Ashwin finishes 2015 as top-ranked Test bowler

Ravichandran Ashwin has finished the year 2015 as the top-ranked Test bowler and all-rounder on the ICC’s rankings. With 871 ranking points, the Indian off-spinner leads Dale Steyn (867) by four points on the bowlers’ list.

Ashwin bagged 62 wickets in nine Test matches in the year with seven five-wicket hauls and the best figures of 7 for 66. He was instrumental in India’s most recent Test series wins over Sri Lanka and South Africa with 21 and 31 wickets respectively. He walked away with the Man of the Series awards on both occasions. Ashwin also scored 248 Test runs at 20.66 during the year with three half-centuries. His rank on the ODI and T20I bowlers’ rankings is 10th and fifth respectively.The off-spinner is the second Indian bowler since Bishen Singh Bedi in 1973 to get the top ranking. 

Virat Kohli, with 623 runs in 20 matches, is the second ranked ODI batsman after leader, AB de Villiers. The Indian Test captain also holds the second rank on the list of T20I batsmen.

MS Dhoni (sixth) and Shikhar Dhawan (seventh) are other Indians in the top 10 ODI batsmen rankings, while Ravindra Jadeja is ranked sixth on the bowlers’ list.

India are perched at the No. 2 position on the ICC Test and ODI Rankings and are the seventh ranked team in the T20Is.

Complete list of the awardees

Award	Winner
COL. C.K. NAYUDU LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD	S M H KIRMANI
POLLY UMRIGAR AWARD	VIRAT KOHLI
LALA AMARNATH AWARD FOR THE BEST ALL-ROUNDER IN THE RANJI TROPHY, 2014-15	JALAJ SAXENA OF MADHYA PRADESH C A
LALA AMARNATH AWARD FOR THE BEST ALL-ROUNDER IN DOMESTIC LIMITED-OVERS COMPETITIONS, 2014-15	DEEPAK HOODA OF BARODA C A
MADHAVRAO SCINDIA AWARD – HIGHEST SCORER IN THE RANJI TROPHY IN 2014-15	ROBIN UTHAPPA OF KARNATAKA
MADHAVRAO SCINDIA AWARD – HIGHEST WICKET-TAKER IN THE RANJI TROPHY IN 2014-15	R VINAYKUMAR OF KARNATAKA
MADHAVRAO SCINDIA AWARD – HIGHEST WICKET-TAKER IN THE RANJI TROPHY IN 2014-15	SHARDUL THAKUR OF MUMBAI
M.A. CHIDAMBARAM TROPHY – BEST UNDER-23 CRICKETER OF 2014-15	ALMAS SHAUKAT OF UTTARPRADESH
M.A. CHIDAMBARAM TROPHY – BEST UNDER-19 CRICKETER OF 2014-15	ANMOLPREET SINGH OF PUNJAB
M.A. CHIDAMBARAM TROPHY – BEST UNDER-16 CRICKETER OF 2014-15	SHUBMAN GILL OF PUNJAB
M.A. CHIDAMBARAM TROPHY – BEST WOMAN CRICKETER (SR) OF 2014-15	MITHALI RAJ OF RAILWAYS
M.A. CHIDAMBARAM TROPHY – BEST WOMAN CRICKETER (JR) OF 2014-15	DEVIKA VAIDYA OF MAHARASHTRA
BEST UMPIRE IN DOMESTIC CRICKET IN 2014-15	O NANDAN

Guptill 93* off 30 annihilates Sri Lanka

Guptill 93* off 30

Another calamitous Sri Lanka collapse gave way to a spectacular 30-ball 93 by Martin Guptill, as New Zealand crushed Sri Lanka by 10 wickets, running down the required 118 in 8.2 overs. Sri Lanka's humiliation was over before scheduled lunch, and the entire game lasted only 36 overs.

With a paltry target to chase, Guptill was brutal from the outset. He collected four first ball after his hook shot burst through leg gully's hands, then clobbered 27 off one Dushmantha Chameera over, and 26 from legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay's first over in ODIs.

The innings was almost a blur. He hit eight sixes and nine fours, meaning 60 per cent of the balls he faced disappeared to the boundary. His fifty off 17 balls is a New Zealand record. He might have threatened AB de Villiers' fastest hundred - off 31 balls - had Sri Lanka got a few more runs for him to gun down.

