Bad boy Jesse Ryder in critical condition with a fractured skull

New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder is reported to be in coma after being brutally assaulted by some unidentified persons on Thursday night. Ryder was admitted to Christchurch Hospital in the wee hours today having suffered multiple injuries including a fractured skull.

Bad boy Jesse Ryder in critical condition with a fractured skull 

According to details; the 28-year-old Ryder was involved in a brawl with up to three persons outside Aikmans bar in the suburb of Christchurch shortly after 12.30am local time. He was then battered by one of the group who followed him towards the car park of a nearby McDonald's.

"The hospital advise that Jesse is in a critical condition," Detective Senior Sergeant Brian Archer said. "He is in an induced coma as a result of suffering multiple injuries.

"It was an initial incident involving at least two to three people. As Jesse has gone towards the car park at McDonald's he's been followed by two of the three people, we believe, and one of those two has assaulted Jesse."

A witness to the assaults told New Zealand's One News that she could hear the impact of the blows from inside the bar.

"As soon as the fight started there were probably four or five guys that ran out to pull them off him and hold them back while he stumbled off over the road," the witness said.

He is also suffering from a punctured lung and internal bleeding while being treated in intensive care at a Christchurch hospital.

The tragic incident happened just days before the talented Ryder, a hard-hitting batsman who has played 18 Tests, 39 ODI’s and 20 Twenty20’s was to take up a lucrative Indian Premier League contract and due to fly to India to join Delhi Daredevils.

Report Tags: New Zealand, Jesse Ryder, Jesse Ryder in Critical Condition, Jesse Ryder Fractured Skull, Cricket, Jesse Ryder in coma, New Zealand's Jesse Ryder, New Zealand Batsman Jesse Ryder

South Africa Vs. Pakistan (Live Streaming/Updates): Spirited Pakistan vows to give tough time to hosts

Spirited Pakistan is ready to take on Proteas in the first of 5-match ODI series today at Chevrolet Park on a high note after winning the Twenty20 series convincingly under the captaincy of Muhammad Hafeez.

South Africa Vs. Pakistan (Live Streaming): Spirited Pakistan vows to give tough time to hosts

The ODI series is equally important for Pakistan and South Africa to improve their ranking in 50-over version of the game. Right now the Proteas have slipped to fourth place in the rankings, while Pakistan are sixth on a tightly-bunched table.

Since Gary Kirsten took over as South African coach in June 2011 their Test team has stood high persistently to the top of the International Cricket Council rankings. The performances of the one-day side, though, have been patchy a bit. Therefore, Proteas will not let the chance go to better their position after this series and they can earn a top spot if they managed to clean-sweep the series.

Gary Kirsten, the present coach of South Africa, said his team could play as many as 20 One-Day Internationals (ODI) before their next Test series, against Pakistan in the UAE in October and November.

“It’s nice to have an extended period of ODIs,” he said. “This is an important period for the ODI team.”

Of immediate concern for South Africa is the ICC Champions Trophy in England in June, the team's next major engagement after the Pakistan series.

The country's consistent failure to win big tournaments is one of the issues that Kirsten has pledged to address.

Although South Africa have a less than stellar one-day record of 10 wins and eight losses under Kirsten, the coach is not over-concerned because the international schedule has dictated an emphasis on five-day cricket.

"We have had a lot of Test cricket," he said.

Nor was he concerned about a lop-sided 95-run defeat in a Twenty20 international at Centurion last Sunday, which he dismissed as a "one-off" game, irrelevant to the one-day challenge.

South Africa were beaten 2-1 at home by New Zealand in their most recent one-day series after winning both Tests against the Black Caps by an innings.

Pakistan shape up as a bigger threat with players such as Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers, Kamran and Umar -- all of whom missed their side's recent 3-0 Test series defeat -- adding experience and skill to the squad.

The Pakistanis seem to have most of their bases covered, with a mix of quick-scoring batsmen and a well-balanced bowling attack, while the fielding in the Twenty20 match was of a high standard.

South Africa, though, are likely to be a more organised team than that which lost to New Zealand -- and a great deal stronger than the T20 side -- with stars such as Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Test captain Graeme Smith returning to the squad.

Steyn will be rested for the first match, though, and Morkel is doubtful because of a hamstring injury.

Leading all-rounder Jacques Kallis will not be in action as he is being rested as part of a programme to extend the career of the 37-year-old.

Probable squads:

Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wkt), Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Imran Farhat, Abdur Rehman.

South Africa: AB de Villiers (captain/wkt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

For live score updates: espncricinfo

For live streaming: extracover

Report Tags: 

Cricket, Gary Kirsten, ODI Series, Pakistan v South Africa, Cricket Live, Pak v SA score updates, Cricket Match Preview, Muhammad Hafeez, Chevrolet Park

Video Highlights: Marlon Samuels Explosive Knock in World T20 Final

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (Sun, Oct. 07) - The star of the show was none other than Marlon Samuels when West Indies came back strongly with the bat, thrashing the dreams of Sri Lanka to be World T20 champions in 2012. 

