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Dhoni wants to set up cricket academy in Haryana

Chandigarh: Like Virender Sehwag, Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni also wants to set up a cricket academy in Haryana and for that he has sought a piece of land from the state government.

The skipper had recently sent a written request to Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, which was forwarded by the latter's office to the State's Sports Department seeking more information on Dhoni's plans.

Dhoni has desired to start an academy and an educational institution in the state, Haryana's Director of Sports, O P Singh said on Monday.

Singh has sent a mail to Dhoni, asking for more details about his venture, what exactly he wants and if he has any location in mind where he wants to set up his academy.

Haryana's State Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Sukhbir Kataria said while they would welcome any such initiative by the Indian captain, but first they need to know full details about his plans.
Source:NDTV

 

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Pak not to play in India next year: PCB chief

PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has said that Pakistan will not play in India in 2012 as per the ICC FTP (Future Tours Programme) unless India fulfill their prior commitments.

The Pakistan Cricket Board chief said this while speaking to Headlines Today. India had been slated to tour Pakistan for the last two years, but have not fulfilled their commitments due to non clearance from the government.

India have also refused to play a series against Pakistan in a neutral venue. Other countries have been playing Pakistan's home series in neutral venues.

Later this year, Pakistan plays three Tests and five ODIs and T20 matches against Sri Lanka in October and November and three Tests, four ODIs and two T20 matches against England in January and February next year.

Both the series have been confirmed at the UAE venues of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah due to the refusal of teams to tour Pakistan because of security concerns.
Source:HT

 

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Injured Broad ruled out for up to seven weeks

LONDON: England all-rounder Stuart Broad will be out of action for up to seven weeks after tearing a muscle in his right shoulder during the tied fourth one-dayer against India, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Monday.

Broad's injury means he will miss the final one-dayer against India in Cardiff on Friday and has also been ruled out of the five-match ODI series in India next month.

"Stuart has a muscle tear within his shoulder and will require an initial period of rest and rehabilitation," ECB chief medical officer Nick Peirce said in a statement.

"Exact timescales will be determined in due course but he is likely to be ruled out of cricket for a number of weeks."

The statement added that Broad, the captain of England's Twenty20 side, "may be fit to join the squad for the Twenty20 fixture scheduled for 29 October in Kolkata".

The 25-year-old's absence will be a huge blow for England as he was one of the in-form players during the recent Test series when the hosts humiliated India 4-0. The fast bowler took 25 wickets and also performed with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 74 during the first Test at Lord's.

With Broad being the only England bowler to make an impact on the flat sub-continent pitches during the 50-over World Cup earlier this year, the timing of his injury could prove costly for his country.

Broad suffered the injury two balls into his final over on Sunday, when the tied match handed the series victory to England.

"Bad news on the shoulder, torn a muscle, I know which one, just can't spell it. Gutted," he posted on Twitter.

Broad joined Eoin Morgan, England's Twenty20 vice captain, on the sidelines as the Dublin-born batsman has also been ruled out of the India tour with a shoulder problem.

Monday's announcement is the latest setback for Broad in an injury-hit 10 months.

He missed the final three Ashes Tests in Australia with an abdominal muscle tear and then had to come home early from the World Cup with a side strain.
Newspaper: The Times Of India

 

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Shame that the Indians did not attend awards function: Lorgat

The ICC squarely laid the blame on BCCI for the Indian cricket team’s absence at the Annual Awards function on Tuesday night, saying it’s a “shame” that the Indian players skipped the event.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat insisted that they had informed the BCCI about the function much in advance.

“It was quite disappointing that the Indian team did not attend the Awards function last night. I know for a fact that my team had invited them some months back. We probably have confirmation of their likely attendance and in fact the very date was scheduled around their availability in London.

Well, they haven’t and the England team has attended,” Lorgat said.

“I know for a fact that they were invited. We sent those invitations through the BCCI. Perhaps that’s the question which should be asked to the BCCI,” Lorgat added.

The ICC CEO said the huge gathering at the ceremony was disappointed to not find Indian players.

“In fact I feel more saddened by the number of people, in fact everybody was in attendance last night, who were quite disappointed that India was not there. And that makes me feel more sad and unhappy,” Lorgat added.

Lorgat said such conduct and behaviour from a team like Indian was not expected.

“It’s a great shame and disappointing that not long ago they were the number one Test team in the World. They won the World Cup in such a great style. And there were many fans and people looking forward to their attendance. It’s a shame that they did not attend”, he said.

“There is Spirit of the cricket Award that went to M.S. Dhoni for the wonderful leadership he showed when he recalled Ian Bell. It was a deserving award and quite a shame that he was not there to accept it,” he said.

