Captain Michael Clarke put his Australia's 78-run defeat in the third ODI against Sri Lanka down to a failure of the top order.
Sri Lanka were put in to bat in Hambantota after Clarke had won the toss, and the hosts racked up 287 for nine in their 50 overs - Tillakaratne Dilshan sharing a 137-run opening stand with centurion Upul Tharanga.
The tourists were then bowled out for 208, but still lead the series 2-1 with two one-dayers left to play.
"We didn't perform well enough at the top of the order," admitted Clarke.
"We have no excuses. We didn't perform as well as we would like and we know that.
"We have some work to do over the next few days because, as I said from the start, playing Sri Lanka, especially in their home conditions, you have to be at your best to beat them."
While the Aussie skipper hit 46, Michael Hussey top-scored for the visitors with 63 but there was little else in the way of resistance from Australia as Lasith Malinga tore his way to a five wicket haul. Debutant Shaminda Eranda also made a telling impact as he removed both Brad Haddin and Ricky Ponting early on.
Dilshan paid tribute to Malinga and Eranga, and also emphasised how important it was for himself and Tharanga to survive a tricky opening period in the Sri Lankan innings.
"The first 10 overs were crucial, and we did well to see them off," said the Sri Lankan captain.
"All the batsmen that followed did well. We believed 260 was good to defend, and we proved it.
"Eranga bowled really well, and Malinga was good as usual."
The series now shifts to Colombo for the final two games, with the fourth ODI taking place on Saturday.
Sri Lanka were put in to bat in Hambantota after Clarke had won the toss, and the hosts racked up 287 for nine in their 50 overs - Tillakaratne Dilshan sharing a 137-run opening stand with centurion Upul Tharanga.
The tourists were then bowled out for 208, but still lead the series 2-1 with two one-dayers left to play.
"We didn't perform well enough at the top of the order," admitted Clarke.
"We have no excuses. We didn't perform as well as we would like and we know that."We have some work to do over the next few days because, as I said from the start, playing Sri Lanka, especially in their home conditions, you have to be at your best to beat them."
While the Aussie skipper hit 46, Michael Hussey top-scored for the visitors with 63 but there was little else in the way of resistance from Australia as Lasith Malinga tore his way to a five wicket haul. Debutant Shaminda Eranda also made a telling impact as he removed both Brad Haddin and Ricky Ponting early on.
Dilshan paid tribute to Malinga and Eranga, and also emphasised how important it was for himself and Tharanga to survive a tricky opening period in the Sri Lankan innings.
"The first 10 overs were crucial, and we did well to see them off," said the Sri Lankan captain.
"All the batsmen that followed did well. We believed 260 was good to defend, and we proved it.
"Eranga bowled really well, and Malinga was good as usual."
The series now shifts to Colombo for the final two games, with the fourth ODI taking place on Saturday.
England celebrated reaching No. 1 in the world with a good night in Birmingham on Sunday but it was soon back to the day job and, four days later, they already face the first test of their new status. The 'dead rubber syndrome' is always a risk when a team has scaled such heights to secure a major goal and Andrew Strauss will be desperate that nothing takes the gloss off the achievements of the last month. In truth it will take a lot to remove the after-glow of three commanding performances, but this England team are never satisfied. They'll see this final Test at The Oval as a chance to lay down another marker with a show of hunger and desire. Even the great Australian sides under Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh had issues with keeping intensity high when a series was decided. England benefited with a number of one-off Test victories and won't want to offer India a similar opportunity.
It's difficult to see India bouncing back to save face over the next five days. They have been so far off the pace that this is a series they'll want to consign to history as quickly as possible. That, though, will be easier said than done with the fall-out well under way back at home and serious questions being asked of the team. Some of those questions are more sensible than others, but a number of players will be heading back with damaged reputations.
The much-vaunted batting line-up have one more chance to live up to their billing having not reached 300 in the series. The wait goes on for Sachin Tendulkar's 100th hundred, while Gautam Gambhir has disappointed and VVS Laxman hasn't made the most of some decent form. Then there's the challenge of taking 20 wickets. The pace bowlers have all had their moments but, collectively, have not been able to sustain pressure on England.
Praveen Kumar has been a tireless workhorse and Ishant Sharma has kept running in, but they have suffered from not having an economical spinner to tie up an end. If Oval history is anything to go by they could be in for more hard toil.
Sri Lanka have dropped promising batsman Dinesh Chandimal, allrounder Thisara Perera and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath from the squad for the final two one-dayers against Australia, who lead the series 2-1. Seekkuge Prasanna, the 26-year-old legspinner, has been called up and has to fly back from England, where he was representing Sri Lanka A.
