cricket analysis

All 16 team squads announced for U-19 World Cup

2012-07-13T07:59:00.000-07:00

All 16 team squads announced for U-19 World Cup

The squads:
Afghanistan: Mohammad Javed (captain), Afsar Khan, Aftab Alam, Fareed Malik, Hashmatullah, Mohammad Yamin, Mohibullah, Najibullah, Nasir Jamal, Noorulhaq, Rahim Mangal, Rashid Khan, Sayed Shiraz, Shabir Ahmed and Younas Khan.

Australia (captain not yet named): Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, William Bosisto, Meyrick Buchanan, Harry Conway, Sam Hain, Travis Head, Joel Paris, Kurtis Patterson, Jimmy Peirson, Gurinder Sandhu, Mark Steketee, Nick Stevens, Ashton Turner and Jack Wildermuth.

Bangladesh: Anamul Haque (captain), Abu Haider, Abu Javed, Asif Ahmed, Dewan Sabbir, Liton Das, Al-Amin, Naeem Islam Jnr, Noor Hossain, Salman Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Nurul Hasan, Soumya Sarkar and Taskin Ahmed.

England: Adam Ball (captain), Shozair Ali, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Ben Collins, Alex Davies, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Brett Hutton, Aneesh Kapil, Tom Knight, Jamie Overton, Craig Overton, Reece Topley, Kishen Velani and Sam Wood.

India: Unmukt Chand (captain), Baba Aparajith, Prashant Chopra, Sandipan Das, Akhil Herwadkar, Rush Kalaria, Vikas Mishra, Akshdeep Nath, Kamal Passi, Smit Patel (wicketkeeper), Mohsin Sayyed, Sandeep Sharma, Harmeet Singh, Manan Vohra and Vijay Zol

Ireland: George Dockrell (captain), Scott Campbell, Peter Chase, Adam Coughlan, Shane Getkate, Ryan Hunter, Tyrone Kane, Robin Kelly, Andrew McBrine, Graeme McCarter, Barry McCarthy, Alistair Shields, Patrick Tice, Jason Van der Merwe and Ben Wylie

Namibia: Steven Baard (captain), Justin Baard, Luke Bolton, Jano Coetzee, Christopher Coombe, Jason Davidson, MP Delport, Andre Engelbrecht, Gerhard Erasmus, Zhivago Groenewald, Malan Kruger, Pelham Myburgh, Xander Pitchers, Wian Van Vuuren and Bredell Wessels.

Nepal: Pradeep Airee, Prithu Baskota, Naresh Budhaayer, Ramnaresh Giri, Mahamad Hasim Ansari, Bhuban Karki, Krishna Karki, Avinash Karn, Saurabh Khanal, Gopal Singh, Rahul Kumar Vishwakarma, Rajesh Pulani, Subash Khakurel, Sagar Pun and Fajlur Rahman.

New Zealand: Will Young (captain), Joe Carter, Sean Davey, Michael Davidson, Jacob Duffy, Cameron Fletcher, Ben Horne, Connor Neynens, Edward Nuttall, Robert O'Donnell, Matthew Quinn, Ish Sodhi, Theo van Woerkom, Henry Walsh, and Arnie Yugaraja.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Azizullah, Ehsan Adil, Faraz Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mir Hamza, Saad Ali, Salman Afridi, Sami Aslam, Shahid Ilyas, Umar Waheed, Usman Qadir, Zafar Gohar and Zia-ul-Haq.

Papua New Guinea: Chris Kent (captain), Charles Amini, Dogodo Bau, Sese Bau, Nigel Boge, Albert Geita, Raymond Haoda, Ratu Maha, Kabua Vagi Morea, Alei Nao, Lista Oala, Vagi Oala, Lega Slake, Toua Tom and Norman Vanua.

Scotland: Paddy Sadler (captain), Aman Bailwal, Freddie Coleman, Matt Cross, Henry Edwards, Nick Farrar, Gavin Main, Tom McBride, Scott McElnea, Ross McLean, Sam Page, Peter Ross, Kyle Smith, Ruaidhri Smith and Andrew Umeed.

South Africa: Chad Bowes (captain), Gihahn Cloete, Murray Coetzee, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Corn Dry, Rabian Engelbrecht, Jan Frylinck, Solo Nqweni, Shaylin Pillay, David Rhoda, Diego Rosier, Calvin Savage, Prenelan Subrayen and Lizaad Williams.

Sri Lanka: Sanitha De Mel (captain), Amila Aponso, Nirosha Dickwella, Anuk Fernando, Shehan Fernando, Angelo Jayasinghe, Tharindu Kaushal, Ranitha Liyanaarachchi, Lahiru Madushanka, Chamodh Pathirana, Jason Perera, Pulina Taranga, Kasun Vidura, Pabasara Waduge and Sandun Weerakkody.

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Anthony Alleyne, Sunil Ambris, Ronsford Beaton, John Campbell, Derone Davis, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Akeal Hosein, Jerome Jones, Keiron Joseph, Steven Katwaroo, Amir Khan, Kyle Mayers and Marquino Mindley.

Zimbabwe: Matthew Bentley (captain), Kyle Bowie, Ryan Burl, Atishsinh Chouhan, Kieran Geyle, Kevin Kasuza, Malcolm Lake, Campbell Light, Luke Jongwe, Wellington Masakadza, Luke Masasire, Nyasha Mayavo, Curthbert Musoko, Andre Odendaal, and Peacemore Zimwa.

Dravid for Khel Ratna, Yuvraj for Arjuna

2012-07-07T05:27:00.001-07:00

The Cricket Board has decided to recommend recently retired stalwart Rahul Dravid for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and Yuvraj Singh, the player of the World Cup, for the Arjuna Award.

