Manou To Join Australia Squad As Paine Flies Home

South Australia captain and wicket-keeper Graham Manou has been called up to Australia's One-Day International squad to replace Tim Paine, who has been ruled out of the rest of the ODI series in India.

Paine fractured his left ring finger trying to take a rising ball during the second match in Nagpur and Manou will become Australia's third limited overs wicket-keeper to be used this year after Brad Haddin.

Haddin is due to return to state cricket this weekend but was not considered as he is still in the early stages of recovering from his own fractured finger.

National Selecton Panel Chairman Andrew Hilditch explained:

“Tim Paine has a fractured finger from the game last night and is unable to take any further part in the series. He will return to Australia as soon as the replacement arrives in India.

"Graham Manou is travelling to India tonight and will be available for selection for the next game.

"Graham richly deserves this opportunity following his Ashes debut and his successful domestic season last year in all forms of the game.

"After extensive discussions with Cricket Australia physiotherapist Alex Kountouris and Brad Haddin it was considered it is premature for Brad to resume cricket for Australia, having not played first-class cricket since the Oval Ashes Test.

"It is expected Brad will make a return to first class cricket this weekend as the first stage of his preparation for a return to cricket for Australia.”

The third match is in Delhi on Saturday 31st October and the seven-match series is level at 1-1 and Paine is the latest Australian to miss matches due to injury. Before the series even began, they were without Nathan Bracken, Michael Clarke, Callum Ferguson and Haddin while in the opening match, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee all picked up injuries.

Moises Henriques is also flying out to India as cover for Hopes.

Chigumbura Shines As Zimbabwe Win Opening ODI

Zimbabwe 189-5 beat Bangladesh 186 by five wickets

Elton Chigumbura took three wickets and scored an unbeaten 60 to guide Zimbabwe to a five-wicket win over Bangladesh in the opening One-Day International in Mirpur.

Chigumbura's three for 27 helped Zimbabwe bowl Bangladesh out for 186 and he then combined to put on 99 with Stuart Matsikenyeri for the unbroken sixth wicket to seal victory with more than 15 overs to spare.

Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak marked his return to international cricket with three wickets in five balls as he dismissed Justice Chibhaba (26), Brendan Taylor (0) and Tatenda Taibu (0) to raise Bangladesh hopes as Zimbabwe were reduced to 39 for three in their run chase but they survived.

Hamilton Masakadza made ten and Charles Coventry 32 but after Rubel Hossain and Dolar Mahmud had got them out, Bangladesh were unable to pick up another wicket as Chigumbura, who hit nine fours and a six in his 50-ball innings, and Matsikenyeri, who was unbeaten on 47 in 55 deliveries, saw their side to victory.

Bangladesh 's innings lasted 46.5 overs after they were put in by Zimbabwe and but for a half-century from Mushfiqur Rahim and some lusty blows from Mahmud, they were in danger of being humiliated.

Rahim stroked 56, sharing half-century stands with Naeem Islam (21) and Mahmud, who smashed 41 in 30 balls with four fours and three sixes as Bangladesh rallied from being reduced to 62 for six to at least make a game of it.

Chigumbura, opening the bowling alongside Kyle Jarvis, struck early to remove Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique and Mohammad Ashraful before two wickets apiece for Chibhaba and Jarvis put Bangladesh on the back foot.

After Rahim, Islam and Mahmud hit back, spinners Ray Price and Graeme Cremer picked off a wicket each before Rahim's 78-ball effort was ended when Jarvis had him caught by Taibu.

The second match in the five-game series is on Thursday 29th October.

Womens Twenty20 : Mohammed Bowls West Indies To Series Win

West Indies Women beats South Africa Women by 13 runs. Anisa Mohammed returned figures of five for ten to bowl the West Indies Women to a 13-run win over South Africa Women in the second Twenty20 International in Cape Town which gave her side an unassailable 2-0 series lead with one match to play.

