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US$ 5 million up for grabs in ICC CWC

When the battle for supremacy in this year's ICC Cricket World Cup begins later today in the Caribbean, the 16 Participating Nations will be playing for some high stakes.

A total of US$5 million in prize money will be up for grabs; the 2007 champions claiming almost half of that, with a winners' cheque of US$2.24 million to be awarded to the team which prevails in the Final at Kensington Oval in Barbados on April 28.

The runners-up will also be rewarded handsomely, receiving a purse of US$1 million for their second-place finish. In addition, the losing semi-finalists will each pocket US$450,000 while the teams ending the tournament in fifth to eighth position – determined by the outcome of the Super 8 phase of the Event – will win the following sums respectively: US$200,000; US$150,000; US$100,000 and US$50,000.

During the 24 Group Stage games – which start today with the hosts, West Indies, opposing Pakistan at Sabina Park in Jamaica – the victorious team in each match will receive US$10,000 while the losers get US$5,000.

Meanwhile, all Man-of-the-Match winners, as well as the prestigious Man-of-the-Tournament player, will be presented with exclusively-designed crystal ware. ICC CWC 2007 champions and runners-up will also receive gold and silver medallions respectively.

Lara interview: I am quietly confident

By Ali Martin

Legendary batsman Brian Lara is a man on a mission — to bow out of one-day international cricket by lifting the ICC Cricket World Cup.

At 37, the West Indies captain knows the tournament represents one of his last bids for silverware and he is quietly confident that the hosts have a great chance.

With over 10,000 runs in one-day cricket, as well as holding the worl-record score in Test cricket, Lara is one of the greatest players of his generation and the script seems set for something special. 

We caught up with him before the long-awaited tournament to discuss the Aussies, the honour of captaining the home nation and the inevitable invasion by the Barmy Army.

Q: Can anyone stop Australia lifting the trophy?
Teams can challenge them and much will depend on the momentum built up by sides going into the semi-finals.

I think we can safely say Australia will reach that stage but the other three teams, by that stage, should have good momentum.

Australia have 10 or 11 match winners. To compete with them, you can't be dependent on one or two players, you have to be performing throughout the team.

Q: Do you feel a pressure as the leading West Indian batsman?
I wouldn't say I'm the leading light in the one-day side — that accolade could go to a few players, so it takes the pressure off.

For example, Chris Gayle was named man of the tournament in the recent ICC Trophy. To win a World Cup we must all come to the party.

Q: Who are the dark horses of the tournament?
Pakistan will be unpredictable and very dangerous, but for me a lot of people are sidetracking England after a poor few years in one-day cricket.

But they do have some world-class players and if they pick up some momentum and go into the Super Eight feeling good about themselves, then they could be a title contender.

Q: And when it comes to the players?

Well Kevin Pietersen is an exciting guy and is already one of the best in the world. Ed Joyce looks technically very sound and Monty Panesar is looking the real deal.

But of course Andrew Flintoff is the trump card. If he has a good World Cup, then England should do too.

Q: What will be a good first-innings score this ICC Cricket World Cup?
I think a good score is above 275 in the West Indies — they have small outfields and if there are some better pitches, we could see some above 300.

We may see 400 plus against the minnows — but against the better attacks, I don't think so.

Q: How much will home advantage help the West Indies?
The host nations haven't had the best World Cups to date but the Caribbean is a bit special and the pitches aren't belters, they'll be tricky to bat on and that gives us some advantage.

Q: How big an honour will it be captaining the West Indies as the host nation of the ICC Cricket World Cup?
It's going to be a special occasion for myself and every single player in my side will feel the same.

As someone who's been around for a while, to pull the curtains on my one-day career in the West Indies as captain and the possibility of lifting a trophy will be a momentous occasion.

Is victory the next part of the script? I wouldn't say that, but I'm quietly confident we can have a good World Cup.

Q: What kind of a reception can the Barmy Army expect?
It's going to be a great experience for everyone who comes.

There's a buzz around people at home and it's a great opportunity to showcase their islands.

The Barmy Army will be a hit in the Caribbean. St Lucia is where they will be based and that island will take to them I'm sure — and vice versa.

www.thesun.co.uk

Top 10 batsmen of the ICC Cricket World Cups

By Tushar Trivedi

Vivian Richards, Aravinda de Silva and Ricky Ponting each have had the distinction of scoring a century in the final of an ICC Cricket World Cup and making that a title-winning effort. That is something the batsman who heads this list has yet to do.

