Prince Out Duminy In

South African middle order batsman Ashwell Prince has been dropped for the upcoming return series against Australia. J. P. Duminy who replaced him in the squad in Australia will take his place. Ashwell Prince was in the squad for the Australian tour but was unable to play due to injury. Although he has now recovered completely, he was forced out as Duminy performed creditably. Skipper Graeme Smith also returns to the squad after missing the ODI series due to injury. Opener Neil McKenzie who was off color in Australia also retains his place.

In the Australian squad Phil Hughes will partner Simon Katich at the top of the order. Hughes replaces Matthew Hayden who retired after the home summer. 36 year old spinner Bryce McGain has also been included in the squad. Marcus North fills in the role of a reserve batsman. This series will decide the leader of the ICC test rankings. Currently Australia sit at the top of the table closely followed by South Africa.

Aussies Lose No 1 Ranking!

World champions Australia have lost their No 1 ranking in One Day Internationals after South Africa defeated them in the fifth and final one dayer at Perth yesterday. After winning the toss the South African skipper Johan Botha elected to bat first. South Africa rested their front line pacemen Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini for the dead rubber as a part of their "rotation policy". They were replaced by two debutants Wayne Parnell and Lonwabo Tsotsobe. South African opener Hashim Amla played a fluent knock to lift South Africa to a formidable total of 288 for the loss of 6 wickets in their alloted 50 overs. A B de Villers and J P Duminy also contributed 60 runs each. For the hosts all-rounder James Hopes scalped 3 wickets while Hilfenhaus took 2.

In reply Australia got off to a disastrous start losing 4 wickets with just 51 on board in under 13 overs. Mike Hussey scored 78 and keeper batsman Brad Haddin scored 63 in a lost cause as Australia were bowled out for 249 in 49 overs. For the visitors, debutant Tsotsobe captured 4 wickets. Hashim Amla was declared the "Man Of The Match".

Australia could regain their No1 ranking when they take on the 4th ranked New Zealanders in the upcoming Chappel Hadlee trophy. However to do so Ricky Ponting and his men have to find a way to hit the ground running as the Kiwis are a formidable One Day outfit.

South Africa Clinches Series Win Down Under

South Africa won the 4th ODI against Australia to win the 5 match ODI series 3-1 with one game to spare. After winning the toss, the Australian skipper Ricky Ponting had no hesitation to bat first on a batting paradise in Adelaide. But Australia didnt get off the best of starts with openers David Warner and Shaun Marsh back in the hut with just 17 runs on the board. Skipper Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey led the recovery with Ponting scoring 63 and Hussey contributing 28. Almost all of the Australian middle rder had their starts, but none of them were able to contribute a substantial score as the Aussies folded inside their 50 overs with just 222 on board.

South Africa's chase began on a rampant note with their openers Gibbs and Amla putting on an opening stand of 58. South Africa lost only two wickets before they reached their target with 11.5 overs to spare. A.B. de Villers scored an unbeaten 82 while Amla contributed an unbeaten 80. Earlier de Villers donned the big gloves for South Africa after their regular wicket keeper Mark Boucher was ruled out of the series with injury. A.B de Villers was awarded the man of the match. the 5th and final ODI will be played at Perth on Jan 30.

Aussies Pip Proteas

After a nail biter last Friday, Australia and South Africa were involved in another riveting contest today in the second match of the 5 match one day international series at Bellerive Oval in Tasmania. But this time though, the results were different. After winning the toss, South African skipper Botha elected to field first. Australia lost the wonder boy David Warner early with just 17 on board. But opener Shaun marsh and skipper Ricky Ponting consolidated the innings. Both scored half centuries to lay down the foundation for a mammoth total. However when both Ponting and Marsh were dismissed, Australia lost steam and the rest of the batsmen could muster only 53 runs in the last 10 overs, which included 4 overs of batting power play. For the visitors Ntini grabbed 3 wickets while Steyn and Kallis captured 2 each.

In reply South Africa were off to a slow start with just 17 runs coming in the first 7 overs and they lost the wicket of Hasim Amla in the bargain. However, Kallis and A B de Villers joined forces in the 15th over and kept the score card ticking along with minimal risks. Kallis was dismissed in the 35th over, at the end of which the South Africans required 103 runs in the remaining 15 overs. Still very much gettable considering the fact that South Africa had 5 overs of batting power play in hand and still had big hitters like Albie Morkel waiting for their turn to bat. But tight bowling at the death by the Australian pacemen, especially Nathan Bracken, put the skids on the scoring rate and resulted in a flurry of wickets. In the end South Africa fell short by 5 runs.

