New Zealand 'fearless' ahead of World Cup

Melbourne- New Zealand are sticking with the same team, and the same fearless approach, for Sunday's World Cup final against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said the Black Caps would use the same lineup that beat South Africa in the semi-finals and the same bold tactics that have served them so well during the tournament.
Showing no signs of nerves or apprehension ahead of the biggest match in New Zealand cricket history, McCullum said his players had been told to go out and attack the Australians from the start.
"We need to play like that, that's how we're going to beat teams on regular occasions," McCullum told a news conference. "We're not afraid of losing.
"For us, we think about what we can achieve. That's not always going to work and there are going to be times when we come out on the wrong side of it. But that gives us our greatest chance of success against big opposition teams on a regular basis.
"So we'll continue to play like that and develop a sense of fearlessness ... and a real 'can do' attitude."
New Zealand's intimidating approach to the game has paid off during the World Cup.
With the dashing McCullum laying the foundations at the top of the order, the Black Caps have been piling on the runs with the bat and skittling opposing lineups with their fast bowlers.

ULTIMATE GAME

They have also shown they can handle pressure, beating Australia in a tight match during the group stage and South Africa in the semi-finals.
Now, McCullum says, his team have to make sure they do not freeze in the final.
"I'm confident we'll play well tomorrow," he said. "That doesn't guarantee us anything, it doesn't mean that Australia won't beat us, but I'm very confident we'll turn up and display our skills just as we have done throughout the tournament.
"I guess this is the ultimate game for us to be able to play in, so with that I'm sure some guys will be nervous.
"Putting our skills against the best in their backyard certainly whets the appetite and creates the greatest stage we can ask for."
McCullum conceded that four times champions Australia were the favourites on home soil but said his team mates were aware this was the chance of a lifetime.
"It's pretty amazing, the ride we've been on, and I've said that time and time again that it's been the greatest time of our lives," he added.
"We dreamed right from the start and to now give ourselves a 50-50 chance in the final is an amazing achievement.
"The brand of cricket that we've played has really touched a lot of people and endeared ourselves to a lot of people who follow this game.
"There is no challenge which is insurmountable."

Factbox- Previous World Cup finals

Sydney- 

A look back at the previous Cricket World Cup finals.

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1975: WEST INDIES BEAT AUSTRALIA BY 17 RUNS AT LORD'S

Striking the ball with relaxed brutality, West Indies' captain Clive Lloyd tamed an attack headed by the pace and fury of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson to score 102 from 85 balls.

He was ably assisted by the 39-year-old Rohan Kanhai, a late replacement for the injured Garfield Sobers. Kanhai contributed 55 to West Indies' 291-8 from their 60 overs.

Australia captain Ian Chappell led a spirited reply with 62 before he fell victim to one of three run outs effected by the electric reflexes of Viv Richards. Australia lost five wickets in total to run outs.

Lillee and Thomson added 41 for the final wicket before Australia were finally dismissed for 274 at twilight on the longest day of the year.

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1979: WEST INDIES BEAT ENGLAND BY 92 RUNS AT LORD'S

Viv Richards stroked an imperious 138 and Collis King struck a whirlwind 86 to power West Indies to 286-9 in their 60 overs.

Although England captain Mike Brearley and Geoff Boycott put on 129 for the first wicket, they took up 38 of the 60 overs.

After their dismissals, the giant Joel Garner ran through the middle order with a series of unplayable yorkers to take five wickets in 11 balls and give his team victory by 92 runs.

Colin Croft also took three wickets.

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1983: INDIA BEAT WEST INDIES BY 43 RUNS AT LORD'S

Viv Richards seemed intent on winning the final against underdogs India on his own after West Indies had been set a modest 184 to win.

He struck seven boundaries in his 33 from 28 balls before top-edging a hook which India captain Kapil Dev, running away from the pitch towards the boundary at mid-wicket, coolly collected.

West Indies imploded thereafter, with India recording a famous 43-run victory which was to have profound implications at home where one-day cricket quickly superseded the test game as the most popular form of the sport.

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1987: AUSTRALIA BEAT ENGLAND BY SEVEN RUNS AT EDEN GARDENS

Because of the shorter daylight hours on the sub-continent all matches were played over 50 overs, now the standard length, instead of 60.