"We will be forwarding the names of Rahul Dravid for Khel Ratna Award and Yuvraj Singh for the Arjuna Award next week (to the government)," BCCI's CAO Prof Ratnakar Shetty told PTI on Saturday.
The Government had recently extended the deadline for the nominations till July 20.
The 39-year-old Dravid retired from all forms of the game at the international level following the Test series in Australia last year after having accumulated over 23,000 runs in Tests and ODIs combined since making a spectacular debut at Lord's in 1996.
If awarded the highest sports award in the country that was instituted in 1991-92, former India captain Dravid would follow the footsteps of his illustrious ex-teammates Sachin Tendulkar (1997-98) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2007-08) as the third cricketer to win the coveted award.
So far 20 sportspersons have been bestowed the award.
Yuvraj, who has started practising at the nets at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore after his battle with a rare form of germ cell cancer between his lungs, was India's hero in the 2011 World Cup triumph.

India should open with Gambhir: Akram

2011-10-16T02:59:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram feels that Gautam Gambhir should get back to opening the innings for India instead of batting at the number three position.
With the Indian team management preferring to go with Ajinkya Rahane and Parthiv Patel up the order after their decent outings in England, regular opener Gambhir was left with no option but to bat at number three in the first ODI against England in Hyderabad on Friday, but Akram firmly believed that the Delhi left-hander should return to his usual position.
"I think the team management sees that Gambhir's future in the playing XI is at number three, but I would have definitely played him as an opener.
"As a bowler you would enjoy bowling to a hit-and-miss kind of batsman because you know sooner rather than later you will be able to get the better of him. But Gambhir is one player who plays proper strokes and with his ability he can win you matches on his own if he bats the 50 overs," Akram said.
Despite fielding a rookie attack, India managed a thumping 126-run win over England, leaving the legendary bowler impressed.

"Although the wicket was helpful, the inexperienced India bowlers bowled really well. (Ravichandran) Ashwin is hard to hit in such conditions. I do not see him lose his ODI spot in the days to come. Umesh (Yadav), I have said repeatedly, the guy has got pace and he runs in well. He has a very good yorker too. He has got a bright future for India," Akram said.
"India will only get better and better with each game.
Akram, however, hinted that a much sporty wicket at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium could have made the contest more even.
"For such a big match, there should have been a flat wicket but it was a little bit up and down. We could see that when Kevin Pietersen was playing and missing the ball on a number of occasions. But hats off to (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni and Suresh Raina for lifting India from a tricky 120 for four to 300. All credit should go to India who were much better in all departments of the game," he said.
After the pounding they got in the first one-dayer and in the absence of bowling spearheads James Anderson and Stuart Broad, Akram felt that it will be tough for England to make a comeback in the series.
"England will definitely miss Anderson and Broad because those guys were crucial to England's dominance at home. In the sub-continent the bowlers who have not played here before will struggle. England's true test was always going to be in India and if their bowlers continue to give away 300 runs, I do not think India will give them a chance," Akram concluded.

NZ won by 10 wickets against Zim

2011-10-16T02:18:00.000-07:00

Harare: Brendon McCullum smote an unbeaten 81 as New Zealand raced to a 10-wicket win in the first Twenty20 international against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on Saturday.
The New Zealand bowlers set up the victory by restricting Zimbabwe to 123 for eight in their 20 overs after being sent in, with home skipper Brendan Taylor the only batsman to shine, making 50 not out.
Opening bowler Kyle Mills and off-spinner Nathan McCullum took two wickets each in a steady New Zealand bowling performance.
Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill (40 not out) made the target look ridiculously easy, needing only 13.3 overs to score the required runs.
McCullum thrashed six sixes and five fours off 46 balls as he confirmed his reputation as one of the world's most destructive hitters in the shortest form of the game.

"When you have been out of cricket for so long, the way we backed up the bowlers in the field was excellent. Brendon and Martin were outstanding with the bat," said Taylor.
Zimbabwe were hit by the late withdrawals of two key players, experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Tatenda Taibu because of injury and batsman Vusi Sibanda, whose mother died early on Saturday.
Tall seam bowler Mills struck two early blows for New Zealand, dismissing both opening batsmen inside the first five overs.
Taylor and Forster Mutizwa added 28 for the third wicket before Mutizwa was leg before to left-arm spinner Luke Woodcock.
Charles Coventry also fell playing an ambitious shot against McCullum caught at cover.
Hopes of a late flurry were dashed as three wickets fell off the final seven balls of the innings.
Mills finished with two for 15 and Nathan McCullum took two for 17 but with the exception of one over from James Franklin which yielded ten runs, all New Zealand's bowlers proved difficult to score off.

New Zealand in Zimbabwe T20I Series - 1st T20I

2011-10-16T01:59:00.000-07:00

New Zealand in Zimbabwe T20I Series - 1st T20I
Zimbabwe v New Zealand
New Zealand won by 10 wickets (with 39 balls remaining)
T20I no. 211 | 2011/12 season
Played at Harare Sports Club
15 October 2011 (20-over match)


Zimbabwe innings (20 overs maximum)		Runs	Maidens	Balls	Fours	Sixs	SR
H Masakadza	c NL McCullum b Mills	9	10	7	0	1	128.57
CJ Chibhabha	c †BB McCullum b Mills	9	19	12	2	0	75.00
BRM Taylor*	not out	50	73	46	5	0	108.69
F Mutizwa	lbw b Woodcock	16	16	16	1	0	100.00
MN Waller	c Woodcock b NL McCullum	10	9	10	0	1	100.00
CK Coventry	c Taylor b NL McCullum	10	15	13	1	0	76.92
E Chigumbura	c Taylor b Bracewell	14	16	15	1	0	93.33
RW Chakabva†	c †BB McCullum b Oram	0	1	3	0	0	0.00
P Utseya	run out (Oram)	1	2	1	0	0	100.00
Extras	(w 1, nb 3)	4

Total	(8 wickets; 20 overs; 84 mins)	123	(6.15 runs per over)