Australian opener Shaun Marsh was declared the "Man Of The Match". The third one day international will be played on January 23rd at the SCG. It will be a day/night affair.

Two Nail Biters In One Day

Of late there has been frequent murmurs about Twenty/20's gaining popularity and it contributing to the demise of one day cricket (the 50 over format). And this theory has been reinforced by many one sided fixtures being played out by teams. But that was not the case today. Two one day matches were played in the Asia Pacific region today, and both turned out to be cliff hangers.

In one encounter Sri Lanka were up against Bangladesh in what was expected to be an one sided affair. but it turned out to be anything but one sided. After winning the toss the Lankan skipper Jayawardena put the hosts into bat, and they crawled along to 152 all out inside the alloted 50 overs. The Lankans were expected to reach the target easily and claim the prize but the B'desh tigers had other plans. When the Lankans came to bat they were losing wickets in a hurry, and inside 8 overs they lost 5 wickets with just 6 runs to show on the board. Of the specialist batsmen only Sanga was still at the crease and there were bright hopes for the hosts. But Sangakkara and Mubarak hung around and raised the team's fifty. When things were getting better for the visitors, Mubarak was run out. All rounder Maharoof and Sangakkara then took Sri Lanka towards safety. Again there was a twist in the plot when Sanga and Kulasekara departed in the same over. With the required run rate climbing steadily tail ender Murali had no option but to swing the bat. And swing he did. He scored 33 of just 16 balls and Lankans won with two wickets and 11 balls to spare.

The other match was pretty evenly contested with top two teams South Africa and Australia locking horns. After winning the toss, Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting had no hesitation to bat first on a good batting surface at the MCG. With opener Mike Hussey departing early, opener Shaun Marsh and Ponting joined forces and put on 94 runs for the second wicket before Ponting was dismissed. With vital contributions from Shaun Marsh, David Hussey and Cameron White, Australia reached a respectable score of 271 for the loss of 8 wickets in their alloted 50 overs. In reply South Africa got off to a shaky start with their openers Gibbs and Amla back in the pavilion with the score card reading just 36. However Jean Paul Duminy, South Africa's crisis man, on this tour, struck a patient half century to put the chase back on track. Neil McKenzie playing in a one day international after a gap of 5 years (he was in the team as A B de Villers was still recovering from Shaun Tait's blow in the T/20's) also scored a fluent 63 and South Africa were cruising towards their target. But when J P Duminy fell in the 41st over, it triggered a mini collapse and suddenly South Africa were looking down the barrel. But South Africa still had big hitting all-rounder Albie Morkel in their ranks, and he wonderfully capitalized on the batting powerplay at his disposal. He stuck an unbeaten 40 of just 18 balls and took South Africa across the finish line with 3 balls to spare. Giving him company at the non-striker's end was skipper Botha. For his efforts Albie Morkel was declared the "Man Of The Match".

Matches like these, which go down the wire are what that makes one day cricket so exciting and enthralling to watch. It was indeed a bumper day for One Day Cricket. Lets hope for much such close showdowns in the coming days.

Hussey And White Seal Series Win

Australia defeated South Africa in the second T/20 international at Gabba to take the two match series 2-0. South African skipper Botha won the toss and elected to bat first. The visitors were off to a slow start with just 40 runs on the board by the end of the 7th over and losing two wickets in the process. J.P.Duminy scored an attractive half century and remained unbeaten on 69 of 41 deliveries as the visitors reached 157 for the loss of 5 wickets in their alloted 20 overs. For the hosts, all-rounder James Hopes took 2 wickets.

In reply, Australia were off to a bad start with both the openers Shaun Marsh and the previous match hero David Warner departing early. Skipper Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey consolidated the innings and took the score to 90 when Ponting was run out. David Hussey followed him soon after. But his sibling Mike Hussey rediscovered his touch and joined forces with Craig White to steer Australia to victory. Michael Hussey scored an unbeaten 53 of 33 balls while White was unbeaten on 40 of just 18 balls with 5 fours and a six. For the visitors, debutant Wayne Parnell was most expensive bowler. He conceeded 4 boundaries in the 17th over which sealed the match in the hosts' favour. Mike Hussey was named "The Man Of The Match".

The one day series between the two teams kicks off on Jan 16th at the MCG.