Port of Spain, March 21
Sanath Jayasuriya recovered from cramps to smash a century and spur Sri Lanka to 318 for four in their World Cup Group B match against Bangladesh here today. In reply, Bangladesh were 112 all out in the 37th over, losing the match by 198 runs (D/L method).

Jayasuriya struck 109 off 87 balls, having limped off clutching his left leg on 83 in the 25th over soon after returning from a 30-minute rain break.

Jayasuriya hammered seven fours and seven sixes, including hoisting one against spinner Abdur Razzak over midwicket to reach his second World Cup hundred in his fifth appearance.

He 24th ODI century allowed him to nose ahead of Australian skipper Ricky Ponting to second in the list for most one-day hundreds. Sachin Tendulkar holds the record with 41.

Bangladesh paid a heavy price for sloppy fielding and catching with skipper Habibul Bashar, who put in the opposition at Queen's Park Oval, dropping two of them.

Jayasuriya dominated a 98-run opening partnership with fellow left-hander Upul Tharanga (26) before Kumar Sangakkara (56) and Chamara Silva (52 not out) notched their second successive fifties in the tournament.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene hit a chancy 46.

Bangladesh, who shocked India by five wickets in their first game, disappointed after Syed Rasel and stumper Mushfiqur Rahim missed direct run out attempts against Tharanga and Jayawardene had touched double figures.

Jayasuriya and Tharanga quickly negated early seam movement from new ball bowlers Mashrafe Mortaza and Rasel to quickly take charge.

Bangladesh were a pale shadow of their brilliant fielding which helped dismiss India for 191 on Saturday.

Jayasuriya was eventually caught reverse-sweeping in the 48th over.

Sri Lanka, the 1996 champions, are looking for their second win like Bangladesh after defeating debutants Bermuda by 243 runs.

Scoreboard

Sri Lanka

Kingston: Imran Nazir slammed a career-best 160 — highest individual score in this World Cup so far — as Pakistan paid tribute to late coach Bob Woolmer by posting a mammoth 349 against Zimbabwe in an inconsequential Group D match played with an eerie feeling dominating the Sabina Park here today.

Gros Islet, March 21
New Zealand booked their place in the Super Eight with a 183-run win over Kenya here on Tuesday.

Victory left New Zealand with two wins from its first two matches, assuring the Black Caps of one of the two qualifying spots out of Group C.

New Zealand's total of 331 for seven was a record score in the 12 one-day internationals played at the Beausejour Cricket Ground.

In reply Kenya, who collapsed to 29 for four, were bowled out for 183 although they took the match to the last over.

Ross Taylor’s 85 led the way for the Black Caps while Craig McMillan hammered 71 off just 48 balls with five sixes and three fours to take the team past the 300 mark.

There were fifties too from Scott Styris (63) and skipper Stephen Fleming (60).

McMillan, who made 71 off just 48 balls with five sixes and three fours, took New Zealand past the 300 mark with some typically blazing hitting.

New Zealand had been nought for one after opener Lou Vincent suffered his second succesive duck of the tournament, after making nought in the six-wicket win against England, when he edged Thomas Odoyo to Kenya captain Steve Tikolo at second slip. Kenya’s slump, however, was far worse.

Paceman Michael Mason, in for off-spinner Jeetan Patel, had David Obuya lbw with a yorker for one and then fellow opener Maurice Ouma (four) was run out by Vincent’s direct hit from the covers. Two wickets were then lost for three runs.

First Tikolo skied Mason to Daniel Vettori at mid-off and then Kenya, in a sign this wasn’t their day, lost Tanmay Mishra when the batsman was dropped by wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum off left-arm quick James Franklin only for first slip Fleming to catch the rebound.

Ravindu Shah made a stylish 71 and Thomas Odoyo an entertaining 42 but the duo were only delaying the inevitable.

Earlier, the Kiwis fought back through Fleming and Taylor.

However, Taylor was dropped on seven when he turned Peter Ongondo to the on-side and a diving Mishra at square leg just failed to hold what would have been a spectacular one-handed catch.

In front of a sparse crowd, Fleming went on to make an assured 60 off just 61 balls with three sixes and seven fours.

