Coaching World champs India a challenge for Fletcher: Eric Simons

India's bowling coach Eric Simons is keenly looking forward to working with Duncan Fletcher and says that for the former Zimbabwe captain, coaching the World champions will be a big challenge for him.

The 49-year-old South African, whose contract was extended by the Indian board on Wednesday, said that he expected Fletcher to bring in fresh ideas like the way he did when he was in charge of the England team. Fletcher coached England for eight years (1999-2007) and also led them to an Ashes victory after 15 years in 2005.

Eric will now be in charge of the Indian team for next month's tour of the West Indies as the 62-year-old Fletcher, now a British citizen, will join the team only after the series due to prior commitments.



"I have never worked with Duncan, so I am looking forward to working with him. I am sure he will bring in some fresh ideas to the team like he did during his English stint. But I think coaching the No.1 team in the world will be a real challenge for Fletcher," said Simons, who was appointed the bowling coach in January 2010.

Simons and his compatriot Gary Kirsten, the former India coach, forged a successful partnership that saw India becoming the No.1 Test team and winning the 2011 World Cup after 28 years. Simmons also played a key role in India's success in South Africa, where they drew the Test series for the first time.

On his extension, Simons said: "I had agreed in principle to continue as the bowling coach. Now that they have accept to give me an extension, I have to sit down with them and discuss the nature of the contract and the tenure."

Simons admitted that looking at India's stature in world cricket, his job will only get tougher.

"These are exciting and tough times for me. The last one year has been great for me and now the job has become tougher. The challenge will be to keep the team on top. The expectations are always high from World champions and living up to them will be a challenge for this Indian team," said Simons, who coached the South African team for two years (2002-04).

Simons, however, is concerned about the form of the fast bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) ahead of a hectic international calendar that also involves a tour to England for four Test matches in July-August.

"Conditions are tough for Indian bowlers on pitches which heavily favour batsman. I think we have to ensure that we have enough bench strength ahead of the two series so that we can rotate our bowlers. In the modern era, you always need a group of bowlers since you can't always rely on your main bowlers to be fit," said Simmons.

Asked if his bowlers need to cut down on the amount of cricket they play to stay fit, Simons said: "That is a personal choice, I can't say much about it. My job is to give them confidence. When you're confident you can run in and bowl quickly in good areas, they can play as much as they want."

India beat Sri Lanka to won ICC World Cup 2011

An inspired India on Saturday night achieved the coveted World Cup after 28 years as they suppressed Sri Lankawith a six-wicket victory in a nerve-wrecking final to script a glorious newchapter in their cricketing history.

Chasing 275 for a historic win, theIndians held their nerves as they rode on Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir's 97 and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's unbeaten 91 to overhaul the target with 10 balls to spare and send the cricket-crazy nation into a frenzy.

The vociferous, jam-packed crowd at the Wankhede stadium erupted in wild celebrations as Dhoni hit the winning six runs to give India their biggest cricketing moment and crown themselves the ODI world champions, in addition to being the number one Test team.

The World Cup title triumph, coming as it did after more than two decades, was doubly special for Sachin Tendulkar since it was the only silverware missing from his collection.

It was also a fitting farewell to coach Gary Kirsten, for whom it was the last day in office as the Indian team coach.

It was a momentous Saturday night marked by highemotion and poignant scenes as India, for long the game's financial power,stamped their supremacy on the field as well, eight years after Sourav Ganguly's team had made an abortive attempt to scale the pinnacle.

The players, many of them with tears in their eyes, rushed to the ground to hug each other as Dhoni finished it off in style by hitting a six, as fire crackers lit up the evening sky to mark the moment.

The highlight of the Lankan innings was Mahela Jayawardene's rollicking 103 as Sri Lanka capitalised on the batting powerplay to post a decent 274 for six.

Electing to bat after winning the toss, Jayawardene used his vast experience to good effect and supported the Lankan innings together.

The islanders, desperate toregain the coveted cup after nearly 15 years, lost wickets at regular intervals against the Indians, who were spurred on by a vociferous jam-packed crowd.

The Indian bowlers were disciplined in the first half of the innings but conceded as many as 63 runs in the batting powerplay to undo all the goodwork.

Apart from Jayawardene's 88-ball knock, captain KumarSangakkara (48) Tillakaratne Dilshan (33) and Nuwan Kulasekara (32) were theother notable performers.

