Briefly Cricket

Virender Sehwag on Wednesday stormed into the top five of the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen by virtue of his superlative...

Sehwag back in top 5

Dubai: Virender Sehwag on Wednesday stormed into the top five of the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen by virtue of his superlative double-century against Sri Lanka in the third Test in Mumbai. Sehwags 293 has rocketed him 14 places to the fifth position which he shares with Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf. Gautam Gambhir leads the batting table with Sri Lanka duo of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara second and third. It is the first time since October 2006 that Sehwag has returned to the top five.

No takers for English players?

London: English cricketers are unlikely to find many takers in the third IPl next year as they would be unavailable for most part of the Twenty20 event. Rajasthan Royals franchise CEO Sean Morris,who joined the team last week,said Stuart Broad and James Anderson may not find any buyers when the auction takes place in February. England’s Test players will not play the first 12 days of the IPL due to their tour of Bangladesh. They could also miss the concluding part of the event as they would be required to be in the West Indies to prepare for the World Twenty20 Championship.

Australia retain team for 3rd Test

Melbourne: Pacer Peter Siddle’s hamstring injury notwithstanding,Australia announced an unchanged 12-member squad for the third and final cricket Test against the West Indies starting December 16 in Perth.

squad: Ricky Ponting (c),Michael Clarke (vc),Doug Bollinger,Brad Haddin,Nathan Hauritz,Mike Hussey,Mitchell Johnson,Simon Katich,Clint McKay,Marcus North,Peter Siddle,Shane Watson.

No central contract for Shoaib

Karachi: Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar’s career has been dealt another blow with the PCB here deciding not to renew his central contract as he is neither playing for the national team nor competing in the domestic circuit. PCB chairman Ejaz Butt said no fresh contract would be issued to the fast bowler,whose career has been marred by injury breakdowns,a dope scandal and disputes with the authorities. Shoaib’s current contract expires at the end of this month.

India U-19 team to tour SA

New Delhi: As part of their build-up to the under-19 cricket World Cup in New Zealand,defending champions India will tour South Africa for a one-day tri-series,featuring Sri Lanka as the third team,from December 20. “The Indian under-19 team will undertake a tour of South Africa for a tri-series,prior to the World Cup in New Zealand in January 2010. Sri Lanka will be the third team in the competition,” BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement on Wednesday.

Tanvir signs up with Bushrangers

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Melbourne: Pakistan pacer Sohail Tanvir on Wednesday replaced Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan as one of the two foreign recruits in the Australian state side Victoria Bushrangers for the upcoming KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. “The 24-year-old Tanvir,joined West Indian Dwayne Bravo as the two international signings for the tournament,following the withdrawal of Sri Lankan spin king Muttiah Muralidaran,who has scheduling conflicts,” Victoria Bushrangers said in a statement.