Monday 30 July 2012

ICC's Under-19 World Cup set to roll in Queensland


Current stars of the cricket universe have advised youngsters set to compete in the ICC’s Under-19 World Cup in Queensland, Australia next month to use the event as a launching pad for greater things, but never lose sight of the basic tenets that guide the great game.

“You know, it’s all about playing and winning, but a lot of it is the respect. You just need to respect the badge that’s on your head and that’s over your heart.  You’ve got to wear it with pride. The respect you have for where you are, where you’ve come from, and who you’re representing,” said Australia opener David Warner.

Warner played in the 2006 edition in Sri Lanka, scoring 91 runs at 30.33.

“Obviously, it was a thrill for me to play for Australia and represent Australia at a young level. I learnt a lot back then, stuff that I wouldn’t have known otherwise.  The event is a finishing school for elite young cricketers coming through the ranks. If I knew then what I know now, then probably it would have helped even more,” Warner said.

“As a player, I think I’ve matured into a better person and a better team player – not saying that I wasn’t a good team player, but you learn how to actually play the game as an individual and as a team player. I also think you become more knowledgeable about the game,” he added.

South Africa batsman Hashim Amla echoed Warner’s views.

“Enjoy every moment as you are incredibly privileged to have the opportunity to play the game that you love and try to make the most of it. The ICC U19 CWC is very important as it teaches you invaluable cricket and life lessons which go a long way as you try to build your career,” said Amla, who became the first South Africa batsman to score a triple century while scoring 311 not out against England at The Oval on 22 July 2012.

Amla played in the 2000 edition in New Zealand and scored 191 runs in eight matches, including 29 off 34 balls in the final against Australia which Cameron White’s side won by seven wickets.


 “It (the final) was a tough match for us, Australia are never an easy team to play against, at any level. Cameron White had a fantastic tournament for Australia, it was a bitter pill to swallow losing in the final but I think our squad learnt a lot from the experience.”

Earlier, England ODI captain Alastair Cook gave the tournament a big thumbs up.

“Without a doubt the tournament is a launching pad for future stars. You can see how many people have played U19 cricket and are now playing full international cricket.”

Cook captained England in the 2004 event in Bangladesh and finished as the second most successful batsman in the tournament behind India’s Shikhar Dhawan (505) with 383 runs from seven matches with an average of just under 77.

“Us personally, we reached the semi-finals. We were disappointed that we didn’t get to the final as we had a very good team,” Cook reminisced on the 2004 edition.

“When you are playing U19 cricket for your county or state side, there is no media, there is no public interest. And suddenly, you are thrown at the world stage where people can make a name for themselves. After the matches, you have to do media interviews and you get to play in matches which are being broadcast live.

“Experiences like these can only help you develop as a player and realise what future you have, if you are lucky to play full international cricket,” said Cook.

Saturday 7 July 2012

Yuvraj Singh “honoured” at Arjuna Award nomination


Yuvraj Singh “honoured” at Arjuna Award nomination – Cricket News Update
India’s star batsman Yuvraj Singh has stated that he is “honoured” the BCCI nominated him for the Arjuna award (for which he has also been nominated previously), adding that he hoped he would be luckier this time around.
“It's an honour that BCCI has nominated my name for the Arjuna Award. This is the second time that my name has been nominated and I hope that I am lucky enough to get it,” he said, in conversation with the media at the launch of “YouWeCan”– a campaign which aims to spread awareness regarding the detection of cancer.
Despite the heroics of India’s young vice-captain Virat Kohli over the past year, the board decided to nominate Yuvraj owing to his seniority. His contemporaries, including Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, and Harbhajan Singh, have all received the award.
The board had an initial miscommunication with the Indian Sports ministry regarding the nominations – however, Mukul Chatterjee, Joint Secretary of the Sports Ministry, informed the board a few days back that the nomination deadline had been extended to July 20, following which the board sent in Yuvraj’s name.
The Arjuna Award, instituted by the government of India, is recognition for outstanding individual achievements in sports. The 30-year-old was the hero of India’s 2011 World Cup victory – he won four Player of the Match award, was crowned the Player of the Tournament, scored a total of 362 runs, and claimed 15 scalps.
The all-rounder has played 37 Tests (with 1775 runs to his credit) and 274 ODIs (8051 runs) for the national side. His career came to an abrupt halt in November last year, after he was diagnosed with a rare germ cell cancer, and travelled to the United Sates to undergo chemotherapy treatment.
Following his return, the southpaw has expressed the desire to make a comeback to the sport in the ICC World Twenty20, scheduled for September this year in Sri Lanka, although he has also indicated his interest in playing a couple of matches during the limited-overs leg of New Zealand’s tour of India, in order to regain his full form before the mega event.

Friday 6 July 2012

No plans to quit ODIs, says Tendulkar



 
Record-breaking Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Friday scotched speculation over his future in one-day cricket, saying he had no plans to retire as long as he was enjoying the game.
The master batsman, 39, on Wednesday opted out of India's upcoming tour of Sri Lanka for a one-day series and a one-off Twenty20 match, leading to speculation over his one-day career.
Tendulkar said he skipped the Sri Lanka tour to spend time with his family.
"It's not about what XYZ thinks, it's about what I feel and I feel as long as I am enjoying and I feel like being part of it, I'll continue (playing one-dayers)," Tendulkar told CNN-IBN news channel.
"I think it (speculation over retirement) has been going on since 2006. It's been six years now. I am enjoying cricket and as long as I am passionate about cricket it makes sense being part of team sport."
Tendulkar said he decided to stop playing Twenty20 internationals in 2007 because he felt he should not be part of the squad. He has figured in just one T20 international and was not part of India's 2007 World Cup-winning squad.

Column: Sachin Tendulkar - The Choosy Patriot
"I felt I should not be part of T20 squad because the team did well. When I get that feeling in one-day cricket maybe I would take that decision," said Tendulkar.
"When I feel like taking that decision (to quit one-day cricket) I will take that. I don't want the rest of the guys to take that decision for me."
Tendulkar holds four world batting records -- maximum runs in Tests (15,470) and one-day internationals (18,426) and centuries in Tests (51) and one-dayers (49).
He completed an unprecedented century of centuries during the Asia Cup in Dhaka in March.
The one-day series in Sri Lanka starts in Hambantota on July 21 while the Twenty20 match will be played on August 7.

Sehwag takes a dig at Dhoni, again

India's explosive opener Virender Sehwag said 'captaincy alone didn't win us two World Cups'

 His tongue is as sharp as his square cuts, isn't it? In an apparent dig at Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's explosive opener Virender Sehwag said 'captaincy alone didn't win us two World Cups, we won because of good team'.

"Dhoni got a very strong team. When you get a strong team, it is easier to perform well just like Australia did at one point of time. We won World Cup because we had a very strong team which was ably backed by Dhoni's leadership," Sehwag said.

The public pot shots between Sehwag and Dhoni have been going on for a while now. Reports of the rift started surfacing when Dhoni, Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir started taking pot shots at press conferences.

The alleged rift between Sehwag and Dhoni arose because of the rotation policy of the senior players during the Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia - where India were beaten badly.

Gambhir took a dig at Dhoni after India's win over Australia in the fourth match of the CB Series when he said the match shouldn't have been dragged into the last over. In response to this barb, Dhoni retorted in apparent reference to Gambhir that a 'set batsman' should take the responsibility of seeing the team home instead of putting the onus on others to do so.