Australia - ICC CWC 2015 Champions

[Sajee]

RE: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 News, Updates and Results

Mohit Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni to stay back as stand-by for World Cup: reports

The end of tri-series doesn't necessarily
mean that it is the end of worries for
Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India
battling with injuries are struggling to
come to terms with their bowling line-
up which has been below par for most
part of the tri-series.

Mohit Sharma looked more than
impressive in the last match and
Dhawal Kulkarni who is yet to get a
game might have to stay back in
Australia as injury scare have forced
the sqaud to keep these two players as
stand by, according to dnaindia.com .

The BCCI have asked both the players
to be included in the World Cup
preparatory camp starting on Tuesday
in Adelaide and the duo will be there till
further notice.

There have been fitness issues
involving a couple of players. Ishant
Sharma is still recovering from an injury
while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and
Ravindra Jadeja does not look hundred
percent fit.

With key players not recovering in time,
BCCI have been literally forced to take a
step in order to get the replacements
ready, if required.

As per reports in dnaindia.com , the trio
will undergo fitness tests on February 7
and the Indian physio Nitin Patel will
take the final call on these three
players. India play their first warm up
match on February 8 against Australia
and if the players fail to pass the
fitness test, they will not be allowed to
take part in the warm up games.

The team is scheduled to play two
warm up games, the last of which is
against Afghanistan on the 10th of
February before the Men in Blue start
their World Cup campaign against
Pakistan on February 15th.

Mohit Sharma and Dhawal Kulkarni
were already part of the 17-member
sqaud that was announced for the tri-
series but their inclusion in the World
Cup squad will depend on the fitness
test of Ishant, Bhuvi and Jadeja.

Mohit Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni to stay back as stand-by for World Cup: reports-cricketnextNews - IBNLive Mobile

 

[Sajee]

RE: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 News, Updates and Results

Clarke ready to play under Smith if asked by selectors

Australia Test and ODI captain Michael
Clarke is fighting a race against time to
prove his fitness ahead of the team's
second ICC World Cup Pool A tie against
Bangladesh on February 21. While Clarke
has been putting in the hard yards, the 25-
year-old Steven Smith has won many
accolades by scoring match-winning
centuries on his Test and ODI captaincy
debuts. Smith's success and Clarke's
struggles with back and hamstring injuries
have given rise to a debate in Australia as
to whether Smith should be given the
captaincy for good.

Clarke has broken his silence on the
matter and has said he has no issues
playing under Smith, if asked by the
Cricket Australia selectors. "Most
definitely I would [whether he is fine
playing under Smith]," Clarke told Triple M
radio on Monday.

The 33-year-old also said he could relate
to Smith as he faced a similar situation
with Ricky Ponting in 2011. "I feel for
Smitty, because I sat in his shoes when a
lot of the media were trying to call for
Ricky Ponting to retire. It's certainly not
personal between Smitty and I, we've been
friends for a long time and will continue to
be. The people that sit above both him and
I will make their decisions," he said.

"Whatever they [the selectors] feel is the
best 11 players, they'll pick that 11.
Whoever they feel is the best captain for
the team, then they'll pick that. If my time
is over as a player - or as a captain -
then, you know, the game moves on. I still
think I have a lot to offer the team, I still
feel like I can perform and help us have
success, but that's out of my hands. The
most important thing for me is to get fit
and healthy."

In his bid to get back to full fitness,
Clarke scored 51 for Western Suburbs in
Sydney Grade Cricket on Saturday and
showed no signs of discomfort during his
innings. It was the first competitive match
for Clarke since the first Test against
India at Adelaide in December where he
scored a match-winning century. Last
week, Clarke also dismissed reports of a
dispute with Cricket Australia pertaining to
a fitness deadline.

