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Irish tie with Zim in thriller
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Dravid for clinical
show against Bangladesh
Yuvi, Bhajji want to see India through Sreesanth set
to rock
Moody: Indians are poor travellers
Aussies hurl more bouncers at Sunny
Tony Greig joins Sunny bashing
Records galore for Ponting
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Irish tie with Zim in thriller
Kingston, March 15 Earlier, Australian-born opening batsman Jeremy Bray struck an unbeaten 115 as Ireland racked up a total of 221 for nine. Ireland’s debut got off to a shaky start with William Porterfield out with the sixth ball of the day. But Bray and fellow left-hander Eoin Morgan took on the Zimbabwe attack rattling up 42 from eight overs with some aggressive stroke play. Bray brought up his century in a 129 balls and with the help of some sloppy fielding from Zimbabwe in the final stages the Irish reached a total that gives them the opportunity to pull of the first shock of the competition. Scoreboard Ireland Porterfield c Sibanda b Mpofu 0 Bray not out 115 Morgan c Chigumbura b Brent 21 NJ O'Brien c Taylor b Chigumbura 1 Botha b Chigumbura 1 KJ O'Brien c Taylor b Rainsford 10 White lbw Brent 28 Johnston run out 20 McCallan st Taylor b Williams 0 Langford-Smith c Taylor b Mpofu 15 Extras
(b-1, lb-1, w-5, nb-3) 10 Total (9 wkts, 50 overs) 221 Fall of wickets:
1-0, 2-43, 3-44, 4-64, 5-89, 6-145, 7-182, 8-182, 9-221 Bowling:
Mpofu 10-3-58-2, Rainsford 7-0-44-1, Chigumbura 6-2-21-2, Brent 10-1-40-2, Utseya 10-0-29-0, Williams 6-1-21-1, Matsikenyeri 1-0-6-0. Zimbabwe Duffin c NJ O'Brien b Rankin 12 Sibanda hit wicket b White 67 Chibhabha c
Langford-Smith b Johnston 12 Williams c Rankin b McCallan 14 Matsikenyeri not out 73 Chigumbura c Bray b McCallan 4 Taylor run out 24 Brent lbw Botha 3 Utseya c Morgan b KJ O'Brien 1 Mpofu run out 0 Rainsford run out 1 Extras
(lb-1, w-7, nb-2) 10 Total (all out, 50 overs) 221 Fall of wickets:
1-26, 2-92, 3-107, 4-128, 5-133, 6-203, 7-212, 8-213, 9-213. Bowling: Langford-Smith 9-0-34-0, Rankin 7-1-43-1, Botha 10-2-32-1, Johnston 10-2-32-1, McCallan 9-1-56-2, White 3-1-15-1, KJ O'Brien 2-1-8-1. Lanka storm to 243-run victory Port of Spain: Former champions Sri Lanka began their hunt to regain the Cup in style as they chalked out a comprehensive win, crushing minnows Bermuda by 243 runs in their opening Group B World Cup league match here today. It was a total mismatch with the Lankans plundering the Bermuda bowling to pile up 321 for six and then bundling out the debutantes for a paltry 78 runs in 24.4 overs. The only redeeming feature of the Bermuda innings was that they avoided the humiliation of being bowled out for the lowest total in the World Cup. For the winners Mahroof took four wickets for 32 runs, Lasith Malinga scalped three for 10 and Murlitharan captured two for 28. Scoreboard Sri Lanka Tharanga c Minors b Hurdle 30 Jayasuriya c Pitcher b Mukuddem 22 Jayawardene c Hurdle b Cann 85 Sangakkara c Tucker b Leverock 76 Silva not out 55 Dilshan c Tucker b Hurdle 12 Maharoof c Hemp b Mukuddem 9 Arnold not out 2 Extras
(lb-3, w -3, nb-14) 30 Total (6 wkts, 50 overs) 321 Fall of
wickets:1-62, 2-78, 3-228, 4-267, 5-305, 6-316. Bowling: Hurdle 9-1-61-2, Mukuddem 10-0-50-2, Tucker 10-0-50-0, Leverock 10-0-67-1, Borden 3-0-27-0, Cann 5-0-34-1, Romaine 3-0-29-0. Bermuda Smith lbw Vaas 0 Pitcher b Maharoof 6 Mukuddem c Sangakkara b Malinga 0 Hemp c Jayawardene b Malinga 14 Romaine lbw Malinga 0 Tucker b Muralitharan 4 Minors c Sangakkara b Maharoof 4 Cann c Sangakkara b Maharoof 28 Borden c sub b Maharoof 6 Hurdle not out 6 Leverock lbw Muralitharan 1 Extras
(lb-6, w-3) 9 Total (all out, 24.4 overs) 78 Fall of wickets:
1-0, 2-2, 3-20, 4-20, 5-25, 6-29, 7-39, 8-64, 9-77. Bowling: Vaas 6-3-11-1, Malinga 5-2-10-3, Maharoof 7-1-23-4, Muralitharan 6.4-0-28-2.
