South Africa won by ten wickets

What a great test match! South Africa has won the second cricket test match between South Africa and Engeland at Headingley, Leeds. The Proteas won by ten wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the 4 match test series in England.

The third test starts at Edgbaston on July 30 and the fourth and final test commences at the Oval on August 7. The test will be remembered for the memorable centuries scored by AB De Villiers 174, and Ashwell Prince 149 and their maturity and discipline in compiling it

ICC Champions trophy fixtures

September 2008

11 Pakistan v West Indies
12 New Zealand v Sri Lanka
13 Australia v India
14 England v Sri Lanka
15 South Africa v New Zealand
16 India v West Indies
17 Pakistan v Australia
18 South Africa v Sri Lanka
19 England v New Zealand
20 Pakistan v India
21 Australia v West Indies
21 England v South Africa
24 TBC v TBC
25 TBC v TBC
28 TBC v TBC

Survival of the fittest

Very poor and disappointing cricket has left South Africa with the task of batting for another full day to save the Lord's cricket test match. Hundreds by captain Graeme Smith and Neil Mckenzie made it possible that the first test could end as a draw. The South Africans were 241/1 after close of play on day four and recovered well to make us hope for at least a draw. England will know that they still need to take nine wickets on the final day, after managing only one on day four. Monty Panesar holds the key for England but the South Africans proved during the last season that they perform better against spin bowling than previous seasons.

Hopefully the South Africans can produce a better performance in the second test at Headingley, although we suffered watching three days of poor cricket by South Africa's standards, I still think that South Africa will be able to save this test match and maybe recover and still end the test series with a win. Time will tell.

Morkel got the breakthrough

Morne Morkel finally got the breakthrough for South Africa on day 2 of the first cricket test between South Africa and England at Lords. Kevin Pietersen received a short ball from Morkel and edge the ball back to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher for a magnificent 152 runs. Current available score is 413 for 4 (Ian Bell 113 not out and new batsmen Paul Collingwood on 7. Rain is coming down and the possibility of a draw increases.

Kevin Pietersen talent and quality "our loss"

Once again salt is rubbed in the wounds of Cricket South Africa by Kevin Pietersen. Kevin Pietersen has scored a brilliant century on the opening day of the first test at Lord's between South Africa and England.

I'm just wondering how is it possible that someone with his talent was overlooked by South African cricket selectors, which brings me to the point is it really your technique that makes you a great batsmen and test cricketer or does passion and a high level of concentration play a greater role, believe you me i think Kevin Pietersen has got an excellent batting technique but he isn't in the same class as as a Sachin Tendulkar or a Brian Lara, yet he score the runs.

Allan Donald lashed out at the technique of our South African captain yesterday and described his technique as the worst he has seen by any test cricket standards, harsh words but again you don't make 259 runs at Lords with a suspect technique.

England in South Africa test series

South African captain Graeme Smith has won the toss in the first test at Lord's against England and elected to bowl first. Andrew Strauss and Allistair Cook made a steady start and the current score is 33/0 after 14 overs on day 1 with the South Africans bowling a few lose deliveries.

The South Africans will want an early breakthrough preferably within the first session to put England under pressure. England ended on 71/0 at the lunch interval and South Africa have work to do after lunch, the bowlers bowled here and there especially Morkel, hopefully the next session will put South Africa back in the hunt.

A fine hundred from Kevin Pietersen has helped England post an impressive 309 for three at the close of play on the first day of the first test against South Africa at Lord's on Thursday. There was a glimmer of hope when Morkel (two for 66) and Steyn (one for 68) got wickets in the space of ten minutes but England steadied the ship through impressive batting of especially Kevin Petersen and Ian Bell, more work to do for the South African team. Let's hope for an impressive day 2 morning session.

Ntini holds the key at Lord's

The much anticipated first Test against England at Lords, the home of cricket, starts today weather permits.

The South Africans will leash their fast paced attack through Dale Steyn, Mornè Morkel and Makhaya Ntini on the English team, much has been said in the British media about the younger bowlers Steyn and Morkel but to me Ntini holds the key. Ntini is on the verge of reaching another milestone and will be looking to pickup 6 more wickets in the Lord's test to join an elite club with 350 + test wickets.

Can the South African team succeed in winning a test series in England? I believe!

S.A & England Test series underway

South Africa will unleash their fast pace attack on England in the first from five test series against England in England.

Teams
England - Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Michael Vaughan (captain), Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwod, Tim Ambrose, Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, Monty Panesar, James Anderson.

South Africa - Graeme Smith (captain), Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Paul Harris, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn.

Umpires: Daryl Harper (Australia) and Billy Bowden (New Zealand).