Opener David Boon's 75 took Australia to 253-5 which seemed to be not enough.

England appeared to be cruising to victory at Kolkata's Eden Gardens when Mike Gatting tried a reverse sweep off opposition captain Allan Border's first delivery and lobbed a simple catch.

A well-drilled and disciplined Australia side went on to win by seven runs.

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1992: PAKISTAN BEAT ENGLAND BY 22 RUNS AT THE MCG

Coloured clothing, floodlights and a white ball, all pioneered in World Series cricket, were finally introduced into the tournament.

Famously urged by captain Imran Khan to "fight like cornered tigers," Pakistan rebounded from imminent elimination in the opening round to defeat England in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

All-rounder Imran scored 72 batting at number three in his final match for his country as his side posted 249-6 in 50 overs. He also took the final wicket after his protege Wasim Akram had blown away Ian Botham, Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis.

Leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed also took three wickets for Pakistan.

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1996: SRI LANKA BEAT AUSTRALIA BY SEVEN WICKETS IN LAHORE

Captain Mark Taylor's 74 took Australia to 241-7 in 50 overs at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Sri Lanka lost explosive openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana early but a 125-run stand for the third wicket between Aravinda de Silva (107 not out) and Asanka Gurusinha (65) put them on course for their first title.

De Silva, their most accomplished batsman, and captain Arjuna Ranatunga (47 not out) then added 97 for the unbroken fourth wicket to see their side through for a seven-wicket win.

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1999: AUSTRALIA BEAT PAKISTAN BY EIGHT WICKETS AT LORD'S

Australia, the world's best test side, made a no contest of the final against Pakistan, taking barely 4-1/2 hours to overwhelm the 1992 champions.

Pakistan were all out for 132 in 39 overs, with leg-spinner Shane Warne taking four wickets which proved an easy target for Australia to chase down.

Wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist smashed 54 off 36 balls as his side chased down the total in 20.1 overs with eight wickets to spare.

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2003: AUSTRALIA BEAT INDIA BY 125 RUNS IN JOHANNESBURG

Australia's new one-day captain Ricky Ponting struck eight sixes in his 140 not out in the final against India as his team scaled new heights with a relentless 125-run victory.

The Australians became the first team to win three World Cups and took their unbeaten run in the tournament to 16.

Riding on Ponting's imperious ton and half-centuries from Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn, Australia made 359-2.

The total proved too tough for India who were bundled out for 234 inside 40 overs despite 82 from opener Virender Sehwag.

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2007: AUSTRALIA BEAT SRI LANKA BY 53 RUNS (D/L) IN BARBADOS

Adam Gilchrist bettered Ponting's record tally in a final with a typically audacious 149.

Australia finished with victory over Sri Lanka in a rain-shortened final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.

The win gave Australia their third title in a row and fourth overall World Cup title.

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2011: INDIA BEAT SRI LANKA BY SIX WICKETS IN MUMBAI

Mahela Jayawardene scored an unbeaten 103 in Sri Lanka's challenging 274-6 but India recovered from a slow start to win by six wickets with 10 balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium.

Gautam Gambhir made 97 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni an unbeaten 91 as India became the first country to win the World Cup final on home soil.

