Sachin Tendulkar hits first 200 in ODIs

Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to score a double century in One-Day Internationals, accomplishing the feat in the second one-dayer against South Africa in Gwalior on Wednesday.

The master batsman, who holds the record for most runs and centuries in Test (13,447) and one-day (17,398) cricket, scored 200 not out off 147 balls as India amassed 401-3 in 50 overs.

His previous best was an unbeaten 186 against New Zealand , at Hyderabad, in 1999.

Tendulkar, who registered his 46th ODI century in the process, got to 200 with a single off Charl Langeveldt in the final over of the game, having earlier broken the World record for the highest individual innings, of 194, jointly held by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry.

Anwar rattled up that total against India in May 1997 while Coventry hit 194 not out against Bangladesh last year.

Join us in congratulating the Indian ace on becoming the first man to breach the 200-run mark in 39 years of One-Day Internationals, since its inception in 1971.

Andy Flower wants to become England team director

Former Zimbabwe opener and assistant coach of the England cricket team, Andy Flower, wants to become the new team director and help solve the puzzle of why they cannot win Test matches.

Flower has decided to apply for the job made vacant by the sacking of his friend Peter Moores.

ECB chiefs on Friday launched their quest for the new man by advertising the 300,000 pound-a-year post and upgrading the title from head coach to team director.

If Flower is chosen and he is a serious contender with the backing of captain Andrew Strauss, he will have two immediate tasks.

Analysing why England struggle to bowl out opponents on the final day of matches and deciding whether injury-prone Andrew Flintoff can play in the Indian Premier League at the start of an Ashes summer.

Flintoff will hear the results today of the scan on the suspected torn muscle in his right hip and fears he could be out the rest of the tour.

Flower rejected the title of interim coach on this tour and instead stuck with his role of assistant coach. But it is clear he and Strauss are running team affairs.

"I might apply for the job of team director. I've really enjoyed doing it so far. In my favour, I have my experience as a Test cricketer and the fact I have been involved with these guys now for almost two years," Flower said.

"I believe I can help gel a unit together. The captain and I get on well and I'm pleased with the response I've had from the players," he added.

Zimbabwe to remain out of test cricket

Zimbabwe's return to test cricket could be at least six months to two years away, the International Cricket Council said Saturday.

A team headed by Julian Hunte, president of the West Indies Cricket Board, presented an interim report to the ICC's board following a visit to Zimbabwe by Hunte and ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat in November.

"Pending submission of that final report, the board was told that none of the stakeholders spoken to during the visit were of the view that Zimbabwe was ready to return to test cricket, with time frames proposed ranging from six months to two years or more," the ICC said in a statement.

Zimbabwe has not played test cricket since 2006. In August, Zimbabwe withdrew from this year's World Twenty20 tournament in England.

Zimbabwe was replaced by Scotland for the tournament in June.

The African country pulled out because the British government would not grant visas in protest of Robert Mugabe claiming victory in a widely discredited presidential election last year. The England and Wales Cricket Board has also cut ties with Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe Cricket Union chairman Peter Chingoka was replaced at the Perth meetings by Wilfred Mukondiwa, who was listed in an ICC release on the meetings as an alternate for Chingoka.

Chingoka, a supporter of Mugabe, was banned from visiting Australia by the federal government as part of sanctions against the Mugabe regime.

India will retake second place with win over England

India will go second in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table if it beats England in the upcoming two-Test series that gets underway in Chennai on Thursday.

By winning the series 1-0 or 2-0, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team will overtake South Africa and recapture second, a position it had briefly enjoyed after its 2-0 home series victory over Australia recently.

South Africa will have an immediate opportunity to take back that place with a three-match series in Australia on the horizon. The first match of that series begins in Perth on 17 December.

England will also be eyeing a good opportunity while in India. A 2-0 series win will see it move up one place to fourth in the standings, ahead of Sri Lanka. That result would also bring it to within three ratings points of India in third position.

A drawn series or a 1-0 win for England would leave the teams in their current positions although in both instances, India would lose ground on South Africa while Kevin Pietersen’s team would close the gap on Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, close rivals the West Indies and New Zealand do battle over the next couple of weeks in a two-Test series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. The first Test takes place in Dunedin beginning on Thursday with the second one scheduled for Napier from 19 December.

