Michael Schumacher confirms 2010 Formula1 participation for Mercedes

Mercedes have confirmed the participation of Michael Schumacher for the 2010 season alongside fellow German driver Nico Rosberg. There had been rumors which had suggested that Schumi would return to team up with Ross Brawn  once Mercedes had purchased Brawn GP. Schumacher who has 7 world titles and 91 race wins would be returning to Formula1 at the age of 41 after having retired at the end of 2006 season.
Michael Schumacher had planned to step in this year for the injured Massa but had to drop his plan after realizing that he had still not recovered from his neck injury.
For complete story click here

2010 points system in Formula1

With the expansion of Formula1 teams on the grid the points system  has also been changed for the 2010 season. Following are the important points:

• Race winner will be awarded 25 points
• Runners-up will be awarded 20 points
• 3rd place will be awarded 15 points
• 4th place will be awarded 10 points
• 5th place will be awarded 8 points
• 6th place will be awarded 6 points
• 7th place will be awarded 5 points
• 8th place will be awarded 3 points
• 9th place will be awarded 2 points
• 10th place will be awarded 1 point.

Ind-SL-Bangladesh tri series schedule 2010

Mon  Jan 4  15:30 local time ---  1st Match - Bangladesh v Sri Lanka

Tue   Jan 5  15:30 local time ---  2nd Match - India v Sri Lanka

Thu   Jan 7  15:30 local time ---  3rd Match - Bangladesh v India

Fri    Jan 8  15:30 local time  --- 4th Match - Bangladesh v Sri Lanka

Sun  Jan 10 15:30 local time ---  5th Match - India v Sri Lanka

Mon Jan 11 15:30 local time ---  6th Match - Bangladesh v India

Wed  Jan 13 15:30 local time ---Final

South Africa 2010 Football World Cup Groups and Schedule

Welcome to South Africa for the 2010 Football World Cup.
Below you can find World Cup Soccer schedules and about South Africa 2010 Football World Cup participating teams.





2010 World Cup Soccer Teams

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
South Africa	Argentina	England	Germany
Mexico	Nigeria	USA	Australia
Uruguay	Korea Republic	Algeria	Serbia
France	Greece	Slovenia	Ghana

Group E	Group F	Group G	Group H
Netherland	Italy	Brazil	Spain
Denmark	Paraguay	Korea DPR	Switzerland
Japan	New Zealand	Ivory Coast	Honduras
Cameroon	Slovakia	Portugal	Chile

2010 World Cup Soccer Dates and Schedule

Group A
June 11 - South Africa vs. Mexico (Johannesburg)
June 11 - Uruguay vs. France (Cape Town)
June 16 - South Africa vs. Uruguay ( Tshwane/Pretori)
June 17 - France vs. Mexico (Polokwane)
June 22 - Mexico vs. Uruguay (Rustenburg)
June 22 - France vs. South Africa (Mangaung/Bloemfontein)

Group B
June 12 - Argentina vs. Nigeria (Johannesburg)
June 12 - Korea Republic vs. Greece (Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth)
June 17 - Greece vs. Nigeria (Mangaung/Bloemfontein)
June 17 - Argentina vs. Korea Republic (Johannesburg)
June 22 - Nigeria vs. Korea Republic (Durban)
June 22 - Greece vs. Argentina (Polokwane)

Group C
June 12 - England vs. USA (Rustenburg)
June 13 - Algeria vs. Slovenia (Polokwane)
June 18 - Slovenia vs. USA (Johannesburg)
June 18 - England vs. Algeria (Cape Town)
June 23 - Slovenia vs. England (Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth)
June 23 - USA vs. Algeria (Tshwane/Pretoria)

Group D
June 13 - Germany vs. Australia (Durban)
June 13 - Serbia vs. Ghana (Tshwane/Pretoria)
June 18 - Germany vs. Serbia (Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth)
June 19 - Ghana vs. Australia (Rustenburg)
June 23 - Ghana vs. Germany (Johannesburg)
June 23 - Australia vs. Serbia (Nelspruit)

Group E
June 14 - Netherlands vs. Denmark (Johannesburg)
June 14 - Japan vs Cameroon (Mangaung/Bloemfontein)
June 19 - Netherlands vs. Japan (Durban)
June 19 - Cameroon vs. Denmark (Tshwane/Pretoria)
June 24 - Denmark vs. Japan (Rustenburg)
June 24 - Cameroon vs. Netherlands (Cape Town)

Group F
June 14 - Italy vs. Paraguay (Cape Town)
June 15 - New Zealand vs. Slovakia (Rustenburg)
June 20 - Slovakia vs. Paraguay (Mangaung/Bloemfontein)
June 20 - Italy vs. New Zealand (Nelspruit)
June 24 - Slovakia vs. Italy (Johannesburg)
June 24 - Paraguay vs. New Zealand (Polokwane)