Mohammed, who had been on strike when South Africa clawed their way back into the final ODI last week with a tie, exacted some payback as South Africa, in pursuit of 115 to win, were bowled out for 101 having at one point been 73 without loss.

The West Indies side were held to 114 for nine, Cordel Jack hitting 41 in 43 balls to hold things together as wickets tumbled around her. Ashlyn Kilowan and Alicia Smith picked up a brace while Sunette Loubser and Charlize van der Westhuizen took one apiece.

Stafanie Taylor made 14, and innings of 12 and ten from Deandra Dottin and Stacy-Ann King were the only others to reach double figures but 114 proved to be enough.

Shandre Fritz (42) and Trisha Chetty (31) put on 73 for the first wicket and were putting themselves in a strong position before Fritz was caught by Dottin off of Shemaine Campbelle and Mohammed struck to dismiss Chetty, Kirstie Thomson (6) and Mignon du Preez (1) in quick order to blow the game wide open.

Mohammed's off-spin then accounted for captain Loubser and Dane van Niekerk, Campbelle grabbed the wicket of Smith for a golden duck, Shanel Daley removed van der Westhuizen and Taylor finished things off by running out Kilowan for two as South Africa lost all of their wickets for just 28 runs in one ball shy of eight overs.

The final match is in Paarl on Wednesday, 28th October.

Australia Resist Late Charge To Take Four-Run Win

Australia beat India by 4 runs

Four Australians scored half-centuries to set their side up for a four-run win over India in the first One-Day International in Vadodara, but they were made to work hard by the free-scoring Indian lower order which gave the match a thrilling finale.

Australia's 292 for eight saw them achieve victory when India were eventually restricted to 288 for eight having looked down and out of the contest when they were reduced to 201 for seven in the 40th over. Australia 's top order of Ricky Ponting (74), Michael Hussey (73), Cameron White (51) and Tim Paine (50) frustrated India after they had got rid of Shane Watson early when he was trapped in front by Ashish Nehra for five.

The next three wickets put on 222 runs but India did hit back late on with Ishant Sharma dismissing Paine (his 50th ODI wicket), Hussey and Brett Lee (0) to finish with three for 50 while Nehra also had White caught by Suresh Raina to return two for 58. Praveen Kumar bowled ten overs for 77 while left-arm spinner Ravi Jadeja, handed a recall, bowled nine tidy overs to return one for 43, capturing the prize wicket of Ponting, lbw in the 30th over.

In reply, India lost openers Virender Sehwag (13) and Sachin Tendulkar (14) but a half-century partnership for the third wicket between Gautam Gambhir, who made 68, and Virat Kohli, who hit 30 kept the match on an even keel. However, it was the batting Power Play that changed the complexion of the match as India lost three key wickets as Gambhir, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (34) and Suresh Raina (9) fell, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson doing the damage.

Ravi Jadeja marked his return to the side with five before he was trapped in front by Nathan Hauritz and although Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar hit some lusty blows towards the end, they had been left too much to do but their stand of 74 in 57 balls for the eighth wicket kept India 's hopes alive. The second match in the seven-match series is on 28th October in Nagpur .

West Indies Strike First In Twenty20 Battle

West Indies Women 94-4 (Dottin 26, King 21no) beat

South Africa Women 93-8 (Smith 22no) by four wickets

The West Indies Women beat South Africa Women by four wickets in their first Twenty20 International in Paarl, just as they had gone 1-0 up in the ODI series last week.

Batting first, South Africa made 93 for eight, Alicia Smith, the heroine of the final tied ODI, making 22 not out before the West Indians chased down their target in just 12.3 overs.

Deandra Dottin top scored with 26 but Stacy-Ann King finished things off in some style, smashing 21 in just 13 balls at the death with three fours as she shared an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 40 to put the West Indians 1-0 up in the three-match series.

Smith had earlier made 22 in 16 balls, also unbeaten at the end of her side's innings after Shemaine Campbelle picked up three for seven and Shanel Daley and Taylor a brace apiece.

