Sri Lanka need Murali and Malinga to hit ground running

The co-hosts were one of the pre-tournament favourites to win the showpiece but Saturday's 11-run defeat by Pakistan exposed some glaring weaknesses in their bowling armoury. Muralitharan should have been trapping rival batsmen with his mystifying powers of flight and spin but has instead been leaking runs to rank outsiders such as Canada.

In the first match he was the most expensive of the Sri Lankan attack. The off-spinner's figures of 2-38 at the cost of 4.22 against a bunch of part-timers in Hambantota was hardly the kind of stats the world's most prolific wicket-taker would want to shout about.

He was the most economical of the Sri Lankan bowlers against Pakistan but having picked up only one wicket, his success rate would have hardly set Sri Lankan pulses racing. But at least Muralitharan is playing a part in all the action as the same cannot be said of Malinga.

The 27-year-old, who made his name in the 2007 World Cup by claiming four wickets in four balls against South Africa, has not even tested one run-up to the pitch.

SORE BACK

He was sidelined with a sore back against Canada but had been declared fit for the contest against Pakistan.

However, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara was not prepared to gamble on his fitness and chose to rest him for "the more difficult matches we have ahead" -- a strategy that backfired on Saturday.

With showdowns against world champions Australia now less than a week away, the Sri Lankans know they can no longer waste time experimenting with their line-ups and plan to draft Malinga into action in their match against Kenya on Tuesday.

"We will consider him for the next game because we need to get him into his rhythm ahead of the game against Australia next Saturday," Sri Lanka's team manger Anura Tennekoon told Reuters.

"Malinga was rested as a precautionary measure. We don't want to take any chance with him because he is our key bowler. Malinga is fit but we don't want to take that extra one percent (risk with his fitness) and play him."

Cricket World Cup matches shown free to public on giant screens in Sri Lanka

Can’t find a ticket for Saturday’s Group-A ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 clash between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Colombo? No problem! Catch the action on a giant screen, with the papare playing in the background, courtesy of Sri Lanka Police.

Police chief Mahinda Balasuriya told reporters yesterday that giant screens throughout Colombo will telecast the match live at no cost to the public. The screens will be placed at the Galle Face Greens, Parliament Grounds, Nawaloka Ground and P.D. Sirisena Grounds.

Police brass bands, the police chief says, will provide music to add to the atmosphere. He also urged fans without tickets not to swamp the venue, as all tickets have already been sold out. Sri Lanka and Pakistan meet on February 26 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo for the 10th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

Pakistan kick out Kenya (Highlights)

Pakistan opened their account in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 with a massive victory over Kenya by 205 runs.Younus Khan hits the bull's eye. A total of 17 wickets were fallen during the match, ten of Kenya and seven of Pakistan. Here is the highlights of the match. The package has been compiled by ESPN Star Sports.

Pakistan Cricket abandons 'tainted trio'

Banned by the ICC and facing criminal charges in England, the trio of Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Aamir have been dealt another blow with the Pakistan Cricket Board asking them to fight their legal battles independently.

Butt, Asif and Aamir have been given clear indications by the board that it can't help them out in fighting their case in the magistrate's court in Westminster on March 17 – the date the three have been asked to appear to face the charges.

The Scotland Yard has charged the trio with accepting bribes and trying to commit fraud and the Crown Prosecution Office has sent the case for regular hearing after finding enough evidence to support the allegations.

"The PCB has nothing to do with this case as well as the three are now banned by the ICC and the PCB being a full member of the ICC has to follow the rules and regulations and can't provide them with any help or assistance at all in this case," a board official said. He pointed out that the PCB had initially provided legal assistance to the players in London when the Scotland Yard first charged them last year in September and the ICC also suspended them on spot-fixing allegations.

"But now since the three have been banned and found guilty by the ICC tribunal the PCB can't do anything. We had even tried to send our observer to the hearing of the tribunal in Doha but this request was not accepted by the ICC under its anti-corruption code," he said.

Pune fans give cricket World Cup opener a miss

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 is just two days away, but Puneites do not seem interested to travel to Bangladesh to cheer Team India on February 19. Travel agencies said so far no one from the city has made any bookings for Bangladesh.

“People do not want to go to Bangladesh, probably because it is not a tourist hot spot. Besides, tickets for the first match are not available online and have to be purchased from retail outlets in Bangladesh. This could be another reason why not many are interested to travel to the country,” said Rahul Jagtap, a traveller counsellor with Girikand Travels.

However, the other neighbouring country, Sri Lanka, where 11 matches are going to be played, seems to be on the travel plans of a few Puneites. Though Girikand Travels has not got any takers for their affordable packages yet, Prasanna Travels has had a family book tickets for Sri Lanka.

“We are providing flight tickets, hotels bookings and car for sightseeing, but not tickets for the matches. The customers will have to purchase them,” said Deepika Kulkarni, sales executive at Prasanna Travels.

“Since travel agencies are not providing tickets for the matches, people do not want to take the risk of travelling abroad and finding that the tickets are sold out. We had a client enquiring for the Australia versus Sri Lanka match in Colombo on March 5, and another for Pakistan versus New Zealand match in Kandy on March 8, but backed out because he was not sure of getting tickets,” reasoned Nilesh Bhansali, public relations officer of the city-based Enterprising Travel Agents Association.

Kulkarni said, “Enquiries for tours to Nagpur, Delhi and Bangalore, where big matches are scheduled, have begun. If India wins its matches then the bookings will also start.”

