SA drop a place in new Test rankings

South Africa's chances of replacing England as test cricket number one after their forthcoming three test series became more difficult when the latest International Cricket Council rankings were published on Saturday.

The South Africans slipped to third in the list - Australia replacing them in second - and dropped to nine points off England from just a point adrift when the annual figures were issued, The Times Of India reports.

The Proteas slipped down the list because their series victories in England and Australia four years ago were no longer valid to the rankings.

A 1-0 or 2-1 defeat to South Africa would see the victors go level on points with England, but above them by a decimal fraction.

Should England either draw or win, though, they will stay on top - and if they were to whitewash the tourists, South Africa would drop to fourth.

The first Test gets underway at The Oval next Thursday.

ICC Test Ranking: India Slipt Fifth position

India, who were the No. 1 Test side this time a year ago, have lost a position to slip to the fifth spot in the latest ICC Test Championship rankings table after the annual update took place on Saturday.

The Indian team that last played a Test match in January against Australia, has swapped places with Pakistan, reports The Times Of India.

Pakistan, despite a 0-1 defeat in the three-Test series, which finished in Sri Lanka on Thursday, have moved up to fourth position, pushing MS Dhoni's men down to number five.

Meanwhile, England extended their lead as top Test team after gaining 122 ratings points, while Australia moved to the second place.

Although South Africa has fallen to third spot, they can still leapfrog into top position if they manage to win the three-match Test series against England, which begins at The Oval on July 19.

If South Africa win the series 1-0 or 2-1 it will be level on ratings points with England but when the rankings are calculated to a fraction of a decimal point then Graeme Smith's team will have the edge.

A drawn series or a 1-0 win will mean England retain the number one position and if Andrew Strauss's side were to win 2-0 or 3-0 then South Africa would tumble to fourth spot.

Lower down the table, West Indies have fallen below New Zealand, who are now placed at seventh position.

Brett Lee quit international cricket

           

           

Brett Lee

- Australian fast bowler Brett Lee retired from international cricket on Friday, just days after he was forced to return home from England after sustaining another injury and a few months before he had pencilled in a possible exit from the game.

The 35-year-old, who first announced his decision on his Twitter page, sustained a right calf strain in the fourth one-day match of Australia's limited overs tour of England and was forced to return home for further examination and treatment.

"The last two or three nights I have thought about it a lot and I woke up this morning and thought this was the right day to do it," Lee told a media conference at Sydney Cricket Ground.

"It's almost like there has been a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I have been a bit anxious the last two days. It has been a hard few days."

Lee had been expected to be available for the World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka later this year, and he said he had held discussions with the selectors about retiring from after that, but the most recent injury had changed those plans.

"It (retirement) was going to be post-World Cup but I woke up this morning and felt ... that the time was right," he added.

"To play international cricket you need to be mentally and physically 100 percent and I didn't think it would be fair to the team or myself if it wasn't in that space.

"Looking ahead at the next two months I just didn't have that desire any more. It's not a lack of commitment but you just get to that point in your life when enough's enough and the great run is at an end."

Lee last played a Test match in 2008, but continued to play international limited-overs matches for Australia and in India's lucrative Twenty20 competition. He retired from Tests in 2010.

He told Australia's Channel Nine television he would continue to play Twenty20 cricket in Australia and India.

In his prime Lee was one of the fastest and most aggressive bowlers in the world but has suffered from a long list of injuries that blighted his career, including stress fractures, ankle injuries, side strains and more recently a broken foot.

He took 310 Test wickets at 30.81 and 380 one-day international wickets at 23.36, one short of Glenn McGrath's Australian record.

"The statistics only tell part of the story," chairman of selectors John Inverarity said in a media statement.

"Brett has been an absolute ornament to the game; a fine player, a fierce and brave competitor, a generous opponent and one who always upheld the highest standards of sportsmanship.

"He has been a cricketer in every sense of the word."

