England’s prolific middle-order batsman Kevin Pietersen is planning to bid farewell to the 50-over format of the game after the ICC World Cup 2011, which is set to begin from the 19th of February, jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
According to reports, the batsman wants to concentrate on Test and Twenty20 cricket, which includes the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pietersen was with the team during the hectic Australian tour that spanned over nearly three months. The English team then returned home only for three days and flew out to Bangladesh to begin preparing for the World Cup on 12th February.
Pietersen wants to spend more time with his nine-month-old son and wife but has realised that this will not be possible unless he quits the fifty-over game. It will however, have a significant impact on his pay because of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) clauses of loyalty and pension provision.
Pietersen has become a significant part of the English outfit and the board will not be pleased with his decision. He is believed to be a specialist One-Day player and finding his replacement will not be easy for England.
Pietersen was part of the English team that defeated the Aussies in Australia after 24 years in the Ashes series. Pietersen played a vital role in the middle order during the Ashes which helped the tourists retain the urn.
However, he will be making the decision final after thoroughly considering all options. With the presence of a lucrative league like the IPL and the growing number of Twenty20 tournaments, it is likely that he will find enough financial avenues to decide to quit ODIs.
He has had an impressive record in the subcontinent and his input will be pivotal for England if they are to win the World Cup in the subcontinent. With Paul Collingwood still struggling to find form, it will be Pietersen’s responsibility to carry the middle-order batting line-up for England. He may also come in handy with the ball, should the skipper Andrew Strauss choose to give him a couple of overs to bowl during the World Cup.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Strauss Backs England to Win World Cup
England captain Andrew Strauss has said his side has an excellent chance of winning the World Cup in the Indian sub-continent despite a 6-1 defeat to Australia in the recent one-day series.
Strauss said England were not tired despite playing for over three months at a stretch and his boys were now “motivated and excited” to play the International Cricket Council’s showpiece event starting on Saturday.
We have had a lot of very good one day cricket for the last 18 months or so. We did not play so well in Australia, which is disappointing to us. But we’ve got a solid squad, a settled side,” Strauss said in the Bangladeshi capital.
We really feel we can do very well in the tournament. We are excited about it,” he said, adding: We here to win it, obviously – no doubt about that. I think we feel like we have got excellent chance.”
The English captain said triumph in last year’s World Twenty-20 cricket has boosted the team’s confidence even though the side has not won a World Cup despite appearing in three finals since the event begun in 1975.
“I think that the guys took a lot of confidence from the fact that we won the World Twenty-20. And so the guys know that they can do it on the big stage under pressure, which is an important hurdle to overcome as a side,” he said.
“I think we got some pretty firm ideas on the type of cricket we want to play. But the batsmen need to get themselves in form. Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad and Ajmal Shahzad, all members of the World Cup squad, plus Chris Tremlett, who is a reserve, missed all or part of the one-day series in Australia.
But Strauss said he’ll have a fully-fit side ahead of their first World Cup fixture against the Netherlands in Nagpur on February 22. Our injury situation is getting better every day. We don’t have got any real long term concern for the players we have here,” he said.
He said Eoin Morgan, ruled out with a broken finger would be missed as he was a “standout performer” for the side in recent series but his replacement Ravi Bopara can fill up the gap as he played in the Indian Premier League and knows the conditions in Sri Lanka.
England’s collapse in the one-dayers took the shine off their Ashes triumph but Strauss said instead of being “tired” due to the gruelling schedule, the series had given some players to get fit.
“The conditions here are very different. I think we got a lot of in-built confidence from the cricket we played for the last 18 months, not just one-day cricket, but Test cricket as well,” he added.
The 33-year-old batsman, who started his international career in Bangladesh, said any team which qualifies for the knock-out stage has the chance of winning the World Cup. So the first step along the route is to get through the group stages. Play some good consistent cricket during that group phase and then it’s about handling the pressure,” he said.
He said India and Sri Lanka – co-hosts along with Bangladesh – are the favourites. I don’t think there is a huge amount of expectation on our shoulders. I think most of the expectation falls on the shoulders of the Indian team, maybe Sri Lanka,” he said.
Strauss said England were not tired despite playing for over three months at a stretch and his boys were now “motivated and excited” to play the International Cricket Council’s showpiece event starting on Saturday.
We have had a lot of very good one day cricket for the last 18 months or so. We did not play so well in Australia, which is disappointing to us. But we’ve got a solid squad, a settled side,” Strauss said in the Bangladeshi capital.
