South Africa, Bangladesh and Namibia make up Group D.

Haroon Lorgat

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said, "The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is a very important tournament for us and I want to congratulate those six teams who have qualified to take part in Queensland next year."

"This tournament has proved to be an important stepping stone for elite young cricketers aspiring to play international cricket. It's an opportunity for them to develop and test their skills in a high-pressure situation against the world's best at this level," he added.

"How can India expect to beat us?"

Ian Botham

Ian Botham considers England as "cricket kings of the world" and can predict them displacing India from the number-one position.

"What we saw at Lord's was the sort of performance you would need from the best team on the planet and there will be more to come before this series is over," said the former all-rounder.

"At some point, England will take the No.1 title from India officially and then an era of dominance should go behind, because we are well in front of the pack. Every department is covered and without a weak link," he added.

England beat India by 196 runs in the opening Test of the four-match series, putting up a proven performance against their depleted opponents, who were a bowler short after Zaheer Khan's hamstring injury.

And Botham feels that India's hopes of beating a strong English side - on home soil - with a depleted unit are in vain.

"How can India hope to beat us, especially with their injury worries?," asked the 55-year-old.

"And as good as some of India's players have been over many years, I don't see how they can get back into this series against a side as confident as England. And they will get better, because there is a hunger in the dressing room to search for that bit extra."

The second Test of the series is to be played at Trent Bridge from Friday and the legendary all-rounder warns India to beware of some fierce bowling from the hosts.
"England will have two bowlers on home turf, while a third - Jimmy Anderson - never leaves without a five-fer in his back pocket. And judging by the way he is bowling at the moment, India should be happy if all he takes is five wickets," Botham said.

"The great thing about this England team is that they are all peaking together and dovetail like the best teams do."

Botham also appreciated Kevin Pietersen for his unbeaten 202 innings at Lord's.

"In terms of the way it started when things weren't easy and then ensuring he was still there and cashing in after he had made his first hundred. That is what Test match batting should be about," the former cricketer said.

Strauss and Dhoni

"Matt Prior performed magnificently again. We know his batting ability is as good as any Test middle order batsman, but his glovework was in the top bracket too."

Botham also confessed that Stuart Broad had silenced his critics with seven wickets from two innings in the first Test, but stands by his previous comments about the 25-year-old.

"On an unhelpful wicket the bowlers hunted as a pack and I have to doff my cap to Stuart Broad, who took all the criticism that came his way then hit back in the best possible way with wickets.

"I was one of those calling for him to be dropped before the game and I stand by those words because the Broad we saw at Lord's was not the one we had been watching earlier.

"I hope he pushes on from here and doesn't let it be his only performance of the series. He also showed maturity in the way he handled his lbw knock-backs, although it is ridiculous that the DRS is not being used," he said.

Criticising Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) for not using the full Decision Review System in the series, Botham said, "It is time India accepted it and understand that the game is not here just for them. Everybody wants the full DRS."

Former England captains warn of Tendulkar threat

Former England captains Michael Vaughan, Nasser Hussain, Mike Atherton and Graham Gooch have warned that even at the twilight of his international career, Tendulkar would be the biggest threat to England when they take on India in a Test series starting on July 21.

"Sachin`s a different player now from 2007; the best players in the world change little things about themselves to keep themselves in the game. In the last two years he`s become more aggressive, he`s gone back to his old way of trying to score when for a period he tried to survive," Vaughan told a magazine.

"Chris Tremlett bowled well against him in 2007 and he`s a miles better bowler now. But Sachin doesn`t have any weaknesses although every batsman is vulnerable on and around the off stump early on. England might go aggressive at him, test him with a few short balls - I`ve seen people do that over the last two years and it hasn`t affected him," he added.

Hussain said Tendulkar has rediscovered his aggressive instincts in recent years.

"Technically and mentally Sachin has changed little over the years but he has changed his game plan. He began as a flamboyant, extravagant stroke-maker who had all the shots and simply loved the game.”

