Page #: 2/4 |
@royal28 | 1 September 09 | |
Vettori hopes for improved showing on limited-overs leg Daniel Vettori didn't have a lot to smile about yesterday, but was hoping to start afresh with the two Twenty20s against Sri Lanka after the defeats in the Test matches. Though New Zealand were outclassed in both Tests, there is still plenty of limited-overs cricket for them before returning home - the two Twenty20s preceding the tri-series, also featuring India, with the Champions Trophy in South Africa to follow. This New Zealand side is better suited to one-day cricket, having won six and drawn one of their last eight series, including come-from-behind wins over England and West Indies. However, they have struggled in one-dayers in Sri Lanka, winning ten of 27 games. Vettori is hopeful of improving that record. I'd say we've been stronger in the limited-overs format, definitely, he said. It suits a few of our guys better. The experiences out here will have strengthened a few of the players for the limited-overs series There's no doubt this is a good group of batsmen and I have high hopes of them. New Zealand have some personnel changes, such as fast bowlers Kyle Mills, Shane Bond and Ian Butler and relative rookies Brendon Diamanti and Neil Broom, but the core group stays the same. There's an air of confidence about the team when it comes to this format, said Vettori, And I hope we'll see a turnaround in our limited-overs performance. We need to win these games as we build up to the Champions Trophy. It's a short and sharp tournament and you need to hit it running. New Zealand will welcome back Bond, who, Vettori confirmed, will mark his international return in Wednesday's first Twenty20. Bond's departure to the ICL in 2008 was as significant as when Richard Hadlee stepped down in 1990, and while Vettori was quick to allow Bond some breathing room, he knew how important this man was. I don't want to put too much pressure on the guy because I can see it building from a distance, Vettori said. People are viewing him as a sort of saviour to some recent woes but I think we need to let Shane relax and build his way back into the team. Bond will be a vital player for New Zealand in the 50-over games. In 67 ODIs he has taken 125 wickets at the phenomenal average of 19.32. New Zealand cricket fans have accepted, if reluctantly, that their team can seriously compete in one-day and Twent20 cricket, because from the depths of No. 7 in the ICC Test rankings there's not much room for optimism. Though his immediate aim was to gee this team up for the limited-overs fixtures, Vettori clearly had an eye on the home Tests against Pakistan in November. The two Tests in Sri Lanka were a thorough disappointment and Vettori, when he sits down with the selection panel on returning, will have his plate full. New Zealand does not boast a reservoir of second-tier players presenting a convincing case for selection and Vettori wanted to stick with these players ahead of Pakistan's visit. |
||
@gendevl | 10 September 09 | |
Now 4 all cricket updates...visit dis topic
|
||
@royal28 | 17 September 09 | |
@royal28 | 17 September 09 | |
End 'meaningless' tours - Graeme Smith South Africa's captain, Graeme Smith, believes that Andrew Flintoff's decision to turn down his ECB central contract in favour of a freelance career has set a precedent that the ICC cannot afford to ignore. Speaking to Cricinfo on the eve of the Champions Trophy, the second-biggest event in the ODI calendar, Smith said that the international game was going to have to adapt to its changing environment and cut down on the current glut of meaningless contests, if more of the world's leading players are to be prevented from following Flintoff's example. As tournament hosts and the No. 1 ODI nation in the world, South Africa start next week's Champions Trophy as favourites, and with a proper challenge to whet the appetite after a rare three-month break, Smith reiterated that international cricket remained his absolute and over-riding priority. But, he added, unless the ICC tackles the t issue of the Future Tours Programme head-on, the riches on offer in the IPL and beyond will prove an even more tempting alternative to many cricketers who, by the very nature of their careers, have a finite period of time in which to make the most of their talents. I don't think you can blame the individual, but it's an interesting time for cricket, and interesting to see where it goes now, Smith told Cricinfo. The crucial aspect is the decisions the leadership makes in the future. The ICC needs to give cricket a good direction, and crucial to that is how they look at the Future Tours Programme, because the decisions they make around that are going to be so important for future game |
||
@royal28 | 17 September 09 | |