Richards, who has left a great impact on the tournament, scored a masterly unbeaten 138 that enabled the West Indies to reach 288 in the 1979 final at Lord's. They beat England, who could muster only 194.

Richards (63.31) tops the averages for the ICC Cricket World Cup, though Sachin Tendulkar heads the list of top batsmen with his 1732 runs in 32 innings. Tendulkar has the second highest average (over 59) and shares the most number of centuries (four) with Mark Waugh.

Among current players, Ricky Ponting is closest to Tendulkar with 998 runs in ICC Cricket World Cup tournaments. In the last final, his 140 helped Australia post 359 to beat India.

Tendulkar has an excellent chance of going past 2000 runs in this year's tournament given his record.

Players	For	Runs	M	Inn	NO	HS	Ave	100s	50s	0s	90s
Sachin Tendulkar	Ind	1732	33	32	3	152	59.72	4	12	1	3
Javed Miandad	Pak	1083	33	30	5	103	43.32	1	8	2	0
Aravinda de Silva	SL	1064	35	32	3	145	36.69	2	6	2	2
Vivian Richards	WI	1013	23	21	5	181	63.31	3	5	0	1
Mark Waugh	Aus	1004	22	22	3	130	52.84	4	4	2	0
Ricky Ponting	Aus	998	28	27	3	140*	41.58	3	2	1	0
Steve Waugh	Aus	978	33	30	10	120*	48.90	1	6	0	0
Arjuna Ranatunga	SL	969	30	29	8	88*	46.14	0	7	3	0
Brian Lara	WI	956	25	25	3	116	43.45	2	6	1	0
Saeed Anwar	Pak	915	21	21	4	113*	53.82	3	3	0	0

Top 10 bowlers of the ICC Cricket World Cups

By Tushar Trivedi

Wasim Akram, the finest left arm fast bowler of all time according to Sir Don Bradman, has more wickets than anybody else in ICC Cricket World Cup history. Akram took 55 wickets in 38 matches at an economy rate of just over four an over to head the top 10.

Though speedsters dominate the list -- and hold the top six spots -- Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralidaran and Anil Kumble have destroyed the myth that spinners have only a peripheral place in limited-overs cricket.

Warne, who has admitted to not being particularly fond of limited-overs cricket, has proved to be very useful to Australia not only in an attacking, wicket-taking role, as might be expected of a classical leg-spinner, but by also maintaining an excellent economy rate.

At a time when a bowler's economy ratio is said to be decent if he gives away less than five runs an over, Warne has an economy rate of 3.83.

He is joined by Aussie pace spearhead McGrath, whose 45 wickets were picked up giving away 3.82 runs an over, astonishing in the modern era when scores of 250 plus are the norm and those over 300 regularly posted.

Muralidaran, the off spinner with the finest record in Test cricket, also shines in limited-overs cricket. In 21 matches, he has picked up 30 wickets giving away an average of only 3.69 runs an over - the lowest of any bowler save England's Ian Botham. In 22 matches, Beefy got 30 wickets at an economy rate of 3.43 an over.

Players	For	Wkts	M	Mdns	Runs	Ave	Best	5wl	ER
Wasim Akram	Pak	55	38	16	1311	23.80	5-28	1	4.04
Glenn McGrath	Aus	45	28	37	935	20.80	7-15	2	3.82
Javagal Srinath	Ind	44	34	21	1224	27.80	4.30	0	4.32
Allan Donald	SA	38	25	14	913	24.00	4-17	0	4.17
Chaminda Vaas	SL	36	21	24	754	20.90	6-25	1	4.10
Imran Khan	Pak	34	28	18	655	19.30	4-37	0	3.86
Chris Harris	NZ	32	28	10	861	26.90	4-7	0	4.43
Shane Warne	Aus	32	17	16	624	26.90	4-29	0	3.83
Muttiah Muralidaran	SL	30	21	13	693	23.10	4-28	0	3.69
Ian Botham	Eng	30	22	34	762	25.40	4-31	0	3.43

Top ten fielders of the ICC Cricket World Cups

By Tushar Trivedi

What separates modern cricket most from the sport as it was played a generation ago is the quality of the fielding. Though average scores in ODI cricket have risen in that time, they have been pegged back by fielding that is supremely athletic.