— Agencies
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Dravid for clinical
show against Bangladesh
Port of Spain, March 15 The skipper said India would approach the match against their eastern neighbours at the Queen’s Park Oval like a final. “We are expected to do well in the tournament. I want my boys to put out a clinical performance,” he said. Dravid reminded his boys that in
one-dayers ICC rankings did not matter and any team, who play better on a particular day, could win. “West Indies win against Pakistan in the lung opener proves that rankings do not count on the field because Pakistan are higher then the Caribbeans in the ICC
leaderboard. It means performance of the team on the particular day counts.” India go into their opening World Cup match on a confident note after recording impressive wins against the Netherlands and the West Indies in the warm-up games. Dravid had promised a good showing by his team, saying “We are a well balanced side and confident of living up to the expectations.” He had also promised a beeter performance on the field besides asking the lower order to chip in with some useful contribution. “I am expecting some good runs from the bowlers also.
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Yuvi, Bhajji want to see India through
For both, this is their second successive World Cup, having been part of the 2003 Runners-up side. That time they were young and bit inexperienced but this time round the two are key factors in Indian team’s game plan. “We were youngsters then. We are a lot more matured now. Obviously, our roles and responsibilities have changed a lot since then,” Harbhajan said. “Now, we have to put our hands up and say I’ll do it for the team. There is a lot more in terms of responsibility for us now. It’s an important time for all of us,” Yuvraj added.
“I always back myself in difficult situations. I tell myself, I like the challenge,” opined Yuvraj. “Wickets here indicate that high scores during this World Cup will not be a very frequent happening. In such a scenario, the role of a finisher obviously becomes critical and I am backing myself, practising as best as I can to do the job for my team,” says the prolific left-hander. And for the ‘turbanator’ it is immaterial where and when he is called upon to bowl. “You cannot say there is going to be a bigger role for the spinners here. All bowlers have a role to play, everyone has to chip in. Whether we play one or two spinners, I will have to bowl well, bowl according to the needs of the team. “I am ready for any role, to bowl in the first over if the captain asks or in the last. I will give it my best shot and try and win matches for my country. I have been working very hard on my fitness. We had two good practice matches in Montego Bay and we are all fit and keen for the tournament to start,” said Bhajji. The break in Jamaica has been a boon, says Yuvraj. “While we were there, we went snorkeling, swimming, for boat ride, sailing. It was a great experience and has helped towards building a very strong team spirit. Also, I have recovered fully from the knee injury, both mentally and physically. I am just waiting for our first game.” They, however refused to downplay the Group B opposition that includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bermuda. “Whoever it is we have to play while we are here, we will need time to get used to the conditions. We have all worked on different things in practice, things we did not have time to do earlier as we were constantly playing cricket. We are as ready as we can be,” Yuvraj adds. “As a group, we have prepared hard and well. We are ready for all eventualities and our tour here last year gave us an insight into what the conditions and pitches will be like,” Harbhajan explained. — UNI
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“The team’s motto for this World Cup is ‘Let’s Win Together’ and I will work as much as I can both on and off the field towards that. My place in the Test team is secure and I now want to do the same in the ODI squad. “I like it this way, this struggle. I like to struggle and get something, achieve something and I would rather do that than get it easily. I’m sure I will get the opportunity,” the 24-year-old said. He candidly admitted that he was lucky to play all the matches here last year learn from them. “One big lesson that I learnt was to be patient, wait for the wickets to come rather than go looking for them. Pace alone is not enough and it’s not enough at this level to just run in fast. “I have learnt to bowl with patience and intelligence and the wickets will come. Here, the seniors have been a great help, especially interacting with Sachin bhai and Dada (Sourav Ganguly) who once told me that given my pace, he would have got a lot more wickets than I have managed. “All these guys, including Zack (Zaheer Khan) have been talking to us, sharing their thoughts and experiences though he (Zaheer) and I have never talked about the 2003 World Cup final.” That game has particular place in Sreesanth’s scheme of things . “We (Kerala) were playing the Ranji Trophy Plate final against Karnataka at the KSCA in Bangalore and they had put up a giant screen for us to watch. Everyone was screaming and it was sad that we lost that match. Kerala then lost to Karnataka and I’m not sure about what I felt worse about.” It has been a steep learning for the enthusiastic Kochi-born paceman. He struggled during India’s tour here last year, going for big runs in the one-day series that India lost by a 1-4 margin. “I have learnt a lot and am still learning. Last year’s tour has in that sense helped a lot.” — UNI
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Moody: Indians are poor travellers
“It’s another game of cricket in the Caribbean. Playing India in India, as every cricketing person knows, is different from playing India outside India. So we are looking forward to playing them at a neutral venue,”remarked Moody after his side had practised for their opening group B match against Bermuda here today. India had completed dominated the Lankans in a home series prior to coming to the West Indies, securing a 2-1 margin even though Chaminda Vaas and Muthiah Muralitharan were missing in the Lankan line-up. “We are in the Caribbean now. The conditions and the environment here is so different. This is what counts and not what had happened in India”. Moody argued. Australian captain Ricky Ponting had also harped on India’s tendency to be poor travellers, highlighted as it is in team’s performance at home compared to what they do abroad. Both India and Sri Lanka would be keen to win Group B’s final clash next Friday since the teams would carry over the point from the group level to the Super Eight stage. Moody, while rating his side as a strong contender for the World Cup, stressed that depth in batting and versatility could well make the difference among the teams in the competition.