Did not bat RW Price, KM Jarvis

Fall of wickets1-10 Masakadza, 2-22 Chibhabha, 3-50 Mutizwa, 4-71 Waller, 5-96 Coventry, 6-119 Chigumbura, 7-119 Chakabva, 8-123 Utseya,


Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Econ
KD Mills	4	0	15	2	3.75
DAJ Bracewell	4	0	26	1	6.50	(1nb)
JDP Oram	4	0	25	1	6.25	(1w)
LJ Woodcock	4	0	30	1	7.50
NL McCullum	3	0	17	2	5.66
JEC Franklin	1	0	10	0	10.00	(2nb)


New Zealand innings (target: 124 runs from 20 overs)		Runs	Maidens	Balls	Fours	Sixs	SR
MJ Guptill	not out	40	54	36	2	2	111.11
BB McCullum†	not out	81	54	46	5	6	176.08
Extras	(lb 1, w 4, nb 1)	6

Total	(0 wickets; 13.3 overs; 54 mins)	127	(9.40 runs per over)

Did not bat JD Ryder, LRPL Taylor*, KS Williamson, JEC Franklin, NL McCullum, JDP Oram, DAJ Bracewell, KD Mills, LJ Woodcock


Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Econ
KM Jarvis	3	0	32	0	10.66	(1nb, 3w)
RW Price	3.3	0	26	0	7.42
E Chigumbura	3	0	28	0	9.33	(1w)
P Utseya	2	0	10	0	5.00
CJ Chibhabha	1	0	20	0	20.00
H Masakadza	1	0	10	0	10.00

Match details

Toss New Zealand, who chose to field
Series New Zealand led the 2-match series 1-0

T20I debuts DAJ Bracewell and KS Williamson (New Zealand); F Mutizwa and MN Waller (Zimbabwe)
Player of the match BB McCullum (New Zealand)

Umpires TJ Matibiri and RB Tiffin
TV umpire O Chirombe
Match referee BC Broad (England)
Reserve umpire L Rusere

West Indies in Bangladesh ODI Series- 2nd ODI

2011-10-16T01:47:00.000-07:00

West Indies in Bangladesh ODI Series- 2nd ODI
Bangladesh v West Indies
West Indies won by 8 wickets (with 44 balls remaining)
ODI no. 3200 | 2011/12 season
Played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
15 October 2011 - day/night (50-over match)


Bangladesh innings (50 overs maximum)		Runs	Maidens	Balls	Fours	Sixs	SR
Tamim Iqbal	c Russell b Roach	1	5	2	0	0	50.00
Imrul Kayes	c †Ramdin b Rampaul	0	2	3	0	0	0.00
Mohammad Ashraful	c Sammy b Roach	0	5	5	0	0	0.00
Mushfiqur Rahim*†	c Samuels b Russell	69	157	109	2	1	63.30
Shakib Al Hasan	c †Ramdin b Rampaul	12	11	9	3	0	133.33
Alok Kapali	c Simmons b Roach	20	62	43	3	0	46.51
Naeem Islam	c & b Samuels	30	44	42	3	0	71.42
Nasir Hossain	b Sammy	50	79	54	3	1	92.59
Abdur Razzak	run out (Russell)	25	28	19	3	1	131.57
Shafiul Islam	c Bishoo b Sammy	4	13	6	0	0	66.66
Rubel Hossain	not out	0	1	0	0	0	-
Extras	(lb 3, w 6)	9

Total	(all out; 48.5 overs; 209 mins)	220	(4.50 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-1 Imrul Kayes, 2-1 Tamim Iqbal, 3-1 Mohammad Ashraful, 4-18 Shakib Al Hasan, 5-58 Alok Kapali, 6-115 Naeem Islam, 7-150 Mushfiqur Rahim, 8-191 Abdur Razzak, 9-220 Shafiul Islam, 10-220 Nasir Hossain,


Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Econ
R Rampaul	10	0	27	2	2.70
KAJ Roach	10	1	49	3	4.90	(3w)
AD Russell	9	1	50	1	5.55	(2w)
DJG Sammy	8.5	0	42	2	4.75	(1w)
D Bishoo	5	0	21	0	4.20
MN Samuels	5	0	24	1	4.80
KA Pollard	1	0	4	0	4.00


West Indies innings (target: 221 runs from 50 overs)		Runs	Maidens	Balls	Fours	Sixs	SR
LMP Simmons	lbw b Shakib Al Hasan	80	141	125	3	3	64.00
DP Hyatt	c Rubel Hossain b Shakib Al Hasan	39	59	46	2	4	84.78
MN Samuels	not out	88	102	74	12	1	118.91
DM Bravo	not out	1	21	12	0	0	8.33
Extras	(lb 2, w 10, nb 1)	13

Total	(2 wickets; 42.4 overs; 164 mins)	221	(5.17 runs per over)

Did not bat D Ramdin†, KA Pollard, AD Russell, DJG Sammy*, D Bishoo, R Rampaul, KAJ Roach

Fall of wickets1-71 Hyatt, 2-182 Simmons,


Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Econ
Shafiul Islam	7	2	53	0	7.57	(2w)
Abdur Razzak	6	1	32	0	5.33
Shakib Al Hasan	10	1	30	2	3.00	(1w)
Rubel Hossain	10	0	54	0	5.40	(1nb, 3w)
Alok Kapali	2	0	12	0	6.00
Nasir Hossain	2.4	0	14	0	5.25
Mohammad Ashraful	2	0	17	0	8.50
Naeem Islam	3	1	7	0	2.33

Match details

Toss Bangladesh, who chose to bat
Series West Indies led the 3-match series 2-0

Player of the match MN Samuels (West Indies)

Umpires Nadir Shah and PR Reiffel (Australia)
TV umpire Sharfuddoula
Match referee AJ Pycroft (Zimbabwe)
Reserve umpire Anisur Rahman

2011-10-15T02:32:00.000-07:00

Hyderabad: Back in form with a match-winning knock against England, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the unbeaten 87 in the opening ODI here was one of his most "precious and well-calculated" knocks.
"I normally don't believe in rating my performance but yes this innings is a precious innings for me. Over the years, I have played some good knocks and this one is also a valuable one. Once I started batting at No 6, I had remodelled my game.
This innings of mine was a very well calculated one," Dhoni said at the post match media interaction after India beat England by 126 runs in the first ODI last night.