Indian team manager Shivlal Yadav, however, said that he was informed only at 12 noon by an ICC communication officer by which time “the players were already away, some shopping, some sight—seeing as this was their final day of stay in London.
Newspaper: The Hindu, September 13, 2011

 

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Tim Bresnan, Eoin Morgan and Chris Tremlett given ECB contracts

England cricketers Tim Bresnan, Eoin Morgan and Chris Tremlett have been awarded 12-month central contracts.

The trio are part of a 13-man squad given deals until September 2012.

National selector Geoff Miller said: "Central contracts are designed to reward players who perform well consistently for England.

"All three have made significant contributions to the team's success in retaining the Ashes in Australia and beating Sri Lanka and India."

Although the number of central contracts has been increased from 11, Paul Collingwood has not had his renewed after retiring from international cricket in January.
Source: BBC

 

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‘It will take time for WI to recapture its halcyon days'

A man, who was synonymous with speed and the fearsome glare, has mellowed down to strumming a guitar in Antigua, but Curtly Ambrose continues to ask searching questions off the field.

After being inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame on Monday night, Ambrose was asked about whether West Indies would ever recapture its halcyon days. A sombre Ambrose replied: “It hurts to say this but it's going to take a lot more years for West Indies cricket to get anywhere near where we once were.

“The cricket board in the West Indies made some mistakes. When we were the best team, nothing was put in place to nurture talent. The belief was that we could forever produce great cricketers, meanwhile the rest of the world has gone ahead of us.”

The former West Indies spearhead, with 405 Test wickets and 225 scalps in ODIs, said he was perplexed by the lack of fiery fast bowlers in the Caribbean.

“West Indies produced great fast bowlers and all of us were over six feet. Today we have got very short bowlers, why I don't know why. As for me, I am an aggressive person and that filtered into my cricket. I played hard but most importantly played fair,” he said.

Ambrose's clash with Steve Waugh at Trinidad in 1995 when it looked as though a United Nations peace-keeping force would be required to calm the fires, also figured in the discussion.

“We were down 0-1 in the series. There was tension and we were on the brink of losing our number one tag. Waugh said something that I didn't like. I thought he should have showed me respect. My impression was ‘let it go' but then I decided to retaliate. In the heat of the moment I really wanted to physically beat him up. But the fine thing is it ended there (on the pitch) and nothing else was said. I have high respect for him and I believe he has respect for me,” Ambrose said.

Today's Ambrose, however, is a totally different person, who nurtures hopes of playing with his band here at a packed Wembley Stadium! — Special Correspondent
Newspaper: The Hindu,September 14, 2011

 

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First 10 overs proving costly
Article:K. C. Vijaya Kumar

The Indian seamers have not stemmed the flow of runs
The cold and clammy fingers of pressure have not yet choked England in the chase during the current NatWest Series. Alastair Cook's men have stayed abreast of targets, be it original or revised, and that will be a worry for M.S. Dhoni when the Indian team heads to Cardiff for the final match scheduled on Friday.

Except at the Oval where a top-order collapse weakened the score, India has found the runs, but its bowlers have fired sporadically with the rain and resultant wet outfield negating their control over the ball. The seamers have not stemmed the flow of runs in the first 10 overs and England has grabbed the initiative.

Cook and Craig Kieswetter failed in the opening match at Chester-le-Street and at Lord's on Sunday but overall, the host enjoyed the upper hand. At the Rose Bowl, England scored 56 for no loss in 10 overs; at the Oval it was 63 for one and even at Lord's, the score was 50 for two. These numbers meant that India's scores of 187 (23 overs), 234 and 280 seemed within reach as long as England had wickets in hand.
Missing Zaheer

Dhoni, who is missing Zaheer Khan's potency and Yuvraj Singh's variety in his ranks, said that the leakage of runs in the first 10 overs, undid the team. “We have given runs in the first few overs in the past but then the fast bowlers with a bit of reverse swing were able to get back. Over here we are giving too many runs in the first 10 overs and it is becoming difficult. None of our bowlers are real quick and when it doesn't swing and the ball gets wet, it becomes difficult,” Dhoni said.

R. Ashwin is the highest wicket-taker for India in this series with six scalps, averaging 21.00 and coming at an economy rate of 5.25 and he found belated support from Ravindra Jadeja in the last two games. On the other hand, the seamers — Munaf Patel (6.42), Praveen Kumar (5.09), R.P. Singh (6.06) and Vinay Kumar (6.40) — have disappointed with fewer wickets that were allied with inflationary economy rates.

It is little consolation that the England bowlers too have struggled with ODI specialist Jade Dernbach going for 6.83 runs per over but sudden incisive spells like the one that James Anderson bowled at the Oval, has helped Cook.
Newspaper: The Hindu, 14th September 2011

 

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India must learn to live without Zaheer: Ganguly

LONDON: India have had a disastrous tour and ex-skipper Sourav Ganguly feels MS Dhoni's men need to regroup quickly to give England a taste of their own medicine in the home series.