Group G
June 15 - Cote d'Ivoire vs. Portugal (Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth)
June 15 - Brazil vs. Korea DPR (Johannesburg)
June 20 - Brazil vs. Cote d'Ivoire (Johannesburg)
June 21 - Portugal vs. Korea DPR (Cape Town)
June 25 - Portugal vs. Brazil (Durban)
June 25 - Korea DPR vs. Cote d'Ivoire (Nelspruit)

Group H
June 16 - Honduras vs. Chile (Nelspruit)
June 16 - Spain vs. Switzerland (Durban)
June 21 - Chile vs. Swizterland (Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth)
June 21 - Spain vs. Honduras (Johannesburg)
June 25 - Chile vs. Spain (Tshwane/Pretoria)
June 25 - Switzerland vs. Honduras (Mangaung/Bloemfontein)

Round of sixteen/second round

26/6/2010 Group C winner(C1) vs (D2)Group D runner up (Rustenburg)
26/6/2010 Group A winner(A1) vs (B2)Group B runner up (Port Elizabeth)
27/6/2010 Group B winner(B1) vs (A2)Group A runner up (Johannesburg)
27/6/2010 Group D winner(D1) vs (C2)Group C runner up (Bloemfontein)
28/6/2010 Group G winner(G1) vs (H2)Group H runner up (Johannesburg)
28/6/2010 Group E winner(E1) vs (F2)Group F runner up (Durban)
29/6/2010 Group H winner(H1) vs (G2)Group G runner up (Cape Town)
29/6/2010 Group F winner(F1) vs (E2)Group E runner up (Pretori


World Cup quarter finals
2/7/2010 Winner Match 1 vs Winner Match 2 (Johannesburg)
2/7/2010 Winner Match 5 vs Winner Match 6 (Port Elizabeth)
3/7/2010 Winner Match 7 vs Winner Match 8 (Johannesburg)
3/7/2010 Winner Match 3 vs Winner Match 4 (Cape Town)


World Cup semi finals

6/7/2010 Winner Match A vs Winner Match B (Cape Town)
7/7/2010 Winner Match C vs Winner Match D (Polokwane)



3rd place play off

10/7/2010 Loser Match 1 vs Loser Match 2 (Port Elizabeth)

2010 World Cup Final

11/7/2010 Winner Match 1 vs Winner Match 2 (Johannesburg)

More details FIFA

Formula One (F1) Teams for 2010 season

FIA has announced the name of 12 F1 teams and their probable drivers for the 2010 season. BMW Sauber will be the 13th team on the grid and will be replacing Toyota.

Formula 1 Teams	Formula 1 Drivers
Mclaren Mercedes	Jensen Button,Lewis Hamilton
Brawn Mercedes Benz	Nico Rosberg,Michael Schumacher
Red Bull Racing Renault	Sebastian Vettel,Mark Webber
Ferrari	Felipe Massa,Fernando Alonso
Williams Cosworth	Rubens Barichello,Nico Hulkenburg
Renault	Robert Kubica,TBA
Force India Mercedes	Adrian Sutil,Vitantonio Liuzzi
STR Ferrari	Sebastien Buemi,TBA
Lotus Cosworth	Jarno Trulli,Heikki Kovalainen
Campos Dallara	TBA,Bruno Senna
US F1 Cosworth	TBA,TBA
Virgin Cosworth	Timo Glock,Lucas Di Grassi
BMW Sauber	TBA,TBA

*TBA - To Be Announced

India win Kanpur test - 100rd Test wins

Sri Lanka were dismissed for 269 by India in their second innings to lose the second test match at Kanpur by an innings and 144 runs. India played brillantly first by posting such a huge score and then their bowlers forced the Lankan batsmen to commit mistakes and bowled them twice. Following are the important landmark of this match

• India registered their 100th Test match victory.
• India's third biggest win in terms of handing over the opponent an innings defeat.
• Man of the Match: S.Sreesanth

Scores

• India 1st innings : 642 all out
• Sri Lanka 1st innings : 229 all out
• Sri Lanka 2nd innings : 269 all out

History of India Test wins:

• 1st Test win - v/s England at Madras 1951-52
• 50th Test win - v/s Srilanka at Lucknow 1993-94
• 100rd Test win- v/s Srilanka at Kanpur 2009-10

BCCI awards contract for 2009-10 season

BCCI has released the names of 41 Indian players who will be contracted for the 2009-10 season.

• Fast bowler Ashish Nehra has been awarded a grade B contract.
• Irfan Pathan has been demoted to grade C because of his poor performance.