West Indies' skipper Darren Sammy Excited with the WT20 Trophy

Windies were 32 for 2 after ten overs, and then they managed to score 105 in the last ten with an average of smashing 10.5 per over courtesy to Marlon Samuels. Marlon Samuels played one of the great innings.

Marlon Samuels seems to be the sole contender of man of the match with his all round performance.

He scored 78 runs off 56 balls with the help of three boundaries and six huge sixes and five of them were off Lasith Malinga, the prime bowler for Sri Lanka in almost every format of the game.

Samuels also bowled superbly and grabbed a wicket for just 15 runs in his four overs. Sunil Narine picked up 3, while skipper Darren Sammy claimed two wickets.

Watch the explosive innings of Marlon Samuels below:

Marlon Samuels: Star of the Show, as West Indies Beat Sri Lanka in ICC World T20 Final

Colombo, Sri Lanka (Sun, Oct. 07) - West Indies won the ICC World Twenty20 beating the hosts and favorites Sri Lanka by 36 runs in a real thriller just minutes before here at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

Marlon Samuels: Star of the Show, as West Indies Beat Sri Lanka by 36 Runs

Sri Lanka all out for just 101 in 18.4 overs. They were chasing just 137 set by West Indies batting first after winning the toss.

West Indies came back strongly first with the bat and then with the ball, thrashing the dreams of Sri Lanka to be World T20 champions in 2012. They were 32 for 2 after ten overs, and then scored 105 in the last ten. Marlon Samuels played one of the great innings.

Marlon Samuels seems to be the sole contender of man of the match with his all round performance. He scored 78 runs off 56 balls with the help of three boundaries and six huge sixes and most of them were off Lasith Maling, the prime bowler for Sri Lanka.

Samuels also bowled superbly and grabbed a wicket for just 15 runs in his four overs. Sunil Narine picked up 3, while skipper Darren Sammy claimed two wickets.

Thirty years since West Indies last played a world cup final, their best batsman gets out inside the power play, thier run rate was 3 after 10 overs yet Samuels manage 78 of 56. Hats off to Samules. This will surely be one of the best T20 innings.

Pollard and Gayle and the rest of them are still dancing on the outfield. It's all gangnam, it's been their mojo this tournament.

The player of the tournament is Shane Watson for 249 runs, 11 wickets, countless sixes, four Man of the Match awards. He is just brilliant.

Report Tags:

Cricket, West Indies, Marlon Samuels, Chris Gayle, Sri Lanka, World T20, T20 world Cup

Australia held nerves to win Women's World Twenty20

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (Sun, Oct. 07) - Australia successfully defended the title of Women's World Twenty20 Champions beating favorites England by 4 runs today here at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

Australia held nerves to win Women's World Twenty20

Australia held their nerves in the last moments of the match, when England were pretty close to get the target of 143.

Unfortunately this is only the second game England have lost all year, but it happens to be the World Cup final.

Ealier, after being invited to bat first on a dry pitch, the reigning title holder made 142/4 from its 20 overs.

JE Cameron was named player of the match for her brilliant knock of 45 runs off just 34 balls, hitting 5 boundaries and the only six from Australia.

Later on the day; Sri Lanka will face West Indies in the ICC World T20 final on the same venue.

Suresh Raina and his 'shameless' tweet about Pakistan -- Who to blame?

The blame of Suresh Raina's insulting tweet about Pakistan cricket team - "Ek do din late gaye ghar !!!! Woh bhi besharam ki tarah Gaye... Bye bye Pakistan!!!!" - was ultimately put on his own nephew, reported by Hindustan Times.

Suresh Raina and his 'shameless' tweet about Pakistan

Raina tweeted to degrade Pakistan immediately after Pakistan team was beaten by Sri Lanka in the first semi-final of the ongoing ICC World Twenty20 on Thursday (October 04).

This offensive tweet, shown above, was deleted shortly after it was condemned widely on micro-blogging site Twitter. Ultimately Raina has to come up the next day with a clarification and put the blame on his nephew. He tweeted: "Smart phones r dangerous. Discovered it last night after my nephew posted random tweets. I'm a sportsman and would never disrespect."

"Though I already deleted it, I felt its better to clarify. To all those who r upset, I'm sorry. I'm not one to show disrespect," he further tweeted.

Meanwhile, Raina’s nephew has found an unexpected support likes of Ajit Pawar, who voiced his anger at Raina. “All uncles are like this. They want their nephews to take cop all the blame for their own doing. Let Raina take the blame for the tweet. Why blame it on his nephew?”

Raj Thackeray, too, agreed with Ajit Pawar. “It’s unfortunate to be a nephew in today’s world!”

