Ponting Confident of Making World Cup

Australia captain Ricky Ponting said Monday he was confident he would be fit to play in this month's World Cup despite a recent finger injury.

Ponting, who missed the final Ashes Test and the entire seven-match one-day series against England after surgery for a broken little finger, said the injury was improving quickly.

"It's a lot better now than it was last week," Ponting said at the Allan Border Medal presentation in Melbourne.

"I've been back in the nets this week, I've had three good hits, a bit of time out there, so it's actually probably a bit further advanced than I thought it would be."

Australia go into the World Cup, to be played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, in search of a fourth consecutive title.

Ponting said he had endured a frustrating month on the sidelines, but believed the way the team had performed in his absence, thrashing England 6-1 in their ODI series, showed they were ready to defend their crown.

"I'm really proud of the way the boys have played in the last few weeks, Michael (Clarke) led the side well and Cameron (White) led the side really well in Perth and we did start to get a few guys back to full fitness at the right time," he said.

"We've still got a few injury worries, but hopefully by the middle of this month and early March we'll be on the right track to winning a World Cup."

Ponting said it was difficult playing on the sub-continent, but the Australian squad, which leaves on Wednesday, had the players who had proven themselves under those conditions.

"We go in there with a well-balanced team as far as youth and experience is concerned and players that have had some success there in the past," he said.

Fixing Trio Deserves Life Ban Vaughan

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has expressed his displeasure over the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision not to ban three Pakistan players for life for their involvement in spot-fixing.

Vaughan said the punishments meted out to the tainted trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer showed that the sport’s world governing body missed out on an opportunity to flush corruption out of the game.

“The punishments handed out to the three Pakistan cricketers over spot-fixing allegations were just another example of how the International Cricket Council operates. We were led to believe there was a zero-tolerance policy and that anyone found guilty of corruption would be banned for life.

“That was what Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, and others have repeatedly said since the scandal first broke, so I am very surprised they did not impose more severe punishments. This was an opportunity to set the ultimate deterrent. There was a stack of evidence. These cases are very hard to prove but having found the players guilty, the ICC was presented with the chance to take a stand,” Vaughan wrote in his column in ‘Daily Telegraph’.

An ICC anti-corruption tribunal had banned former captain Butt for 10 years, with five years of suspended sentence, Asif for seven years with two years suspension and Aamer for five years.

The tribunal, chaired by QC Michael Beloff, found the three Pakistani players guilty of charges relating to spot-fixing at the Lord’s Test match between England and Pakistan in August last year.

Vaughan also disagreed with the ICC commissioner Sharad Rao’s statement that said spot-fixing does not actually affect the result of the match at all.

“I am sorry but if you are bowling no-balls then you are changing the outcome of a game. It is affecting the course of the match. No matter how small the offence is, a Test match could be won or lost by a couple of runs so bowling a no-ball could be the difference,” he said.

Vaughan, a veteran of 82 Tests and 86 ODIs, also added that Butt and Aamer would return to international cricket considering their current age.

“Mohammad Asif may be a little bit too old and might not return but Salman Butt and Mohammad Aamer will be back. They will probably play in the 2015 World Cup and it would not be a massive surprise to see Butt captaining Pakistan again.

“Aamer is a young kid and many feel that giving him a life ban would have been too harsh, but I feel it is the only way to clear corruption out of the game. It is the best education,” he said.

Speed Looks to Bounce Back

Gary Speed is focused on rebuilding after seeing Wales suffer defeat to Republic of Ireland in his first game in charge.

The Welsh were comprehensively beaten 3-0 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in the opening game of the Carling Nations Cup on Tuesday night.

But Speed insists some positives can be taken from Wales' display and says they will work on their weaknesses.

"It's disappointing, obviously," Speed told Sky Sports News.

"There's things in there we can look at and improve, and there's things we can take heart from.

"If we look to the game it's pretty easy to work out where we went wrong and how to fix it."

Errors

Captain James Collins rued several costly errors made by Wales during the clash, admitting some of his side's old failings had reared their heads.

"We went in at half-time quite happy as they had not created that many chances," said the Aston Villa defender.

"But we made individual errors which cost us and that has been the case in the past, and we need to cut those out if we are to move on.

"But this is the start of a long campaign under the new manager."

Drogba Blues Unhappy

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba insists the club's slump in form has created a bad mood in and around Stamford Bridge.

The Blues started the campaign in irresistible fashion, but injuries led to a lack of goals and a dramatic slump in form.

Carlo Ancelotti's side had been improving of late, however, a toothless display against Liverpool on Sunday has once again hit their fading title ambitions.

Drogba is so used to winning and scoring goals for fun that he admits the club had not been a good place to be around of late as everyone is in a bad mood.

Chelsea remain ten points adrift of Manchester United following their Reds loss and Drogba believes that Ancelotti has also been affected by their disappointing results.

Bad mood

"Our league position is similar to what it was last season," explained Drogba.