"Once the records and the hundreds started to be racked up, he turned into a run-machine. His priority was his wicket. Once Sehwag arrived, he was happy to let him tee off. In the last couple of years he has rediscovered his flamboyance and is playing shots again," he added.

Atherton recalled how disastrous it can be to give Tendulkar a life when he is not settled.

"I dropped him in the gully at Trent Bridge (in 1996) and he went on to get a big hundred. He`s not a man you want to put down early on. He was calm at the crease, difficult to get out of his bubble. There weren`t any flaws. He was just a very solid, orthodox player.”

"One of the most remarkable things is that he has hardly changed at all - exactly the same set-up, very few changes to his method. He`s trusted in his technique and power all this time. He`s stayed true to his game," he said.

Gooch went down memory lane to recall the young Tendulkar.

"No one had ever seen him in 1990. As a 17-year-old it was evident that the lad had great skill, great balance, great timing, an eye for the ball. You could see he had all the attributes to make a top player.”

"For one so young he had a poise and composure about his batting. You don`t often get that in young players; you get the talent and the stroke-making but poise, authority and composure normally come," he said.

WIPA welcomes Caricom's initiative on Gayle

The West Indies Players Association (WIPA) has welcomed the lead taken by Caricom (Caribben Community) to resolve the ongoing dispute between estranged Jamaican opener Chris Gayle and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

In a statement on Monday, WIPA said it viewed the move with "considerable optimism" and thanked Caricom for deciding to play an active role in the impasse.

"WIPA is pleased that Caricom has heeded the call by Chris Gayle to intervene. Chris made a telling point which we see that the Heads of Government have picked up," said WIPA president and CEO Dinanath Ramnarine.

"West Indies cricket is bigger than the WICB. West Indies cricket belongs to the people of the region and not a miniscule group of administrators who want to dictate to everyone.

"We fully support the move and will do all we can to make it succeed in its desire to put our cricket on a firmer foundation."

Caricom chairman Denzil Douglas, the prime minister of St Kitts and Nevis, announced on Sunday that the Prime Ministerial Sub-committee on Cricket would be revived in an attempt to broker a solution in the standoff that has seen Gayle repeatedly overlooked for selection for the ongoing India series.

The announcement came after Gayle made an impassioned plea last Friday for the regional Heads of Government to get involved.

His appeal was backed by Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo who on Saturday criticised the WICB for acting as if they were the "private owners of West Indian cricket".

Gayle has been at loggerheads with the WICB ever since he gave a highly controversial interview to a Jamaican radio station in April when he was highly critical of the Board.

Ramnarine pledged WIPA's full cooperation with the Caricom sub-committee.

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Many questions remain unanswered in Afridi’s case

While the raging dispute between Shahid Afridi and the Pakistan Cricket Board has come to a close, the governing body of the game in Pakistan has succeeded in avoiding many important and pertinent questions which were raised during the last two weeks.

This was stated by Mehmood Mandviwalla who appeared as counsel for Shahid Afridi in the case.

Mehmood felt that the main question is whether there is a link between the grant of the NOC to play for Hampshire with the disciplinary proceedings since the ICC clearly lays down the guidelines for refusal of NOC by a home board.

"The question is whether the PCB follows such guidelines or again uses its own judgement to grant, refuse or take away an NOC that has already been given," Mehmood pointed out.

He added that the ICC recognises that players have a fundamental right to earn a living and hence cannot be deprived of an NOC by a home board and that an NOC is only a guarantee that the player should remain available to play for the national side and the player’s fitness should not be comprised while playing county cricket.

He further stated that the PCB does not appear to have a permanent disciplinary committee and it functions on a need-basis with excessive authority that is delegated to them. 

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I am not against DRS, says Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is not against the controversial Decision Review System (DRS) but he wants it to be more consistent, the Indian batsman said.

The general perception is that the powerful Indian cricket board's steadfast opposition to DRS stems partially from the apprehension that Tendulkar and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, share about the technology's accuracy.

Tendulkar, however, said he was not altogether against the technology.

"I am not against DRS, but I feel it will be more effective with the support of the Snickometer and Hot Spot technology. This will give more consistent results," he told a cricket website.