It had been Matt Henry and Mitchell McClenaghan that allowed Guptill to bat so freely, as they took seven cheap wickets between them. New Zealand's attack was probing and well-disciplined, without quite being extraordinary. On this day, that was all that was required. Adam Milne was left out with a bruised heel, meaning three frontline quicks were out of action for the hosts, yet they dismissed the opposition inside 28 overs. Henry was rapid and incisive again, taking 4 for 33. McClenaghan got good carry and a little movement from a shorter length, to claim 3 for 32.

The first sign Guptill was about to produce one of his special innings, was the head-down strike high over long-on, to Nuwan Kulasekara's first delivery in the second over of the innings. Guptill continued to launch every kind of bowler Sri Lanka sent at him both down the ground and square of the wicket. In the Chameera over that went for 27, he had first deposited the bowler behind the sightscreen, then carved him over the rope in the arc between third-man and point without remorse.

Guptill missed the world record for fastest fifty, thanks eventually to the use of the yorker by Nuwan Kulasekara. With the score already 71 off five overs, Vandersay came into the attack on debut, and had five deliveries smoked to the fence. Of the three sixes in that over, the 107m behemoth over long-on was particularly stunning.

New Zealand soon had a hundred runs by the seventh over, and the entire match was reminiscent of their demolition of England during the World Cup. On that occasion, Brendon McCullum had been the man launching balls into orbit. Incredibly, he had no part in this breakneck chase, having injured his back making a diving stop at deep square leg earlier on.

Sri Lanka's batting was arguably worse than their bowling. Two days ago, a 98-run seventh-wicket stand had provided brief respite from the tumble of wickets, but the visitors mustered no such mettle on Monday. The most substantial partnership of this innings was 25. Were it not for some clean hitting from Kulasekara, Sri Lanka may not have made triple-figures. He was the top-scorer, with 19 runs.

They were tied down by New Zealand's fielding, which was often sublime to the point of being excessive. Mitchell Santner took a superb catch at cover, Guptill created a run out with a diving stop in the gully region, and the ground fielding was exceptional throughout. McCullum's back injury flaring up was the result of crashing hard into the advertising hoardings, in order to save one run.

Sri Lanka's openers appeared to have embraced a more aggressive approach after the Boxing Day debacle, but soon died by the sword they attempted to slash New Zealand with. Tillakaratne Dilshan was caught at first slip after he charged at Henry and suddenly chose to check his shot. Danushka Gunathilaka was out a few overs later, blasting an overpitched delivery to the right of cover, where Santner completed a spectacular diving catch.

In between, Lahiru Thirimanne had carved a wide McClenaghan ball straight to third man, to collect his second successive score of one. And for the second time in two games, Sri Lanka's top three were dismissed inside the Powerplay.

watch the full action at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IfTm6KEOOo

Emergency fund set up for flood devastation at yorkshire

The scene at Bradford & Bingley CC, one of Yorkshire's premier clubs

An emergency fund has been set up to help Yorkshire clubs afflicted by the "unprecedented" level of flooding that has ravaged the north of England.Following the severe Boxing Day floods across the region, the Yorkshire Cricket Board - in conjunction with the ECB - has set up an emergency fund to support clubs who are affected.The announcement comes as 500 soldiers have been called up to help with flood rescue across the north, the prime minister, David Cameron, has interrupted his Christmas break to chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee, Cobra, and thousands have been made homeless.Yorkshire have acted rapidly to promise the worst-hit clubs will be supported, symptomatic of an increasingly communal approach that is at the heart of the resurgence which has brought two successive Championship wins.There are real fears that the damage is so extensive that clubs could go bankrupt unless they receive financial support.As the ECB draws up a detailed strategy to halt the decline in recreational cricket any loss of cricket grounds would have damaging consequencesOther northern counties have also been hit by the floods - Carlisle CC was one of the first to be badly affected earlier this month - but with the ECB essentially locked down for the festive season, the extent and levels of support remain unclear. Some information is available on the ECB website.

Saltaire CC is another victim of the flooding

Yuvraj Singh ,Nehra returns to India T20 squad, Raina left out of ODIs for Australia tour

 Yuvi Back

Allrounder Yuvraj Singh and pacer Ashish Nehra have both returned to India's T20I squad for the upcoming series against Australia. Yuvraj has not played for India since the 2014 World T20 final, while Nehra's last international game was in 2011.