However, his innings ended farcically when he ran himself out going for a non-existent single after Taylor flicked Jimmy Kamande backward of square leg to Collins Obuya.

Taylor had made 72 when he received treatment for a right hamstring strain with New Zealand 177 for two in the 32nd over and Vincent had to act as his runner.

However, Taylor was still able to sweep off-spinner Tikolo for six.

Two balls later he was out when he chipped a gentle return catch to Tikolo, having faced 107 balls with that one six and eight fours.

Scoreboard

New Zealand

Vincent c Tikolo b Odoyo 0

Fleming run out 60

Taylor c and b Tikolo 85

Styris c Mishra b Onyango 63

Melbourne, March 21
Australian cricket team’s on-field aggression may not impress Indian great Sunil Gavaskar but West Indies legend Garry Sobers says he is a huge fan of the World Champions’ attitude as it reflects their intense passion for the game.

“Australia has always played cricket like the West Indians. I always enjoyed playing in Australia because they are a team that tried to play the game attractive, tried to win — not at all costs — but tried to win,” Sobers said.

Sobers said the Aussies should not be bothered about the criticism of their tough style of play as their on-field attitude was worth emulating.

“That is a great attitude to have. You learn when you play Australia, there is a toughness about the Australians,” Sobers was quoted as saying in The Australian.

The former all-rounder said the game had become much bigger than what it used to be during his playing days and the players need to have hardened attitudes to cope with on-field pressures.

“The West Indies played the game because they loved it, there was no kind of monetary funds really involved as far as that was concerned. It was sheer love and enjoyment and we went out there and played the game,” he said.

“Today is different. Today there is a lot of money involved in the game. Players are paid quite well and they are more professional than when we were playing. People expect so much more these days than they did then,” he said.

Gavaskar had raised a furore when he said if the Australians acted in a bar the way they did on the field, they would probably end up being bashed.

The former India captain went a step too far by linking the death of ex-cricketer David Hookes to the behaviour of Australian teams led by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

Sydney, March 21
Cricket commentators have been warned by ICC rights holders Global Cricket Corp (GCC) not to question the worth of the weaker nations playing in the World Cup in the Caribbean.

GCC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Newscorp and the commercial rights holder (sponsorship and broadcast) for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, is understood to have frowned on the television commentators’ denigrating the whipping boys of international cricket and terming the weaker nations as ‘minnows’.

However, commentators can get away by calling the event or encounter a mismatch but not to say some of the nations do not deserve to be in the tournament, according to The Australian.

With this warning, minnow nations have become a protected species in the World Cup.

The GCC is responsible for contracting broadcast and commercial partners for this WC, including international sponsors.

Meanwhile, debate rages on with some commentators happy to abide by the directive as they feel the minnows are a necessary part of global expansion.

Others, who feel the tournament has been devalued by their presence, would rather speak their mind although rank outsiders Ireland surprised the cricketing fraternity by shocking Pakistan and managing a tie against Zimbabwe. And though Bangladesh are no minnows, they certainly were not considered potential threats before they beat the formidable Indians.

The minnow nations have been a mixture of the good (Ireland), the bad (Scotland) and the downright ugly (The Netherlands and Bermuda).

Games such as India versus Bermuda and South Africa versus the Netherlands have been cringing mismatches.

ICC high performance manager for the developing nations Richard Done concedes it has been a mixed bag but with enough positives to warrant the inclusion of the six novice teams.

“Our statistics say that they are improving,” Done said. “We are trying to bridge the gap as much as we can,” he said. — UNI

Port of Spain, March 21
The Indian cricket team is in a dilemma over the choice of specialist spinner ahead of the critical game against Sri Lanka in the 2007 World Cup here.

Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh both have given good account of themselves in their solitary games and now a choice needs to be made between them for the Friday’s game.

Kumble showed all the traits which makes him such a remarkable strike bowler in the game against Bermuda. The Karnataka leg-spinner claimed three for 38 from his 10 overs but Bermuda being Bermuda, it perhaps was a below-par performance from the champion leg-spinner.

Harbhajan bowled in more trying circumstances against Bangladesh as the latter were off to a good start and were chasing a paltry total.

Harbhajan was hard to get away and finished with none for 30 from his 10 overs. His economy, as can be seen, was a standout feature of his effort.