At present, New Zealand is placed in eighth position, just a fraction of a ratings point behind the West Indies. A drawn series would leave that state of affairs unchanged but a 1-0 or 2-0 win for the Black Caps would see them leap-frog over Chris Gayle and his men.

Kallis is a 'selfish cricketer': Keith Stackpole

He may boast of the best statistics of among all rounders but players refuse to place South Africa's Jacques Kallis in the league of extraordinary gentlemen -- India's Kapil Dev, West Indies' Sir Gary Sobers, Pakistan's Imran Khan or England's Ian Botham.

Kallis has scored 9801 runs in 125 Tests at an average of 55.06 and taken 245 wickets at a highly respectable 30.92. He has scored 30 centuries, but never made a double hundred.

The figures are well ahead of Sobers, who made 8032 runs at 57.78 in 93 Tests and took 235 wickets at 34.03, to be widely regarded as the game's greatest allrounder.

But Kallis is a "selfish cricketer", feels Keith Stackpole, who scored seven tons in 43 Tests as an opener.

"He doesn't rate against players such as Gary Sobers, Imran Khan, Keith Miller, Adam Gilchrist, Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev and Ian Botham," he was quoted as saying by the 'Herald Sun'.

"You watch him bat and you are left with the feeling he bats for his average. And you ask yourself, 'Would I have wanted to play with him?'. The answer is no because he plays for himself," he added.

Former Test quick Rodney Hogg, who played against Sobers, Imran, Hadlee, Botham, Kapil, Malcolm Marshall and Clive Rice, feels Kallis lacks against the Australians.

"Kallis is a flat-track bully, who dishes it out to the minnows like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe but goes missing against the Australians," Hogg said.

"Sobers played more than half of his Tests against England and Australia, whereas Kallis has picked up around 1000 runs and 40 wickets against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. They shouldn't count.

"Kallis is a player at age 33 that we will really target in this Test series. And he is boring to watch as a bowler, just constantly bowling outside off-stump," he added.

Hogg also rated Sobers on top of the list.

"Sobers has to be rated on top but I have enormous respect for Imran, and while Hadlee wasn't as good with the bat, he is clearly the best bowler of those allrounders like Kapil, Botham and Marshall.

"Botham's shocking record against the great West Indies teams counts against him. Rice I played against on two tours of South Africa in the mid-'80s and remember him as someone who wanted to kill you with every ball," he said.

Zaheer Abbas fears for Pakistan cricket

Cricket great Zaheer Abbas fears his country will be left in the international sporting wilderness if India refuses to tour in January for security reasons.

"We will be like orphans in international cricketing community," Abbas told the AP on Monday. "Already most of the test playing countries are not touring Pakistan and if India does not come it will be worst for us."

India is scheduled to play three test matches, five limited-overs internationals and a Twenty20 international during its Jan. 4-Feb. 19 tour to Pakistan.

However, there are doubts over the tour after terrorist attacks killed at least 172 in Mumbai last Wednesday. The Indian government had earlier refused permission to its junior hockey team to play five matches in Pakistan last month due to security concerns.

Australia postponed its tour to Pakistan last March, citing security concerns, and the Champions Trophy in September was also deferred for a year after four more teams — New Zealand, South Africa, England and the West Indies — expressed reservations over traveling to Pakistan.

"I think the Asian countries which are part of the International Cricket Council (ICC) should stand united in this hour of need and should continue playing the bilateral series," Abbas said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board is also considering an option of shifting the January series against India to a neutral venue in case.

"It will set a wrong precedent and moreover it will be a huge financial loss for the PCB," Abbas said.

Pakistan had earlier played test matches against Australia and the West Indies at Colombo and Sharjah in 2002, but PCB chairman Ejaz Butt said last week the home board incurred financial losses at that time.

"How could we inspire youngsters in our country if we play at a neutral venue?" Abbas, who scored 108 first-class centuries, said. "We are placed at No. 6 in the ICC test rankings and the only way to improve is if we play more test matches."