The Snickometer is used detect edges, while Hot Spot gives more convincing indications of the ball's point of contact. Hawk Eye technology, used more often, replicates the ball's trajectory.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has recommended the mandatory use of DRS, under which teams currently can make two unsuccessful appeals against an umpire's decision per innings, in all formats of the game but the Indian cricket board have vowed to oppose it.

Incidentally, Tendulkar's one-day opening partner Virender Sehwag is an admirer of it while former India coach Gary Kirsten has also backed the technology which, the ICC claimed, has improved correct decisions by seven percent.

"I have even told the ICC that we have no problem with Hot Spot. Our objection is to ball tracking," Indian cricket board president Shashank Manohar told website.

BCCI secretary N Srinivasan shot off an angry letter to the ICC in March, claiming the technology's "inadequacy" had been exposed in this year's 50-over World Cup, which was won by India.

The BCCI's opposition meant the DRS would not be used in India's tour of England starting next month.

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IPL 4 Final : Chennai vs Bangalore Photos

Gambhir in doubt for West Indies

Gautam Gambhir may not be able to play the entire tour of the West Indies after being diagnosed with a shoulder injury that could keep him out for 4-6 weeks.

Andrew Leipus, the Kolkata Knight Riders physiotherapist, submitted a report to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, in which he stated that the India opener sustained the injury during the World Cup final against Sri Lanka and aggravated it further during the final league game of the IPL against the Mumbai Indians in Kolkata.

Leipus also said in his report that Gambhir was feeling better before the final IPL league game but felt pain while throwing a ball from the deep during the game.

Leipus, who was also with the Indian team previously, further added in his report that Gambhir underwent medical scans in Mumbai before the elimination match against the Indians on Wednesday under the supervision of an expert.

Leipus stated in his report that Gambhir is advised 4-6 weeks of rest during which time he will not be able to throw or bat so that his should recovers completely.

Gambhir was to lead the Indian side in the West Indies for the ODI series after skipper MS Dhoni was rested along with Zaheer Khan and Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag was ruled out with a shoulder injury.

It is expected that Suresh Raina, who was made the vice-captain, will lead the team in his place. Gambhir's absence also means that India will go into the series without any of the regular specialist openers.

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Gambhir draws positives from loss against Mumbai

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir said they have positives to take away from their final round-robin game of the IPL what if the home team lost to Mumbai Indians in an unlikely fashion at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.

After setting Mumbai Indians a tall 177-run target, the Knight Riders lost the match in the last over when, needing 21 runs, Laxmipathy Balaji conceded 23 including four fours and a last ball six to end their round-robin campaign on a disappointing note.

But Gambhir was in no mood to be bogged down by the defeat and said they have many positives to take away into the playoff stage of the tournament.

"Getting 176 itself was a big effort. It was more than a par score and we were very happy with the total. Spinners and Brett Lee bowled well. We have positives to take away from this game barring the last over. Getting the total was a fantastic effort," Gambhir said at the post-match press conference.

"You should see the performance of every player. I can't mention one area, we have done well in all departments. We have more positives to take than negatives," he said about the Kolkata outfit's round robin campaign, where they finished fourth with 16 points (eight wins) from 14 matches.

Gambhir also defended under-fire Balaji, who turned out to be the villain for Kolkata towards the end.

"Balaji dismissed Kieron Pollard in the previous over. (The loss) does not mean he was not good. We have all the trust in him. I am sure he will comeback harder." Finishing fourth behind Mumbai Indians, the Knight Riders will now have to face the same opponents in the elimination round to be played in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Gambhir said they would have to do things in hard way from here on as even after winning the eliminator, they will have to get past the loser of the first playoff to make it to Saturday's title clash.

"It will be a different ball game in the playoffs. We have to do the things in the hard way now," he said.

Gambhir said in Sunday's match Mumbai played fearless cricket as they had nothing to lose.

"They (Mumbai) had less pressure than us. They didn't have chance to get into top two. There was no pressure on them so they played freely."

