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Tired Kiwi bowlers given three-day rest |
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England better off without Pietersen?
PCB officials were ‘told of attacks on Lanka team’
No KKR without Dada: Shah Rukh
ACGA denies questioning security
Azlan Shah Cup April 5-12
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Napier, March 31 Crowe said even though the Kiwis dominated the second Test here for three days, the home team did not have the ability to knock over the two ''Walls'' — Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir — who exhibited great patience and grit to maintain the visiting team's 1-0. ''We saw the Kiwis dominate the first three days. They tried hard on Day 4, but they just didn't have the ability and the skill factor to knock over The Wall. ''But it now looks like there are two Walls now, the left-handed Wall,'' Crowe said. New Zealand had a very bright chance to secure a win against India when the visitors were asked to follow on but Gambhir (137) and Dravid (62) frustrated the home team with a 133-run second wicket stand in their second innings. Crowe was effervescent in his praise for Gambhir and said the pugnacious opener moulded his game exceedingly well for the sake of his team and closed any chances of win for the Kiwis. ''It was an amazing innings by Gautam Gambhir, because you kind of think of him as a dasher, fiery little customer. But he played with a lot of poise, composure and patience. ''He will have learnt a lot about himself during his 642 minutes at the crease. He knew one mistake would have possibly opened the door for New Zealand. ''So he shut that door emphatically and on he went. He was unlucky to be given out. I guess when you bat that long you are bound to have something go against you. He should be very proud,'' Crowe wrote in his column for cricketnirvana. The former skipper also added that the draw which the Indians managed to achieve here on the final day yesterday will certainly dent the morale of the New Zealand team and tipped the visitors to go for another win in the third and final Test at Wellington on April 3. ''It will go down as one that was very close for New Zealand, but they were not quite good enough. ''It will have an impact on New Zealand's team morale. They will feel that they won't get into those situations too often. ''They will be tired too, you can see that in the last afternoon with dropped catches and some loose bowling. But it will just be the fatigue and how they respond in three days is going to be difficult,'' he wrote. — UNI
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Tired Kiwi bowlers given three-day rest Wellington, Mar 31 New Zealand bowlers sent down 273 overs, stretching over three days, in their bid to win the second Test that finished yesterday with India hanging on for a draw. However, bowling for three days and on an unresponsive pitch seemed to have taken a toll on hosts' bowlers led by Chris Martin though skipper Daniel Vettori acknowledged the efforts put in by the pacers. "We've got three days, we've got to rest up pretty quickly," Vettori said today. "The bowling loads were spread out pretty evenly but three days standing up does take some toll on bodies," the New Zealand captain was quoted as saying by 'Dominion Post'. "The next two days, how we bounce back from that, will be crucial, and if we have to bowl first on that first morning in Wellington I expect the same intensity that the guys brought into this Test match. "I think the guys feel pretty good, but the next couple of days will be the true story," said Vettori. However, he once again laid stress on a sporting wicket for the third Test after 1400 runs were scored in the second Test in Napier. — PTI
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England better off without Pietersen?
He is still England's best batsman, he remains committed to the cause, he remains a model professional cricketer in the way he practises and plays, he remains a model of courtesy but that is not all that comes with Pietersen. When he left the field during the fourth one-day international against West Indies complaining of a back spasm there was not sympathy but scepticism. One text message from England seeking information summed it up: "Injured or petulance?". It has come to this because Pietersen has simply protested too much. For weeks it has become increasingly apparent that he is not a happy soul and that being deposed as England captain in such controversial circumstances in January has been eating away at his soul. Last week, Pietersen gave a newspaper interview. It was wide-ranging but no more than an amalgam of what he has been saying since he left England 10 weeks ago. There was a crucial difference because to describe his state of mind he said: "I'm at the end of my tether now. I can't wait to get back home." The attempts to place this phrase in context have been largely ignored because the simple truth is that Pietersen will no sooner arrive home than he will fly off again to play and earn substantial money in the Indian Premier League. There he will captain the Bangalore Royals, having made it abundantly clear that he will not captain England again if they begged. It has also emerged that he asked to have a break from the tour of the West Indies between the third and fourth Tests. This was not unprecedented because Matt Prior, the team's wicketkeeper, went home at the same time to be with his wife after the birth of their first child. Pietersen, however, wanted the break because his wife Jessica was unable to come to the Caribbean as she was appearing as a competitor in the television programme, Dancing On Ice. Pietersen has not been miserable, or at least not in public, but he has been plainly aloof. And he said in his column in the News of the World on Sunday that the England squad was "a lonely place to be". He was trying to appease the paper which pays him a considerable amount of money and which was miffed that he was so forthcoming to a rival. But there can be little doubt that Pietersen is in turmoil and that many of his colleagues in the England team have had enough of him. There is a general weariness with a self-centred approach that has strayed into self-pity. Whoever is advising him should have told him a few home truths from abroad. It is certain that England cannot simply move on. If Pietersen wishes to stay part of the team he must change. His runs, his class and his dedication to batting will, on paper, guarantee him a place for as long as he wants but his presence is becoming a tedious sideshow. Pietersen misses the point: the team may be largely about Kevin Pietersen but it is not totally about him. The division is not conclusive but the end of this tour cannot now come soon enough for all concerned. It would be just like Pietersen, assuming that back recovers, to seal a series victory for England with a match-winning century on Friday but that alone will not heal the rift between him and the rest of this team. The time is rapidly coming when the selectors will have to consider whether England are better off without their best
player. — By arrangement with The Independent |
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PCB officials were ‘told of attacks on Lanka team’
Karachi, March 31 Reliable sources in the PCB told PTI today that at least two senior ranking officials of the board were told by a senior police/interior ministry official about credible information that terrorists might try to attack the Sri Lankan team in Lahore. The sources disclosed that Sohail Khan, a senior police officer with the interior ministry who has worked on the security of visiting teams including the Indians, had conveyed his apprehensions to the board officials before the Test series against Sri Lanka. "But these officials surprisingly took the matter very lightly and no action was taken to ask the police to beef up security for the Sri Lankan team. They will now face the music for their laxity," one source said. Interestingly, the home department in Punjab province had also sent a report to the government warning of intelligence reports that the Sri Lankan cricketers could be attacked while travelling between the hotel and the Gaddafi stadium.