The other major news was that vice-captain Angelo Mathews, who missed the third ODI due to an injury is fit for the remaining matches. "He should be alright for the rest of the series," Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan said. "He could have even played on Tuesday, but we didn't want to take a risk. If something had happened he would have been ruled out for two months. He has got three more days to recover from the injury. Angelo is a key member of our side and when he goes out it's a big loss."
Chandimal, 21, had made an unbeaten century at Lord's and 54 in the deciding game of the ODI series against England last month, but suffered a string of failures since, managing only 41 in four innings.
Perera played only one ODI since his hard-hitting cameo in the World Cup final, with the role of the third fast bowler to be filled by either Mathews, Suranga Lakmal or Shaminda Eranga, who made an impact on debut in the third ODI on Tuesday. Herath has also had only one ODI since the World Cup, with the emergence of legspinning allrounder Jeevan Mendis and the spin pair of Ajantha Mendis and Suraj Randiv limiting his opportunities.
Herath's place in the squad was taken by Prasanna, who hit the headlines on Sunday with a six-wicket haul against England A. Prasanna plays for the Sri Lanka Army, impressing in their youth ranks before making his domestic one-day debut in 2006. He built up an outstanding List A record over the past five years, taking 73 wickets at 18.38 in 45 matches.
Squad: Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Chamara Silva, Nuwan Kulasekera, Lasith Malinga, Shaminda Eranga, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ajantha Mendis, Jeevan Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Suraj Randiv
Australia's World Cup squad will get on a plane on Wednesday with injuries a concern, but the coach Tim Nielsen hopes the selectors don't risk sending too many unfit men to defend the title. Ricky Ponting (finger), Michael Hussey (hamstring) and Nathan Hauritz (shoulder) have all been racing to prove their fitness for the tournament, while some of their potential replacements are also struggling, including Xavier Doherty (back) and Shaun Marsh (hamstring).
The squad heads to India this week and their first practice match is on Sunday against India in Bangalore, eight days before their opening game of the tournament proper, against Zimbabwe. Hussey said on the weekend that he would find it difficult to be fully fit for the first couple of outings, while Hauritz, who dislocated his shoulder during the recent ODIs against England, was bowling in the nets last week and said he had no doubt he would be fit for the World Cup.
But while Australia might be able to carry one injured player at the start of the tournament, it's risky to allow too many men to board the plane at less than 100% fitness. Nielsen said he believed the squad could not take such a chance with the World Cup on the line.
"I can't afford to have two, three or four guys that we're uncertain about," Nielsen said. "It means we've only got 11 fit ready to go at the start. That's the quandary we face. What is the role the players who are injured play? Do we have back-up for that position? If we have an injury to somebody in the team at the moment is the injured person the next cab off the rank or the only possible replacement or do we have other options? All those things will be thrown into the mix."
One positive is the progress being made by Ponting, who missed the Sydney Test after aggravating his broken finger during the Boxing Day Test. Ponting had surgery on the little finger on his left hand after the Melbourne game, and by the time the World Cup opener arrives it will have had nearly seven weeks of recovery time.
"Ricky had another bat on Friday afternoon in Sydney and went well so that's a positive for us," Nielsen said. "He seems to be getting better every day. He's probably at least where we would like him to be."
The spin position shapes up as one of the more serious issues, with Steven Smith also battling a hip muscle injury, along with the problems that are troubling Hauritz and Doherty. Smith's injury shouldn't be a major concern, though the more serious situation with Hauritz, added to the likelihood that Hussey won't be fit for the start of the World Cup, leaves the selectors with some headaches.
"At the moment Hussey and Hauritz are in the squad - they're the first cabs off the rank," Nielsen said. "If we're going to replace them we're going to have to rule them out of the tournament full stop. That's the first question we're going to have to answer. Are they going to take any part in the tournament in a timeframe that's going to work for us?
"Once we make that decision then it's, okay, if we are going to replace them, is the replacement ready to go straight away or are we better off taking the named player and they might be ready at the same time? All those different things that come into the equation."
Australia have two warm-up games before the World Cup begins in earnest, and they have six pool matches before finding out if they have progressed to the next round. Australia are in a group with Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya.
Hot Spot will not be part of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) that will be used during the2011 ICC World Cup, reducing the system to its basic requirements: a ball-tracker (in this case Hawk-Eye), a super slow-mo camera and a 'clear' stump microphone.In October 2010, the ICC had announced that the Hot Spot cameras would be used in the semi-finals and final of the World Cup, to be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from Feb 19 to April 2. An ICC spokesman, however, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo on Saturday that, "the supplier of the Hot Spot technology advised that it was not willing to supply its cameras for the tournament so, accordingly, they will not be used at any stage in the tournament. The use of these cameras is not a minimum requirement for the DRS."