The team is wrestling with their choice, according to sources, as any of the two spinners could feel hard done by if omitted from the playing eleven.

Kumble is straining under the leash to give a good account of himself in the final World Cup of his glittering career.

His World Cup ambitions are well known, as is the fact that he has declared his intentions to retire from one-day cricket after this tournament.

Harbhajan, on the other hand, has been India’s best spinner in the limited overs format for the last year and a half. He also brings value to the side as a lower-order batsman and a better bet than Kumble in the field.

The game against Sri Lanka being a must-win encounter, the Indian team wants to revisit their plan again and again before making up their choice.

India’s World Cup plans, as is known, is hanging by the thread.

Opinions though have started to shift in Harbhajan’s favour by the hour. The off-spinner brings good value to the side because Sri Lanka’s line-up is packed with left-handers.

As many as four left-handers dot their batting map: openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga, Kumara Sangakkara and Russel Arnold. In the lower half too, Chaminda Vaas is a left-hander and can strike mighty blows.

To top it, Kumble’s record against Sri Lanka isn’t that great either. He has picked up 34 wickets from 43 games against the neighbours and has a rather high economy rate of 4.66 per over.

Spinners are seen as key players for teams in this World Cup where wickets tend to keep low and slow.

As many as six top class spinners are in the fray: Kumble and Harbhajan for India; Monty Panesar for England; Muthiah Muralitharan for Sri Lanka; Danish Kaneria for Pakistan and Daniel Vettori of New Zealand are in a league of their own.

The best show, however, has come from Bangladesh who played three left-arm spinners against India and all of them squeezed the life out of their more fancied opponents. — PTI

Kingston, March 21
In the final posting on his website, late Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said that he was “disappointed” over reports in Pakistani media that tried to “disrupt team spirit” during the World Cup.

“We are also very disappointed by the articles trying to disrupt team spirit appearing in our press in Pakistan, and would ask those who read this to ignore the drivel!” wrote Woolmer in his final ‘diary’ item on Friday, less than two days before he died in his hotel room in mysterious circumstances here.

Woolmer begins his final ‘diary’ with the description of the team’s final net practice at Kensington Oval followed by a fielding session at Sabina Park here.

“... then I had lunch with Danish (Kaneria, the leg-spinner) next to the pool and then went back to the room to catch up with the ‘Diary’ and a couple of articles and our final preparations for the team meeting this evening,” he wrote.

“We are aware of the importance not just of this game (against Ireland) but both (the third one against Zimbabwe) and we are very determined to do well.”

Woolmer, however, lauds Ireland’s gritty performance in their earlier match against Zimbabwe, which ended in a thrilling tie. It gave qualifiers Ireland an unexpected point.

“Wow, what a game between Zimbabwe and Ireland. While we did not need reminding we saw a very committed Ireland side and Zimbabwe, who were gutted that they did not beat Ireland when they had the game by the throat,” he wrote.

“All credit to Ireland for sticking to their task,” said the man who had, ironically, groomed the Irish team as the International Cricket Council-appointed High Performance Manager before becoming Pakistan coach.

Woolmer further wrote: “In the evening, I went out for supper with the leader of the Drum ensemble who played at the opening ceremony. Very interesting! We went to Courtney Walsh’s restaurant and bar just down the road. We had some great food and a pleasant evening.”

Always philosophical, Woolmer penned this thought March 14: “The Word Cup is about performance and losing leads to retrospection.” — IANS

Zafra (Spain), March 21
Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Gabriel Sargissian of Armenia and bowed out of contention for a top place in the Magistral Ruy Lopez chess tournament here.

Having drawn three games so far in the event, the loss proved costly for Harikrishna as he needed to score at least five points from this tournament to maintain his ELO rating.

New Delhi, March 21
Ronjon Sodhi of India shot a bronze medal in the World Cup Shooting Championship at Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) in the double trap event. He shot scores of 187 out of a total of 200 to narrowly miss the silver by two points.

He, however, missed the Olympic qualifying quota by five points. He shot 140 out of 150 in the qualifying round with a sequence of 43, 49 and 48. He shot a brilliant 47 out of 50 in the final. The Swedish shooter who won the gold secured the quota berth with a score of 192 out of 200.