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Saturday, March 7, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Balanced Indian team confident ahead of NZ tour
Indian skipper MS Dhoni will be leading his bunch of talented cricketers to New Zealand - the country where India registered its first ever overseas Test series victory. The feat in 1968, under the leadership of Nawab of Pataudi (Jr.), broke India’s 35-year long jinx of not winning abroad which earned the team a tag of ‘poor travelers’. One would expect the Indian team to always do well in New Zealand as it won its first-ever Test series there, but the harsh conditions and lively bounce has always come in way of the Indians, ensuring that the highpoint in India’s cricket history was never repeated again. The graph has been going southwards ever since, as the last time India won a Test in Kiwi-land was three decades ago. However the recent success of India, both at home and away, hints at revival of the poor record and this may be the appropriate time to begin as Team India will be seen in new dark blue jerseys, doing away with the highly popular light blue outfit. "Everyone knows the conditions in New Zealand are tough. It's a big tour for us and we want to win," said MS Dhoni at a pre-tour conference in Mumbai. Coach Gary Kirsten too expressed confidence in the team's ability to do well in conditions that are vastly different to what the players are used to at home, in the sub-continent. "We have a very balanced team -- in batting, pace and spin bowling. We are capable of playing in any condition. Conditions will be vastly different and the weather would be cold with a bit of rain. But we have the players to overcome these," Kirsten said. Dhoni insisted that preparation would be the key to his team’s success, and that practice sessions could prove to be crucial in the eventual outcome of the series. “We will have to put a lot into our training sessions once we get there. We have four days before the first Twenty20 match, which will be very crucial,” he said. Many players in the Indian team, including the skipper, will be travelling to New Zealand for the first time and Dhoni said he was looking forward to the inputs from teammates who have experienced conditions in New Zealand during the long flight. "It is not just about talking to players who have been there. Ours is an open team, everybody is allowed to speak. We will take inputs from everyone and take what is best for the team," added Dhoni. The six-week tour opens next Wednesday with the first of two Twenty20 Internationals. India and New Zealand will also play five one-day internationals and three Tests. Apart from conditions, India has to counter a resurgent New Zealand team that did well in the recently-concluded ODI series against Australia and a 2-1 home-series win against the West Indies. “New Zealand will always be a competitive team. The Kiwis are fighters and it is worth being wary of them at home. We certainly won’t be taking New Zealand for granted,” said the Indian coach, Gary Kirsten.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
I have to lead by example in SA: Ponting
As Australia heads for a gruelling Test tour of South Africa with an inexperienced side, skipper Ricky Ponting said he would “lead by example” and expected the same from some of his senior colleagues. “If we look at those on the plane to South Africa, four have never played a Test, two have played only one and just four have played more than Mitchell Johnson’s 18: (Michael) Clarke, Mike Hussey, Simon Katich and myself. “That creates extra responsibility for us four. As senior players, we must stand up and lead from the front to show the younger players the way,” Ponting wrote in his column for the ‘Australian’. “I know that as captain and the most experienced player in the team, it is up to me to set the example.” Concerned about the challenge the youngsters face while graduating from domestic to international level, the skipper said he was ready to help them out. “It is a big step from domestic to Test cricket, and we have to make the transition for the younger and inexperienced players as comfortable as possible,” he said.
6 more ICL players allowed to play domestic cricket
KARACHI: Six more Pakistani cricketers who had sided with the controversial Indian Cricket League (ICL) have been allowed to play in domestic matches.The Sindh High Court (SHC) while ruling in favor of six more players banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), allowed the players to take part in domestic cricket.The cricketers get permission to play domestic cricket are Imran Farhat, Humayun Farhat, Imran Nazir, Taufiq Umer, Riaz Afridi and Rashid Khan.Inzamamul Haq, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmad and Azhar Mahmood still facing ban imposed by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).The PCB had banned 20 of its leading cricketers because of their association with the ICL.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Player rift lit fuse for Adelaide United coach Aurelio Vidmar's outburst
FINANCIAL cutbacks, boardroom politics and player discontent are believed to be behind Adelaide United coach Aurelio Vidmar's extraordinary outburst following the club's 4-0 loss to Melbourne Victory.
A club insider said there had been rumblings of discontent since Adelaide revealed they were releasing stalwart Ange Costanzo, Brazilian Diego and midfielder Jonas Salley.
It appears Vidmar has been a slow-burning fuse to a time bomb that eventually exploded and tore the heart out of a club that only three months ago had been hailed as the fairytale story of Australian sport after reaching the final of the Asian Champions League.
Vidmar apologised on Sunday for describing Adelaide, the city, as a "pissant town". And after a crisis meeting with club owners and officials, United released a statement saying the issues the coach raised had been resolved.
But Vidmar did not retreat from his claims that United was a club riven by egos, jealousies and political manoeuvring.
