Flintoff's absence not great news for CSK

There is no question about the fact that the absence of Andrew Flintoff will hurt Chennai Super King's chances of repeating their IPL success when they compete at this year's Champions League in South Africa.

Freddie has had two operations in the last twelve months and will be out of action for the entire 2010 season.

Although Flintoff missed this year's IPL action his presence would have been priceless for CSK's campaign since he was a part of their squad that competed in IPL 2 in South Africa.

Flintoff is one player who is equally effective in all three forms of the game. He is deadly with the ball, powerful with the bat and dynamic in the field.

He has the ability to turn a Test match on its head within a span of minutes so the Twenty 20 format would have suited him perfectly as the entire contest is over in just over three hours.

Freddie who has had reasonable success in South Africa would have been an important cog in the CSK wheel. His teammates especially from the sub continent might struggle to cope with the pace and bounce of the pitches prepared for theChampions League. He would have been more than handy with the ball since he has the ability to swing it both ways.

Playing in his last Test series in England's Ashes winning campaign in 2009, Flintoff affected a brilliant run out of Ricky Ponting when Australia were going great guns in chasing down a winning target of 546.

Flintoff has been out of action since then and will be sorely missed this year not only by Super Kings but also by the English team who might have to do without his services in the one day series in Australia early next year.

England win by nine wickets, lead series 2-0

England beat Pakistan by nine wickets in the second Test at Edgbaston on Monday, overhauling a target of 118 with a minimum of fuss in the afternoon session of the fourth day.

Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott were both unbeaten on 53 as England finished on 118-1 after 36.3 overs to take a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

Mohammad Aamer (1-31) was the only Pakistan bowler to take a wicket, bowling the struggling Alastair Cook for four early in the England chase to briefly ignite Pakistan's hopes.

Earlier, Pakistan was bowled out for 296 after it began the day on 291-9.

The tourists mounted a dramatic comeback on Sunday when they recovered from 82-5, inspired by 88 from Zulqarnain Haider and 50 from Saeed Ajmal.

Pakistan's last five batsmen contributed 214 runs, but the overnight pair of Mohammad Asif (14) and Umar Gul (13 not out) added just five during Monday's morning session.

The innings ended after the 11th ball of the day, when Asif was caught at gully by Kevin Pietersen off Stuart Broad, who finished with figures of 2-66.

Graeme Swann was England's leading bowler, with Test-best figures of 6-65.

There was an electrifying start to England's chase, when Aamer ripped out Cook's stumps with the 16th ball of the innings.

Pakistan's bowlers repeatedly passed the edge and in the eighth over, Strauss nicked a ball from spinner Ajmal behind, but Haider spilled a difficult chance.

However, Strauss and Trott gradually played themselves in, reaching 71-1 at lunch.

Strauss had another escape in the second over of the afternoon session, the 25th, when Ajmal again found his edge, only for the ball to fly off the tip of Haider's glove.

Pakistan's final chance vanished in the 32nd over, when Strauss charged down the wicket to Shoaib Malik, but his miscued slog just eluded Asif at mid-off.

Strauss reached his 50 from 108 balls with three off Ajmal in the 35th over, after a misfield.

In the next over, Trott drove Malik through the covers to bring up his 50, off 100 balls, and Strauss hit the winning run five balls later with a single from Ajmal to fine leg.

Strauss glad after hard-earned victory

England may have beaten Pakistan by nine wickets to win the second Test with more than a day to spare but home captain Andrew Strauss insisted the result didn't tell the story of the match.

Pakistan were bowled out for 72 -- their lowest total against England -- in the first innings as their batsmen once more struggled to cope with the swing generated by the hosts' fast bowlers in, helpful overcast conditions.

But when the skies brightened in their second innings, Pakistam made 296 with debutant wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider scoring 88 and Saeed Ajmal a Test-best 50 as they added 115 for the eighth wicket.

England were left with a potentially tricky 118 for victory. But yet more fallible Pakistan fielding - they dropped three catches to go with the seven they missed first time around - helped England go 2-0 up in this four-match series as both Strauss amd Jonathan Trott finished on 53 not out.

"This was a timely reminder you do have to work hard for a Test match," said Strauss. England off-spinner Graeme Swann was named man-of-the-match after taking a Test-best six wickets for 65 runs in Pakistan's second innings and Strauss said: "He was outstanding on Sunday.

"We were relying on him and he came to the party yet again. With his spinning there are not many better out there." England's first innings 251 saw something of a return to form for batsman Kevin Pietersen who top-scored with 80.

"Batting that second day was very tough, the innings that he played made a massive difference in the context of the game," Strauss said. However, one concern for England emerging out of this match was the form of Strauss's fellow left-handed opener Alastair Cook, who has now gone seven Test innings without getting to 30.

"I know he's a quality player," Strauss said. "I know these first two Test matches the wicket hasn't been great. He's achieved a huge amount in his career and he will continue to do so."

Pakistan captain Salman Butt, who confirmed paceman Umar Gul would miss the remaining two Tests of this series after suffering a hamstring injury here on Sunday, praised the performance of England swing specialist James Anderson.

The swing specialist took four for 20 in Pakistan's first innings and Butt said: "I think the English bowlers bowled really well on the day. I think Anderson is in the form of his life."

Butt also defended Pakistan's decision not to play Mohammad Yousuf after the former captain and experienced batsman, called up after the 354-run first Test defeat at Trent Bridge, only arrived in England the day before this match.