Grade A: Retainership of Rs 60 lakh


Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh.



Grade B: Retainership of Rs 40 lakh

Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra.



Grade C: Retainership of Rs 25 lakh

Irfan Pathan, S Badrinath, Wasim Jaffer, Yusuf Pathan, Pragyan Ojha, S Sreesanth, Dinesh Karthik, Amit Mishra.



Grade D: Retainership of Rs 15 lakh

Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, Robin Uthappa, Parthiv Patel, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammed Kaif, Virat Kohli, Ashok Dinda, Wriddhiman Saha, M Vijay, R Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Sudeep Tyagi, Dhawal Kulkarni, Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary.

Is Michael Schumacher returning to F1 2010?

BBC Sport pundit Eddie Jordan has created a sensation by predicting that Michael Schumacher is poised for a sensational return to formula1 with the Mercedes team."The possibility is being actively pursued and I believe it is going to happen," said Jordan.

Schumacher's spokeswoman Sabine Kehm told BBC Sport a return was "highly unlikely - but never say never".

Schumacher is currently contracted to Ferrari as a consultant so why is he linked to Mercedes a team which took over last year champions Brawn GP. Before his debut with Jordan, Schumacher drove sports car for Mercedes who actually paid Jordan to give Schumacher a race seat. So you see why Schumacher is linked to Mercedes. Also when the dominance of Schumacher was at its prime some felt that specators were losing interest because of  his dominance so he was somewhat forced to announce his retirement and the sly Bernie Ecclestone may have had a hand in it. But with Schumacher exit Formula1 was never  the same and more people lost interest in  it, add to it the various scandals that were associated with F1. So now if Schumacher was to return it will give a big boost to F1 as it was seen when Ferrari wanted him for the injured Massa.

If Michael returns he will reunite with team boss Ross Brawn with whom he has won all seven titles at Benetton and Ferrari. But will he really return or is this just speculation lets just wait and watch.

Button walks away to Mclaren for 2010 season

Current world champion and Brawn GP driver Jensen Button has confirmed that he will drive for Mclaren next season and will be partnering former world champion Lewis Hamilton for the 2010 season. Since 1968 it will be the first time that two British drivers are placed together in a team. Button described leaving the Brawn team for whom he won the title as a "difficult decision".
But the 29-year-old added: "Life is about challenges. Most important of all, it's about challenging yourself." "I've followed the McLaren team ever since I was a small boy, and it feels unbelievable to finally be a part of it.
"When I visited the McLaren Technology Centre earlier this month, it wasn't simply the technical resources and the incredible standards of excellence that impressed me.
"No, I was equally struck by the ambition, the motivation and the winning spirit that flow through everybody there. And then there's the team's epic history: put it this way, the trophy cabinets seem to stretch for miles.
"From a personal point of view, it's also a great pleasure to be joining a fellow British world champion.

"It has always been our policy to employ the two very best possible drivers," said McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh.
"In Jenson and Lewis, we feel we not only have the fastest pairing on the 2010 grid but also the two most complete, professional and dedicated drivers in Formula One.
"I want to make clear that Jenson's decision to join us was in no way motivated by money. We'll be paying him no more than he could be getting elsewhere."

This means that Lewis Hamilton partner this year Heikki Kovalainen has to find a place with some other team if he wants to drive for the new season.

Meanwhile Mercedes which took over Brawn GP have signed German Nico Rosberg as one of their drivers and fellow German Nick Heidfeld is a hot favorite for the other seat.

So after an all British driver line up with Mclaren are we looking at an all German driver line up at Mercedes for the 2010 season.

Brawn GP say bye to 2010 Formula1

Another new surprise in Formula1 and this time its the constructor champions Brawn GP who are responsible. Mercedes have taken over Brawn GP and will be known as Silver Arrows. Ross Brawn would still remain the principal for the team while Mercedes will continue to supply engine to their partner Mclaren at least untill 2015.

Mercedes have a 40 percent stake in Mclaren who have now announced that they would buy back from Mercedes this 40 percent stake by 2011. The new arrangement removes potential conflicts arising from McLaren’s plans to begin manufacturing its own range of high-performance production sports cars from 2011, part of the group’s long-term strategy to widen its commercial activities. Mercedes have still to confirm their drivers line up for the 2010 season with Barichello already moving out and Button searching for a place with Mclaren.

Brawn GP’s UK factory in Brackley is less than 30 miles from Mercedes’ Formula One engine plant at Brixworth, which should make for a highly-efficient operation to be coordinated by the familiar figure of Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.

