Melbourne, Oct 12: Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has urged Ricky Ponting and Nathan Bracken to quickly clear their names over the match-fixing allegations after alleged bookie Mazhar Majeed had claimed that he had access to both the players. Majeed, a players' agent who was caught in a sting operation for allegedly orgainising corruption in cricket matches, has claimed that he knew several international players, including former captain Ponting and Bracken and that Australians were "the biggest" offenders of match-fixing. The allegations have led to angry reactions from Australian players with Bracken and Ponting bluntly denying Majeed's claim. But Watson said such claims unfairly questions the characters of players who take pride from their performances. "Absolutely it does (question integrity) and it's unbelievably disappointing. There's no doubt that if my name came up in that as well, especially when you know exactly how much you give every time you play and you're only there to get the best out of yourself and perform," he was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press. "If your integrity gets questioned there's no doubt you have to do everything you can to make sure you do clear your name because the majority of people who play sport and play cricket, you're only there to get the best out of yourself and performing as well as you can every single game. "When that's questioned it's really just a huge question on your character and you've got to try and clear your name as soon as you can," he added. Watson also termed Majeed's claim as "shocking, disappointing and damaging". "They've been very disappointing and pretty shocking really to see these allegations that have come out from this court case that is going on at the moment," he said. "I know from my perspective how damaging they really are to the game of cricket but also to the individuals. It challenges the integrity of the game we all love so much.
Match-Fixing : Watson Urges Ponting, Bracken To Clear Their Names
England, India Resume Battle For ODI Ranking During Series
Dubai, Oct 12: World champions India will resume their battle with World Twenty20 winner England for top ranking in the ODI Championship table when the two sides lock horns in the one-day series starting in Hyderabad on Friday. India are currently ranked fifth, just a rating point behind England, who are placed in the fourth position and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men would look to resume their bragging rights in the ODI series. World number one Australia are also ready to lock horns with third-placed South Africa from next Wednesday at Centurion and so there is a huge possibility of plenty of movement at the top of the order. In the ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, India boasts three batsmen inside the top 15 with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni leading from the front. He is in sixth position and will be keen to regain the coveted number-one position he surrendered to AB de Villiers after the tri-nation series in Sri Lanka last August. Dhoni trails fifth-ranked Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka by 13 points while he is 16 points behind Trott. The other Indian batsmen aiming to climb up the ladder include Virat Kohli (ninth), Gautam Gambhir (14th) and Suresh Raina (30th). Among the England batsmen, Jonathan Trott, who won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Cricketer of the Year award at the LG ICC Awards in London last month, is in fourth position and will be aiming to improve his ranking further. The next highest-ranked England batsman is captain Alastair Cook who is in 42nd position while Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell are in 52nd and 55th positions respectively. In the ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, Praveen Kumar is the highest-ranked Indian bowler in 21st position in absence of the four frontline bowlers -- Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel and Harbhajan Singh. England's Graeme Swann will be hoping to strengthen his position on top of the tree. The off-spinner leads second-ranked New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori by 27 ratings points.