England seamers rout Australia top order, smell Ashes victory

PERTH: England’s seamers obliterated Australia’s top order early in the third test in Perth on Thursday to leave the hosts reeling at 65 for four at lunch and buoy the tourists’ hopes of sealing the Ashes before Christmas.

Andrew Strauss, bidding to become the first English captain since Mike Gatting 24 years ago to bring the Ashes home, landed the first psychological blow by winning the toss and sending Australia in to bat on a green-topped pitch at the WACA.

The call proved a masterstroke as towering seamer Chris Tremlett celebrated his return to the test side by bowling Phillip Hughes for two with his sixth ball and removing vice captain Michael Clarke for four in his fourth over.

In between, James Anderson clinched the key wicket of captain Ricky Ponting for 12, while Steve Finn trapped Shane Watson lbw for 13 to leave the large English contingent in the

Weather holds key to Sri Lanka-Windies Test

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka and the West Indies hope for clear weather as they seek to clinch the series with a win in the third and final Test starting at a new venue on Wednesday.

The series is tied at 0-0 after rain-hit drawn matches in Colombo and Galle and the weather is likely to curtail play at the Pallekele International Stadium.

The West Indies, seeking their first Test victory in Sri Lanka, surprised the hosts with their impressive performance in Galle where they enforced the follow-on, restricting the home side to 378 after posting 580-9 declared.

Sri Lanka came back strongly in the second Test in Colombo when they made 387-9 declared in their first innings on a new pitch before bowling the tourists out for 243.

The hosts declared their second innings at 57-1 before taking two West Indies wickets, including that of former captain Chris Gayle, for 12

Weather holds key to Sri Lanka-Windies Test

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka and the West Indies hope for clear weather as they seek to clinch the series with a win in the third and final Test starting at a new venue on Wednesday.

The series is tied at 0-0 after rain-hit drawn matches in Colombo and Galle and the weather is likely to curtail play at the Pallekele International Stadium.

The West Indies, seeking their first Test victory in Sri Lanka, surprised the hosts with their impressive performance in Galle where they enforced the follow-on, restricting the home side to 378 after posting 580-9 declared.

Sri Lanka came back strongly in the second Test in Colombo when they made 387-9 declared in their first innings on a new pitch before bowling the tourists out for 243.

The hosts declared their second innings at 57-1 before taking two West Indies wickets, including that of former captain Chris Gayle, for 12

Cook hits double century but Ashes opener drawn

BRISBANE: Australia and England drew the first Ashes test on Monday but the tourists will claim a moral victory after Alastair Cook dominated the last two days with an unbeaten double century to rescue a match that had looked lost.

Cook, who was unbeaten on a career-high 235, and Jonathan Trott, who was 135 not out, had built a record partnership of 329 when captain Andrew Strauss declared England’s second innings closed at 571-1 before tea.

Australia, who were 296 runs behind, lost Simon Katich before the break but skipper Ricky Ponting, who hit 51 for his 56th test half century, and opener Shane Watson (41) ushered the hosts safely through the remaining overs to finish on 107 for one.

Cook and Trott completely dominated the first two sessions of the day in front of a sparse fifth day crowd at the Gabba, where England supporters were more numerous and much

Strauss hits century as England stand firm against Australia

BRISBANE: England skipper Andrew Strauss reached his 19th test century soon after lunch on the fourth day of the first Ashes test against Australia at the Gabba on Sunday as the tourists battled to save the match.

Strauss, who was out for a duck in the first innings, cut a Xavier Doherty delivery down to third man for four to record his century — the first since his 161 at the Lords test in the last Ashes series in July 2009.

His 216-minute century was not without chances, however, most notably an inside edge to a Peter Siddle delivery when he was on 61 that somehow missed the wicket and a good catching chance off Doherty that Mitchell Johnson spilled when he was on 70.

The 33-year-old, who hit 15 fours in his century, had already combined with Alastair Cook for England’s highest opening partnership at the Gabba. AGENCIES

Hussey and Haddin put Australia in charge

BRISBANE: Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin both hit magical centuries in a record partnership of 307 to put Australia firmly in control of the first Ashes test at the end of the third day at the Gabba on Saturday.