Pakistan is the only one of the nine active test playing nations which did not play a test match in 2008.

Abbas, who scored 12 centuries and 5,062 runs in 78 tests, said it was high time that Pakistan started taking its own decisions.

"Look, we have banned all the players who are competing in the Indian Cricket League and our cricket is almost stuck with this security scenario," he said. Pakistan has suspended all 19 players including present cricketers — Rana Naved, Imran Farhat, Imran Nazir and Abdul Razzaq — for joining the unsanctioned, rebel ICL in India.

"We should start taking our own decisions and lift suspension on ICL players," Abbas said. "By doing so we will make our team more strong in international cricket."

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has sought its government clearance over sending its team to neighboring Pakistan and is still waiting for the response.

Cricket & terror: the security challenges

The Mumbai tragedy has cast its shadow on international cricket.

The mandarins of Indian cricket were smug in the belief that terrorism was purely a problem of the Pakistani Cricket Board. Now, ‘26/11’ has changed it all.

Shedding its ego and pride, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has given up two One Day Internationals against the Englishmen, and opted for a change in the venue of the second Test match with England from Mumbai to Chennai. This may be a windfall for cricket-starved Chennai.

But, then, there is speculation that Pietersen and his men, after going back in the next few days at the end of their ODI commitments, may not come back for the two-Test series because of the fear generated. There is confusion about the immediate future.

Situation not normal


A group within the BCCI is pretending that everything is normal and that the cricket calendar need not be greatly altered. They are being insensitive to a national calamity. Obviously, they are swayed by the losses the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board might suffer in giving up the two Tests and the Champions League Twenty20 tournament.

I hope that wiser counsel will prevail and that the BCCI will not stage any of these matches until the situation returns to normal. Otherwise it could be accused of venality. The Ranji Trophy matches alone can be allowed to go on: they are low-profile events.

In the aftermath of Mumbai, the chief concern is to protect international cricket from the uncertainties arising from terrorism. The terrorist is unpredictable, and does not respect geography or nationality. You will have to factor this into your planning.

Except Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies and South Africa, the other six cricketing nations are vulnerable to terrorism or similar disorder. England is of the lowest cause for concern, although it has had its share of terrorism. Zimbabwe’s law and order scene is fragile.

Security standards


In view of their contiguity, cricket officials of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka need to meet to arrive at acceptable standards of security at cricket venues and at hotels where players are put up. Without such cooperation, security arrangements can be suspect. The ICC has a few experts in its ranks who can play a vital role in this.

The worry is how Pakistani and Indian cricket officials are going to sit at the same table in the context of Mumbai. Cricket is not played in a vacuum but in an ambience of politics and trends in international relations.

Certain Bangladesh-based fundamentalist groups also have Al-Qaeda links, and these have come to adverse notice vis-À-vis India. These political undercurrents militate against the ICC and the BCCI arriving at a consensus with regard to protection to players.

The need of the hour is not only tight security at the grounds but careful choice of venues. The BCCI has been playing populist politics. On paper it seems to be a good idea to take cricket to unconventional places. However, such a strategy exposes cricketers to risks because of divergent standards of arrangement and quality of law enforcement. In some States, the police forces are not exactly known for their professional skills.

Expensive but essential


Security does not come cheap. It is becoming more and more sophisticated and therefore more and more expensive. Fortunately, the BCCI has enough money to spend. We expect it to not to compromise on the scale of arrangements on considerations of cost. Employing full-time security professionals and extending adequate cover to players like Sachin Tendulkar even at their homes should receive care.

Fundamental, of course, is strict access control to dressing rooms and hotel rooms. The Oval has a permanent space for a control room for the Met. Can the BCCI make a similar provision at least in the major venues? It will help infuse confidence in foreign teams. A full-time chief security officer could guide the BCCI in what has become a specialised discipline.

There is nothing like 100 per cent security. When foreign cricket organisations demand an assurance, we can only tell them we have done all that is possible in terms of access control at hotels and stadiums and players’ travel. Beyond this there can be no guarantee even in the best of times. In saying so, I concede that there cannot be a permanent freeze of international cricket. Only a suspension for a short period like the present one in India is feasible and warranted.