“It is our target to develop a model for our Formula One activities which will initially be run with significantly reduced budgets by Mercedes-Benz and which, in the foreseeable future, will be self-financing,” commented Haug.“Furthermore, we naturally want to inspire our faithful spectators and TV viewers worldwide and maximize media coverage for our brand. With Formula One, Mercedes-Benz can continue to clearly demonstrate its willingness to compete and win on the most important motor sports competition stage in the world.”

Sachin Tendulkar completes 20years in cricket

20 years ago a little gem called Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar made his debut for India and today he holds numerous records in both forms of the game. Lets salute the Master Blaster and take a look at history.

Not many remember that during his debut tour to Pakistan there was a 20 over exibition match played where Sachin scored 53 runs of just 18 balls. It has to be best remembered for him hitting the Pakistani leggie Abdul Qadir for 28 runs in one over. Later the then captain Kris Srikant said"Its one of the best innings that I have seen."

Sachin quotes:

"When I started learning cricket from my coach Ramakant Achrekar,I was told clearly by him that not only should I respect the game, I should worship cricket also and then only cricket will take care of me. I still believe in that."

"I wanted to be as solid as Sunil Gavaskar and as destructive as Vivian Richards because that combination was always going to be lethal. I felt truly inspired by these two individuals on the field."

Pakistan tour of New Zealand 2009

Tue Nov 24 - Sat Nov 28 11:00 local | 22:00 GMT 01:00 AST +1d | 02:00 GST +1d	1st Test - New Zealand v Pakistan University Oval, Dunedin
Thu Dec 3 - Mon Dec 7 11:00 local | 22:00 GMT 01:00 AST +1d | 02:00 GST +1d	2nd Test - New Zealand v Pakistan Basin Reserve, Wellington
Fri Dec 11 - Tue Dec 15 11:00 local | 22:00 GMT 01:00 AST +1d | 02:00 GST +1d	3rd Test - New Zealand v Pakistan McLean Park, Napier

England tour of South Africa 2009

Match Date	Team	Time	Type	Venue
11/13/2009	South Africa vs England	21:30 (IST)	1st Twenty20 International	New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
11/15/2009	South Africa vs England	18:00 (IST)	2nd Twenty20 International	Centurion, Tshwane
Match Date	Team	Time	Type	Venue
12/16/2009	South Africa vs England	14:00 (IST)	1st Test	Centurion, Tshwane
12/26/2009	South Africa vs England	14:00 (IST)	2nd Test	Kingsmead, Durban
Match Date	Team	Time	Type	Venue
11/20/2009	South Africa vs England	18:00 (IST)	1st ODI	New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
11/22/2009	South Africa vs England	13:30 (IST)	2nd ODI	Centurion, Tshwane
11/27/2009	South Africa vs England	18:00 (IST)	3rd ODI	Newlands, Cape Town
11/29/2009	South Africa vs England	13:30 (IST)	4th ODI	St George's Park, Port Elizabeth
12/4/2009	South Africa vs England	18:00 (IST)	5th ODI	Kingsmead, Durban

Formula1- Offseason news

Catch below all the offseason news in formula1

Renault to decide F1 future by end of year
Crashgate has taken a toll on the french carmaker and they have announced that they will make an announcement about their future participation by the end ofthe year. For complete news goto
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/racing/top-stories/Renault-to-decide-F1-future-by-end-of-year/articleshow/5200644.cms

Toyota pulls out of formula1 - After Honda now its the turn of another Japanese carmaker to pull out of Formula1. For complete coverage goto http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/racing/top-stories/Toyota-pulls-out-of-Formula-One-racing-/articleshow/5195904.cms
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2009/11/where_does_toyota_pullout_leav.html

Comeback decison was not rational : Michael Schumacher
Schumacher has said that his decison to return behind the wheels was more of a emotional decison than a rational one. Read on for the complete news
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/racing/top-stories/Comeback-decision-was-not-rational-Schumacher/articleshow/5192955.cms

Sri Lanka tour of India 2009

November 11-13 : Three-day warm-up match in Mumbai


November 16-20 : 1st Test, Ahmedabad

November 24-28 : 2nd Test, Kanpur

December 2-6 : 3rd Test, Mumbai

December 9 : 1st Twenty20, Nagpur (d/n)


December 12 : 2nd Twenty20, Mohali (d/n)

December 15 : 1st ODI, Rajkot

December 18 : 2nd ODI, Visakhapatnam (d/n)

December 21 : 3rd ODI, Cuttack (d/n)

December 24 : 4th ODI, Kolkata (d/n)

December 27 : 5th ODI, New Delhi (d/n)

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - What to expect

What is the Abu Dhabi F1 race circuit called?
Yas Marina Circuit.

