Australia crush New Zealand in final 2015

Australia overwhelmed New Zealand to win the World Cup for a fifth time at an ecstatic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

New Zealand lost influential captain Brendon McCullum to the fifth ball of the match and were bowled out for 183.
Grant Elliott resisted with 83, while Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner shared eight wickets.
Australia rarely looked troubled, sealing a seven-wicket win in 33.1 overs, with captain Michael Clarke scoring 74 and Steve Smith 56 not out.
Clarke, in his final one-day international, was given a standing ovation by the record 93,000 crowd and welcomed by his team-mates on the boundary when he was bowled by Matt Henry with eight required.
He was part of the Australia team that last lifted the trophy in 2007, with this success extending their record for most World Cups won. No other team has more than two. Australia's win was the second in as many tournaments by a host nation after India's triumph four years ago.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan

"It was a brilliant performance. Australia were the best team in the tournament, fantastically led by Michael Clarke. Today they were just too powerful and strong for New Zealand, who have been great throughout the tournament. They've had everything you'd need in a one-day side, with the left-arm pace of Johnson and Starc. They've got everything covered."
It provided a joyous end to an emotional Australian summer which saw batsman Phillip Hughes die after being struck on the neck by a ball in Sydney in November.
In their first final, after six previous semi-final defeats, New Zealand were blown away.
Their path to Melbourne came with eight successive wins, all on home soil, and most of the pre-match speculation was of how McCullum's men would deal with the change in conditions.
They won what was thought to be a crucial toss, but the life was sucked from their innings almost as soon as it began.

BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew

In the end, the best team won the World Cup. Once again, that team was Australia.

At the beginning, we had them as the favourites to win a fourth World Cup in five because of the depth in their squad and the advantage of playing all but one of their matches at home.
It wasn't always easy and they had issues to overcome - talk surrounding the position of Michael Clarke and the fitness of James Faulkner.
But ultimately, a team showing typical Australian belief was celebrating at the Melbourne Cricket Ground after winning a one-sided final against New Zealand.
Their triumph was built on some hostile fast bowling, with captain Michael Clarke identifying that his bowlers won his side the trophy.
One of his pacemen, Mitchell Starc, provided the defining moment of the final when the game was only five deliveries old.
Yes, you can say it was disappointing from Brendon McCullum, who was bowled from the third ball he faced by a Starc yorker after two wild swipes.
I've always said McCullum should play in his ultra-aggressive manner, but today he failed to weigh up the options. If you're going to play like that against the likes of Starc, you are not going to win many.
From there, Starc took complete control, continuing his fine form that resulted in 22 wickets across the competition and the man of the tournament award.
His success is what happens when a bowler gets into a rhythm, when everything clicks. He runs in beautifully and has swung the ball at very high pace.
As a left-armer, Starc naturally takes the ball back into the right-hander, stopping someone like McCullum from freeing his arms. He does that consistently, frequently throwing in those devastating yorkers.

 I expect to see him bowling very well against England this summer. Before this tournament, we knew all about Mitchell Johnson, but now we are aware of Starc's threat too.

Mitchell Starc ended the tournament with the best ever World Cup bowling average (min 15 wkts): 22 wickets at 10.18

They have formed a trio with Josh Hazlewood, a strapping seam bowler who should also be suited to English conditions, and Australia also have the likes of Ryan Harris, James Pattinson and Patrick Cummins in reserve.
It is that depth of fast bowling that has an Englishman quaking in his boots when thinking about what might happen in the Ashes.
Granted, Australia have gaps to fill. There are questions about Clarke's future, about who might open with David Warner and the strength of their spin bowling, but there is a gulf between the two teams.
Not only that, but the England team seem to be rebuilding on constantly shifting sands, while Australia's foundations are rock-steady.
In the next two months, England must get their house in order, but that in itself could hamper their Ashes campaign.