R.K. Raghavan
(The writer is a former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation and a former umpire of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.)

Source : http://www.hindu.com

Cricket-Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by 19 runs in 5th ODI

Scoreboard after Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe
by 19 runs in the final one-day international in Harare on
Sunday to win the five-match series 5-0.

Sri Lanka innings
U. Tharanga b Rainsford 6
M. Jayawardene c Utseya b Mupariwa 0
K. Sangakkara c Taibu b Matsikenyeri 28
C. Kapugedera c Matsikenyeri b Mupariwa 4
T. Kandamby run out 40
J. Mubarak c Matsikenyeri b Dabengwa 16
A. Mathews c Masakadza b Rainsford 31
N. Kulasekara b Price 1
M. Muralitharan run out 5
A. Mendis not out 0
D. Fernando b Rainsford 2
Extras (b-6, lb-2, w-11) 19
Total (all out; 48.5 overs) 152 Fall of wickets: 1-6 2-8 3-23 4-62 5-97 6-129 7-132 8-147
9-150 Bowling: Rainsford 8.5-3-22-3 (w-1), Mupariwa 7-1-17-2
(w-1), Chigumbura 2-0-18-0 (w-5), Utseya 10-2-15-0 (w-1),
Matsikenyeri 10-0-29-1 (w-2), Price 7-0-28-1 (w-1), Dabengwa
4-0-15-1
Zimbabwe innings
H. Masakadza c Mendis b Fernando 7
V. Sibanda lbw b Muralitharan 5
T. Taibu lbw b Fernando 14
C. Chibhabha lbw b Muralitharan 1
S. Matsikenyeri lbw b Muralitharan 4
E. Chigumbura b Muralitharan 5
K. Dabengwa b Kulasekara 39
P. Utseya lbw b Kulasekara 31
R. Price lbw b Muralitharan 3
T. Mupariwa c Mendis b Kulasekara 0
E. Rainsford not out 0
Extras (lb-4, w-18, nb-2) 24
Total (all out; 44 overs) 133

Fall of wickets: 1-23 2-25 3-27 4-40 5-49 6-58 7-130 8-133
9-133 Bowling: Fernando 9-0-33-2 (2-nb), Kulasekara 9-2-14-3,
Muralitharan 10-2-29-5, Mendis 9-0-23-0, Mubarak 4-0-14-0,
Mathews 2-0-13-0, Kandamby 1-0-3-0 Result: Sri Lanka won by 19 runs Man of the match: M.Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) Series: Sri Lanka won five match series 5-0 Man of the series: A.Mendis (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka dig in to beat Zimbabwe

Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by two wickets in Harare to extend their lead to 4-0 in the five-match one-day series.

Spinner Ajantha Mendis grabbed 6-29 as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 146, with Keith Dabengwa top-scoring with 32.

Sri Lanka lost three batsmen without scoring and slipped to 33-3 in their response, with Tawanda Mupariwa taking two wickets in successive balls.

But Jehan Mubarak's steady knock of 60 not out from 98 balls saw them pass their target with 15 balls to spare.

Sri Lanka were made to battle for the win for the second match running, after cruising to victory in the opening two matches.

The final match of the series will be played in Harare on Sunday, when Sri Lanka will be looking to secure a whitewash.

Innocence lost but cricket will resume: Steve Waugh

India has been robbed of its innocence by the ghastly terror strike in Mumbai but cricket in the country will resume after a short break as it is a way of life and a symbol of hope for the people there, feels former Australian skipper Steve Waugh.

"My gut feeling is that cricket will see an interruption in the short term but business will resume as normal shortly afterwards," Waugh, who has a long association with a charity for children of leprosy patients in India, said.

"The game of cricket in India is a way of life and a symbol of hope and, as such, it has the ability to restore faith and instill confidence," he wrote in a column for 'The Daily Telegraph'.

Waugh said abandoning of an ODI series by England and postponement of the Twenty20 Champions League were short-term reactions towards the tragedy that left over 150 people dead and everything will limp back to normalcy after a while albeit
with heightened security and skepticism.