Clarke ready to play under Smith if asked by selectors | Cricket News | Latest Cricket Updates | Cricbuzz.com

 

[iSK]

RE: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 News, Updates and Results

Junaid Khan ruled out of World Cup

Pakistan fast bowler Junaid Khan has been
ruled out of the 2015 ICC World Cup after
failing a fitness test on Monday. The left-arm
pacer sustained a hamstring injury during a
training session in Lahore last month and has
failed to recover. The injury had kept Junaid out
of the two-ODI series against New Zealand
where allrounder Bilawal Bhatti was named as
his replacement.

"Junaid appeared in a fitness test and was not
found fit enough to play the World Cup," a
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman said on
Monday. Bhatti is likely to remain in the
Pakistan squad as Junaid's replacement for the
mega event.

Pakistan's bowling attack, in the absence of
Junaid, will now heavily bank on tall left-arm
pacer Mohammad Irfan as experienced pacer
Umar Gul is out with a knee injury and
offspinner Saeed Ajmal is serving a suspension
for a suspect bowling action. Plus, allrounder
Mohammad Hafeez is fighting a race against
time to get his action cleared by the ICC.
Hafeez, who was suspended in November last
year, is set for a re-examination on February 6.

READ MORE HERE

 

[iSK]

RE: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 News, Updates and Results

Faulkner out of Australia's World Cup opener

James Faulkner suffered a side strain during Australia's 112-run win over England in the tri-series final in Perth on Sunday.

James Faulkner will miss Australia's opening
match of the World Cup against England in
Melbourne on February 14 due to a side strain.

READ MORE HERE

 

[cricketfan]

RE: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 News, Updates and Results

star sports network telecast only 4 warm up matches.

 

[Sajee]

RE: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 News, Updates and Results

Michael Clarke uses a baseball bat to fine-tune his batting

While he is steadily making a recovery
from his hamstring injury, Michael Clarke
is also working on getting his batting in
order ahead of the 2015 ICC World Cup. In
a bid to improve his concentration, the 33-
year old was seen batting with a baseball
bat on Wednesday, tonking a few with fury
during a nets session in Brisbane.

While mentioning that the ones monitoring
his fitness are happy with the progress he
is making, Clarke also gave the reason for
practicing with a baseball bat.

"The medical staff dictate how hard I can
push but I think everybody is pretty happy
at the moment," Clarke said after the
practice session. "I've been doing it
(practicingwith a baseball bat) for about
four years. [Fielding coach Mike] Young
introduced me to it. It makes me watch
the ball a little bit closer. It's good for
drills."

Clarke recently played for Western
Suburbs against Gordon in a Sydney Grade
match at Chatswood Oval and scored 51
without any discomfort. On Thursday, he
will get another opportunity to see if he is
match-ready as he is part of a Cricket
Australia team lined up to face Bangladesh
in a practice game.

Clarke will have to prove his fitness by
February 21, the day Australia play their
second World Cup match (vs Bangladesh).
If he fails to do so, he will be removed
from the Australian squad for the
remainder of the event.

Coach Darren Lehmann has expressed
confidence that Clarke would be back to
lead Australia ahead of the deadline. "I
think as a group we know he's ready to
come back and play. And we want him to
play. He's captain of our country and he's
going to lead us really well in the World
Cup. Fingers crossed he gets through the
next couple of games and he's ready to
go," Lehmann said.

Michael Clarke uses a baseball bat to fine-tune his batting - Cricbuzz

 

[Sajee]

RE: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 News, Updates and Results

Bat makers question likely ICC crackdown on sizes

The International Cricket Councils reported
decision to crack down on bat sizes
during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015,
has caused bat manufacturers and
batsmen to raise eyebrows, a report in the
Sydney Morning Herald has said. They
claim that there are reasons other than
the size of the bat to blame for the unfair
balance between bat and ball.

Bat makers pointed out that other
modifications like reduced boundaries, the
use of two new white cricket balls and
restriction on the number of fielders
outside the 30-yard circle had contributed
to the imbalance. They have argued that
the impending action on bat sizes was
short-sighted.

