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England paid the price for bullying India at home: Vaughan

LONDON: Former captain Michael Vaughan said England deserve to top the rankings in Test cricket but was concerned about their deteriorating performance in the ODIs after a 0-5 whitewash in India.

"It is always harder to play away from home but England have to lose their short-sighted vision of playing on green wickets in this country. Look at results this year. Away from home we have lost 6-1 to Australia, been beaten by Bangladesh and Ireland during the World Cup, and now lost 5-0 in India," Vaughan wrote in his column in The Telegraph.

"Our overall result against Sri Lanka and India in the summer was 6-2, but the scores only tell a certain story. Last summer we played Sri Lanka on the greenest Oval pitch I have ever seen and won comfortably.

"England then played at Headingley on a flat wicket that took a bit of spin and lost. They were not happy and went berserk at the groundsman. What happened next?

"At Trent Bridge, Sri Lanka were rolled over on an absolute classic English green top. Result? England won by 10 wickets," he said.

Vaughan said if England want to be the best team, they have to perform on slow and turning pitches in the sub-continent regularly.

"They perhaps wanted Alastair Cook to win a few games as a young captain but I am sorry, if you want to be the best team in one-day cricket then you have to play on slow, turning pitches consistently. You can pick any one of England's last 10 50-over teams and, on a green top, they would win. That is going back 14 or 15 years.

"But when it is flat, bowlers are put under pressure and batters have to rotate the strike in the middle overs, and clear ropes at the end of the innings, or you don't win many games of cricket," he said.
Newspaper:Times Of India,28th Oct

 

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Tendulkar listened to too many people as captain: Lele

MUMBAI: He sits on a pile of batting records but Sachin Tendulkar's 'not-so-impressive' stint as captain remains an abiding paradox in Indian cricket and former BCCI secretary JY Lele feels it was because he used to pay heed to too many advices.

For a cricketer who has made it a habit of breaking one record after another and is on the threshold of another - 100 international centuries - the champion batsman has a modest captaincy record to boast of.

Lele, in his newly published book, 'I Was There - Memoirs of a Cricket Administrator', writes that Tendulkar used to pay heed to too many advices and thought it was disrespectful to ignore suggestions from elders.

"Sachin could not exactly prove himself as a successful captain, though as a player he is a legend, the greatest! I need not specially write about his unmatched batting prowess, as it is a worldwide accepted fact and volumes have gone into describing his cricketing skills. When I saw him step down as captain, I was in tears!" writes Lele in his memoirs.

"I consider myself lucky that I got many opportunities to interact with him when he was captain. His biggest problem was that he used to listen to too many people. Basically a very soft, rather shy, cultured gentleman, Sachin played international cricket at the tender age of 16 plus, and from then on, formed the habit of respecting elders. He thought it was his duty to implement what they suggested. While doing so, he sometimes did not apply his mind. In deserving cases, it proved advantageous, in others, otherwise," Lele writes.
Newspaper:Times Of India,28th Oct

 

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‘To be No 1 in ODIs, England must play well on turning tracks’

Concerned about England’s deteriorating performance in the one-dayers after a 0-5 whitewash in India, former captain Michael Vaughan said if Alastair Cook men want to be the best team in ODIs, they have to play consistently on slow and turning pitches.

“It is always harder to play away from home but England have to lose their short-sighted vision of playing on green wickets in this country,” said Vanghan.

“Look at results this year. Away from home we have lost 6-1 to Australia, been beaten by Bangladesh and Ireland during the World Cup, and now lost 5-0 in India. Our overall result against Sri Lanka and India in the summer was 6-2, but the scores only tell a certain story.

“They perhaps wanted Alastair Cook to win a few games as a young captain but I am sorry, if you want to be the best team in one-day cricket then you have to play on slow, turning pitches consistently,” the former skipper wrote in his column in ‘The Daily Telegraph’

Describing how England fared against Sri Lanka on green pitches as compared to the spinning tracks in India, Vaughan explained: “Last summer we played Sri Lanka on the greenest Oval pitch I have ever seen and won comfortably. England then played at Headingley on a flat wicket that took a bit of spin and lost. They were not happy and went berserk at the groundsman.