Pakistan captain Younis Khan has said he wants to win the Champions Trophy in honour of Bob Woolmer, the team's former coach who died during the 2007 World Cup. I'll go to Bob's home [in South Africa] and celebrate the Champions Trophy win with his family, Younis told reporters ahead of the team's departure for the tournament in South Africa. Woolmer was present during the last edition in 2006, in India, when Pakistan were plagued by off-the-field problems. Younis, standing in for the banned Inzamam-ul-Haq, had resigned in protest at being made a dummy captain. Middle-order batsman Mohammad Yousuf was appointed in his place, before Younis was handed back responsibilities a day later after a change in the PCB setup. The problems continued into the day before their opening match against Sri Lanka, when Pakistan had to withdraw fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif after both failed dope tests conducted before the team's departure for India. Those were testing times and Bob was very disappointed, when after winning the first match, we lost the next two, because he wanted to win the Champions Trophy, Younis said. A year later, Pakistan unceremoniously exited the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies after losing to unheralded Ireland in the first round. Pakistan, who have never won the Champions Trophy, are placed in Group A along side defending champions Australia, India and the West Indies. They start their campaign against West Indies on September 23. |
||
@royal28 | 17 September 09 | |
NOTTINGHAM, England: Australia captain Ricky Ponting sympathised with Andrew Flintoff's decision to go freelance but said the all-rounder's international future was now open to question. Flintoff, who retired from Test cricket last month after England's Ashes triumph because he said his injury hit body could no longer stand the strain of the five-day game, announced on Tuesday he was turning down the offer of a second tier, incremental, contract from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It's an individual decision and you can't begrudge the players doing that, especially someone like Flintoff who's played 70-odd Test matches and whose body has basically forced him out of Test cricket, Ponting, who recently retired from international Twenty20s, said here on Tuesday. It's inevitable it is going to happen, added Ponting after a man-of-the-match winning 126, in only his second game back after a post Ashes break, during Australia's four-wicket one-day international win over England here at Trent Bridge - a victory that put them 5-0 up in a seven-match series. There are so many tournaments that are being played at different times around the world and you can't play everything. Flintoff, along with England team-mate Kevin Pietersen, was the best paid player in this year's lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) after being auctioned for 1.55 million dollars to appear for the Chennai Super Kings. The 31-year-old pace bowler and hard-hitting batsman still has another IPL campaign left on his Chennai deal. The ECB incremental contract is worth only approximately 30,000 pounds (49,461 dollars), considerably less than the best central contract available to England players still available for Test selection. We know what sort of dollars are being thrown around with the IPL, said Ponting. It will be interesting to see what happens with him (Flintoff). |
||
@royal28 | 18 September 09 | |
Tim Paine Celebrating his Maiden ODI hundred.AUSTRLIA beat English team in 6th ODI Details: cutting Bresnan backward of point on a couple of occasions before lifting Mascarenhas over the mid-off ropes. Hussey carted Ryan Sidebottom for a six to go to 49 and brought up his half-century, his first in 10 games, with a quick single. The innings stalled slightly as Paine crept up on his century - he took nine ba11s to get off 98 before eventually pushing to mid-off and bring up his hundred. Hussey departed in the 40th over for 65 when he slog-swept Swann to Denly and eight ba11s later Paine followed when Prior took an instinctive catch standing up to Mascarenhas. Callum Ferguson (six) was bowled when Anderson returned for the batting powerplay, but Cameron White (35) and Hopes (38) made full use of the fielding restrictions adding 53 in 28 ba11s. White was Anderson's fourth victim attempting a thrash that flew only to Denly at cover and the Lancastrian added to his figures of four for 55 by running out Lee for a duck with a direct hit from long-off. |
||
@royal28 | 19 September 09 | |
Flintoff to help coach UAE Andrew Flintoff will help coach the UAE national team while he recovers from his latest operation in Dubai. His agent, Andrew Chubby Chandler, told The Times the work was part of a deal struck with Dubai Sports City where Flintoff will undertake treatment in the coming months. The arrangement will be informal and he will not have an official role. A partnership has been agreed to use their gym and facilities as a base for his rehabilitation, Chandler said. I believe he will be one of the first people to use them. In return he will be carrying out some coaching for the UAE national team over the next six months. There's been good growth in UAE cricket in the last few years and Andrew felt that he wanted to give something back. Chandler also revealed Flintoff's children had already started at a local school and the family were on the hunt for permanent accommodation. Flintoff's decision will come as a boost to the UAE, which is among the leading Associate sides and which will host the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers later this year. |
||
thekings Forum
Bookmarks
thekings