Hussey hit a career best innings of 195 and Haddin pitched in with an impressive 136 as they dominated the day to help steer Australia to 481 all out and a first innings lead of 221 runs.

England captain Andrew Strauss, on a pair after a first innings duck, had a scare on his first ball but survived 15 tough overs with fellow opener Alastair Cook to leave the tourists on 19-0 in their second innings.

“The Ashes is what you dream of playing as a kid so to just be a part of the Ashes series is fantastic, but to score a hundred in the first test, it’s a dream come true,” said Hussey, who hit 26 fours and one six in his eight-hour innings.

Hussey and

Christmas lights switched on Les Champs Elysees

PARIS: Paris’s famous avenue, the Champs Elysees, was illuminated by Christmas lights on Monday, after they were switched on by the city’s mayor Bertrand Delanoe, and actress Melanie Laurent.

Flashing LED lights have been placed in the trees that line the famous avenue, creating a ‘snowing’ effect.

One of the tourists who had gathered to watch the lights being switched on said afterwards that “now we feel Christmas is coming.”

“Love is in the air,” she added.

French actress Melanie Laurent, who helped Parisian mayor Bertrand Delanoe to turn on the lights, is best known internationally for her appearance in Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film ‘Inglourious Basterds’. AGENCIES

McCullum hits double-ton as India-NZ Test drawn

HYDERABAD: Opener Brendon McCullum smashed a career-best 225 to help New Zealand draw the second Test against world number one India on Tuesday.

McCullum, playing his 54th Test, unleashed 22 fours and four sixes during his nine-hour innings as the tourists declared at their tea score of 448-8 on the fifth and final day of the match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.

That left India — who made 472 in their first innings in reply to New Zealand’s 350 — with an improbable target of scoring 327 runs off 30 overs in the final session.

India’s openers Virender Sehwag (54 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (14 not out) took India to 68-0 when the rival captains agreed to call off the match one hour before the scheduled close.

It was McCullum who stole the day’s show and gave the eight-ranked Kiwis plenty to cheer about as they head into the series-deciding third Test

Pakistan face an uphill battle to save the first test

DUBAI: Pakistan face an uphill battle to save the first test after closing the fourth day on 109 for two after being set a formidable winning target of 450 by South Africa on Monday.

Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla both hit centuries in compiling a record third-wicket stand of 242 for South Africa against Pakistan, allowing the tourists to declare on 318 for two in their second innings.

Pakistan made a solid start and they reached 41 before Mohammed Hafeez, who scored a breezy 34 off 47 balls, edged a delivery from paceman Dale Steyn to first slip.

Taufeeq Umar (22) and Azhar Ali (37 not out) then defied their opponents for 18.2 overs with a second-wicket stand of 34 before Umar was caught at first slip off a ball from Johan Botha.

Ali and Younus Khan (11 not out) saw their team to stumps although Ali suffered a painful blow on his thumb from a Steyn

Stunning defeat to Kiwis by Bangladesh, finish ODI series 4-0

The Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium may have been operating at a fraction of its full capacity due to World Cup renovations, but another nail-biting victory to Bangladesh in the final ODI against New Zealand sparked rapturous celebrations in the Mirpur crowd as the home team stormed to a 4-0 whitewash.
Bangladesh had been bowled out for just 174 by a spirited New Zealand attack that showed plenty of fire in the first half of the dead rubber, but a catastrophic top-order collapse ensured that not even a trademark fight back from the lower-order could restore some pride to an outfit that was thoroughly outplayed throughout the series.
The match was set up by an excellent bowling performance from the New Zealand attack, who dismissed the hosts for 174 in 44.2 overs. New Zealand made early breakthroughs through Kyle Mills and Andy McKay before choking the runs in the middle period to trigger a lower-order collapse that left Bangladesh defending a meager total.
The Bangladesh lower-order failed to offer any sort of resistance, succumbing meekly to some intelligent bowling from the tourists and losing their last six wickets for just 42 runs. The modest total proved to be enough for the hosts however, who completed a whitewash that will be talked about in Bangladesh for years to come.

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