— PTI |
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No KKR without Dada: Shah Rukh Mumbai, March 31 "Honestly, there is a lot of confusion. It's silly it was never meant to something that was anti-Dada. It appears as though he (Ganguly) is being removed from captaincy, which is completely untrue, which even John knows and he stands by it. I was taken aback when I read it," Khan told reporters here. "This was supposed to be done with John and Sourav together. There is no Kolkata Knight Riders without Dada. His decisions, his thoughts are very important for the team. So, there is some miscommunication that happened I think," he added. According to the idea put forth by Buchanan, Ganguly will have to share the captaincy with three others - New Zealand Brendon McCullum, West Indies' Chris Gayle and Laxmi Ratan Shukla. Buchanan, the team's Australian coach, had proposed to have multiple captaincy citing the fast-changing dynamics of Twenty20 game, which led to public protests in Kolkata. Khan, however, said "it's a thought we are working on." "Kolkata Knight Riders is a team. No decisions are taken by one person. T20 a new format. New things will have to be thought out. One of the suggestions is to have multiple captains, which does not mean like a lot of people have quoted, that we will have four captains in one match," Khan said. "It does not mean that we will have five captains or four or three. We'll have one captain for the team. He's (Ganguly) our mainstay, so is John and I'm sure they will sort it out," Khan said. The Bollywood actor said since the tournament would be held in South Africa, one needs to be ready for unforeseen circumstances. "See, we are going to South Africa, which is not our country. So we have to be ready for incidences which we have not expected earlier. So, if there needs to be a change, everything will be decided with the whole team," Khan said. "In case, something goes wrong, because we are overseas, we need to have standbys, we'll look at that, which is a normal course of event. My logic is that if we don't play as a team, there's no point having a team. So KKR will play as a team, with John, with Dada, with myself," he added. — PTI
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ACGA denies questioning security
New Delhi, March 31 ACGA chief executive Perry Crosswhite clarified in an e-mail to Indian Olympic Association secretary-general Randhir Singh that the recent media reports in Australia about the country's participation in the Commonwealth Games were "inaccurate". He said he did not say that Australia would not take part in the Games. "I am very concerned that this has been reported in this way", he said. Randhir Singh, reacting to Crosswhite's comments, had said that terrorism was a global issue and should be treated as such. He had also promised that highest-level security will be provided for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Crosswhite had purportedly said that a security assessment one month before the 2010 games would play a crucial role in the Commonwealth Games Federation deciding whether to go ahead with the event in India after the terror strike on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore earlier this month. Crosswhite, in his mail to Randhir Singh, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee, apologised for causing concern among the organisers of the Commonwealth Games and in the IOA. |
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Azlan Shah Cup April 5-12
Karachi, March 31 Shahid Ali Khan, the Pakistan hockey coach, told IANS Tuesday that he sees India as the team to beat in the April 5-12 tournament mainly because it has the best short corner expert within its ranks. "India are the in-form team," said Shahid, a former Olympian. “It has played and won quite a few matches in recent months and also because it has Sandeep Singh, who is currently one of the best drag flick experts in international hockey,” he stressed. Pakistan will be going to Ipoh without its drag flick ace Sohail Abbas, who is currently playing league hockey in Holland. Shahid said Pakistan has carried out special drills to counter short corner strikes during the five-nation Azlan Shah Cup. A former Pakistan goalkeeper, Shahid, is at the helm of an 18-man national squad that will leave for Kuala Lumpur from Islamabad April 1. Pakistan will play its opening match against hosts Malaysia April 5 followed by games against New Zealand, Egypt and old rivals India. The final will be played April 12.
— IANS |
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England reached their final destination of the winter on Monday. Speculation mounted that it might also be the terminus of Kevin Pietersen. If this was largely idle gossip, born of the fact that there are five days of meaningless preparation before the last match of the tour, it was founded on reasonable principles. Pietersen came to St Lucia having told the whole world that all he wants to do is go home and the suspicion could not be wholly eradicated that his team-mates were having a whip round to buy the ticket.