We really feel we can do very well in the tournament. We are excited about it,” he said, adding: We here to win it, obviously – no doubt about that. I think we feel like we have got excellent chance.”
The English captain said triumph in last year’s World Twenty-20 cricket has boosted the team’s confidence even though the side has not won a World Cup despite appearing in three finals since the event begun in 1975.
“I think that the guys took a lot of confidence from the fact that we won the World Twenty-20. And so the guys know that they can do it on the big stage under pressure, which is an important hurdle to overcome as a side,” he said.
“I think we got some pretty firm ideas on the type of cricket we want to play. But the batsmen need to get themselves in form. Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad and Ajmal Shahzad, all members of the World Cup squad, plus Chris Tremlett, who is a reserve, missed all or part of the one-day series in Australia.
But Strauss said he’ll have a fully-fit side ahead of their first World Cup fixture against the Netherlands in Nagpur on February 22. Our injury situation is getting better every day. We don’t have got any real long term concern for the players we have here,” he said.
He said Eoin Morgan, ruled out with a broken finger would be missed as he was a “standout performer” for the side in recent series but his replacement Ravi Bopara can fill up the gap as he played in the Indian Premier League and knows the conditions in Sri Lanka.
England’s collapse in the one-dayers took the shine off their Ashes triumph but Strauss said instead of being “tired” due to the gruelling schedule, the series had given some players to get fit.
“The conditions here are very different. I think we got a lot of in-built confidence from the cricket we played for the last 18 months, not just one-day cricket, but Test cricket as well,” he added.
The 33-year-old batsman, who started his international career in Bangladesh, said any team which qualifies for the knock-out stage has the chance of winning the World Cup. So the first step along the route is to get through the group stages. Play some good consistent cricket during that group phase and then it’s about handling the pressure,” he said.
He said India and Sri Lanka – co-hosts along with Bangladesh – are the favourites. I don’t think there is a huge amount of expectation on our shoulders. I think most of the expectation falls on the shoulders of the Indian team, maybe Sri Lanka,” he said.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Dew Factor Play Crucial Role in World Cup
Pakistan’s World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan has predicted the “dew factor” will play a critical role in the outcome of matches at the World Cup. Apart from the related strengths and weaknesses of the participating teams I think the dew factor in day and night matches will decide results,” Imran told Geo Super channel.
“I think any team batting second will have a huge advantage as the ball keeps on getting wet, the outfield is wet and bowlers find it hard to grip the ball,” said Imran. The cricketer-turned politician pointed out that in March and April in day and night matches pitches tended to be flatter because of the warm weather.
“And in these months I know by experience that the dew factor also becomes very important in the sub-continent,” he said. In 1996, Sri Lanka won the final at Lahore because they chose to chase and ended up getting the advantage of heavy dew making life very difficult for the Australian bowlers.”
The organisers have scheduled 36 of the 49 matches in the World Cup as day-night fixtures in the three host countries, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The quarter-finals, semis and final are all day-night fixtures. Imran also picked India as favourites to win the title.
“On current form, their team combination and the fact they are playing at home, I would say India start off as favourites,” Imran, who led Pakistan to the 1992 World Cup title, said. The former all-rounder, who played in five World Cups, believes the only factor that could undermine India’s team is the expectation and pressure of playing at home.
“Otherwise India has a very strong side and their batsmen should be devastating on Indian pitches,” he said. Imran sees India’s Virender Sehwag and Yusuf Pathan as two players who could make a big impact at the tournament.
“They are the most powerful and clean hitters in the sport today. Plus they have wisely included a leg-spinner, Piyush Chawla, to partner Harbhajan Singh in the World Cup. I have always believed that leg-spinners are essential in ODIs as they are attacking options and take wickets.”
“I think any team batting second will have a huge advantage as the ball keeps on getting wet, the outfield is wet and bowlers find it hard to grip the ball,” said Imran. The cricketer-turned politician pointed out that in March and April in day and night matches pitches tended to be flatter because of the warm weather.
“And in these months I know by experience that the dew factor also becomes very important in the sub-continent,” he said. In 1996, Sri Lanka won the final at Lahore because they chose to chase and ended up getting the advantage of heavy dew making life very difficult for the Australian bowlers.”
The organisers have scheduled 36 of the 49 matches in the World Cup as day-night fixtures in the three host countries, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The quarter-finals, semis and final are all day-night fixtures. Imran also picked India as favourites to win the title.