Gambhir also credited James Franklin and Ambati Rayudu for pulling off the spectacular chase in the last over.

"They are quality players no doubt. All credit to them. It is such a format that anything can happen. It was one of those bad days for us," the left-hander said.

New Zealand all-rounder Franklin, who earned the man-of-the-match award for his match-winning unbeaten 45 that came off 23 balls, said "We were just trying to get the ball over the rope. Fortunately, we got a couple of lucky ones. Rayudu played a hell of a shot in the last ball."

Franklin also credited the Eden pitch for staying firm after Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh had set the tempo for the run chase with their 57-run second-wicket stand.

"Outfield was fast and the wicket played pretty well. Sachin (Tendulkar) and Harbhajan provided the momentum. In the last couple of overs, the asking rate got steep but overall it was quite achievable," he said.

"A great feeling in the camp now especially after getting the confidence back following the hat-trick of losses," Franklin added.

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Australia won the series

Michael Hussey scored his first one-day century in 4 years to help Australia complete a 3-0 clean flounce against Bangladesh with a 66-run win in the final match on Wednesday.

The middle-order batsman cracked two sixes and nine fours in a 91-ball 108 for his third one-day hundred, and his first since February 2007, as Australia posted a huge 361-8 in the day-night match.

"It was a good series and an outstanding effort from the boys. As a captain I need to keep learning," said Australia skipper Michael Clarke, leading in his first one-day series after being named captain last month.

A disappointed Shakib said: "We batted really well and executed our plans, but we haven't bowled well in three games. It's a learning process and we will learn from it."

Man-of-the-series: Shane Watson who hit 185 not out in the previous match on Monday, earlier put Australia on course for a big total with a 40-ball 72.

Man-of-the-match: Michael Hussey who hit 89 for the fourth wicket with Clarke (47) and 70 for the sixth wicket with Mitchell Johnson, who hammered 41 off just 24 balls

India's Sachin Tendulkar falls shy of 100th ton but racks up 18,000 one-day runs

Sachin Tendulkar, India's in-form batting maestro, missed a chance to score his 100th international hundred when he fell short in the World Cup quarter-final against Australia.

Tendulkar, 37, looked in sublime form during his 68-ball innings, hitting seven fours on his way to 53. It was his 94th one-day half-century for India.

Tendulkar edged paceman Shaun Tait to wicket-keeper Brad Haddin in the 19th over and had started walking when umpire Marais Erasmus called him back while he confirmed the legality of the delivery.

Once the replays showed that the delivery was legal, Tendulkar walked away, much to the disappointment of the frenzied crowd packed in to the Sardar Patel stadium for India's do-or-die encounter.

Nevertheless, the veteran batsman, playing his sixth World Cup and probably his last, completed 18,000 one-day runs in the process, consolidating his position as the most prolific one day batsman of all time.

Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya is second with 13,428 runs, while Australian captain Ricky Ponting is third on 13,288.

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To win the World Cup, you have to beat them all: Yuvraj

Agar harenge to pata hain humein kya hone walah hain!' (If we lose we know what's in store). Yuvraj Singh was laughing when he said that. But he gave the impression along the course of a media conference after the match on Sunday that he was fighting a battle for the team against the Indian media.

"Don't you think you are not practising enough?" somebody asked him the question and that added fuel to the fire. "We know our bodies, we know how to go about it...It's the media that is saying we are not practising. It's your problem, not ours," it seemed that Yuvraj was carrying the mood of his batting to the press conference room.

The left-hander looked relieved that he has delivered the goods just when it mattered. This was his first international century after a gap of two years and he wants to take the good form into the quarterfinal against Australia. "Obviously, I am feeling good about it...Wickets, runs...I think it's all going well," Yuvi's answers were short, crisp and incisive.

Now they are up against Australia and when somebody asked whether they would have preferred some other team in the quarters, Yuvi shot back. "Boss, if we have to win the World Cup, we have to beat every team...It doesn't matter if we are playing Australia or Sri Lanka."