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THE 7 MOMENTS THAT DEFINED THE 2ND SEMI-FINAL (AUSTRALIA V INDIA )

Johnson provided Australia with a late flurry of 27-not-out off nine balls to see the team to 328-6
With a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup final on the line and a sold-out Sydney Cricket Ground awash in a sea of blue and yellow, it was Australia who took advantage of the key moments.
Now, a show down with New Zealand in Melbourne awaits Australia, with prize a fifth World Cup trophy.Here are the key moments that decided this crunch semi-final between the co-host and India:

SUBLIME SMITH STRIKES AGAIN




Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav made an excellent start for India, immediately causing the Australian openers problems with their pace. David Warner was the early victim, falling for 12, placing the pressure on Aaron Finch, who had looked out of touch since a century in Australia’s tournament opener, and Steve Smith, who came into the match in very good touch.
What followed was another effortless innings from Smith, who again looked on a different
plane while working his way to a fourth ODI century, while Finchput together a well-earned81 off 116 balls.Their partnership of 182 for the second wicket laid the foundation for Australia of a batting-friendly wicket and when Smith departed in the 35th over, a total higher than 350 and even approaching 400 was not out of the question.

QUICK ONE , TWO

The loss of Glenn Maxwell and Finch in quick succession, in addition to tight bowling from spinner Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, turned the match in India’s favour at the 39-over mark.Maxwell, as he has all tournament, looked threatening as he plundered 23 off 14 before sweeping to deep backward square led, while Finch was set and looked to be on his way to a ton when he looped a shot to mid-wicket.


Suddenly, Australia had two new batsmen at the crease at the crunch time of the innings, when quick runs were needed to build a significant total.The run-rate slowed and Australia’s lower order was left with plenty of work do to before the end of the innings.

NO.9 STEPS UP

When the death overs approached and Australia needed runs to ensure a difficult total for India, it was expected the finisher, James Faulkner, might be the one to step up and provided the hasty knock needed. But when Faulkner departing for 21, bowled by Yadav, it was left to Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson to step up.



Haddin can provide fireworks when required but on this occasion is was the paceman, known for being more than handy with the bat, who provided with a late flurry of 27-not-out off nine balls to see Australia
to 328-6.

CHANCES,A DROP

India’s run chase began with its share of drama as Shikhar Dhawan set about giving his team the best start possible.First, an appeal for catch at slip which was sent upstairs to the third umpire to see whether it did indeed bounce between reaching the hands of Shane Watson, before inconclusive footage gave the batsman the benefit of the doubt.Then three overs later, an edge from Dhawan flew towards Watson but it was Brad Haddin who went for the chance, leaping to his left but failing to grasp the ball in his gloves.Dhawan made the most of the life, hitting six fours and a magnificent flick over square leg for six on his way to 45 off 41 balls. It was the start India needed with a big run

chase ahead of it and the large legion of Indiafans at the SCG were ecstatic.

JOHNSON FIRES UP

After the first wicket fell, the hopes of India rested squarely on the shoulders of the fourth-ranked
ODI batsman in the world, Virat Kohli.The value of the Kohli cannot be underestimated, with the batsman a key for India in run chases, having scored 13 tons when batting second in ODIs.Needless to say, when Kohli took on a Johnson bouncer and sent top-edge high into the gloves of Haddin, the Australian players and fans began to feel the game turn in their favour.That feeling became stronger two overs later when Johnson removed another danger man, Rohit Sharma, with a cross-seamer that cleaned up the opener’s stumps.

WHO HEARD THAT?

When Ajinkya Rahane swiped at a Faulkner ball in the 37th over, there was minimal interest fromAustralia’s fielders after it went through to Haddin.That is, except for Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith, who received top grades for excellent hearing after requesting a review.Snicko revealed the faintest of edges and Rahane headed back to the rooms, giving Australia the vital breakthrough it needed. It broke a 70-run partnership between Rahane and Dhoni and although there was still hope for India as long as the skipper remained at the crease, this vital win from Maxwell edged Australia slightly closer to victory.

