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Tiwary stakes claim for Tests
Manoj Tiwary strengthened his case for a spot in the Indian team with a 93-run knock on the opening day of the warm-up game against England in Mumbai. — AFP
Shooter-minister wants transparency
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I’m ready for Test cricket: Tiwary
Gavaskar says India is vulnerable
Kevin Pietersen on the field in Mumbai on Tuesday. — AFP
Steve Finn pulled up while fielding on the boundary before aborting the second over of his second spell in Mumbai on Tuesday. — AFP
Teams eye top ODI spot
‘Hope Indians are moving ahead’
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Tiwary stakes claim for Tests
Mumbai, October 30 Tiwary’s feat came after opener Abhinav Mukund and comeback man Yuvraj Singh, also in the running for the no. 6 slot in the Indian squad, hit quick-fire half centuries after India A skipper Suresh Raina elected to bat after winning the toss at the Brabourne Stadium. The Bengal captain, looking well-set for a deserving century, tried to play across against England’s pacer Tim Bresnan and lost his stumps. He faced 150 balls and hit 11 fours in his 202-minute knock. At stumps, R Vinay Kumar (25) and last man Parwinder Awana (11) were at the crease. Tiwary, who came in at the fall of Raina’s wicket with India A struggling at 140 for four, pulled the innings together after India A had lost two more wickets at 190 in 47 overs. The middle-order batsman put on a century partnership with Irfan Pathan who made 46 in 113 minutes. The duo put on a stand of 110 for the seventh wicket in 168 balls, with Pathan striking five fours and two sixes, to take the team past the 300-mark. Earlier, Mukund made a quick-fire 73 with 16 fours after living dangerously in the beginning, while Yuvraj, dropped first ball by Samit Patel at square leg off Tim Bresnan, slammed four sixes against the spinners and seven fours in his 59 before both these left-handers were claimed by England’s main spinner Graeme Swann on either side of lunch. Yuvraj struck seven sweetly-timed fours and four well-hit sixes, two each off left-arm spinner Patel and Swann, in his 80-ball 59 before the latter exacted revenge by deceiving him in flight and stumped. Yuvraj, eager to bag the no. 6 spot in the Indian Test batting line-up for the upcoming four-Test series against the visitors, impressed the four selectors present before his impetuosity cost him his wicket. He was stumped while trying to clout Swann, who bowled beautifully, for a second six in the same over. The other top-order batsmen, including Raina, who is also in the running for the no. 6 slot, flopped. The home team lost Mukund, Murali Vijay (7) and Ajinkya Rahane (4) in their first session total of 113 and then surrendered the wickets of Raina (20), Yuvraj and Wridhiman Saha (20) in the second session. Pathan was out leg before to Swann after tea, giving the England off spinner his third wicket after a lengthy stint of near-continuous bowling barring a gap for change of ends. Bresnan then got rid off Tiwary and next man Ashok Dinda off successive balls to be on a hat-trick. Brief Scores: India A (1st innings): 369/9 in 90 overs (Manoj Tiwary 93, Abhinav Mukund 73, Yuvraj Singh 59, Suresh Raina 20, Irfan Pathan lbw b Swann 46 Vinay Kumar 25 no, Anderson 1/65, Bresnan 59/3, Swann 90/3, Patel 95/1).
— PTI England’s 3rd tour game vs Haryana
New Delhi:
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Shooter-minister wants transparency
New Delhi, October 30 Singh also holds the additional charge of Minister of State in the Defence Ministry. He was earlier Minister of State in the Home Ministry and is well-acquainted with the problems facing youth in the Naxal areas, Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. The 41-year-old is from the Alwar (Rajasthan) royal family, and represents that constituency as an MP. Apart from him, his mother and daughter are shooters. He had won a bronze in trap in the National Championship in in New Delhi in 1995-96. The minister’s opening words after taking charge should come as a balm for the sports federations and sports officials. He made it clear that he was all for conciliation and not confrontation. “I would like to take everyone on board. But there has to be transparency and accountability,” he said. “Of course, sportsmen and sports will get priority.” He said he would carry forward Ajay Maken’s work, though he refrained from commenting on the contentious National Sports Code, which had pitted the Sports Ministry against with the Indian Olympic Association, the National Sports Federations and sports officials. “I don’t think it’s necessary to fight with anybody. I will take everybody along,” he stated. “In a country which has 50 per cent youth population, the larger issue of youth development needed to be addressed. I definitely understand their problems.” He excused himself from talking about controversial topics as some of the matters were under investigation. He didn’t answer questions about those involved in the CWG scam contesting the forthcoming IOA elections.