Nadal, Murray advance in Miami

Miami- Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray got their Miami Open bids off to a solid start with straight sets victories at Key Biscayne on Friday.
Nadal defeated fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-4 6-2 in 89 minutes in windy conditions as he began his campaign to finally win the Miami tournament where he has lost in the final on three occasions.
"In general I thought I played a solid match. I played well, I had good movement," said Nadal. "I had to put the balls in and play with no mistakes -- that was the idea with very tough conditions. Almagros was not an easy opponent."
Murray had little trouble dealing with American Donald Young in his opening match with a 6-4 6-2 victory. Murray, a two-time winner at Key Biscyane, broke left-hander Young four times as he wrapped up the win in 82 minutes. The Scot will face Santiago Giraldo in the next round after the Colombian beat Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-2 3-6 6-0. Murray is looking for his 10th Masters 1000 title and his third trophy in Miami, having won in 2009 and 2013. Key Biscayne is something of a ‘home court’ for Murray, who practices at the venue during his off-season preparation. “I spend hours, hundreds and hundreds of hours, practicing on that court," he said.
"Each week, when I am here, I would practice 14 hours at least on that court. Over the last seven, eight years, I have spent a lot of time on it." South Korean teenager Chung Hyeon, who gained his first ATP World Tour win on Wednesday, was beaten by eighth seed Tomas Berdych, the Czech triumphing 6-3 6-4.
Chung showed his promise again, however, gaining a 4-2 lead in a rain-interrupted second set before Berdych took control, winning the last four sets. Berdych will face the 25th-seeded Bernard Tomic, who edged American Austin Krajicek 7-6(6) 7-5. South African Kevin Anderson fought superbly to beat American Sam Querrey 6-7(5) 7-6(3) 6-4 in two hours and 32 minutes. Querrey served for the match at 6-5 in the second set, but could not close it out, and then dropped serve at the start of the third as Anderson fought back.
World number one Novak Djokovic gets his campaign under way against Slovak Marin Klizan today.

New Zealand unchanged for World Cup final

Melbourne- New Zealand will bring an unchanged lineup into Sunday's World Cup final against fellow co-hosts Australia in Melbourne, captain Brendon McCullum confirmed on Saturday.
New Zealand head into the match at the Melbourne Crikcet Ground after defeating South Africa by four wickets in Auckland in the semi-finals.
New Zealand team - Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum (captain), Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Trent Boult

The legendary Australia, New Zealand rivalry

Wellington- The trans-Tasman rivalry between New Zealand and Australia is most clearly displayed in the sporting arena, though there are other reasons why the neighbours have a fierce competitive relationship.

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RUGBY - New Zealand regularly treated Australia as second-tier opponents until 1979 when the Wallabies won the Bledisloe Cup and took the trophy on a lap of honour around the Sydney Cricket Ground, an act that stung the All Blacks.

Australians still harbour ill-feelings over Colin Meads inflicting a career-ending leg injury on scrumhalf Ken Catchpole in 1968. The Wallabies have also beaten New Zealand twice in World Cup semi-finals, though the All Blacks' recent domination - they have won 19 of the past 24 tests with two draws - has diminished the rivalry a little.

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CRICKET - Australia had little to do with New Zealand after thrashing them in their first test in 1946, not playing the longest form of the game again until 1973. Competitive one-day matches in the early-1980s reignited the rivalry, at least in New Zealand, as the side showed they could compete. The 'underarm incident' in 1981, Greg Dyer's claiming of a non-catch in 1987 and Brad Haddin knocking the bails off in 2009 have infuriated New Zealand fans, who view the incidents as examples of Australia's win-at-all-costs mentality.

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YACHTING - While not technically a rivalry between the two countries, Australian skipper Jimmy Spithill's goading of Team New Zealand at the last America's Cup in 2013 briefly made him public enemy number one. Spithill then turned Team Oracle USA's performances around and roared back from an seemingly unwinnable position to retain sport's oldest trophy.

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PHAR LAP - Foaled just out of Timaru in New Zealand's South Island, the gelding became the most famous racehorse in the world in the late 1920s and whose name is still muttered with reverence across both sides of the Tasman Sea. The horse, however, was trained and raced in Australia, which many point to as the sole defining fact in determining where he was from.

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MUSIC - Debate has raged for decades over the band Crowded House. Consisting of former members of New Zealand band Split Enz in Neil Finn and Paul Hester, the band spent the majority of their career based in Melbourne. Hester and Nick Seymour are both Australian though the creative force Finn was from Te Awamutu. New Zealand's recent Grammy winner Lorde has also been claimed as "Australasian" by Australian media.

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BAKING - Named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, the meringue-based dish is a staple dessert at Christmas in both countries. New Zealand claims it was invented by a Wellington chef to serve the world-famous dancer when she visited in 1926. Australians argue the recipe appeared in local magazines earlier than that. The only thing the two agree on is that it is delicious.

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FILM - Oscar winner Russell Crowe is New Zealand-born but Australia-raised and identifies with the Sunburned Country. Crowe recently said he had been turned down twice for Australian citizenship, something denied by Australian officials. Many New Zealanders feel Australia is welcome to him.