Learn from Tendulkar: Akram tolds Pakistan openers

Former pakistan captain Wasim Akram has called on the Pakistani openers to seek inspiration and learn from the exploits of Indian master batsman Sachin Tendulkar. Wasim, who is in Sri Lanka commentating on the World Cup matches, also expressed his frustration over Pakistan's performance against Zimbabwe yesterday.The former fast bowler called on openers, Muhammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shahzad to learn the art of batting and building an innings from Tendulkar.

The two openers had failed to provide a single decent start to the Pakistan team in five matches of the World Cup and Wasim felt both needed to rethink their approach to batting. 

Master Blaster

"They should learn from Tendulkar, look at him he is 38 plus and yet he is still going strong. He just plays normal cricket in the first ten overs and does not gift his wicket," Akram said. 

"Tendulkar is a role model for cricketers and the Pakistani openers should learn from him how to build an innings and how to tackle dicey conditions. Look at Shahzad he is immensely talented but the moment the ball does a little movement he either starts shuffling across the line or moving in his crease and is gifting his wicket. Hafeez is also getting out constantly shuffling across," he explained.

Weekend sports wrap- Wanderers won the game thriller

Wanderers says its team is fit and strong enough to beat St Marys in this weekend's NTFL grand final.The Eagles booked their place in the decider with a thrilling two-point victory over the Tiwi Bombers at Marrara Stadium on Saturday night. Wanderers held off a late fight back to triumph 9.11. (67) to the Bombers' 9.11.(65).

Coach Paul Motlop concedes his side was exhausted after the match, but says the players will be ready for the grand final."It was a very tough game, no question. We had a good recovery session and all the players are going to lift," Motlop said.

"There aren't many matches bigger than a final. We will be ready."The Tiwi Bombers went into the preliminary final as favourites.They were chasing a second consecutive grand final berth and a crack at a maiden premierships, but an intense pre-match downpour hampered the Bombers' usually flawless handling skills.

They lacked discipline and gave away several costly penalties, including a 100-metre penalty, which ended in a Wanderers goal.The Bombers were devastated after the final siren.

"Everyone was in tears after the match. It was there for us to win," Bombers chairman Allan McGill said."It was just so deflating to lose the game, especially when we could have and should have won. We just have to learn from it for next year. We have already begun preparing".

Meanwhile, Palmerston has won its first women's NTFL flag, upsetting reigning premiers St Marys on Saturday.It was a physical encounter and close until the end, but the Magpies were more desperate for the ball, winning 6.5.(41) to 4.7.(31).Palmerston player Natasha Medbury says it was an amazing win, considering the side finished bottom of the ladder last season.

she said,"It's the first time St Marys have lost in about 4 years, so it is just awesome".

"I just can't believe we have done it. It's just amazing".The Saints were playing for their fourth consecutive premiership and their sixth in the past seven seasons.Tensions boiled over at the Under 18's preliminary football final on Saturday afternoon.Players from Palmerston and Waratah were involved in a scuffle moments after the final siren, and a spectator shoved a referee.

AFL Northern Territory says that melee was unacceptable and the players and spectator could face tough punishments.

"The incident will be fully investigated. We are very upset it happened," AFL Northern Territory's Anthony Venes said."No one was seriously injured and we don't think anyone is pressing charges."Palmerston have re-signed Russell Jeffrey as coach for next season.The Magpies failed to make the finals this year and there was speculation Jeffrey would move to another club.

But Palmerston's board decided to renew Jeffrey's contract for another year and he signed on Friday.

Jeffrey said,"I had a meeting with Gary Pollock, the club president, in regards to my position. He told me the coaching job was mine"."I can safely say that once my time at the Magpies is over my coaching career will be over because I don't really need to go and start another club at my age."In other sports news, Football Federation Australia says it is looking at holding an A-League game in Darwin next season.Football Northern Territory has put forward a proposal to hold games in the Top End.

The Government says it wants to hold a top level game in the Territory.The other big sporting news from the Territory this week was that Darwin hockey player Lizzy Duguid has been picked to play for Australia.The 18-year-old goalkeeper is training with the Hockeyroo's squad in Perth and will make her debut in April against Argentina.Duguid was surprised to be selected and says she hopes to play for Australia at the Olympics.

Duguid said,"From a very young age I wanted to represent my country, so it's a massive honour and I'm really looking forward to it".But she doesn't have to rely solely on her sporting prowess. Duguid got the highest year 12 mark in the Territory in 2009 and is now studying engineering.

O'Brien's fastest ton hands Ireland shock win

Bangalore: Kevin O'Brien smashed the fastest ever World Cup century to propel Ireland to a stunning three-wicket win over England in a Group B match on Wednesday.