Ins and outs in the T20 squad

In: Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ashish Nehra

Out: S Aravind, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra, Axar Patel, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma (injured)

The selectors made six changes to the T20 squad that lost 2-0 to South Africa in October, including a maiden call-up for 22-year-old allrounder Hardik Pandya.

There was no place in either the ODI or T20 team for Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny and Amit Mishra, while Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja were recalled to both squads.

Shami made the cut after completing his recovery from a knee injury he suffered during the previous tour of Australia, in December 2014, while Jadeja's rich vein of form in the Ranji Trophy and the recently-concluded South Africa Tests also earned him a spot in the 15-man squad. Harbhajan Singh, who made an international comeback during the South Africa series in October, kept his place in the T20 squad, but was dropped from the ODI team.

Yuvraj, the Man of the Series during India's World Cup win in 2011, was included on the back of strong performances in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he is currently the third-highest run-getter with 341 runs at an average of 85.25.

"Yuvraj Singh will always remain special." Sandeep Patil, the chairman of selectors, said. "The selectors are very happy, and the captain is also very happy to have him back. We cannot promise any player whether he will be part of the next tour or the World Cup. We want every player to perform and every player has a chance to come back in the team."

He said the selection of senior players like Yuvraj and Nehra was to give the selection committee an opportunity to assess them ahead of the World T20. "We have introduced and given many youngsters [opportunities], which we are very happy about," Patil said. "This game is not only of youngsters, this game also needs to have experience. And we are looking at the World Cup T20 championship in India where we will certainly need experienced players."

Yuvraj was widely criticised for his performance in the 2014 World T20 final - a 21-ball 11 which sucked the momentum out of India's innings, paving the way to a six-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka.

He was subsequently left out of the international scene, but continued to attract big bucks in the IPL; he was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 14 crore in 2014, before being signed by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 16 crore in 2015. His form, though, continued to be inconsistent, as he managed just 248 runs from 14 matches at an average of 19.07 in IPL 2015.

Nehra, in stark contrast, was one of the best performers in the last IPL, picking up 22 wickets from 16 matches to help Chennai Super Kings into the final. Nehra has played just one match since then, but Patil felt the seamer's experience would come in handy.

"Keeping in mind World T20, this is a chance for a lot of players to use as a platform. Those who have not been selected, they were all discussed. We have extended the pool.

"Nehra is a consistent performer in the T20 format. He will be useful in the team. We will need experienced players in the World T20, and the Australia tour is perfect chance to give them a shot.

The BCCI also confirmed that MS Dhoni would continue to captain both the ODI and T20I teams till the 2016 World T20, quelling speculations surrounding his future.

"There were a lot of stories going around," Patil said. "Selectors wanted to send a very clear cut message to all, to the media and the players - and I am not talking about India team players - but general players, that who is going to be our leader.

"There is only three months time. I am happy that all selectors were of the same opinion that Dhoni should be the captain till the T20 World Cup. What happens after that we will let you know after the T20 World Cup."

T20I squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Harbhajan Singh, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra

Made 'real mockery' in second innings credit to williamson: Angelo Mathews

Kane Williamson (left) and BJ Watling knocked off the 47 runs needed to win the second Test in 12.3 overs on Day 4

Angelo Mathews, Sri Lanka skipper, said that his side made a 'real mockery' while batting in the second innings which led to them losing the second Test against new Zealand in Hamilton. At a point, the visitors led by 127 runs with all 10 wickets in hand. However, from thereon, they could add only 62 runs to the total.

"We just had to bat well and dig deep, but we made a real mockery out of our second innings batting and we just couldn't give enough runs for the bowlers to get them out. It is actually very disappointing the way the game unfolded towards the end. We had our chance, especially after getting them all out for 240-odd in the first innings. We had a healthy lead," Mathews said at the post-match conference on Monday (December 21).

After taking a 55-run lead in the first innings, Sri Lanka's opening pair had put on 71 runs for the first wicket. However, their inability to play against against the barrage of short-pitched deliveries in the second innings led to a dramatic collapse.

"Especially after the first couple of wickets they used the tactic of bumping us," Mathews said. "Dimuth [Karunaratne} and Udara [Jayasundera] were bumped out. They tried to negotiate it but they couldn't really. Sometimes the ball took off and sometimes it kept low. The bounce was not really consistent on that wicket.