“On current form, their team combination and the fact they are playing at home, I would say India start off as favourites,” Imran, who led Pakistan to the 1992 World Cup title, said. The former all-rounder, who played in five World Cups, believes the only factor that could undermine India’s team is the expectation and pressure of playing at home.
“Otherwise India has a very strong side and their batsmen should be devastating on Indian pitches,” he said. Imran sees India’s Virender Sehwag and Yusuf Pathan as two players who could make a big impact at the tournament.
“They are the most powerful and clean hitters in the sport today. Plus they have wisely included a leg-spinner, Piyush Chawla, to partner Harbhajan Singh in the World Cup. I have always believed that leg-spinners are essential in ODIs as they are attacking options and take wickets.”
Ponting says Momentum with Australia in World Cup
Australia may not start as strong World Cup favourites but the momentum is with them after their recent one-day success against England, skipper Ricky Ponting said on Friday. At the moment we're in good shape. We've got some really good confidence and a bit of momentum around our team," Ponting told reporters in Bangalore.
Our lead-up really couldn't be much better coming into this World Cup, having just beaten a pretty good English side with quite a few of our more senior players not taking part. Australia, seeking a fourth consecutive title, lost the recent Ashes to England at home but bounced back strongly to clinch the following one-day series 6-1.
Ponting said he was not worried his side were not considered as overwhelming favourites despite enjoying the top ranking in one-day internationals and an enviable record at the showpiece event. Australia have not been beaten in their last 29 games (one tied) since their last World Cup defeat to Pakistan at Headingley in 1999.
"I don't care," Ponting said when asked about the missing favorites tag. "I'm not sure if there's a really hot favorite going into a tournament like this. I don't really care where we start the tournament. It's totally irrelevant. Yes, we are ranked number one but we won't be thinking about that."
Ponting however conceded India and South Africa "are probably two of the outstanding teams".
The Australian skipper also said he was hopeful of playing in Sunday's opening warm-up game against India in Bangalore despite having missed the one-day series against England due to a broken finger. The next couple of weeks are important for me. To be out of the game for a month going into a World Cup is not a perfect preparation. I have to really focus on my batting and my fielding," said Ponting.
Australia are in Group A with Sri Lanka, Pakistan, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya, with the top four sides making it to the quarter-finals. They open their campaign against Zimbabwe at Ahmedabad in India on February 21.
Our lead-up really couldn't be much better coming into this World Cup, having just beaten a pretty good English side with quite a few of our more senior players not taking part. Australia, seeking a fourth consecutive title, lost the recent Ashes to England at home but bounced back strongly to clinch the following one-day series 6-1.
Ponting said he was not worried his side were not considered as overwhelming favourites despite enjoying the top ranking in one-day internationals and an enviable record at the showpiece event. Australia have not been beaten in their last 29 games (one tied) since their last World Cup defeat to Pakistan at Headingley in 1999.
"I don't care," Ponting said when asked about the missing favorites tag. "I'm not sure if there's a really hot favorite going into a tournament like this. I don't really care where we start the tournament. It's totally irrelevant. Yes, we are ranked number one but we won't be thinking about that."
Ponting however conceded India and South Africa "are probably two of the outstanding teams".
The Australian skipper also said he was hopeful of playing in Sunday's opening warm-up game against India in Bangalore despite having missed the one-day series against England due to a broken finger. The next couple of weeks are important for me. To be out of the game for a month going into a World Cup is not a perfect preparation. I have to really focus on my batting and my fielding," said Ponting.
Australia are in Group A with Sri Lanka, Pakistan, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya, with the top four sides making it to the quarter-finals. They open their campaign against Zimbabwe at Ahmedabad in India on February 21.
Steyn Leads Pace Brigade in World Cup 2011
Batsmen are expected to have a ball on flat sub-continental pitches in the World Cup -- only if allowed by Dale Steyn and other skilful speed merchants. Pitches may be slow but there is always room for quality pacemen to make a mark, as was proved by Australian Craig McDermott who was the leading bowler with 18 wickets when the Cup was hosted by India and Pakistan in 1987.
South African Steyn, Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga, England's James Anderson, Indian Zaheer Khan and Pakistan's Umar Gul will be the pacemen to watch.
Also hungry for success will be Australian pace duo of Brett Lee and Shaun Tait, who have recently returned to the one-day side after recovering from injuries. Lee, who missed the last Cup due to an injury, was the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2003 edition in South Africa with 22 scalps, while Tait caught the eye in 2007 with 23 wickets.