An astonishing knock by O'Brien, who clobbered 13 fours and 6 sixes to reach three figures in only 50 balls, helped the Irish to live up to their reputation as giant-killers as they overhauled England's total of 327-8 with five balls to spare. It was the highest successful run chase in the history.

Four years after beating Pakistan in the group stage in the Caribbean, the Irish repeated the feat to dent England's hopes of progressing into the knockout stages of the 2011 world cup.

"When you are 111-5 I just said to myself, we could just potter around and get 220 off 50 overs for eight or nine and the game would have been pretty boring to watch and it wouldn't have been anything to watch on TV," a grinning O'Brien said clutching his man of the match trophy.

"I just chanced my arm and said I'm going to be as positive as I can and I got a few away and didn't look back really."

The 26-year-old O'Brien dismantled the English bowling to score 113 runs in 63 balls and his knock helped produce the first upset in this year's showpiece.

He was run-out -- the only way he could fall -- with 11 runs still required off as many balls. However, John Mooney (33 off 30 balls) kept his head and with three required to win off the last over, smashed a boundary to spark off the Irish celebrations.

Ireland's victory also throws Group B, which includes India, West Indies and South Africa, wide open.

O'Brien came to the crease with almost half his side back in the pavilion with Ireland struggling on 106-4 in the 23rd over.

He then turned on a breath-taking show of power hitting while the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium roared him on.

Inspired by O'Brien, Alex Cusak smashed 47 runs as they put on 162 runs for the sixth wicket before he was run out Ireland still requiring 55 runs to win.

However, O'Brien soldiered on and no amount of bowling changes or field placings could stop him and England came loose at the seams with misfields and dropped catches aiding Ireland's chase.

World Cup-2011: India vs England thriller ends in a tie

BANGALORE: This was a game both India and England deserved to lose but in the end it was a tie. If the Indians seemed listless while defending a more than healthy 338, the English after being in a position to spoil the Indian party on a pitch on which the expected demons did not surface, suddenly seemed to have invoked the devil himself. In the end what transpired was the fourth ever tie in the history of the World Cup tournament. 

Master Blaster

The match swayed like a pendulum. The Indian total of 338, runs set up by a record fifth World Cup ton from Sachin Tendulkar, looked excellent enough at the break, more so as the hosts had gone in with two spinners. England captain Andrew Strauss had different ideas as he set about all but obfuscating Tendulkar's knock with his maiden World Cup ton.

  After that came the batting Powerplay. Suddenly from an impregnable 280/2 from 43 overs, when Strauss (158, 145b, 18x4, 1x6) and Bell (69, 71b, 4x4, 1x6) were going strong with a 170-run stand off 156 balls, things turned upside down. Zaheer Khan, hit around in his first two spells and held back by Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the Powerplay, got two in two, sending back Bell and Strauss to open up the game again. 

Suddenly the Indians were pumped up, as the English middle and late order collapsed. But then two sixes, one each by Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan, both off Piyush Chawla's final over, the penultimate one of the innings, again changed the game. Fifteen had come from that over leaving 14 required from the last to be bowled by Munaf Patel. With number 10 Ajmal Shazad on strike, the match looked to be in India's grasp, but the drama wasn't over by any means. A solid six and some hurriedly run singles brought the equation to two runs off the ball. They got one and the Bangalore crowd, some of whom had left early seeing India's chances all but gone, got what they expected atleast. A tie!

Before that, the Indians had got most things right. Having decided to play with two spinners in Harbhajan Singh and Chawla, it was important that Dhoni won the toss and allowed his spinners the second use of the pitch. That part went along the script as did the batting, with the top-order firing for the second match in succession. It was even better that the middle-order too got a chance to show their wares and they didn't do too badly either.

Only Tim Bresnan stood up and got noticed among English bowlers. Having dismissed the fortuitous as well as dangerous-looking Sehwag off his fifth ball, Bresnan came back at the death, to keep the Indians from running away to a total in excess of 350. His final analysis of 10-1-48-5 was true reflection of his showing on the afternoon.

No other English bowler went under five an over, with James Anderson in real danger of going for twice that. Every Indian batsman got stuck into him. Tendulkar and Gambhir used his wayward line and length to full effect. That Tendulkar (120, 115b, 10x4, 5x6) picked boundaries even off his better deliveries, ensured that it was not to be Anderson's day.

Once Sehwag (35, 26b, 6x4) had gone, poking at Bresnan for wicketkeeper Matt Prior to bring off a fine one-handed catch diving to his right, the right-left pair of Tendulkar and Gambhir (51, 61b, 5x4) took charge. Without looking in any sort of hurry, the master-blaster milked the bowlers before assaulting them.