Excerpts from an exclusive interview:

What do you feel went wrong with the team in England?
India didn't bat well in the Tests. We started off on a bad note by losing the opening match. After the Test whitewash, it was difficult to come back in the ODIs. England did play better cricket, but their real test will come in the subcontinent. However, I wouldn't like to take away credit for their performance at home.

If you were captain today, would you have done anything differently?

I've always believed that a captain is as good as his team. You can't blame the captain if some of the top players are out with injury. Look what happened to Australia when some of their top players dropped out. Before that, Ricky Ponting was considered the best captain in the world, when the Australians were ruling the roost with top bowlers like Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.
Which young Indian player has impressed you the most?
Ajinkya Rahane, to some extent. But even he failed to make full use of the initial starts he got. The Indian team looked ordinary. Basically, they must learn to live without Zaheer.
Your aggressive captaincy has often been cited as a reason for India's success in recent years. Are we lacking that approach now?
I captained the side a long time ago. A lot of changes have taken place since then. This is a different era, a different phase, but the team is still focussed on winning matches. Any team that can win matches in Australia, South Africa and England has to be good.
Is coach Duncan Fletcher doing enough?

It's early days yet for him. One can't comment on his performance just yet. Give him some time. I'm sure he'll do well.
Can England overtake India in the shorter version of the game too?
England are not the best ODI team. India have lost badly to them but their stars will rise again. Fitness is a key issue with this team and I'm sure the BCCI is going to address the issue. We also need good bowlers in all forms of the game to be consistent at the highest level. The selectors should have the eye for new talent
Newspaper: The Times of India, Sep 14, 2011

 

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Let Lorgat say whatever he wants: BCCI

LONDON/MUMBAI: The Indian team's absence from the ICC Awards ceremony on Monday night hasn't gone down too well with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and it wasted little time in laying the blame squarely on the BCCI.

The CEO of the world governing body, Haroon Lorgat, in fact called the decision of the Indian team to miss the function a "shame" on Tuesday.

The Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) refused to clear the air, taking a typically defiant stand.

"Lorgat can say whatever he wants to. We don't want to comment on it," CAO of the BCCI, Ratnakar Shetty told TOI. BCCI secretary and president-elect N Srinivasan too took the no comments route. "The board has nothing to say on this," he stressed.

Rajiv Shukla, when asked about the team skipping the event, was curiously clueless and said he wasn't aware that the Indian team wouldn't be turning up.

The ICC CEO said the huge gathering at the ceremony was disappointed not to see Indian players. "In fact, I feel more saddened because of the number of people. Almost everybody in attendance last night was disappointed that India was not represented," Lorgat added.
Lorgat said such behaviour from a top team was not expected.

Newspaper:The Times Of India, 14 Sep,2011

 

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Aleem Dar for consistency in using DRS

Calcutta: Pakistan umpire Aleem Dar, who was Monday named the Umpire of the Year for the third time in a row at the International Cricket Council’s annual awards, has called for consistency in the use of Decision Review System (DRS).

Dar said that the umpires have a hard time getting familiar with the use of technology since it is currently not used in its entirety in every series. “It becomes difficult for umpires if the DRS is used in one series and not in the other… Conditions vary from country to country,” said Dar.

According to the current ICC rules, only partial use of the DRS is mandatory in every series. While the use of infra-red cameras and audio tracking technologies have been made compulsory, the use of ball-tracking technology depends on the agreement of the teams during a series.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had recently questioned the accuracy of the technology after Rahul Dravid was controversially given out during the first ODI of the ongoing series against England. The ICC, too, had acknowledged that “minute number of errors” in DRS have been detected and that they are monitoring it closely.

Dravid was controversially given out despite television replays not showing any edge off the bat during the Chester-le-Street ODI.

Dar won the David Shepherd Trophy for being the Umpire of the Year for the third time on Monday night.

Dar, who is 43, was voted to this award by the 10 Full Member captains as well as the eight-member Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, based on his decision statistics and officiating skills over the past 12 months.

Dar, who accepted the award from ICC Hall of Fame 2011 inductee Alan Davidson, said: “It’s a great honour and I’m thankful to everyone at the ICC and also my colleagues on the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires along with the Pakistan Cricket Board. I’d like to also thank all my family for all their support since I’m away nearly eight months of the year umpiring.”

Dar, widely regarded for his umpiring standards, beat off strong competition from his colleagues on the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires — Steve Davis, Ian Gould and five-time ICC Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel.

Newspaper: The Telegraph, India