Only three other players, Trisha Chetty (12), Kirstie Thomson (10), and Mignon du Preez (18), reached double figures as South Africa struggled.

The second and third matches take place on 26th and 28th October.

Thrilling Tie Seals Series For South Africa

South Africa Women 180-6 (du Preez 70no, Campbelle 2-22) tied with

West Indies Women 180-8 (Aguillera 36, Smith 2-13)

Alicia Smith produced a superb final over to bowl South Africa to a series-clinching tie in the fourth One-Day International against the West Indies Women in Cape Town .

With the West Indies requiring two runs to win with three wickets in hand after South Africa made 180 for six, Smith conceded a single from her first ball before delivering four dot balls to Anisa Mohammed. With a ball remaining and one run to win, Smith bowled Mohammed for a duck as the Proteas pinched a tie from a match they had looked destined to lose.

The West Indies had needed just 14 runs from the final four overs before South Africa , who maintained their 2-1 series lead, applied the squeeze.

Earlier, Mignon du Preez had played a lone hand with an unbeaten 70 in 110 balls in the South African innings after they were invited to bat by the West Indians.

She hit four fours but received little support other than 31 from Shandre Fritz and 20 from Smith, who enjoyed a decent all-round game.

Shemaine Campbelle and Stacy-Ann King picked up two wickets apiece to give the West Indies a strong chance of levelling the series.

However, it wasn't to be as they lost wickets too regularly to really dominate the second half of the game as they would have liked to. Deandra Dottin made 34 and Pamela Lavine 30, and captain Merissa Aguillera made 36 but it was her dismissal that enabled the South Africans to have a bowl at Mohammed.

Despite an unbeaten 13 from Britney Cooper, her partner was unable to get off strike, allowing fast-medium bowler Smith to finish with figures of two for 13, Fritz having also picked up two wickets in her earlier spell.

The two sides now play a three-match Twenty20 International series in Paarl and Cape Town .

Trinidad win to set up NSW final

Champions League, Hyderabad : Trinidad & Tobago 178-3 (19.2 overs) beat Cape Cobras 175-5 (20 overs) by seven wickets. Trinidad & Tobago will play New South Wales in Friday's Champions League final after beating South African side Cape Cobras with four balls to spare.

Herschelle Gibbs made 42 from 27 balls before JP Duminy hit an unbeaten 61 as Cobras made 175-5 from their 20 overs. Trinidad lost their top three to reach 85-3 at the halfway point.

But an unbeaten stand of 93 by captain Daren Ganga (44) and Dwayne Bravo (58) booked the undefeated Caribbean side's place in Friday's final in Hyderabad .

Having smashed three sixes in his 61 from 40 deliveries, Duminy went on to take a wicket with his off-spin, trapping teenage opener Adrian Barath lbw for 29 in his first over.

Barath and William Perkins (20) added 53 for the first wicket before both fell in quick succession, while Lendl Simmons made 20 to add to his economical spell of 2-17 from three overs.

But it was the big hitting of Bravo - dropped on 17 by Justin Ontong - that won it for the West Indians.

Earlier, Ganga had handed off-spinning brother Sherwin the new ball, and he bowled Cobras captain Andrew Puttick before Gibbs launched a characteristic assault on the Trinidad attack.

But the Cobras innings ended in anti-climax as Ravi Rampaul conceded just two runs in the final over. New South Wales won Wednesday's first semi-final, seeing off Victoria by 79 runs.

The final takes place on Friday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad - which was the venue when the two finalists met earlier in the competition.

Trinidad won by four wickets on that occasion after an astonishing 54 not out from 18 balls by Kieron Pollard.

Zimbabwe To Play Two ODIs In South Africa

South Africa will host Zimbabwe for two One-Day Internationals shortly before they take on England in November.

Zimbabwe, who have just beaten Kenya 4-1 in a five-match series and are shortly due to depart for Bangladesh for another five-match ODI series, will play in Benoni on 8th November and at Centurion Park on 10th November.