In the 70s a cricketing phrase commonly used referred to a senior player "escorting the ball to the boundary". That is no more the case and most cricket matches produce an act of fielding that would qualify as "Play of the Day."

An example is the stunning catch that Kapil Dev took, running in a semi-circle, first sideways and then backwards, to end Vivian Richards's innings at 33 during the 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup finals.

If a catch was ever said to have won a match, that was it, one of 12 Kapil took in ICC World Cup matches. The rampaging Richards would have seen the Windies through had he been around for only a few more overs.

Ricky Ponting, who captains defending champions and tournament favourites Australia, tops the group with 18 catches in his 28 matches.

Players	For	CT	M
Ricky Ponting	Aus	18	28
Chris Cairns	NZ	16	28
Sanath Jayasuriya	SL	15	27
Anil Kumble	Ind	14	35
Aravinda de Silva	SL	14	35
Steve Waugh	Aus	14	33
Carl Hooper	WI	13	20
Clive Lloyd	WI	12	17
Kapil Dev	Ind	12	26
Graeme Hick	Eng	12	20

Top 10 wicket-keepers of the ICC Cricket World Cups

By Tushar Trivedi

Modern cricket is seeing a new breed of all-rounders. They are the wicket-keepers who can bat -- and with gusto. Australian Adam Gilchrist, who can be said to be the path-breaker, has followers in India's MS Dhoni, South African Mark Boucher, Sri Lankan Sangakkara, Pakistani Kamran Akmal and New Zealander Brandon McCullum.

Adam Gilchrist, who already has 35 dismissals in 20 matches heads the list of top ten ICC Cricket World Cup wicket-keepers. Interestingly, he has two stumpings, while Moin Khan (also on 20 matches, but with 30 dismissals) has seven.

Another all-rounder, England's Alex Stewart, rounds off the top three (23 victims in 20 matches). If dismissals per match are an indicator, Ridley Jacobs (22 in 11 matches) shines, as he does also for giving away fewest byes (only 1).

Players	For	M	CT	ST	Victims	Byes
Adam Gilchrist	Aus	20	33	2	35	24
Moin Khan	Pak	20	23	7	30	27
Alex Stewart	Eng	20	21	2	23	16
Ridley Jacobs	WI	11	21	1	22	1
Mark Boucher	SA	15	22	0	22	13
Wasim Bari	Pak	14	18	4	22	6
Ian Healy	Aus	14	18	3	21	12
Jeff Dujon	WI	14	19	1	20	42
Rodney Marsh	Aus	11	17	1	18	16
Kiran More	Ind	14	12	6	18	15

Second Innings Bulletin

Scotland was crushed by reigning champions Australia in the second match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 on Wednesday at St Kitts.

Set a mammoth 335 to win, Scotland was never in the hunt and was all out for 131 in the 41st over to lose by 203 runs -- the second biggest margin of victory ever in the tournament.

In the middle overs Scotland dragged the match towards an end decided very early on in their innings by Australia's bowlers.

After 30 overs they had less than 100 runs on the board and had lost 6 wickets, five of them to the Aussie fast bowlers. Overs 20 through 30 were bowled without much result either by way of wickets falling or runs being scored -- and this set them apart from much of the match that was enlivened by the performance of the incumbent champions.

Aussie warhorse Glenn McGrath fired up his metronome and sent down a spell of accurate pace bowling that left Scotland in tatters at 42/5. McGrath took the last 3 of the first 5 Scots wickets to go down.

His third was a perfectly pitched ball that tempted Gavin Hamilton into a nibble that was devoured by 'keeper Adam Gilchrist.

Before that McGrath got Ryan Watson out caught hooking only to find Nathan Bracken. That was his second wicket. His first came when he bowled Fraser Watts, who played a ball from the great fast bowler onto his stumps.

Scotland lost three quick wickets before the 10th over, the first to a run out, the second to a delightfully fast ball from Shaun Tait.

Tait's scorcher flattened Navdeep Poonia's stumps in the 8th over, just two overs after putting paid to a promising innings from opener Majid Haq.

