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ICC CEO Richardson criticises pitch for Lanka-Pak semifinal
Players can turn criminals due to the ‘system’: Akhtar
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Lanka hope to break jinx
Colombo, October 6 Sri Lanka are aiming to win their second world title after a gap of 16 years as their first and only World trophy came in 1996 while the Caribbean side are playing a World Cup final after nearly 30 years, having last played against India at the Lord’s in 1983. Sri Lanka should be favourites not only because of home conditions but also due to the variety of players from Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara to Thisara Perera who can change their game according to the needs. The West Indies on the other hand have some very competent T20 players in Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard but all of them love to rally around Gayle who is the pivotal force in this Caribbean set-up. Darren Sammy and his bunch of brave-hearts know that Gayle`s performance will be key in the outcome of the match. The situation was summed up aptly by Australia captain George Bailey after suffering a crushing 74-run defeat against the Caribbean side on Friday. “If Sri Lanka can get Gayle out under 20 runs, they are the favourites to win the title but if they can`t then West Indies are too strong,” Bailey opined when he was asked about the favourite team to win the Cup. For the West Indies, a lot of things will be at stake in the match. It’s not that there will be a sea change in the declining cricket culture in the Caribbean islands but a victory on global stage might provide encouragement for the youth, who are more obsessed with basketball and dream of making the cut in the NBA league. The win also help Sammy get some breathing space after constant speculation for the past year about whether he is good enough to lead the West Indies. A gentleman to the core, Sammy has handled all kinds of uncomfortable questions with aplomb but a victory tomorrow might help him capture the imagination of the Caribbean. When Gayle was questioned whether he would be able to attack the bowling of Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath like he launched into Xavier Doherty, he replied, “He (Herath) has bowled really well but the performance depends on that particular day.” For Jayawardene and Sangakkara, it will be the fourth final after 2007 World Cup, 2009 World T20 and 2011 World Cup and the two seniors are desperate.
— PTI squads
West Indies: Darren Sammy (C), Dwayne Bravo, Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith. Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (C), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Akila Dananjaya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shaminda Eranga, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Jeevan Mendis, Dilshan Munaweera, Thisara Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimann. |
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Jaya plays down Gayle threat, says he’s ‘just another player’
Colombo, October 6 The left-hander destroyed Australia in Friday’s semi-final with an unbeaten 75 off 41 balls, studded with six massive sixes and five fours. Australia captain George Bailey said after his team’s loss that Sri Lanka’s title hopes will be over if the hosts failed to dismiss Gayle cheaply on Sunday. “Not too much,” Jayawardene said when he was asked if Gayle will be a key factor in the final. “He is just another player in a very good West Indies team. We have to have our focus on the entire team and the way we analyse and have a game plan is for a team not for individuals. “That’s not the way we went about this tournament. We never went after individual players. That’s why we controlled things the way we can control.” Gayle, 33, has been in superb form with three half-centuries and has scored 219 runs, including 19 fours and 16 sixes, the highest by an individual in the tournament. Sri Lanka defeated West Indies by nine wickets the last time they met, in the Super Eight stage of the tournament. “They played some good cricket and you’ve got to admire them,” Jayawardene told reporters. “They got some quality players like any other team and they’ve got their strengths and weaknesses. Both teams deserve to be in the finals.” Sri Lanka have lost their last three World Cup finals across different formats but Jayawardene is not ready to dwell too much on the past. The right-hander was involved in all of them -- when Sri Lanka were defeated in the 50-over versions in 2007 and 2011 and also lost the World Twenty20 final in 2009. “We don’t want to go back into the past history and say that it hasn’t worked for us,” Jayawardene told reporters. “The preparation has been pretty good and we are not thinking too much about the final and what has happened and all that. “We were not good enough to win those finals but we believe that we have the capacity to win this one. “We played good cricket to get to this place and we are looking forward to an exciting final tomorrow.” Winning the toss to get the chance of batting first on the slow pitches often prove crucial in the sub-continent but Jayawardene said that in the shortest format of the game the conditions almost remained the same for both sides. — PTI
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Oz, England eves have a task at hand too
Colombo, October 6 The two teams met in the final group match of the women`s event in Galle, with England beating Australia by seven wickets with 11 balls remaining. England has been undefeated throughout this tournament, posting decisive wins in its group matches and in the semifinal, played against two-time runners up New Zealand. England beat the White Ferns by seven wickets to reach its second ICC World Twenty20 final in three years. Australia advanced to the final after beating a spirited West Indies by 28-runs in the second semi-final. Australia has lost only one match in the tournament, having beaten India and Pakistan in the group stages in Galle. In the first semifinal played on Thursday, England`s spin bowlers restricted the White Ferns to 93 for eight off 20 overs on a slow wicket. Danielle Wyatt and Holly Colvin finished with two wickets each. Colvin is the leading wicket-taker for England, and is the third-highest wicket-taker of the tournament, with seven. In addition, three out of the top five run-getters in the tournament are from England, with Edwards the leading run-scorer, Sarah Taylor third and all-rounder Laura Marsh fifth. In Friday`s second semi-final, it was again the bowlers who sealed victory. Australia`s Julie Hunter took the only five-for in the women`s tournament so far, taking 22 for five in her four overs. Hunter is currently the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, with nine scalps. While no Australian batter has scored a half century in the tournament to date, three Australians are in the top 10 run-getters list of the tournament, with Meg Lanning fourth, Jess Cameron sixth and Lisa Sthalekar ninth. “It`s been a great tournament,” said Fields. “England have played well right through. Tomorrow, we`ll need to be disciplined 100 per cent of the time,” Fields added.