While the Hot Spot cameras are not a minimum requirement of the UDRS, they are thought to provide among the most accurate images of the contact between ball and bat, or pad, using infrared thermal imaging. The owners of the Hot Spot technology, Melbourne based BBG Sport, were unwilling to comment on their decision.
The Hot Spot infrared cameras form part of military hardware used in jetfighters, tanks and warships, and they fall under the category of restricted equipment which needs a temporary export licence from the Australian Defence Department whenever they are taken out of the country. Part of that licence includes the return of the cameras to Australia within a seven-day period after the end of the event in which they are being used.
The cameras were first brought into India during the 2009 Champions League Twenty20 event. It is possible that the logistical hurdle of moving the cameras, which are both expensive and sensitive security equipment, in and out of Sri Lanka and India could have led to the decision. India remains the only country in cricket that has not accepted the UDRS. Ironically, the only part of UDRS technology basket that is considered by the Indians to be the most trustworthy is the Hot Spot camera.
The BCCI has sent show-cause notices to seven of the eight players involved in the pub brawl in St Lucia on May 11, the day India were knocked out of the World Twenty20. According to a board source the seven players are Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja and Murali Vijay. The players have been given a week to explain their role, if any, in the incident and why the board should not take disciplinary action against them. If the responses are found unsatisfactory, the matter will be taken up by the board's disciplinary committee.
Four of the seven players will be touring Zimbabwe for India's next international assignment but the pull-up is expected to have no impact on their participation in the tour.
The eight players had gone to the pub early evening when allegedly some of the fans present inside started heckling one of the players. Unable to stand the taunting, the others reportedly came to the rescue of the team-mate but it only resulted in an unruly brawl.
The BCCI bosses, including its president Shashank Manohar, were said to be highly critical of the incident after hearing the report of team manager Ranjib Biswal in person on Monday in Mumbai. Biswal had submitted his report on Saturday to the board's chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty but he stayed back to report to Manohar and N Srinivasan, the board secretary, who was also present at the briefing.
This is the first instance of the board pulling up so many players in public. But Manohar, the BCCI president, has always had the reputation of being a strict administrator and on this occasion he possibly felt the board was left with little option but to give a warning to the players considering the World Cup is nine months away. And to tolerate such indiscipline, especially after India's exit from the Super Eights in the World Twenty20 for the second year in a row, would have been inappropriate.
Incidentally, Biswal denied reports of the brawl when he returned to India. "There is no truth at all about the brawl. It is all media creation that is doing the rounds,'' he said last week.
Ryan McLaren is determined to rise to even greater heights on South Africa's tour of the Caribbean after taking 5 for 19 in the first Twenty20 against West Indies. McLaren returned the second-best figures in Twenty20 international history as he bowled South Africa to a 13-run victory in Antigua. "It's a good way to start off the tour having practised indoors and not outdoors for the last few weeks," McLaren said after the match. "But it's only the first day, and there's plenty more cricket to come, so hopefully, I can better this performance. We all know the nature of T20 cricket - the bowler is always up against it.
"You can take five wickets one day, and the next day, take a thumping, but I enjoyed it. It was not an easy day for the batters, and you had to graft pretty hard. Playing shots was not easy, and there was a strong wind, so there were a lot of things you had to take into consideration.
"It was obviously nice to start with a win. This was the most important thing for us. We have worked really hard over the last few days here in Antigua, had a few discussions, the energy has been good around the team, and a lot of new faces have come in. We want to have a good tour of the Caribbean, so success in this match was very important to getting us off on the right foot."
The series could be important for the confidence of both teams after they failed to reach the semi-finals of the World Twenty20. The two Twenty20s are followed by five ODIs and three Tests and the West Indies captain Chris Gayle said there was plenty of room for improvement from his men.
"It was a disappointing start for us," Gayle said. "We wanted to put our dismal performance in the T20 World Cup behind us, but this was not the best way to do it, and was not the best start to the series.
"We still have a match on Thursday, so we have to pick ourselves up. This is no time for pointing fingers. We have a lot of corrections to make out there, and we have to return to the drawing board to try and get the best out of the players."
England 148 for 3 (Kieswetter 63) beat Australia 147 for 6 (D Hussey 59) by seven wickets
Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen powered England to their first ICC global title with an irresistible 111-run stand for the second wicket, as Australia were outmuscled in a battle of the bowlers at Bridgetown. Despite a brave recovery led by David Hussey, who made 59 from 54 balls, Australia's hopes of claiming the only world title to have eluded them were devastated from the moment they lost three wickets in 13 legitimate deliveries in a stunning start to the contest. Chasing a target of 148, Kieswetter and Pietersen broke the back of the chase in an 11-over alliance, but fittingly it was left to England's captain, Paul Collingwood, to seal the victory with 18 balls to spare. At the moment of victory, he was mobbed by his jubilant team-mates as they poured out of the dug-out, with incredulity and triumph writ large on their features. Barely 12 months ago, Collingwood was leading England to defeat against the Netherlands in the opening contest of the 2009 event. Now he has joined football's Bobby Moore and rugby's Martin Johnson in captaining England to a world sporting title.