Report Tags:

Suresh Raina, Suresh Raina Tweet, Suresh Raina Insulting Tweet, Cricket, India, Pakistan, Raina's Nephew, Suresh Raina's Nephew

SOURCE:

Hindustan Times

Video Highlights: Chris Gayle's Gangnam Style Dance after WI beat Aus by 74 runs

Explosive West Indian batsman Chris Gayle not only performed with the bat, but also amused his team mates and cricket fans with his unique "Gangnam Style" dance after his team reaches in maiden final of ICC World Twenty20 the other night, beating mighty Australian by a huge margin of 74 runs.

Chris Gayle's Gangnam Style Dance after WI beat Aus by 74 runs

West Indies will now meet unbeaten hosts Sri Lanka tomorrow (SUNDAY).

The brutal left-hander Chris Gayle smashed a blistering unbeaten 75 off just 41 balls and played a key role in a crushing 74-run victory over a listless Australia at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday. Gayle hit five fours and half a dozen of towering sixes as West Indies made a mockery of Aussie attack.

Throughout the ongoing tournament Gayle has been doing his own version of a wacky dance from worldwide sensation for South Korean musician Park Jae-Sang.

Last night Gayle used it to celebrate in his own unique style.

Chris Gayle's Gangnam Style Dance after WI beat Aus by 74 runs

“It just happens, to be honest, it wasn't really planned,” Gayle said after last night’s victory.

“That's me, it depends what type of mood I'm in. I'll just do something crazy and it's a good dance, everyone enjoys it.”

Opting to bat earlier, Gayle literally butchered the Australian bowlers with a 41-ball 75-run innings as West Indies notched up 205 for four, which incidentally is the highest total of this edition.

The Caribbean team then returned to skittle out Australia for a paltry 131 with 3.2 overs to spare to set up a summit clash with Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Australian skipper George Bailey did put up a fight with a 29-ball 63, which was laced with six fours and four sixes but he was let down by the other batsmen, who returned to the pavilion without much to show.

Leg-break bowler Samuel Badree (2/27) removed openers David Warner (1) and Shane Watson (7) in his first three overs, while Marlon Samuels got rid of Mike Hussey (18) as Australia were tottering at 42 for three after the six overs of Powerplay ended.

Ravi Rampaul then removed Cameron White (5) and David Hussey (0) within a space of three deliveries to make it 42 for five.

On a strip where Gayle and Co made batting look easy, the Australians were all at sea. Both Watson and Warner tried to play shots which can't be played when the ball keeps low while Mike Hussey was consumed by the slowness of the track.

David Hussey was rusty and others simply didn't have it in them to put up a fight.

Earlier, Gayle hit five fours and half a dozen of towering sixes as West Indies made a mockery of Aussie attack.

Marlon Samuels with 26, Dwayne Bravo with a 31-ball-37 and last but not the least Kieron Pollard (38, 15 balls, 3x4, 3x6) also matched Gayle stroke for stroke to help West Indies cross the 200-mark.

Left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty, who had looked unplayable on the same track during Super Eights, was hammered for 48 runs in his three overs including 25 from the final one which had four sixes. Half of the 14 sixes in West Indies innings were hit off Doherty's bowling.

Teams have often complained about the Premadasa track and difficulty in stroke-making but Gayle showed that if you have brute power, then nature of pitches become irrelevant.

The decision to promote Marlon Samuels up the order also partially paid off as he didn't take much time to settle down before he started tonking the bowlers.

Samuels during his brief stay smashed 26 off 20 balls including a six each off left-arm spin duo of Doherty and Brad Hogg. He was deceived by a slower delivery from Pat Cummins, which send him back to the dug-out.

Gayle-Samuels had put on 41 runs in only 4.3 overs in which Samuels was the dominant partner.

Gayle, on the otherhand, hit his first six off Shane Watson over long-off and the second one came off Doherty's bowling as it went sailing into the deep mid-wicket stand.

The third six off Doherty was another straight one but the standout one certainly was the fourth six hit of David Hussey's bowling. The ball just soared into the upper tier in the deep mid-wicket region.

Bravo, on the otherhand, had settled down nicely as he first chanced his arms against Watson hitting over long on boundary and then pulled a short one from Hogg over mid-wicket region for another six. The 100 came up in the 12.5 overs and the 50 partnership off 35 balls.

The big-bodied Jamaican completed his third half century of the tournament of 29 deliveries when he hit a boundary off David Hussey.

Bravo lifted Cummins for his third six but perished immediately when he failed to get elevation of a fuller delivery from the bowler and was caught at the edge of the 30-yard circle.

Gayle-Bravo conjured 83 runs in less than nine overs but more importantly nullified the two left-arm spinners attacking them with great gutso. When Bravo was out, West Indies had reached 140 and a commendable total was just there in sight.

Watch dance part of Caribbeans:

Watch highlights of the match:

 

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/wi-vs-aus-semifinal-world-t20/1/223570.html

Report Tags:

Cricket, West Indies, Australia, ICC World T20, T20 World Cup, T20 Semi-final, Gangnam Dance, Chris Gayle, Gangnam Style Dance, Highlights,