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Showing posts from July 17, 2011

Raina dazzles with counterattacking ton

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Suresh Raina gave India a boost as he raced to an unbeaten century on the third morning at Taunton to lift the visitors to 224. He added 84 for the final wicket in 12 overs with Munaf Patel who contributed 6, before Somerset unsurprisingly decided to bat again rather than enforce the follow-on. Raina, who began the day on 30, needed just 37 balls to go from his fifty to a hundred. He cut loose in Munaf's company after Sreesanth had lost his off stump to Charl Willoughby to become his sixth wicket. Somerset's bowling wasn't as impressive as on the second day, and they fed Raina's strengths with width outside off while attempts to bounce him out proved futile. Raina drove, pulled and flicked five sixes to damage Willoughby's figures while Alfonso Thomas also took some harsh punishment. His hundred arrived off 110 balls courtesy of a misfield at mid-off but he didn't have chance to add many more as Munaf was lbw to legspinner Max Waller. Raina's innings - and

Bresnan recalled as Broad keeps place

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Stuart Broad has kept his place in England's Test squad while Tim Bresnan has been recalled ahead of Steven Finn for the opening match against India, at Lord's, on July 21. Broad's match haul of 6 for 162 against Somerset, which included 5 for 95 in the first innings, was enough to spare him the axe following his demotion from the one-day side for the final match against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford. Reports from the game at Trent Bridge, where he had a tough contest with Marcus Trescothick, were that he was finding his rhythm again. "We watched him bowl here at Trent Bridge in the four-day game. There were signs he was getting back to where he was," Geoff Miller, the national selector, told  Sky Sports News . "We know what he is capable of doing, and when he puts on that England shirt we feel sure he will show exactly that and produce the goods and make it difficult for India. Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower are big supporters of what Broad brings to the team -

Ratnayake wary of "wounded" Australia

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Rumesh Ratnayake, Sri Lanka's new interim coach, has warned that his team's next opponents, Australia, will be dangerous since they are hurting from recent disappointments. "Taking on Australia is a huge challenge," Ratnayake said. "They are like a wounded tiger after losing the Ashes and the World Cup and they will be hungry. We need to be twice as hungry as they are, adopt smart options and play the kind of cricket we are recognised for." Ratnayake, a fast bowler who played 23 Tests and 70 ODIs for Sri Lanka, will coach the team only for the home series against Australia, which includes three Tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals. It is a similar role to that of his successor, Australian Stuart Law, who quit as interim coach after the recently concluded tour to England to take up a full-time appointment as Bangladesh coach. Sri Lanka has not yet found a suitable replacement for Trevor Bayliss since he quit his position as head

Laxman confident despite limited preparation time

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VVS Laxman is unconcerned about India's limited preparation time in England before the first Test and has backed the team to continue their much-improved overseas performance of the past 10 years. The visitors have struggled in their only warm-up match against Somerset with the bowling far from impressive and the batsmen struggling, but Laxman insists international players know how to adjust. Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan - all certain starters at Lord's - are playing their first first-class match in almost seven months. Zaheer ended wicketless in the first innings, Gambhir fell for 21 and Tendulkar went for 26. Laxman, meanwhile, is sitting out the match having played three back-to-back Tests against West Indies but his team-mates were given the runaround with Somerset piling up 425 for 3 on a flat pitch. Rain also cut into the playing time which meant India were left with little more than one session and a day to take what they can from the game before hea

South Africa win despite Bell-Drummond 86

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South Africa Under-19 opened their tour of England with a tense four-wicket win over England Under-19 in a rain-affected match at Edgbaston. Daniel Bell-Drummond's classy 86 carried England to a competitive 187 for 7 in 31 overs, but South Africa got ahead of the rate thanks to bruising knocks from opener Quinton de Kock and James Price. The hosts' spinners, led by the impressive Tom Knight, appeared to tilt the match in England's favour as panic set in towards the end of South Africa's chase, but Regardt Verster and Calvin Savage's 37-run partnership saw their side home with an over to spare. After repeated showers had delayed the start of the match by several hours, it soon became apparent that the seamers would find no joy in the Edgbaston pitch. Bell-Drummond and the diminutive Sam Kelsall rocketed out of the blocks in an opening stand that brought 76 runs in just over 11 overs, with all of South Africa's frontline seamers coming for some tap and Rabian Eng