The innings wasn't just about Tendulkar and Gambhir though, even if their 134-run second wicket stand set it up. There was also Yuvraj Singh, rightly promoted ahead of Kohli seeing that it was the 30th over, and Dhoni, whose 25-ball 31 went almost unnoticed. Yuvraj (58, 50b, 9x4) wasn't at his fluent best but who knows this knock could well be the launching pad for more to come.

International Cricket World Cup 2011 Preview - The Outsiders

Let one begin by saying that the tag of minnows doesn’t really begin to do justice to Bangladesh. Forget all their struggles, for what is worth remembering most are their victories over India and South Africa in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

While the men in blue were sent packing, the Proteas were only saved because of the Super Eight format which allowed them to recover from the setback. Nevertheless it was an imposing striving and one which won’t allow any team to rest easy when they face up to the co-hosts in their own backyard this time around.

Of course, they are in the same group as India and South Africa, and those two sides will only be too wary of the risk inherent. And if they need any reminders, cricketers co-operate in this events only need to recall the fate of New Zealand earlier on in the season. The 4-0 scoreline alone didn’t raise eyebrows, for it was almost always thought that somehow the Kiwis will bounce back and take the ODI series. It was the manner in which they capitulated which marked not only the downfall of their cricket but similarly also foretold the rise of the Bangladeshis. In any competition here on, they stand on level pegging with teams that have it in them to pull more than a surprise.

  Yet what separates them still is their inability to challenge for the ultimate prize. They may be considered unlucky in the sense that had they been drawn in Group A, they would have surely seen themselves making it to the knock-outs at the cost of New Zealand again. Because being in the group they are, teams will be extra careful when facing them. India, South Africa and England are rank professional sides, different from when they last played in a World Cup four years ago and any slip ups will be the least considered possibility. West Indies continue to be mercurial but that alone puts them ahead of Bangladesh. It is not to say though that they should already be packing, no. A precise concoction of carefully laid-out pitches and some fine spin bowling can yet unfold into unanticipated games.

It can be said here that Bangladesh are a cut above the rest of the lowly sides and that is not down to their Test status alone. But there is another team that has done enough in the last four years to be given some respect, if not the same amount, and that is Ireland. Upsetting Pakistan in the West Indies, and also beating Bangladesh in the Super Eights, was their ticket to the international stage and they haven’t let any of their fans down, never letting the flexibility in their play fall.

This in turn has seen their ranking maintained in the ICC ODI lists at eleven, though they still had to qualify. They did so without minimum fuss, winning the qualifiers in 2009 and will now be looking forward to playing their first ever ODI under lights.

The warm-up match against New Zealand saw them give hefty chase of a huge target and it is believed by many that they stand capable enough of causing more hiccups than anticipated. Along with Bangladesh, there are now two teams in Group B that can do so, making it the ‘group of death’. That this tag hasn’t gone to Zimbabwe surely must pinch them a bit, for they have been on a path to recovery ever since political infighting took more than a toll on their cricket. It was being said that 2011 will be the year when we would see them back to the Test fold.

A high ranking of nine was testimonial to that progress, if only some, and that Sri Lanka and India were keen on playing ODIs there again was all part of it. Yet when it comes to the star attraction, the World Cup, it really pains to say that Ireland have a better chance of causing an upset than they do. If anything, it only shows that their performances here in the sub-continent will go a long way in concluding whether they do get that Test status back.

Never mind Zimbabwe though, there is still a minnow in Group A very much capable of shaking some boots. Canada retain an great batting line-up, one that grows in confidence in these conditions and the way they ran England close in the warm-up only signifies that. It can also be said that after a long tour down under, Andrew Strauss and his men weren’t really bothered too much about this inconsequential match. But that is not Canada’s problem is it? They were 28 for five at one stage and yet lost only by seventeen runs chasing 244. That tells you more about their spirit than ability.

And talking of spirit, one might as well talk about Kenya. They don’t really play too much international cricket, just some at the associate levels. Yet they have a better success rate than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in ICC tournaments. Most of it is down to their 2003 World Cup performance where they target the semi-finals. But don’t let that make you forget what they did to the West Indies in 1996 here in the sub-continent.

In that sense, there is nothing much to say about Netherlands and they will be rolled over by another batsman like Herschelle Gibbs this time around, looking to hit six sixes in an over. But if cricket – and World Cup – history has taught us anything, it is that anyone can win on their day.