The two sides last met in an ODI in August 2007, Zimbabwe last playing an ODI in South Africa in September 2006, when they were hammered for 418 runs in Potchefstroom on their way to a heavy defeat to a South African side that rested a number of regulars.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) CEO Gerald Majola said: "Zimbabwe have a much stronger side than the last one to visit us. This was born out by their recent 4-1 victory over Kenya and the Proteas can expect some tough opposition.

"Part of our commitment to the International Cricket Council (ICC) is to promote and advance cricket throughout the African continent."

England arrive for a tour that includes five ODIs and four Tests but begins with two Twenty20 Internationals on 13th and 15th November.

source : cricketworld.com

Hard to beat Sachin's records: Ponting

He is chasing the batting benchmarks set by Sachin Tendulkar but Australian skipper Ricky Ponting is not sure whether he would achieve them and wants to focus on playing match-winning knocks for his team. "It would be nice if he retires some time," Ponting quipped.

"I was asked about this (chasing Tendulkars records) in South Africa. He''s been the benchmark for international players in the world," he said at a media conference here today.

"I think he''s going into his 20th year in international cricket which in itself is a remarkable feat within itself. The records he has set in Test and One-day cricket would be hard for anybody to tame down the track," he added.

As far as he was concerned, Ponting said he would be happy to win more and more games for Australia with his bat. "I will keep plugging away, doing the best I can and hopefully keep playing well enough to win a number of games for Australia.

Thats what its all about," he said. "Its not about personal achievement or how many runs you score, its the number of games you can win for your team.

So I will do my best to win quite a few games for Australia in the next couple of weeks," he added. .

Tennis - Men's world rankings

1. (1) Roger Federer (Switzerland) 10805 points

2. (2) Rafael Nadal (Spain) 9095

3. (4) Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 7950

4. (3) Andy Murray (Britain) 7390

5. (5) Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) 6315

6. (8) Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) 4700

7. (6) Andy Roddick (U.S.) 4690

8. (7) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 4040

9. (9) Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 3400

10. (11) Robin Soderling (Sweden) 3235

11. (12) Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) 2780

12. (10) Gilles Simon (France) 2765

13. (13) Marin Cilic (Croatia) 2355

14. (16) Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) 2165

15. (14) Gael Monfils (France) 2125

16. (15) Tommy Robredo (Spain) 2110

17. (18) Tommy Haas (Germany) 1825

18. (19) David Ferrer (Spain) 1805

19. (20) Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) 1760

20. (17) David Nalbandian (Argentina) 1715

Player given seven-match ban for giving the finger

BEIJING , Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- An Australian player for title contenders Beijing Guo'an has been banned for seven matches by the Chinese soccer association for insultive gesture.

Joel Griffiths, a former Australian New Castle player, will miss rest of the season after the Chinese soccer governing body Tuesday announced his seven-match ban plus a 50,000 yuan (about 7325 U.S. dollars) fine for giving the finger in a crucial Super League match between Beijing and leaders Henan.

Hondruan forward Saul Martinez lashed in the tying goal for Beijing in stoppage time when an excited Griffiths rushed to the pitch for celebration. Beijing eventually sealed a 2-2 victory at Henan .

The Chinese soccer governing body said a set of photos by a Henan newspaper photographer showed that then Griffiths held up his middle finger.

The association decided Griffiths made an insultive gesture and should be punished after their investigation including reviewing those photos.

Henan lead the 16-team standings with 42 points after 27 rounds while Beijing, Changchun and Shandong follow close at heel in a three-way tie on 41 but Beijing have one match in hand. The Super League have three rounds to go.

Nadal & Roddick query tour length

Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick have questioned the length of the ATP season and suggested that tennis players need a proper off-season. World number two Nadal and world number six Roddick are currently in China for the Shanghai Masters.

