Austrailia set West Indies 215 to win

Australia set West Indies 215 runs from 61 overs to win the second test in Trinidad and square their series after declaring midway through the final day on Thursday.Australia captain Michael Clarke called an end to Australia's second innings about half an hour after lunch with the tourists on 160 for eight, an overall lead of 214.Australia, who only need to draw the match to retain the Frank Worrell Trophy after winning last week's first test in Barbados, started the day on 73-3 and added 87 runs for the loss of five wickets.Fast bowler Kemar Roach captured two of those wickets in one over to complete his second five-wicket haul of the match and become the first West Indian in seven years to take 10 wickets in a match.The prospects of a decisive result were reduced even before play resumed when the start was delayed by 45 minutes ....

Tharanga and Malinga keep series alive

Upul Tharanga's fourth One-Day International century this year and a five-wicket haul from Lasith Malinga kept the series alive as Sri Lanka compiled a comfortable 78-run victory in Hambantota. After two substandard batting performances in the opening matches, Sri Lanka finally found their rhythm and their 286 was too tall a target for Australia, who lead 2-1 as the teams head to Colombo for the final two games in the series.

All-round Austrailia take series with big win

To watch Australia demolish Sri Lanka in the fourth ODI in Colombo, it would be easy to believe all was well with Australian cricket. Thanks to some fine bowling from Xavier Doherty and Brett Lee, a calm innings from Shaun Marsh, and a couple of brain explosions from Sri Lanka's batsmen, Australia secured the series with a match in hand, courtesy a five-wicket win in the fourth ODI.

South African Cricket Set to Self-Destruct

The present racial quota policy of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, which requires South African cricket teams to include a minimum number of coloured players is set to cause the sport to self-destruct before it has the opportunity to achieve the purpose for which it was implemented. Under current policy, provincial cricket teams are required to consist of no-less-than, three coloured players and the national team, at least one coloured and one black.

Records of Australian team players

Australians Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist lead the individual fielding records. Ponting is the leading fielder in terms of catches made, in both an individual World Cup tournament and in the competition's history. Wicketkeeper Gilchrist has made the most dismissals in a single match, an individual tournament and in World Cup history. Australia hold several team records, including those for the most wins, the highest win percentage, the most consecutive wins; they were undefeated in the 2003 Cricket World Cup and 2007 Cricket World Cup campaigns.

Belligerent Levi Sets World Records

Opening batsman Richard Levi took advantage of the small boundaries at Seddon Park to blast a world record 13 sixes and guide South Africa to an eight.Wicket win over New Zealand to level their Twenty20 International series in Hamilton.

Sri Lanka Cricket Team

The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation. The team is administered by Sri Lanka Cricket.

Sri Lanka's national cricket team achieved considerable success beginning in the 1990s, rising from underdog status to winning the Cricket World Cup in 1996. Since then, the team has continued to be a force in international cricket. The Sri Lankan cricket team reached the finals of the 2007 and 2011 Cricket World Cups consecutively. But they ended up being runners up in both those occasions. The batting of Sanath Jayasuriya (retired) and Aravinda de Silva (retired), backed up by the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan (retired) and Chaminda Vaas (retired), among many other talented cricketers, has underpinned the successes of Sri Lankan cricket during the last 15 years.

Austrailian Cricket Team

The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877.^[2] The team also playsOne Day International cricket and Twenty20 International, participating in both the first ODI, against England in the 1970–71 season^[3] and the first Twenty20 International, against New Zealand in the 2004–05 season,^[4] winning both games. The team mainly draws its players from teams playing in the Australian domestic competitions – the Sheffield Shield, theAustralian Domestic One-Day Series and the Big Bash League.