"Perversely, after such a major incident India will probably be a much safer place to be than previously, for security will reach unprecedented levels at airports, five- star hotels and places where people congregate. But such is human nature that confidence will be hard to restore in the short term," he explained.

"Time is a great healer but, much like 9/11, life on the subcontinent will never be the same. The need for security will be paramount and this will affect all facets of life," he added.

The former Aussie skipper felt the terror attack was just one of the crisis facing the game's administrators, who are already battling to save cricket in strife-torn Pakistan and politically volatile Zimbabwe.

Brian Lara's career in Photos

Brian Lara's career in Photos


After making his Test debut against India in 1990, Brian Lara did not have to wait long for the world to sit up and take notice, scoring a magnificent 277 in Sydney 1993 to turn the series in the West Indies favour.




Against England the following year, Brian Lara surpasses Sir Garfield Sobers' long standing individual Test record, making 375 against Mike Atherton's England.




Two months later, Brian Lara clocks the highest ever first class score, smashing an amazing 501 against the hapless Durham.




A third century in as many Tests earns Brian Lara the man-of-the-series award against England in 1995.




Brian Lara enjoys a purple patch of form on home soil against Australia later in the year.




Brian Lara's crowning moment came back in Antigua in 2004 as he scored 400 against England to re-claim the record of the highest individual Test knock.




Brian Lara's team-mates give the little maestro a cricketing 'guard of honour' as he leaves the field.




Brian Lara also captained the West Indies to the ICC Champions Trophy at the Oval in 2004.




Shane Warne acknowledges a fellow great after Brian Lara surpasses Allan Border's record of 11,174 Test runs in Adelaide.




Brian Lara approached the 2007 World Cup with high hopes of success on home soil but the West Indies slumped to defeats against New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa.





After leading the West Indies to victory against Bangladesh, Brian Lara announces that his final international match will be against England in the final Super 8 game.





Brian Lara walks back after being run out by Kevin Pietersen in his final innings.





Brian Lara salutes the crowd after his final international innings.




Brian Lara walks a lap of honour.


Sachin Tendulkar's Career in Photos

Champions League cricket on hold

India's Champions League cricket tournament in which eight teams, including England's Middlesex were set to take part, has been postponed.

Mumbai was the scene of a deadly terror attack on Wednesday.

A meeting will be held in December and organisers say they remain hopeful the tournament can take place next year.

Lalit Modi, chairman of the Champions League board, told BBC Sport: "We couldn't get a third venue to replace Mumbai at such short notice."

Modi said the teams were "all ready to come", but by the time the postponement was announced Middlesex had already cancelled their travel plans for Thursday.

They had been due to stay at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, one of the chief targets of Wednesday's attack - and where explosions continued on Thursday. It was also the scene of hostage-taking.

Middlesex chief executive Vinny Codrington told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I think [the postponement] is a very sensible decision. It would have been a great risk for us to have gone with the current situation as it is.

"The organisers are optimistic that the tournament will take place, I certainly don't think it will be this side of Christmas. Hopefully if security concerns are addressed we would love to go.

"We are very fortunate that we were due out there this evening [Thursday] rather than due out there last night.

"It's very frightening, absolutely frightening for the people staying in it. It's a splendid hotel, I'm personally a bit relieved that we're not there, but as it is we're very anxious for the people who are there."

Javed Akhtar, a spokesman for the tournament, told BBC Sport new dates would be decided at the December meeting.

He said he did not know when the rescheduled tournament was likely to take place, adding: "It all depends on which teams are free and which teams are available. There are so many permutations."

The exact date in December for the meeting has not yet been fixed.

Along with Middlesex, two teams from Australia, two from South Africa and one from Pakistan had been due to take part.

They would have joined the Indian Premier League champions, Rajasthan, and runners-up Chennai in an eight-nation Twenty20 tournament with the final on 10 December. The venues were Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.

Middlesex had qualified for the first edition of the money-spinning tournament on the basis of winning English domestic cricket's Twenty20 Cup in July.

Australian star Shane Warne, captain-coach of Rajasthan Royals, was on a stopover in Singapore en route to Mumbai when he saw news reports on the terror attacks.