"I tried a lot of aerial shots which I normally don't play nowadays. I was practicing a lot of hitting over the cover region. I felt this was the right match to try out and it worked well," he added.
He feels that batting at No 6 is something that shouldn't be entrusted on any junior player as it would be asking too much from him.
"Often on sub-continent tracks, if you send a junior guy, he might not get enough deliveries and get out scoring 10 or 15. Then again on a good strip he may just score around 35 and not get enough time to score a big fifty or an 80," Dhoni observed.
"After 15 matches, you will see that particular player's average in the range of 25 to 30. That's why you need to send them up and give them as many opportunities as possible. Look how Yuvraj Singh transformed his game batting at that position," he quipped.
Dhoni lauded young Ravindra Jadeja's effort as the all-rounder scored a quick 27 and then grabbed three wickets for 34 runs.
"Jadeja is an important player as he brings in a lot of stability to the side," Dhoni said.
This series has been billed as a 'revenge series' but Dhoni chose to play down the tag.
About the new Powerplay rule, Dhoni said, "It was important for us to rotate the strike initially. There was a bit of uneven bounce but I won't say too much. The new Powerplay means that even if you take it in the 36th over, still you have 10 overs left. Therefore, you can't go all out.
"I reckon 250-260 would have been a good score and in the end we got 300."
Dhoni ruled out the idea that he would depend more on spin to counter the English batsmen as the visitors have found it uncomfortable.
"Had it been April or May when it's dry and humid with the pitches offering lot of turn, I would have said that I would go with three spinners and two seamers. But in these circumstances when we are approaching winter season, we still don't know whether there will be dew in Delhi and Mohali," he reasoned.

There is self-belief in WI camp: Gibson

2011-10-15T02:22:00.000-07:00

Dhaka: West Indies coach Ottis Gibson says there is renewed self-belief in the Caribbean cricketing side following their convincing win in the opening One-Day International against Bangladesh here on Thursday.
West Indies won by 40 runs to rebound from the heartbreaking loss in the one-off Twenty20 International on Tuesday.

"This tour of Bangladesh is tough and we are gearing ourselves up for it, strengthening our team and making sure everyone is in top form," Gibson said on Friday.
"The mood in the camp is very good at the moment. Obviously we are a bit disappointed at losing the T20, but Thursday our focus was back and it has given us a lot of confidence.
"Marlon Samuels was in great form and Lendl Simmons hit his first century. Overall the guys stuck with the plan they had, and the results speak for themselves."
With a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, Gibson said his side was now eyeing the crucial series win.
"Thursday's win has put the opposition under pressure and a couple of more victories will see us clinch the series, something we haven't done in a while, so we're looking forward to it.

Bangladesh won toss choose to bat against WI

2011-10-15T02:05:00.000-07:00

Dhaka; Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim won the toss and decided to bat first in the second one-day international against West Indies on Saturday.
West Indies Darren Sammy returned to captain the side after illness caused him to miss the first one-dayer.

West Indies won by 40 runs in the first ODI, while Bangladesh won the one-off Twenty-20 game by three wickets.

Welcome to India, England!

2011-10-15T02:02:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: Former fast bowler, Bob Willis had brilliantly summed up the English batsmen's fate against the turning ball a little over a decade ago, saying that their batters were at sea against anybody who pretended to bowl slow.
If the Indian batsmen have a history of discomfort against the moving ball, the English batsmen did their reputation of struggling in alien conditions no harm by going down by over a hundred runs in the first one-dayer in Hyderabad, in what has been hyped up as the revenge series for the world champions.
Having consistently tasted success over the last couple of years which included India's total and complete demolition in England, Alaistair Cook's men were expected to turn over a new leaf in their subcontitental endeavours; however it was not to be.
Even though it might be too early to put the 'dead and buried' tag on the Poms as of now, but the fact that they came nowhere close to overhauling India's total, might just set the trend for the rest of the series.

England will also have to contend with the fact that they are yet to win an ODI series in India since the David Gower led team triumphed 4-1 in the 1984-85 series.
They have also lost 12 of their last 15 games against India in the opposition's backyard which included a 5-0 whitewash not that long ago under Kevin Pietersen's leadership in 2008.
One might like to add that had it not been for the Mumbai attacks, the English might have suffered the mega embarrassment of a 7-0 annihilation.
So, what exactly has resulted in the Englishmen coming unstuck in India over the years gone by especially in ODIs.
It's probably a case of having lost the battle in the head more than anything else, when it comes to dealing with spinners, for that matter even the part time ones, as was proved by Ravindra Jadeja's figures of 3/34 on Friday.
Apart from the fact that the English pacers are not as effective on flat pitches and that the sun is a bit too strong for their liking in this part of the world, it's always been the slower ones that the Englishmen have failed to decipher.
As the teams gear up for the second match of the series at the slow and low Ferozshah Kotla on Monday, one might wonder how the story could be any different for England this time around.

IPL dates clash with West Indies tours

2011-10-15T01:58:00.000-07:00

Kingston: West Indies international players could find themselves having to choose between the maroon colours and colours of their franchises with the schedule of their national cricket outings clashing with the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 championship.
The fifth edition of the IPL will be the longest, running from April 4 to May 27, and will clash with Australia's tour of the Caribbean and the West Indies trip to England.
West Indies are scheduled to host Australia in three Tests and five One-Day Internationals between March 14 and April 23, before heading to England for three Tests, three ODIs and a T20 International from May 1 to June 20.