— PTI |
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ICC CEO Richardson criticises pitch for Lanka-Pak semifinal
Colombo, October 6 Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram had also criticised the pitch at the Premadasa Stadium. “Ideally, we need to ensure that a pitch doesn’t change its condition from one innings to next one. Yes, the pitch used in the first semi-final wasn’t an ideal wicket for T20 format as there was too much assistance to spinners,” Richardson admitted on the eve of the final between Sri Lanka and the West Indies. Akram had accused Sri Lanka of trying to prepare a wicket that suits their spinners, but Richardson played it down. “There was advantage for both the teams and Sri Lankan spinners took better advantage of the situation. Having said that, I spoke to the curator and he said that wicket was too dry to his liking,” Richardson said, sounding a bit defensive. The CEO did admit that BCCI’s reluctance to accept the Decision Review System (DRS) is stopping them from introducing it uniformally but ruled out a chance in trying to force world’s richest cricket body into accepting technology. “Look, I believe in having discussions when someone sits across the table voluntarily. ICC can’t run with a stick and coax them into accept technology. As of now, they have some in-principle problems in accepting the DRS and don’t look like thinking any differently. We now plan to show them the improvements that we have had regarding the ball-tracking and Hot Spot technologies,” Richardson said. As the discussion veered towards why India doesn’t have an umpire in the ICC Elite Panel, Richardson said situation may change since BCCI has started doing its bit on that front. “Earlier, the BCCI was happy to see that the umpiring aspect was taken care on its own but of late they have introduced some strong steps. They have started some performance related pathways for the umpires which means if they do well, they would be elevated to the next level. I’m sure the efforts will bear fruit,” he said.
— PTI |
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Dhawan’s ton saves the blushes for North
Chennai, October 6 On all counts the day belonged to a depleted North Zone, who are playing without the services of their India players. Opener Rahul Dewan, Sunny Singh and wicketkeeper-batsman Nitin Saini batted with utmost caution, as did Dhawan, after winning the toss here. Openers Dewan (65) and Dhawan played to their potential and scored at over three runs an over at the MA Chindambaram Stadium. The duo grew in confidence as the game went on and put up a 100-run opening partnership without much ado. But soon after reaching the 150-mark in the 52nd over, Dhawan stepped out to drive Kamlesh Makvana but missed the ball, to be stumped by Parthiv Patel. His 101 came off 179 balls and contained 15 hits to the fence and his stand with Dewan yielded 164 runs off 57.5 overs. Soon after this Dewan, who was looking tired due to the heat and humidity, also made his exit after offering a simple catch to Ajinkya Rahane off off-spinner Makwana. His 187-ball innings contained seven hits to the fence. Sunny Singh and Nitin Saini then combined well and rotated the strike frequently to keep the West Zone bowlers at bay. Captain Cheteswar Pujara shuffled his bowlers and pinned his hopes on Makvana, who bowled a long spell. Left-arm medium-pacer Samad Fallah finally broke the partnership when he got Sunny to edge one to Patel. He made 46 (97b, 9x4) and added 76 runs in 24 overs for the third wicket with Saini, who was unbeaten on 37 at the draw of stumps. Seven bowlers operated for West Zone, with Makvana claiming two for 60 and Samad Fallah one for 39.
— PTI |
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Players can turn criminals due to the ‘system’: Akhtar
New Delhi, October 6 “How do you tell an 18-yr-old to not look at girls. There are heady temptations of fame and girls swooning over rising stars. At 20 you get fame, you’ve crores in your pocket, you have people who lead you down the wrong path,” Akhtar said. Recently three girls were briefly arrested from the hotel room of West Indies batsman Chris Gayle after a party to celebrate the team’s semifinal qualification in the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. Akhtar said besides the temptations, the system is such that cricketers, who do not get enough support get corrupted. “Fixing happens in our culture because there's less money, there are even lesser opportunities. Cricketers victimised by their boards return to mint money. In 2008, I had no money to even buy a car. I had to borrow money. I handled it, others go astray. Your friends ditch you, board doesn't back you. They all run you down. So when you return you think let me teach them a lesson,” he added. — PTI |
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