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- Kevin Pietersen given full central contract
- India need 5-0 win to regain No. 1 spot in ICC ODI Rankings #IndvsEng
- India favourites against England in upcoming ODI series: Geoffrey Boycott
- Marlon Samuel to miss Australia tour due to eye injury
- PCB positive of playing a full series with India this year #IndvsPak
- India will find it difficult to beat us in Pakistan, says Saeed Ajmal
- Pakistan Premier League likely to begin from March 24 : Media Sources
| Kevin Pietersen given full central contract Posted: 09 Jan 2013 08:30 AM PST
Pietersen was frozen out of the international picture in August last year when he was dropped for the final Test against South Africa over claims he sent text messages to rival players criticising then-England captain Andrew Strauss. The South Africa-born batsman subsequently returned to the squad towards the end of 2012, but was only tied to a short-term contract that was due to expire at the end of the month. However, limited-overs coach Ashley Giles confirmed on Wednesday that the 32-year-old has now signed a full central contract with the ECB that puts him on a par with the rest of his England teammates. The current set of central contracts is due to expire at the end of September.  |
| India need 5-0 win to regain No. 1 spot in ICC ODI Rankings #IndvsEng Posted: 09 Jan 2013 07:30 AM PST
India is playing England in a five-match ODI series starting on Friday in Rajkot and the only way the hosts, currently ranked third, can regain their number one ranking is by winning all the five matches of the series. A 5-0 win will see India jump two places to claim the top spot. England too will be aiming to carry its Test form into the ODI format and win its first series in India in 28 years, and cement its status as the number-one ranked side. South Africa too can move to the top of table as they are playing New Zealand in a three-match series starting on 19 January in Paarl.
However, the Proteas can only go top if it wins all three matches against New Zealand and India wins its series, but fails to complete a clean sweep. England currently leads second-ranked South Africa by a fraction of a point, but will take an outright lead on the championship table if it wins the series, irrespective of the results of the South Africa-New Zealand and Australia-Sri Lanka series (starting on Friday in Melbourne). In ICC ODI Player Rankings, no fewer than seven batsmen featuring in the top 10 are likely to figure in the India-England, Australia-Sri Lanka and South Africa-New Zealand series. Hashim Amla currently leads the pack with his team-mate AB de Villiers second. India’s Virat Kohli in third spot leads his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni by 35 ratings points, and he will not only be aiming to strengthen his position with a strong performance against England, but also put pressure on South Africa’s ODI captain. It is expected that the series will result in fewer changes at the top of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, where number-one ranked Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan is currently enjoying a comfortable lead over second-placed teammate Mohammad Hafeez. As many as five of the top 10 are expected to be in action during the three series, including Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne Morkel, Steven Finn, Ravichandran Ashwin and Dale Steyn. The tussle for the top spot on the Reliance ICC ODI Championship Table is also a build-up for the ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held from June 6 to 23 in England and Wales. Group A includes defending champion Australia, 2000 winner New Zealand and 2002 champion Sri Lanka, along with host England, which reached the final when it last staged the event in 2004. Australia and Sri Lanka face-off on 17 June at The Oval in a day-night match during what will be the final edition of the ICC Champions Trophy. While Australia and Sri Lanka may not be in the race for the number-one position on the Championship Table, the five-match series will provide both sides an opportunity to size each other up. Sides in Group B of the ICC Champions Trophy are 1998 winner South Africa, 2004 champion West Indies, 2002 winner India, and Pakistan. The tournament opener will feature the two former winners when South Africa takes on 2002 champion India in Cardiff on 6 June. The following day, the West Indies will face Pakistan at The Oval. The semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy will be staged at The Oval (19 June) and in Cardiff (20 June), while Edgbaston will be the venue of the final, to be played on 23 June. With 14 ratings points separating number-one ranked England from sixth-ranked Sri Lanka, the battle for the Reliance ICC ODI Shield and a cash award of $175,000 is truly warming up. While India-England and Australia-Sri Lanka will square-off against each other from Friday, and South Africa will take on New Zealand from 19 January, there is a number of additional series to be played before the 1 April cut-off date. Australia will take on the West Indies between 1 and 10 February, England will travel to New Zealand for a three-match series from 17 February, and South Africa will host Pakistan in a five-match series from 10 March. Every match counts as the six leading sides battle to finish inside the top two. The side that tops the Championship table on the 1 April cut-off date collects a cheque of $175,000 along with a Shield, while the team that finishes second receives a cheque of $75,000.  |
| India favourites against England in upcoming ODI series: Geoffrey Boycott Posted: 09 Jan 2013 06:47 AM PST
“…it’s about 60-40 in India’s favour, I would say, in this series to come,” said Boycott. “I don’t think India will be as tough to beat as they were. They’ll still be tough in their own country, they’ve still got a lot of other good players. “(MS) Dhoni is a fantastic player, there’s (Virat) Kohli — they are good players. It just gives England a bit more of a chance, maybe, but I believe India are right to try and plan ahead and move forward,” Boycott told ESPNcricinfo.