"We thought the best way to handle it was to try and be positive and to score some runs off it - not recklessly. We wanted to try and score on the short side of the ground especially - to take the bowlers on from that side and leave some balls from the longer side.

"Both teams struggled to face the short ball. Both teams were applying that same tactic, and the batters from the both teams just couldn't handle it, apart from Kane Williamson. Looking back we could have negotiated it a bit better than we did," Mathews noted.

Despite losing, the Sri Lankan skipper took heart from the performances of some of the younger players in the team. Dushmantha Chameera, the 23-year-old pacer was the most impressive of the lot, bagging nine wickets in the second Test. He also believes that with experience, players will learn to dig in and play according to the situation.

"When it comes to the Test team, we are very inexperienced and I'm sort of happy in the way we competed. It's just a matter of time. We've got guys in the team who haven't played more than five Tests- a whole lot of them batsmen. We've got the quality. We've got the skills it's just a matter of time.

"The more they play, the sooner they will learn. We take a lot of confidence in the way we fought well in the first innings. I felt we kept them under constant pressure. They dug deep and they are the deserved winners."

"Chameera was absolutely brilliant. He is just finding his way in Test cricket. He's played just a few games and he was able to shake the New Zealanders who have played on bouncing tracks which they're quite used to. He managed to upset their rhythm.

"He can bowl a good yorker as well, and if he can keep his pace up there to constantly trouble the batsmen - that's all I want. I just want him to bowl as quick as he can. We've got to be careful with him as well - he is an asset and you can't overuse him," he concluded.

Venue allotments for World T20 raises

Dharamshala is going to be a venue for exciting IND vs PAK T20 Match

The Indian cricket board's (BCCI) decision to award almost half of the ICC World T20 matches next year to only two venues -Dharamshala and Nagpur -has raised eyebrows. These two venues -which will together host 17 out of 35 games in the tournament -belong to state associations from where the board secretary and president belong.

Nagpur, the home association of BCCI president Shashank Manohar, is set to host nine games while Dharamshala -home to board secretary Anurag Thakur-run Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association -will stage eight.

Five other venues will host the other half of the tournament.Chandigarh, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Delhi -all traditional Test venues -will host a total of 18 matches, including the final at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.

There are 20 international cricket stadiums in the country , of which 15 are certified Test venues now. However, the BCCI decided to shortlist and finalize only these seven venues to host the World T20 matches, to be held from March 9 to April 3. The biggest surprise is that the marquee game of the tournament -India versus Pakistan -has been awarded to Dharamshala, which has a capacity of only 23,000. Some other venues across India which were ignored boasts capacities ranging from 30,000 to 55,000.

"It is not even in rotation that Dharamshala has been awarded the game," a senior board functionary said, adding: "If you had a choice between 23,000 people watching India play Pakistan and 40,000 or 50,000 people watching, which option would you choose?" Clearly, outside of Maharashtra, where Pakistan are not welcome to play, there are several venues that could have been considered for this big-ticket game.

G Gangaraju, the BCCI vice-president from South Zone and also the chairman of the board's tour programme and fixtures committee, was not forthcoming on the reasons behind allotting 17 matches to Nagpur and Dharamshala and shortlisting only five other venues. "I'll have to look into it and get back to you. I'm in Parliament right now," Gangaraju said.

Only a month ago, BCCI had added six new venues to its list of certified Test centres. Of those six, only Dharamshala has been awarded eight World T20 games while the remaining five -Pune, Rajkot, Indore, Ranchi and Visakhapatnam -have been ignored altogether.

Some other traditional centres like Chennai -the power centre of the previous regime in the BCCI -have also been snubbed. Chennai will host only four women's World T20 games instead of the expected big-draw men's matches.

Officials from the grounds and pitches committee were also contacted to ascertain if there were particular reasons why so many possible venues were ignored. "Not that I know of," a senior committee member said. Two state association presidents also pleaded ignorance on why their venues, recently upgraded to Test centres, were not considered.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will pay the BCCI Rs 55.2 cr to host the entire men's World T20, which works out to Rs 1.6 cr per match for 35 matches. It is understood that the BCCI will pay the hosting association the gate money for each game, which sources say is between to Rs 2-3 cr per match depending on capacity and ticket sales. Even for a venue with minimum seating capacity, hosting eight matches would mean earning a little more than Rs 8 cr from the board.

Surprisingly , there is nobody in the BCCI who is willing to explain the reasons behind the venue allotments.