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I’m ready for Test cricket: Tiwary
There is a stiff competition for No. 6 spot in the Indian team and with Tiwary compiling a determined half-century, the selectors might have a sweet head-ache before making the final selection. “I am ready for Test cricket. There is a competition for the No. 6 spot, but it’s up to the selectors. I will try my best. Let’s see what happens,” said the Bengal captain at the post-play media conference. The 27-year-old, who has played only eight ODIs in four years since his debut, said he was very happy with the way he had played but was unhappy at missing out on a well-merited hundred. “I am quite happy with my performance, though, I am disappointed for missing out on my hundred. I wanted to stay long on the wicket. I was definitely waiting for an opportunity,” said Tiwary, who batted for 202 minutes and faced 150 balls. Tiwary, who was dismissed by Tim Bresnan with the second new ball, said that the wicket was a bit slow but England had a quality attack at their disposal. “They are a quality attack but did not try to go all out. The wicket was a bit slow,” Tiwary, who struck 12 boundaries during his stay at the wicket, said. He also sounded warning to the rival batsmen saying that the Indian spinners would be handful for them in the four-Test rubber starting on November 15 at Ahmedabad. “They have got a big challenge ahead. It’s not going to be easy for them against our quality spinners. They are going to face a lot of problems,” Tiwary said. The Bengal skipper said he had no issues encountering off-spinner Graeme Swann and left-arm spinner Samit Patel. “Swann is a top class bowler. I was picking up his flight and trajectory well,” he said. Tiwary, meanwhile, informed that he watches inspirational videos to keep himself motivated and there was no better inspiration than his teammate Yuvraj Singh, who battled cancer for close to a year before making a comeback into the team. “I enjoy watching inspirational videos. I never let my confidence drop, whether I get a zero or a hundred. Yuvraj Singh is a great inspiration, the way he has come back after battling cancer to play again. It’s unbelievable,” he said.
— PTI |
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Gavaskar says India is vulnerable
Mumbai, October 30 “Amazingly the situation is eerily similar to the tours of England and Australia last year,” Gavaskar wrote in his column in the Mumbai-based Mid-day newspaper, referring to two humiliating 4-0 routs suffered by the Indians. “Both England and Australia were vulnerable and there for the taking, but India messed it up and after the first Test of both the series just did not look as if they would win a day leave alone five days of a Test match. “India today are in the same vulnerable position that England and particularly Australia were in 2011.” India ceded the world number one Test ranking to England in 2011, losing 4-0, with Australia repeating the dose in the series that started in December last year and ended in January 2012. With England and Australia touring in a busy home season, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men are hoping to make amends for their embarrassing reverses now they are playing in familiar conditions. But Gavaskar said the retirement of Rahul Dravid and Laxman, and Tendulkar’s recent poor form, had weakened India.
— AFP |
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Pietersen is cricket’s Ali: Viv Richards
London, October 30 Richards, who won seven Tests in India with the great West Indies teams of the 1970s and 80s, finds a similarity between Pietersen and the world’s greatest boxer in terms of their behaviours. “Kevin is a good player but talks himself into some issues. In the old days we had Muhammad Ali the way he spoke and acted, people wanted to see him knocked out. But he was a great boxer,” Richards was quoted as saying by ‘The Sun’. “Now I’m not saying KP is exactly like Ali, that man was the greatest. But you can see through his behaviour that people want to take him down that little bit more. But because he has the X-factor he can respond to it. “Looking from afar, he’s his own worst enemy but you can’t deny how good he is to watch and how important he is to England,” the West Indian great added. Pietersen, who was chucked out of the team during the lost Test rubber at home against South Africa for sending unflattering messages to the rival camp about then captain Andrew Strauss and other team members, has made his return to the England fold in the ongoing tour of India. Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar said, “The return of Kevin Pietersen had made the tourists stronger, adding that new captain and opener Alastair Cook could play a vital role in England’s campaign. “Cook will be the steadying factor. He has a good record in India and if he can bat like he did in his debut series in 2006, the final frontier could just be a small hurdle for England,” Gavaskar said.