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Kiwis out for revenge
Both teams were involved in the triangular series in Australia last month where England, after crushing defeats against both opponents, came from behind to defeat the hosts and reigning world champions 2-0 in the final.
Assuming they each do make it to the second phase, the winners of this match will carry two points forward into the Super Eights. “We’re smarting over England knocking us out in Australia and to get a good start to this tournament we have to win it, and win it well,” Fleming said. “Looking at the Super Eights you’ve probably got to beat every side to win this tournament at some stage and if we beat England now it may help in the long run.” England captain Michael Vaughan said recent form would count for little. “New Zealand are a good team and are full of experience of playing in these kinds of tournaments,” said the skipper. “They are always there or thereabouts come semi-final time. We know it’s a tough game for us on Friday but, as we showed in Australia, if we turn up and play we can certainly beat them.” The opening batsman, confident his hamstring will stand up to the stresses and strains of fielding for 50 overs, added: “We beat them in two different environments, in Brisbane where the ball bounced and swung a bit and in Hobart where it was a slow, Caribbean style wicket. “We also know we lost in Adelaide.” England fell at the first hurdle during the last World Cup in South Africa four years ago but Vaughan said they were now a stronger side. “We’ve got some real match-winners in this team - Andrew
Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood. These guys on any given day can win you games on their own. “At the last World Cup, we might have had one or two match-winners. I think we’ve got as many as five in this team.” England’s preparations suffered a set-back when fast bowler James Anderson fractured the little finger of his right bowling hand during catching practice yesterday. Anderson was due to have the injury re-assessed today. If he isn’t fit, the pace attack is likely to consist of all-rounder Andrew
Flintoff, Liam Plunkett and Jon Lewis, with spin from Monty Panesar and Jamie
Dalrymple. New Zealand have injury concerns as well. Pace bowler Mark Gillespie, who has a shoulder problem brought on by a virus, is set to miss out and opening batsman Peter Fulton is battling a finger injury. However, big-hitting all-rounder Jacob Oram is fit after a finger problem of his own. “We’re pretty similar in our make up. We’ve both got good left arm spinners (New Zealand have Daniel
Vettori), the all-rounder sides of things is taken care off with Jacob and
Flintoff,” said Fleming. However, Fleming said there was an area where he thought his side had the advantage. “One thing we’ve got maybe is experience, we have some pretty experienced players in our side. The English have played a lot of county and domestic cricket but in internationals and World Cups I think we’ve got them covered.” Both England coach Duncan Fletcher and New Zealand counterpart John Bracewell were at Beausejour for yesterday’s opening group match between Canada and Kenya as they assesed the conditions. “My quick assessment (New Zealand spent some time at the ground on today) was it is going to be slow,” said Fleming. “How much turn there is will be interesting keeping in mind the quality of the spinners on show Friday.”
— AFP
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South Africa begin campaign today
St. Kitts, March 15 “To chase 434 and win the game really gives you a lot of confidence in all facets of what you want to achieve, and I think this team broke a lot of barriers that day”, he said. Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath had accused South Africa of fearing defeat and a lack of self-belief, echoing comments from former Australia skipper Steve Waugh. But Smith returned the retort, and spiced up the key Group A clash between the world’s top-ranked teams at Warner Park on March 24. “I think we’ve handled pressure a lot better than Australia of late, in the big games,” Smith said. “In the last 10
one-dayers, we’ve been under pressure at times and got out of it superbly. We’ve been four or five (wickets) down and we’ve still got close to totals of 300. “Australia has struggled of late before this tournament, in some finals and obviously in New Zealand, but both teams come into this tournament with the same amount of pressure on their shoulders.” South Africa has to first play the Netherlands and Smith will be without fast bowler Makhaya
Ntini, who rejoined the squad yesterday after staying home to attend the birth of his second
child. Ntini is likely to be replaced by either paceman Roger Telemachus or left-arm fingerspinner Robin Peterson, but Smith is concerned by the size of Warner Park and hinted that pace might be preferred. “The ground looks pretty small. It’s not very big - the straight boundaries look small,” he said. “With our ability to hit the ball out of the ground, it’s certainly going to play into our hands.” Smith has acquired TV footage of the Netherlands and Scotland, which it plays on Tuesday, and says he knows little about either team. However, Shaun Pollock has done his homework on the Dutch. “They don’t have too many express bowlers and I know their wicketkeeper stands up to the stumps pretty much for the whole innings, which means you have to adopt a different game plan when you’re batting because you have to keep your feet in the crease,” Pollock said. “Apart from the fact that there are one or two South Africans in there that we do know - there are one or two South Africans in most teams - we don’t know a lot about them,” Smith said.