When is the Abu Dhabi race scheduled?
30th October - 1st November 2009

How to reach Yas Marina Circuit?
Land at Abu Dhabi International Airport and move towards Yas MarinaCircuit by road situated on a natural island.

What to expect from the race?
Watch out for this F1 race as it is the only twilight race scheduled in the F1 calender.

No. of laps  : 55

Race starting time :  17:00 hrs (Abu Dhabi time)

Selected quotes:

David Coulthard :  "Having had the opportunity to drive the circuit, what struck me is that it's a two-stage track; the first half of the lap until corner nine is typical of the new type of track,"
"There's the fast section at the beginning from Turn One to the Turn Four tight hairpin with the grandstand literally overhead, giving great viewing for the spectators.



"The 1.2 kilometre back straight should give an opportunity for some slipstreaming and overtaking and then the back section of the circuit has a real street circuit feel to it, where you come along the section that takes you to the hotel and then passes underneath it, via a series of 90 degree right-handers and left-handers before opening out to the end of the lap and a medium speed corner on to the start-finish straight.


"The pit lane entry is very challenging, as is the exit, which is actually in a tunnel under the circuit and is going to make it particularly challenging for the drivers coming in and out of pit stops.

"There are great facilities and air-conditioned garages which will make working conditions in the heat a little bit easier and also having an evening race will obviously take some of the heat out of what can be a very hot venue.

"I think the twilight aspect of the race will be more of a visual treat for the spectators and the TV audience, but I think for the drivers it will be absolutely fine, as there is enough overhead lighting to make it blend seamlessly from day into night, no problem."

For more details about the new Abu Dhabi  circuit visit http://yasmarinacircuit.com/

New South Wales win Champions league 20-20

Another Australian team was crowned champions tonight!!!
New South Wales beat Trinidad and Tobago by 41 runs in Hyderabad to lift the inaugral Champions league20-20 trophy. The night belonged to Bret Lee who performed both with the bat and ball. NSW were struggling at 83/6 in the 12th over when Lee came at the crease. His smashing 48 runs in 31 balls along with Steven Smith who scored 33 ensured that NSW reached 159/9.
After performing with the bat he was back in action with the ball claiming 2/10 and reducing the oppositon to 21/3. Trinidad and Tobago never looked like they would achieve the target and it seemed that their fairytale journey had reached its end.
The tournamet failed to generate the intrest that IPL had generated mainly because all the IPL teams failed to reach the semi finals. It can be seen that all the teams which had a bonding reached the semi finals which was missing from the IPL teams as they had less time to bond and prepare themselves. But in the end the better team won so congratulation to NSW for winning this championship.

Updated schedule of 2010 Formula1 grand prix

The Monaco Grand Prix will now take place a week earlier  on May 16, 2009.

12-14 Mar BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX (Sakhir)


25-28 Mar AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (Melbourne)


02-04 Apr MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX (Kuala Lumpur)


16-18 Apr CHINESE GRAND PRIX (Shanghai)


07-09 May GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA 2010 (Catalunya)


14-16 May GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2010 (Monte Carlo)


28-30 May TURKISH GRAND PRIX (Istanbul)


11-13 Jun GRAND PRIX DU CANADA 2010 (Montreal)


25-27 Jun GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE (Valencia)


09-11 Jul BRITISH GRAND PRIX (Donington Park)


23-25 Jul GROSSER PREIS VON DEUTSCHLAND 2010 (Hockenheim)


30Jul-01Aug ING MAGYAR NAGYDIJ 2010 (Budapest)


27-29 Aug BELGIAN GRAND PRIX (Spa-Francorchamps)


10-12 Sept GRAN PREMIO D'ITALIA 2010 (Monza)


24-26 Sept SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX (Singapore)


08-10 Oct JAPANESE GRAND PRIX (Suzuka)


22-24 Oct KOREAN GRAND PRIX (Korea)


05-07 Nov GRANDE PREMIO DO BRASIL 2010 (Sao Paulo)



12-14 Nov ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX (Yas Marina Circuit)

Australia tour of India 2009

Australia tour of India schedule 2009


Oct 25, 2009 09:00 IST Reliance Stadium, Vadodara 1st ODI India vs Australia (Aus win by 4 runs)

Oct 28, 2009 14:30 IST Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur 2nd ODI India vs Australia (Ind win by 99 runs)

Oct 31, 2009 14:30 IST Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi 3rd ODI India vs Australia (Ind win by 6 wkts)

Nov 2, 2009 14:30 IST Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali 4th ODI India vs Australia(Aus win by 24 runs)

Nov 5, 2009 14:30 IST Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad 5th ODI India vs Australia(Aus win by 3 runs)

Nov 8, 2009 09:00 IST Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Guwahati 6th ODI India vs Australia(Aus win by 6 wkts)

Nov 11, 2009 14:30 IST Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai 7th ODI India vs Australia(Match abandoned)
Australia win series 4-2

For live cricket match scores goto http://www.cricinfo.com/

Names of Formula1 champions

Congratulations to Jenson Button and Brawn GP for winning both the drivers as well as constructors championsip for 2009.
Below mentioned are all the winners over the years in Formula1.


