Cricket buzz

Here's a wrap up of what else is happening around in the near past:-

The Kiwis toured Bangladesh for a 3 match ODI series and 2 match test series. The fresh look Bangladesh team surprised the Kiwis, winning by 7 wickets! The New Zealanders fought back and won the other two matches. The first test was won by NZ, and the second test was drawn, thanks to rain. This is Bangladesh's second drawn test, in their 40+ test history.

South Africa beat Bangladesh in both ODI and Test series. Bangladesh had a very tough tour of South Africa and were beaten in all departments. The exodus of Bangladeshi players to the ICL has had some effect on the current side.

Australia hosted Kiwis for a two-test encounter and won comfortable in both of them. Brett Lee claimed his 300th wicket in the process. Off spinner Nathan Hauritz made a comeback into the Australian side, as Australia continue to look for a permanent spinner in the post-Warne era. Ponting hit back to the winning ways and had a few critics put their pen down. The Kiwis had something missing in them, didn't have enough firepower to capitalize on the momentum that they got in bits and pieces. Now, Australia will be hosting South Africa for a traditional 3 match test series and nontraditional 5 match ODI series, the tri-nation trophy having been scrapped off. Kiwis are hosting West Indies. They'll play 2 tests and 5 ODIs.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka completed a white wash of Zimbabwe in the 5 match ODI series. With little or no resistance from the Zimbabwean batting line up on most occasions, SL had it easy on the slow pitches. Credit must be given to the Zimbabweans, thought, who came very close in the last three matches and the effort was well seen. The lack of experience of playing top level cricket and inability to handle pressure cost them dearly. The spin combo of Murali and Mendis had Zimbabwe in trouble. Mparuwa was the lone bright spot for Zimbabwe's bowling. Sangakkara was the only batsman who showed composure in the series, which assisted bowlers more.

With lots of cricket going on around the New Year time, the cricketing world in the Southern Hemisphere will be busy with high quality action packed cricket. I hope cricket is back in its prime form up North too.