Pakistan umpire Asad Rauf has been withdrawn by the ICC from the upcoming Champions Trophy in England. As per the media reports, "he was under investigation by Mumbai Police."

The Champions Trophy 2013, has been touted to be the last one and would be hosted by England from June 2013.


"In the wake of reports that the Mumbai Police are conducting an investigation into Asad Rauf's activities, we feel that it is in Asad's best interests as well as those of the sport and the event itself, that he is withdrawn from participating in the ICC Champions Trophy," Dave Richardson, the ICC chief executive, said in a statement on Thursday.


There will be 12 Umpires for the entire tournament.

1. Billy Bowden
2. Rod Tucker
3. Aleem Dar
4. Richard Kettleborough
5. Kumar Dharmasena
6. Bruce Oxenford
7. Asad Rauf (ruled out)
8. Nigel Llong
9. Tony Hill
10. Steve Davis
11. Marais Erasmus and
12. Ian Gould.

Match referees for Champions Trophy 2013

Javagal Srinath, Andy Pycroft and Chris Broad will be the three referees for the 2013 Champions Trophy tournament and all of them are from Emirates Elite Panel.

The warm- up matches for the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy begins on May 30 2013.

Right-handed batsman Brad Hodge, who stroke 54 runs in 29-balls including five sixes and two fours, helps Rajasthan Royals to win against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground, Delhi. Royals will now face Mumbai Indians in the qualifier of IPL6 to be held in Kolkata on May 24.




Sunrisers Hyderabad

Patel c Samson b Malik 1
Dhawan c Trivedi b Faulkner 33
Vihari c Cooper b Malik 1
White c Cooper b Trivedi 31
Sammy run out 29
Perera c Yagnik b Watson 11
Samantray run out 14
KV Sharma not out 2
Steyn not out 4

Extras: 6
Total: (7wkt; 20 ovs) 132
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-3, 3-55, 4-83, 5-111, 6-113, 7-127

Bowling

Malik 3-0-14-2
Faulkner 4-0-28-1
Watson 4-0-32-1
Trivedi 4-0-18-1
Kooper 4-0-36-0
Binny 1-0-2-0

Rajasthan Royals

Dravid c KV Sharma b I Sharma 12
Rahane c & b Mishra 18
Watson c Sammy b KV Sharma 24
Yagnik b Sammy 0
Binny b Sammy 2
Samson lbw Steyn 10
Hodge not out 54
Faulkner not out 11

Extras: 4
Total: (6wkt; 19.2 ovs) 135
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-50, 3-53, 4-55, 5-57, 6-102

Bowling

Steyn 4-0-23-1
I Sharma 3-0-31-1
Perera 3-0-14-0
KV Sharma 2-0-24-1
Sammy 3.2-0-27-2
Mishra 4-1-16-1

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) demolished Mumbai Indians by 48 runs and enters directly into the final of the Indian premier league season 6.

In first innings, CSK put total of 191 for 1 on the boards, unfortunately Mumbai Indians folded up for 144 though MI will get another chance to get into the finals when they face-off against the losers of the second play-off match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals on 24 May 2013.


For CSK, Michael Hussey scored 86 runs in just 58 balls and Suresh Raina scored 82 runs in 42 balls both on an unbeaten 140–run stand for the second wicket.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja bowled very well in favour of CSK as he ended with a haul of 3 for 31 off his quota of four overs.

Scorecard

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS

• Hussey not out 86 
• Vijay c Smith b Pollard 23 
• Raina not out 82

Extras: 1
Total: (1 wkt in 20 ovs) 192
Fall of wickets: 1-52

Bowling

• Johnson 4-0-40-0
• Patel 3-0-32-0
• Harbhajan 4-0-26-0
• Malinga 4-0-45-0
• Ojha 2-0-20-0
• Pollard 3-0-28-1

MUMBAI INDIANS

• Smith c Raina b Jadeja 68
• Tare c Vijay b Morkel 7
• Karthik lbw b Jadeja 11
• Sharma c Bravo b Morris 8
• Pollard c Hussey b Jadeja 24
• Harbhajan c Vijay b Bravo 0
• Johnson c Raina b Bravo 6
• Malinga c Hussey b Bravo 0
• Ojha c Bravo b Sharma 0
• Patel not out 0

Extras: 5
Total (all out; 18.4 ovs) 144
Fall of wickets: 1-12,2-87,3-95, 4-101,5-127, 6-128,7-139, 8-140,9-144,10-144

Bowling

• Mohit 3.4-0-32-2
• Morkel 3-0-26-1
• Morris 3-0-26-1
• Ashwin 2-0-17-0
• Jadeja 4-0-31-3
• Bravo 3-0-9-3

Soon it is time for the very last ICC Champions Trophy, as the ICC has deemed it unnecessary to have so many tournaments each year, and would like to trim the amount down. This should put no damper on the excitement for this year’s event as those who love one day international cricket tournaments are in for a treat. The field this year is closer in terms of roster strength and their chances of winning this tournament is very close. It is looking to become a great tournament.


The ICC Champions Trophy tournament in 2013 will be played in England, and starts 6th of June and finishes of with a final at the Edgbaston stadium in Birmingham the 23rd of June. It is a tightly packed playoff, with 15 games played over the course of 2 weeks. With only 8 teams being invited, the level is bound to be high, and the competition will be fiercer than ever.

Group A

The first group features the hosts, England, and three other teams in Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Only two teams will advance, and the favorites to advance from this group must be said to be the hosts which are playing at home and also the Kiwi’s from down under. Sri Lanka will prove to be a worthy opponent and should be able to compete for a spot in the playoffs, but New Zealand looks like they will be too weak to be able to capture a top-two spot in this group. However, if they find some of the other teams on a bad day and they can get off to a strong start, the tournament doesn’t last that long and may be able to finish off with winning it all. Look for England and Australia to advance, but don’t discount Sri Lanka.

Group B

The second group, which I am most excited for, features a lot of interesting teams. South Africa and India are considered the favorites to advance, but Pakistan and the West Indies can never be counted out because of the strong individual players they have in their rosters. This group will be the most open one in my opinion and it would be anyone’s guess as to who will advance to the finals. The teams are so close in terms of playing strength and this group will be the one to watch for exciting matches, where every game for all of the teams are must wins.

Predictions of the winners

Predicting winners in such a tough group is very hard, but if I were to bet on the winner of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, getting 5.00 in odds for an English victory this year would be great odds. They would be thirsty to get a trophy back to their country, and where better to do it than at home?

The West Indies, which gives you the odds of 10.00, would also give you a good return on your money. I would not consider them such a big underdog as the bookies are saying they are, and placing a small bet on them to win is what I will do.

England fast bowler James Anderson claimed his 300th Test wicket during the second day of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's on Friday.


Anderson in his first over dismissed the opener batsman Hamish Rutherford caught by Alastair Cook at first slip.

Anderson, 30, became the fourth Englad cricketer to take 300 Test wickets, The first three are Ian Botham, Bob Willis and Fred Trueman.

"He's in the 300 club and I fully expect him to go on and make the 400 club," Botham said in commentary for Sky Sports.

"It's great for Jimmy but there's a lot more to come. He's got loads more cricket in him, he's exceptional.
"Magnificent effort from him, he's developed skills, these are things you have to work on."