Pakistan announce World Cup T20 Squad

Pakistan have named their 30-man shortlist for the World Twenty20, with wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal returning to the set-up.

Akmal was called to appear before the Pakistan Cricket Board's integrity committee earlier this month and although they have yet to publicly clear him for international duty, he is clearly under consideration again.

The initial squad for the tournament will be cut to 15 next month ahead of the tournament in Sri Lanka, which begins on September 18.

Imran Nazir, who has not featured for Pakistan in two years and is not centrally contracted, is also in the party, as is short-form specialist Abdul Razzaq.

Just three specialist spinners make the 30, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Raza Hasan, though former captain and all-rounder Shahid Afridi will also contribute.

Akmal's brother Umar is one of 13 batsmen but his other brother Adnan, who fractured a finger in the third Test against Sri Lanka, is not included.

PROVISIONAL SQUAD:

M Hafeez, A Shahzad, K Latif, N Jamshed, I Nazir, S Hasan, A Zia, S Khan, U Akmal, A Shafiq, H Sohail, S Malik, R Raja, S Afridi, H Azam, A Razzaq, U Gul, M Sami, S Tanvir, Y Arafat, W Riaz, J Khan, A Cheema, A Ali, S Ajmal, A Rehman, R Hasan, S Ahmed, K Akmal, A Ansar.

Ireland tour of Banglades: For T20 ranking spot

Bangladesh will leave for the tour on July 11. The first T20I will be played in Belfast on July 18.

Bangladesh have a chance of breaking into the ICC Twenty20 team rankings during their upcoming tour of Ireland and Netherlands, where they'll play five T20 internationals. Bangladesh, who have played only six T20Is since August 2009 (the T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe was an unofficial series), are not ranked as they need a minimum of eight games in the three-year period. They lost five of their six matches and their only win came against West Indies last year in Dhaka.

"We know our record in T20 cricket is not good. We are still not good in the new format of the game," Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim told the Daily Star. "Due to lack of international matches we are not in the ICC T20 international rankings while even Afghanistan occupy a spot."

Bangladesh are scheduled to play three matches against Ireland in Belfast and a match each against Scotland and Netherlands in The Hague.

"We have a chance to break into the table if we can win matches on this tour. So it's a very good opportunity for us. The result was not as per our expectation on the recent tour of Zimbabwe but we are confident of winning the series against Ireland." Mushfiqur said. "Everybody has the self-confidence, but you know just self-confidence is not enough to win, rather you have to prove your skills. I believe everybody will be able to show their skills on the coming tour."

Bangladesh face a tough challenge in foreign conditions in which their record is poor. During their last tour to Ireland and Scotland in July 2010, Bangladesh lost an ODI each against Ireland and Netherlands. They also lost a match to Ireland during the World Twenty20 in England in 2009.

"Our experience against Ireland was not good at all, so this tour will not be an easy one for us. We don't have a good record away and you know we are going to play in different conditions. And you know in T20 cricket no one can be considered a big team. We may be favourites in the series but I believe Ireland are tough opponents."

Zimbabwe Tri-Nations Series 2012 Schedule

Zimbabwe Tri-Nations Series 2012 logo

Zimbabwe Tri Series 2012 will begin on Monday, June 18, 2012 in Zimbabwe as per cricket schedule announced. Zimbabwe, South Africa, Bangladesh T20 Series 2012 is an domestic tournament to be organized by Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Tri Series 2012 will consist of 6 Twenty20 and Final match to be hosted by Zimbabwe in June 2012.

Zimbabwe will host the Zimbabwe Tri Series 2012 tournament, beginning on June 18, 2012. In Zimbabwe Tri Series 2012 tournament, first T20 match would be between Zimbabwe - Bangladesh on Jun 18, 2012 at 13:00 local time to be played at Harare Sports Club, Harare.