"It's impossible to play 1 January and finish 5 December," said Nadal. American Roddick said: "It's ridiculous that you have a professional sport that doesn't have a legitimate off-season to rest, get healthy, and then train." James Blake was made to work hard by Ivo Karlovic before eventually overcoming the Croatian 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to set up a second-round clash with Nadal. Marat Safin, who is set to retire at the end of the season, was a convincing 6-4 6-4 victor over Chinese wildcard Gong Mao-Xin.

The 27-year-old added: "I just feel sooner or later that common sense has to prevail."

The top players on the men's tour are required to play in eight of the nine Master Series events, with Monte Carlo the exception. And the top eight players of the year are required to play an extra week by qualifying for next month's season-ending tournament in London .

Roddick said merging the players' union and tournament operation under the ATP umbrella, which took place in 1990, has not benefited players as expected. "I certainly don't see any other sporting leagues or federations following our lead as far as not being individually represented," Roddick said.

Nadal, who did not defend his Wimbledon title this year because of a knee injury, added: "It's impossible... being all the time 100% without problems." Both world number one Roger Federer (fatigue) and Britain 's world number three Andy Murray (wrist injury) are skipping the Shanghai tournament.

Thirteenth seed Radek Stepanek beat former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 6-0 in the first round on Monday, while 16th seed David Ferrer beat Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-3.

Fourteenth seed Tommy Robredo defeated French qualifier Michel Llodra 6-1 6-4, while 10th seed Fernando Gonzalez was handed his place in the next round when Germany's Mischa Zverev retired hurt with a wrist injury in the third set.

Serena Williams officially becomes world No. 1 on Monday

Serena Williams regains the WTA's No. 1 ranking Monday, albeit narrowly. A mere five points separate her and Russia 's Dinara Safina, and the top slot could change hands again before the end of the season.

There's reason to hope it doesn't. It has been painful to watch Safina gasp for breath at the summit these past few months, and one can only wish her well in her quest to rebuild her shattered confidence. In Williams, by contrast, the tour has a queen bee with unassailable competitive credentials and one who will embrace rather than be unnerved by her standing.

However, Williams' latest reinstatement to the throne is clouded by the question of whether the International Tennis Federation will further sanction her for an uncharacteristically vicious outburst directed at a line judge in the U.S. Open semifinal.

The rankings dance has upped the stakes in that process.

If the ITF announces that Williams is suspended for the next Grand Slam event in Australia -- one of the possible punishments -- tennis' international governing body will have beheaded the defending tournament champion and prevented a No. 1 from protecting the rankings points she has on the line.

Henin given Aussie Open wildcard

Former world number one Justine Henin has been granted a wildcard for the Australian Open in January. The Belgian, 27, announced in September that she would come out of retirement in 2010 after less than two years away.

And tournament director Craig Tiley has confirmed that 2004 champion Henin will play in the first Grand Slam of 2010. "I spoke to Justine's team over the weekend and was happy to grant her request for a wildcard into the Australian Open," said Tiley.

"Justine is the ultimate competitor, the winner of seven Grand Slam titles, and we are looking forward to welcoming her back to the Australian Open.

"I know Justine will not have made the decision to come out of retirement lightly and have no doubt she will be in great shape and prepared to compete against the world's best."

Henin is expected to make her return to competitive tennis at the Brisbane International, starting on 3 January, ahead of the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on 18 January.

Serena says Fed Cup presence depends on fitness

Serena Williams has every intention of playing in next month's Fed Cup final against Italy, if she's fit enough.

"I definitely want to play again, I'm just trying to get there," said Williams, who will return to the No. 1 ranking next week. "It's just really hard to see how my body is going to be after Doha.

"If I'm walking, then I really want to go. I have to go." The season-ending WTA Tour Championship in Doha is her main individual priority at a stage of the year in which she says exhaustion and injuries usually become more prevalent due to player fatigue.

Williams was speaking in Beijing where she was eliminated Thursday in the third round of the China Open by Nadia Petrova of Russia.

Italy will host the Nov. 7-8 final at a site still to be determined.

The U.S. has won a record 17 Fed Cup titles but none since 2000, while the Italians have reached three of the past four finals -- winning their only title in 2006 over Belgium.