Aussies have three quicks in Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson in the line-up. So, will the short ball be a problem? "We wouldn't have been the No. 1 Test playing nation and No. 2 ODI nation if we struggled against the short ball...Don't say such things to me," Yuvi seemed to pull the query out of the park.

India are going off the boil a number of times and there was a situation on Sunday as well when the bowlers struggled to get that breakthrough. When asked about it, the left-hander said that it's a matter of keeping the faith in the bowlers.

"When things get tough, it's important that we don't lose confidence in the bowlers...We knew somebody or the other will strike when it matters and that's what happened. Zaheer got two, I got a couple, and we finally won the match," Yuvraj said.

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Akhtar fastest bowler I have ever faced: Ponting

Australian captain Ricky Ponting on Friday hailed retiring Pakistani tearaway pacer Shoaib Akhtar as an outstanding cricketer and the fastest bowler he has ever faced.

"Congratulations to him for being an outstanding cricketer," Ponting said of Akhtar who on Thursday announced his retirement from international cricket after the ongoing World Cup.

"I had some great duels with Shoaib over the years. To this day I always said he is the fastest bowler I have faced in international cricket," said Ponting of Akhtar, who broke the 100mph barrier in 2003.

Ponting said particularly he remembered a fierce spell from Akhtar at Perth in 1999.

"There's one spell that everyone can watch on internet of him bowling to me at WACA. That was reasonably entertaining - more so for Justin Langer, who was at the other end laughing at me all the time when I was trying to keep Shoaib's deliveries out. He was express pace, a very good bowler," the Australian said.

Ponting lamented the fact that Akhtar had a injury-prone career, which had reduced his international appearances.

"Over the years he's had his fair share of injuries that have not allowed him to play as much as he would have liked. But even in this tournament so far, you can see that he's still got it with the new ball. He still has good pace, and his experience has helped him at different times as well," he said.

Akhtar returned the compliments, describing Ponting as one of the best batsmen he had ever played against.

"I admire the way Ponting bats. He is one of my favourites, like Brian Lara and Adam Gilchrist," said Akhtar.

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Strauss, Swann suffering from stomach bugs

Andrew Strauss and Graeme Swann missed training in Chennai on Tuesday after being laid low by stomach bugs, though both are expected to be fit in time for England's must-win match against West Indies on Thursday.

Strauss is also England's leading run-scorer in this World Cup with 298 at nearly a run-a-ball, while the first-choice spinner Swann is their joint highest wicket-taker with nine.

England batsman Jonathan Trott, however, was keen to emphasise after the practice session that both unwell players would recover in time for the West Indies match, which England must win to have a chance of making the quarter-finals.

"They are two key players in our side, in anybody's side they would be, especially with Andrew being captain, but I'm fully confident they will be alright," Trott said. "These things are usually 24-48 hour things. I'm glad it happened sort of now and not tomorrow. Hopefully they will be alright tomorrow for training"

England have already lost two high-profile players since arriving in the subcontinent, with batsman Kevin Pietersen returning home for hernia surgery and Stuart Broad picking up a side strain. They play their final league match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where they pulled off a comeback win over South Africa nine days ago. That result has kept them in contention for a quarter-final spot despite shock defeats to Ireland and Bangladesh.

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Kamran gets A category despite poor World Cup show

Following the poor performance behind the stumps in the mega event, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has rewarded incompetent wicket keeper Kamran Akmal with A category central contract for the next 12 months.

The strange things are always bound to be happened only in the PCB as yesterday they announced the names of 19 players selected for the Central Contracts. Kamran Akmal is included in the highest category, who dropped Ross Taylor twice when he was on 0 & 4 and also dropped Styris off Afridi, will get Rs. 250,000/- as monthly salary.

It is also important to mention here that Kamran Akmal also missed two stumping chances of Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakarra in their important Group A match. Kamran included in A category with players like one-day and twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi, test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, Younus Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul and Shoaib Akhtar.

Hafeez, Abdur Rehman, Umar Akmal, Saeed Ajmal and Wahab Riaz are included in B category who will get Rs. 175,000/- as monthly salary.

