Anderson may play IPL to earn T20 berth

After becoming the 2nd England bowler to scalp 200 wickets in both ODIs and Tests, pacer James Anderson said he might consider playing in the Indian Premier League to convince the selectors of his capabilities in the Twenty20 format.

Anderson was not part of the England squad that won the Twenty20 World Cup in 2010 and the 29-year-old pacer said he would look to perform well in the ongoing ODI series against India to earn a place in the T20 squad as well.

"My immediate priority is to play my part in winning the ODI series against India, but if I bowl well enough perhaps that will push me back into their thinking," Anderson was quoted as saying by the Daily mail.

"If not, one option might be to try to play in the Indian Premier League next spring or elsewhere, something I'm really going to have to consider."

"I'm sure the selectors know my feelings. I want to play T20 cricket for England, I'm disappointed that I'm not and it's down to me to persuade them I should be," he added.

Anderson on Saturday became only the second England bowler after Darren Gough (235) to take 200 wickets in both ODIs and Test cricket during the rain-marred first one-dayer against India at Chester-le-Street.

With the 2012 World Cup Twenty20 just a year and nine matches away for England, Anderson said he is running out of time to convince the selectors.

Dhoni given an honorary doctorate

Indian Cricket Captain MS Dhoni was awarded an honorary doctorate by De Montfort University after the conclusion of a Twenty20 cricket practice match against Leicestershire at Grace Road.



MS Dhoni was praised for his exemplary leadership quality and achievements at a ceremony here.



Dhoni has achieved many milestones as skipper of the Indian Team. His first major achievement was captaining the Indian team to victory in the Twenty20 World Cup 2007. He also captained the Indian side to victory the 2007-08 CB tri-series played in Australia. However, his crowning glory was helping India win the World Cup in 2011 after a gap of 28 years.



He holds the record for the most number of catches in an innings and the longest unbeaten run as a skipper. He also holds the award for the fastest century scored by an Indian wicket keeper. In 2008 and 2009, Dhoni was also named the ICC's ODI Cricket player of the year.



"I am amazed and honoured to receive this award. I see this award as an honour not only for me as the captain of the Indian cricket team but for the whole team to be proud of," Captain Dhoni said.



Dhoni is currently captaining the Indian team, which has been whitewashed 0-4 in the just-concluded Test series by England. Dhoni and his men will be hoping that they bounce back in the remainder of the tour. India play a T20 match against England on Wednesday followed by five ODIs.

I Support Anna Hazare

Champions League Twenty20 2011 Qualifiers Schedule

Date	Match Details	Time (IST)	Place
Sep 19 - Mon	Trinidad and Tobago v Ruhuna Rhinos	16:00	Hyderabad
Sep 19 - Mon	KKR v Auckland Aces, 2nd Match	20:00	Hyderabad
Sep 20 - Tue	Trinidad and Tobago v TBC, 3rd Match	16:00	Hyderabad
Sep 20 - Tue	TBC v Auckland Aces, 4th Match	20:00	Hyderabad
Sep 21 - Wed	TBC v Ruhuna Rhinos, 5th Match	16:00	Hyderabad
Sep 21 - Wed	KKR v TBC, 6th Match	20:00	Hyderabad

Australia in Sri Lanka 2011, Complete Series Schedule

Date	Match Details	Time (IST)	Place
Aug 06 - Sat	Sri Lanka v Australia, 1st T20I - SL won by 35 runs	19:00	Pallekele
Aug 08 - Mon	Sri Lanka v Australia, 2nd T20I	19:00	Pallekele
Aug 10 - Wed	Sri Lanka v Australia, 1st ODI	14:30	Pallekele
Aug 14 - Sun	Sri Lanka v Australia, 2nd ODI	14:30	Colombo
Aug 16 - Tue	Sri Lanka v Australia, 3rd ODI	14:30	Colombo
Aug 20 - Sat	Sri Lanka v Australia, 4th ODI	14:30	Hambantota
Aug 22 - Mon	Sri Lanka v Australia, 5th ODI	14:30	Hambantota
Aug 31 - Sep 04	Sri Lanka v Australia, 1st Test	10:00	Galle
Sep 08 - 12	Sri Lanka v Australia, 2nd Test	10:00	Pallekele
Sep 16 - 20	Sri Lanka v Australia, 3rd Test	10:00	Colombo

Sri Lanka top Players to Skip SLPL Twenty20 2011

Sri Lanka's top players will skip largest part of the matches in the Sri Lanka premier league T20, dealing another blow to the struggling event, an official said Tuesday.

Captain Tilakaratne Dilshan, Ex-captain Kumar Sangakkara and veteran Mahela Jayawardene, all-rounder Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga are among local players expected to miss most of the 10-day tournament starting Thursday.

"The players will likely choose which matches they want to play, because they are being rested for the upcoming Australian tour," Sri Lanka Cricket media manager Brian Thomas told AFP.

The Australian team arrives in Colombo on July 30 to play three Test match Series, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 games during their tour that ends on September 20.

Sri Lankan Premier league postponed to Aug 2012

The controversy ridden SLPL scheduled for August 2011 has been postponed to Aug, 2012. Sri Lanka will have a domestic T20 league this year but there will be no foreign players playing in it.

The decision follows the withdrawal of Indian players from the SLPL. The BCCI had denied its players permission to play in the league after it feared problems arising due to contract disputes. Speculations are also rife that former Indian T20 league (IPL) chairman, Lalit Modi, had a part in the SLPL but these suggestions have been strongly denied by SLC and Modi himself.

With no Indian players participating in the league there were no broadcasters for the league in India. Revenues from broadcast rights are usually a huge source of revenue and SLPL were hurt badly as they lost out on it.

The SLC committee that had created the tournament was disbanded by the country's sports ministry recently. The new SLC committee came to an agreement with the organizers, Somerset Entertainment ventures, to postpone the event to next year.