Steyn is no stranger to Indian conditions, having given a magnificent exhibition of swing bowling to destroy the hosts for a meagre 76 with a five-wicket haul in the second Test in Ahmedabad in 2008. Pace, backed by controlled swing, makes Steyn one of the most feared fast bowlers. He has an effective new-ball partner in Morne Morkel, capable of keeping pressure on batsmen.
Steyn recently proved too hot to handle for India in the home series when he was his team's highest wicket-taker in Tests with 21 scalps and the third-highest in one-dayers with eight.
'Slinger' Malinga will be keen to renew his love affair with the World Cup after his impressive exploits in the last edition in the Caribbean which saw him finish among the top-six bowlers with 18 wickets. The Sri Lankan, known to produce accurate yorkers and excel in death overs, has the ability to do the unexpected.
He made World Cup history last time when he grabbed four wickets off as many balls in a Super Eights clash against South Africa in Guyana to raise prospects of an unlikely win for Sri Lanka, who eventually lost the match by one wicket.
Like Steyn, Anderson also is in form having played a significant role in England's first Ashes triumph in Australia for more than two decades, with 24 wickets in five matches. England, who have not made it to the semi-finals in the last four editions, expect Anderson to retain his wicket-taking ability. Their pace attack looks effective, especially with Stuart Broad regaining fitness ahead of the event.
Zaheer, known for providing early breakthroughs, was one of the bowling stars on a recent tour of South Africa where he grabbed 10 wickets to help India draw a tough three-Test series and nine scalps in one-dayers.
Gul is expected to be Pakistan's trump card as he can extract bounce even on slow pitches and rattle batsmen with yorkers, which makes him one of the most effective pacemen.
He is also the bowler in form, having recently taken 13 wickets in his team's win in a two-Test series in New Zealand. His best in one-dayers came last year when he rocked England with 6-42 at the Oval.
Gul, the highest wicket-taker in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa with 13 scalps, became the first bowler to grab five wickets in the next edition in England, against New Zealand at the Oval.
South African Steyn, Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga, England's James Anderson, Indian Zaheer Khan and Pakistan's Umar Gul will be the pacemen to watch.
Also hungry for success will be Australian pace duo of Brett Lee and Shaun Tait, who have recently returned to the one-day side after recovering from injuries. Lee, who missed the last Cup due to an injury, was the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2003 edition in South Africa with 22 scalps, while Tait caught the eye in 2007 with 23 wickets.
Steyn is no stranger to Indian conditions, having given a magnificent exhibition of swing bowling to destroy the hosts for a meagre 76 with a five-wicket haul in the second Test in Ahmedabad in 2008. Pace, backed by controlled swing, makes Steyn one of the most feared fast bowlers. He has an effective new-ball partner in Morne Morkel, capable of keeping pressure on batsmen.
Steyn recently proved too hot to handle for India in the home series when he was his team's highest wicket-taker in Tests with 21 scalps and the third-highest in one-dayers with eight.
'Slinger' Malinga will be keen to renew his love affair with the World Cup after his impressive exploits in the last edition in the Caribbean which saw him finish among the top-six bowlers with 18 wickets. The Sri Lankan, known to produce accurate yorkers and excel in death overs, has the ability to do the unexpected.
He made World Cup history last time when he grabbed four wickets off as many balls in a Super Eights clash against South Africa in Guyana to raise prospects of an unlikely win for Sri Lanka, who eventually lost the match by one wicket.
Like Steyn, Anderson also is in form having played a significant role in England's first Ashes triumph in Australia for more than two decades, with 24 wickets in five matches. England, who have not made it to the semi-finals in the last four editions, expect Anderson to retain his wicket-taking ability. Their pace attack looks effective, especially with Stuart Broad regaining fitness ahead of the event.
Zaheer, known for providing early breakthroughs, was one of the bowling stars on a recent tour of South Africa where he grabbed 10 wickets to help India draw a tough three-Test series and nine scalps in one-dayers.
Gul is expected to be Pakistan's trump card as he can extract bounce even on slow pitches and rattle batsmen with yorkers, which makes him one of the most effective pacemen.
He is also the bowler in form, having recently taken 13 wickets in his team's win in a two-Test series in New Zealand. His best in one-dayers came last year when he rocked England with 6-42 at the Oval.
Gul, the highest wicket-taker in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa with 13 scalps, became the first bowler to grab five wickets in the next edition in England, against New Zealand at the Oval.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Team India Feeling The Heat of World Cup
India will be under pressure because of its defeat in the last World Cup opener, Bangladesh's opening batsman Tamim Iqbal has said ahead of next week's tournament that his country is co-hosting. India will feel the pinch to beat Bangladesh in the opening match of the forthcoming World Cup because of their past bitter experience," Tamim Iqbal said Wednesday.