2009 - Jenson Button (Britain) Brawn


2008 - Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren

 2007 - Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari


2006 - Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault


2005 - Alonso, Renault


2004 - Michael Schumacher, Ferrari


2003 - Schumacher, Ferrari


2002 - Schumacher, Ferrari


2001 - Schumacher, Ferrari


2000 - Schumacher, Ferrari


1999 - Mika Hakkinen (Finland) McLaren


1998 - Hakkinen, McLaren


1997 - Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) Williams


1996 - Damon Hill (Britain) Williams


1995 - Schumacher, Benetton


1994 - Schumacher, Benetton


1993 - Alain Prost (France) Williams


1992 - Nigel Mansell (Britain) Williams


1991 - Ayrton Senna (Brazil) McLaren


1990 - Senna, McLaren


1989 - Prost, McLaren


1988 - Senna, McLaren


1987 - Nelson Piquet (Brazil) Williams


1986 - Prost, McLaren


1985 - Prost, McLaren


1984 - Niki Lauda (Austria) McLaren


1983 - Piquet, Brabham


1982 - Keke Rosberg (Finland) Williams


1981 - Piquet, Brabham


1980 - Alan Jones (Australia) Williams


1979 - Jody Scheckter (South Africa) Ferrari

1978 - Mario Andretti (U.S.) Lotus


1977 - Lauda, Ferrari


1976 - James Hunt (Britain) McLaren


1975 - Lauda, Ferrari


1974 - Emerson Fittipaldi (Brazil) McLaren


1973 - Jackie Stewart (Britain) Tyrrell


1972 - Fittipaldi, Lotus


1971 - Stewart, Tyrrell


1970 - Jochen Rindt (Austria) Lotus


1969 - Stewart, Matra


1968 - Graham Hill (Britain) Lotus


1967 - Denny Hulme (New Zealand) Brabham


1966 - Jack Brabham (Australia) Brabham


1965 - Jim Clark (Britain) Lotus


1964 - John Surtees (Britain) Ferrari


1963 - Clark, Lotus


1962 - G. Hill, BRM


1961 - Phil Hill (U.S.) Ferrari


1960 - Brabham, Cooper


1959 - Brabham, Cooper


1958 - Mike Hawthorn (Britain) Ferrari


1957 - Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina) Maserati


1956 - Fangio, Lancia/Ferrari


1955 - Fangio, Mercedes


1954 - Fangio, Mercedes/Maserati


1953 - Alberto Ascari (Italy), Ferrari


1952 - Ascari, Ferrari


1951 - Fangio, Alfa Romeo


1950 - Giuseppe Farina (Italy) Alfa Romeo

Formula1 Race Schedule 2010

12-14 Mar        BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX (Sakhir)


25-28 Mar       AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (Melbourne)

02-04 Apr        MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX (Kuala Lumpur)

16-18 Apr       CHINESE GRAND PRIX (Shanghai)

07-09 May      GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA 2010 (Catalunya)

20-23 May      GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2010 (Monte Carlo)

28-30 May      TURKISH GRAND PRIX (Istanbul)

11-13 Jun        GRAND PRIX DU CANADA 2010 (Montreal)

25-27 Jun        GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE (Valencia)

09-11 Jul         BRITISH GRAND PRIX (Donington Park)

23-25 Jul        GROSSER PREIS VON DEUTSCHLAND 2010 (Hockenheim)

30Jul-01Aug   ING MAGYAR NAGYDIJ 2010 (Budapest)

27-29 Aug     BELGIAN GRAND PRIX (Spa-Francorchamps) 

10-12 Sept    GRAN PREMIO D'ITALIA 2010 (Monza) 

24-26 Sept    SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX (Singapore)
01-03 Oct     JAPANESE GRAND PRIX (Suzuka)

15-17 Oct     KOREAN GRAND PRIX (Korea)

29-31 Oct     ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX (Yas Marina Circuit)

12-14 Nov    GRANDE PREMIO DO BRASIL 2010 (Sao Paulo)

India crash out of ICC Champions trophy

Australia’s 2 wicket win over Pakistan ensured that India was not going to the semi final of the ICC Champions Trophy. This bring us to the question that did India really deserve its place in the semi final line up. The way the Indians have approached this competition they never looked like they would win the cup. M.S.Dhoni who had lady luck smiling on him for a long time now needs to do some serious thinking. His laid back attitude during this tournament along with some bad team selection has been the bane of Team India. This along with some extremely bad bowling performances from most of the bowlers proved costly for them.