AUSTRALIARIGHT ON TARGET

The run rate was climbing for India as it entered the crucial final 10 overs of the run chase, but renowned finisher Dhoni batting there was a sense he could still produce something special to steal the match fromAustralia.But that pressure became all the greater after a brilliant direct hit from man of the moment Steve Smith sent Ravindra Jadeja packing.
It left Dhoni the only batting hope left for the defending champions and all the while, the run rate continued to climb.Risks needed to be taken and every chance taken, but a quick single proved the undoing of Dhoni as Maxwell produced a second Australian direct hit and the seventh wicket fell.

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Srinivasan won't contest BCCI elections

N Srinivasan may not hold a post in the new BCCI regime, but the former president, who was barred from contesting the election until the end of the IPL corruption probe, has managed to get an upper hand not only in terms of number of officials but also in terms of the working committee composition.

Of the nine elected officials, who were appointed during the last week's AGM, seven are from Srinivasan's group. Barring president Jagmohan Dalmiya and secretary Anurag Thakur, who have shared a good rapport with Srinivasan in the past, all the other elected officials are from the Srinivasan camp. Ditto with the working committee, which is the main governing committee within the BCCI.

Only four members of the 21-member committee have been vocal opponents of the BCCI. Two bodies - the Mumbai Cricket Association and Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association - are permanent members, controlling permanent Test centres. Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association has been nominated as the central zone representative by rotation, while the Punjab Cricket Association had to be included as the PCA had staged a Test in the last two years. Incidentally, MPCA president Jyotiraditya Scindia lost the vice-president's election last week while the PCA secretary withdrew his nomination papers in the same election against Srinivasan's candidate, ML Nehru.

As the main governing committee within the board, the working committee ratifies all decisions taken by the BCCI's administration and the schedules of the Indian team's bilateral series. The committee comprises four principal office bearers, five vice-presidents, five permanent Test centres, associations who have hosted a Test match in the preceding two years and a member from each of the five zones by rotation.

The main omission from the working committee has been that of the Vidarbha Cricket Association, controlled by former BCCI president and key Pawar aide Shashank Manohar. The VCA had become a regular member of the working committee over the last decade, after having hosted Test matches regularly.

Over the last couple of years, however, Manohar and Srinivasan have turned into bitter rivals, and Manohar has criticized Srinivasan publicly and during working committee meetings. As a result, the BCCI has not allotted Nagpur a Test match since December 2012, resulting in VCA's exclusion from the committee. Since Nagpur's last Test match, India have played six Tests at home.

The Srinivasan group has also received a shot in the arm after the faction led by Sharad Pawar decided not to challenge the BCCI elections in court over the decision to allow Samarjit Sinh Gaekwad to attend the last week's AGM as the legitimate representative of the Baroda Cricket Association. The decision was made after considering the expert legal advice as well as the administrative scenario within the BCCI.

On March 2, soon after only one of their five candidates won the elections, the Pawar faction haddeclared its intention to contest AGM chairman Shivlal Yadav's verdict on allowing Gaekwad, the BCA president, to attend the AGM. BCA vice-president Rakesh Parikh, a support of Pawar's group, claimed to have been nominated by the BCA managing committee.

A Pawar aide confirmed that none of the aggrieved associations will move court. It is understood that the group sought expert legal advice and were told that the BCCI rulebook had been followed. Another Pawar ally confirmed that the decision was arrived at after carefully considering the post-election scenario in the BCCI.

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150 people died in French Alps,by plane crash

• A difficult search and recovery.

Officials say they have recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the German wings jetliner crash in the French Alps that killed all 150 people on board on Tuesday.

But small debris and body parts are strewn across the rugged terrain, which suggests that the plane disintegrated on impact. Search teams are still looking for the flight data recorder.

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