Earlier this year, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo requested No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to compete in the IPL. As a result, they were not available to play for West Indies against the touring Pakistan team.
Gayle was Player-of-the-Series playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Pollard turned out for the powerful Mumbai Indians while Bravo played for eventual champions Chennai Super Kings. All three are expected to feature again in next year's tournament.
Meanwhile, the IPL Governing Council, meeting on the sidelines of the first One-day International between India and England here, decided that it will be a nine-team tournament, making it clear that there is no re-looking at the termination of Kochi Tuskers.
The previous edition, held from April 8 to May 28, has been the longest until now with 10 teams, two new franchises Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers joining it.

Revenge is a strong word, says Dhoni

2011-10-14T23:25:00.000-07:00

Hyderabad: Despite the emphatic win against England in the first one-day international here on Friday night, Indian captain MS Dhoni is not ready to see it as a revenge for the defeat in the series in England last month.
"For us, it is not about revenge. Revenge is a strong feeling, it is a strong word. What is important for us is to go out on the field and perform well," he told reporters after he led India to 126-run victory in the first ODI of the five-match series.
"It is important to win the games because if you are not winning too many games, (it is) a bit of a problem in the sense you can't enjoy to the extent you do when you are winning. Winning and losing is part and parcel of the game. The losing streak was a bit too long," he said.

Dhoni feels the conditions were in favour of the bowlers as there was no dew.
"If you see the ODIs in England, all the players did very well. Because of rains, it was difficult for our spinners to bowl consistently. We did well in the second half of the England series. Today there was no dew. If the conditions are slightly in their favour, the bowlers can make us win games."
The Indian captain, however, said the timing of the series was wrong as one can't be sure of dew.
"If you are close to November or December, you know there will be dew and blindly you will opt to field after winning the toss so that bowlers get an upper hand. It is a bit tricky. It was good that in this game there was no dew. Spinners gripped the ball well, they bowled the right length. Fast bowlers got a bit of reverse swing also; outfield was very dry and the wicket was also dry."
Dhoni said there was a time when India was batting that he thought the team would get close to 250-260 runs, "which we thought was good enough score provided there is no dew on the field in the second half".
Dhoni, who was unbeaten on 87, termed his innings as "precious".
"It was a valuable inning like quite a few others I have played in my short career. It was a very calculated inning. Quite a few shots that I played, I generally don't play those shots. I have changed my game and adapted to number six position."
Dhoni said since the bowling department was new, it was time to groom the youngsters so that they should be able to perform not only in India and abroad.
"It's a grooming period we are going through. We have few bowlers who are new to the scenario. I feel as a unit they have done very well in this game."

NEO-Prasar Bharti spar kicks off Ind-Eng series

2011-10-14T23:15:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: A tussle between NEO Sports Broadcast Pvt Ltd and Prasar Bharati over bank guarantee for the live telecast of the India-England One-Day international series resulted in no coverage of the first 1.4 overs of the first match on Friday.
NEO Sports that has rights for all of India's international matches to be played at home till 2014 accused Prasar Bharati for "unreasonable behaviour" that resulted in delayed permission from Information and Broadcasting Ministry for uplinking live feed to the match.
Prasar Bharati, on the other hand, blamed NEO Sports for not furnishing required documents, including a bank guarantee of over Rs 4 crore, and signing an agreement over revenue sharing.

"NEO Cricket is deeply disappointed by what it believes could be construed to be unreasonable behaviour by Prasar Bharati," NEO Sports said in a statement.
It said despite repeatedly communicating with Prasar Bharati much ahead of the first match, "Prasar Bharati refused to confirm on whether it wanted to share the live broadcast of the event or not."
Finally on October 10, as instructed by Prasar Bharati, and following the sealed bid process, Neo was appointed the 'Revenue Management Company' (RMC). RMC is responsible for selling advertising on the broadcast of the match on Doordarshan, NEO said.
As per the government rules, private sports broadcasters are required to share live feed for India's ODI and T20 matches with Prasar Bharati for terrestrial telecast.
"Despite the above, the uplink licence to BCCI and Neo Cricket was issued past the match start time of 2:30 pm on Friday resulting in no coverage for the first few balls of the event," it said.
This was refuted by Prasar Bharati, which said:"It was only at 1 pm today that they (Neo) came with a deposit of Rs four crore fifty thousand and an agreement was signed only hours after the match started. The company has said they will get a BG in one week to take back the deposit."
The public broadcaster further said: "The company (Neo) neither signed an agreement, nor did it present a bank guarantee. They wanted us to give them the permission to broadcast only on trust, which we refused as Prasar Bharati's interest had to be secured."

We were outplayed in all departments: Cook

2011-10-14T23:10:00.000-07:00

Hyderabad: England captain Alastair Cook credited India for their comprehensive 126-run win and said the home team completely outplayed the visitors in the first ODI here on Friday.
After posting a challenging 300 for seven, India shot out England for 174 runs in 36.1 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

"It was an important toss to win. We saw at the end that the ball kept low. But credit to India. They outplayed us in all departments today," Cook said after the match.
"We're going to learn from this, and that's the beauty of a five-match series."
India's newest spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin (3/35) and Ravindra Jadeja sizzled in the slow conditions, sharing six wickets between them and Cook said tackling the tweakers will be a challenge for his batsmen in the series.
"We know that (playing spin) is an issue, and that's a skill thing. We're going to work hard on that in the next couple of days," he said.

I was never pressurised to bowl no-balls: Asif

2011-10-14T22:51:00.000-07:00

London: Pakistan fast bowler Mohammed Asif, who is being tried for the spot-fixing scandal, on Friday said his former captain Salman Butt had never pressurised him to bowl no-balls or to cheat in any other way, the court heard.
The jury heard a transcript of an initial police interview with Asif in September last year, shortly after the now defunct The News of the World's undercover investigation of corruption by the Pakistan cricketers and Majeed became public, a website reported.