India faced the first blow when Zaheer Khan and Virendra Sehwag got injuries and adding to that list was the injury to Yuvraj Singh. The writing was clear on the wall that it would need some extra ordinary performances from the Indians if they were to be winners. But the bowling attack barring Ashish Nehra looked toothless in the absence of Zaheer Khan. First Pakistan and then Australia plundered them for runs and had it not been for the rains the Australians were also looking to post a 300 plus score like Pakistan. But read this in the final match against the West Indies Dhoni turned over his arm and got a wicket too!!!! Sorry to say this does not look like a no.1 team.

Abhishek Nayar who was the only one who posted a good score in the warm up match was ignored. The question is why was he made to play the warm up match if he was not going to be selected initially. Wouldn’t it make sense to give practice to someone who was going to be in the playing eleven? Or were they over confident from their victory in Sri Lanka.

Well now Autralia play a resurgent England team on Friday and Pakistan take on the Kiwis on Saturday. May the better team win.

The Crashgate scandal- who is responsible?

Everyone by now must be aware of the Crashgate scandal being associated with Formula1. It all started last year at the Singapore Grand Prix when Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed his car on purpose to benefit teammate Fernando Alonso. No one was aware of this till Nelson Piquet Jr. was shown the door at Renault and he decided to spill the beans. The result was that Flavio Briatore was handed a life ban from motor racing, Pat Symonds was handed a five year ban and Renault were handed a two year suspended ban. However the most suprising part is that the person who crashed his car was given an immunity since he spilled the beans.

This raises a few questions: If a person commits  murder along with his accomplish should he also not be held guilty and penalized with some form of punishment even if he agrees to spill the beans. This is exactly what has not happended in this case. Piquet Jr. crashed his car but he escaped punishment because he named Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds as the guys who told him to crash.

Secondly there are many counter accusations going on between the guys associated with this crash. Piquet Jr. says Briatore and Symonds planned the crash and instructed him where to crash his car. Pat Symonds says it was Piquet Jr. who came up to them with this idea of crashing his car so that Alonso could benefit from it. So the fact of the matter is one of them is not telling the complete truth.

Whatever it is, it has brought Formula1 once again in news. Flavio Briatore will definately appeal against this ban because he stands to lose most from it as he is not only banned from managing a team but also the team drivers and that too in all forms of motor racing. As for Nelson Piquet Jr. his career is definately going nowhere because none of the teams will want to be associated with him for the time being.

Let just hope we dont have any such suprises this year after the Singapore Grand Prix.

SA,PAK register win

South Africa beat New Zealand by 5 wickets to keep their hope alive in the Chamions Trophy.
In another match last night Pakistan scraped through a second string West Indian side.

Sri Lanka upset SA

Sri Lanka defeated South Africa in the first match of the Champions Trophy. South Africa won the toss and chose to field but were immediately put under pressure by the Lankan batsman. T.Dilshan top scored with 106. SA never looked like they would chase a target of 320 to win. Ajanta Mendis bowled exceptionally well and the South Africans never looked comfortable against him.

For complete score click the link below

http://www.cricinfo.com/iccct2009/engine/current/match/415273.htm

NZ trash India in warm up match

India recieved a wake up call in their only warm up match against the Kiwis before the start of Champions trophy. Chasing a huge total of 301 runs India never looked like winning the match and lost by 103 runs.

The pace bowling in abscence of Zaheer Khan looks weak and India have to come up with a solution immediately else even a score of 300 plus wont be enough to contain the opposition. Abhishek Nayar looks promising and warrants a place in the final eleven especially after his performance yesterday(41 runs,36 balls).

India play Pakistan at the Centurion on 26th September.

Read the full news story at http://www.cricinfo.com/iccct2009/content/current/story/425807.html

Herschelle Gibbs doubtful starter for ICC Champions Trophy 2009

South Africa suffered a serious setback just days before the commencement of the Champions trophy with Herschelle Gibbs picking a rib injury during a practice match with West Indies.

Although official announcement is awaited but sources inform that he may miss the opening match.

The host play Sri Lanka in the opening day night match at Centurion.