The difference between the sides was underlined by the boundary count. Whereas Australia managed eight fours and three sixes in their 20 overs, and just two fours in the first 12 overs, England clattered 12 fours and five sixes in 17, as their confident and attacking batsmen targeted the weak links in the Australian bowling line-up - in particular Shane Watson - to motor past a mid-range target. England, by contrast, showed no weaknesses with the ball or in the field, as their multi-faceted five-prong attack tore onto the offensive with an aggressive but highly strategic display.
The start of the contest was sensational, as Australia crashed to 8 for 3 with a wicket in each of the first three overs. Ryan Sidebottom, a controversial selection a week ago but an automatic choice now, settled England's nerves and exacerbated those of the Australians by removing Shane Watson with the third delivery of the match. A lifter outside off was slashed through to Kieswetter, who fumbled the initial take only for an alert Graeme Swann at slip to dive forward and grasp the rebound in the heel of his hands.
One over later, the dangerous David Warner was run out for 2, as his captain, Michael Clarke, called him through for a tight single at short cover, only for Michael Lumb to swoop and score a direct hit with his underarm shy. And before Australia had had time to regroup, they were undermined by misfortune as well, as Brad Haddin was adjudged caught behind off his hip - brilliantly caught, in fact, by a full-stretch Kieswetter - as Sidebottom snaffled his second.
The effect of the early breakthroughs was to hand all of the initiative to England's charged-up attack, who came at Australia with a Test-match intensity. While the pace in the pitch encouraged the seamers to bend their backs, they were sensibly sparing with the short balls, and instead concentrated on pinning the batsmen to the crease with arrow-straight but undriveable lengths. Had Lumb's aim been slightly better, he might have added two further run-outs from short cover, as Clarke betrayed his anxiety with a succession of nip-and-tuck quick singles.
It wasn't until Clarke nudged Sidebottom through fine leg in the fifth over that Australia registered their first boundary, and though he added a second when he pulled a rare long-hop from Bresnan through mid-on, the score was 34 for 3 after seven overs when England turned to their spinners, Swann and Michael Yardy, with licence to apply the tourniquet. And when Collingwood leapt superbly at short midwicket to snaffle an attempted flick from Clarke, Australia had slumped to 45 for 4 in the tenth over.
Not for the first time in this tournament, however, Cameron White had the power and the intent to lift Australia's tempo. He chose the 13th over of the innings, Yardy's third, to make his move, as he followed a David Hussey swipe for six with four, six, four in consecutive deliveries. With 21 runs in the over, Australia were suddenly back in business on 80 for 4, and with two further fours in consecutive overs, White had moved along to 29 from 17 balls when Collingwood opted to introduce Luke Wright for his first over of the tournament.
The ploy paid quick dividends. Targeting the yorker with every delivery, Wright stifled the swinging blades before drawing White into a wild slash outside off. Broad, who moments earlier had made a mess of a swirling top-edge at deep cover off Hussey, called bravely and chased down a fine low chance as he ran back towards the rope at point. Michael Hussey joined his brother to nudge and swat 47 runs for the sixth wicket in 22 balls, but Australia's final total of 147 for 6 was, as Clarke later conceded, at least 25 runs short of parity.
For once, Lumb was unable to jump-start England's reply, as he clipped airily to mid-on in Shaun Tait's first over to fall for 2 from four balls, but Kieswetter - who was at his happiest with the ball pitched up in his half - cracked Dirk Nannes for consecutive fours, either side of a lengthy delay to fix the malfunctioning sightscreen. He added a third four when Tait overpitched in his subsequent over, and with Pietersen looking typically busy at the crease, England reached a healthy 41 for 1 in their Powerplay, a position that was comfortably ahead of Australia's 24 for 3 at the same stage.
With their platform secure, England never looked like faltering. The legspinner Steven Smith was nailed through the covers for Pietersen's third boundary, before Kieswetter collected consecutive fours in Watson's first over - the first a touch fortuitously as David Hussey fumbled at mid-off. Clarke had no choice but to recall Mitchell Johnson for his third over, and though he stemmed the flow a touch, Watson's medium pace was meat and drink for the now pumped-up Kieswetter, who mowed a massive six over midwicket in an over that leaked 16 runs.