PCB fires Moin Khan over casino visit

LAHORE- Pakistan chief selector Moin Khan, reprimanded by the cricket board for visiting a casino in New Zealand during the World Cup, has been sacked from his position after a high-level meeting of top officials today.
Moin, who received more flak for his casino visit than his contentious team selection for the World Cup, has been offered another position in the PCB with his contract yet to expire.
The meeting also discussed potential candidates for ODI captaincy after Misbah-ul-Haq's retirement.
According to PCB chairman, PCB didn’t find anything arguable regarding Moin’s visit.
"He realizes that it was inappropriate to have visited a casino ahead of Pakistan's match against the West Indies," PCB chairman Shahryar Khan said.

Syrian army turns to women on Damascus front lines

Sammy Ketz - Perched on a makeshift bench taking turns with a sniper rifle, the Syrian army’s top markswomen await their “prey” on the front line in east Damascus.
Sergeant Rim, 20, and Chief Sergeant Samar, 21, belong to the First Women’s Commando Brigade of the Republican Guard, an elite unit stationed on some of the most dangerous battlegrounds on the outskirts of the Syrian capital.
There are roughly 800 soldiers in these all-female commando brigades, who face determined and entrenched rebels to the east and southeast of Damascus.
Rim and Samar’s Russian-made SV-98 rifle pokes out through a small hole in the side of a building in the Jobar district.
In front of them is a scene of devastation.
There is no sign of life amid the rubble and burned-out vehicles.
But looks can be deceiving - the ground beneath the commandos is crisscrossed with tunnels and death lurks at every corner.
  The building where the women lie in wait is less than 200 metres (yards) from rebel lines.
It is defended entirely by female commandos.
Their commander describes them as the finest markswomen in the brigade.
“It’s true that we have a lot of patience, and this is the most important quality for a sniper,” Rim says shyly.
‘Not a question of gender’
A fearsome warrior hides behind her eye make-up and childlike smile - she boasts a record of 11 kills in a day.
“My commander gave me a sort of certificate, like in school,” she says, smiling.
“I usually hit three or four targets per day, and honestly, if I miss a gunman, I could cry,” she says.
Her fellow sniper’s record is seven kills in a day.
From another vantage point in the same building, a third female commando opens fire with a B-10 recoilless rifle, a much bigger weapon that is usually mounted on wheels or a tripod.
“It has hit the target,” Zeinab says proudly after one 82 mm round causes a terrifying explosion in a building 500 metres (yards) away.
The 21-year-old says she chose a career in the army after finishing her bachelor’s degree.
Her friends and family encouraged her decision and, after three months of intensive training, she joined the commandos.
  Asked why she chose such a large weapon, Zeinab is unabashed as she expresses determination to cause the maximum casualties.
“Snipers kill one person at a time.
But with the B-10, when I hit that house, I could be sure everyone inside was killed.
”Her male commanding officer Captain Ziad takes pride in her attitude.
“There’s no difference between men and women.
Some have a strong heart and deep courage, and others don’t.
It’s not a question of gender.
”Promoting women
The women commandos are new to the Syrian army but the unit’s commander denies their introduction was enforced by the heavy losses in male ranks during more than four years of civil war.
More than 46,000 soldiers have been killed since the conflict erupted in March 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“It’s true that it’s the first time we have female commandos,” says Major Ali.
“But it’s a decision that was taken by President Bashar al-Assad, who wants to promote the role of Syrian women and show that they are capable of being successful in all fields.
”In its battle with rebel fighters increasingly dominated by militants and other extremists, the Assad regime has played up its secular credentials.
Major Ali says the women have all enlisted for 10 years.
Angham, 21, saw an army recruitment advertisement in a store in her home province of Hama after completing her bachelor’s degree.
She underwent five months’ training at the naval academy in Jbele, in northwestern Syria, before being transferred to the capital.
“My three brothers are soldiers, and I have a sister who wants to join me too,” Angham says.
  Her weapon of choice is the Dushka, a heavy machinegun.
Outside the building, Samar, 19, and two female comrades pass by in a tank, throwing up a cloud of dust behind them.
“Several of the women have learnt to drive it,” Samar said.
“It weighs 43 tonnes but I said to myself: ‘Why not?’ It was very difficult but we succeeded.