Italy's captain Corrado Barazzutti has reportedly been scouting for a venue with slow clay courts to take some edge off the power games of Williams and her older sister, Venus.

Duminy beats RCB single-handedly

In an exceptional display of rare batting skill, Jean-Paul Duminy took his side - Cape Cobras - to victory single-handedly against the Royal Challengers' Bangalore in the first match of the Champions League Twenty20 at the Chinnaswamy. His 99 not out off just 52 balls today will go down in the annals of T20 among the best knocks ever.

Duminy's knock aside, the chase for Cape Cobras was not that simple. Chasing a big total against the home side, for that matter is never easy. Royal Challengers' pacer Praveen Kumar only seemed to make it that much more difficult for the Cobras with an inspired spell of bowling. Kumar had Cobras' danger man, Herschelle Gibbs out in the first over, beaten outside the off stump.

In his very next over, he had the Cobras' captain, Andrew Puttick caught at point. These early dismissals put the Cobras on the back foot till Henry Davids and Jean Paul Duminy hit a six each off the fourth over of the innings, bowled by Jacques Kallis. Kumar was brilliant in his first spell. Davids and Duminy looked just as solid.

With unhindered aggression, Duminy and Davids kept the Cobras' hopes alive for sometime. But the fall of Davids at the end of the eight over, impeded the Cobras' progress. Davids was out caught by Kohli at point when he tried to smack the ball on the off side. Duminy, on the other hand, kept the fight alive, at times moving across the crease to improvise his strokes. He even greeted left arm spinner, Roelof van der Merwe, with a massive six off his first over.

Kumble's decision to have part time bowler Kohli bowl at a crucial stage is bound to come under scrutiny. The RCB fielders, too were found wanting, dropping two crucial catches. Just when the Cobras seemed to be getting into a strong position, Merve had Justin Ontong bowled out, trying to hit him away. Duminy though, continued his aggression, undeterred by the instability at the other end and completed his half century off just 29 balls. Kumble today looked a tad off colour both in his bowling and captaincy.

The 23 runs that Virat Kohli gave away off his two overs at a crucial stage of the match, proved costly for the RCB. Duminy, along with Ryan Canning hammered Kohli away to every part of the field. The gargantuan six that Duminy struck off the 17th over bowled by Re van der Merwe only depleted the RCB morale further. When Kumble came in to bowl his last over, the 18th of the innings, he had his last chance to set things right. But he was in for failure yet again.

Duminy clobbered him for a six. That over cost the RCB 11 runs and by the end of it, the Cobras seemed clearly on top. Praveen Kumar was brought back into the attack at that stage. In the penultimate over of the match, Kumar had the well settled Canning, out with a mistimed pull caught by his skipper. But Duminy's assault continued unabated as he took his side to victory single-handedly.

Murray out of Shanghai Masters

World number three Andy Murray has withdrawn from next week's Shanghai Masters 1000 to rest his wrist.

Murray has not sufficiently recovered from an injury to his left wrist which forced him to miss this week's Rakuten Japan Open in Tokyo .

A statement on Murray 's official website, www.andymurray.com, read: "Due to medical advice Andy will not be travelling to China .

"He has decided to give his wrist extra time to recover and is likely to return for the Valencia Open."

The Valencia Open gets under way on November 2, giving Murray almost another month to fully recover from the injury.

Murray has not played since Great Britain 's Davis Cup defeat by Poland in Liverpool on September 20.

Murray aggravated the injury in that loss, although he still completed two singles and one doubles match in that tie.

Sharapova slumps to Peng

China 's Peng Shuai delighted the local support by sending former world number one Maria Sharapova out in the third round of the China Open. The Russian, who is steadily climbing back up the rankings following last year's shoulder surgery, claimed her first title of the year in Tokyo last week.

However, she was unable to muster the reserves to fend off the determined Peng, who cruised into the last eight with a 6-2 6-4 success. Sharapova had been forced to come from 5-2 down in the final set of her second round match on Tuesday but there was no fightback this time.