“India are trying out one or two new fast bowlers. They are making Ravindra Jadeja a major spinner; we all know about his batting, and his triple-hundreds, but you make him like a spinner, get some young fast bowlers in, because Zaheer Khan is more or less past it,” he added. The ex-English cricketer said the Indian team should not get too worried as the recent slump of form can be attributed to the transition phase it is going through after the retirement of seniors such as Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. “I like young batsman (Ajinkya) Rahane, he looks promising. And I know that losing to Pakistan may hurt a lot of supporters of Indian cricket. That’s part and parcel of moving forward, trying new guys, moving towards an end product which is the World Cup in Australia. “You’ve always got to remember you are the world champions,” Boycott said. He said it is important to try new players as it’s only two years to go for the ODI World Cup. “You’ve got nearly two years, a year and a half, to the World Cup. You’ve got to use that time in the one-dayers to form one or two youngsters to go with the experienced guys. You’ve got to move forward and give these guys opportunities to see how they perform,” stressed Boycott.  |
| Marlon Samuel to miss Australia tour due to eye injury Posted: 09 Jan 2013 01:30 AM PST
Samuels has already been replaced by England opener Alex Hales in the Melbourne Renegades squad for the remainder of the Big Bash League season and is highly unlikely to represent the Windies in Australia next month, reports CMC. The West Indies’ five-match one-day series begins in Perth Feb 1, placing the all-rounder in doubt for the whole Australian summer. He remains holed up in his hotel room with swelling and bruising around his eye after edging a ball from Lasith Malinga through the grill of his helmet into his face.
Renegades captain Aaron Finch has been quoted as saying the West Indian star had a suspected fractured eye socket but the extent of his injury has still not been determined because of the swelling. Samuels has been ordered by doctors to remain as still as possible to avoid the chance of bursting a blood vessel and causing permanent damage to his vision. It appears that he has also been ordered not to fly for a month and is not likely to leave his hotel room for weeks until given the medical all-clear. Samuels was at the centre of Sunday night’s Big Bash League blow-up with Melbourne stars’ captain Shane Warne and faces two disciplinary charges. But Cricket Australia is yet to set a time for the hearing out of growing concerns for his injury.  |
| PCB positive of playing a full series with India this year #IndvsPak Posted: 09 Jan 2013 12:30 AM PST
The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf, who returned home with the national team on Monday, said that there was still lot of time left before the proposed series in August. “It is a wrong impression that India has ruled out playing Pakistan. No decisive talks were held with them in New Delhi. I discussed certain options with them and we are hopeful that in time India will also come to Pakistan,” Ashraf said. He said that in coming months discussions would continue with the BCCI and the recent ODI series in India was a major breakthrough as bilateral ties have now been resumed.
“This series was very important for both countries and it is a way forward. I remain optimistic about future ties and matches,” Ashraf said. Ashraf said that there was a proposal to even allow Pakistan to host its series in India this year. “We did make such a proposal in our meetings with them but nothing is final as yet,” he said. He also made it clear that the response of the people of both countries towards the series indicated just how much they had missed Indo-Pak bilateral cricket contests. A PCB official said that the BCCI officials have refused to make any commitments at such during the recent meetings in New Delhi. He admitted that the BCCI officials were apprehensive of sending their team to Pakistan in the existing security situation in the country. “And they don’t have a policy of playing series at neutral venues and they are unwilling to change it,” the official said. However, the official further stated that the series could still be possible as BCCI was considering the proposal to let PCB host its series in India. Ashraf also said that Bangladesh had not refused to tour Pakistan but they are yet to work out the time frame and schedule for the series. The official said the PCB was working to address the security concerns of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.  |
| India will find it difficult to beat us in Pakistan, says Saeed Ajmal Posted: 08 Jan 2013 11:30 PM PST
Ajmal said the Indian team would find it difficult to beat Pakistan on their home turf. “We looked at it (the series in India) as a challenge. We felt if we beat them in their own backyard then it will pose a challenge before them to come and try to win in Pakistan. I hope this happens soon,” Ajmal said. The 35-year old spinner took 5-24 in the final ODI in New Delhi on Sunday but still failed to get the man-of-the-match award which went to India skipper MS Dhoni for his fighting 36-run knock and leadership qualities.
Even though the incident raised quite a few eyebrows in Pakistan, Ajmal said he was not disappointed at not getting the man-of-the-match award. “I am used to these things. Remember I even didn’t get the ICC award. For me the biggest reward was to see our team do well in India,” he said. Ajmal, who played a full series in India for the first time in his career, said that Pakistan won the series because of team unity and hardwork. “That was our simple formula for success,” he insisted. Ajmal said the impressive performance in India had boosted his confidence a lot. “I am happy that we played good cricket in every match of the tour. We were positive all the time. We desperately wanted to complete a clean sweep in the ODI series unfortunately this didn’t happen,” he told ‘Jang’ newspaper.  |
| Pakistan Premier League likely to begin from March 24 : Media Sources Posted: 08 Jan 2013 10:38 PM PST
A source in PCB told PTI that tentatively the super league has been planned from March 24 in Lahore, a day after Pakistan’s tour to South Africa ends. “The chairman of the board, Zaka Ashraf is expected to unveil league’s logo on Thursday,” the source said. PCB has already formed a secretariat to run the T20 event. Former banker, Sarwar Salman Butt has been appointed as the managing director while the board is also paying former ICC executive Haroon Lorgat USD 25,000 monthly to work as advisor for the tournament, the source said.
An Indian company has also been acting as consultant for the board on the league. “The PCB has made up its mind to go ahead with the super league in March and Lorgat, the Indian company and the executive director Badar Rafai were using their contacts to to sign overseas players,” the source said. “The PCB is hopeful that particularly the involvement of Lorgat as tournament consultant and advisor will have long term benefits for them and they should be able to attract some notable players for the event.” The super league will start after the Pakistan’s tour to South Africa ends in March while the Indian Premier League begins in the first week of April. The source said it had been decided to have five franchises for the league.  |
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