In the last couple of years, India opener
Rohit Sharma has scored two ODI double
centuries while New Zealand's Corey
Anderson and South Africa's AB de Villiers
have shattered the record for the fastest
century in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Many other standout batting performances
have led to a debate on the modern bats
helping batsmen gain the upper hand.
It's purely because you're using a brand
new ball for the first 20 overs. I've got
cricket bats here in my business and
they're half the size and they ping just as
much. Its only a psychological thing, Kunal
Sharma, whose Spartan Sports provides
Chris Gayle and Mahendra Singh Dhoni
their bats told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Gunn and Moores Brand Manager Greg
Eime said smaller grounds were also a
factor. Effectively the game has changed
and the way the batsmen play has
changed. It's a combination of a lot of
things, even down to the players' physical
fitness and strength. To go finger pointing
at the bats, I don't think that's quite fair,
he said from England.

Gray-Nicolls Sponsor Manager Michael
Reid said a number of changes, and not
bat sizes, have contributed to higher
scores. Batsmen have echoed the
sentiments of the bat manufacturers, with
players like Dan Christian and Ed Cowan
stating that the change in ODI rules is the
prime factor.

Last year, former India player Sanjay
Manjrekar sparked off a debate by voicing
his concerns in a column on ESPNcricinfo.
He wrote that bats were getting chunkier
by the day while not getting heavier,
giving batsmen an unfair advantage.

ICC chief executive David Richardson told
ESPNcricinfo that the balance between bat
and ball might have shifted a bit too much.

When some batsmen are mis-hitting, the
ball is just carrying over the rope instead
of being caught at the boundary, some
cricket people believe that it is unfair.
MCC, as law makers, and the ICC will be
looking at giving perhaps some
consideration to placing limitations on the
depth of a bat in particular, he said.

Bat makers question likely ICC crackdown on sizes - Cricbuzz

 

[Sajee]

RE: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 News, Updates and Results

Ishant, Bhuvneshwar still uncertain for World Cup: Reports

Injured Indian pacers Ishant Sharma and
Bhuvneshwar Kumar are doubtful for the
World Cup, according to a top BCCI
official. Ishant and Bhuvneshwar are
currently undergoing treatment in Australia
and are scheduled to undergo a fitness
test on February 7. However, their
participation in the mega-event seems to
be 'seriously doubtful', according to the
official.

"The board has given a deadline to the
injured players to prove their fitness but
from what we are hearing from the team
management that some of them may not
be fit to play at the start of the event. In
that case, it's better to replace them now
rather than waiting for the tournament to
begin," he said.

Both Bhuvneshwar and Ishant are crucial
in skipper MS Dhoni's scheme of things
and their loss will be a major setback to
the team. If a replacement is indeed
needed then Mohit Sharma is likely to be
the first name to be considered. BCCI
source added that Ravindra Jadeja and
Rohit Sharma, also in the injured list,
would be fit for the tournament and are
expected to pass the fitness test.
However, an official with the team in
Adelaide said that 'replacement rumours'
are preposterous and speculative. "As you
know, the team is on complete break from
cricket. The players who are unfit have
been given a schedule to follow. They will
not be at the ground before Friday. Till
then, there is no way to know who will be
fit.

"Yes, it is taking long for the injured
players to recover which is not a good
sign. It is obvious, if there is any doubt
about their fitness, they will have to be
replaced. But the process is not simple.

First we have to be sure that the
concerned player will not recover during
the duration of the World Cup. The ICC
then has to be convinced with full medical
report that the injury is really not going to
heal in time, only then can the player be
replaced," the team official said.

"Thereafter, the selectors in consultation
with the team management will decide
who the replacement would be," he said.
It is obvious that the air will be cleared
only after the team reassembles on Friday
and has its first net session. Only then
will the fitness of players be tested.

Ishant, Bhuvneshwar still uncertain for World Cup: Reports - Cricbuzz

 

[iSK]

RE: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 News, Updates and Results

Oh no Bhuvi also injured :wall ..I hope that he get well soon :tup

 

[Dinesh jain]

RE: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 News, Updates and Results

omg!!!!!now bhuvi...get well soon.