India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are jointly hosting the event from Feb 19 to April 2.
India lost to Bangladesh in their previous World Cup opener in the West Indies, a result which subsequently threw them out of the competition in the group stage, he recalled.
Incidentally, India will open their campaign against Bangladesh in Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium Feb 19.
"It will always work on their mind that they did not qualify for the second round of the last World Cup after losing to us in the opening game. So they will be under pressure, not us," Tamim told mediapersons.
Tamim had played a key role in Bangladesh's five-wicket win at Port of Spain in the West Indies with a blistering knock of 51 off 53 balls, which set the tone for Bangladesh in the tournament.
Tamim also has had a few other major innings against India in the recent past, including his Test's best 151 in Dhaka in 2010, which would make him an obvious target of the Indian bowlers in the World Cup opener, the New Age newspaper said Thursday.
But Tamim said he has no particular fear for any bowler.
"We are not thinking about the India game differently. We have six matches in the group phase and we are planning for every match the same way.
"And I am also feeling no pressure. If I can play like the way I play, I have no reason to be afraid of any bowler in the world," he said.
"What I know is that if I want to do well as a player, I have to improve every day. I have to turn my weak point into a strong point and I think I am doing it alright."
"If I had two shots in 2007, now I have five shots. That's an improvement. It is not the end of all, just a step forward and I think I have a long way to go. Everyday I am working on my weaknesses," he added.
Bangladesh and India are in Group B along with England, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa and the West Indies.
India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are jointly hosting the event from Feb 19 to April 2.
India lost to Bangladesh in their previous World Cup opener in the West Indies, a result which subsequently threw them out of the competition in the group stage, he recalled.
Incidentally, India will open their campaign against Bangladesh in Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium Feb 19.
"It will always work on their mind that they did not qualify for the second round of the last World Cup after losing to us in the opening game. So they will be under pressure, not us," Tamim told mediapersons.
Tamim had played a key role in Bangladesh's five-wicket win at Port of Spain in the West Indies with a blistering knock of 51 off 53 balls, which set the tone for Bangladesh in the tournament.
Tamim also has had a few other major innings against India in the recent past, including his Test's best 151 in Dhaka in 2010, which would make him an obvious target of the Indian bowlers in the World Cup opener, the New Age newspaper said Thursday.
But Tamim said he has no particular fear for any bowler.
"We are not thinking about the India game differently. We have six matches in the group phase and we are planning for every match the same way.
"And I am also feeling no pressure. If I can play like the way I play, I have no reason to be afraid of any bowler in the world," he said.
"What I know is that if I want to do well as a player, I have to improve every day. I have to turn my weak point into a strong point and I think I am doing it alright."
"If I had two shots in 2007, now I have five shots. That's an improvement. It is not the end of all, just a step forward and I think I have a long way to go. Everyday I am working on my weaknesses," he added.
Bangladesh and India are in Group B along with England, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa and the West Indies.
Indian Team Begins Practice for World Cup 2011
The Indian cricket team started its practice and exercise regimen here Wednesday, nine days ahead of the opening match against co-hosts Bangladesh in the 2011 World Cup.
The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led men, popularly known as Men-in-Blues going by the colour of their uniform, surprised the eager fans waiting for a glimpse of the team by turning out in red T-shirts for the practice at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) facility.
The team will have its first warm-up match against Australia here Feb 13.
Besides the main Chinnaswamy Stadium, the NCA has ground with 18 turf and three cement practice wickets, six centre wickets, indoor facility with three synthetic wickets, four bowling machines, state-of-the-art gymnasium, a lecture hall and physiotherapy clinic.
The team members arrived here in batches Tuesday and early Wednesday, ending nearly a three-week break from the game after their long tour of South Africa.
The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led men, popularly known as Men-in-Blues going by the colour of their uniform, surprised the eager fans waiting for a glimpse of the team by turning out in red T-shirts for the practice at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) facility.
The team will have its first warm-up match against Australia here Feb 13.
Besides the main Chinnaswamy Stadium, the NCA has ground with 18 turf and three cement practice wickets, six centre wickets, indoor facility with three synthetic wickets, four bowling machines, state-of-the-art gymnasium, a lecture hall and physiotherapy clinic.
The team members arrived here in batches Tuesday and early Wednesday, ending nearly a three-week break from the game after their long tour of South Africa.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)