The transcript was read out in role play format between policeman at the time Detective Constable John Massey and Sarah Whitehouse for the prosecution, on the eighth day of the trial at Southwark Crown Court.
Asif, who arrived two hours late, was not present at the time.
When the court heard how Asif was questioned on whether he was protecting Butt, he replied: "No...I'm going to protect myself. How can I protect Salman Butt. Even in the game and in my life I am going to protect myself."
When police probed further and asked Asif if he was being put under any pressure by Butt not to tell the truth, Asif was firm in his response.
"No pressure, how can he put pressure on me? How can he pressurise me? Nobody can pressurise me as I have played in the (Pakistan) team for a long time."
Both Butt and Asif are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, after allegedly conspiring with their agent Mazhar Majeed, and fast-bowler Aamir to agree to bowl pre-determined no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.

Lendl Simmons maiden hundred against Ban, WI won match

2011-10-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

Mirpur: After eight half-centuries, Lendl Simmons came good with his maiden international hundred to lead West Indies to a 40-run victory over Bangladesh in the first One-Day International.
The 26-year-old opener earned the Man-of-the-Match award for his 122 that was the rock upon which West Indies built a challenging total of 298 for four from their 50 overs after they were sent in to bat on Thursday.
West Indies - under the leadership of Denesh Ramdin - then restricted the Bangladeshis to 258 for seven on a docile Sher-e-Bangla Stadium pitch to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Naturally, Simmons was delighted to have broken his maiden in a match-winning effort for the visitors.
"I am truly delighted to get my first hundred for West Indies and the fact that it came in a victory makes it an even better feeling," he said. "It was a special knock. I would like to dedicate (this) innings to my mother and daughter."

It eclipsed an innings of 117 from compatriot and batting legend Brian Lara that stood for 12 years as the highest individual score by a West Indies batsman against Bangladesh.
Simmons was relieved that he could make the transition and looked forward to the remaining two matches in the series.
"I got some very good starts against Pakistan and India, but I couldn't convert them into hundreds," he said.
"I was happy I managed to carry on all the way. I know I have to accept the responsibility of giving the team a platform.
Simmons shared 67 for the first wicket with compatriot Adrian Barath, whose innings came to an early close, when he retired hurt with a hamstring injury.
He also featured in a partnership of exactly 150 with Marlon Samuels, whose impressive form on the trip continued with 71 from 78 balls.
The second ODI takes place Saturday at the same venue.

Salman Butt did not say to Asif, Amir to cheat

2011-10-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

London: Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt insisted that he never asked bowlers Mohammad Asif or Mohammad Amir to cheat during a Test match against England last year, a British court heard Friday during a trial for alleged spot-fixing.
Butt and Asif, who arrived two hours late for court due to illness, are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the match in August 2010 when they allegedly conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed, teenage fast bowler Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.
The jury at London's Southwark Crown Court heard a transcript from police interviews with Butt in September last year, just after an undercover investigation into alleged corruption by the Pakistan cricketers and Majeed that was published in the now defunct British tabloid, the News of the World.
"There's no way I could tell Amir or Asif (to cheat)," the court heard Butt saying in the police interview. "They are the two players that most teams would want to have. When we pick our team those are the first two names that we have to write."

"I don't think anybody could influence me to cheat my country," Butt said. "I play this game for the love of the game and for the love of my country.
"I have played at all levels for Pakistan and in ten years of playing for Pakistan I have never had any charge against me," he added. "This is the first time I have had a charge (against me)," before denying any knowledge of cheating in the Pakistan team.
When Asif's initial police interview was played to the court he too denied any wrongdoing and insisted that nobody had pressured him into doing something corrupt and said he was "not protecting" Butt.
He added: "(There's) no pressure, how can he (Butt) put pressure on me? How can he pressurize me? Nobody can pressurize me as I have played in the (Pakistan) team for a long time."
Detective Constable Steven Blake later took the witness stand and volunteered in-depth details to the court of Majeed's finances, when probed first by the prosecution and then Butt's lawyer Ali Bajwa QC.
Bajwa highlighted the complex details told to the court of more than 30 bank accounts in Majeed's name. He said that Majeed had bank overdrafts worth around 700,000 pounds ($1.1 million). One of his 21 accounts with the NatWest Bank, the court heard, was 497,949 pounds overdrawn.
Further, of the 150,000 pounds cash that the undercover News of the World journalist paid Majeed to set up the sting, 104,300 pounds is yet to be recovered.

No Kochi for IPL-5, no decision on Pak players

2011-10-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

Hyderabad: Though the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council on Friday confirmed that its fifth edition will have nine teams competing, the other important issues went without any discussion in the one-day meeting.
The meet could not resolve the fate of the players represented the Kochi franchise which was axed from the IPL. And the matter of the participation of Pakistan players in the next edition of the event will only come up for discussion in the next meeting of the Governing Council.
Also, the matter of trading modalities of the auction will be discussed at the next meeting.

Meanwile, the schedule of the fifth edition of the cash-rich event was decided and will commence from April 4, 2012 and end on May 27.
The BCCI had voted to terminate the Kochi franchise at its annual general meeting last month.
The Kochi players' salaries were covered through the franchise's bank guarantee worth Rs. 156 crore (already encashed by the BCCI), yet the question remains how leading players, both international and domestic, such as Muthiah Muralitharan, Brendon McCullum, Mahela Jayawardene and Parthiv Patel, will be made available to the franchises.
Meanwhile, new IPL boss Rajiv Shukla assured that the interest of the affected players will be protected.
"We will decide on that in the next Governing Council meeting, Kochi players or others. But we will fully protect the interest of the players," he said after the meeting.
The issue of the participation of Pakistan players in the next IPL edition was also left in the lurch. "Pakistan was not on the agenda," he said.
The Pakistani cricketers have not participated in the IPL since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
The format of the event, which is bound to change after the decision of reducing it to nine teams, will also be discussed in the next meeting of the governing council, informed Shukla.
Shukla also refuted suggestions that the IPL had added to the player fatigue.
"We have three formats. There are very few common players. There is no fatigue in common players. To avoid fatigue, we said there should be proper coordination between physio and trainer", Shukla said.
Another move in the pipeline could be the increase in the number of foreign players in a team from four to five.
The council also did not consider another IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals' request to shift their base from Jaipur to Ahmedabad.
"Ahmedabad as a city bids separately. Governing council is not ready for that," he said.
The time of the next meeting was not declared yet but Shukla confirmed that it will be held soon.