"But absences, and the fact that we've not been scoring as many goals, has made for a bad mood around the place.

"I'm finding our bad spell hard to live with, as do the rest of the squad.

"We are suffering, given that Chelsea are not accustomed to losing matches.

"Carlo Ancelotti has been unhappy in recent weeks."

We Have Stronger Mental Frame this Time: Smith

Mindful of the chokers tag that has sat on them since their 1992 World Cup appearance, South Africa head off to the sub-continent for the quadrennial mega event starting later this month, with captain Graeme Smith confident of his side possessing a stronger mental frame than ever before to aim for its maiden title.

South Africa faltered in crucial high-pressure matches in the five World Cups they had taken part so far, including at home in 2003, with the Proteas losing three semifinals and a quarterfinal when they were tipped favourites each time.

Smith said the players have done enough in their build-up to come out successful in the unyielding pressure situation in the sub-continent with their recent good form and bonding sessions.

That’s the nature of knockout tournaments, that’s what makes it exciting and that’s what makes it tough. As an international sportsman, pressure is a part of your life. You learn to deal with pressure,” Smith said on Tuesday before leaving for India.

“We’ve had some good chats and really good bonding sessions. We’re as best prepared as we can be for the World Cup. This team is in a good space and we’re looking forward to getting going, getting some good results and on a roll. There’s some exciting things to come from this team,” said Smith who will relinquish one-day captaincy after the February 19-April 2 mega event.

He said he was looking forward to “leaving it all out there” at his final tournament as ODI captain.

Smith said his team is better prepared than 2007 and that they have more options now and more relaxed.

“We were a little bit too rigid (in 2007) in terms of players and squad. Moreover, we stuck to a similar style of play in 2007. We have a lot more options and we can be more unpredictable now,” he said.

“Yes, you have to want to win the World Cup and that has to be your mindset, but we are much more relaxed in terms of the way we want to do things,” he said.

“We want to go step by step and we are not thinking about the quarters or semis now. We want to do well in the warm-up matches and that will also help us to do well in the tournament. We want to keep things simple,” said the 30-year-old right-handed opening batsman who will be appearing in his third World Cup.

He said that the team’s preparation is different this time due to the presence of young players. Eleven players in the 15-member squad have never played in the World Cup and many of those make up the core of the Proteas team.

Coach Corrie van Vyl, who will also step down after the World Cup, said his side will not be “too result-driven” and will focus on “each day” rather than the quarterfinals or semifinals.

“We hope to do the country proud. We think we have got a very good squad and a lot of options. We’ll just concentrate on what we’re doing right now,” Van Zyl said.

Manager Mohammed Moosajee said he was confident that star all-rounder Jacques Kallis would be fit and would take his place for South Africa’s World Cup opener two weeks from now.

Kallis, who suffered a rib injury in the drawn Test against India at Newlands in Cape Town last month, is likely to only bat without rolling his arms in the warm-up game against Zimbabwe in Chennai on Saturday as he recovers from his injury.

Fast bowler Dale Steyn — ranked number one in the world — confirmed he was “good” after being involved in a Cape Town hit-and-run car accident last weekend.

After facing Zimbabwe at Chepauk, South Africa confront holders Australia in Bangalore on February 15 before opening their Group B campaign against the West Indies in New Delhi on February 24.

South Africa President Jacob Zuma and the country’s world champion rugby team pledged their support to the cricketers while some professional footballers were present at a Johannesburg hotel to send the team off.

No Fears for India in this World Cup

Harbhajan Singh today highlighted the facts behind India being hot favourite for upcoming World Cup, the uppermost being their ability to fight till the last ball.

Harbhajan says that the India team is a good mix of youth and experience and has more than one match-winner.

“The team can now bank on not only seniors, but also on (Virat) Kohli, (Yusuf) Pathan and (Suresh) Raina who can win matches on their own,” Harbhajan told IANS in an interview.

“Even bowling has bite with Zaheer (Khan), (Ashish) Nehra and Munaf (Patel) at their best. They can change the course of a match with incisive spells. That is a big plus for the team.

“The confidence levels are sky-high as we have performed well in the last three years and showed we can fight till the last ball.”

As for the group games in the February 19-April 2 event, the off-spinner picked the opening match against Bangladesh as crucial as they had knocked India out of the last World Cup in the Caribbean at the preliminaries stage.

“The first match will be important and will set the tone for the rest of the tournament. We are not taking any team lightly and none is a favourite. Last time there was little chance to stage a comeback after losing the first match, but there are no such fears in this World Cup,” Harbhajan maintained.

Harbhajan’s role, too, has changed in the last four years. Besides being one of the seniors, he is the lone established spinner with the other two being newcomer Ravichandran Ashwin and and comeback man Piyush Chawla. The turbanator is aware of this responsibility but maintains that he will not try do anything fancy in the tournament and will bowl according to the situation.

