Australia secure 5-0 Ashes clean sweep

Australia bowled England out for 166 in its second innings on Sunday to win by 281 runs on the third day of the fifth Ashes to secure a 5-0 series sweep at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The 5-0 sweep was only the third in the history of Ashes encounters after Australia's 1920-21 and 2006-07 triumphs.

Earlier skipper Alastair Cook (7), Ian Bell (16) and Kevin Pietersen (6) all fell in the middle session as the beleaguered tourists limped to tea on the third day.

Cook, who has endured a miserable series with the bat, was caught behind off Mitchell Johnson for seven and was followed by Bell, who was snapped up the gully off Ryan Harris.

Pietersen was athletically caught by George Bailey close to the bat off Harris to leave hapless England at 57-3 as their top order once again failed to fire.

Cook, who scored just seven in the first innings, played tentatively at a Johnson outswinger and was caught behind in the second over of the innings to give the left-arm paceman his 35th wicket of the series.

The England skipper has scored just 246 runs at 24.60 in this series, in sharp contrast to the last tour of Australia in 2010/11, when he amassed 766 runs at 127.66.

Bell, who was impressive in last year's Ashes series in England, and Pietersen, have both averaged less than 30 in the series.

Australia were dismissed for 276 in their second innings shortly after lunch with Chris Rogers top-scoring with 119.

Rogers, who scored 116 in the second innings of the fourth Test in Melbourne, was caught and bowled by debutant leg-spinner Scott Borthwick shortly after lunch. Borthwick finished with three for 33 off six overs.

Rogers earlier shared in a fifth-wicket partnership of 109 with Bailey, who top-edged Stuart Broad to Borthwick at deep square leg for 46.

Brad Haddin became the highest-scoring Australian wicketkeeper in a Test series with his breezy 28 off 40 balls.

Haddin, the nemesis of the English bowlers in this series with his lower middle-order batting, finished the series with 493 runs at 61.62 to better the previous best of 473 held by Adam Gilchrist against South Africa in 2001-02.

The highest successful run chase at the SCG is Australia's 288 for two against South Africa eight years ago.

NZ's Anderson breaks Afridi’s fastest ODI century record

New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson cracked the fastest century in one-day international cricket history on Wednesday as New Zealand thrashed the West Indies by 159 runs in a rain-shortened third ODI.

His whirlwind performance in partnership with Jesse Ryder, who smacked the sixth fastest century of all time in that form of the game, took New Zealand to 283-4 in a match reduced to 21 overs each side.

The West Indies then wilted when faced with a daunting run rate of nearly 13.5 an over and could only manage 124-5 in reply.

The series is now all square at 1-1 with two matches to play.

Anderson -- who finished not out 131 -- took a mere 36 deliveries to reach his century, beating the previous record set by Shahid Afridi, who needed 37 balls to reach three figures playing for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in 1996.

Ryder faced 46 deliveries to reach his ton.

The burly Anderson hit 14 sixes, the third highest in an ODI innings behind Rohit Sharma (16) for India against Australia two months ago and Australia's Shane Watson (15) against Bangladesh in 2011.

“Some of the batting we saw was once in a lifetime stuff and it was great to watch,” New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum while West Indies skipper Dwayne Bravo said he was powerless to rein in the batsmen.

“It was a fantastic innings both by Anderson and Ryder. There's nothing you can do as a captain and bowler when those bats hit the ball so clean and everything goes their way.”

Anderson and Ryder put on 191 for the fourth wicket as they hammered the West Indies attack.

After the start of the game was delayed five hours because of the weather, Ryder set the tone for the New Zealand innings when he cracked a boundary from the first ball he faced.

The demise of fellow opener Martin Guptill (one) was only a matter of time.

He was all at sea against the bounce generated by Jason Holder and after surviving two caught behind appeals there was no mistake with the third.

Brendon McCullum belted 33 off 11 deliveries as New Zealand raced past 50 in just 26 balls and Ross Taylor came and went quickly for nine.

That brought Anderson to the wicket to join Ryder in a rollicking partnership for which the West Indies had no answer.

Anderson took 20 deliveries to reach his 50, passing the milestone in an over in which he hit four sixes in a merciless attack on the usually tight bowling of spinner Sunil Narine.

In a near chanceless innings he only faced 47 balls for his 131, while Ryder faced 51 balls for his 104 which included five sixes.

After New Zealand's outstanding innings, McCullum said he made sure his bowlers raced through their 21 overs to complete the game before the rain returned.

“It would have been an injustice to the innings that we saw if we hadn't got a game in the end. So it was straight out get through the overs no matter what we had to resort to.”

The West Indies reply was quickly in trouble when Johnson Charles was removed without scoring by the third ball.