— AP
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Aussies hurl more bouncers at Sunny
Melbourne, March 15 Former captain Allan Border took exception to Gavaskar citing the death of ex-Australian cricketer David Hookes after being punched outside a Melbourne bar three years ago as an example of Aussie behaviour. “I consider Sunny a friend, but what he said about David Hookes and the behaviour of Australian cricketers was totally uncalled for...What Sunny said was totally inappropriate,” Border was quoted as saying by The Australian. The incident, the daily claimed, has strained a 20-year friendship between the two former captains to breaking point. Gavaskar incurred Australian wrath after commenting that the cricketers from Down Under were not popular winners and people were quite enjoying their recent slump in form. Border described Hookes as a fantastic cricketer, husband, family man and a mate and said, “For him (Gavaskar) to link David’s death to players allegedly misbehaving on a cricket field is plain wrong.” Australia’s 1987 World Cup winning captain said Gavaskar had a mistaken cultural view of the way Australia plays the game. “Where Australia may be seen to be playing the game hard and tough could be misconstrued on the subcontinent,” Border said. “While a cricketer on the subcontinent or the West Indies may find an Australian bowler’s remark to a particular batsman of ‘you lucky bastard’ offensive, to players in other teams it’s not,” he explained. Border felt Gavaskar had missed the point and overlooked the fact there were different cultures at work. “I think he is drawing a long bow blaming our cricketers for misbehaving. While I do admit words are said out in the middle, we play the game hard, but fair”, Border asserted. Lehmann also joined the fray to criticise Gavaskar. “I’m pretty disappointed with Gavaskar. His remarks only hurt David Hookes’ family and friends and tarnish Hookesy’s memory,” Lehmann said. “A man of Gavaskar’s stature in the game of cricket should know better. His outburst about David Hookes was totally out of order and in bad taste”, he said. “As to what he said about the way Australia goes about playing the game, he’s overlooked the fact there are officials who are empowered to take action if someone is out of order”, he added. Former all-rounder Peter Sleep alleged it was Gavaskar’s ploy to “stir the pot and upset the Aussies”.
— PTI |
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Tony Greig joins Sunny bashing
Melbourne, March 15 Greig was particularly unhappy that Gavaskar cited the example of ex-Australian cricketer David Hookes to illustrate his point. “It’s inappropriate and I really don’t see any great value in this sort of sledging,” he was quoted as saying in media reports here. Greig, a close friend of Hookes, said he was shocked by Gavaskar’s attack, the latest in a war of words between him and Australian skipper Ricky Ponting. Hookes tragically died three years ago after being punched by bouncer Zdravko Micevic outside a Melbourne hotel. Cricket Australia was also privately seething at Gavaskar's remarks, especially given his position on the International Cricket Council.
— PTI
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Records galore for Ponting
St Kitts, March 15 Ponting has now totalled 1,111 runs from 29 matches to race past four legends - Mark Waugh (1004), Viv Richards (1013), Aravinda de Silva (1064) and Javed Miandad (1083) - in the number or runs scored in the quadrennial extravaganza. He is still far behind Tendulkar’s 1,732 from 33 matches in the most run chart. Ponting’s five sixes in the record-equalling fourth hundred took him to 24 sixes overall at the World Cup, one ahead of Sourav Ganguly’s 23, while his third hundred as captain drew him level with the former Indian skipper. Mark Waugh, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly also have four centuries each in their names. The Aussie pocket dynamo also became the fourth player in World Cup history to score centuries in consecutive innings. Rahul Dravid (104 v Kenya; 145 v Sri Lanka in 1999), Saeed Anwar (103 v Zimbabwe; 113 v New Zealand in 1999) and Mark (130 v Kenya; 126 v India in 1996) have achieved the feat earlier.
— UNI
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Fatehgarh Sahib, March 15
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Port of Spain, March 15
Last time “responsibility” and “maturity” did not figure very high on the list of priorities for the two flamboyant characters. But both now have have grown as players and individuals.
Port of Spain, March 15
Port of Spain, March 15
St. Lucia, March 15