“This is my third World Cup and I am more experienced now. My target is to take wickets and bowl as the situation demands. There is no new ball that I will experiment with nor am I going to bowl any magic ball,” said the Jalandhar lad, who went wicketless in the last edition and is keen on turning things around this time.

Harbhajan has turned into a reliable lower-order batsman and has gained recognition as a bowling all-rounder. His back-to-back hundreds against New Zealand and then crucial knocks in South Africa were solid efforts.

“Bhajji,” as he is fondly called, credits Gary Kirsten for the improvement in his batting, but insists bowling remains his top priority.

“I owe a lot to Gary for the improvement in my batting. He tirelessly throws balls in the nets and he works with players on a one-on-one basis, attending to every individual player’s needs. That is the stamp of a quality coach. For all my batting exploits, I consider myself a bowler, who is keen to contribute with the bat when required,” Harbhajan said.

The biggest cricketing extravaganza is being played on the low and slow wickets in the sub-continent, where part-timers spinners can also revel. Harbhajan sees this a big advantage for India as Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan and Suresh Raina are much more than mere back-up spinners.

“The wickets will get slower as the tournament progresses. You have to have variation in your attack. You just need to be sure of what you are doing. The part-timers will play a big role.”

Harbhajan is fine with the World Cup schedule, unlike England’s Kevin Pietersen who is unhappy with it.

“As for the schedule, it has no bearing on our preparation and in any case there is no point cribbing about it. If the gap between the matches is less, then someone will complain of not getting adequate rest and when there is a week between the matches, they still grumble,” said Harbhajan.

The World Cup is returning to India after 15 years and there is bound to be some pressure playing at home, but Bhajji, just like his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, sees it as an added responsibility.

“There is no additional pressure on us just because we are playing at home. It is a responsibility.

“It is the biggest tournament for any cricketer. Everyone expects us to win. Wherever I go, I am asked whether we can win the Cup. We can only get motivated by the enthusiasm among fans.”

Strauss Confident of Bouncing Back in World Cup

England captain Andrew Strauss has predicted an upturn in his side’s one-day fortunes at the World Cup when he expects to finally have his first-choice attack at his disposal.

Strauss returned to London on Tuesday after England’s 6-1 defeat in the recent one-day series in Australia still insisting his team could match anyone in the world when their frontline bowlers were available.

Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad and Ajmal Shahzad, all members of the World Cup squad, plus Chris Tremlett, who is a reserve, were missing for all or part of the beating in Australia.

But Strauss expects them to be firing and giving England a much-needed lift ahead of their first World Cup fixture, against the Netherlands in Nagpur on February 22.

“Our bowling attack has been the basis of a lot of our one-day victories over the last 12 or 18 months, Strauss told reporters at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday.

“We have had a settled bowling unit who really know their roles really well and have bowled very well in tandem together.”

“There is no doubt we missed that in Australia and I believe our bowling attack is a match for anyone in the world.”

“They should be fit but they need to find some rhythm pretty quickly and the batsmen need to do their job,” the left-handed opener added.

“The atmosphere at the World Cup is going to be very intoxicating and very motivating. All the best players in the world will be there and ultimately only one team is going to walk away with that World Cup.”

“We would have liked to have won the one-day series in Australia as preparation, but some of our players who have not been involved have had an opportunity to have a little bit of a rest through the fact that they were injured,” Strauss explained.

“They are going to come back into the fold and add a huge amount of impetus.”

England’s collapse in the one-day series took the shine off their Ashes triumph and Strauss has urged his side, some of whom won the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean last year, to go on and claim the World Cup.”

England have not won the International Cricket Council’s showpiece event, despite appearing in three finals, and Strauss told his team that lifting the trophy would crown the best six months of their career.

He added: “We didn’t do as well as we would have liked in the one-dayers and we won’t hide away from that. Our aim when we went to Australia was to retain the Ashes and the fact that we did that and the style in which we did it speaks volumes for the players.”

“But the nature of international cricket is you always move onto the next thing. When we are old and grey we will sit down and look over the footage of that Ashes series and still be very proud of what we achieved.”

“It will go as one of the highlights if not the highlight of our careers. But now is not the time to look back on it.”

“If we were to complete the double of an Ashes win and a World Cup win in the space of six months that certainly would be the highlight of all our careers.”

England head to the subcontinent without batsman Eoin Morgan who was ruled out with a broken finger and coach Andy Flower repeated his criticisms of a gruelling schedule that has left several of his players nursing injuries.

They fly to Bangladesh on Saturday ahead of two warm-up games with Flower hitting out at an itinerary that gives England’s players just four nights at home in between coming back from the Ashes and travelling to the World Cup.

“We have played three-and-a-half-months of high intensity cricket and it is inevitable you will pick up injuries.”

“But to have the tour ending just before the World Cup starts doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” the former Zimbabwe batsman added. “So that is a very simple lesson to be learned.”