Llendl Simmons (13) and Kieran Powell (one) fell cheaply to reduce the West Indies to 19-3 in the fourth over.

Captain Dwayne Bravo crafted a well-compiled 56 not out and Narsingh Deonarine added 29 as the West Indies abandoned any thought of a run chase and were reconciled to batting out time.

Corey Anderson 131 World Record Fastest ODI Century

2013 in review: Tests

The past year gave fans enough reasons to feel seWith 43 matches having taken place, 2013 was a reasonably busy year as far as Test cricket is concerned. There were continued talks of the format’s future being in jeopardy, and various ideas aimed at ensuring it continues to flourish were mooted, including trials with pink balls and day/night Test matches.
 
However, the past year gave fans enough reasons to feel secure about the future of cricket’s oldest format. There were historic occasions galore, from India’s 4-0 sweep of Australia at home at the start of the year, to the amazing turnaround the Australians experienced while regaining the coveted Ashes urn at the end of the year. The Wanderers Test between India and South Africa was a match for the ages, containing every element needed to classify it as an all-time classic.
 
Thanks in part to the back-to-back Ashes series, Australia and England played more than two-thirds of the Test matches in the year, with 14 each. Its loss against India and the 0-3 defeat in the Ashes in England, however, meant that Australia suffered the most defeats in the year, losing seven matches.
 
South Africa, who is on top of the ICC rankings for Test teams since August 2012, had a very successful year. It won seven matches, the most by any team. In second place on the rankings table and most victories in the year was India, who won six matches.
 
In total, 44,338 runs were scored from 84695 balls for 1389 wickets lost. The extras column was filled with 605 byes, 908 leg-byes, 268 wides and 244 no-balls. There were also 5051 fours and 330 sixes hit, an average of more than 117 fours and 7 sixes per Test match.  
 
On the individual front, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Michael Clarke were the men who led the ICC Test Batting Rankings. The bowling chart was headed by Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander, while Jacques Kallis, who retired at the end of the year, Shakib Al Hasan and R Ashwin topped the ICC Test All-Rounder Rankings. A total of 89 centuries, 193 fifties and 172 ducks were scored.cure about the future of cricket’s oldest format 

2013 in review: ODIs

India dominated the scene in the Men's game while West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor topped the batting, bowling and allrounder charts in the Women's game.

A young brigade leading India to glory in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 and Pakistan’s series victory on South African soil were just a few of the highlights in One-Day Internationals in 2013. And though the crowds didn't mind playing conditions becoming overtly batsmen-friendly, as demonstrated by the run-feast during the India-Australia series in October-November 2013, a few bowlers might have been left scarred.

India and Pakistan were the busiest, playing 34 matches each out of the 136 ODIs in the year. India validated its position atop the ODI rankings table, with 22 victories to its name in 32 completed matches, followed by Pakistan who won 16 but also lost as many, the most by any team.

There were 59,437 runs scored in 69,684 balls for the loss of 1,939 wickets, at an average of almost 256 runs in a 50-over innings. The extras column contained 267 byes, 1,119 leg-byes, 1,991 wides and 147 no-balls. A total of 5,232 fours and 958 sixes were hit, at an average of more than 38 fours and seven sixes per game.

On the individual front, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli were the men who topped the batting charts. The ICC ODI Allrounder Rankings were topped by Mohammad Hafeez, while Saeed Ajmal topped the bowlers rankings. A total of 77 centuries, 279 fifties and 223 ducks were registered.

2013 was also a busy year for women’s cricket. A total of 56 Women’s ODIs were played. West Indies Women played 21 matches, the most by any team. However, it was also the least successful team, losing nine of those matches. England Women was the most successful team, registering 11 wins.

A total of 19,160 runs were scored off 28,518 balls for the loss of 835 wickets. The extras column contained 104 byes, 286 leg-byes, 977 wides and 75 no-balls. The fours tally was 1910, while the number of sixes stood at 104.

West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor displayed her dominance in the women’s circuit by topping the batting, bowling and allrounder charts. Mithali Raj (India), Sarah Taylor (England), Suzie Bates (New Zealand) and Charlotte Edwards (England) were the other women who topped the batting rankings, while England’s Katherine Brunt topped the bowler’s table.

A total of 17 centuries, 71 fifties and 110 ducks were scored.

2013 in review: T20

Shane Watson sat atop the all-rounder's rankings all year, while Aaron Finch's 156 against England at Southampton was the only century scored.

Twenty20 cricket may be a purist’s nightmare, but despite everything, the format’s thriving and getting bigger and bigger internationally.

In all, 53 T20 Internationals were played in 2013. Pakistan and Kenya were the most involved, playing 12 matches each. However, Pakistan won eight of those to end 2013 as the most successful team in the format, while Kenya’s six losses made it the least successful.  