He told the Herald-Sun in Melbourne: "We are heading to Mumbai and that [the Taj Mahal] is the hotel we are staying at. I don't think we will be going (to India) now - why would you?

"It is just not worth the risk. No amount of money is worth the risk with what is going on over there at the moment."

The news came soon after England announced they would not play their remaining two one-day internationals - in Guwahati and Delhi.

In a separate statement released to general media, Modi added: "We very strongly condemn this dastardly and heinous criminal act of a few which has resulted in the loss of precious lives and injury to hundreds.

"We offer our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and we are with them in their hour of grief."

Rambal not in talks to buy Deccan Chargers

After hitting headlines for his interest in owning the Indian Premier League side Deccan Chargers, NRI industrialist Vikas Rambal Tuesday said he was not
in negotiation to buy the franchise and was exploring other options.

"We are not in negotiation to buy the IPL side Deccan Chargers. That is not the only option for us and right now we are looking for other options as well," the Perth-based
industrialist, who is sponsoring WACA Warriors in the Champions League, told reporters.

Rambal, who brought Tom Moody to Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) as coach by spending a huge sum, earlier expressed interest to share the pie of the cash-rich IPL.

"I was in that news and yes, that was a big news. But I have no relationship with the Deccan Chargers and as of now there is nothing concrete about the deal.

"My advisers might have held talks at initial stage, but I have no information regarding that," the 41-year-old industrialist clarified.


The Deccan Chargers almost finished at the bottom of the table in the inaugural edition of the IPL earlier this year.


Rambal, who signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the WACA Warriors last year, is also joining hands with the sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports (ESS) to sponsor the jersey and apparel merchandise of the side, which will bear his name --
Rambal Warriors -- during the December 3 to 10 tournament in
India.

"I am quite proud to be involved with the historic tournament of Champions League, where the best domestic T20 teams will compete with each other," Rambal said.


The NRI industrialist is also hopeful that absence of left-handed Australia batsman Michael Hussey will not affect the performance of his team and said: "We have number of cricketers, who are better than him. Players like (Luke) Pomersbach and (Luke) Ronchi could also do the needful."

Hussey opted to play for his IPL team Chennai Super Kings -- the runners-up of the inaugural edition of IPL, instead of his Australian state side.

Action unlikely against Clive Lloyd

The international Cricket Council is unlikely to take an immediate action on its cricket committee chairman Clive Lloyd. In fact, it is not likely that any action would be taken on the former West Indian captain, a strongly-worded complaint against him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India notwithstanding.

The BCCI took objection to Lloyd’s remarks in Mumbai recently that the Indian Cricket League and Indian Premier League can coexist. The Indian Board cited the example of Sunil Gavaskar who, it claimed, was forced to relinquish his ICC job for his remarks in the media.

A top ICC official told DNA on Friday that a parallel between Lloyd and Gavaskar cannot be drawn. “Gavaskar was part of a media organisation which is not in conformity with the ICC rules. Lloyd is not part of any media outlet. There is no similarity between the two cases,” a top Dubai-based ICC official told DNA.

“The CEO or the president of the ICC cannot fire the chairman of a cricket committee. It can only be the decision of the ICC Board,” said the ICC official adding: “If it wants, the BCCI may raise the issue at the Board meeting.” The next ICC Board meeting will take place some time in January.

When contacted, CEO of ICC Haroon Lorgat, however, confirmed receiving the Board’s letter but stated that the ICC would require time to look into the matter. “I will have to check on what context the statement was made. It will be some time before a decision is made,” Lorgat said.

The ICC may, however, seek an explanation from the West Indian on the context in which he made the statement that has been found ‘objectionable’ by the Indian Board.

Anyway, the ICC itself had once asked the BCCI and the ICL to explore a middle ground between them and the cricket committee chief was only emphasising that. The impression, one gets, is that Lloyd has not committed any cardinal sin that would warrant action.

London assembly wants T20 in Olympics

Cricket may finally reach out to a wider audience other than the traditional Test playing nations with the London Assembly calling for Twenty20 to be included in the 2012 Olympics.