"The last 15 days there has been very heavy rain fall in Lahore and he didn't have a chance to practise," Butt said. "It would have been difficult to put him in and expect a lot from him."

Broad fined for throwing ball at Haider

England's Stuart Broad has been fined 50 percent of his match fee for throwing the ball at Zulqarnain Haider during the ongoing second Test against Pakistan, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced Monday.

Broad petulantly hurled the ball at Test debutant Zulqarnain, then on 22, at the end of the 63rd over on the third day at Edgbaston here on Sunday and hit Pakistan's wicketkeeper, who had not moved from his position, on the shoulder.

The 24-year-old Broad pleaded guilty to a charge brought by the match umpires which relates to "throwing the ball at or near a player, umpire or official in an inappropriate/and or dangerous manner".

Broad's guilty plea meant there was no need for Sri Lankan match referee Ranjan Madugalle to hold a full hearing after stumps on Sunday.

"The actions of Stuart Broad were unacceptable," Madugalle said in an ICC statement issued Monday.

"I understand the frustrations of a bowler in the heat of the moment but as an international sportsman one needs to control these emotions whatever may be the situation and always respect the opponent.

"Stuart, by pleading guilty, realised his mistake and I'm sure he will not repeat the same again."

Tri-series: Dambulla not an ideal ODI venue

After a Test series that proved to be a harvesting season for records, India and Sri Lanka have finally settled their duffel bags in the picturesque Dambulla, where the teams have nailed in tents to stay for the duration of the ODI tournament, with New Zealand completing its triangular nature.

The culture-rich Sri Lankan city first welcomed cricket to its shores in the year 2000, after the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium – Sri Lanka's newest – was completed in just 167 days. But since its inception, the venue has been at the heart of controversies, ranging from the lease agreement of the stadium's site to an undue advantage to the side winning the toss.

The toss – as we saw in the Asia Cup in June – had a decisive bearing on the match and the skipper winning it invariably chose to bat first on two counts: the quality of floodlights and the flattering bowling conditions in the evening.

The floodlights at Dambulla have historically come in for some criticism due to their low intensity and the area's high water table and heavy sweating amplify swing for the faster-men in the evening. That leaves no choice for the captains than to bat first after winning the toss and give both their batsmen and bowlers a chance to excel under natural and artificial lights respectively.

In the recently concluded Asia Cup – which had seven matches in all – the skipper winning the toss chose to bat first on six occasions and won on four of those. It was especially tough on Sri Lanka who won every match until the

final, where Sangakkara first lost the toss to Dhoni and then the match.

The unfair advantage that winning the toss brings for a team was laid bare in that match by the Indian pacers who reduced Sri Lanka to 51/5, chasing 268. That, though, takes nothing away from the fact that batsmen and bowlers still have to play the right shots and bowl in the right areas to get the desired results. But such compromising conditions make sighting the ball difficult for every player, including the fielders.

At a time when ODI cricket is looking for a window of an opportunity to rub shoulders with its rival T20, the limited-over format can least afford a situation where 50 per cent of the match is won at the spin of a coin.

Tri-series: India, NZ missing key players

Both India and New Zealand will want to fill in the blanks left by the absence of key players as they get ready to lock horns in the opening game of the tri-series that gets underway in Dambulla on Tuesday.

While the Indians will be without the services of Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan, the Kiwis will have to come to terms with the loss of captain Daniel Vettori, wicketkeeper batsman Brendon Mc Cullum and opener Jesse Ryder. The retirement of speedster Shane Bond from international cricket will also leave a gaping hole in the New Zealand pace attack.

While Vettori and McCullum are awaiting the arrival of their respective newborns, Ryder still will have to sit out because of an elbow injury which he followed up with another drunken episode.

Team India are fielding fresh blood for this tournament and will be hoping that unlike the Zimbabwe tour earlier this year, the senior players are not missed this time around.

Abhimanyu Mithun who impressed with both bat and ball in the recently concluded Test series will be hoping to make the transition in the shorter form of the game as well. Chennai Kings off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and hard-hitting batsman Saurabh Tiwary of the Mumbai Indians will want to carry on their good work from the IPL 2010 season and perform creditably in the big arena.

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and vice captain Virender Sehwag will have to lead by example and take the responsibility of shepharding the troops. Yuvraj Singh will be looking to prove a point or two and Ishant Sharma will be hoping to make a memorable comeback after being in the wilderness for quite some time now.

While all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will look for a change of fortune, middle order batsman Rohit Sharma will have to come up with the right attitude.

The New Zealanders, who have always relied on collective team effort rather than individual brilliance, can be expected to fight to the finish as always. All-rounders Jacob Oram and Scott Styris, fast medium bowler Kyle Mills and Ross Taylor, who will be captaining the side, will be the players to watch out for.

There is very little to choose between the two teams when it comes to head to head battles in Sri Lanka. Both have won two matches each, the last one going in favour of the Indians at the Premadasa stadium in Colombo about a year ago just before the 2009 Champions Trophy.

Overall in the 50-over format, the Indians hold a slight edge as they have won 40 while the Kiwis have come up trumps on 36 occassions.

However, India have won the four of their last six encounters last year with one match ending without a result. Having said that past records count for very little and both India and New Zealand will want to get off to a winning start when they clash yet again in another one-day international.