Rajan's Wrong-un: Slinger's sixer is a Waqar warning

World Cup Diary

(AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Lasith Malinga the Slinger – so-named because of his whippy, round-arm action – was rampant yesterday, taking 6 for 38 as Sri Lanka crushed Kenya by nine wickets.

The Obuya brothers both notched scratchy half-centuries, but Malinga's five wickets in 11 balls, including an unprecedented second World Cup hat-trick, and the second in successive days at the tournament, ended their resistance. One leg-before aside, all his wickets came clean bowled with in-swinging yorkers, redolent of nothing so much as a young Waqar Younis, just after he discovered reverse swing.

'Greenbeard' Simmons hunts Irish treasure

The Gaelic spirit is alive and well in the subcontinent. Ireland's players have agreed to a "Shave or Dye 2011" campaign, where they cut or colour their hair to raise awareness for the Irish Cancer Society. Captain William Porterfield led the way with a purple rinse, while coach Phil Simmons is sporting a green beard.

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