Back came Tait with Australia desperate for a wicket, but Pietersen met him with an imperious lofted drive over mid-on for four, before opening his stance to drive a glorious six over extra cover, and take the required rate down below a run a ball. Two balls later, Kieswetter dabbed a wide ball through point to bring up a 40-ball fifty, and celebrated by slashing Nannes for four through third man before belting an astonishing one-handed six over backward square leg. With just 30 runs needed from the final seven overs, Pietersen gave Smith the charge and holed out to Warner at long-off for an excellent 47 from 31 balls, but at 118 for 2, Australia knew they still needed a miracle. That prospect became a touch more probable six balls later, when Kieswetter gave himself too much room to a Johnson yorker and was rather comically bowled for 63 from 49 balls, but to judge by the grim faces in the England dug-out, no-one was particularly keen on laughing just yet.
Eoin Morgan, however, swept Smith powerfully for six over square leg to mop their collective brows, and when Collingwood pulled the luckless Watson off the front foot over midwicket for another six, the result was beyond doubt. A swat through fine leg brought the scores level, and one ball later, the title was secure, and England's limited-overs hoodoo had finally been laid to rest.
Michael Clarke believes he might need to rediscover the attacking approach of his youth to become a successful Twenty20 batsman. Clarke has no intention of giving up his place as Australia's captain in the shortest format despite struggling to lift his scoring rate in the World Twenty20, where he led Australia to the final, which they lost to England.
Ricky Ponting has been impressed with Clarke's leadership and in the Herald Sun on Thursday, Shane Warne argued that Clarke was the best captaincy option and No. 3 for the Twenty20 team. However, after arriving home to Sydney, Clarke conceded he might have to dust off some of the more aggressive strokes he played as a younger man.
"Who knows? Maybe I need a little bit of that back," Clarke said. "Everybody has a different role in our team though and that is one thing that players certainly are aware of, and you need to do your role to the best of your ability.
"For me my role is not the same as Dave Warner or Shane Watson. I always want to perform, I always want to score runs, it doesn't matter what form of the game I'm playing, but like I said in this game, sometimes you can't always make those runs."
Clarke's immediate future in the format is expected to be decided over the next week as the selectors settle on the squads for the upcoming tour of England. Clarke is determined to stay in charge of the Twenty20 side, a role he took over last year when Ponting retired from that version of the game.
"No doubt [I want to continue], I'm disappointed we couldn't win the World T20, win the final, but I've really enjoyed the opportunity," Clarke said. "I've loved playing with the guys, I've had a lot of support from people back at home, the people who came and watched the games in the West Indies, and family and friends, so it's been great and I'm enjoying it."
Clarke said that while the loss to England was disappointing, there was no reason to panic ahead of next summer's Ashes series in Australia. The urn is held by England following their triumph at home last year, but the previous series in Australia was won 5-0 by Ponting's men.
"It always hurts losing to England in any form of the game, but obviously a lot of guys in both teams that won't take part in the Ashes series," Clarke said. "They will take confidence out of it, no doubt about it, but I can guarantee the way we've been playing Test and one day cricket of late, or even T20 cricket in this tournament, we're very confident."
South Africa 141 for 5 (Boucher 33*) beat Sri Lanka 137 for 8 (Kapugedera 61*, Kleinveldt 2-13) by five wickets
A combined team effort set up victory with three balls to spare as South Africa brushed past Sri Lanka in their first warm-up match ahead of the World Twenty20. A late fightback from Sanath Jayasuriya and Chamara Kapugedera allowed Sri Lanka to post a modest 137 for 8 and the match was finely balanced when AB de Villiers was dismissed in the 14th over with 63 still needed, but a 61-run partnership between Mark Boucher and Johan Botha took South Africa home in the final over.
Kumar Sangakkara opted to bat first after winning the toss but was quickly left ruing the decision as Tillakaratne Dilshan fell first ball to the impressive Rory Kleinveldt. Charl Langeveldt then struck twice in his second over to remove Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene as Sri Lanka slipped to 22 for 3.
Dinesh Chandimal lasted just two balls before he hit Morne Morkel to Herschelle Gibbs, and when Angelo Mathews was dismissed by Roelof van der Merwe Sri Lanka were in deep trouble at 42 for 5 in the ninth over. But Jayasuriya drew on his vast experience in a relatively sedate 33 from 41 balls as he dominated a half-century stand with Kapugedera to claw his side back into the game.
Once he was dismissed, caught behind off Kleinveldt, Kapugedera came to the fore, slamming three fours and five sixes to finish unbeaten on 61. The wickets were shared around by the South African bowlers, with Kleinveldt, Langeveldt and Morkel taking two each, while Rusty Theron and van der Merwe weighed in with one apiece.
Nuwan Kulasekara removed Graeme Smith in his first over for single figures as Sri Lanka started their defence strongly, but Loots Bosman kept the score ticking over with a rapid 20. After his dismissal, Gibbs and de Villiers struggled to reach the boundary, and when they were removed in consecutive overs Sri Lanka were right back in the match.