Watch Live Cricket for Free

Cricket is a sport played in many countries around the world. It is very famous in India, UK, Australia, South Africa, Pakistan and many more countries. Many cricket series are played all over the world around the year. If you are a cricket fan like me you must be sitting in front of your TV set through out the day to watch the so called GentleMen's Game! However always it is not possible for you to watch cricket on your home TV. Some time you may be out of your home, you may be in a business trip where you do not have a TV or simply there may not be any channel broadcasting cricket matches etc. Whatever the reason may be no cricket fan would ever like to miss a match just because he does not have a TV or unavailability of Channels etc.
Now days there are many Satellite TV channels directly broadcasting matches on your Laptop or PC. However you may have to register in those sites by paying some amount. But recently there are many ways to watch live streaming of cricket matches on your PC absolutely free of cost without paying a single penny. You may also be person like me, who is on a business trip where there is no cricket channels broadcasted on TV. Let me put the following free ways to watch live streaming of cricket. I hope it may help few of you!

1- SopCast : This is a peer-to-peer (P2P) software applications designed to redistribute video streams in real time on a P2P network; the distributed video streams are typically TV channels from all over the world but may also come from other sources. With this application you can watch live streaming of cricket matches. There are many people around the world who broadcast live streaming of cricket matches on SopCast. Before using SopCast you have to download the application and install it on your system. In the channel list of the SopCast you can find many channels streaming live cricket matches. It is completely free of cost. With this application you will find mainly Asian TV Channels. To know more about SopCast application, how to install it and usage procedures please visit their home page.

2- TVUPlayer : This is another peer-to-peer (P2P) software application similar to the earlier one where you can find many such channels streaming live sports. In this case also you have to install the application on your local PC. Here also you will get a list of live channels including North American stations including CBS, Spike TV, and Fox News. Apart from sports you can watch many more channels like movies, private channels etc. To know more about TVUPlayer please visit their home page.

3- TVants: This is another peer-to-peer (P2P) software application written and designed by Zhejiang University. This is also becoming very popular now a day. You may find live streaming of Cricket matches like the currently played IPL Cricket series in India here also. For details please visit their home page.

There may be more ways to watch your favorite cricket online free of cost. I generally use the above mentioned applications for live streaming of cricket. Now a days I am watching the Indian Premier League Cricket Series with these applications. I hope they may help you too!
If you want to know more about live streaming of cricket please do not hesitate to visit my following blog. It may help you !
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Indian Cricket's Next Big Star

Suresh Raina has so far been the outstanding player of the Asia cup. He struck 301 runs in his first three innings, was not out once and produced a strike rate of 123.36, helped by his hitting of 11 sixes. Impressive figures for anyone, but especially so for a 21 year old who is yet to make his Test debut.

The statistics only tell half the story. He warmed up with a rapid ton against the part-time bowlers of Hong Kong, but his subsequent innings against Pakistan and Bangladesh were match-winning ones, made when batting a second, which is the hardest time to bat. Batsmen must constantly be aware of their target and Raina paced his knocks perfectly in pursuit of respective targets of 300 and 284.

This is an exciting time for Indian cricket. The Indian Premier League has raised the profile of players in the country and homegrown players are getting exposure to top level cricket in the tournament at a young age. Much has been said about the power shift in the game and it certainly appears that India will be the long-term challengers to Australia's crown as the world's best.

A glance at the talent available to India shows their potential. Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh are three of the most devastating One Day players around and Gautham Gambhir confirmed his promise in the IPL and is now a dashing fixture at the top of the order. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Saurav Ganguly (Asian cricketer of the year in 2007) are out of the picture at the moment and yet these legends of the last decade or two are barely missed.

Raina first made an impression on me during England's tour in 2006. An unexpected 1-1 draw in the Test series was followed by a one-sided ODI series that Raina prospered in. He produced a string of measured innings that belied his tender years, showing the maturity in the run chase that is evident in the Asia cup.

A lean spell of no fifties in 15 innings followed but the selectors showed faith in his ability by recalling him for the trip to Australia earlier this year. His talent has been apparent from a young age and as an U19 international was selected to attend a prestigious academy in Australia to develop his game.

Raina's left-handed technique is a perfect mix of power and grace. He does not possess the physical presence of Sehwag or Yuvraj yet can clear the ropes with similar ease and is more adept at finding gaps and rotating the strike. His mental attributes are just as important and his ability to build an innings makes him useful as both a number three and a 'finisher' lower down the order. He can switch from attack to run accumulation depending on the state of the game and appears well-suited to transfer his skills to the Test arena.

There is an end of an era approaching in Indian cricket and there was a time when Tendulkar, Ganguly and Anil Kumble seemed irreplaceable. The emergence of RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha and Raina suggests that Indian fans need not worry.
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The South Africans do not expect to lose!