Hughes ton extends Australia A's advantage

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Australia A pressed home their advantage on the second day at the Country Club in Harare; the fast bowlers recovered from a wicketless start to cut through Zimbabwe XI's lower order in quick time before Phil Hughes' 125 helped them get to 294 for 4 at stumps, a lead of 64. Zimbabwe's batsmen had done well to deny Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle any joy on the first day, but both quicks made amends after the hosts resumed on 206 for 6. The new ball was taken first thing, and Siddle found it to his liking as he soon trapped Elton Chigumbura in front of his stumps for a 16-ball duck. Tendai Chatara also failed to get off the mark before he, too, was removed by Siddle, while Brian Vitori managed to reach the boundary once before he presented Hilfenhaus with his first wicket of the match. No. 11 Njabulo Ncube edged his second ball through to wicketkeeper Tim Paine, leaving Malcolm Waller unbeaten on 14 as Zimbabwe were dismissed for 230. Hughes and David Warner got off to a spi

Willoughby leaves India in tatters

India's difficult preparations ahead of the first Test continued as their big-name batting order stumbled against Charl Willoughby after watching Somerset pile up 425 for 3 at Taunton. Willoughby claimed 5 for 50, including four scalps in his opening spell, and was backed up by his team-mates as the visitors closed on 138 for 8 with the follow-on looming although the hosts are unlikely to enforce it. Heavy rain then frequent showers delayed play until mid-afternoon and Somerset batted on until shortly before the 100-over allocation of their first innings. It then took the home side less than 18 overs to take more wickets than the visitors managed in 96 as Willoughby, the former South Africa seamer, cut through a star-studded line-up. The home side bowled far better than India, finding a hint of swing, but were aided by some poor shots and not just from players who have been on the sidelines. India began briskly as Gautam Gambhir, returning from the shoulder injury that kept him ou

Tabletpalooza 2011 Giveaway Week 2 Reminder: T-Mobile G-Slate Giveaway!

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We’ve got another sweet slate coming your way courtesy of our pals at NVIDIA and we’ve just GOT to let you know that this week ends tomorrow! Get your entries in quick and get in on this contest or you’ll be fresh outta luck! What we’ve got here is a series of tablets, all of them featuring NVIDIA’s dual-core Tegra 2 processor and Android for your supreme enjoyment and ultimate having of great times. Tablets are taking the world by storm and we want to give YOU a fabulous vehicle to roll out in for FREE! Check out all the details below! You’ve got to check out the T-Mobile G-Slate full review we’ve got up from back when it launched, then it’s time to win one! This is the tablet, perhaps you’ve heard of it, that’s got a dual-core processor, Android 3.0 Honeycomb, and two cameras on the back. What?! That’s crazy! With these two cameras you’ll be able to take fully 3D photos and videos to your heart’s delight, then share them on the internet via YouTube and Google+. Sound like your kind o

A RIM Apple TV Competitor is the Worst Idea Ever

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This past week, I was just surfing the web, looking at news stories, and came across what might be the most shocking report I’ve seen in a long time: Research In Motion is working on an Apple TV competitor. The product is apparently codenamed “BlackBerry Cyclone” and could launch later this year. The device will reportedly include Netflix streaming, YouTube content, and, well, a whole bunch of other stuff that you and I both know will never make its way to a living room-focused product by RIM. As soon as I read the report, I had to laugh. For one, I seriously doubt that RIM, a company that has made its name by delivering business-focused smartphones, would even consider breaking into the entertainment business with a set-top box that would compete against the Apple TV, and countless other products. As far as I’m concerned, such a device would stray too far from the company’s core competency. But for the sake of argument, let’s assume that RIM is, in fact, considering launching a set-to

iRiver Story HD Review

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The iRiver Story HD is touted as the very first e-reader to have Google eBookstore integration. The original iRiver Story has been called an Amazon Kindle clone, but this new model affixed with “HD” to its name now sports a higher XGA (1024×768) resolution display and some unusual design tweaks. Priced to compete with the Kindle at $139, the iRiver Story HD is hitting stores July 17, but should you plan to pick one up? Continue after the cut for the full review. Hardware The design of the iRiver Story HD is a bit surprising at first glance. Chocolate milk brown is an unusual color choice, but that’s what covers the back and the framing edge while the front face is a creamy white. The keyboard is comprised of horizontal slivers of raised buttons resembling clear glass beads with brown backing underneath while the four-way controller button is silver. The 6-inch E Ink display with XGA resolution is the device’s strongest asset, boasting 63.8% more pixels than other E Ink e-readers. Compa