Tim Southee knee injury miss zim tour

2011-10-14T21:49:00.000-07:00

Wellington: New Zealand paceman Tim Southee will miss the one-off Test against Zimbabwe after failing to recover from a knee injury suffered while preparing for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in India.
Southee was already omitted from the squad for the two Twenty20 and three one-day internationals in Zimbabwe after suffering cartilage damage to his left knee but was named in the squad for the Bulawayo test.

"The latest scans show that the knee... has improved but the injury has not completely gone away," New Zealand national selector manager Kim Littlejohn was quoted as saying in a statement on Friday.
"We are taking a long-term view with Tim's injury and have opted to extend his recovery period rather than rush him back too soon."
"He is expected to be fully fit and available for December's Test series against Australia."
Uncapped paceman Graeme Alridge, who is already in the squad for the limited-overs matches, will remain with the side for the Test starting on November 1.
The Black Caps will be playing their first series since losing in the World Cup semi-finals in March and under new captain Ross Taylor, who replaced Daniel Vettori.

England in India ODI Series - 1st ODI

2011-10-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

England in India ODI Series - 1st ODI
India v England
India won by 126 runs
ODI no. 3199 | 2011/12 season
Played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
14 October 2011 - day/night (50-over match)


India innings (50 overs maximum)		Runs	Maidens	Balls	Fours	Sixs	SR
PA Patel	run out (Finn)	9	20	10	1	0	90.00
AM Rahane	st †Kieswetter b Swann	15	59	41	0	0	36.58
G Gambhir	lbw b Dernbach	32	57	33	4	0	96.96
V Kohli	c Pietersen b Patel	37	70	63	0	0	58.73
SK Raina	c Bairstow b Finn	61	91	55	5	2	110.90
MS Dhoni*†	not out	87	104	70	10	1	124.28
RA Jadeja	run out (Bresnan)	27	32	22	1	2	122.72
R Ashwin	run out (Finn)	8	11	6	1	0	133.33
P Kumar	not out	1	9	1	0	0	100.00
Extras	(lb 4, w 18, nb 1)	23

Total	(7 wickets; 50 overs; 235 mins)	300	(6.00 runs per over)

Did not bat R Vinay Kumar, U Yadav

Fall of wickets1-17 Patel, 2-52 Rahane, 3-79 Gambhir, 4-123 Kohli, 5-195 Raina, 6-260 Jadeja, 7-282 Ashwin,


Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Econ
TT Bresnan	10	0	66	0	6.60	(4w)
ST Finn	9	0	67	1	7.44	(1nb, 2w)
JW Dernbach	10	0	58	1	5.80	(6w)
GP Swann	10	1	35	1	3.50
SR Patel	8	0	49	1	6.12
RS Bopara	3	0	21	0	7.00


England innings (target: 301 runs from 50 overs)		Runs	Maidens	Balls	Fours	Sixs	SR
AN Cook*	c Vinay Kumar b Jadeja	60	107	63	7	0	95.23
C Kieswetter†	c †Dhoni b Kumar	7	13	8	1	0	87.50
KP Pietersen	run out (Ashwin)	19	34	29	3	0	65.51
IJL Trott	b Jadeja	26	65	42	0	0	61.90
RS Bopara	c & b Ashwin	8	11	10	0	0	80.00
JM Bairstow	c & b Jadeja	3	8	7	0	0	42.85
SR Patel	b Yadav	16	30	18	2	0	88.88
TT Bresnan	st †Dhoni b Ashwin	4	7	8	1	0	50.00
GP Swann	b Yadav	8	8	9	1	0	88.88
ST Finn	not out	18	19	18	1	1	100.00
JW Dernbach	b Ashwin	2	9	5	0	0	40.00
Extras	(w 3)	3

Total	(all out; 36.1 overs; 160 mins)	174	(4.81 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-7 Kieswetter, 2-40 Pietersen, 3-111 Cook, 4-120 Trott, 5-124 Bopara, 6-126 Bairstow, 7-134 Bresnan, 8-148 Swann, 9-163 Patel, 10-174 Dernbach,


Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Econ
P Kumar	8	1	38	1	4.75	(1w)
R Vinay Kumar	5	0	24	0	4.80
V Kohli	3	0	11	0	3.66
U Yadav	5	0	32	2	6.40	(1w)
R Ashwin	8.1	0	35	3	4.28	(1w)
RA Jadeja	7	0	34	3	4.85

Match details

Toss India, who chose to bat
Series India led the 5-match series 1-0

Player of the match MS Dhoni (India)

Umpires BF Bowden (New Zealand) and SK Tarapore
TV umpire S Asnani
Match referee RS Mahanama (Sri Lanka)
Reserve umpire K Srinath

Marsh replaces Lee in Aus ODI squad for SA

2011-10-13T03:11:00.000-07:00

Sydney: Cricket Australia's National Selection Panel (NSP) on Thursday announced that all-rounder Mitchell Marsh will replace the injured Brett Lee in the Australian squad for the One-day component of the team's tour of South Africa.
Lee has been ruled out of the Twenty20 and One-day Internationals (ODI) of the tour after being diagnosed with appendicitis. He underwent successful surgery in Cape Town on Monday night and will return to Australia in due course.
NSP Chairman Andrew Hilditch said: "Due to the unfortunate illness to Brett Lee, the NSP has decided that Mitchell Marsh will replace Brett Lee in the one-day squad for the tour of South Africa.