The assembly agreed a motion proposed by member Murad Qureshi urging the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to work with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and International Olympic Committee (IOC) so that T20 cricket is included in the quadriennial mega event.

Wednesday's motion was carried by the consent of assembly members, with no votes against.

''Cricket is our traditional summer game and I can't think of a better way of spending an afternoon - whether it's playing or watching,'' Qureshi said.

''Twenty20 cricket is a shorter, more accessible version of the game that is played throughout London. We already have the best venues and a very good cricket administration, so there is no need to build new facilities. We are looking forward to next year's Twenty20 World Cup, which will be hosted in the capital and hope that the game will become a fixture for the 2012 Games,'' he added.

''If the Chinese can show (martial art sport) Wushu to the world, I can see no reason why London shouldn't have cricket in 2012. It is this country's summer game after all.'' Qureshi has started an online petition to gauge support for the proposal, although it is too late to have the sport added to the official Olympic list in 2012.

The London Assembly motion comes after the MCC World Cricket Committee addressed the issue at their latest meeting in New Delhi, led by former Australia cricket captain and committee member Steve Waugh.

Qureshi's comments were backed by fellow assembly member Navin Shah, who had seconded the motion.

''The Twenty20 game has transformed the perception of cricket and is now played in well over 100 countries - not just the traditional cricket playing countries,'' Shah opined.

''It is extremely popular, especially amongst the youth. It is only fitting that one of the fastest growing games in the world is included in the Olympic Games.'' However, IOC president Jacques Rogge has said cricket will not be considered as a new Olympic sport until the 2020 Games at the earliest.

The usual route is for a sport to begin as a 'showcase' event before being elevated to full Olmypic status.

London: Cricket may finally reach out to a wider audience other than the traditional Test playing nations with the London Assembly calling for Twenty20 to be included in the 2012 Olympics.

The assembly agreed a motion proposed by member Murad Qureshi urging the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to work with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and International Olympic Committee (IOC) so that T20 cricket is included in the quadriennial mega event.

Wednesday's motion was carried by the consent of assembly members, with no votes against.

''Cricket is our traditional summer game and I can't think of a better way of spending an afternoon - whether it's playing or watching,'' Qureshi said.

''Twenty20 cricket is a shorter, more accessible version of the game that is played throughout London. We already have the best venues and a very good cricket administration, so there is no need to build new facilities. We are looking forward to next year's Twenty20 World Cup, which will be hosted in the capital and hope that the game will become a fixture for the 2012 Games,'' he added.

''If the Chinese can show (martial art sport) Wushu to the world, I can see no reason why London shouldn't have cricket in 2012. It is this country's summer game after all.'' Qureshi has started an online petition to gauge support for the proposal, although it is too late to have the sport added to the official Olympic list in 2012.

The London Assembly motion comes after the MCC World Cricket Committee addressed the issue at their latest meeting in New Delhi, led by former Australia cricket captain and committee member Steve Waugh.

Qureshi's comments were backed by fellow assembly member Navin Shah, who had seconded the motion.

''The Twenty20 game has transformed the perception of cricket and is now played in well over 100 countries - not just the traditional cricket playing countries,'' Shah opined.

''It is extremely popular, especially amongst the youth. It is only fitting that one of the fastest growing games in the world is included in the Olympic Games.'' However, IOC president Jacques Rogge has said cricket will not be considered as a new Olympic sport until the 2020 Games at the earliest.

The usual route is for a sport to begin as a 'showcase' event before being elevated to full Olmypic status.

Sri Lanka hammer woeful Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe were all out for just 67 as Sri Lanka took a 2-0 series lead with a crushing nine-wicket victory in the second one-day international in Harare.

The tourists needed just 17.4 overs to clinch the win after Ajantha Mendis had taken 4-15 in Zimbabwe's collapse.

The hosts won the toss and elected to bat first, but Sri Lanka wasted little time in ripping through the order with Tatenda Taibu top scoring with 12.

Upul Tharanga (26) and Kumar Sangakkara (28) guided their team to victory.

The five-match series - with all games being played in Harare - continues on Monday.