Date and Time	Match Details and Series
Mon Jun 18 13:00 local | 11:00 GMT	1st T20 - Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh Harare Sports Club, Harare
Tue Jun 19 13:00 local | 11:00 GMT	2nd T20 - Bangladesh vs South Africa Harare Sports Club, Harare
Wed Jun 20 13:00 local | 11:00 GMT	3rd T20 - Zimbabwe vs South Africa Harare Sports Club, Harare
Thu Jun 21 13:00 local | 11:00 GMT	4th T20 - Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh Harare Sports Club, Harare
Fri Jun 22 13:00 local | 11:00 GMT	5th T20 - Bangladesh vs South Africa Harare Sports Club, Harare
Sat Jun 23 13:00 local | 11:00 GMT	6th T20 - Zimbabwe vs South Africa Harare Sports Club, Harare
Sun Jun 24 13:00 local | 11:00 GMT	Final T20 - TBC vs TBC Harare Sports Club, Harare

From 1st June Pakistan start their Sri-lanka tour

This mission for 3 Tests, 5 one-day internationals and 2 Twenty20

Pakistan will tour Sri Lanka next month for three Tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 games, Sri Lanka Cricket said on Monday.

The Pakistanis will kick off the six-week tour with two Twenty20 matches in the southern port town of Hambantota on June 1 and June 3. The first two one-day internationals will be played in Pallekele on June 7 and June 9, followed by the remaining three at the Premadasa stadium in Colombo on June 13, 16 and 18.

The three back-to-back Tests will be held in Galle (June 22-26), the Sinhalese sports club in Colombo (June 30-July 4) and Pallekele (July 8-12).

Pakistan last toured Sri Lanka in 2009 where they lost the Test series 2-0. The two sides met in the United Arab Emirates last year where Pakistan won both the Test and one-day series and also clinched the lone Twenty20 international.

Tour itinerary:

June 1: First Twenty20 international, Hambantota

June 3: Second Twenty20 international, Hambantota

June 7: First one-dayer, Pallekele

June 9: Second one-dayer, Pallekele

June 13: Third one-dayer, Colombo

June 16: Fourth one-dayer, Colombo

June 18: Fifth one-dayer, Colombo

June 22-26: First Test, Galle

June 30-July 4: Second Test, Colombo

July 8-12: Third Test, Pallekele.

Mohammad Asif will be realeased from prison on may, 5

 "Asif will complete his jail term on May 5 and all formalities have been completed for his release,"said Asif's lawyer Ravi Gill.

Mohammad Asif

Banned Pakistan pacer, Mohammad Asif will be released from prison on May 5 after completing his jail term in the United Kingdom.

Asif will decide when he plans to return to Pakistan after being released from prison, said his lawyer Ravi Gill.

"Asif will complete his jail term on May 5 and all formalities have been completed for his release," he said.

Asif and Pakistan teammates, Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt were given different jail terms by a crown court in London last year in October for being involved in spot-fixing during Pakistan's tour to England in 2010.

The trio are also serving a five year ban by the anti-corruption tribunal of the International Cricket Council imposed in February 2011 for the same offence.

Amir, the youngest of the three, returned home in March after completing a six months jail term in a youth detention centre in the UK and he has also decided against appealing against the five year ban imposed on him by the ICC.

"We have heard Asif is being released this week. Whenever he returns to Pakistan, the terms and conditions of the ICC ban will remain on him and he will not be allowed to take part in any cricket related activity in Pakistan," a official of the board said.

Asif, 29, who took 106 wickets in 23 tests and another 36 wickets in 48 one-day internationals, was jailed for 12 months by the crown court while Butt was given a 30-month sentence.

All three had appealed against their sentences but had their appeals rejected by the Lord Chief Justice. Amir since returning home has been kept away from all cricket activities and the board has not even allowed him to use the facilities at the National cricket academy in Lahore.

A family member of Asif said they wanted him to return home as soon as he was released as they were dying to meet him.