"I've had matches where I didn't feel like I was maybe at the level that I wanted to be but I was able to fight through that and get through it, and today was just not one of those days, unfortunately," Sharapova said. Things will not get any easier for the winner, though, as she will take on either Serena Williams or Nadia Petrova for a place in the semi-finals.

The victory over Sharapova was her second in succession against a high-profile opponent, coming 24 hours after knocking out defending champion Jelena Jankovic. There was better news for Sharapova's compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova, who overcame the loss of the second set to storm through 6-3 4-6 6-0 against Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine .

The sixth seed will next face another Russian in Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who followed up her success against top seed Dinara Safina by brushing aside Canadian teenager Alexandra Wozniak 6-4 6-4.

Aussies take Champions Trophy again

Shane Watson scored a second successive century as Australia scored a comprehensive six wicket win over New Zealand to retain the ICC Champions Trophy at Centurion Park in South Africa .

New Zealand severely depleted already suffered a big blow before the start of play when Captain and leading performer Daniel Vettori was forced out of the game with a hamstring injury.

They still managed to score 200 for 9 with Martin Guptil making 40, Neil Broom 37, and James Franklin 33 against Nathan Hauritz's 3 for 37 and Brett Lee's 2 for 45.

The Kiwis then tried hard to defend their small score and had Australia at 6 for 2 in the fourth over but Watson who hit 10 fours and 4 sixes in his unbeaten 105 and Cameron White shared in a match winning start of 128.

White later fell for 62 to Kyle Mills who had 3 for 27 but Watson hit two sixes in a row to end the match.

Watson took his second man of the match award but the man of the series award went to winning Captain Ricky Ponting who scored the most runs in the tournament, 288 runs in four games at an average of 72.

"I though the bowlers were terrific early on as restricting New Zealand to 200 runs was a great effort. Losing two early wickets was set us back a little bit by Cameron White and Shane Watson kept control of things really well after that," said Ponting.

Stand-in New Zealand Captain Brendon McCullum later agreed that Vettori's absence was a big blow as his team was about 50 runs short.

"It was a huge blow but we still believed that we had the quality of players to compete and win against Australia and we did manage to put them under pressure. Unfortunately, we were a few runs short with the bat which was due to the brilliant way that they bowled.

"We still thought we had a chance when we got the early wickets but Watson played brilliantly and took the game away from us," said " McCullum

Serena says she put U.S. Open rant behind her immediately

Serena Williams was accentuating the positive on Sunday after her return to singles action for the first time since her rant at a lineswoman at the U.S. Open last month. The world number two was fined a record $10,000 for the verbal assault on the official during her semi-final loss to Belgian Kim Clijsters in New York , and could still face further punishment after an investigation into the incident.

Asked about it at the China Open on Sunday, however, the 28-year-old said her victory in the U.S. Open doubles a few days later meant she had finished her home grand slam on a high. “I think I (put it behind me) the moment it happened,” she told reporters after her 7-5 6-4 victory over Estonia 's Kaia Kanepi.

“I felt so great about winning the doubles. I thought it was perfect. I thought I was blessed even to have the opportunity to stay in the doubles. I had an opportunity to come back. It was a positive note so I was excited about that.”

Williams, who has since apologised to the official, could face a grand-slam ban if the incident is deemed a “major offence” by investigators.

The Australian and French Open champion said she thought it would be inappropriate to comment about the investigation while it was continuing, but suggested that her enthusiasm for the game was undimmed by the incident.

“I'm really excited to be a tennis player,” she said. “And obviously I have such amazing passion. I think it's been enabling me to have some 20 grand slam titles. I love fighting for every point, for everything.”

Williams's 23 grand slam titles include 11 in singles, 10 in women's doubles with sister Venus and two in mixed doubles with Max Mirnyi.