But Botha and Boucher set about their task with gusto, scoring at more than 11 runs an over to take South Africa to the brink. Botha was bowled by Thissara Perera off the first ball of the final over, but Boucher sealed the confidence-boosting result with a boundary two balls later.
The BCCI has suspended controversial Indian Premier League chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi just hours before a crucial governing council meeting.
Modi has been accused of a wide range of financial impropriety from rigging bidding deals related to the IPL, offering bribes, betting and money laundering.
The decision to suspend Modi was announced by BCCI president Shashank Manohar.
"While we rejoice and celebrate the great success of IPL season three, the alleged acts of individual misdemeanours of Mr.Lalit K Modi, chairman IPL and vice president, BCCI have brought a bad name to the administration of cricket and the game itself," Manohar said in a statement.
"I have waited for the IPL 3 - 2010 to conclude in order to respond to the situation as I did not want the event to be disrupted in any manner.
"Immediately after the conclusion of the IPL final, the secretary, BCCI Mr. N Srinivasan has in consultation with me issued a show cause notice to Mr. Lalit K Modi under Rule 32 (iv) calling upon him to show cause within 15 days why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.
"Simultaneously in exercise of the powers vested in me under Rule 32 (vii), I have suspended Mr. Lalit K Modi from participating in the affairs of the Board, the IPL, the working committee and any other committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India."
Modi now cannot attend the governing council meeting called by Srinivasan at the behest of Manohar to discuss the allegations as well as his future at the head of the Twenty20 tournament.
Modi had at first refused to attend the meeting, indicating that it was illegal as only he, as chairman and commissioner of the IPL, had the power to convene such a gathering.
Late on Sunday, however, Modi abruptly changed tack by announcing that he would not only attend the meeting, but also revealed he would chair it.
Modi also issued a one-point agenda for the meeting which was to have a "discussion on any complaints received in writing from members of the governing council against the chairman, other members of the council and/or the Board of Control for Cricket in India."
He also requested documentary evidence and vowed to provide all the answers.
"Members of the governing council have been requested to give all such complaints in writing with the requisite supporting documents at the meeting on the morning of 26th April, 2010 to the chairman and commissioner, so they can be replied in full," the statement from Modi read.
Modi's decision to attend the meeting is believed to have triggered the BCCI into issuing a show-cause and a suspension notice.
The Indian Board is reported to have emailed the suspension notice to Modi during the final of the tournament in Mumbai, but the IPL commissioner put on a defiant face.
In his address at the end of the IPL final in Mumbai Modi said: "Though the events on the ground have been an outstanding success, there have been some off-field unpleasant dramas based on the unknown, half-truths and motivated leaks from all sorts of sources.
"I assure you all decisions have been jointly taken by the governing council and approved by the general body (of the BCCI) in both year one and two of the IPL.
"Still as leader of the team, I reassure you that if there have been any flouting of the rules and regulations or if there have been any irregularities, I shall take full responsibility.
"I assure you the IPL is clean and transparent."
Significantly, Modi's reassurance of all decisions being taken by the governing council is only limited to the first two editions of the tournament.
The current crisis, however, relates to the current edition and was triggered when Modi revealed details on Twitter relating to the ownership and shareholders of the new Kochi franchise in an alleged breach of a confidentiality clause.
Modi had especially questioned a free stake given to Sunanda Pushkar, a close friend of junior minister in the ruling coalition Shashi Tharoor, who had mentored the consortium which eventually secured the winning bid for the Kochi franchise.
Tharoor was forced to resign after being accused by the opposition of using his office to profit, but the decision brought on a multi-agency government probe into all aspects of the IPL.
That probe, which covers a range of so far unsubstantiated infringements including tax evasion, money laundering, front companies and foreign exchange violations, is continuing.
The BCCI had admonished Modi for revealing the names of the shareholders of the Kochi franchise - to which Modi responded by suggesting the stakeholders of the franchise had plenty to hide - but focus and attention was shifted to Modi's own alleged impropriety and misconduct following scrutiny by income tax officials at the offices of the BCCI, the IPL and all the franchises, Modi's residence and at the offices of the broadcasters of the tournament Multi Screen Media (formerly Sony Entertainment Television) and World Sports Group.
The decision to suspend Modi was announced by BCCI president Shashank Manohar.
"While we rejoice and celebrate the great success of IPL season three, the alleged acts of individual misdemeanours of Mr.Lalit K Modi, chairman IPL and vice president, BCCI have brought a bad name to the administration of cricket and the game itself," Manohar said in a statement.
"I have waited for the IPL 3 - 2010 to conclude in order to respond to the situation as I did not want the event to be disrupted in any manner.
"Immediately after the conclusion of the IPL final, the secretary, BCCI Mr. N Srinivasan has in consultation with me issued a show cause notice to Mr. Lalit K Modi under Rule 32 (iv) calling upon him to show cause within 15 days why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.