— Agencies |
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Finn’s injury gives England a scare before the series starts
Mumbai, October 30 He is expected to have a scan on Tuesday evening. Bresnan was included in a three-man pace attack alongside Finn and James Anderson, with new Test vice-captain Stuart Broad rested. Aside from Broad’s omission, England’s XI looked close to the team that is likely play in the first Test in Ahmedabad on 15 November, with uncapped Nick Compton named to open the batting alongside new skipper Alastair Cook. The recalled Kevin Pietersen was listed to bat at four, with wicketkeeper Matt Prior promoted to number six to accommodate all-rounder Samit Patel. Patel gave England a fifth bowling option, but the Notts man conceded nearly five runs an over in his figures of 1-95. Finn’s fast bowling teammate Tim Bresnan told reporters later that he was not sure what exactly was wrong with Finn. “I don’t know (how serious is the injury) what’s happening there. Probably we would get back to the hotel and doc would check him out,” said Bresnan who was the most impressive of the pace bowlers with a haul of three for 59 in 20 overs. According to an ECB spokesperson, Finn is set to undergo a scan and that will make clear the exact nature of his injury. Meanwhile, Bresnan said he was pleased with the long stint of bowling he had today on what rival batsman and top scorer Manoj Tiwary stated as a slow wicket. “Yes, it was quite a spell. After a month or so,” said Bresnan. He said he had no issues with the SG brand of the balls that are being used during the entire tour.
— PTI |
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Teams eye top ODI spot
New Delhi, October 30 Currently, only 17 ratings points separate the top six sides, with England and South Africa on equal points at 121. However, Alastair Cook’s side is rated above South Africa by a fraction of a point, while India with 120 points is behind South Africa by only a rating point. Four-time world champion Australia (113) trails India by seven points. Sri Lanka is placed at fifth spot with 108 rating points. 1992 world champion Pakistan is further down at No.6, four ratings points behind the Lankans, and New Zealand is on 74 ratings points. But with six top-ranked ODI sides, along with the West Indies and New Zealand, gearing up to play a number of ODIs, mostly in the new year, the ranking table could witness a lot of changes before the April 1 cut-off date. The team, which would finish as No. 1 on April 1 cut-off date, will collect a cheque of $175,000 along with a shield, while the team that would finish second will get $75,000. Sri Lanka will have to win the series against New Zealand starting on November 1 at Pallekele to stay ahead of Pakistan in fifth place. A 3-2 series win for New Zealand will mean Sri Lanka will slip to 103 ratings points, one behind Pakistan, while a 5-0 series win for Sri Lanka will put it just three ratings points behind fourth-ranked Australia. In January 2013, Australia will host Sri Lanka for a five-match ODI series, England will play five ODIs in India, and New Zealand will travel to South Africa for three ODIs. ODI series taking place from February-March, include Australia vs West Indies (in Australia, five ODIs), New Zealand vs England (in New Zealand, three ODIs) and South Africa vs Pakistan (in South Africa, five ODIs). After the Sri Lanka-New Zealand series, Bangladesh will host the West Indies for a five-match ODI series. These series would be the countdown to the final edition of the ICC Champions Trophy. In June 2013, defending champion Australia will be looking for a treble, having won the previous two editions of the tournament (2006 and 2009). But Australia will face stiff challenge from former champion South Africa (1998), New Zealand (2000), India and Sri Lanka (2002), and West Indies (2004), who would also be looking to lift the trophy for a second time by winning the final edition of the event.
— PTI |
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‘Hope Indians are moving ahead’
New Delhi, October 30 “I’m a traditionalist. I’m not so sure about its feasibility if a Test is played in New Zealand under freezing cold conditions. It might have been done to get more TV viewership and attract more crowd,” the 58-year-old said. Asked on the current phase of Indian cricket under Duncan Fletcher, the 58-year-old said: “Let’s hope Indian cricket is going forward.” “We had our challenges, while Gary’s (Kirsten) stint was well-documented. But Fletcher has not finished yet, for me to make a comment about his coaching.” But he appeared concerned about India’s plight overseas, after their back to back eight Test defeats. “You have to stem the flow. To be No 1, you need to win Tests overseas,” said the veteran of 82 Tests. Indian cricket’s rise began with Wright’s successful association with Sourav Ganguly. India became
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Mumbai, October 30
Mumbai, October 30
