New Zealand in Australia

New Zealand pulled off a stunning victory over Australia in the opening match of the triangular one-day series in Melbourne.

Chris Harris earned the man-of-the-match award with an unbeaten 63 to steer the Kiwis to 199-8 off their 50 overs, and later claimed a wicket to finish with 1-17 from seven economical overs. Captain Steve Waugh said his batsmen played stupidly as Australia crashed to a 23-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the triangular series opener.

"There's no excuses for our loss," said Waugh. "We just played poorly and New Zealand played very well."

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said he rated the win highly as Australia were unbeaten in last year's tournament, against West Indies and Zimbabwe.

Match report | Scorecard | Images

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Australia's Glenn McGrath has been suspended for one match after he was charged with dissent during his side's one-day international against New Zealand on Friday.

ICC match referee Hanumant Singh decided to take action after McGrath reacted angrily to his dismissal in his side's 23-run defeat in Melbourne.

The fast bowler will miss Australia's one-day international against South Africa on Sunday at the MCG.

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Australia's cricket authorities could consider dropping the Melbourne Cricket Ground as an international one-day venue because of persistent crowd disturbances.

Over 250 people were evicted from the ground and 23 people were arrested when spectators threw various objects onto the field during Australia's 23-run defeat to New Zealand in the first VB Series one-day match on Friday.

The MCG, one of the world's greatest cricketing venues, has been plagued by a scenes of crowd trouble over the past few years.

England in India

England's Andrew Flintoff said he intends to improve his batting after a series of dismal scores in the Test series against India.

The all-rounder shone with the new ball but could only string together a misrerable sequence of scores with the bat, making just 26 runs from five innings.

Flintoff said he will focus on his batting technique against spin bowling with the help of coach Duncan Fletcher during the six-match one-day series that starts on 19 January.

Zimbabwe in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka spin king Muttiah Muralitharan will go into the third Test against Zimbabwe, starting on Saturday, needing just five wickets to reach the 400 landmark.

If, as expected, he pulls off the feat in the match, he will become the youngest player in the history of the game to take 400 wickets, and in fewer Tests than any of the six other bowlers already in the club.

The 29-year-old has taken 395 Test wickets at an average of 23.84 in 71 Tests since making his debut as a 20-year-old in 1992.

Mike Denness Controversy

The International Cricket Council has appointed three members to the Referees Commission, set up to investigate the Mike Denness affair, despite objections from India's cricket chief.

The Commission will be chaired by Justice A L Sachs, a member of South Africa's Constitutional Court and the ICC's Code of Conduct Commission since its formation in 1999. He will be joined by former Test players Majid Khan and Andrew Hilditch.

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