"Simultaneously in exercise of the powers vested in me under Rule 32 (vii), I have suspended Mr. Lalit K Modi from participating in the affairs of the Board, the IPL, the working committee and any other committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India."
Modi now cannot attend the governing council meeting called by Srinivasan at the behest of Manohar to discuss the allegations as well as his future at the head of the Twenty20 tournament.
Modi had at first refused to attend the meeting, indicating that it was illegal as only he, as chairman and commissioner of the IPL, had the power to convene such a gathering.
Late on Sunday, however, Modi abruptly changed tack by announcing that he would not only attend the meeting, but also revealed he would chair it.
Modi also issued a one-point agenda for the meeting which was to have a "discussion on any complaints received in writing from members of the governing council against the chairman, other members of the council and/or the Board of Control for Cricket in India."
He also requested documentary evidence and vowed to provide all the answers.
"Members of the governing council have been requested to give all such complaints in writing with the requisite supporting documents at the meeting on the morning of 26th April, 2010 to the chairman and commissioner, so they can be replied in full," the statement from Modi read.
Modi's decision to attend the meeting is believed to have triggered the BCCI into issuing a show-cause and a suspension notice.
The Indian Board is reported to have emailed the suspension notice to Modi during the final of the tournament in Mumbai, but the IPL commissioner put on a defiant face.
In his address at the end of the IPL final in Mumbai Modi said: "Though the events on the ground have been an outstanding success, there have been some off-field unpleasant dramas based on the unknown, half-truths and motivated leaks from all sorts of sources.
"I assure you all decisions have been jointly taken by the governing council and approved by the general body (of the BCCI) in both year one and two of the IPL.
"Still as leader of the team, I reassure you that if there have been any flouting of the rules and regulations or if there have been any irregularities, I shall take full responsibility.
"I assure you the IPL is clean and transparent."
Significantly, Modi's reassurance of all decisions being taken by the governing council is only limited to the first two editions of the tournament.
The current crisis, however, relates to the current edition and was triggered when Modi revealed details on Twitter relating to the ownership and shareholders of the new Kochi franchise in an alleged breach of a confidentiality clause.
Modi had especially questioned a free stake given to Sunanda Pushkar, a close friend of junior minister in the ruling coalition Shashi Tharoor, who had mentored the consortium which eventually secured the winning bid for the Kochi franchise.
Tharoor was forced to resign after being accused by the opposition of using his office to profit, but the decision brought on a multi-agency government probe into all aspects of the IPL.
That probe, which covers a range of so far unsubstantiated infringements including tax evasion, money laundering, front companies and foreign exchange violations, is continuing.
The BCCI had admonished Modi for revealing the names of the shareholders of the Kochi franchise - to which Modi responded by suggesting the stakeholders of the franchise had plenty to hide - but focus and attention was shifted to Modi's own alleged impropriety and misconduct following scrutiny by income tax officials at the offices of the BCCI, the IPL and all the franchises, Modi's residence and at the offices of the broadcasters of the tournament Multi Screen Media (formerly Sony Entertainment Television) and World Sports Group.
Champions League Twenty20 2010
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South Africa will host the next Champions League Twenty20, to run from September 10 to 26, the tournament's organisers have announced. The tournament chairman Lalit Modi confirmed the decision, following a board meeting in Mumbai where it was formally agreed to accept Cricket South Africa's invitation to stage the event. However Modi, under immense scrutiny over the ongoing IPL mess, was not present at that meeting, which took place at the BCCI headquarters on Saturday.
"South Africa is considered an ideal CLT20 host after successfully staging the Indian Premier League and ICC World Twenty20 tournaments in recent years, as well as the strong support shown for its domestic Pro20 Series competition," said Modi via a press release.
The venues and competing teams for the second edition of the Champions League will be announced in the near future, said the tournament management.
The first edition of the tournament was held in India last year. South Africa had hosted the IPL in 2009, after the tournament was moved out of India as it clashed with the country's general elections.
The decision puts to rest the speculation that surrounded the Champions League earlier this year. In February, CSA had announced that South Africa had been finalised as the venue for the tournament, only for Modi to quickly clarify - via Twitter - that the statement was inaccurate. Despite the dates for this season's edition having been announced much earlier, there had been press releases from CSA and the Champions League itself stating that, like in 2009, 12 teams will take part from seven full member countries, including England.
Gerald Majola, the CSA chief, had confirmed the news to Cricinfo earlier in the day while Dean Kino, head of the league's Governing Council, had on Friday stated that a decision regarding the appropriate participating countries was taken each year as policy.