“What happened next? At Trent Bridge, Sri Lanka were rolled over on an absolute classic English green top. Result? England won by 10 wickets.”

The 36-year-old said England is always certain to win when they play on green-tops.

“You can pick any one of England’s last ten 50-over teams and, on a green top, they would win. That is going back 14 or 15 years.
Newspaper:The Hindu, 28th Oct

 

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100 Lankan cricketers not paid since April

About 100 contracted Sri Lankan cricketers have not been paid since the island nation co-hosted the World Cup with India and Bangladesh in April earlier this year due to the debt that the country's board is facing.

There are reports that the because of debt, Sri Lanka Cricket may not be in a position to pay the players for the next two months as well.

"There is a truth in those media reports to a certain extent," SLC chairman Upali Dharmadasa told BBC Sinhala.

SLC is still awaiting payment from teh ICC for co-hosting the World Cup.

"The ICC still owes us $4-5 million ," said Dharmadasa.

Sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said Sri Lanka still owes more than $18.1 million to the Chinese construction firm that built the stadium in President Mahinda Rajapaksa's hometown, Hambantota.

The minister is hoping that the matter would be sorted out by the end of this year.
Newspaper:Hindustan Times,28th Oct

 

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It’s not official, but Sachin & Viru look set to be back
- Buzz that Dhoni may be rested for part of test series vs WI

Calcutta: It’s not official, but word is that both Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag are available for selection. Accordingly, they’re expected to feature in the India XV for the first Test against the West Indies, at the Kotla, from November 6.

The selectors — Krish Srikkanth, Mohinder Amarnath, Narendra Hirwani, Surendra Bhave and Raja Venkat — are meeting here on Friday evening. The last selection committee meeting in the city was, well, aeons ago.

Sehwag, in fact, may even get the captaincy if Srikkanth and his colleagues decide to rest Mahendra Singh Dhoni — in the first Test and, possibly, in the second (at the Eden from November 14) as well.

Late on Thursday, the buzz indeed was to that effect. However, nobody in any position of authority was available to confirm/deny what was going around.

Nothing, clearly, is more important than Dhoni being mentally and physically up to it when the India squad touches down in Australia in about six weeks.

According to The Telegraph’s sources, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma are also fit and available. Yuvraj and Ishant look certain to be in the XV, but Rohit could be in a toss-up with Ajinkya Rahane.

Harbhajan Singh may become a major point of discussion. Indications are that the veteran off-spinner could have to wait for his India return as Ravichandran Ashwin has strong backers.

Besides, Ashwin has been performing.

The other point of debate may involve Suresh Raina. At this point in time, the stars don’t appear too bright for the left-hander, who is such a dominant force in limited overs cricket.

Virat Kohli, who has been in superb touch, is expected to make the XV as a reserve specialist batsman.

Well-placed sources have pointed out that either Varun Aaron or Umesh Yadav, both of whom are quick, would be in the squad.

An absolute dark horse is all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. If he does get a call-up, then Pragyan Ojha or Amit Mishra would miss out.

On the face of it, the selectors certainly have plenty to choose from.
Newspaper:The Telegraph,28th Oct

 

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Yuvraj back in Grade A; Virat, Ishant get promotions

KOLKATA: The BCCI on Saturday added 13 more cricketers to its contracted list, raising the number to 37 in three grades. The major gainers were Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma and Virat Kohli, who moved up from Grade B to Grade A. The new list of contracted players was finalised by the board's working committee that met here on Saturday. There was no change in the minimum contracted amount in the three grades.

Yuvraj, who on Friday was named in the Indian squad for the first Test against the West Indies after recovering from an injury, returned to the top tier. He had been demoted to Grade B last season. There was some consolation for Harbhajan Singh, currently out of favour with the selectors, as he has been retained in Grade A where the contracted amount is a minimum of Rs 1 crore.

Ishant Sharma was rewarded for his decent show on the England tour, while Kohli also got the nod for his impressive performance in the ODI series in England and at home, though he flopped in the Test series in the West Indies. Suresh Raina, who was dropped from the Test squad, has also retained his place in the top tier.