Read the full news story at http://www.cricinfo.com/iccct2009/content/story/425623.html

History of ICC Champions Trophy

The ICC Champions Trophy started out as a knockout tournament in 1998 and was called as Mini World Cup. In 2002 it was renamed as Champions Trophy with the format being revised to round robin. Of the previous five Champions Trophy finals held West Indies have featured three times - once as winners(2004) and twice as runner up(1998,2006).The 2006 version can be best remembered for the ugly incident involving Ricky Ponting and Sharad Pawar

Year	Winner	Runner	Venue	Format
1998	South Africa	West Indies	Dhaka, Bangladesh	Knockout
2000	New Zealand	India	Nairobi, Kenya	Knockout
2002	India and Sri Lanka                   (Rain )		Sri Lanka	Round Robin
2004	West Indies	England	England	Round Robin
2006	Australia	West Indies	India	Round Robin

ICC Champions Trophy Schedule 2009

The sixth ICC Champions Trophy will begin from 22nd September- 5th October. Orignally it was scheduled to be held in Pakistan last year but it has been rescheduled to South Africa this year because of security concerns.Wanderers( Johannesburg) and Centurion are the venues where the matches are scheduled to be played.

GROUP A

Team	P	W	L	T	NR	NRR	Points
Australia	3	2	0	0	1	+0.510	5
India	3	1	1	0	1	+0.290	3
Pakistan	3	2	1	0	0	+0.999	4
West Indies	3	0	3	0	0	-1.537	0

GROUP B

Team	P	W	L	T	NR	NRR	Points
New Zealand	3	2	1	0	0	+0.782	4
Sri Lanka	3	1	2	0	0	-0.085	2
England	3	2	1	0	0	-0.487	4
South Africa	3	1	2	0	0	-0.177	2

Date	Time (GMT)	Match Details	Venue
September 22	12:30	South Africa v Sri Lanka, 1st Match, Group B, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Centurion (D/N)
September 23	12:30	Pakistan v West Indies, 2nd Match, Group A, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Johannesburg (D/N)
September 24	07:30	South Africa v New Zealand, 3rd Match, Group B, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Centurion
September 25	12:30	England v Sri Lanka, 4th Match, Group B, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Johannesburg (D/N)
September 26	07:30	Australia v West Indies, 5th Match, Group A, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Johannesburg
September 26	12:30	India v Pakistan, 6th Match, Group A, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Centurion (D/N)
September 27	07:30	New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 7th Match, Group B, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Johannesburg
September 27	12:30	South Africa v England, 8th Match, Group B, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Centurion (D/N)
September 28	12:30	Australia v India, 9th Match, Group A, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Centurion (D/N)
September 29	12:30	England v New Zealand, 10th Match, Group B, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Johannesburg (D/N)
September 30	07:30	Australia v Pakistan, 11th Match, Group A, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Centurion
September 30	12:30	India v West Indies, 12th Match, Group A, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Johannesburg (D/N)
October 2009
Date	Time (GMT)	Match Details	Venue
October 02	12:30	A1 v B2, 1st Semi-Final, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Centurion (D/N)
October 03	12:30	B1 v A2, 2nd Semi-Final, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Johannesburg (D/N)
October 05	12:30	Final, ICC Champions Trophy 2009	Centurion (D/N)

Television Coverage

• Supersport (live) – South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe
• Star Cricket (live) – India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia
• ESPN (live) – India
• DD National (live) – India (only India matches)
• GEO Super (live) – Pakistan
• Pakistan Television Corporation (live) – Pakistan
• Bangladesh Television (live) – Bangladesh
• Eurosport (pay per view) – Europe
• Sky Sports (live) – United Kingdom and Ireland
• Fox Sports (live) – Australia
• Sky Sport (live) – New Zealand
• Caribbean Media Corporation (live) – Caribbean

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Teams:
------

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Nathan Bracken, Callum Ferguson, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Tim Paine (wk), Peter Siddle, Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Cameron White.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Joe Denly, Eoin Morgan, Graham Onions, Matt Prior (wk), Adil Rashid, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright.



------------------------------------------------------------------------

India: Mahendra Dhoni (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Abhishek Nayar.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (capt), Shane Bond, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Brendon Diamanti, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Gareth Hopkins (wk), Brendon McCullum (wk), Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Daryl Tuffey.



------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pakistan: Younus Khan (capt), Imran Nazir, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Yousuf, Kamran Akmal (wk), Umar Gul, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, Rao Iftikhar, Saeed Ajmal.



------------------------------------------------------------------------

South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt), Johan Botha, Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Albie Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe.



----------------------------------------------------------------------

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedera, Thilina Kandamby, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dammika Prasad, Lasith Malinga



----------------------------------------------------------------------

West Indies: Floyd Reifer (capt), David Bernard, Tino Best, Royston Crandon, Travis Dowlin, Andre Fletcher, Kevin McClean, Nikita Miller, Kieran Powell, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Devon Smith, Gavin Tonge, Chadwick Walton (wk).

----------------------------------------------------------------------