The Champions League features the best domestic Twenty20 teams from across the world and is run by by the boards of India, Australia and South Africa with its governing council comprising representatives from each board. Other countries participate in the tournament by invitation, but Pakistan and Bangladesh are the only two Test-playing countries with no presence in the tournament. Pakistan had sent a representative in the first edition of the tournament, which was cancelled in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008. As ties worsened between India and Pakistan and their cricket boards in the aftermath, the PCB was not eventually extended an invitation to the first tournament and since then it has stated that it will not send a team this year after Pakistan players were not included at the IPL auction in January.
The dates of this year's Champions League clash with the end of England's county season, which finishes on September 16. At the same time, England and Pakistan will be contesting an ODI series that runs until September 22.
Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians, IPL 2010 final, Mumbai
Raina, Dhoni star in Chennai triumph
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Chennai Super Kings 168 for 5 (Raina 57*, Dhoni 22, Fernando 2-23) beat Mumbai Indians 146 for 9 (Tendulkar 48, Pollard 27, Jakati 2-27) by 22 runs
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MS Dhoni has added another feather to his captaincy hat. It was he who started the turnaround against a formidable Mumbai Indians attack, his deputy Suresh Raina capitalised on two dropped catches to score a crucial fifty, and Chennai Super Kings defended with aggression, smartness and flair to win the third IPL. Chennai were struggling at 68 for 3 after 12 overs when Dhoni got into the act: 100 runs were added in the last eight, and Raina scored 44 at a strike-rate of 200 after the first drop. The win concluded a fourth consecutive one-sided knockout in the tournament.
Ever since R Ashwin started the defence with a maiden over, Mumbai never really threatened Chennai. Sachin Tendulkar, playing with a split webbing, played his least fluent innings of the tournament, scoring a laboured 48 off 45. Mumbai tried some strange moves: promotions for Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh bombed, and even at the fall of the fifth wicket, with 69 required off 31, Kieron Pollard was not the man making his way out of the dugout.
There were no problems with tactics for Chennai: they went with the old-fashioned approach of keeping wickets in hand, never mind the slow start, and with M Vijay breaking free, had reached a perfectly acceptable 40 for no loss at the end of Powerplay. Dilhara Fernando brought Mumbai back, removing Vijay with his split-finger slower ball in the eighth over. Pollard ended Matthew Hayden's 31-ball 17-run misery, and S Badrinath holed out in the 12th over.
Dhoni left alone the first ball he faced, was beaten by a legcutter after that, was almost bowled the next ball, and worked a single to end that testing Fernando over. Mumbai can file for lack of sufficient warning for what was to come next. The first ball Dhoni faced from Pollard he charged down and hit him into the second tier - with one hand. The next ball Pollard ran in and didn't let go, stares were exchanged, and Tendulkar rushed in to apologise to the batsman: it was the second time Pollard had done this in his 2.1 overs. Dhoni's bat spoke emphatically, though, with a punch for four to end the over.
Match Meter
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Tendulkar was warned sufficiently by now: he had to bring Lasith Malinga, whose yorkers have been near perfect, back before he would have ideally liked to. Dhoni charged at him, converted one into a low full toss, and hit a boundary to extra cover.
Zaheer Khan was brought back in the next over. He produced a top edge that neither Fernando (running in from third man) nor Abhishek Nayar (running back from point) claimed. Salt was in ready supply for Zaheer's wound: out of nowhere Raina produced timing and a four and a six to take Chennai to 108 after 15 overs. In the over that followed, Pollard eked out a skier from Raina, which Zaheer dropped. The next ball Raina made room and lofted over extra cover for six. The ball after was hit to Tendulkar, and cannily they exposed his injured hand by stealing a second. And the next was slogged over midwicket for six. Mumbai needed a time-out to figure out what had hit them.
Fernando, three overs for 12 until then, bowled a poor last over to nearly double the tally. Malinga started the last over superbly: bat couldn't meet ball for the first four deliveries, and Albie Morkel was run out in panic. Then it came apart: five wides, followed by a length ball driven over extra cover, and some manic running, and they were chasing the biggest total in an IPL final.
A maiden over was not the best way to start for Mumbai, but losing Shikhar Dhawan in the second was even worse. The next 10 overs featured smart spin bowling, hustling fielders, run-out opportunities created, signs of desperation of Tendulkar, and eventually the wickets of Nayar and Harbhajan in the 12th over. With the required rate going past 12 an over, Tendulkar holed out to long-off, and Raina pulled off a blinder, running in from deep midwicket, to send back Saurabh Tiwary. To everybody's surprise, JP Duminy walked out, and by the time he walked back, he had left Mumbai 55 to get in three overs.
Pollard made a match out of this too: taking 22 runs off Bollinger's 18th over. Morkel bowled a tight 19th over, with a long-off, and a mid-off up in the circle and so straight it was almost behind him. Pollard hit a catch to him: it just highlighted which captain had got it right on the night.
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