A total of 15,437 runs were scored in 11,958 balls for the loss of 650 wickets, at an average of almost 155 runs per innings. The extras were made up of 73 byes, 297 leg byes, 454 wides and 48 no-balls. The fours tally stood at 1283, while the sixes added up to 474, an average of more than 24 boundaries and almost nine sixes per match.

Shane Watson, Brendon McCullum and Alex Hales topped the ICC T20 batting rankings. Saeed Ajmal and Sunil Narine topped the bowlers’ charts, while Watson sat atop the all-rounder’s rankings all year.

Aaron Finch’s spectacular 156 off 63 balls against England at Southampton in August was the only century, while 61 fifties and 76 ducks were scored.

On the women’s front, 37 matches took place, with West Indies playing the most – 21. It also won the most number of matches, with nine victories. Sri Lanka’s six defeats were the highest for any team.

A total of 8015 runs were scored off 8417 balls for the loss of 428 wickets. The extras contained 59 byes, 112 leg byes, 294 wides and 19 no-balls.

The tally of fours and sixes stood at 626 and 63 respectively. Seventeen fifties and 59 ducks were registered. tury scored

Pakistan v Sri Lanka Test Series - 1st Test Score card

Sri Lanka 204

Pakistan 46/1 (18.1 ov)

Pakistan trail by 158 runs with 9 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

Stumps - Day 1

• Pakistan v Sri Lanka Test Series - 1st Test
• 
  

	Sri Lanka 1st innings		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	FDM Karunaratne	c Asad Shafiq b Junaid Khan	38	62	5	0	61.29
	JK Silva	c Mohammad Hafeez b Bilawal Bhatti	20	81	2	0	24.69
	KC Sangakkara	c Ahmed Shehzad b Junaid Khan	16	32	1	0	50.00
	DPMD Jayawardene	c †Adnan Akmal b Bilawal Bhatti	5	8	1	0	62.50
	LD Chandimal	c Mohammad Hafeez b Bilawal Bhatti	0	2	0	0	0.00
	AD Mathews*	st †Adnan Akmal b Saeed Ajmal	91	127	15	0	71.65
	HAPW Jayawardene†	c †Adnan Akmal b Junaid Khan	5	14	1	0	35.71
	SMSM Senanayake	c †Adnan Akmal b Junaid Khan	5	15	1	0	33.33
	HMRKB Herath	b Junaid Khan	0	1	0	0	0.00
	RMS Eranga	c †Adnan Akmal b Saeed Ajmal	14	44	2	0	31.81
	RAS Lakmal	not out	1	5	0	0	20.00
	Extras	(b 4, lb 4, nb 1)	9
	Total	(all out; 65 overs)	204	(3.13 runs per over)

Fall of wickets 1-57 (Karunaratne, 19.3 ov), 2-67 (Silva, 26.4 ov), 3-76 (DPMD Jayawardene, 28.2 ov),4-76 (Chandimal, 28.4 ov), 5-82 (Sangakkara, 31.6 ov), 6-104 (HAPW Jayawardene, 35.5 ov), 7-124 (Senanayake, 39.2 ov),8-124 (Herath, 39.3 ov),  9-185 (Eranga, 58.3 ov), 10-204 (Mathews, 64.6 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	Junaid Khan	20	4	58	5	2.90
	Rahat Ali	16	3	41	0	2.56
	Bilawal Bhatti	15	1	65	3	4.33	(1nb)
	Saeed Ajmal	14	3	32	2	2.28

	Pakistan 1st innings		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	Khurram Manzoor	run out (Mathews/†HAPW Jayawardene)	21	57	4	0	36.84
	Ahmed Shehzad	not out	25	52	3	0	48.07
	Extras		0
	Total	(1 wicket; 18.1 overs)	46	(2.53 runs per over)

To bat Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq*, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal†, Bilawal Bhatti, Rahat Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan

Fall of wickets 1-46 (Khurram Manzoor, 18.1 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	RAS Lakmal	7	2	17	0	2.42
	AD Mathews	1	0	6	0	6.00
	RMS Eranga	5	1	18	0	3.60
	HMRKB Herath	5	3	5	0	1.00
	SMSM Senanayake	0.1	0	0	0	0.00

Match details

Toss Pakistan, who chose to field

Test debuts Ahmed Shehzad and Bilawal Bhatti (Pakistan); SMSM Senanayake (Sri Lanka) Player of the match tba

Umpires RA Kettleborough (England) and BNJ Oxenford (Australia) TV umpire S Ravi (India) Match referee J Srinath (India) Reserve umpire Shozab Raza (Pakistan)

Close of play - day 1 - Pakistan 1st innings 46/1 (Ahmed Shehzad 25*, 18.1 ov)