Champions Trophy surpasses expectations

We're on the verge of the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy, and this tournament has by far exceeded expectations. From a domestic point of view, it has helped that England have somehow turned their fortunes around with their unexpected win over Sri Lanka and their unbelievable innings against South Africa , but being here at the event is incredibly exciting.

The 50-over game has come in for a fair amount of criticism as the Twenty20 game becomes ever more popular, but whilst it must be pointed out that crowds here have been very disappointing (except for South Africa matches and the India/Pakistan game) the format of the tournament means that every match has had something riding on it.

We've also had some tense finishes, and there have been more than a few talking points. The Australia-Pakistan game went down to the last ball as the Aussies sneaked top spot in the group to set up another ODI against England in the semi-final.

The batting of Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan was breathtaking, as the hosts, South Africa , crashed out at Centurion, and the debate will rage as to whether a runner should be allowed for cramp.

In many ways it's a shame the World Cup proper can't follow a similar format to this; short, sharp, easy to follow (no 'Super Sixes' - what stage of the tournament is that?) with every match a potential 'do-or-die' situation.

People talk about 'tournament football' whenever the European Championships or Word Cup comes around, and in cricket it should be no different.

A five (or heaven forbid) seven-match one-day series is the time to allow side to lose a few games then make a comeback. In a tournament, the thrill should be in knowing that a bad game will make life difficult and two bad games could mean it's all over. It's about hitting form at the right time, and pulling it off on the day. Admittedly, in cricket, you can be scuppered by a poor pitch, such as the minefield England played on at the Wanderers in Tuesday's defeat by New Zealand, but on the whole this tournament has been a lot of fun, and having it staged between two grounds, based around one city, means you can't help but feel in the absolute thick of the world's best players.

The problem is, there haven't been enough people here to share it. It'll be interesting to see how many turn out for the semis and then the final.

I started writing this blog in the media room during the ICC Awards at the Sandton Convention Centre. The ceremony has just ended and Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has just picked up the main gong of the night, Cricketer of the Year (Andrew Strauss missing out), while England 's Claire Taylor has added ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year to her bulging bag of accolades. Ireland captain William Porterfield has won Associate Player of the Year.

Johnson is perhaps a surprise pick considering the crisis of confidence he suffered during the Ashes but he's still comfortably the most prolific strike bowler of the year, with 80 wickets in 17 matches.

There has been a lot of chuntering in the media here about the distinct lack of South African players shortlisted for awards, considering the success they've achieved in the qualifying period; not only winning the Test series in England last summer but then consigning Australia to their first Test series defeat at home for 16 years. Not one South African player attended the awards ceremony.

Unfortunately, there was a distinct lack of players overall. I was at the event here two years ago during the 2007 World Twenty20 (invited as a guest - I've clearly fallen down the pecking order!) and if I remember rightly it was held just before the tournament began.

All the squads attended and it gave the T20 a real lift off. On that occasion I understand the teams were required to attend by the ICC, whereas this time there was no three-line whip. And, of course, with some teams already knocked out, they're hardly in the mood to party.

India made mistakes in ICC Champions Trophy:

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted his team made mistakes during the ICC Champions Trophy in which they failed to reach the semi-finals.

They beat West Indies by seven wickets in their final match on Wednesday but finished only third in Group A after starting the tournament as one of the favourites. India made a poor start when they lost to Pakistan by 54 runs and their second game against Australia was abandoned because of rain.

"We have made mistakes during this tournament. Our bowlers gave batsmen too much width and we can definitely put in more of an effort in the field," Dhoni told a news conference. "We need to work on a few things and hopefully we will have time to fix those things before we play again," he added. Dhoni also rued the fact that his team lack an all-rounder who can bowl quickly.

"One reason Australia is so strong is that their bowlers, like Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee, can all bat a bit." "We should be able to find a seamer who can bat. At times, if you are playing with just the six specialist batsmen, you can get into trouble especially if you are chasing a target and you lose early wickets," he said.

"During this tournament we were forced to play five specialist bowlers and none of them are particularly good batsmen," Dhoni added.