In the 6th over, with the score at 21, and Haq on 14, Shaun Tait sent down a ball that was driven to cover by Haq for a single. The resultant overthrow from

Michael Clarke gave him another run and he was run-out going for a third. Glenn McGrath sent in the throw from mid wicket that did Haq in, ending an innings that showed promise at 16.

In the same over as he was out, Haq played a gorgeous cover drive off Tait and looked comfortable against the fast bowlers in Scotland's chase.

Haq and fellow opener Fraser Watts faced the Aussie attack of Tait and Nathan Bracken, who opened the bowling. Veteran opening bowler McGrath did not get the new ball, something he had asked his captain for before the tournament began, given the absence of regular new ball bowler Brett Lee.

After Wednesday's performance, McGrath might have a point.

Symonds fit for next match

Australian captain Ricky Ponting said talismanic all-rounder Andrew Symonds was fit to play and would be considered for the next match against Holland on Sunday.

"It's a nice problem to have," Ponting said of his difficulties in deciding whom to leave out from the team that defeated Scotland with ease. Symonds, voted earlier to be part of Australia's all-time ODI team, is a hard-hitting batsman and a slow bowler.

"We will play on wickets later on in the tournament that will turn more (than the one at St Kitts)" said Ponting, commenting on whether spin would play a large part in the Australian team's strategy.

About his team's cruise to victory, Ponting said the team had "started feeling really good" and that the "wicket was really good which is something we haven't had so far on this tour."

Aussie paceman Glenn McGrath, who tore the heart out of Scotland's middle order, said the match was the "perfect way to start the campaign." McGrath said his team's bowling "could have slightly better" and the attack would "do better with time. We're getting used to the pitches."

Scotland's captain Craig Wright said his team had done well for most of the match but were defeated in some crucial overs. "The last 5 overs of their innings and the first 10 of our innings killed us," said Wright, praising his bowlers for doing "well for 45 overs against a vast batting line-up."

Ponting ton helps Aussies to 334/6

AFP

Ricky Ponting hit the first century of the tournament as defending champions Australia put up a formidable 334-6 against Scotland in their ICC Cricket World Cup Group A match at Warner Park on Wednesday.

Ponting, who was eventually out for 113, reached his century in 85 balls hitting nine fours and five sixes -- his 23rd one-day hundred and fourth in the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Opener Matthew Hayden hit a solid 60, while Brad Hogg hitting an unbeaten 15-ball 40 with three sixes and as many fours after Scotland skipper Craig Wright had won the toss and put Australia into bat on a brownish pitch.

Ponting, dropped on 23 by wicket-keeper Colin Smith off medium-pacer Dougie Brown, took full advantage of the lapse and added 54 runs for the third wicket with Michael Clarke (15) and another 63 for the fourth with Brad Hodge (29).

Ponting never lost his rhythm even after a 35-minute rain delay as he broke Indian Sourav Ganguly's previous ICC Cricket World Cup record of 23 sixes and became the sixth man to reach 1,000 ICC Cricket World Cup runs.

Ponting is playing in his fourth ICC Cricket World Cup.

Openers Adam Gilchrist (46) and Matthew Hayden (60) set the foundation for the total by putting on 91 for the first wicket.

Hayden hit six boundaries and a six before he fell leg-before to off-spinner Majid Haq who was the pick of the Scottish bowlers with 2-49.

Gilchrist hit seven boundaries and was trapped leg-before to Brown who bowled well before conceding 24 runs in his final over to Hogg.

South Africa and the Netherlands, the two other teams in the Group, meet on Friday. The top two teams advance to the next round, the Super Eight.

Kenya cruise to victory

Wicket-keeper batsman Maurice Ouma and skipper Steve Tikolo hit half-centuries as Kenya got the better of Canada by 7 wickets at St Lucia.

Ouma's 89-ball knock was punctuated with 7 fours and a six while Tikolo's unbeaten knock of 72 included 7 fours and a six. Tanmay Mishra provided the finishing touches with an impressive 35.

The early dismissals of David Obuya and Ravindu Shah did give Canada a sniff but Kenya progressed easily after that initial hiccup.

Earlier, David Obuya was dismissed for 4, caught by Bagai off former West Indian fast bowler Anderson Cummins while Ravindu Shah fell leg before to Bhatti for 3.

Kenya were chasing a modest total of 199 set by Canada in 49 overs.