Taufiq Umer, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Ahmed Shehzad, Adnan Akmal, Tanvir Ahmed and Junaind Khan are placed in C category where they will draw Rs. 100,000/- as monthly salary. 

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Who do you think will win the Cricket World Cup?

New Zealand celebrated a Ross Taylor-led 110-run victory over Pakistan but they face the disaster of potentially losing skipper Daniel Vettori to a tournament-ending knee injury.

Vettori fell awkwardly attempting to catch a miscued lofted on-drive from Kamran Akmal off Tim Southee in the sixth over. He hobbled from the field but needed the support of two management staff to get to the pavilion.

The team's next game is against Canada.

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Stuart Broad an injury doubt for England

A side strain picked up by Stuart Broad in England's dramatic win over South Africa could end his involvement in the Cricket World Cup.

The results of a scan are due later this afternoon (March 8th) and are likely to determine whether Broad will become England's second long-term injury casualty in the space of three days, with Kevin Pietersen's trip having already been cut short by a hernia injury.

Broad, who took 4-15 in the match on Sunday, is a major doubt for Friday's match against Bangladesh.

However, he is hopeful that the injury will not end his involvement in the Cricket World Cup, particularly since his Ashes campaign was disrupted by a similar complaint.

"I'm not too down at the minute because I don't know what the injury is. But obviously, I'll be bitterly disappointed if it's the end of my World Cup," Broad commented.

"It's in a different area. I didn't get the short stabbing pain that I did in the Ashes, so that's a good sign this is not as severe as that."

Ajmal Shahzad is a likely replacement for Broad should he fail to recover in time to face Bangladesh.

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Ireland Vs England : Expert Analysis – ICC World Cup 2011

After eliminating Pakistan from the ICC World Cup 2007 in the West Indies and becoming one of the reasons behind Pakistani coach Bob Woolmer's departure from this world, the Irish cricket team rose to the occasion once again and hammered England in a group ‘B’ match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. The English team's wounds might not be able to match those of Pakistan’s but Andrew Strauss and company will be shattered to say the least.

Apart from one of the biggest upsets of the game, the match between England and Ireland will be remembered as one of the best spectacles of One Day International (ODI) cricket. It was a record breaking encounter in more ways than one.

England posted a mammoth total of 327 runs in the first innings and most cricket analysts were predicting that the English team will run away with the match, especially when the Irish lost five of their top batsmen for just 111 runs on the board. A nelson usually works for the bowling team but just like so many extra-ordinary things in today’s match, the nelson changed the fortunes for Ireland batting this time.

Kevin O’Brien and Alex Cusack combined for the sixth wicket partnership and scored 162 runs which laid the foundation for a historic win. The match went down to the last over of the innings but the Irish were in the driving seat in the last 10 overs of the match.

Apart from some cricket fanatics around the world, a majority of cricket lovers may not have heard much about Kevin O’Brien but from now onwards his name will always be remembered in the history books for anchoring one of the most proud triumphs for Ireland. He scored a magical hundred to steer his team towards an unlikely victory and captured a record breaking victory for his country. He also broke the record for scoring the fastest century in the history of world cup cricket.

No team has ever chased down such a total in a world cup match before, even though the English team came very close of doing so against India a couple of days ago. So in many ways, this day was nothing less than a dream for Ireland and will be remembered for many more years to come. No wonder the Irish fans had tears in their eyes after the match.

Even though the English team dropped a couple of sitters, no one can take the credit away from O’Brien, who stunned spectators with some marvelous hitting. Not surprisingly, the centurion was named Man of the Match for his ‘once in a lifetime knock’. O’Brien admitted, during the presentation ceremony, that he himself could not believe all this has happened and said that this is the best innings he has ever played.

"Not able to believe it, I am quite speechless. I got a bit of luck and things went my way. If we would have gotten out soon, it would have been a boring game for the supporters and so I decided to chance my arm, it paid off," the star said while expressing his emotions.

The win once again will highlight the role of minnows in the tournament. The ICC is probably watching with great interest the outcome of this year’s tournament. Time will tell if O'Brien is able to lead his side to another victory on a World Cup stage.

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