The List:

Grade A (Rs 1 crore): Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Virat Kohli.

Grade B (Rs 50 lakh): Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja.

Grade C (Rs 25 lakh): S Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, C Pujara, A Mithun, Vinay Kumar, A Rahane, Munaf Patel, M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, W Saha, Parthiv Patel, S Badrinath, Manoj Tiwary, P Chawla, D Karthik, J Unadkat, U Yadav, Rahul Sharma, Varun Aaron, A Mukund.
Newspaper:Times Of India, 30th oct

 

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Rotate fast bowlers to avoid injury: Sehwag

NEW DELHI: Dashing India opener Virender Sehwag believes the only way to avoid injuries is to rotate the fast bowlers by giving them regular breaks.

"It's important that the team management ensures that they don't play too many matches. Fast bowlers are prone to injuries and when they get injured their pace goes," Sehwag said.

"Besides, when you are injured, your comeback becomes very difficult," he added.

Sehwag, who is looking forward to the series against West Indies after recovering from a shoulder injury, said any decision to have different teams for Tests and the shorter versions of the game lies entirely with the selectors.

"A cricketer's passion is to play for the country. If somebody says he's tired, he can talk to the team management. Dhoni was not given rest on his request, because there were too many injuries in the team," he said.
Newspaper:Times Of India,31st Oct

 

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Pietersen reprimanded for ICC conduct breach

England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been reprimanded for breaching the International Cricket Council (ICC) code of conduct during the one-off Twenty20 international game against India Saturday.
Pietersen was found to have breached level 1 code which relates to "showing dissent at an
umpire's decision during an international match".

The incident took place following Pietersen's dismissal, when he was ruled out lbw off Suresh Raina's bowling.

He was charged by on-field umpires Sudhir Asnani and S Ravi, third umpire Vineet Kulkarni and fourth umpire K Srinath.

The matter was determined by the match referee Roshan Mahanama and so there was no requirement for a full hearing.

"As an experienced cricketer, Kevin should know that when the umpire raises his finger, a player should leave the crease without showing his emotions no matter what he may think of the decision," Mahanama said.

"In this case, Kevin displayed excessive and obvious disappointment at the decision which sent the wrong signals to all those watching the match at the ground and on television, and as such merited some form of action."
Newspaper:Hindustan Times, 31st Oct

 

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Don't mind proving myself again, says Sreesanth

NAGPUR: When on song Shanthakumaran Sreesanth is a treat to watch. His passion to steam in ball after ball, hit the seam consistently and tease batsmen with those away swingers often prove tantalizing not just for the fielders but for millions watching the game on television.

In his fifth international season, this talented seamer would have loved to augment his fledgling Test career but injuries and indifferent form have often proved to be a roadblock.

Ignored once again after a nightmarish tour of England, Sreesanth is ready to do the hard yards with a good performance in the Ranji Trophy that kicks off on Thursday.

"I don't mind proving myself again and again. I have always given hundred percent on the field. My work ethics have been the same whether it's in international cricket, first class or even club cricket. I have always tried to improve myself in every practice session. When it comes to playing and preparation, I am as disciplined and dedicated as anyone else. So, there's no point complaining about things which are beyond my control. At present, I am only concerned about performing better and getting the things right," Sreesanth told TOI.
Newspaper:Times of India, 1st Nov

 

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Want to be remembered as Test player, says Yuvraj

GURGAON: India's middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh reckons that his best years as a cricketer is "yet to come" and he will now strive to revive his Test career.

Yuvraj is not a regular member of Test squad and lost his place in the side after the series in Sri Lanka last year, but the elegant left-hander said he wants to be remembered as a good Test cricketer after retirement.

"It's the right time to focus on my Test career. I want to be remembered as a good batsman in the longer format of the game. I have always tried to give my best shot whenever on the field but unfortunately injury issues were there", Yuvraj said on Monday.

"In the upcoming series against the West Indies and Australia, I want to score big and make a mark in the Test format. I want to restructure my Test career and I'll raise the bar this time," he said.

Yuvraj said he has matured as a player after going through various ups and downs in his career, marred by injury or fitness concerns.
Newspaper:Times of India,1st Nov