Tournament History

World Cup
1975: Semi-Final
1979: Runners up
1983: Semi-Final
1987: Runners up
1992: Runners up
1996: Quarter-Final
1999: Group stage
2003: Group stage
2007: Super 8 stage
2011: Quarter-Final

ICC Champions Trophy
(known as the "ICC Knockout" in 1998 and 2000)
1998: Quarter-Final
2000: Quarter-Final
2002: Group stage
2004: Runners up
2006: Group stage
2009: Semi-Final

ICC World Twenty20
2007: Super 8 stage
2009: Super 8 stage
2010: Champions

Upcoming Fixtures

England will host 3 Test matches against both West Indies and South Africa in Summer 2012. They will play the West Indies at Edgbaston, Lord's and Trent Bridge, with the 3 Tests against South Africa at Headingley, Lord's and The Oval. Later in the year, they will tour India and play 4 Tests.
Future Home Test Schedule
2013
England play New Zealand in 2 Test matches (at Headingley and Lord's).
England will play Australia in the 2013 Ashes series (at Chester-le-Street, The Oval, Lord's, Trent Bridge and Old Trafford).
2014
England play Sri Lanka in 2 Test matches (at Cardiff and Headingley).
England play India in 5 Test matches (at Lord's, Trent Bridge, Old Trafford, The Oval and the Rose Bowl).
2015
England play New Zealand in 2 Test matches (at Headingley and Lord's).
England play Australia in the 2015 Ashes series (at Lord's, Trent Bridge, Cardiff, The Oval and Edgbaston).
2016
England play Sri Lanka in 3 Test matches (at Chester-le-Street, Headingley and Lord's).
England play Pakistan in 4 Test matches (at Lord's, Old Trafford, Edgbaston and The Oval).

England Team Players

The England and Wales cricket team (Welsh: Tîm criced Lloegr) is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) from 1903 until the end of 1996.[1][2] England and Australia were the first teams to be granted Test status on 15 March 1877 and they gained full membership to the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 15 June 1909. England and Australia also took part in the first One Day International (ODI) on 5 January 1971 and England's first international Twenty20 match was played on 13 June 2005 against Australia.

The first recorded incidence of a team with a claim to represent England comes from 9 July 1739 when an "All-England" team, which consisted of eleven gentlemen from any part of England exclusive of Kent, played against "the Unconquerable County" of Kent and lost by a "very few notches".[3] Such matches were repeated on numerous occasions for the best part of a century. In 1846 William Clarke formed the All-England Eleven. This team would eventually compete against a United All-England Eleven with annual matches occurring between 1857 to 1866. These matches were arguably the most important contest of the English season, if judged by the quality of the players.

The first overseas tour occurred in September 1859 with England touring North America. This team had six players from the All-England Eleven, six from the United All-England Eleven and was captained by George Parr. With the outbreak of the American Civil War, attention turned elsewhere with the inaugural tour of Australia taking place in 1861–2. English tourists visited Australia and New Zealand in 1861–62 with this first tour organised as a commercial venture by Mssrs Spiers and Pond, restaurateurs of Melbourne. Most tours prior to 1877 were played "against odds", with the opposing team fielding more than 11 players in order to make for a more even contest.[4] This first Australian tour were mostly against odds of at least 18 to 11.

About Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on a field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the runs scored by the batting team. A run is scored by the striking batsman hitting the ball with his bat, running to the opposite end of the pitch and touching the crease there without being dismissed. The teams switch between batting and fielding at the end of an innings.
In professional cricket the length of a game ranges from 20 overs of six bowling deliveries per side to Test cricket played over five days. The Laws of Cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) with additional Standard Playing Conditions for Test matches and One Day Internationals.
Cricket was first played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, it had developed into the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being played overseas and by the mid-19th century the first international matches were being held. The ICC, the game's governing body, has ten full members.[2] The game is played particularly in Australasia, the Indian subcontinent, the West Indies, Southern Africa and England.The England and Wales cricket team (Welsh: Tîm criced Lloegr) is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) from 1903 until the end of 1996.[1][2] England and Australia were the first teams to be granted Test status on 15 March 1877 and they gained full membership to the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 15 June 1909. England and Australia also took part in the first One Day International (ODI) on 5 January 1971 and England's first international Twenty20 match was played on 13 June 2005 against Australia. As of 7 April 2012, England has won 327 of the 920 Test matches they have played (with 328 draws). England's One Day International record includes finishing as runners-up in three Cricket World Cups (1979, 1987 and 1992), and also as runners up in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2004.