Pigeon flys into the annals of cricket

Glen McGrath will be ranked as one of the greatest bowlers ever playing 124 Tests, 563 wickets @ 21.64; 250 ODIs, 381 wickets @ 22.02.  Won the player of the tournament at the World Cup 2007.

Ricky Ponting thanks coach for success

Ricky Ponting: “It’s not easy to make a very good team still strive to better itself and while a fair credit is due to players, much of it should go to John Buchanan. He has really pushed us into trying to better ourselves and that would be one of his long-standing legacy.”

Buchanan has been the coach at the time when Australia have dominated world cricket. Click here to hear an earlier interview

Australia win World Cup cricket

Final: Australia won by 53 runs (D/L method). Australia 281/4 (38/38 ov); Sri Lanka 215/8 (36/36 ov)

Man of the Match : Adam Gilchrist, Man of the Series Glen McGrath

Semi-Final: Australia won by 7 wickets (111 balls remaining). South Africa 149 (43.5 ov); Australia 153/3 (31.3 ov)
Semi-Final: Sri Lanka won by 81 runs. Sri Lanka 289/5 (50 ov); New Zealand 208 (41.4 ov)

Maniam: Nicol David can rule the game for years to come

Malaysia’s squash queen Nicol David is capable of setting more world standards and joining big sports personalities like golfer Tiger Woods and former German tennis superstar Steffi Graf, said her former coach Major (rtd) S. Maniam. Nicol, 24, now a fully mature player, is not only relying on physical fitness but has all-round ability in squash and there is hardly any rival to match her performance at present, he said. “She has immense talent and I think she will break records in women’s squash. She will win more titles and matches and become a legend, just like Pakistan’s Jahanghir Khan, who ruled men’s squash in the 70s and 80s.

“At present I do not see anyone coming close to threatening her throne as she has managed to widen the gap with the rest,” said Maniam. At present, Nicol is officially the world number one in women’s squash and the current British Open and World Open champion. She also won the World Junior title twice in 1999 and 2000. Maniam, who is based in Chennai, has been the Asian Squash Federation’s Director of Coaching for the last 12 years and is also a consultant coach for the Squash Rackets Federation of India.

Cricket World Cup week 5

Apr 21 England won by 1 wicket (with 1 ball remaining). West Indies 300 (49.5 ov); England 301/9 (49.5 ov)
Apr 20 Australia won by 215 runs. Australia 348/6 (50 ov); New Zealand 133 (25.5 ov)
Apr 19 West Indies won by 99 runs. West Indies 230/5 (50 ov); Bangladesh 131 (43.5 ov)
Apr 18 Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets (with 240 balls remaining). Ireland 77 (27.4 ov); Sri Lanka 81/2 (10 ov)
Apr 17 South Africa won by 9 wickets (with 184 balls remaining). England 154 (48 ov); South Africa 157/1 (19.2 ov)
Apr 16 Australia won by 7 wickets (with 44 balls remaining). Sri Lanka 226 (49.4 ov); Australia 232/3 (42.4 ov)
Apr 15 Ireland won by 74 runs. Ireland 243/7 (50 ov); Bangladesh 169 (41.2 ov)

Cricket coaches

Most of the teams will have a new coach shortly. I have listed the existing World Cup coaches and their future plans
Australia – John Buchanan, announced retirement
Bangladesh – Dav Whatmore, wont renew contract
India – Greg Chappell, resigned
England – Duncan Fletcher, resigned
Ireland – Adrian Birrell, wont renew contract
West Indies – Bennett King, resigned
Sri Lanka – Tom Moody, ???
Pakistan – Bob Woolmer, RIP
New Zealand – John Bracewell, undicided on renewing contract
Netherlands – Peter Cantrell, resigned
Canada – Andy Pick, resigned

India’s cricket squad to Bangladesh

ODI squad: Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Manoj Tiwary, Dinesh Mongia, Piyush Chawla, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh. 1st ODI 10 May, 2nd ODI 12 May, 3rd ODI 15 May

Test squad: Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid (capt), VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Anil Kumble, Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan, VRV Singh, Ramesh Powar, Rajesh Pawar, Munaf Patel. 1st Test 18 – 22 May, 2nd Test 25 – 29 May

McLaren CEO’s secrets for success

McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh explains criteria he believed separated the elite from the simply good or average:

Firstly, you obviously need the natural skill

Secondly, you require a considerable degree of natural toughness.

Thirdly, some technical empathy is a major benefit because it helps a driver to integrate better with his engineers, which in turn speeds up the car development progress.

Finally there is fitness, determination and application. Even over their cornflakes the top guys are always thinking what they can do to improve their own performances. It is almost as if they have some special genetic capability. Lesser drivers don’t do this, possibly because they aren’t smart enough, aren’t committed enough or simply don’t care.

Qatar Classic Finals

[3] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [2] David Palmer (Aus) 8/11, 11/9, 11/9, 11/6 (66m)
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [2] Natalie Grinham (Aus) 9/7, 2/9, 9/7, 9/2 (69m)

Chelsea in line for Quadruple

Chelsea have already won the Carling Cup and this win keeps alive their Quadruple challenge as they are still in the hunt for the FA Cup, Premiership and Champions League. In each of these tournaments they may face main rivals Manchester United:
Wednesday, 9 May Barclays Premiership. Update 0-0 ManU won the Premiership
Saturday, 19 May FA Cup Final. Update 1-0 ManU. Drogba as usual in extratime
Wednesday, 23 May Champions League Final. Update if they had beaten their opponents in the semis