The South African cricket team have high expectations for their series of matches on their latest tour of England. The two countries will play four test matches, five one day internationals and one 20/20. The South Africans do not expect to lose!

Skipper Graeme Smith has been bullish about the series and has been quick to play down the apparent needle that exists between him and the England Captain, Michael Vaughan and England Batsman, Kevin Pietersen. Smith has been accused of labelling Vaughan as gay and has questioned Pietereson's Patriotism, has said that neither Pieterson or Vaughan is in his thinking, other than how to get them out. Whilst that might be true, there is little doubt that needle exists between the two sides, which could make for a fascinating series of matches.

England who did not fill themselves with too much confidence in the lost one day series against New Zealand, losing 3-1, will need to get themselves fired up and well prepared before they face the might of South Africa. The South Afrficans come to England having had a very good last two years and bring with them a strike force that surpasses even that of Australia. They also come with good memories of their last tour, when they beat England 2-1, led by a very young Graeme Smith who hit two magnificent double centuries in the first two tests. Makes one wonder why Kevin Pietersen would label; Smith a muppet?

Smith is totally convinced that his much vaunted attack will bowl England out comfortably and that they have enough batting firepower to take advantage. He could well be right. Most of his five quickies bowl at around 90mph, considerably quicker than the England bowlers. Admittedly, England did beat New Zealand in the test series, but they did not do so without one or two scares, indeed, New Zealand, had chances in both test matches that they lost.
Selection too is a worry. England are not sure who they want to open the batting, will it be Strauss and Cook? Will Vaughan take on the role? Ian Bell has been suggested as an opener by Kevin Pietersen and will KP himself revert to number four, or will he go in at three? They have serious wicket keeping problems and they do not know if talisman, Flintoff, will be in good enough form to warrant a place in the side. It is far from ideal preparation and you can sense that the South Africans already realise this.

The first test starts at Lords on July 10th and Bookmakers have South Africa as favourites to win the seriers at 11/8 in the cricket betting odds. England can be backed at around 2/1.
Daniel Campbell is an independent sports writer who specialises in cricket, football and horse racing articles.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_Campbell

Cricket History

The game of cricket has always been loved by the entire country. Whenever a tournament starts, the cricket enthusiasts forget their daily work and sticks to his/her television set. The majority of cricket lovers have a thorough knowledge of the cricket history. Cricket history can take you to the 16th century era or even back to give you an insight into the origin of game. The history of cricket throws light on every aspect of the cricket, be it county cricket, local cricket or international cricket. Cricket history also informs about the initial rules and regulations formed, for playing the game.

Cricket history informs you about the origin of bat, which is one of the prime things in the game. The bat used in the present tournaments was invented in 18th century; while the earlier form of bat resembled a hockey stick. In the earlier times, stone pieces were used as balls. They are now made up of cork and are covered with hand-stitched leather quarters. Cricket history has always been a source of information for the cricket lovers. This information can also be used as reference material, when a cricket enthusiast needs to have a comprehensive knowledge of the game.

Cricket history depicts the true spirit of the game. This history familiarizes you with the tradition and culture of cricket. Cricket history always raised the curiosity of the cricket enthusiasts. It is because cricket history sharpens their knowledge about the game and makes a core base for them. In fact, cricket history helps the enthusiasts to delve deep into the game and understand the facts. The game of cricket has earned a wide acclaim and its popularity chart is increasing with the passage of time.

The cricket history is a complete encyclopedia of various sides of the game. Cricket was first played by adults in the beginning of 17th century, in some parts of Sussex and Kent. In the same century, the cricket spread to North America via English colonies. In 18th century, the cricket moved to West Indies and India. Similarly, it spread to New Zealand and South Africa in 19th century. This part of the cricket history informs about the increasing popularity of the game in various parts of the world.

The game of cricket has got a rich history that unfolds interesting facts about the game. Rules and regulations have been an important part of the game. Cricket history has got all the details about the earlier formation of rules. In 1727, the “articles of agreement” was formed to determine the code of practice. The rules were further amended in 1774 after the innovation of middle stumps, lbw and other factors. Cricket history does not end here; rather it has a whole lot of information about the nitty-gritty of cricket.

Cricket and only cricket has become the need of cricket lovers. You get to see a good bowler or a batsman or an all-rounder in every part of the country. The talent of cricket is shinning in the light of the increasing fame of the game. This makes it necessary for the cricket enthusiasts to have a thorough knowledge of cricket history. It is because this information will help them to enhance their knowledge.

Ella Wilson is a cricket fanatic. She simply loves the game and tries to catch live action no matter where she is.At Stickiewicket she works on online cricket score, Fantasy cricket and Cricket History among other things.You can see her works at http://www.stickiewicket.com
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