"Mitchell is a very exciting young all-rounder who we consider has the ability to have a significant impact at international level.
"He played extremely well during the recent Australia A tour of Zimbabwe and is a pace bowler who has the ability to bat in the top six, providing great balance and flexibility to the squad.
"The One-day squad already has four specialist fast bowlers in Doug Bollinger, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Patrick Cummins so the NSP did not consider it necessary to replace Brett with a specialist fast bowler."
Australia are scheduled to play two T20 Internationals, three ODIs and two Tests in South Africa.

India keen to end losing run against Eng

2011-10-13T03:04:00.000-07:00

Hyderabad: In hope to make amends for the drubbing in England, India will once again face their nemesis of late - England - in an ODI series that begins with the first match here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday.
MS Dhoni's side had a miserable time touring England this summer, failing to win even a single match in any form of the game. At the beginning of the summer, they were ranked as the number one Test side, but after a humiliating whitewash administered by England, they have dropped to third place. With no Test matches scheduled for this English tour of India, Dhoni's men eye revenge on the one-day stage. And they will be eager to begin this process with a win on Friday.

India will be without their stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh, besides badly missing the likes of Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel and Ishant Sharma, all of whom are out due to injuries sustained on the recent tour of England.
India will be boosted by the return of a fit Gautam Gambhir. Middle order batsman and undoubtedly the future of India's batting Virat Kohli will be the key man in the middle who can be both the aggressor and the anchor as the situation demands. He was the man RCB counted on in the recently concluded Champions League T20 and will surely want to carry that form into this series. Suresh Raina and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni have played non-stop cricket for long and it showed during the failures in the CLT20. That, in fact, may put more pressure on the young batsmen in the side.
Openers Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane will again have a chance to shine in absence of the regular openers and if both continue in the same vain as they did in England, it can really take the pressure of the India's middle and lower order.
The other England opener Craig Kieswetter has been in India for a while playing in CLT20 and he has been in bright form of late. Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell will be key men in the middle order as both have the ability to change gears and play according to the conditions.
Bowling department could be slight worry for England as they are without spearhead bowlers like Jamie Anderson and Stuart Broad, but the attack still has enough bite in it to worry Indian batsman. Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn are no mean bowlers and with Finn taking hat-trick in the tour game, a warning has already been issued. But Graeme Swann will undoubtedly be the spearhead in Indian conditions and can be the difference between the two teams.
India have historically placed more emphasis on the importance of limited-overs cricket than England. The reigning World Champions will, therefore, be mortified to have slipped behind England in the one-day rankings and will be desperate to climb above them once again by winning the series.

'Just matter of time before Bhajji returns'

2011-10-13T02:49:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: Dashing opener Virender Sehwag on Thursday backed his axed and out-of-form teammate Harbhajan Singh, saying it is "just a matter of time" before the off-spinner gets back in form to regain his place in the Indian team.
Sehwag said Harbhajan, who has been dropped from the team for the first two ODIs against England starting on Friday, will have to sweat it out in the domestic circuit to get his mojo back.
"He (Harbhajan) is a champion bowler and I have no doubt he will stage a comeback. He is playing in the Challenger series in Nagpur. He has to work hard in domestic cricket," Sehwag told PTI in an interview.

"I remember when I was dropped from the team in 2007. I played domestic cricket and worked my way back into the team.
Still recuperating from a shoulder injury that flared up during the Test series in England, Sehwag is eyeing next month's West Indies' tour of India for making a comeback into the national team.
Sehwag played the last two Tests in England at Birmingham and the Oval before seeking permission for rest and rehabilitation because of the shoulder injury as well as a hearing problem.
"Well, I am doing fine. I have come to the NCA and the rehabilitation is going on well."
Asked about his comeback into the Indian team, Sehwag said, "I don't want to put a time frame. I am working hard to stage a comeback into the team. I am targetting the West Indies series."

Sammy out as Bangladesh opt to field

2011-10-13T02:44:00.000-07:00

Dhaka: Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim won the toss and chose to bowl in the first one-day international against West Indies on Thursday.
West Indies made three changes from the team that lost the one-off Twenty-20 game by three wickets.

Captain Darren Sammy was left out due to illness, while Carlos Brathwaite and Anthony Martin were dropped, while Kemar Roach, Devendra Bishoo and Kieren Pollard came in.
Bangladesh, led by new captain Rahim, kept the team that won the Twenty-20 on Tuesday.
TEAMS:
Bangadesh: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Alok Kapali, Naeem Islam, Nasir Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain.
West Indies: Adrian Barath, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Danza Hyatt, Denesh Ramdin (captain), Andre Russel, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Devendra Bishoo and Kieren Pollard.

'Improving Pak cricket's image top priority'

2011-10-13T02:41:00.000-07:00

Islamabad: Newly-appointed PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf said improving Pakistan cricket's image, which has taken a beating due to allegations of match-fixing, is his top priority.
"My highest priority will be to improve the image of Pakistan's cricket and stop bookies and match-fixers," he told a TV channel.
"The President (Asif Ali Zardari) has reposed great trust in me and I will work day and night for the sake of country's cricket," he added.

Pakistan cricket has been hit by allegations several times in the past. Most recently, three of its cricketers -- former Test captain Salman Butt and pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir -- were banned for being involved in spot-fixing.
The 59-year-old, who took over from Ijaz Butt, said he hoped to see a resumption of bilateral cricketing ties with India soon.
"I am a strong believer of cricket diplomacy and hope that our relations with other cricket playing nations will be strengthened.
"People in both Pakistan and India love cricket so I will try to work for the resumption of ties between the two countries," he said.