A club insider said there had been rumblings of discontent since Adelaide revealed they were releasing stalwart Ange Costanzo, Brazilian Diego and midfielder Jonas Salley.
It appears Vidmar has been a slow-burning fuse to a time bomb that eventually exploded and tore the heart out of a club that only three months ago had been hailed as the fairytale story of Australian sport after reaching the final of the Asian Champions League.
Vidmar apologised on Sunday for describing Adelaide, the city, as a "pissant town". And after a crisis meeting with club owners and officials, United released a statement saying the issues the coach raised had been resolved.
But Vidmar did not retreat from his claims that United was a club riven by egos, jealousies and political manoeuvring.
Sky Sports has signed a deal with Cricket Australia to screen live coverage of the next Ashes series Down Under.
England's 2010-11 tour - taking in all the Tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20 games - will be the sixth consecutive trip to Australia shown live on Sky Sports, and is part of an agreement which gives the broadcaster the rights to all Australian international cricket on home soil from 2009 until September 2012.
And the deal means Sky Sports is now the place to watch the next three Ashes series live - starting with all five npower Tests in England this year and taking you through to the summer of 2013.
Vic Wakeling, managing director for Sky Sports said: "We believe there is growing interest in all forms of cricket, but the priority for the English public remains the Ashes which is why we are delighted to be covering the next three series, through to and including the series planned for the summer of 2013."
Also included in the deal are Australia's home series against Pakistan and West Indies in 2009-10, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (2010-11) and New Zealand and India (2011-12).
Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said: "Cricket Australia is delighted to have finalised the deal with Sky Sports, an organisation that has a long and illustrious history of supplying high quality content to its viewers.
"It is important that Australian cricket is seen by as many fans as possible around the world and the agreement with Sky Sports will help us to achieve this aim."
Sky, which became the first broadcaster to provide multi-platform coverage of an England cricket tour with the 2006-2007 Ashes series, has also been awarded mobile and online rights, providing live coverage for subscribers to Sky Mobile TV available on 3G handsets on Orange, Vodafone and T-Mobile and Skyplayer accessible via skysports.com.
The deal bolsters an already unrivalled cricket calendar on Sky Sports which takes in live coverage of matches from South Africa, New Zealand, India and West Indies
And the deal means Sky Sports is now the place to watch the next three Ashes series live - starting with all five npower Tests in England this year and taking you through to the summer of 2013.
Vic Wakeling, managing director for Sky Sports said: "We believe there is growing interest in all forms of cricket, but the priority for the English public remains the Ashes which is why we are delighted to be covering the next three series, through to and including the series planned for the summer of 2013."
Also included in the deal are Australia's home series against Pakistan and West Indies in 2009-10, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (2010-11) and New Zealand and India (2011-12).
Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said: "Cricket Australia is delighted to have finalised the deal with Sky Sports, an organisation that has a long and illustrious history of supplying high quality content to its viewers.
"It is important that Australian cricket is seen by as many fans as possible around the world and the agreement with Sky Sports will help us to achieve this aim."
Sky, which became the first broadcaster to provide multi-platform coverage of an England cricket tour with the 2006-2007 Ashes series, has also been awarded mobile and online rights, providing live coverage for subscribers to Sky Mobile TV available on 3G handsets on Orange, Vodafone and T-Mobile and Skyplayer accessible via skysports.com.
The deal bolsters an already unrivalled cricket calendar on Sky Sports which takes in live coverage of matches from South Africa, New Zealand, India and West Indies
The final round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am has been postponed after no play was possible on Sunday
Strong winds and heavy rain prevented any of the 68-man field getting out of the clubhouse so the first threesome is set to tee off from 7.30am local time on Monday morning.
Strong winds are again expected at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Monday, though, with long-hitting American Dustin Johnson holding a four-shot lead over Canadian Mike Weir.
At least 50 per cent of the players would have to complete the final round for it to count, organisers said.
"Hopefully see if we can get the golf tournament in," PGA Tour vice-president of rules and competition Mark Russell said. "I don't think the wind is going to be as strong tomorrow morning.
"We're mandated by the regulations to do everything we can to play 72 holes, so we're going to see what we can do tomorrow.
If we find that we're not going to be able to finish tomorrow, we'll make a decision at that time."
Strong winds are again expected at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Monday, though, with long-hitting American Dustin Johnson holding a four-shot lead over Canadian Mike Weir.
At least 50 per cent of the players would have to complete the final round for it to count, organisers said.
"Hopefully see if we can get the golf tournament in," PGA Tour vice-president of rules and competition Mark Russell said. "I don't think the wind is going to be as strong tomorrow morning.
"We're mandated by the regulations to do everything we can to play 72 holes, so we're going to see what we can do tomorrow.
If we find that we're not going to be able to finish tomorrow, we'll make a decision at that time."
source:http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12176_4926599,00.html
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