Some tour operators are of the view that had the World Cup been organised in countries like Australia or England, the response would have been better from Puneites, since those countries are great tourist destinations.

India has a great opportunity to win World Cup: Mongia

Nayan Mongia was one of the best wicketkeeper-batsmen India produced. He figured in the 1996 and 1999 editions of the World Cup and endeared himself to many with a competent job behind the stumps.

Since retirement he has established himself as a brilliant analyst, his comments on cricket and its practitioners highly respected. In a freewheeling interview with Haresh Pandya, the former India stumper shares his views on the upcoming World Cup.

What are India's chances in this World Cup? I must say our chances are very, very bright. In fact, India has a great opportunity to win this World Cup. I wouldn't be surprised if Mahendra Singh Dhoni and company are crowned champions.

What makes you think so? Well, just look at the Indian team's record and its current form. India will surely make the most of playing at home -- on the subcontinent, to be exact. Dhoni has at his disposal one of the most experienced teams in world cricket today. There is a nice blend of experience and youth in the Indian team.

All our senior players are very experienced while the youngsters are extremely talented. Let me reiterate that this is a golden opportunity for Team India to win the World Cup, all things considered. If we play to our strength and perform consistently well, there should be no stopping Team India. This is a very powerful team, but ultimately it boils down to a sustained collective effort.

Time for Pakistan to fight like cornered Tigers

The social landscape in Pakistan is dotted with a myriad of cricket games, crammed in restricted space, throughout the land.

Although the poorer regions -such as Balochistan, interior Sind and southern and western Punjab - remain under-represented in the national team, cricket is the nearest thing to the national game in Pakistan. In the first Test match Pakistan played, the team was made up of seven players born in Lahore and four who were born in Indian territory.

Cricket has clearly expanded geographically in Pakistan since then. However, it has also witnessed a growth in its social base, from players from mainly privileged backgrounds in the early days to players from a greater variety of classes as it is today.

This growth had a significant impact in the emergence of a more defiant spirit in the 1970s. In the early years, many of the cricketers who represented Pakistan were educated and affluent, who had learnt their cricket in the collegial system based on British educational institutions.

These players were more subservient and deferential in spirit. So in 1971 when Pakistan arrived in England, Imran Khan noted in his autobiography, the pervasion of an "inferiority complex" among Pakistani players.

The emergence of players from poorer backgrounds paved the way for cricket to be a field where there was an assertive expression of identity. Success encouraged a focus on the cricket team as symbolically embodying Pakistan unity, identity aspirations and pride. And success has not come any bigger than the 1992 World Cup, still considered the high point for Pakistan cricket.

Pakistan cricket, when successful like it was in 1992, can transcend particularistic identities in a nation with all too apparent fault-lines. This is the special value of the game in Pakistan. As Pakistan cricket does not belong to any province, ethnic or kinship groups (biraderis), or sectarian interests, Pakistan cricket can be a unifier, even if only a temporary one, as it was in 1992.

An economically poor nation, it has often felt a victim of the prejudices of "outsiders". Pakistan has throughout its history also suffered great a deal of internal turbulence. For some, therefore, the result of the 1992 World Cup was both a bolster to self-esteem and a slap in the face of critics who have constantly denigrated the country.

The 1992 success also encouraged the link between cricket and Pakistani identity. Pakistani pride as expressed in cricket had become explicit by the 1996 World Cup. This could be clearly seen from the band Junoon's song - Jasbaan-e-Junoon (The Joy of Madness).

The video was juxtaposed with images of the Pakistan squad as well as "back alley" cricketers. It was a song redolent with nationalism, seen in lines such as (when translated into English): "Never forget Pakistan, Pakistan is yours, Pakistan is ours and never forget your identity."

The 1992 World Cup triumph also inspired countless numbers. One such person was Shoaib Akhtar, whose interest in cricket was sparked by watching Wasim Akram's masterful spell of fast bowling that turned the final decisively in favour of Pakistan.

Pakistan's solitary World Cup success created new hopes and dreams, but also etched into the consciousness happy memories for Pakistanis.

They remember fondly Imran Khan's incorrigible belief in the team and inspirational captaincy; Inzamam-ul-Haq's thunderous semi-final innings; Javed Miandad's skill in constructing an innings; Wasim's sensational spell in the final. Even Imran's clarion call to "fight like cornered tigers" is often recalled. At the same time it should also not be forgotten that the World Cup victory was not wholly positive. Players high on success were now wielding their inflated egos.

Mushtaq Ahmed candidly admitted in his autobiography that the players "first thoughts turned to materialistic things". But for many fans the positive memories outweigh such matters. The memories that the "against the odds" triumph evoke are especially stirring when you consider the depths that Pakistan cricket has sunk to.

In the past few years, Pakistan went through a whole year (2007) without playing a single Test, players have been banned for drugs and international cricket has ceased in Pakistan after an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.

World Cup axe puzzles Tanvir

Tanvir, who was said to be suffering from a knee injury, was deemed unfit by the Pakistan Cricket Board's medical team and was replaced by fellow left-arm seamer Junaid Khan. "It is hugely disappointing to be dropped from a major event like the World Cup at the last moment," he said.

"I don't know why they dropped me and the selectors should tell me the reason because I was fit and getting better in bowling and fielding."The 26-year-old had played in five of the six matches in the recent series against New Zealand before being dropped. But the PCB has justified its decision saying that the medical panel had ruled that Tanvir was not 100 percent fit to play. "He still requires time to make a complete recovery from his knee problem for which he had an operation sometime back," the PCB said in a statement.